Chapter 135
Chapter 135: Luo Ning Deliberately Scolds Prince Yong
Luo Ning thought of herself. She wanted to send a river lantern for herself.
Soon the carriage reached the river crossing. From a distance, Luo Ning saw a group of people. There were Cui Zheng Qing and his younger sister, Prince Chen, and several people she did not really know.
Cui Zheng Qing greeted first: “Huai Feng.”
Luo Ning stared in surprise. Cui Zheng Qing wore a bright red robe embroidered with golden clouds, and a deep red belt inlaid with at least twenty tourmaline gems of all sizes. The bright red and green, together with his rich look, made him very eye catching.
Because of that, it was only a little later that Luo Ning noticed he had also pinned a pink hibiscus flower in his hair. The hibiscus was a pale pink, its petals simple. It was rarely used as a hair ornament, but it was indeed bright and striking.
Xiao Huai Feng asked him: “Are you going to pick a courtesan queen?”
Cui Zheng Qing did not mind and said: “It is rare to come out and have fun, so I dressed up a little.”
In the current fashion, only men from aristocratic families of merit had the right to wear bright red robes. His clothing was a sign of high status. Wearing flowers in the hair was also not only for women. Many handsome young men liked to wear flowers too.
Cui Zheng Qing already had a pair of affectionate eyes, fair skin, fine features, and a tall figure. Dressed like this, he was extremely beautiful. He also liked to dress himself up like a spray of flowers.
It was just that the people around him were all dressed as if they were going to a funeral, which made him stand out even more like someone begging for attention. When he was with other playboys, though, they would set each other off well.
Prince Chen said with a smile: “Get on the boat.” He wore an apricot white long robe. He was elegant and noble, like fine jade that had fallen into the mortal world.
Cui Zheng Lan was there as well. This time, Cui Zheng Lan was dressed as a woman. She wore an upper jacket with a silk skirt. Both were in very plain colors, with almost no visible patterns. She was completely different from her brother.
Cui Zheng Lan bowed: “Prince, Princess Consort.” It was a standard folded-sleeve salute.
Luo Ning and Xiao Huai Feng said nothing. Prince Chen laughed first: “You look proper now. That is rare.”
Then he said to Xiao Huai Feng: “Once a girl’s marriage is set, she understands manners. Look at A’Lan. The wild boy has also become a young lady of good family.”
Cui Zheng Lan fell silent.
Cui Zheng Qing looked at Luo Ning with a smile and said: “Princess Consort, hurry and praise her a little. She has been practicing at home for many days.”
Luo Ning could not help but laugh: “It is indeed very good. Your manners are all in place.”
Cui Zheng Lan’s face was expressionless, but the lift at the corner of her brows showed that she was pleased.
The group boarded the pleasure boat. The people who had been following them earlier were all their own maidservants, servant boys, and bodyguards.
The pleasure boat was like a small house, with carved beams and painted rafters. It had two levels. The lower level was set with simple tables and chairs, while the second floor was luxuriously furnished and surrounded by curtains. Silk hangings swayed with the river wind, soft and graceful.
Luo Ning followed them up to the second floor. Her maidservants and Lin Zhao stayed on the first floor.
There were a few serving maidservants standing with lowered heads inside the cabin on the second floor. Someone was sitting on a cushion behind a qin bench. When she saw them come upstairs, a maidservant helped her rise to salute: “Greetings to all the Noble Ladies.”
Luo Ning looked at her. She wore a dark green upper jacket and a bright red silk skirt. The jacket was embroidered with silver flowers and grass, and the silk skirt was embroidered with golden bamboo. The colors were extremely bright.
Her hair was piled up like clouds, and her skin was white and smooth. She wore no jewelry, and her makeup was very light, with only a thin layer of powder and a casual touch of rouge on her lips. It was a sharp contrast with the brightness of her clothes.
She was too striking and eye catching, beautiful in a very special way. Luo Ning’s eyes lit up when she saw her.
Cui Zheng Qing introduced her: “This is Lady Liu. I invited her to play the qin for us.”
Lady Liu was a Grand Master. On such an important festival as the Ulsheepana Festival, there were surely many noble households fighting to invite her, yet she had come here. Cui Zheng Qing had invited her on purpose.
Prince Chen smiled and said: “Please sit. I have long heard that Lady Liu’s qin skills are outstanding. It is truly an honor to see you today.”
Lady Liu returned the salute: “Your Highness praises me too much.” Only then did she sit down.
The pleasure boat moved forward slowly. Lady Liu began to play the qin.
Luo Ning liked the qin and knew many scores well, so she knew that Lady Liu was playing an old tune that everyone knew. But the more common the piece, the more it tested a person’s skill.
The sound of the qin poured down like a stream and lingered in the air. Everyone drank wine, listened to the music, and listened to Cui Zheng Qing tell gossip and interesting stories from the city of Shengjing. With him there, it was very lively.
Luo Ning sat below Xiao Huai Feng and found a chance to say to him: “Prince, I am going down to set river lanterns afloat. There is also one for Imperial Mother.”
Xiao Huai Feng nodded.
Luo Ning quietly stood up, went downstairs, found her maidservant Qiu Lan, and took two river lanterns. The maidservants and others were all sitting, eating snacks, and enjoying the view on both sides of the river crossing.
Luo Ning first set the Empress Dowager’s lotus festival lantern afloat. She pressed her hands together, her heart clear and calm, and only watched as this river lantern slowly drifted into the current of lights. Tonight the river at the crossing was full of river lanterns, like a net of lights, as if countless stars had fallen from the sky onto the water.
After she finished with the Empress Dowager’s lantern, Luo Ning set her own afloat. She recited a sacrificial text to the river lantern. When she finished, she pushed the river lantern onto the water and said to herself: “May I find peace.”
When she looked up, two pleasure boats were just passing each other. On the other boat, someone was also setting a river lantern from the rail. He seemed to have just finished. As he stood up, his gaze fell on Luo Ning’s face.
Luo Ning met his eyes. She did not know him. He was a stranger. But he was extremely good looking. The lantern light shone on his brows and eyes, and his face was very handsome.
As the pleasure boats passed, Luo Ning did not turn her head to keep watching him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he also did not turn his head to keep looking at her. She withdrew her gaze.
At this time, Xiao Huai Feng also came down. He was holding a river lantern in his hand. Luo Ning noticed that his river lantern was covered with writing, packed with tiny characters.
Xiao Huai Feng rarely spoke, but now he opened his mouth as if to explain: “People who died in war.”
Luo Ning said: “Prince, do you need me to recite a sacrificial text for you?” She remembered several such texts.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “That will do.”
Luo Ning took his river lantern and began to recite. This sacrificial text was quite long. She closed her eyes and recited slowly, focused on nothing else. Every word was like chanting a scripture, carrying her sincerity.
When she finished, she handed the river lantern back to Xiao Huai Feng. Xiao Huai Feng lit the wick. The river lantern gave off a warm orange glow in his palm. Then he gently set it down on the water. With the waves, it slowly drifted away.
Xiao Huai Feng asked her: “Who did you send your own river lantern to?”
Luo Ning told him honestly: “Myself.”
A hint of displeasure appeared on Xiao Huai Feng’s usually expressionless face. His brows drew together slightly: “That is unlucky.”
Luo Ning had not expected him to be superstitious about this and said with a laugh: “I am still young. I am not afraid of bad luck. I was just thinking, what if after I die there is no one to set a river lantern for me?”
In her last life, after she died, the Empress Dowager lit an everlasting lamp for her for more than ten years. But because she could not leave the palace gate and the Imperial Palace did not allow the Ulsheepana Festival to be observed, Luo Ning never received a single river lantern.
The only time the Empress Dowager had broken the rules and left the palace, she had almost died. It was Luo Ning who blocked that blade for her. Those events had happened years ago, yet in Luo Ning’s memory they were a whole lifetime away, impossibly distant.
Xiao Huai Feng suddenly continued: “If I outlive you, I will set one for you.”
Luo Ning said: “Thank you, Prince. Prince, if you die first, I will also set one for you.”
Xiao Huai Feng suspected she was getting back at him, because she was holding back a laugh. Her eyes were slightly curved, a bit sly.
Xiao Huai Feng had clearly spoken very sincerely, yet she had purposely cursed him. Her ways and heart were both soft, but she refused to suffer a loss. She felt that if he cursed her, she had to curse him back.
There were many things about Luo Ning that Xiao Huai Feng was not satisfied with. His cousin Cui Zheng Lan had once said to his face that he “had eyes higher than the top of his head,” but he did not agree. His standards were high, but not only for others. They were high for himself as well.
What he could do and others could not, he naturally looked down on. If Luo Ning were truly his wife, Xiao Huai Feng would definitely say a few harsh words to her.
But she was only a servant. It was normal for servants to be a bit stupid. Xiao Huai Feng could not be bothered to argue further.
He even took out a small box and handed it to Luo Ning: “This is for you.”