After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 40 Kneeling at Ningfu Residence

Xiang Ning frowned, as if she had thought of something, and walked to Bi Tao's side, saying something to her.

Bitao's eyes widened slightly, and she nodded before heading to the small kitchen to find Granny Xu.

At midnight, as the night deepened, Xiang Ning pushed open the door to her room and went inside.

The Qingyi Residence, which had been sprinkled with medicinal powder, had a fragrance that was inexplicably pungent.

Xiang Ning couldn't help but sigh, thank goodness Pei Yanzhi wasn't there, otherwise he would have been furious upon smelling this.

But now, she has more important things to do.

As Pei Yanzhi's personal maid and the head maid of the entire Mosong Garden, Xiang Ning naturally had a separate room to rest in.

Therefore, with no extra people in the house, it was more convenient for Xiang Ning to do other things.

The short knife at his waist was drawn again, and this time, the blade, now unsheathed, appeared quite sharp in the bright moonlight.

Xiang Ning stepped forward and made a sound as she scraped the edge of the bed with the tip of her knife.

The person bound hand and foot on the bed felt a chill run down their spine upon hearing this sound.

He had a gag in his mouth and looked at Xiang Ning with sobs.

The girl sat down next to him, the dagger pressed against his face: "Who sent you?"

Xiang Ning smiled faintly, tilting her head to meet the man's gaze.

She was never a weak or easily bullied person, but in this vast Pei mansion, it seemed that anyone could easily kill her with a mere step.

In their eyes, she was like an ant.

In order to survive, Xiang Ning had to hide her shortcomings, be obedient and dull, making people feel that she was harmless, docile and obedient.

But how could she escape from those people and find a way to survive? She must be some innocent little flower.
In other words, even if she was indeed tricked, what did her chastity mean to her?

My mother's only wish before she died was that she could live.

Xiang Ning didn't care about any of that; as long as she could live, she was willing to give anything.

The blade grazed the man's face, moving downwards until it finally landed beneath him.

"I'll only give you one chance."

She continued laughing, pulled out the gag from the man's mouth, and a pill was unexpectedly swallowed by him.

"You, how could you..."

The man's voice was tinged with disbelief. How did she find out about this so secretly?
"A fool is a fool, but the most important thing now is, are you planning to help me, or are you planning to die from poisoning?"

Xiang Ning sat on the edge of the bed, her legs crossed, her excessively beautiful eyes looking at the man lying on the bed.

Her name is Xiang Ning because she is very sensitive to smells.

The insect repellent powder was given to her by Steward Li, so Xiang Ning didn't suspect anything at first.

But after it was sprinkled on, the drowsy and uncomfortable feeling came over Xiang Ning and she felt that something was wrong.

At that time, she wasn't sure what it was, so she asked Bitao to go to the small kitchen to find Xu Mama and ask her to boil some earthworm water that could calm the mind.

Everyone at Qingyiju drank it.

After doing all this, Xiang Ning went to find Xu's mother and told her about her suspicions. Therefore, after finishing her meal, she did not return to her room.

As agreed, the man saw that the room was quiet and assumed that Xiang Ning was lying on the bed.

To my surprise, when I lifted the blanket, I saw the strong and robust Tang Peng.

He was knocked unconscious with a single blow, and when he woke up, he saw Xiang Ning.

"This poison was given to me by my master. He said it was used by the Dali Temple to interrogate criminals. After taking it, one would feel weak all over in three days and die from bleeding from all seven orifices in seven days."

"you!"

Looking at Xiang Ning, who had such an innocent-looking face, uttering such outrageous words, the man now deeply regretted agreeing to do this.

Now, not only do I have to risk my life, but I also have to do things for her.

"What do you want me to do?" After an unknown amount of time, the man looked at Xiang Ning and finally gave in and asked this question.

Xiang Ning chuckled softly and slowly uttered, "Treat others as they treat you."

She had seen this sentence in Pei Yanzhi's book, and Pei Yanzhi told her that this sentence meant...

Whatever treatment others give you, repay them tenfold in return.

Reading is indeed useful; even my speech has become a little different.
-
The next day, before dawn, a mournful scream rang out in the Ink Pine Garden.

Xiang Ning got up, put on her clothes, and went outside. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Bi Tao, and a lot of people were gathered in the servants' room in the outer courtyard.

Fang's mother also came out of the house and walked over with a frown.

Before long, the group of servants who had been watching were dispersed by Madam Fang.

Then, she hired two maids to guard her while she went to Ningfu Residence.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Qingzhu was dragged to the woodshed.

Xiang Ning stood outside Qingyi Residence, watching Qingzhu being dragged away.

She stood there with a faint smile on her lips, exuding an air of superiority.

Qingzhu looked up at Xiangning, then broke free from the servant who was dragging her like a madwoman and rushed to Xiangning's side.

She reached out and gripped Xiang Ning's neck tightly: "Was it you? You framed me? You bitch!"

Qingzhu's hand tightened its grip, as if she were trying to strangle Xiangning.

Xiang Ning didn't resist much, pretending to be choked unconscious. The servant realized what was happening and quickly took Qing Zhu away again.

"Sister, are you alright?"

"His neck is all red, how can he be alright? Bitao, go get the medicine quickly."

As Bitao and Granny Xu's words fell into Xiang Ning's ears, she raised her hand to touch her neck and shook her head at them: "It's nothing."

If Qingzhu hadn't been the first to plot against her, how could she have been outmaneuvered?

She was doing it to protect herself.

"Xiang Ning, the old lady wants you to go to Ningfu Residence."

Fang's mother walked over and gave Xiang Ning a complicated look.

Xiang Ning clenched her fists and nodded in agreement.

"Should we treat the wound before we go?"

Granny Xu said worriedly, and Xiang Ning looked at her and said, "It's nothing, just a minor injury."

After saying that, she followed Granny Xu's footsteps and walked towards Ningfu Residence.

Madam Pei was the daughter of Marquis Weiyuan. This noblewoman from a military family married the then-Master Pei, and they went through thick and thin together for decades.

Xiang Ning had heard people say that back then, Old Master Pei was a womanizer with many wives and concubines, but in the end, only his four current masters were able to live peacefully.

It's easy to imagine who was behind this.

The matriarch of the household naturally has some tricks up her sleeve.

The struggles within the inner quarters of grand mansions are no less intense than those in the imperial palace.

There are countless filthy things happening here.

The old lady wouldn't see her without a reason, unless she had sensed something from it.

After Xiang Ning followed Fang Mama into Ningfu Residence, before she could react, a rough old woman forced her to kneel on the cobblestone path of Ningfu Residence.

"Xiang Ning, the old lady said that if you do something wrong, you should be punished."

"You may remain kneeling until the old lady wakes up."

(End of this chapter)