Chapter 41. Being kind to enemy is often the wrong beginning

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With the picking up of the account books one by one, Ning Qingshan's breath sharpened unconsciously. It seemed she couldn't stay calm and maintain her perfect smile any longer. The maid picked up the first account book and shook the dust off. Both the top and the bottom cover were clean. Then she picked up the second one and shook off the dust as well, and there was no stain on it either.

How could all of them be clean? Now four of the five account books had been found clean, so Ning Qingshan became nervous and sweat beamed from the tip of her nose.

There was only one account book left. The last one must be the stained one!

The maid picked up the last account book and shook the dust off it. She then piled all the account books up and held them firmly in her arms before turning to leave.

"That's impossible! Why none of them was stained?"

She was a hundred percent sure that the stained page would be exposed, but that didn't happen. Although Ning Qingshan had always been shrewd and seldom showed her true feeling in front of others, she froze there. She looked in the direction the maid left blankly and opened her mouth, trying to ask the maid to stop so that she could check the account books again. Fortunately, her reason prevented her from doing such a foolish thing.

Although she had planned carefully, nothing happened as she had expected. The huge difference made her well-prepared smile disappear in the blink of an eye.

"What's wrong with you, Third Young Lady?" Madam Dowager's brows knitted when she looked at Ning Qingshan who was in a trance. Ning Qingshan didn't seem to be herself today! Now she was even gluing her eyes on the account books. Why was she so interested in them?

Madam Dowager glanced at Mother Qin, and the latter immediately understood what she wanted. She walked over and held Ning Qingshan by the arm. "Third Young Lady, are you feeling sick and need to go back to rest? You just came back yesterday, and you have to help Madam Dowager greet guests today, so I think you must be tired."

Obviously Madam Dowager wanted her to go back to Foggy Courtyard.

"No, Grandmother! I'm not tired!" Ning Qingshan said subconsciously and squeezed out a smile. She had been greeting the guests at the flower hall just now, so if the others knew that she was sent back to her place, they would laugh at her.

"Are you serious?" Madam Dowager asked coldly.

"Grandmother, I'm not tired!" Ning Qingshan pretended that she didn't understand Madam Dowager's hint. Now she no longer showed any doubt, because she knew what she had done had aroused Madam Dowager's suspicion, and she dared not take any more drastic actions. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

She had planned to make Ning Xueyan look stupid in front of others, but she failed. Besides, Madam Dowager was asking her to go back now. Of course she was not content. She would be Third Prince's wife and if Third Prince inherited the throne, she would be the empress! How could she be driven back like this? If she followed Madam Dowager's order and went back to her place, she would never establish her dignity in front of the others again.

"Grandmother, the guests at the flower hall are still waiting for Third Sister." Ning Xueyan walked over and explained for Ning Qingshan with a smile, without a trace of displeasure on her face.

Everyone thought that Ning Qingshan knocked over the account books on purpose. Ning Xueyan should feel embarrassed when the account books dropped onto the floor, but she didn't mind at all, and she was even defending Ning Qingshan now. What a generous person Fifth Young Lady was!

"Qingshan, you can leave for the flower hall to greet the guests now. Don't surprise anyone and make a fool of yourself." Ning Qingshan knew what Madam Dowager was hinting, and she blushed. But to her surprise, what Madam Dowager said next made her even more ashamed that she couldn't hold up her head. "Mother Qin, accompany Third Young Lady to the flower hall. You should correct her immediately if she does anything wrong," Madam Dowager said.

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