Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Breaking the Deadlock
On the day of the Little New Year Festival, the weather was rarely clear.
But it was even colder.
The treetops were covered in a thin mist that had frozen into ice, so from afar they looked as if snow rested on every branch.
Only the green bamboo was still lush.
Luo Ning ate breakfast early, then went to her grandmother’s West Main Courtyard.
By the time she arrived, her sister in law, the aunts, and her cousin were already there. Her grandmother was still in the inner room dressing.
A maid brought in tea, and Luo Ning greeted everyone.
Her sister in law barely responded. Because her brother had been beaten and left out in the cold, she held a grudge against Luo Ning.
Luo Ning sat for a short while, then went into the inner room to help her grandmother with her hair and clothes.
A little later, the Marchioness and Bai Ci Rong arrived as well.
“…Everyone sit down,” the Marchioness said with a smile. “There is nothing much to do before lunch. Go to the Old Madam’s Buddha hall and copy Buddhist sutras to show your filial piety for her. In the whole year, it is only today.”
Everyone agreed.
Luo Ning supported the Old Madam out of the inner room.
The Old Madam wore a long robe of royal blue. Her hair was pinned with gold and sapphire ornaments. Even though the jewelry was expensive, it only made her look more kind and gentle, not more imposing.
In contrast, Luo Ning’s mother had only been a first-rank titled madam for three years, yet the air of dignity and luxury on her seemed already carved into her bones.
“Grandmother, this hairpin looks so pretty,” Luo Ning’s younger half sister, Luo Xuan, said.
The Old Madam smiled and said: “A’Rong gave it to me on my birthday last year.”
“No one but you could wear this kind of sapphire,” the Marchioness, Madam Bai, said with a smile.
Everyone began to flatter her.
The Old Madam glanced at Bai Ci Rong standing quietly nearby and nodded in satisfaction.
Bai Ci Rong was very beautiful, but not loud or domineering. She was pleasing to look at. To everyone in the Marquis Manor, she was extremely generous, giving them precious gifts far beyond what they could ever use.
The Bai family of Yuhang in the Liangzhe Circuit had made an amazing fortune through sea trade.
Otherwise, a merchant’s daughter like Madam Bai would never have been qualified to marry a general.
Before Madam Bai married into the Luo family, the Bai family of Yuhang had already been quite wealthy, just not as rich as they were now. In the past ten years, after the sea ban was lifted, the Bai family seized the opportunity and quickly became the richest family in Yuhang.
Everyone in the Luo family envied the Senior Madam’s rich maiden home.
Every few days, the Senior Madam went back to visit and always brought back countless gifts. So the Old Madam and the other sisters in law never complained about how often she returned to her maiden family.
Even so, the Senior Madam would not use truly valuable things to support her husband’s family. After all, that did not sound very good.
But she had brought Bai Ci Rong over.
Using Bai Ci Rong’s hands, she had sent out more pieces of fine jewelry than anyone could count.
The Old Madam accepted them without having to bear the name of “living off her daughter in law,” so of course she was very fond of this cousin, Bai Ci Rong.
The Grand Master had also taken so many benefits that his hands were soft from them. Without saying it out loud, he knew that treating Bai Ci Rong well was the same as treating the God of Wealth well.
When the Old Madam stood up to go to the Buddha hall, Bai Ci Rong stepped forward to support her, but at that moment the Old Madam remembered her own granddaughter.
She looked at Luo Ning again.
Luo Ning had watched as everyone praised Bai Ci Rong, but her face did not show any disappointment.
She stood calmly at the back, the skin of her cheeks smooth and bright, with a slight smile on her face.
“A’Ning, come,” the Old Madam called to her granddaughter.
Luo Ning stepped forward and supported the Old Madam’s arm: “Grandmother, the threshold is high. Please go a bit slower.”
Bai Ci Rong’s expression flickered for a moment, but she quickly returned to a calm and composed look.
The Marchioness, Madam Bai, could only smile and take Bai Ci Rong by the hand as they went together toward the Little Buddha Hall of the West Main Courtyard.
“A’Ning and Miss Bai look so alike,” the Second Madam suddenly thought.
It was not common for cousin sisters to look so similar. Maybe it was because both of them resembled the Marchioness, Madam Bai.
This thought was lighter than the wind. It quickly passed through the Second Madam’s mind without leaving a trace.
When they entered the Little Buddha Hall, they saw a few pieces of broken jade at the door. The Marchioness spoke first: “What happened?”
The servants were about to explain.
The Old Madam glanced over and was about to explain, but the Marchioness, Madam Bai, went on: “Why do they look like white jade pieces?”
Bai Ci Rong also raised her voice slightly: “White jade pieces? Could they be from the Guanyin statue?”
Everyone hurried over and started talking all at once.
The Old Madam’s Little Buddha Hall had several Buddha and bodhisattva statues, including a very luxurious white jade Guanyin.
It had been a grand gift sent three years ago by Bai Ci Rong’s father, the Marchioness’s brother, when he came to the capital to congratulate his brother in law on receiving his noble title.
The white jade Guanyin was not only expensive but also had a special origin. It had been a sacred artifact placed for twenty years in the Guanyin Temple by the South Sea by a noble lady, and later had been lost overseas.
The Bai family had happened to obtain it.
After the Old Madam received this statue, she treated it like a treasure. Two grand madams from powerful noble clans of the Inner Capital had even come as guests just to pay respects to the Guanyin.
It was not just precious. It was also the Old Madam’s dearest possession.
So when they saw broken pieces here, everyone grew tense.
“It cannot be. There is always someone watching the Little Buddha Hall. The white jade Guanyin cannot have anything wrong with it,” Bai Ci Rong said, comforting her aunt.
The Marchioness’s heart was in her throat.
“Yes, our household has had smooth sailing lately, nothing unusual. How could there be any problem with the white jade Guanyin?” the Third Madam said.
Everyone followed the Old Madam into the hall.
The white jade Guanyin sat on the main altar, its jade warm and smooth. With lowered eyes, it looked gently down at everyone.
The women of the Luo family all let out a sigh of relief.
Only the Marchioness and Bai Ci Rong had a slight change in expression. Even though they wanted to hide it, they could not smooth it over in time.
“Mother, don’t worry. The statue is fine,” Luo Ning said.
Everyone looked at the Marchioness.
The panic and shock in the Marchioness’s brows had not yet faded. She simply stopped hiding it, lightly covering her chest: “My heart is pounding. I was really scared.”
The Old Madam smiled kindly: “You are all too easily frightened. Early this morning, A’Ning wanted to offer a white jade ruyi scepter in front of the Buddha. Who knew that her young maid was so clumsy and broke the jade ruyi scepter.
“I told her to clean it up, but she did not sweep it all away. I was about to explain just now, but before I could speak, all of you were already so worried.”
Everyone understood.
Bai Ci Rong could not help but look at Luo Ning, and Luo Ning happened to be looking back at her.
When their gazes met, it was like blades clashing, sharp and screeching, enough to make one’s heart grow cold.
Bai Ci Rong lowered her lashes.
The emotions in the Marchioness Madam Bai’s eyes also would not calm for a long while.
She also glanced at Luo Ning.
Luo Ning met her gaze and said: “Mother, don’t be afraid. How did you get so frightened?”
“That Guanyin statue is too valuable, and it is a sacred artifact. Of course I was worried,” the Marchioness said.
“The statue sits firmly in the hall. A gust of wind cannot blow it over. No one would dare to deliberately push it down, so under normal circumstances it cannot break. Mother, what are you afraid of?” Luo Ning asked.
There was a strange deeper meaning hidden in this sentence.
The Second Madam and the Third Madam had long been secretly watching the Marchioness Madam Bai’s expression and now pretended to glance at her by accident. Luo Xuan, the younger half sister, felt a chill in her heart.
The Old Madam held Luo Ning’s hand: “You are right. All of you don’t need to be so nervous. Now that A’Ning has returned, our family has someone who brings prosperity. Nothing bad will happen.”
Everyone agreed.
In the morning, the Old Madam chanted sutras while everyone else copied them.
Luo Ning sat quietly and did not let her mind wander even for a moment. She finished writing a whole scroll of sutras.
After she finished, she knelt devoutly in front of the Buddha and did not open her eyes for a long time.
Her cousin Luo Wan thought in her heart: [What is Eldest Sister praying for, to be this sincere? Compared to us, Eldest Sister already has so much. Yet she still prays with such focus. What is she hoping for in her heart?]