The Devious First Daughter

171 - 180

“Third Sister, since you are so smart, how can you know only a little? It so happens that there is something I do not understand in the account books, can you give me some advice?” Ning Xueyan asked, with a smile. She spoke naturally, and Ning Qingshan almost forgot to reply. She blinked, and then she was overjoyed.

She was just thinking about how she could make Ning Xueyan bring out the account books here. To her surprise, Ning Xueyan had put her neck into the noose by asking her to check the account books! So it was no wonder she became so excited.

“Fifth sister, if there is anything I can do for you, I will certainly do my best,” she said with a smile, trying to suppress her excitement.

“Lanning, bring the account books here,” Ning Xueyan immediately ordered Lanning, who was standing behind her.

Lanning already had preparations in mind. She nodded to Ning Xueyan, and after a short while, she brought out several account books. Looking from where she stood, Ning Qingshan could tell that there were five account books. But she was not in a hurry to look through them, because she knew that the last page of one account book among the stack, was not in order. Since they were piled up one on top of the other, the account book under this one should also have been stained as well.

She had been racking her brains earlier, wondering how to get Ning Xueyan to bring out the account books. Ning Qingshan thought since Ning Xueyan was courting death, she would not show any mercy.

“Fifth sister, these are the account books you were checking, right? You’re such an organized person! They’re very neat and orderly, so obviously you have put in a lot of effort.” Ning Qingshan smiled, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. Then she reached out and wanted to take the account books from Ning Xueyan’s hands.

“If I pretend to accidentally drop the account books, the page that was stained will be exposed in front of everyone,” she thought.

“Third Sister, are you serious that you’ll help me?” Seeing that Ning Qingshan’s hand was about to touch the account books, Ning Xueyan suddenly pulled them back, with a smile. She looked at Ning Qingshan with a complex look in her jet-black eyes.

Even though Ning Qingshan had been calm and cunning till now, she could not help feeling nervous when such a good opportunity seemed to be slipping away from her. “Fifth Sister, what are you talking about? We are sisters, so of course we should help each other. Since you’ve asked me to help you, I have no reason to refuse you.”

“So Third Sister, you’re serious about helping me?” Ning Xueyan asked again, with a smile. She still held the account books in her hands, and showed no signs of giving them to Ning Qingshan.

“Yes! Yes! I’ll definitely help you,” Ning Qingshan became a little impatient, but she didn’t let it show it on her face, but smiled instead. She then tried to take the account books from Ning Xueyan’s hands again, while joking, “Fifth Sister, it seems that you can’t bear to give them to me. Am I right? You have begged me several times to help you, but you seem a bit reluctant to hand them over.”

She was hinting that Ning Xueyan did not really want her to check the account books, and she took out them just because she wanted to show off in front of others. Ning Qingshan smiled while speaking, and her words were unimpeachable, so it was hard to figure out whether she was joking with Ning Xueyan, or hinting at something.

“Third Sister, do you have time to check the account books now?” Ning Xueyan asked with a faint smile, as if she did not know what Ning Qingshan was hinting at.

.....

Ning Qingshan was a little surprised. Now she was still standing beside Madam Dowager to serve her. Although Madam Dowager had almost already finished her dinner, as her granddaughter who was in charge of serving her during dinner, she could not leave her to check the account books at the moment.