Chapter 97: Second Miss Ning
Second Miss Ning was also a daughter of the eldest branch, the biological younger sister of Ning Yuanjun.
Although she was born of a concubine, her birth mother had passed away early, so she was raised under Madam Ning’s care.
She had just passed the age of fifteen, and in terms of appearance and temperament, she possessed less of the dignified vigor of her elder sister and more of a gentle grace.
It was the first time she had visited Phoenix Ripple Courtyard to see Shen Shi since her elder brother returned to the mansion several months ago.
Among the four young ladies of the Ning family, although they were cousins, in front of Old Madam Ning, they were treated as if they were all her own daughters.
They studied and played together, rarely moving about alone.
When Pear Moon heard that Second Miss Ning had come alone to visit her sister-in-law, she was genuinely a bit surprised.
“Did Third Miss and Fourth Miss not come?” Xiangyun handed Xing’er a cup of tea.
Xing’er thanked her for the tea, her smile fading at the corners of her mouth as she first rolled her eyes.
“Fourth Miss is taking her afternoon nap. As for Third Miss, she’s now a living phoenix—we wouldn’t go just to be turned away!”
Pear Moon knew she was one to speak her mind, letting any words spill out.
Xing’er was just a teenager; on her own, she wouldn’t be so indiscreet.
It seemed Second Miss Ning must have had some private grievances, which her young maid had picked up on.
“Nowadays, the second branch’s courtyard is bustling—who isn’t rushing to flatter her? Third Miss is only twelve, yet Concubine Qian is acting as if the house is on fire, selecting kitchen maids, needlework maids, making new clothes, hiring governesses, as if she could become the empress tomorrow. She doesn’t even consider that her two elder sisters haven’t been betrothed yet—what is she rushing to be first for?”
Pear Moon and the others exchanged glances, feeling awkward and remaining silent.
In Ningguo Mansion, maids were ranked, and those serving the young ladies were all second- or third-rank maids.
Although their rank was slightly lower, they were raised with the utmost privilege and indulgence, their food, clothing, and expenses all following the standards of the young ladies.
Just like Xing’er before them, who was the same age as Pear Moon and also a third-rank maid.
Yet she wore a moon-white gauze jacket, a green misty gauze skirt with scattered floral patterns, and a pink front-closing blouse.
Her twin buns were adorned with kingfisher-feather gold flowers, gold pearl earrings dangled from her earlobes, and her small face was powdered with fragrant powder.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was a young lady herself.
If any of the older women or wives in the entire mansion offended them, they would immediately report it to their own young lady.
In Ningguo Mansion, the young ladies were cherished guests; anyone accused of bullying them would face serious consequences.
Thus, even as a third-rank maid, Xing’er dared to be arrogant and condescending, even more formidable than Shen Shi’s dowry maids.
Xiangyun and Huan Huan were both honest by nature, awkwardly bringing out some melon seeds, hoping to keep Xing’er’s mouth busy.
Unexpectedly, as Xing’er cracked the melon seeds, her words became even more unrestrained, and she began to complain about Third Miss Ning.
“Our Second Miss is of proper lineage, the Duke’s legitimate younger sister, who follows etiquette in everything—that’s the proper demeanor of a noble young lady! What right does she, a concubine-born daughter of the second branch, have to show off? Do you know how Third Miss’s marriage came about?”
Pear Moon and the others were all young maids; how would they know the inside story? They simply shook their heads blankly.
Xing’er spat out a melon seed shell, snorted through her nose, and launched into a story.
Some time ago, when Madam Ning went to Crane Longevity Hall to pay her respects, she brought up the marriages of the two daughters of the eldest branch.
Because her father was observing three years of mourning, Eldest Miss Ning was already seventeen and had not yet been betrothed, which was quite late.
Second Miss Ning was fifteen and needed to wait until her elder sister’s marriage was settled before quickly arranging her own betrothal.
Old Madam Ning agreed wholeheartedly, but regarding her granddaughters’ marriages, she had another consideration.
The Ning family was not only a hereditary noble family but had also consistently intermarried with the imperial family.
Old Madam Ning had no daughters, so she sent a concubine-born daughter into the palace to become Consort Ning, who gave birth to the Third Prince.
Consort Ning was in poor health, and the Third Prince was not particularly favored, so she returned to her maiden home and persuaded her own niece to enter the palace as a consort, who later gave birth to the current Fifth Prince.
Now that Consort Ning had passed away and the Third Prince’s fate was unknown, Old Madam Ning sought to win over Consort He and the Fifth Prince in order to gain an advantage in the marriage arrangements for the younger generation of the royal family.
The old lady’s intention was to betroth Miss Ning to the Fifth Prince.
Miss Ning was the legitimate eldest daughter, with both appearance and character of the highest order, perfectly suited to match a prince.
Not to mention becoming the principal consort of a prince, she was even qualified to be the crown princess or empress.
But Madam Ning was deeply unwilling, citing the significant age difference and refusing to allow her daughter to be betrothed to the Fifth Prince.
Madam Ning, as an official’s wife who frequently entered the palace, was well aware of the difficulties of marrying into the royal family and did not want her beloved daughter to suffer.
Not only her own biological daughter, but even if it were not her own, she had no intention of betrothing her to the Fifth Prince.
Old Madam Ning understood her eldest daughter-in-law’s feelings and did not insist further.
After all, with an age difference of five years, it was indeed somewhat difficult to arrange.
With several years still before the Fifth Prince’s marriage, the Ning family had many daughters, and their marriages could not be delayed.
The private conversation between the two generations of matriarchs, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, was not meant to be known by the second branch.
Second Madam usually did not involve herself in such matters and had not yet said anything, but unexpectedly, Concubine Qian stirred up Second Master Ning.
The eldest branch’s daughter was older, while her second branch’s Third Miss Ning happened to be the same age as the Fifth Prince.
Wasn’t this like a living dragon descending from the heavens, coiling right on the second branch’s phoenix tree!
Second Master Ning was utterly willing from the bottom of his heart.
He immediately pressured Second Madam to step forward, bringing Concubine Qian and Third Miss Ning to recommend themselves before the old lady.
Later, during Consort He’s private banquet, Madam Ning and Second Madam brought Third Miss Ning into the palace, and the marriage began to take shape.
Even before the betrothal gifts were exchanged, Second Master Ning and Concubine Qian were already beaming with joy, eagerly making preparations.
Third Miss Ning, now somewhat more sensible, understood that her marriage was of great importance and would surely rank first among her four sisters.
She was naturally lively and, being young and unaware of propriety, inevitably showed off a bit among her sisters.
Miss Ning, being sensible, paid no attention, while Fourth Miss Ning was too young to understand. Only Second Miss Ning took it all to heart.
In a large family with many sisters, although companionship brought liveliness, it was also inevitable for them to compare themselves with one another.
Whether it was studies like reading, writing, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, or pastimes like tea whisking, pitch-pot, cuju, and polo, they all secretly competed.
Not to mention the matter of marriage for young ladies—that was something they were determined to rank higher or lower in.
Second Miss Ning knew she could not compare to her elder sister, but she felt she was far superior to her two younger cousins.
Seeing her third younger sister secure such an important marriage, she felt indescribably disappointed.
A young girl’s thoughts, kept bottled up for too long, inevitably showed through.
She did not dare express them before her legitimate mother, Madam Ning, or her elder sister, but she had already cried several times in front of her wet nurse and maids.
Xing’er cracked melon seeds, feeling aggrieved on behalf of her young lady.
“Third Miss Ning was born to Concubine Qian and raised by her since childhood. Who doesn’t know she’s concubine-born? But our Second Miss Ning is different—she grew up following Madam Ning since she was little. What difference is there between her and a legitimate-born daughter? I really don’t understand what Old Madam and Consort He were thinking, allowing a concubine-born young lady to become the principal consort for the Fifth Prince. It’s only in families like ours that concubine-born daughters are treated the same as legitimate-born ones. How many families out there refuse concubine-born daughters when arranging marriages? Sister Xiangyun, I heard that in your Shen family, there’s a distinction between legitimate and concubine-born, and concubine-born young ladies aren’t even allowed to go out?”
“This… I don’t remember either. Sister Xing’er, have some more fruit…”
The atmosphere in the room had become truly unbearable after what she said.
Xiangyun made an excuse to pick up a broom, sweeping melon seed shells out the door, continuing all the way down the corridor without stopping.
Pear Moon pointed to having matters in the kitchen, also slipping away as if her feet were greased.
Huan Huan grinned for a long while, excusing herself to go relieve herself, and also ran off to the kitchen courtyard.
“To think Second Miss has such a gentle temperament, yet her maids are all so formidable?”
Huan Huan’s face flushed red from holding back laughter, and Pear Moon quickly warned her not to spread idle gossip.
A couple of days ago, Autumn Abundance had returned saying that Second Miss Ning and Third Miss Ning had secretly quarreled, and now neither would speak to the other.
Miss Ning scolded her second sister for being unreasonable, calling her over twice to talk, but Second Miss wouldn’t even acknowledge her own elder sister now.
Pear Moon hadn’t believed it at the time, but now it seemed this might not be groundless rumor.
Everyone in the tea room had left, yet Xing’er still hadn’t spoken her fill, continuing to sigh there.
“Though Third Miss wasn’t born of Second Madam, at least she has a birth mother who dotes on her! Our Madam Ning always says legitimate and illegitimate daughters are treated the same, but in truth she only cares about her own daughter’s marriage prospects. Whether one has a mother’s love—now that’s what makes the difference, isn’t it?”