Chapter 198
Chapter 198: The Prince Teaches Luo Ning to Act Pitiful
Luo Ning also had worries in her heart.
That night, she still went back late to Wenqi Courtyard.
She was exhausted, coughing a little, and the wound on the back of her hand had been treated.
When she got home and saw Qiu Hua already at her side serving her again, Luo Ning could not help holding her hand tight: “I was so scared something would happen to you.”
Qiu Hua had held herself back for a whole day, and now her tears would not stop.
“This servant was scared to death,” she wailed and began to cry loudly.
Under the offering table, she had not held on tight enough by accident, and the young miss had fallen down. The mechanism would not open, and the main hall roof and the Buddha statues kept collapsing.
Qiu Hua thought Luo Ning would be buried alive.
In that moment, she had wanted to dig with her bare hands. But what if there was still a sliver of hope, and the young miss was not dead and was waiting below for people to save her?
Relying on Qiu Hua’s two hands alone was far too slow.
She rushed down the mountain at once, unhitched the horse from a cart, and galloped to Prince Yong’s manor.
Prince Yong happened to be at home.
Not only he was there, Prince Chen and Cui Zheng Qing were there too.
Prince Yong did not say a word. He told Deputy General Zhou to mobilize two hundred of his own regional troops and head to Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
He left Qiu Hua at the Prince’s manor and told her not to go make trouble, so they would not have to search for her later.
Qiu Hua did not even know how she got through that time.
She could not sit still.
The weak winter sun fell on her body, but it felt like fire, roasting every inch of her skin. Her body was cold, yet her heart was burning.
A maidservant at the Prince’s manor said her face was too pale and told her to drink some hot water to warm up.
At last she saw the young miss brought back. Luo Ning had only suffered some minor injuries.
At Prince Yong’s manor, Qiu Hua did not dare cry. She squeezed forward with all her strength to serve. She knew the young miss must be looking for her too. When the young miss saw her, she would feel at ease.
Only after they returned to Wenqi Courtyard did Qiu Hua finally burst into loud sobs.
Luo Ning and Nanny Kong and the others comforted her for quite a while.
Qiu Hua still did not feel she had cried enough. Her chest was too stuffed and uncomfortable, so she said to Luo Ning: “I-I’ll go cry a bit more at the gate.”
Luo Ning: “…”
She really went out.
“The family still doesn’t know, right?” Luo Ning could still hear Qiu Hua sobbing outside. She felt both sore and amused, and asked Nanny Kong and the others.
Nanny Kong said: “They all know. Old Madam sent people here several times. The Prince’s manor sent word that you had been taken back there, and only then did we dare relax.”
Luo Ning said: “Go tell everyone in the other courtyards that I’m back.”
Nanny Kong went.
As she stepped out of Wenqi Courtyard, she realized the inner courtyard had not been locked tonight.
Old Madam and the people in the other courtyards were still waiting for news.
One by one, they were all informed.
Old Madam came right away.
“…It’s just this little injury, it’s nothing serious,” Luo Ning held out her hand for Old Madam to see.
“Good people are protected by Heaven.” Old Madam held her right hand. “A’Ning, you escaped disaster once again.”
Luo Ning nodded.
An aunt brought Cousin Luo Wan, Sister-in-law, and Luo You; another aunt arrived a little later.
“Everyone go back. It’s late at night, A’Ning needs to rest,” Grandmother said.
Only then did everyone leave.
The inner courtyard was not locked until midnight.
Second Madam gave orders that the next morning they did not need to get up at the usual time. Everything could be delayed by two hours.
Luo Ning did not sleep well. It was like she was floating, always half-awake and half-asleep, unable to fall into deep sleep.
Her heart was still caught on what had happened at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
At that time, when she walked from that secret room toward the passage, only Wang Tang Yao followed her; there had been a pair of grandparent and grandchild still in the secret room. What had happened to them?
Just as they stepped into the passage, several people came down into the secret room. Who were they? Were they there to capture Luo Ning?
Qiu Hua said the whole secret room had collapsed. What about those people?
Luo Ning did not know them, but she could not help thinking in her dreams over and over whether that innocent pair of grandparent and grandchild had survived.
When the main hall caved in, how many pilgrims died?
If this whole matter had been planned by Grand Princess Jia Hong, was her target only Luo Ning?
In order to make it look like Luo Ning had disappeared, could the Princess really drag so many people to die with her?
Did she even reach her hand into the Buddhist order?
The Princess also worshipped Buddha.
Luo Ning woke up and saw that it was pitch-black outside. Her maidservant Qiu Lan was sleeping on the footstool, standing night watch. Her breathing was even, and she seemed to be fast asleep.
It was close to dawn.
Luo Ning did not move.
She turned the Buddhist prayer beads around her wrist. They were given to her by the Empress Dowager.
This time, she had been extremely lucky. If that secret room had not been there when the cave-in happened, could Qiu Hua have protected her? Would she have been kidnapped?
If she had been a step slower in finding the passage to the next secret room, would she have been buried alive?
When the rocks fell, if they had not injured Wang Tang Yao, would she now be a soul under his knife?
If any step had gone badly, Luo Ning would not be lying on this bed right now.
Half in a daze, Luo Ning finally dozed off at daybreak and had a very long dream.
In the dream, she was still in that secret room.
Luo Ning suddenly opened her eyes and for a moment did not know which was the dream and which was real.
Only when Lin Zhao’s voice sounded at the door, clear and bright, full of life: “Princess Consort, the Prince is here,” did everything become real again.
Sunlight and a sense of reality rushed in.
It was very cold outside, but the room was warm and cozy. Luo Ning was sure she had truly been rescued.
“Please ask the Prince to wait a moment. I will come out right away,” Luo Ning said to Qiu Lan.
Qiu Lan answered her.
When Luo Ning got up early, the back of her hand no longer hurt much. The skin had just been scraped off. The wound had not yet scabbed over.
A maidservant helped her wash and change clothes.
“How do you feel?” Xiao Huai Feng was sitting in the main hall. When he saw her, he stood up and asked.
“I am already fine,” Luo Ning said.
“Still coughing?”
“I did not cough at night. The room is warm,” Luo Ning said.
Xiao Huai Feng nodded slightly: “If you are well enough, let’s enter the palace and visit Imperial Mother. She was very worried. The Empress also sent people to ask after you.”
Luo Ning said: “All right.”
She had not eaten breakfast yet.
She invited Xiao Huai Feng to sit for a while in her side room and took out a few books for him to look at to pass the time.
Xiao Huai Feng went into her study.
Her study was on the inner side of the side room, a small inner chamber arranged in an elegant way. Luo Ning usually listened there when the two nursemaids taught her, and she also practiced writing there.
Her handwriting was quite good, neat and graceful.
On the desk, besides brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, there was also the soft whip he had given her.
Luo Ning had a simple breakfast, then went into the palace with Xiao Huai Feng.
It was cold in winter. Even though Luo Ning was bundled up, she still could not help coughing a few times.
Xiao Huai Feng glanced at her.
“…I just choked on a gust of wind,” she explained.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “When you saved Imperial Mother, you hurt your lungs. I heard that even after you recovered, you kept coughing?”
“Yes.”
“Later you went to the Southern Region to recover?”
“In Shaoyang it is like spring all year round. There is very little wind, it is always warm, so it rarely comes back,” Luo Ning said.
Then she added, “Prince, you don’t need to worry. This time I must have choked on dust. When dust gets into the lungs, it will be fine in two or three days.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “I am afraid Imperial Mother will worry.”
“I will try my best not to cough.”
“Don’t hold it in. Let everyone see that you went through a great disaster this time,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
Luo Ning glanced at him and said softly: “I will listen to the Prince.”
The Empress Dowager had not slept well all night.
When she heard that Luo Ning and Prince Yong had arrived, she sent out a soft sedan chair from Shoucheng Palace so they could carry Luo Ning inside and she would not get tired.
Luo Ning thanked her for the favor and then got onto the sedan chair.
At the gate of Shoucheng Palace, she ran into the Empress, who had come to pay her respects.
The Empress looked at Luo Ning sitting in the sedan chair and only after a long moment did a smile appear on her face.
Prince Yong walked beside them on foot.
When Luo Ning stepped down and finished giving formal greetings to the Empress, the Empress asked with concern: “I heard you were also at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple yesterday. Were you very frightened?”