Chapter 205
Chapter 205: The Conceited Wang Tang Yao
The days of waiting for marriage were unbearably long for Luo Ning.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan Manor was filled with a tense atmosphere, and that included Luo Chong Ye as well.
On New Year’s Eve, the house was only modestly lively.
And for the Spring Banquet in the First Lunar Month, they only set a few tables and invited some relatives and friends. Everything was kept simple.
After the First Lunar Month was over, Luo You went to study at Chunshan Academy.
By his side, there was now a new pageboy, tall and sturdy. He was someone from Prince Yong’s manor, specially assigned to Luo You, both to protect him and to teach him martial arts.
Luo You focused on his studies and spent his free time in martial training. Every day he was very tired, ate a lot, slept deeply, and shot up in height much faster than Zhou Huai, changing almost day by day.
Luo Ning waited patiently for the wedding.
The days passed both very slowly and very quickly, and before she knew it, it was already the second month of the seventh year of Xiping.
There were twenty days left until Luo Ning’s wedding.
Everything at home had been prepared.
During this period, Prince Yong had gone out once and had not spent the New Year in the Inner Capital. Luo Ning did not know exactly what he had gone to do. Even the fact that he had left the city was something she only learned from Cui Zheng Lan.
Cui Zheng Qing had gone with him.
Luo Ning had to leave the house once because a country estate her grandmother had given her as part of her dowry had had some houses collapse in a heavy snowstorm at the start of spring.
Two pigs were crushed to death, and a steward’s leg was injured.
It was a country estate planted with osmanthus trees, with only four households living there. They were all servants of Madam Luo’s family, managing it on Luo Ning’s behalf.
Now that something had happened, Luo Ning, as the owner, had to show her face at least once.
She took her maidservants Qiu Hua and Qiu Lan, as well as Lin Zhao, and went together.
There was also a large residence on the estate, with two courtyards and more than thirty rooms front and back, all built of blue bricks and dark tiles, solid and sturdy.
“…First move into the main residence and live there for now. The houses will be rebuilt,” Luo Ning told them.
She also gave them money to rebuild the houses and buy piglets to raise, and paid the steward with the injured leg three months of extra wages so he could rest and heal in peace.
Everyone was grateful.
Once everything was settled, Luo Ning returned to the city.
At the city gate, she ran into soldiers conducting inspections. She heard that there had been a murder case in the Dali Court recently, so people entering and leaving through the southwest gate were being checked more strictly.
Luo Ning got out of the carriage, and her carriage also had to be inspected.
There she ran into Wang Tang Yao, who was on duty.
He was wearing official robes, sitting to the side with a serious expression. He did not step forward to inspect anything himself, only supervised.
When he saw Luo Ning, his gaze shifted slightly.
Luo Ning, on the other hand, instinctively glanced at his right hand.
He stood up and walked over. Keeping a proper distance, he did not even salute. He spoke in a light tone: “Miss Luo, are you here to look for me about something?”
Luo Ning was stunned for a moment.
[ I was only passing by. How did this become me coming to seek him? ]
Luo Ning was not quick to show her emotions on her face, so she did not immediately reveal her displeasure. By the time she realized it and wanted to frown, it would have seemed too deliberate.
“I am just returning to the city,” she said in an even cooler tone.
The corners of Wang Tang Yao’s mouth pressed down.
At such close distance, Luo Ning could see his eyes clearly. His eyelids were thin, the crease shallow and neat, and the outer corners tilted up slightly, making his features look vivid and striking.
But his expression was so serious.
Looking at him again, she saw that he was not just serious, but also very self-important.
He disdained to show a pleasant face to anyone.
Wang Tang Yao spoke again: “I do not know any more about what happened at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple than you do. If you have questions, there is no need to ask me.”
Once the officials finished their inspection, Luo Ning turned and got back into the carriage, not paying him any more attention.
Prince Yong’s arrogance was the natural overflow of a powerful noble’s status. Wang Tang Yao’s arrogance, however, came from conceit, which made it especially irritating.
Sitting back in the carriage, Luo Ning was still a little speechless.
She said to Lin Zhao and the others: “He actually thought I went there on purpose to look for him.”
“Maybe too many people are always circling around him, trying to get close,” Lin Zhao said. “That young master really is very good-looking, even a bit better than Young Master Cui.”
Before that, Lin Zhao had always thought Cui Zheng Qing was especially handsome, unrestrained and elegant, the top handsome, elegant young master in all of Shengjing.
“That is still no reason to be so arrogant,” Luo Ning said. “It is not as if I have never seen a beauty before.”
Her mother was very beautiful, and she had been used to seeing that since she was young.
“Big Miss, you are a beauty yourself. Why would you need to look at anyone else?” Qiu Hua said.
Luo Ning could not help laughing.
She asked Lin Zhao: “Sister Lin, do you think Wang Tang Yao’s right hand is ruined or not? When he was talking just now, I stared at it several times.”
“No,” Lin Zhao said with certainty. “It is just a small external injury. It should only have been dislocated.”
“…He is really lucky,” Luo Ning said.
But it made sense. Luo Ning had been even luckier that day. She could not be the only one to gain all the benefits while everyone else only suffered misfortune.
As Luo Ning thought of herself, she felt relieved.
“On that day, Wang Tang Yao wanted to kill me,” Luo Ning told Lin Zhao and the others.
Their faces all changed slightly.
“These powerful nobles are all cruel and ruthless,” Qiu Hua said angrily. “You did not even offend him.”
Luo Ning fell silent for a moment and thought: “Leave it for now. I will deal with it after the wedding.”
This trip out only made Luo Ning more determined that before the wedding, she would not take another step outside Wenqi Courtyard.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the wedding.
Luo You returned from the academy. He would be the one to carry Luo Ning on his back to the bridal sedan.
On the nineteenth day of the second month, Luo You sat in Wenqi Courtyard chatting idly with Luo Ning.
“Tomorrow, you will be someone from Prince Yong’s manor,” Luo You said.
“I have looked forward to it for a long time,” Luo Ning said.
This was not the end of a battle, but the beginning of one.
If she won, she would conquer city after city, gain great merit, and from then on have her own status and freedom.
Defeating Madam Bai and the others had only been for revenge. It was cutting off the vines that had tried to strangle the Luo Family, a cleaning up. The “battle” in Prince Yong’s manor was what would let new branches grow. That was her new beginning.
The sunlight and lychees of Shaoyang were all very beautiful.
“Big Sister, I am still at home, so you can marry with an easy mind,” Luo You said.
Luo Ning smiled: “Alright.”
As the two siblings were chatting, their Sister-in-law Madam Wen came to Wenqi Courtyard, bringing Luo Ning’s nephew Luo Li Qin with her.
Madam Wen had been pretending to be ill for some time.
After Luo Ning’s wedding, Madam Wen would probably have to leave the Marquis of Zhen Nan Manor and go to Shaoyang.
“A’Ning, this is for you,” Sister-in-law said, taking out a red lacquer box. “Just a little something to add to your dowry chest.”
Luo Ning took it and said: “Thank you, Sister-in-law.”
“Once you are married, you will be a Lady from now on,” Sister-in-law said. “It is a pity I cannot stay long in the Capital City to help you.”
Luo Ning smiled: “I will take good care of myself. Sister-in-law, you do not need to worry about me.”
“I heard that at the beginning of the third lunar month, the Secondary Consorts will enter the manor?” Sister-in-law asked again.
“Yes,” Luo Ning said.
“If in such a short time you cannot get a firm hold on the Inner Residence, then do not arrange for the Secondary Consorts to stay the night yet. A’Ning, at a time like this you must have a thick skin. Do not be soft and lose the upper hand,” Sister-in-law said.
After saying this, she realized it was a bit inappropriate, as her Brother-in-law was still sitting right there.
Luo Ning quietly told her: “I have already made arrangements in the Inner Residence ahead of time. Do not worry, I know what I am doing.”
Only then did Sister-in-law nod.
She sat for a short while more, then got up and left.
Luo You said that their Sister-in-law was a kind and good person.
“…Back then, when she was pregnant, Madam Bai brought in people who deliberately rubbed and pressed her belly, making the child inside move out of place. After that, Bai Ci Rong invited a renowned physician to help her safely give birth to A Qin. All of this was so Bai Ci Rong could smoothly make the Marquis Manor owe her a great favor,” Luo Ning said.
Luo You had not known about this.
He turned pale with shock and was utterly stunned: “What if it had failed…?”
“If it had failed, they would have just married another wife for Brother,” Luo Ning said.
What did one corpse and two lives mean in the eyes of Madam Bai and Bai Ci Rong? In Luo Yin’s eyes, they were not worth anything either. They had never thought much of Madam Wen, who had a quiet and gentle nature.
A fierce shiver ran through Luo You.
“Does Sister-in-law know about this?” he asked.
“I have always wanted to find a chance to tell her, but I do not know how to start. It is better if she does not know, so she does not have to be afraid,” Luo Ning said.
Luo You was speechless.