Chapter 189
Chapter 189: Red Bean Cake for Two Houses
Since Madam Bai could not stir up much, any conflict in the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor was only a small ripple.
It almost did not affect Luo Ning at all.
One morning, when they woke up, the wind was blowing and the weather was clearly turning colder again. Luo Ning discussed with her grandmother going to stay for a while at Prince Yong’s hot spring villa.
But the Grand Princess Jia Hong’s manor sent someone to invite Luo Ning.
“Luo You’s matter was helped by Lu Shan Academy. I should still go thank the Princess in person,” Luo Ning said to her trusted aide.
Qiu Hua was combing her hair and asked: “Do you want to send a gift?”
“We do not have anything very impressive to give,” Luo Ning said. “Nanny Kong, did you make red bean cake last night?”
“I did. Did you not say you wanted to eat some, Miss?” Nanny Kong answered.
“Pack a little for me. I will give it to the Princess. She probably will not care for the things from our house anyway, so I will just send a token of my feelings,” Luo Ning said.
At the side, Lin Zhao wanted to speak but stopped.
“Sister Lin, what do you want to say?” Luo Ning asked.
“Did you not already give this to the Prince last time?” Lin Zhao asked.
“Yes,” Luo Ning said.
Lin Zhao fell silent.
She thought that Luo Ning was giving the same gift to whoever she met. If the Prince knew, he might not be pleased.
But it did not seem wrong either.
There were only a few kinds of cakes they could make at home.
Nanny Kong took out a very fine small food box. It was black lacquer with gold-wrapped corners, small yet ornate.
“Miss, do you want to wear earrings?” asked Qiu Lan, who was doing her hair.
Luo Ning noticed that Qiu Lan had already put two pearl hair flowers in her bun. It still looked too plain, so Qiu Lan took out a pair of long tassel earrings made of pearls and ruby and asked if she wanted to wear them.
The cloak they had taken out was apricot white. She had only put on a layer of powder and drawn her eyebrows simply. The whole look was really too plain.
Since the Grand Princess Jia Hong usually dressed in rich clothes and was coming especially as a guest, Luo Ning nodded and told Qiu Lan to put the earrings on her.
She regretted it as soon as she put them on.
They were not very heavy, but she still felt they were dragging down. Her ears hurt and she had the illusion that her head was about to fall forward.
“Just bear with it,” she told the mirror.
Qiu Lan laughed and said: “They look very nice.”
Luo Ning took Qiu Hua with her when she went out. Qiu Hua carried the food box for her.
But at the gate of the Grand Princess Jia Hong’s manor, she ran into Xiao Huai Feng.
Xiao Huai Feng looked as if he was just passing by. He wore a dark cloak, still embroidered with cloud patterns in gold thread. He looked both solemn and luxurious.
He was the first to dismount.
“Prince,” Luo Ning said as she stepped forward to greet him.
Xiao Huai Feng looked her over, his eyes growing a little darker, and said: “What business do you have at Aunt’s place?”
“I do not know. The Princess sent someone to invite me,” Luo Ning answered truthfully.
“You put a lot of effort into dressing like this,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
His tone did not sound quite right.
Luo Ning was confused.
She had not dressed up much. She had only added a pair of earrings.
When she lifted her eyes, she saw that this Prince’s gaze was as cold as frost, almost overflowing with displeasure.
When Luo Ning had put on these earrings, she had already felt they were too heavy. When she sensed something was wrong, she should have taken them off. That had been a sign from Heaven Above.
She had only thought she could endure it.
Now that he was questioning her right to her face, Luo Ning had to force her mind to turn quickly to think of an excuse.
“When I go out as a guest, I should dress more richly so as not to embarrass the Prince. These earrings were given by the Prince,” Luo Ning said.
In fact, she did not know where these earrings had come from.
But in her heart she was betting that Xiao Huai Feng would not remember what he had given her.
He had given her many things.
“I gave them to you, and you wear them for others to see?” he asked in a cold voice. “When you go to the Prince’s Manor, you do not wear them?”
“I am not going to the Prince’s Manor. I am going back to the Prince’s Manor. Prince Yong’s manor will soon be my home too. Going out as a guest is not the same as going home, Prince,” Luo Ning said.
As expected, Xiao Huai Feng was choked by her words. After a moment of silence, he finally said: “You are simply too sly!”
While the two of them were talking at the gate, someone came out to greet them.
It was actually Pei Ying.
Pei Ying glanced at the two of them, then turned to Prince Yong and bowed before asking: “Prince, what brings you here?”
“I have something to say to Aunt,” Prince Yong said.
“Please, Prince,” Pei Ying said lightly.
The slightly cold winter wind brushed past his face, but it could not take away the gentleness and calmness in his bearing.
Prince Yong gave Luo Ning a look.
Only then did Pei Ying turn to her: “Miss Luo…”
Before he could finish, Xiao Huai Feng had already spoken: “Call her Princess Consort.”
Pei Ying seemed taken aback and said: “The wedding has not yet taken place. It is not proper by the rites.”
“She has already received the investiture decree and seal of Princess Consort Yong. Even the ancestors of the Xiao family acknowledge her. You do not? Are you looking down on this prince’s Princess Consort?” Xiao Huai Feng’s eyes were dark, like black iron in winter, cold and sharp.
“Prince, this is the Princess Manor, not your Prince Yong Manor…” Pei Ying said.
Pei Ying’s face also darkened.
Even so, he still could not copy the stern air of a military general. He still carried the air of a scholar.
“The Princess Manor also belongs to our Xiao family. You can repeat this sentence to Aunt. Ask Aunt what family name the Princess Manor has,” Xiao Huai Feng said, stepping forward.
Luo Ning stood to the side and did not speak.
She did not even know how they had started arguing.
What had Pei Ying said?
Which words had touched Prince Yong’s sore spot?
At this moment, the head maid beside the Princess came over. She first bowed and said: “The Princess asks why Miss Luo has not arrived yet.”
“I am coming right now,” Luo Ning said.
Prince Yong was also about to go inside.
“Prince, the Princess has guests today. Please send in your visiting card another day,” Pei Ying said, blocking Xiao Huai Feng’s way.
“Do not ask to be beaten,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
He stretched out his hand and was about to start a fight.
The head maid pulled Pei Ying back and said with a smile: “Prince, please also come inside. The Prince is an honored guest. The Princess would be too happy to welcome you.”
Then she shook her head at Pei Ying.
Xiao Huai Feng ignored them and walked straight inside. His steps were much faster than Luo Ning’s, and in a moment he was already ahead of her.
Pei Ying and the head maid fell a few steps behind, and Luo Ning walked in the middle.
She could not catch up with Prince Yong, but she did not dare slow down on purpose to wait for Pei Ying either. So she carried the small food box and almost hurried forward as if rushing for her life.
By the time Luo Ning reached the main courtyard of the Princess Manor, Xiao Huai Feng was already seated.
The Princess was clearly a little surprised.
Luo Ning heard the Princess ask: “Did you come together with A’Ning?”
“Yes,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
Luo Ning was speechless.
He added: “I just happen to have something to say to Aunt.”
They had clearly just met at the gate, but his words made it sound like he had come to see the Princess on business and had simply come along with Luo Ning as a guest.
Luo Ning stepped over the threshold and bowed to the Princess.
“Sit down,” the Princess said with a smile.
Luo Ning handed over the food box and said: “Some small cakes, made at home.”
“You are very thoughtful,” the Princess said.
Before she could take it, Xiao Huai Feng very naturally took it first.
Not only did he take it, he even opened it to take a look and asked: “What kind of cake is worth you bringing here especially for Aunt?”
After he looked, he lifted his eyes and looked back at Luo Ning: “Red bean cake?”
“Yes,” Luo Ning said.
Xiao Huai Feng calmly put it down and said: “Change to another gift. Aunt does not like to eat this.”
“Who says so? If A’Ning gives it to me, I love to eat it,” the Princess said.
Her words were polite, but the smile had already left her face, because Xiao Huai Feng was being very rude.
He was a noble Prince, but he was also a nephew. The Princess Manor was not a place where he could do as he pleased.
When Pei Ying came in, the Princess’s expression was already not very pleasant.
“Huai Feng, tell me what you need to say first. After that, you can go take care of your business. I want to speak privately with A’Ning,” the Princess said, almost as if she were sending him away.
“It is nothing,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
The Princess was silent.