The reborn daughter of the Marquis Mansion takes over the world

It was already midnight when the carriage returned to Ninghou Mansion.

The weather was cold, windy and foggy. Lin Wanqiao, Huiyi's mother and a group of servants had been waiting outside the gate, anxiously awaiting their turn.

It was not until Ning Ziqing stepped out of the carriage that everyone's tense hearts finally settled down.

With tears in her eyes, Lin Wanqiao excitedly ran down the stairs and hugged Ning Ziqing tightly when he returned.

"Qingqing, what happened? Why did someone kidnap you?"

Lin Wanqiao asked in a crying voice, her expression full of anxiety and worry.

Ning Ziqing patted her on the back and consoled her with a smile, "Sister-in-law, I'm fine now. It's too cold outside. Let's go into the mansion first. I'm so hungry."

Lin Wanqiao quickly let go of her hands, held Ning Ziqing's arms and looked at him carefully.

She found her hair disheveled, her cheeks red and swollen, with obvious marks of a slap, and even a break at the corner of her mouth.

Her clothes were untidy and wrinkled, and she was also wearing a black men's cloak, which made her look particularly out of place.

Lin Wanqiao was confused and puzzled, but did not ask any questions immediately. She quickly ordered Xichun and others to prepare hot water and meals, and at the same time carefully helped Ning Ziqing into the house.

"Qingqing, who did such a cruel thing to you? We must seek justice for you!"

When Lin Wanqiao thought about what happened to Ning Ziqing today, she felt heartbroken and angry.

Without waiting for Ning Ziqing to answer, Su Yanqi followed and reminded: "Madam, let Qingqing go back to Xiyuan to rest first, and we can talk about other things after Zijun comes back."

Lin Wanqiao nodded and asked the servants to notify Lord Ning and the old lady first.

Half an hour later, upon learning that Ning Ziqing had been found, Ning Zijun rushed back and went straight to the front hall.

As soon as they met, Su Yan told him roughly what had happened today, and repeatedly urged him to keep calm, not to act rashly, and to go to the Duke of Qi's mansion to call for justice.

Ning Zijun knew the whole story and was so angry that he clenched his fists and slammed them on the table.

"County Lady Jiarou is so arrogant and conceited that she dares to harm Qingqing with such vicious and despicable means. I will never let her go and will make her and the Duke of Qi pay the price they deserve!"

Lord Ning was extremely cautious and hurriedly advised: "Zijun, you must not act impulsively. After all, Duke Qi is a veteran of two dynasties and has great power in the court. In addition, there are Concubine Qi and the third princess who is deeply favored by His Majesty to help him in the palace."

"It is indeed unforgivable that Princess Jiarou framed your sister today, but this case must be handed over to the government for trial, reported to the court, and then judged by Your Majesty. We must not tear our faces apart with Duke Qi in private."

Su Yanqi also agreed with Lord Ning's words and said solemnly: "Lord, what you said makes sense. This case involves the Xu and Li mansions. Maybe the second prince is involved. Since they are well prepared, we need to be careful."

Ning Zijun had a stern face, suppressed his anger, and asked worriedly: "How is Qingqing now? Is she injured? I want to go see her."

At this time, Lin Wanqiao came in through the curtain and said, "Don't worry, my husband. Qingqing is fine. She was slapped twice on the face and it's a little red and swollen. I've applied the ointment that Mr. Qi brought to her. She took a bath, ate a little and went to bed."

After hearing this, Ning Zijun's brows relaxed, but then he fell into deep self-blame.

"As her brother, I feel really sorry for her. Whenever she was in danger, I couldn't be by her side to protect her. I am so useless."

His eyes were red and he hit his head in regret.

He couldn't imagine what would have happened to Ning Ziqing if he hadn't been smart enough to save himself today.

For a moment, panic, fear and guilt surged into Ning Zijun's heart, causing his long-suppressed emotions to collapse instantly and he covered his face and cried.

Seeing him crying so hard, the old lady tried to persuade him distressedly, "Zijun, good boy, stop crying. Your sister won't blame you. She finally managed to escape death, and she will be safe and sound from now on. She will only feel at ease if we are all well."

Lord Ning felt even more ashamed because his previous mistakes had caused Ning Ziqing and his sister to suffer a lot.

Although he knew it was too late to make amends now, he still tried his best to repair the relationship between his family.

He held back his tears, patted Ning Zijun's shoulder and said seriously: "It's not proper for a grown man to cry in front of others. Your sister is still waiting for you to support her. You have been looking for her outside all day and you must be very tired. Go back and rest early. Tomorrow morning, we have to go to the government office to ask for an explanation for your sister."

Ning Zijun wiped away his tears, calmed down, and assured Lord Ning with a firm look.

"Father said that from now on, I will be the one in charge of this family. I will never let anyone hurt Qingqing and you again."

Lord Ning smiled with relief after hearing his son's heartwarming words. He turned to Su Yanqi and said, "It's getting late. Why don't you stay at the mansion? I'll have someone prepare the wing rooms now."

Su Yanqi politely declined Lord Ning's kindness: "Thank you, Lord, but the matter with the Fourth Prince has not been properly dealt with yet, so it is inconvenient for me to stay, lest someone make a fuss about what happened today."

Lord Ning thought about it, understood his concerns, and stopped trying to keep him.

Su Yanqi bowed and said goodbye. Before leaving, he could not help but mention, "My Lord, although Ning Zilan is only an accomplice, she is still a member of the Ning Marquis' Mansion. If Duke Qi and his men want to clear Princess Jiarou of the blame, they will certainly put all the blame on Ning Zilan, insisting that she colluded with the Xu and Li mansions to frame her own elder sister."

"By then, Your Majesty might just think that this is a disaster caused by the Ning Marquis's family affairs, and blame the Ning Marquis for not disciplining their children strictly and having a bad family tradition. As for the rest, it may be left unresolved."

After hearing what Su Yanqi said, Lord Ning's face suddenly changed, and he angrily cursed: "This evil creature! Qingqing spared her life before, which was already the most benevolent thing. I didn't expect that she would collude with outsiders and want to kill her own sister. It's a misfortune for our family, a misfortune for our family!"

Lord Ning was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet, and the old lady was also panicked.

"What should we do? Will our Ninghou Mansion be punished by His Majesty because of this evil creature, losing face and ruining our reputation?"

Lin Wanqiao tried to comfort the old lady and looked at Ning Zijun with concern. Ning Zijun said calmly, "Now that things have come to this, we in the Ninghou Mansion cannot tolerate evil. It's time to clean up the mess."

Lord Ning was stunned for a moment, "Zijun, what do you mean?"

Lin Wanqiao suddenly interrupted: "Father, grandmother, I have something important to report."

Ning Zijun motioned for her to speak first.

Lin Wanqiao continued, "At noon today, the maid from Huiyue Pavilion came back and forth. The person locked in the room was not Ning Zilan, but her former personal maid Danying."

"After Mi Qiu and Fu Dong made inquiries, they learned that a few days ago, a little maid named Cui Er brought a bunch of food and wine, got the gatekeepers drunk, and let Dan Ying take the opportunity to go in and replace Ning Zi Lan."

"Afterwards, Danying pretended to be Ning Zilan without revealing any flaws. It was not until the maid who delivered the meal noticed something unusual that she discovered that Ning Zilan had already escaped."

Lord Ning was furious: "Who was that traitor who secretly let her go?"

Lin Wanqiao immediately knelt down and said, "Father, it was my daughter-in-law's fault for not taking good care of the harem. I later found out that the maid named Cui'er's mother was the godmother of a girl named Li Qian'er in the Song family courtyard."

"Li Qian'er was executed for slandering Qingqing. After that, Cui'er and her parents were no longer valued by the Song family and were always assigned to do heavy work in the outer courtyard."

"The two of them were resentful towards Qingqing because of this. Danying took some money and lobbied them a little bit, and successfully bribed them. They helped Danying sneak into Huiyue Pavilion and helped release Ning Zilan."

Lord Ning was so angry that he was shaking, and he shouted to the outside of the door: "This is outrageous, where are those slaves now?"

Xichun rushed in and replied, "My Lord, all the people are detained outside and kneeling, waiting for your order."

Lord Ning walked out quickly and saw Danying, Cui'er and a fat old woman tied up and kneeling on the ground trembling. The other servants guarding Huiyue Pavilion stood behind them in fear.

Lord Ning had a cold look on his face and kicked Danying hard in the heart.

"Someone, kill her immediately!"

Dan Ying fell to the ground in agony, desperately begging for mercy: "My Lord, please spare my life, spare my life!"

Lord Ning was completely enraged by Ning Zilan's actions at this moment, and he kept kicking Danying: "You still have the nerve to beg for mercy, you let Ning Zilan go and almost killed Qing Jie'er!"

"She is an extremely noble princess, the Princess Yebei who was personally conferred by the Emperor of Qianye Country. She is the adopted sister that King Qian holds in his palm and dotes on. She is highly valued by our Majesty and even loved by the prince of the great country of Xizhou!"

"She brought glory to the Ninghou Mansion. How dare you, a heartless and treacherous slave, collude with outsiders to frame her? Do you want to destroy the entire Ninghou Mansion?"

Lord Ning vented his anger on Danying, kicking her until she screamed and vomited blood.

When the old lady saw such a tragic scene, she was so frightened that her eyes turned black and she almost fainted.

Ning Zijun and Su Yanqi hurried over to hold back Lord Ning who was losing control of his emotions.

"Father, calm down and don't dirty your feet."

Lord Ning was still furious. He waved away the two men's hands, straightened his clothes, and ordered his servants to bring a bench to prepare to cane Danying.

Danying was already dying. She died on the bench after being beaten only a few times.

Cui'er and her daughter were so frightened when they saw the bloody Danying that they were scared out of their wits and their tongues began to get tied.

"My Lord... spare me... it was all Danying who lied to us... she just said that the poor Fourth Miss was imprisoned in Huiyue Pavilion and had no food or warm clothes, so she wanted to sneak in to give her some things. We didn't know that she finally got out for the Fourth Miss..."

Lord Ning was exhausted physically and mentally, and didn't want to listen to their excuses anymore. He just said to Ning Zijun, "Zijun, what are you going to do next? I will listen to you. Even if it means killing Ning Zilan, I have no objection."

Su Yanqi suggested, "My Lord, Zijun, you don't need to worry about Ning Zilan's life or death. Once Danying dies, let's keep the other servants alive for now and send them to the government as witnesses tomorrow morning. Let them identify that someone deliberately rescued Ning Zilan and went to the Ning Marquis' Mansion without knowing anything."

"As for her identity, you need to make a decision."

Ning Zijun said decisively: "I understand. I will send someone out to pretend to look for Ning Zilan later."

He bowed to Lord Ning and asked, "Father, please open the ancestral temple and ask the elders to remove Ning Zilan, this scourge, from the family tree!"

Lord Ning closed his eyes, hardened his heart and nodded in agreement.

He immediately ordered the housekeeper to ask the elders of the clan to come over overnight, and asked Lin Wanqiao to send the frightened old lady away.

Then, he went to the ancestral hall alone.

Soon.

The fog outside gradually dissipated and the wind stopped. It was a long night and I didn't know when the day would come.

Ning Zijun and Su Yanqi stood side by side in the corridor, sighing self-deprecatingly: "Qingqing will be disappointed to have a brother like me!"

Su Yanqi pursed his lips and teased, "If she is disappointed in you, will she still try every means to help you marry a beautiful wife?"

Ning Zijun laughed out loud with joy when he heard that, and he seemed to see Ning Ziqing's playful look in front of him.

"Qingqing, this time, it's my turn to stand up for you."