Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Madam Bai Reaps What She Sowed

Madam Bai picked up the book in confusion.

She flipped one page, then another, then a few more…

Her face turned very ugly. The powder on her cheeks floated up, making her look even more sallow and frightening.

“This…”

“What book is it?” Luo Ning suddenly spoke from the side. “Mother, why do you think A’You’s book is strange? What book is it?”

Madam Bai’s lips trembled.

[This might be my only chance. Did it fail too? No. I have to turn things around. Luo Ning must pay the price.]

Seeing Madam Bai trembling, Bai Ci Rong also walked over. Holding onto Madam Bai’s hand, she glanced through a few pages.

Sure enough, it was only Records of Great Peace.

Bai Ci Rong’s lips also trembled a little. She bit her teeth lightly, then forced out a smile and said to Madam Bai: “Aunt, there is nothing wrong with this book. Please put it down.”

Then she turned to the Marquis of Zhen Nan: “Uncle, Aunt is not feeling well. She wants to go back, take her medicine, and sleep. As for that small golden Buddha statue, we can look for it slowly later. If we cannot find it, Aunt will just give it up. Take it as losing some money to avoid disaster.”

She tried to help Madam Bai into the inner bedroom.

Nanny Zhen already knew something was wrong. Something had gone wrong with this book.

No matter what, she had to protect herself first and talk about the rest later.

“Yes, Lord Marquis, it is getting late. Madam has just recovered from a serious illness. She needs to rest,” Nanny Zhen said with a smile.

She then said to the Second Madam: “We have troubled you today. But people who run a household are always a bit fussy. Madam was like this before too. Second Madam, please be understanding.”

The Second Madam looked at one person, then another. She turned and asked the Marquis of Zhen Nan: “Lord Marquis, Madam lost a valuable golden Buddha statue, and we have already searched. Are we just going to drop it without finding the truth?”

Then she added, “Are the people of the Luo Family thieves?”

The speaker meant something by her words.

The listeners all understood.

Thieves?

The one who had stolen was not from the Luo Family, but Madam Bai.

The Marquis of Zhen Nan could hardly hold back the dark anger in his heart.

He gripped the armrest of the grand master’s chair hard. After a long moment, he said: “Since something was lost, how can we stop halfway through the search? Sit down. You have made such a fuss, so I have to give you an explanation.”

Nanny Zhen and Bai Ci Rong exchanged a look.

Madam Bai lost the strength that had been holding her up and suddenly felt weak.

She was still in shock, thinking: [Where did that banned book go?]

Nanny Zhen had threatened Luo Yin’s young maidservant Chun Tao and made Chun Tao give the bundle to Dong Yan. Everything had gone smoothly.

How had the book disappeared?

Luo Ning was a precious daughter raised deep in the inner courtyard. She had only gone to the Southern Region for a few years to recover from illness before coming out again. How could she know what a banned book was? Not to mention her, even Luo You probably did not know.

She might not have even read Records of Great Peace before. She would not be able to tell real from fake.

So how had it vanished?

This was such a good chance. She could force Luo Chong Ye to act against Luo Ning, while Madam Bai stood behind like the oriole watching the cicada, ready to capture the whole Luo Family in one net.

Qiu Shi Dong and Bai Yu Lin were still in the Capital City. They were both her helpers.

How had it all…

“What is this?”

While Madam Bai was still in a daze, Luo Chong Ye had already opened another bundle, which had been found in the East Main Courtyard.

Inside were two little human-shaped figurines, their bodies full of needles. One had Luo Chong Ye’s birth characters written on it, and the other had Luo Ning’s.

When everyone saw this, they all stood up and quietly stepped back a few paces.

Shock filled their faces.

The Second Madam was both shocked and angry. “How could there be such things?”

Luo Chong Ye pinched the two figurines in his hand. His face was a mix of blue and white.

He had endured so much for his daughter’s future, yet Madam Bai actually wanted him dead.

“Where were these found?” Luo Ning asked loudly.

A maidservant came in from outside. “Big Miss, they were found in the east room of the side wing, in the corner of a cabinet.”

Bai Ci Rong’s expression changed at once.

She lived in the side wing of the East Main Courtyard. The east room was her own bedroom.

“Nonsense.” Bai Ci Rong shouted at that maidservant. “Whose person are you? Who told you to frame me like this?”

She looked toward Luo Ning.

Luo Ning met her gaze. “Cousin, so you hate me and my father this much? No wonder my head has hurt every day these last few days, and my body has felt so tired.”

This sudden change stunned both Nanny Zhen and Madam Bai.

The Second Madam could hardly believe it. “Cousin, our Marquis Manor has not treated you badly. Sister-in-law treats you as if you were closer than her own child. Even the Lord Marquis knows this. Sister-in-law loves you far more than she loves A’Ning. How can you be so ungrateful?”

Bai Ci Rong seemed unable to stand steady. “You cannot slander me like this.”

Luo Chong Ye’s cheeks flushed red. He was furious to the extreme, his anger burning his face.

He squeezed out each word through his teeth. “You want to kill us, father and daughter?”

Luo Ning felt very disappointed and let out a soft sigh.

Her voice was very soft, yet very clear.

“It… it was not me,” Bai Ci Rong said. “I do not know anything about it!”

Madam Bai came back to her senses and hurried over to stand in front of Bai Ci Rong. “Lord Marquis, she would never…”

The Marquis of Zhen Nan raised his hand and slapped Madam Bai hard across the face.

She fell to the ground from the blow. One of her teeth was knocked out. Everyone could see her cheek turn pale, then slowly grow red and swollen.

Nanny Zhen went to help her up.

“Lock Cousin up first,” Luo Chong Ye said. “Send her to the authorities together with these cursed figurines.”

Madam Bai was stunned by the slap. For a long time, her ears buzzed, and she almost fainted.

Nanny Zhen stepped forward and knelt before Luo Chong Ye. “Lord Marquis, Lord Marquis, this is a frame-up…”

“And you, old hag, will be sent to the authorities too!” The Marquis of Zhen Nan spoke each word clearly. “The yamen will find out the truth. If you have been wronged, go explain it to the prefect!”

Bai Ci Rong also knelt down, crying and sobbing. “Uncle, it really was not me. Last time Nanny Zhen stuffed something into my trunk.”

Nanny Zhen stared at her in surprise.

The marchioness was a bit more clear-headed now. She crawled over and knelt too. “Lord Marquis, A’Rong would not dare to do such a thing. She is just a child. What does she understand? It was this old hag Nanny Zhen.”

“Is that so?”

Nanny Zhen looked at the marchioness and at Bai Ci Rong and knew she had been abandoned.

If she took a beating, maybe Madam would pity her and send her back to the Bai Family in Yuhang to live out her old age.

This beating, Nanny Zhen had to take.

“It was this old servant. Lord Marquis, it was this old servant who did it. I was only momentarily blinded and lost my mind. Lord Marquis, please forgive me!” Nanny Zhen kowtowed hard.

Luo Ning sighed again. “Nanny Zhen, doing something like this really chills people’s hearts.”

She looked at Luo Chong Ye, who was so angry he was almost roaring. “Father, give her a few strokes. After all, she is Mother’s dowry maid. If we send her to the officials, it will not look good for us.”

Then she added: “The Empress Dowager does not like these things.”

Last time Luo Yin had caused a big scene, the Empress Dowager had already hinted at this.

If there was any trouble in the Luo Family, it had to be kept in the dark. The Empress Dowager did not care about rumors, but if they reported something to the officials, there would be written documents. That was her taboo.

This was probably the first time in his life that Luo Chong Ye truly shared an understanding with his daughter.

“Men, drag her out and give her thirty strokes with the board,” Luo Chong Ye said. “Carry out the punishment right here. Madam, you and your niece will watch and remember this lesson.”

Soon, the men in charge of punishments brought in a bench and a long wooden plank.

Nanny Zhen had been prepared in her heart.

But when they stuffed her mouth to block her cries, she suddenly felt uneasy.

After the first stroke, she knew something was wrong.

It was too heavy.

There were rules about how the house guards used the board. Nanny Zhen knew very well that with strokes this heavy, her organs would rupture in fewer than ten blows.

No wonder they had to block her mouth.

She wanted to beg for mercy.

But it was too late for regret. The board came down on her body again and again.

The Marquis of Zhen Nan forced everyone to watch.

Madam Bai and Bai Ci Rong leaned against each other, not daring to look. Nanny Zhen stubbornly raised her head, wanting to beg for help, but soon a veil of blood covered her eyes.

She let out muffled groans of pain as blood flowed from her seven orifices.

The Second Madam also did not dare look anymore and turned her head aside.

Only Luo Ning did not look away for even a moment.

She remembered her previous life.

A banned book had been used to frame her for hiding it in private. To protect her, Qiu Lan had no choice but to admit the book was hers. Yet she had only bought Records of Great Peace and had been framed.

To protect Luo Ning’s innocence and her own, she had smashed her head into a wall and died.

Luo Ning had held her and watched her bleed like this.

When Madam Bai wanted to rush over to shield Nanny Zhen, Bai Ci Rong held her back with all her strength.

“A’Ning, you will not die a good death!” Madam Bai suddenly burst into loud sobs and cursed Luo Ning.

In the warm summer night wind, Luo Ning nodded lightly. “Yes.”

She had already died once.

[This time it is your turn, Mother.]