Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Is the Prince Shy?
Xiao Huai Feng spoke only a few sentences, and Luo Ning understood them all.
He was in a pretty good mood.
Madam Luo was not only brave, she was also clear minded. It was not hard to talk with her.
Xiao Huai Feng did not have any special preferences when it came to people. He did not care whose archery skills were better, or who had higher skill in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
There was nothing he especially liked.
But he did clearly hate foolish people.
If he had to explain every sentence three times, he would lose his patience right away.
Luckily, Madam Luo was not like that.
He said: “Your brother is my wife’s younger brother. It is only right that I help him. What about you? You earned merit this time. What reward do you want?”
Luo Ning thought of Qiu Shi Dong’s Imperial Merchant status.
Being an Imperial Merchant was not a huge matter, but it did make travel easier and gave one more status and standing.
Luo Ning did not want them to get what they wished for.
She asked: “Prince, do you have any connections in the Ministry of Revenue? I heard the current Minister of Revenue is the Marquis of Jian Ning.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “What exactly are you asking for?”
“Imperial Merchant.”
“Bring me the list, and I will go ask around,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
He did not talk about his own connections. But since he said he would “ask around,” it meant he was seventy or eighty percent sure.
Luo Ning thanked him: “I will make contact first, then come and tell you.”
Xiao Huai Feng nodded.
He chatted with Luo Ning and kept her to eat.
After the meal, the sun outside was blazing. Going out at that time was torture, so he had Luo Ning stay to play chess and pass the time. They would wait until the afternoon, when the sun slanted toward the west, before she went back.
The two of them could talk without any effort.
Luo Ning was quick minded and understood everything. There were some things Xiao Huai Feng felt she should have had no way to come into contact with, yet she understood them too.
That was a kind of talent.
“The two nursemaids Imperial Mother gave you must have taught you a lot these days,” Xiao Huai Feng said. It was the only reason he could think of.
Luo Ning also felt this reason was good. It could cover many things she could not explain.
“Yes, the two nursemaids are very diligent,” Luo Ning said.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “You also have to be clever yourself and have a good memory. With the same scholar-teacher, the students turn out different.”
He went on: “When we were little, we brothers studied together with the Crown Prince. Imperial Elder Brother could not keep up and kept changing Grand Preceptors. But no matter which Grand Preceptor taught, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and I did not find it hard to learn.”
Luo Ning grew interested: “Why was that?”
“The Crown Prince is the eldest son. Imperial Mother was only sixteen when she gave birth to him. The Imperial Physician said the Empress’s body was not fully mature yet, so the Crown Prince was born weak.
“When he was young, he often had high fevers and convulsions. Only cinnabar could treat it. He took a lot of cinnabar, and it harmed his mind. When we all started our basic lessons, we were all only a few years old, but he already did worse than the rest of us,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
Luo Ning understood.
“Imperial Father was very unhappy and always scolded him, so the Crown Prince ended up with a sickness of the heart. As he grew older, he slowly managed to keep up, but Imperial Father already had a prejudice against him. That was why he believed Fourth Brother’s words and secretly took alchemical pills,” Xiao Huai Feng said again.
When Luo Ning heard this, she felt a deep sadness inside.
The Crown Prince had been lacking since birth. From the start of his lessons, he lost the emperor’s favor.
But the line of succession was in order. They could not easily depose him, so the late emperor must have often taken out his anger on the Crown Prince.
“It really is not easy for him,” Luo Ning said softly.
“This time when he fainted, it was lucky Princess Consort Wei shot the Auspicious Beast. Only then did the court officials and the Censorate have no excuse to attack him,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
The topic went back to the Auspicious Beast. “For Fourth Brother and his wife, and for the Wang family, this counts as a blow. The Censorate will not let them off. They will nag about it for many years.”
Of course Luo Ning knew this.
In her past life, the Censorate had also scolded Xiao Huai Feng for many years.
“That day, I did not just toss your words to the back of my mind. Two deer ran past me, and I did not move. Only when I thought that the robe could not possibly be the Auspicious Beast did I shoot it,” Xiao Huai Feng suddenly said.
His voice was calm, his face serious. His deep eyes hid his emotions. No one could tell what he was thinking at that moment.
Luo Ning could not help but laugh: “Is the Prince trying to apologize to me?”
“Madam Luo, A Ning, do not get carried away,” he said.
“Prince, you are not as good as Miss Cui. Miss Cui was thankful to me. She sent me a set of ruby hair ornaments and honestly told me about her own pride. But you, Prince, are too timid to admit anything,” Luo Ning said.
Xiao Huai Feng looked at her, his gaze like the edge of a drawn sword. “Mind your words.”
Luo Ning was, of course, willing to be his subordinate.
But if she could be more highly valued, like one of those powerful advisors who could not be replaced, her days would be much easier.
She was eager to try and give herself more weight.
Xiao Huai Feng’s gaze was not friendly, but she did not back down. People really did push their luck, asking for more step by step.
“Do not be angry, Prince. I know you are wise and good at hearing opinions from all sides. The Auspicious Beast matter ended without disaster. I am already very satisfied,” Luo Ning said.
When she listened to her own words, they sounded a bit too much to her. She was advancing by retreating.
Sure enough, Xiao Huai Feng understood.
His expression changed several times. In the end he sighed: “I do feel guilty for not taking your words seriously at the time. You handled this matter very well. I will give you an extra reward.”
Luo Ning was speechless.
She had actually forced him to say it.
Xiao Huai Feng did not seem so hard to handle after all.
If there was another chance in the future, she would try again.
Xiao Huai Feng agreed to two things: arranging studies for Luo You and the Imperial Merchant matter. On top of that, he apologized to Luo Ning, and gave her ten thousand taels in silver banknotes and two sets of hair ornaments.
He was very generous.
By mid-afternoon, as the sun sank toward the west and the heat eased a little, Luo Ning returned to the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor.
The next day, the Empress Dowager summoned Luo Ning.
She also asked about the killing of the Auspicious Beast.
Luo Ning said what she could. What she could not say, she kept her mouth shut about.
After Luo Ning left, the Empress Dowager received Cui Zheng Lan.
“It must have been Fourth Brother’s plot,” Cui Zheng Lan said. “The Princess Consort’s fate calculation revealed the truth, so she hardly hunted anything. But Fourth Brother only shot one pheasant. There is clearly something wrong.”
The Empress Dowager thought for a while, then asked: “You almost shot it yourself?”
“Yes. The Princess Consort knocked my arrow aside,” Cui Zheng Lan said.
The Empress Dowager smiled: “You and she got along at first sight.”
“No,” Cui Zheng Lan said very frankly and fairly. “When we met, she was no different from any ordinary young lady of good family. I did not really want to get close to her.
“But she saved me and Madam Cui once. Of course I should respect her as the mistress of the household. If someone shows me kindness, I repay it. I am not someone who does not know what is good.”
The Empress Dowager laughed and patted the back of her hand: “Your temper is not like your parents at all. You are just like your uncle.”
Then she added: “Prince Yong’s inner residence is harmonious. That comforts me.”
After Cui Zheng Lan left, the Empress Dowager thought about Luo Ning.
She also believed that the Auspicious Beast had been arranged by Prince Wei, but Luo Ning had seen through the plot.
Luo Ning should not have had any way to come into contact with Prince Wei. Either Prince Yong had gotten the news, or Luo Ning’s fate calculation skill had risen to a higher level.
[A Ning is remarkable,] the Empress Dowager thought.
She sat for a little while longer, then rose to go see the Emperor.
The Emperor had only just recovered from a serious illness. These days, the memorials to the throne were read aloud to him in turn by the Empress Dowager and Empress Zheng. He would dictate his opinions, and the recording Chief Eunuch would copy them down.
Braving the burning sun, the Empress Dowager rode her palanquin to the Emperor’s sleeping palace. When she arrived, she found that Consort Li was already there.
The Emperor had fallen ill in Consort Li’s palace. She had hidden herself for many days and only dared come out after the Emperor’s spirits improved.
Empress Zheng sat to one side, watching Consort Li cry and act spoiled.
The Emperor’s brows held a trace of tiredness.
After the eunuch attendant announced her, the Empress Dowager entered. Consort Li at once came forward to greet her.
The Empress Dowager looked at her, and her thoughts shifted. She no longer wished to keep her.
This Consort Li had caused trouble more than once. No matter how clever and cute she was, it could not cover up her foolish selfishness.