Chapter 149
Chapter 149: Switching Sides at the Last Minute
Luo Xuan looked at Luo Ning, and Luo Ning looked back at her.
“Elder Sister, is there some misunderstanding? I don’t understand what you are saying,” Luo Xuan said. Her expression was full of doubt and fear, but she blinked on purpose, trying to look innocent and clueless.
Luo Ning gave a faint smile and said: “Pretend I never said it.”
She did not talk to Luo Xuan anymore.
The inside of the carriage suddenly fell silent.
Luo Ning closed her eyes to rest. After a moment, she heard Luo Xuan’s low voice: “Elder Sister, I didn’t listen to anyone’s orders. I just want to go to the banquet and see the world.”
Luo Ning did not open her eyes and said in an offhand way: “All right, I know.”
“Elder Sister…”
Luo Ning’s eyelids did not even move.
“Elder Sister, I can’t help it either. My leg never gets better,” Luo Xuan’s voice suddenly choked. “My future is in Mother’s hands.”
Luo Ning opened her eyes and saw tears gathering in Luo Xuan’s eyes.
“Second Sister, do you really put the blame for your leg on me? Think it through carefully,” Luo Ning said, her gaze turning cold.
She went on: “From beginning to end, did I ever provoke you? Put your hand on your heart, strip away those people’s fake excuses, and think back over the whole thing yourself!”
Her words were sharp.
Luo Xuan’s tears could not be held back. “I brought it on myself,” she said.
“No, you were forced,” Luo Ning said.
Her voice was firm and steady: “You are only a concubine-born daughter, and your concubine mother is gone. When the Marchioness tells you to do something, how could you dare refuse? Even if you had some selfish thoughts, that is only human. Even sages think of themselves a little.”
Her tone was sure, and her eyes were sincere.
Many people yield to kindness but not to harshness. When someone suddenly hears an “enemy” speak up for them, their feelings often fall apart at once.
Tears streamed down Luo Xuan’s face. “It was Madam and Bai Ci Rong who harmed me. They forced me,” she said.
Luo Ning nodded.
This was exactly how she should think.
It was also the truth.
“Yes. The Marchioness holds your life and death in her hands. Anything she orders you to do is not your choice. She forces you and then still wants you to say you did it ‘willingly.’ That makes the crime even heavier,” Luo Ning said.
She continued: “Last time, Second Brother’s maid Chun Tao was threatened with marriage to a drunk who had beaten his wife to death, and they ordered her to frame me. Tell me, was that Chun Tao’s fault?”
“Of course not!” Luo Xuan said, now even more certain.
“My aunt and I thought the same, so we did not punish Chun Tao. We even gave back her deed of sale,” Luo Ning said.
Luo Xuan stumbled to her knees in front of Luo Ning and said: “Elder Sister, you must save me.”
Luo Ning helped her up and said: “Sit down.”
With just a few sentences, she had broken through Luo Xuan’s defenses.
Before this, Luo Ning had never thought about winning Luo Xuan over, because everything about Luo Xuan depended on the Marchioness. Luo Ning had no say in her interests and knew that any side Luo Xuan chose would not be stable.
But now the Marchioness was no longer strong, and Bai Ci Rong had left the Luo family. Luo Xuan’s future was in the hands of the new head of the household.
In the future, her marriage would be decided by the household’s new matriarch, Second Madam, not by the Marchioness anymore.
Luo Xuan should also see that the Marchioness was doing worse every day. It would be as hard as climbing to the sky for her to take back control of the household again.
The reason she still obeyed and followed orders was simply that no one stood up for her, and she had been used to being afraid since she was young.
On top of that, she thought she and Luo Ning were mortal enemies and that Luo Ning hated her deeply, even though she was the one who had been hurt.
But when Luo Ning told her that the wrong things she had done were only out of helplessness and that Luo Ning did not hold a grudge, Luo Xuan’s defenses instantly collapsed.
With the example of the maid Chun Tao in mind, Luo Xuan felt that Luo Ning and Aunt really were a bit gentle and forgiving. Her future did not seem so frightening anymore.
“…Elder Sister, if I turn back from the wrong road, can you save me?” Luo Xuan asked, choking up as she grabbed Luo Ning’s hand.
Luo Ning patted her hand and said: “We are blood sisters. When one prospers, we both prosper. When one is hurt, we both hurt. Of course I will save you.”
Then Luo Xuan told Luo Ning, in full detail, everything the Marchioness’s steward and head maid had forced her to do.
“…I don’t want to keep doing such dirty things, but I have no way out,” Luo Xuan said. “Father never cares about me. My leg is bad. In the future, if Mother casually sells me as a concubine to some widower, Father will not say a single word for me.”
She added: “I am willing to make up for my mistakes, as long as Elder Sister is willing to give me a way to live.”
“If you trust me, Grandmother will take care of your matters,” Luo Ning said.
Luo Xuan thanked her.
They talked a little more, and Luo Ning told her to follow her instructions.
After they straightened their clothes and makeup, the carriage arrived at the Marquis of Jian Ning’s estate.
The gate was packed with carriages, and honored guests filled the place. It was very lively.
The women of the Luo family and the women of the Zhou family arrived together. A young madam from the Wang family led them toward the garden hall where the banquet was held.
On the covered walkway, Luo Ning ran into some familiar people.
It was Yu Zhuo and his mother.
They greeted each other. Madam Yu seemed very surprised and said: “Eldest Miss, you came to the banquet too?”
“The Marquis of Jian Ning’s household invited me. Of course I cannot let down our host’s kindness,” Luo Ning said with a smile.
Madam Yu said: “I thought…”
She stopped halfway on purpose, letting her words hang and stir people’s imagination.
But Luo Ning ignored her and turned to talk with the Zhou family’s physician instead, leaving Madam Yu standing there.
Madam Yu felt extremely awkward.
Yu Zhuo’s face darkened.
But he did not look pitiful. He was tall and straight, with bright eyes, and still carried the proud bearing of a valiant cavalry general.
His mother had said he had sunk into despair and drunk all day, but that was clearly a lie. One look at his upright figure, as firm as a pine tree, showed that he had never stopped training.
“A’Ning, how have you been lately?” Yu Zhuo asked.
Luo Ning acted as if she had not heard. Luo Wan had already stepped in front of her on purpose, blocking Yu Zhuo.
Madam Yu was even more furious.
She wanted to say something, but she did not dare to make a scene at the Marquis of Jian Ning’s estate.
If she lost face there, it would make things even harder for Yu Zhuo.
The garden hall for the banquet was divided into two sides, separated only by a screen. The main seats were up on a raised platform, where one could look down over the whole hall. Men sat on the left and women on the right. A tall stage had been set up, and a clown role was bustling about and making jokes on it. The place was very lively.
After everyone took their seats, Luo Ning sat at the front on the main seats with Madam Bai and her aunt. Luo Xuan and the others sat behind them on the secondary seats. Each person had a small low table in front of them with wine and drinks set out.
Guests arrived one after another, and then the hosts appeared.
Luo Ning saw the Marquis of Jian Ning and his wife, as well as several important members of the Wang family.
That included Fifth Master, whom she had seen last time.
He stood on the high platform, his gaze not blocked by the screen. He glanced over the seats and saw Luo Ning.
Then he moved his eyes away.
The Marquis of Jian Ning laughed loudly and said: “Today, my niece from the fourth branch has her hairpin ceremony. I am very grateful to all of you for coming. The wine and dishes are simple. Please do not mind if we do not serve you well. Let us begin the feast.”
Maids began to serve the dishes.
After everyone had drunk a cup of wine, the adopted daughter of the Marquis of Jian Ning’s household finally appeared in front of them.
Third Madam of the Zheng family had done her hair and set the hairpin, then led her out.
She wore a pale purple dress with an apricot-white kesi jacket over it. Her bearing was elegant. Her face was refined, charming, and bright.
Someone drew in a sharp breath.
Someone whispered: “They chose this adopted daughter well. She is truly good-looking.”
“I heard this young lady’s reputation was not good, yet the Wang family still took her in. Now that I have seen her, she truly has something special,” another person said.
With her beauty, Bai Ci Rong had already convinced most of the people present. Eight out of ten of them felt that with the great tree of the Marquis of Jian Ning behind her, she would be extremely noble.
Those old “bad names” almost no longer seemed important.
Now she was Fifth Miss Wang. This identity alone was enough to let her leap up in one step.
When the Marchioness, Madam Bai, heard the murmurs around her, a smile appeared at the corners of her lips, and light returned to her eyes.
When Luo Ning looked at Bai Ci Rong, she found that Bai Ci Rong was also looking at her.
Her eyes were full of a smile and shone like stars. Bai Ci Rong’s smile was beautiful and seductive, with a hint of innocent evil. It was extremely charming.
In this, Luo Ning could never compare. She simply lacked that touch of seductive charm.