Chapter 19
Chapter 19: They Just Call Her Princess Consort
The Marchioness Madam Bai’s carriage set out first, accompanied by her trusted aide, Nanny Zhen.
Nanny Zhen had been by Madam Bai’s side since she was seven. Later she became Madam Bai’s dowry maidservant, then was married to a servant boy and became a steward nanny.
In her childhood Nanny Zhen had been beaten, had difficulty bearing children, and later her husband died of an epidemic. She was left alone and had stayed by the Marchioness’s side ever since.
She was the Marchioness’s right-hand woman and executioner, and the only person who knew all of the Marchioness’s secrets.
The Marchioness’s heart trembled as she said: “…Fu Ling, have I been too harsh to A’Ning?”
She could not bear it.
She did not like Luo Ning and felt annoyed whenever she saw her, but Luo Ning was still her daughter.
Drugging her daughter, even knowing it would not take her life and would only make her suffer a day of rashes, still left her uneasy.
Her inner emotions always went against her reason.
Nanny Zhen held her hand and said: “Madam, you are doing this for the eldest young lady’s good. You are also helping Miss A’Rong find a path.
“A bowl of water has to be held level. If the eldest young lady receives too much, the water will overflow. By cutting her back a little, you are piling up blessings for her.”
The Marchioness slowly let out a breath and said: “What you say is very true.”
Then, as if to make up for it, she added: “If A’Rong were this dazzling, I would also press A’Rong down a bit and give A’Ning some chances.”
“Yes.” Nanny Zhen sighed softly. “Miss A’Rong is too pitiful. She is a step lower in everything, yet she is clever, quick, and filial. No amount of love you give her would be too much.”
The Marchioness persuaded herself and finally felt she could breathe.
They traveled along the road, and the coachman did not notice that Luo Ning’s carriage behind them had disappeared. He only focused on driving forward.
The closer they got to the foot of the Imperial City, the more crowded it became. Horses and carriages jammed the road until not even water could get through.
Luo Ning’s carriage squeezed along the side roads, avoiding several main roads leading to the Imperial City, and soon reached the back gate of Prince Yong’s residence.
She got off the carriage, took out the command token, and said: “I want to see the chief steward.”
When the personal guard on duty at the back gate saw it, he did not ask her to wait. Instead he immediately said: “Princess Consort, please come inside.”
Luo Ning was slightly surprised.
The imperial edict granting the marriage had not even been issued yet. She only held a command token, and they were not even calling her the intended consort, but directly calling her Princess Consort?
“Is this command token unusual?” Luo Ning glanced down at it.
She took the maidservant Qiu Hua with her and followed the Prince’s Manor’s personal guard inside to look for the Prince’s Manor’s chief steward.
She wanted to ask the chief steward to help her and take her into the Imperial City through the northwest gate.
Shoucheng Palace was closer to the northwest gate.
Luo Ning needed to see the Empress Dowager before the Marchioness did, so that no new problems could arise.
The Marchioness had already made up her mind to hide her.
She was not allowed to show her face.
If Luo Ning was the proud sun rising over the horizon, then Bai Ci Rong was the dew of dawn. The dew relied on the flower petals and was extremely beautiful, but once the sun rose, it would be wiped away.
If people first came to know Luo Ning, the legitimate young lady of the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor and the Empress Dowager’s lifesaving benefactor, then in the future her cousin would always have to move under Luo Ning’s halo.
Then it would no longer be possible for the Marchioness to “pass off the inferior as the good” again.
To plant the first impression and confuse people’s judgment, the Marchioness would definitely try today to keep Luo Ning from appearing at Shoucheng Palace.
In her previous life, after she fell into the water and developed a fever, the physician prescribed medicine that could not even lower her temperature. Wasn’t that just an excuse to pen her up at home and forbid her to go out?
The spring banquet in the first lunar month was the liveliest social occasion in Shengjing. If the spring banquet was handled well and one got to know many people there, only then would one receive invitations to the various banquets for the rest of the year.
This year was the first spring banquet after Bai Ci Rong’s hairpin ceremony, and it was extremely important to her.
It was just as important for Luo Ning.
While Luo Ning was thinking this, they arrived at the main courtyard of the Prince’s Manor.
The personal guard reported her arrival, and to her surprise, someone inside invited her to come in.
Luo Ning was stunned.
She had come to see the chief steward. What was she doing here?
Prince Yong should have gone to court early in the morning. The court session on the day of the New Year’s audience started very early.
Yet when Luo Ning stepped through the courtyard gate, she saw Prince Yong, Xiao Huai Feng.
Xiao Huai Feng was tall and straight. On the day of the New Year’s court audience, he wore a Prince of the Blood’s ceremonial robe and crown. Dragons were embroidered on his sleeves, and his crown had nine strands of beads, setting off his graceful bearing.
His eyes were dark and bright, and they rested quietly on Luo Ning.
Then his brows knitted slightly as he said: “On the first day of the new year, you are going into the palace to beg for food?”
Luo Ning was a little taken aback: “Prince…”
“Zhou, deputy general, go to the storeroom and find a cloak for the intended consort. If she dresses so shabbily, the married noblewomen will only think that the Imperial Mother is treating you harshly,” Xiao Huai Feng said, not giving her a chance to speak.
Luo Ning was speechless.
After Xiao Huai Feng finished giving orders, he finally asked her: “What have you come here for?”
“The road is too crowded. I am afraid I cannot get there in time to see the Empress Dowager, so I wanted to find the Prince’s Manor’s steward and go in through the northwest gate,” Luo Ning said honestly, not daring to play any tricks.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “You will enter the palace with me.”
While they were speaking, Deputy General Zhou brought over a silver fox fur cloak and handed it to Xiao Huai Feng.
With no expression on his face, Xiao Huai Feng said to Luo Ning: “Take yours off and put this on.”
Luo Ning answered and quickly took off her own cloak.
The silver fox fur cloak was not only light but also especially warm. It was a hundred times more comfortable than the one Luo Ning had been wearing and looked far more luxurious.
She thanked him.
Xiao Huai Feng took her into the palace and told her to leave her coachman and maidservant at the Prince’s Manor.
She agreed without a word of complaint, and Xiao Huai Feng’s brows relaxed a little.
A black, flat-topped carriage drove out from a side gate of the Prince’s Manor. It was extremely low-key.
In the carriage, Luo Ning finally asked the question in her mind: “Prince, you are not going to the court session?”
“The court session will not end until the end of the si hour. It is enough for this king to catch the tail end,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
Luo Ning was speechless.
Matters of the imperial house were not for her to manage, so she did not ask further.
Once the carriage left Prince Yong’s residence, it would take less than a quarter of an hour to reach the northwest gate of the Imperial City.
But before they even got close to Golden Water Bridge, an eight-horse carriage in front blocked the way.
The road here was narrow, and security had been increased for the New Year’s Day court audience, so the carriages could not pass for the moment.
While they were blocked, another carriage came up behind them.
Prince Yong’s four-horse black flat-topped carriage was too low-key and ended up squeezed in the middle. The coachman behind them actually shouted harshly: “Get out of the way, move!”
The curses came closer.
Luo Ning lifted the carriage curtain a bit and saw a coachman stride up to Prince Yong’s carriage, arrogant and overbearing: “Are you deaf when I talk to you? Hurry and move aside. Do you know whose carriage is behind you?”
Prince Yong’s coachman was tall, dark, and strong. Hearing this, he only gave him a faint glance and said: “The carriage in front cannot move, so we cannot move either.”
“You move first!”
Just as Luo Ning was about to lower the carriage curtain, the curtain of the carriage behind them was also lifted, and she saw the faces of two young people.
A man and a woman.
The man was dressed in luxurious clothing, and it was a bright red, marking him as a scion of a noble family. The woman’s cheeks were full and her features delicate, but when she looked at people, her eyes gazed up from below.
The woman opened her mouth and said: “Stop wasting words. Smash this carriage.”
Her voice was gentle and pleasant, even carrying a hint of playful petulance.
The man, however, laughed and said: “Fourth Sister, don’t be so impatient.”
Then he added: “Just push this carriage to the side and we can squeeze past.”
After that, he raised his voice and said: “Young lady, this is the Zheng Family’s carriage from the Duke of Yan’s residence. You can switch over and ride with us.”
Luo Ning quietly glanced at Prince Yong’s expression.
To dare cause trouble beside Golden Water Bridge in the Imperial City, they really had to be people of the Zheng Family.
They were probably the brothers and sisters of the Empress, Madam Zheng.
Prince Yong was deeply devoted to the Empress and, loving her, loved those close to her as well. He probably would not let the Zheng Family’s people be put in a difficult spot.
She was just about to say something when the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted.
Right after that, the man in the bright red cloak stuck his head inside.
He glanced toward Luo Ning and had not even had time to let out a cry of amazement when Prince Yong’s foot kicked toward him.
Luo Ning heard a sharp cracking sound.
Either teeth had been knocked out, or a nose bridge had been broken.