Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Diverting Disaster
The Princess was in the main hall, accompanied by the Head Monk.
Seeing Luo Ning and Prince Yong come in, she smiled and waved: “A’Ning.”
Luo Ning walked forward a few steps and stopped at her side: “Imperial Elder Sister, you came a bit early.”
“I could not let you wait too long.” The Princess’s smile was gentle. She glanced at Luo Ning again, and her smile grew even warmer. “I should have come later.”
Luo Ning: “…”
The Head Monk preached the scriptures to them. Xiao Huai Feng had only just sat down when a Deputy General came to seek him.
The Princess glanced over but did not say anything.
After an hour, the lecture finally ended. Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple had prepared a vegetarian banquet. The Princess took Luo Ning by the hand and was about to go eat, when she saw her consort coming.
“…What is it?”
“Nothing.” The consort smiled and said: “Seventh Younger Brother asked me for a small favor just now. I have already helped him.”
The Princess frowned: “He came to you last time too. Why is he coming to you again this time?”
Xiao Huai Feng walked over.
He swept his gaze quietly over everyone: “Go have the vegetarian banquet. Once you are full, we will talk slowly.”
The Princess did not ask further.
After the meal, the four of them sat in a meditation room. The consort said to the Princess: “Seventh Younger Brother heard that the bandits from Hongtian Stronghold have shown up again. He asked me to take his men up the mountain.”
The consort had originally served in the Suburban Garrison Camp.
After he married the Princess, he resigned his post. But in his early years he had several great merits in catching bandits and spies, so Xiao Huai Feng often came to him for help.
The consort was naturally happy to do his part.
“Wasn’t that Hongtian Stronghold already broken up?” the Princess asked.
“There are still remnants,” the consort said. “They came out again this time, and I heard someone is sheltering them.”
“Who?”
“Uncle,” the consort said.
The “Uncle” he spoke of was the head of the Cui family, a Grand General holding heavy troops in his hands.
The Princess had a good relationship with this Uncle. When she heard this, her face changed: “Nonsense!”
Xiao Huai Feng’s tone was very calm: “It will be investigated. But we found a corpse. It was probably silenced by the bandits. He was one of Uncle’s men.”
“Absurd! How can what a subordinate does be counted on my uncle’s head?” the Princess said angrily. “If Imperial Mother learns of this, she will be furious.”
Her consort gently held her hand: “Do not worry. It will be made clear. The net has only just been drawn in. They still have to interrogate slowly.”
Xiao Huai Feng picked up a cup of tea and took a slow sip.
His gaze was cold and still, his emotions unreadable.
It was getting late. The Princess and her consort returned to their residence, and Luo Ning also went down the mountain.
“We should have enjoyed ourselves today, but all these petty matters disturbed us,” the Princess said to Luo Ning. “I will invite you out another day.”
“Imperial Elder Sister, we are family. You do not need to be so polite. Today’s vegetarian banquet was excellent,” Luo Ning said.
The Princess nodded.
She looked at Xiao Huai Feng: “You send A’Ning back to her manor.”
On the way back, Xiao Huai Feng told Luo Ning that everything was ready.
First they would pin the bandit case on his Uncle. Then they would slowly pull on the threads and shift everything onto the Marquis of Jian Ning’s household.
He would make all the arrangements in advance.
“…Madam Luo, A’Ning.”
Luo Ning sat a bit straighter: “Prince, please instruct me.”
“I want to praise you. You handled things well today, very neatly,” Xiao Huai Feng said. “You did not act on impulse, and you did not lose your nerve.”
“Thank you, Prince,” Luo Ning said.
Thinking of that hand crossbow, Luo Ning added: “It was a gift from Sister Lin. It is a pity about it.”
“I will have someone find you a better hand crossbow,” Xiao Huai Feng said. “That one was ordinary. It did not deserve you.”
Luo Ning looked at him.
It was not a matter of deserving or not. That was a gift from Lin Zhao.
No matter what it was like, Luo Ning treasured it. Wasting it on Yu Zhuo had always felt not worth it.
Xiao Huai Feng looked back at her, his eyes deep and quiet: “Even though I praised you, you still must guard against pride. Madam Luo, A’Ning, your methods can be a bit tougher.”
He took her hand again, his voice strangely gentle: “Eat more. You really are thin.”
After he finished, he let go.
Luo Ning agreed softly.
She returned to the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor. Lin Zhao did not come back until dusk.
Luo Ning asked her how things had gone.
“The Prince’s people have taken over. We do not need to worry about it,” Lin Zhao said. “Princess Consort, were you afraid?”
“At the time, I kept pressing down my anger,” Luo Ning said. “Before I went, I never thought Yu Zhuo would be that vicious. When I acted, I was so angry I did not have the mind to be afraid.”
When she thought about it afterward, it felt unreal. She still did not feel afraid.
“If you do get scared, tell me. I will talk you through it,” Lin Zhao said.
Luo Ning nodded.
“Sister Lin, that crossbow…”
“It was able to help the Princess Consort. That is a great honor. Even if it is broken, it ‘died where it should’,” Lin Zhao said.
Luo Ning held her hand: “Thank you, Sister Lin.”
Lin Zhao lightly patted the back of her hand: “Princess Consort, it is my duty to be loyal to you.”
Luo Ning’s eyes grew slightly hot.
The late autumn night was heavy with dew. After washing up, Luo Ning lay down. Her mind was very calm.
She had thought she would have nightmares and think wildly about many things that night, yet nothing happened.
Like this silent night, even the wind moved slowly, without any ripples.
She slept until dawn.
Nothing happened with Ping An in the morning. By dusk, her Aunt came to Wenqi Courtyard.
“…Your second uncle said Yu Zhuo is dead,” Aunt told Luo Ning.
Luo Ning gave a small laugh: “What rumor is that?”
“It is true!” Aunt’s expression was full of doubt and shock. “The exact cause is still being checked. It seems Yu Zhuo met with the bandits from Hongtian Stronghold. Maybe they could not agree on something and he was silenced. This even involves General Cui.”
Luo Ning’s face grew very still for a moment.
Then she frowned: “He is really dead? What on earth is going on?”
“I do not know. Your second uncle said the yamen has not figured it out yet. After the Emperor heard about the remnants of Hongtian Stronghold, he was furious and even summoned General Cui to the palace,” Aunt said.
Luo Ning’s face slowly darkened: “It should not drag our family into trouble, right?”
“Of course it will not.”
“After a few days, once things are clear, I will ask Her Majesty the Empress Dowager about it,” Luo Ning said.
Another two days passed, and people in all the markets and alleys had heard about it.
The twenty year old Valiant Cavalry General was young and promising. He was somewhat famous in Shengjing City.
His death stirred up many ripples.
“He was one of General Cui’s men. The Cui family must have thoughts of betrayal and used a subordinate to contact the bandit remnants.”
General Cui came out to explain. After Yu Zhuo returned to the capital, he had not yet reported for duty, and General Cui himself held no official post. Yu Zhuo did not count as his subordinate.
“This Valiant Cavalry General had an affair with the Wang family’s adopted daughter at a banquet in the Marquis of Jian Ning’s manor. To protect her adopted daughter’s reputation, Madam Wang used the bandits’ hands to kill him.”
Some people guessed it that way.
In the Imperial Court Hall, there were fierce arguments.
When the Emperor heard that several remnants of Hongtian Stronghold had been captured, his mood improved a lot.
He sat and watched the officials argue.
Some tried their best to smear the Cui family. Some took the chance to drag the Marquis of Jian Ning’s household down with them.
Instead, Yu Zhuo’s death itself became meaningless.
“That Miss Bai really is a bit cursed. Anyone who provokes her will have bad luck.” A madam from the Zhou family came to visit and gossiped with the Second Madam.
These words slowly spread among the great houses of military merit.
Madam Wang was furious and once again wanted to drive Bai Ci Rong out.
“She is a jinx,” Madam Wang said to the Marquis of Jian Ning. “We cannot keep her.”
The Marquis of Jian Ning was also at his wits’ end and was starting to waver.
But Qiu Shi Dong seemed to have gotten a clear answer.
So, Luo Ning was that powerful. She could kill without a sound. Even a general could die quietly in her hands.
No wonder A’Rong could not beat her.