Chapter 169
Chapter 169: The Prince Praises Luo Ning Again
After Xiao Huai Feng finished listening to her, he turned his head and looked at her.
In the late afternoon, there was thin light in the carriage, and the air was slightly cold. Her eyes looked even brighter in the dimness, black and white clear, clean and bright.
Xiao Huai Feng felt that he had been tired these past few days and could not stand hearing things that were too complicated.
So, listening to Luo Ning simply describe a small scheme was like drinking a light, warm cup of tea. It put him in a rather good mood.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “You act with caution. That is very good.”
Luo Ning smiled: “Thank you, Prince.”
Then she quickly added: “My whip technique has improved a lot. I want to show Prince.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “You have always worked hard. Improvement was only a matter of time.”
Being praised twice in a row, Luo Ning felt flattered and a little shocked.
After they returned to Prince Yong’s residence, Xiao Huai Feng took off his outer cloak and boots, tucked the hem of his long robe into his waistband, and changed straight into a short fighting outfit. Then he took Luo Ning to the training grounds.
He used a long sword still in its scabbard as his weapon and said to Luo Ning: “Come.”
Luo Ning answered: “Yes.”
She took out the bullwhip of cow tendon that Xiao Huai Feng had given her and lashed it toward him.
He barely moved. His long sword, like a wandering snake, wound around Luo Ning’s whip.
In just a few breaths, Luo Ning’s whip was caught tight by his scabbard and was about to be pulled from her hand, but she held on and moved closer to Xiao Huai Feng.
While they were struggling, Xiao Huai Feng purposely showed an opening. In the end, Luo Ning did not truly know martial arts. All her attention was on her whip. She pulled hard at once, wanting to snatch his weapon away, but Xiao Huai Feng’s hand was already at her neck.
Luo Ning was speechless.
He did not use much strength and only meant to make a point. Luo Ning did not dare move where she stood.
[You can even do that?]
Xiao Huai Feng let go and said: “When you use a long whip, you are fighting at long range. Once the distance gets too close, you are sending a sheep into a tiger’s mouth. Your whip technique really has improved a lot.”
Luo Ning said: “I lost this badly.”
[How could he still be praising me?]
[Could it be that Prince Yong has had something to be very happy about lately and is in a strangely good mood?]
He said: “If you can last a few moves against me, you can still hold your head high even in defeat.”
Luo Ning had nothing to say.
[This Prince really does have reason to be so proud.]
Luo Ning felt that she had lost completely. Even though her whip was still in her hand and had not been taken, her life had almost been taken instead.
But Xiao Huai Feng still said her whip technique had reached a small level of success. He even praised Lin Zhao a few times, saying she had taught well.
On the way back, Luo Ning voiced her doubts.
Lin Zhao laughed and said: “Princess Consort, in such a short time your whip technique can already wrap around the Prince’s sword. That means you have worked very hard. The Prince thinks you work hard, and that I teach well.”
She went on: “If you want to fight back and forth with the Prince, you will have to practice for at least another twenty years. The Prince has trained in martial arts since he was small, and his talent has always been higher than other people’s.”
Luo Ning understood.
Her mood improved a lot at once.
There were many benefits to practicing with the whip.
Every day, Luo Ning had one more thing to do, so life did not feel dull. Each time she practiced until she broke a sweat, her mood felt clear and light.
Her wrist strength had increased a lot, and her handwriting was stronger than before. Now that she had more strength, her writing actually looked even more graceful and beautiful.
She also had one more way to protect herself.
Luo Ning said to Lin Zhao: “The Prince has been praising me often lately.”
Lin Zhao laughed and said: “The Prince only has strict standards. His character is not harsh.”
He had a very clear set of standards.
Once you met them, Prince Yong was very generous when he rewarded his subordinates. Because of this, he could win the kind of loyalty that was like that of men ready to die for him.
Luo Ning said: “So, that means he thinks I have met his expectations?”
Lin Zhao leaned closer and said in a very low voice: “Maybe it was because you killed Yu Zhuo that the Prince began to look at you in a new light.”
Luo Ning had no reply.
[As expected, only fighting and killing could satisfy Prince Yong’s expectations for his subordinates.]
Before that, Prince Yong had not scolded Luo Ning, but his eyes had held a helpless kind of compromise, as if he thought she was a hopeless case.
After the matter with Yu Zhuo, Luo Ning’s treatment had improved a lot.
With this new matter of the two Concubine Mei, Luo Ning had thought Prince Yong would surely be displeased. She had not expected him to actually praise her for being “cautious.”
Luo Ning said: “The Prince does not seem that hard to get along with.”
As long as someone had one solid achievement, he would acknowledge that person in his heart.
It was like in the Imperial Court: once you made a contribution, you would be granted a noble rank. From then on, you would have status and be treated differently in front of the Emperor.
Lin Zhao said: “The Prince has never been hard to get along with. He is clear about rewards and punishments. Once you know his rules, you only have to do things according to them.”
She added: “The Prince will also explain his rules clearly so his subordinates do not have to guess. For you, Princess Consort, he should have told you his rules too. What are they? Have you paid attention?”
Luo Ning said: “He said my methods were too soft.”
Lin Zhao said: “See? Once your ‘wrist strength’ improved, he became much more easygoing with you. The Prince has different expectations for each person. He will not mix them up and force you to do things you are not good at. As long as you do your best in what you are talented at, you will pass in the Prince’s eyes.”
Luo Ning understood.
Prince Yong felt that Luo Ning had some wit and strategy.
These plans should not be used only for small matters, or it would be a waste.
He hoped that after Luo Ning put in so much hard work, she could handle things in a deeper way and not waste her own efforts.
He wanted her to be a little more decisive in killing and cutting down her enemies.
In the matter of Yu Zhuo, Luo Ning had finally met Prince Yong’s expectations.
When Luo Ning returned home, she stood before the mirror and looked at her own neck.
There was no mark left. Prince Yong had been very measured in his strike. He had not meant to teach her a harsh lesson or hurt her.
But Luo Ning still thought about it for a long time.
Two more days passed. The sky cleared, and under the warm sunlight, the city of Shengjing regained a bit of late autumn warmth.
Someone from Prince Yong’s residence sent a message to Luo Ning.
Xiao Huai Feng invited Luo Ning to go to Fahua Temple to offer incense.
Luo Ning was a bit surprised, but she still spoke to her grandmother and asked her aunt to arrange a carriage. She went early to the foot of Fahua Temple’s mountain.
When she arrived and saw the scene, Luo Ning was even more surprised, because the abbot, First Seat Hui Neng, and several other eminent monks were all waiting at the foot of the mountain.
Prince Yong was there too. He wore a dark robe and stood in front, with several bodyguards behind him.
Luo Ning stepped forward and bowed: “Prince.”
Prince Yong gave a slight nod.
Luo Ning asked: “Is Imperial Mother coming to Fahua Temple?”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “No, Imperial Sister-in-law is coming. The Eldest Prince’s fever still has not gone down.”
Luo Ning was stunned.
[Has the situation at court changed after my rebirth?]
[It cannot be that the Emperor does not die, and the Eldest Prince dies first, right?]
[That child was already weak and still so young.]
Luo Ning asked: “How many days has he had a fever?”
He said: “Today is the sixth day.”
And it was a high fever. Even if it dropped a little, it flared up again in less than two hours.
No wonder the Empress was almost driven mad with worry. The Empress Dowager was just as anxious.
In her previous life, at this time Luo Ning had not yet become a ghost, so she truly did not know whether the Eldest Prince had been this seriously ill or whether he had gotten better.
Even after becoming a ghost, she had not known everything.
While the two of them were talking, a carriage procession arrived.
At the front was a general in his fifties. He was tall and strong, towering like a mountain, and rode a sturdy, tall horse.
Behind him came four carriages and more than ten men who looked like household guards.
The general wore armor that looked extremely heavy. He looked big and strong, yet he dismounted with light and smooth movements.
Luo Ning had never seen Luo Chong Ye move that quickly and could not help feeling a bit of admiration.
The general walked up to Prince Yong first and said: “Prince.”
Prince Yong nodded: “You have worked hard, Duke of the Realm. Where is the honored guest?”
The carriage curtain was lifted. Empress Zheng, dressed like an ordinary noble madam, slowly stepped down from the carriage after a “house guard” placed a footstool.
Compared with two days ago, she had put on some powder, but Luo Ning still felt that she had become much thinner.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “It is not early anymore. Let us go up the mountain first.”