Chapter 133
Chapter 133: Luo Ning’s Ruthless Move
Luo Ning and Xiao Huai Feng kept the Empress Dowager company for lunch.
After lunch, the Empress Dowager went to take a nap. Luo Ning and Xiao Huai Feng went to a side hall to cool off and drink tea.
Luo Ning said: “Chang Ying Grand General has grown thinner these days.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “It is too lazy to eat.”
Luo Ning said: “Next time it is listless, send someone to call me. I will play with it.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “It has training. It is not just for playing.”
Luo Ning was speechless.
This man had high demands for himself, and he had high hopes for his dog too.
When Luo Ning was with him, she always had to look for topics to talk about. Otherwise they would only sit there in silence.
If they were two people with an ordinary relationship, sitting in silence like that would not matter. But as a subordinate, she could not be rude in front of her master.
So Luo Ning had to find something to talk about.
She said: “A few days ago, when my father punished the servants, he accidentally beat an old maidservant to death.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “Why did he use such a heavy hand?”
Luo Ning explained the whole thing to him.
She also mentioned the banned book Collected Commentaries on Wild Boar.
Xiao Huai Feng had been listening in a careless way at first. Only when the banned book that could wipe out nine generations of a family came up did he turn his head to look at Luo Ning.
He asked: “A book like that is not easy to get in the capital. You cannot buy it just anywhere. Do you have any guess who planned this?”
He always saw further into a matter.
Luo Chong Ye had not even thought to ask this question.
Luo Ning said: “It was not bought by Nanny Zhen. It should have been that cousin. Lately she has been very close to the Marquis of Jian Ning’s residence. If the Luo family falls and I die, the Marquis of Jian Ning’s household will naturally be pleased. Of course, that cousin and Qiu Shi Dong will be even happier. They hate me very much. They definitely blame the Imperial Merchant case on me.”
Bai Ci Rong had not said where the book came from, but it was definitely not given by Bai Yu Lin.
Bai Yu Lin was a Luo family in-law. He was not as crazy as Madam Bai.
As for Bai Ci Rong, she was about to leave the Madam Bai clan and become the Wang family’s daughter. She and Qiu Shi Dong could stay out of the matter.
[If they cannot get something, they will destroy it. Maybe Bai Ci Rong and Qiu Shi Dong are both that kind of person.]
There were only two possibilities: the book had come from the Marquis of Jian Ning’s residence, or from Qiu Shi Dong.
Luo Ning could not tell which of the two was more vicious.
Luo Ning said: “No matter who it was, I have taken note of it, Prince. Qiu Shi Dong has wealth and connections. The Marquis of Jian Ning’s residence is a century-old prestigious clan. If we move against them, it must be a single fatal strike. We cannot act rashly.”
Xiao Huai Feng had always disliked that her methods were too soft.
This time, he still felt that her strength was too light. She had not taken the chance to kill that cousin and had only killed an old maidservant.
But compared with last time, this time there was no impatience in his dislike.
He seemed to have grown used to the way she handled things.
Doing it little by little, simmering on a low fire.
That was also a kind of wisdom.
Luo Ning was not a woman with nothing but good looks. She also had some brains. She had simply seen too little killing. Her heart did not have a hard shell yet, so her way of dealing with things was softer.
Everyone had their own way. He would let her be. In any case, she had not suffered a loss and had not made Xiao Huai Feng lose face.
Luo Ning went on: “Nanny Zhen threatened my second brother’s maidservant, telling her to pass things along, or else she would marry her off to a thirty-year-old widower. That widower beat his last wife to death. He drinks and gambles. Only because he curries favor with my mother’s dowry maid is he still kept in the manor to feed the horses.”
The maidservant Chun Tao said she had no choice.
She was indeed selfish, but when a person is in danger, it is not strange for them to think of themselves first.
Nanny Zhen had only told her to carry the bundle, not to poison anyone. She was not truly evil.
Luo Ning said: “I did not punish her. I told Aunt to release Chun Tao’s deed of sale and drive her out. From now on she will have to make a living on her own.”
Xiao Huai Feng nodded.
Luo Ning added: “The little doll stuck with needles was made by me. When Nurse Song was searching, I used a chance when no one was watching to put it under Bai Ci Rong’s pillow.
“When I stuck the doll that stood for my father, I used thirty needles. On the one that stood for myself, I stuck eight needles. I do not know if it worked. These past few days my left upper arm has been sore. It feels like the retribution fell on me.”
Xiao Huai Feng was silent.
Luo Ning then laughed and said: “Sister Lin says I just practiced the whip too hard and pulled a muscle in my arm. She says she will massage it for a few days and it will be fine.”
Hearing this, Xiao Huai Feng gave her a look.
Luo Ning asked: “Is something wrong, Prince?”
He said calmly: “So Lin Zhao knows about this too?”
“Yes.”
“It seems you have something you want to say to me.”
Luo Ning was silent.
[He really is a sharp person.]
Luo Ning asked: “This time, Sister Lin also helped. She is really very good. I was thinking, can I keep her by my side in the future? Prince, do you have other duties planned for her?”
Luo Ning knew that Lin Zhao had been called back from another place.
She had not asked what Lin Zhao had been doing outside, but it was definitely not an idle job.
Xiao Huai Feng asked: “Does she herself want that?”
Luo Ning said: “I have not asked her yet. I wanted to ask you first. If you will not let her go, it would be useless for me to ask her.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “If she is willing, let her follow you in the inner residence from now on.”
Luo Ning thanked him: “Thank you, Prince. I will go back today and tell Sister Lin.”
Xiao Huai Feng went on drinking his tea.
Luo Ning found that every time she spoke with him, he sat straight and seemed to listen in a casual way.
Sometimes she suspected that he was distracted and not really listening, so she also spoke casually.
But in fact he always caught the key points in her words.
For example, when Luo Ning had argued that the soft whip was too heavy and it was not that her wrist strength was weak, he had gone and found her a lighter whip.
And for example, when she casually mentioned Lin Zhao, he noticed at once that Lin Zhao had helped and had already taken part in important matters in Wenqi Courtyard.
[They say he was born with a good memory. It really is true.]
While she was thinking this, the Empress Dowager woke up on the other side.
A palace maid brought water for her to wash her face, then helped her change clothes and comb her hair.
Luo Ning and Xiao Huai Feng also got up and went to sit in the main hall to wait for the Empress Dowager.
Just as the Empress Dowager came out, a eunuch reported: “Her Majesty the Empress has arrived with Master Sun.”
Luo Ning and Xiao Huai Feng both stood up.
A moment later, Empress Zheng came in.
She wore a light yellow everyday robe. Her hair was tied up high and held in place with a gold hairpiece inlaid with gemstones. She looked both dignified and fresh. In the heat of summer, her outfit was not heavy or fussy.
Empress Zheng smiled and asked: “Seventh younger brother, have you come to learn how to make a guqin too?”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “I only came to see Imperial Mother.”
He had heard that Luo Ning had entered the palace, so he had specially brought Chang Ying Grand General along.
At this moment, Chang Ying Grand General had eaten and drunk its fill and played to its heart’s content. It was in the side hall catching up on sleep, lying on its back with its belly turned up.
The Empress smiled brightly and said: “Sister-in-law must be here to learn the qin.”
Luo Ning replied: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Master Sun was already in his sixties and had not produced a new guqin in the last few years.
When the Empress Dowager invited him, he was neither arrogant nor overjoyed. He greeted her in a calm, simple way.
They chatted for a while first about small, everyday matters.
Luo Ning knew a little about the qin and listened with interest.
After that, Master Sun began to make a guqin for the Empress Dowager according to her wishes.
The Empress Dowager explained one by one her preferences for the top, the back, the strings, and the stand of the guqin.
Pieces of wood were carried in one after another.
Xiao Huai Feng seemed to grow interested and asked Master Sun: “Could you teach me too?”
Master Sun said: “Of course.”
Luo Ning watched from the side.
Xiao Huai Feng made a guqin himself and named it Spring Ripple. Luo Ning thought the name sounded nice and thought: [He actually has some taste.]