Chapter 109
Chapter 109: Giving Bai Ci Rong a Hard Time
The heat grew heavier day by day, yet the Luo family did not have an ice cellar.
Every day they bought ice from the market, and each courtyard only got a few pieces, just enough to barely cool off.
Luo Ning discussed with the head-of-household Young Madam and the Second Madam about building an ice cellar at home. If they started work now, they could store ice this winter and enjoy the cool next summer.
She said: “Either we buy a summer retreat villa on South Mountain, or we build an ice cellar. The days ahead are long. The hottest time has not even come yet.”
The Young Madam smiled: “I just fear Lord Marquis will not agree. Our manor does not have many sources of income. Storing ice in winter is not hard, but building an ice cellar costs a big sum.”
“I asked around,” Luo Ning said. “An ice cellar does not cost that much. Its daily upkeep is simple too. You just drain the water and use reeds and straw for insulation.”
She added: “I will go talk to Father. Let this ice cellar count as my filial duty to Grandmother. I have some money on me. I can let the rest of our family enjoy some comfort too.”
The Young Madam and the Second Madam did not object.
Luo Ning went to tell the Marquis of Zhen Nan.
At first, the Marquis of Zhen Nan did not want to agree. Only when Luo Ning said she would pay for it herself did he finally give in.
The Second Madam was put in charge of the matter.
Luo Ning gave her five hundred taels and told her to spend it carefully. If it was not enough, she could come back to her.
The ice cellar was dug under the flower arbor in the rear garden. The craftsmen went in and out from the back and did not disturb daily life in the Marquis manor.
The Old Madam called Luo Ning over to ask about it.
“You are about to marry out. You should not be spending your own money. The household’s public account can afford this,” the Old Madam said.
“I am not alone in this world, Grandmother,” Luo Ning said. “Everyone in the Marquis manor are my own family. We should share good things. Why be stingy?”
The Old Madam patted her hand.
She did not say anything more.
After a few days, a scholar-teacher from Lushan Academy came to visit the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor. He especially wanted to meet Luo You.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan was both surprised and delighted.
But after he met Luo You, the scholar-teacher was a little disappointed and suspected that Luo You had only just started his basic lessons.
“Your learning is not very solid. Do you simply not study, or does your scholar-teacher teach too simply?” Master Qin of Lushan Academy asked.
“It is that I cannot make myself study,” Luo You said.
“How is your handwriting?” Master Qin tried to find at least one strong point in him so he could push him into Chunshan Academy and answer to Prince Yong.
Luo You brought out his writing.
To Master Qin’s surprise, Luo You’s handwriting was very good. He was young, yet his strokes were strong and steady, and each stroke had a sharp edge.
“Your writing is good,” Master Qin said. “Who did you learn from?”
“The owner of a bookshop said this style of characters sells well, so I brought a copy home to practice,” Luo You said. “Once I sell them, I can go out to play and eat with Zhou Huai. He loves hot mutton. One meal costs a few hundred coins.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan, listening at the side, was so angry his face twitched. He said: “Did the family not give you money?”
Feeling guilty, Luo You said: “It is not enough. Zhou Huai can really eat.”
He himself could also eat a lot.
Half-grown boys got hungry in less than an hour and were always looking for food. All the allowance that Luo You and Zhou Huai got from home went straight into their mouths.
But Master Qin laughed: “You are honest and simple. That shows you have a pure and loyal nature. Your writing is good too. Not bad, not bad.”
He asked Luo You to bring him a sample of Zhou Huai’s handwriting.
Zhou Huai’s writing was very sloppy.
Even so, Master Qin closed one eye and opened the other, pretended not to see, and took both pieces back with him.
Later, Lushan Academy held an entrance exam.
As expected, neither Luo You nor Zhou Huai passed. But with Master Qin vouching for them, both boys were accepted into Chunshan Academy as special cases.
On the third day of the seventh month, the two of them would officially enter Chunshan Academy to study. There was still more than a month, so they were told to get ready.
Everyone in the Luo family was stunned, and so was the Zhou family.
Even Madam Bai, who was sick in bed, heard the news and wanted to call Luo You over to ask him about it.
The scab on Luo You’s forehead was still there. When he thought of his mother’s madness, he shook his head at once and refused to go see Madam Bai.
Madam Bai could not leave the East Main Courtyard. When the maidservants told her that Luo You would not come, she flew into a huge rage again.
Bai Ci Rong had no choice but to go see Luo You in her place.
She said: “Aunt only hopes you will have a good future. Now that you have prospects, she is happier than anyone. Why are you still holding a grudge and refusing to see her?”
There was both blame and sorrow in her voice.
Luo You looked at her and said: “My mother has gone mad. If you truly want what is best for her, then persuade her to calm down. Whether it is good news or bad news, it sets off her temper.
“People who have gone mad should stay away from worldly matters and rest in peace. Cousin, if you ask me to see her, you are not helping her, you are hurting her.”
Bai Ci Rong’s face changed slightly.
She took a quiet breath to calm herself and said: “A You, it is not like that. Aunt is fine. Did someone tell you bad things about her?”
This “someone” clearly meant Luo Ning.
She went on: “A You, you must judge for yourself. You cannot blindly believe slander.”
Pointing at his own forehead, Luo You said: “She beat me until I looked like this, and you say she is not mad? Cousin, indulging my mother like this is not for her good. You are just pushing her further into madness. If something happens to her one day, I will tell Grandmother and Father exactly what you said today.”
Bai Ci Rong almost could not catch her breath.
The people in the Luo family were all slipping out of control, one by one.
Aunt had managed the household for almost twenty years, and Bai Ci Rong had been here for three, yet they still could not fully control these people.
They were stubborn and selfish and did not know how to be grateful.
“Please go back, Cousin,” Luo You said.
“Fine, I will go back right now,” Bai Ci Rong said coldly. “A You, one day you will understand your mother’s hard work for you. If you will not listen, then pretend I said nothing.”
“It is you who will not listen, Cousin. When I ask you to go back, I mean back to Yuhang. You meddling in the Marquis manor’s family affairs will not help you or my mother,” Luo You said.
Bai Ci Rong stared at him, dumbfounded.
Her breaths came faster. She could hardly believe it.
How could Luo You ignore close and distant relatives like this?
Could he not recognize his own blood kin?
The moment Brother Luo Yin saw Bai Ci Rong, he had known that the two of them were brother and sister by blood and took special care of her. Why did Luo You feel no natural closeness to her at all?
“You have no right to drive me away,” Bai Ci Rong snapped. She flicked her sleeve and strode off.
As for the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor, it had only risen from a third-rank military general’s noble household. Its roots were shallow. Bai Ci Rong did not look up to it at all.
It had no right to keep her. She only needed it as a stepstone for now.
When she soared in the days to come, she would see how these people knelt on the ground and wagged their tails to beg.
“It is only Chunshan Academy. No one even knows what back door he used to get in, and already Luo You is this proud. What right does he have!” she thought.
Sweat ran down Bai Ci Rong’s face as she walked back to the East Main Courtyard.
Madam Bai asked her how it went.
Bai Ci Rong added oil and vinegar to the story, told Madam Bai everything, and cursed Luo You up and down while she was at it.
Madam Bai was also furious to the extreme and told people to go grab Luo You and drag him over.
But none of the maidservants or old maidservants in the East Main Courtyard dared to act rashly. No one obeyed her. Madam Bai was so angry she almost fainted.
She pounded on the bed table with all her strength and shouted: “This unfilial son!”
Seeing her look half mad, Bai Ci Rong felt a little afraid and also regretted that she had not held back her temper and had said everything.
“Mother, do not take him so seriously,” Bai Ci Rong said.
Madam Bai thought about how Luo You would soon go out to study and would often not be at home. It would be even harder to get close to him.
He would spend fewer and fewer days at home. Now was a key time, yet she could not go out to see him and had missed the chance.
Madam Bai felt restless and irritable.
But when she thought of how Qiu Shi Dong would be coming to the capital in a few days, her mood finally eased a little.