Chapter 213
Chapter 211: Killing With a Borrowed Knife
The return banquet was very lively. Luo Ning sat among the crowd, accompanied by her cousin and her younger half-sister, Luo Xuan. She stayed reserved and did not laugh, but her expression was pleased. Anyone could see that she was proud and doing very well.
Second Madam was busy walking in and out. Third Madam had become more honest now. She had given up the idea of “seizing power” and helped Second Madam manage the affairs.
Grandmother sat with several other old madams.
“How is the Marchioness’s illness?” one relative asked. The question did not sound kind.
“On A’Ning’s wedding day, she forced herself to get up and send her off,” Old Madam said. “Maybe that tired her out. She has had a fever these past few days. Her health really makes people worry.”
“She needs a long time of quiet rest,” the relative said. “Lord Marquis is already over forty this year. If something happens… shouldn’t he take another wife?”
Old Madam’s face sank.
The relative was frightened by Old Madam’s sudden change of expression and fell silent at once.
The others quickly changed the subject and did not dare speak of it again.
The princess consort’s return this time was not only a feast for relatives and friends. In Shengjing City, all the meritorious aristocratic families also sent people to attend.
Among the guests, Luo Chong Ye was for a time the center of attention. He had not even drunk yet, but his face was already flushed with joy.
Bai Yu Lin had also come.
He sat there trembling, like a quail in the rain, without a trace of dignity. As an uncle, he should have been an honored guest, the guest of honor.
Partway through, Luo Chong Ye got up to change clothes.
Bai Yu Lin took the chance to stand up and followed him.
“Lord Marquis, I will return to Yuhang this afternoon,” Bai Yu Lin said. “What did the Princess Consort say in the end? Do you want me to take Madam back with me so she can rest there?”
Luo Chong Ye frowned.
He did not want Madam Bai to go back to Yuhang.
What would be the point of sending her back?
He wanted to send her out to a country estate instead, hold her life in his hands, and make her suffer.
He had not yet vented this anger.
“No need. You just leave,” Luo Chong Ye said coldly. “I will decide this matter. It is not for the Princess Consort to decide.”
“In that case, I will go see her and then take my leave,” Bai Yu Lin said.
Madam Bai was half-dead already. Luo Chong Ye did not fear that the siblings would cause any more trouble, so he carelessly nodded. “Go.”
Bai Yu Lin thanked him and turned toward the East Main Courtyard of Marquis Manor.
On the way to the small building where he would rest and change, Luo Chong Ye heard the sound of an argument behind a bamboo grove.
It was Luo You.
Luo Chong Ye frowned slightly.
This brat, why was he making a fuss on the day the Princess Consort returned home?
The other voice was Madam Wen’s. She was “just recovering from a serious illness”, and her voice was soft and gentle: “Second Brother, you misunderstood…”
“Sister-in-law, she is your relative. You should be the one to control her. My mother isn’t dead yet, and she already wants to make a match for my father. Can a person say things like that?” Luo You said.
Through the bamboo, Luo Chong Ye saw that the other woman was a sister-in-law of Madam Wen’s.
Madam Wen said to that relative: “You should go. Go quickly.”
Luo You refused to let it go and wanted to chase after her. Madam Wen grabbed her brother-in-law and said: “Second Brother, give your sister-in-law this bit of face. Don’t say any more.”
Luo You was young and hot-blooded. He was furious. “Sister-in-law, your relative talks nonsense, and she even chose my sister’s return day to do it. It’s really too much.”
“She was only asking,” Madam Wen said. “It’s all my fault. I overheard something. The Old Madam of Duke of Qin Manor was talking with Grandmother. She said she wanted to marry their young lady to Lord Marquis as his new wife.”
Luo Chong Ye felt his heart move.
Duke of Qin Manor was not as great a noble house as the Cui or Wang families, but it was still a meritorious great house. Its foundation was deeper than the Luo family’s.
If he could take such a madam as a second wife, young and noble, wouldn’t his days be even better, like icing on the cake?
[Why is Madam Bai still not dead?]
“Maybe I misheard,” Madam Wen added. “Second Brother, it’s all my fault for talking too much. Don’t make a fuss.”
Luo You was still unhappy. “Sister-in-law, you have to control yourself and stop talking nonsense.”
Madam Wen felt very awkward. “Yes, it’s all your sister-in-law’s fault.”
Luo You gave a cold snort.
Only then did the two of them see Luo Chong Ye.
They walked through the narrow path in the bamboo grove and came over to bow. “Father.”
“What were you arguing about just now?” Luo Chong Ye asked. “Why were you shouting at your sister-in-law?”
Madam Wen rushed to explain: “Father, A’You wasn’t being disrespectful to me. It was just a small misunderstanding. We have already talked it out. Isn’t that right, Second Brother?”
Luo You answered unwillingly: “Yes.”
He looked at Luo Chong Ye and said: “Father, I heard that a famous divine doctor has just appeared in Huzhou. Should we invite him to take a look at my mother’s illness?”
He added: “Huzhou is close to Yuhang. Maybe Uncle knows him.”
Luo Chong Ye’s heart was greatly moved.
“What do you know?” Luo Chong Ye shouted. “It’s your big sister’s return day. You don’t know how to behave at all. Go back and sit at the banquet!”
He then spoke to Madam Wen: “Instead of helping your aunt receive guests, you’re here gossiping with your brother-in-law. Even you can’t stay in your proper place?”
Madam Wen’s eyes flushed red at once. “Father, your daughter-in-law is at fault.”
“Go,” Luo Chong Ye said, waving his hand.
Madam Wen’s tears slid down. She answered in a small, wronged voice and left together with Luo You.
She slowly wiped away her tears.
Luo You looked toward where Luo Chong Ye had gone. His steps seemed to turn, as if heading toward the East Main Courtyard.
“Will he do what we want?” Luo You asked Madam Wen. “Should we…”
“A’You, you’re still young,” Madam Wen said. “Your sister-in-law is afraid you’ll regret it in the future, and even more afraid that some retribution will fall on you. After all, she is your mother. Leave it to your father.”
[If there really is retribution, let Luo Chong Ye be the one struck by lightning. His mind is full of crooked ideas anyway.]
Luo You nodded and did not say anything else.
The two of them went back to sit at the banquet.
On the way to the East Main Courtyard, Luo Chong Ye kept thinking about “the Miss of Duke of Qin Manor” and “taking her as a second wife”.
His blood rushed to his head. His feelings were stirred up, and he could not calm down.
He found Bai Yu Lin.
Bai Yu Lin was getting ready to leave. At the end of the second month, the wind already carried some warmth, but inside the East Main Courtyard of Marquis Manor, the wind was cold and gloomy, piercing to the bone.
He was afraid.
Madam Bai was so thin she looked like a skeleton. Her spirit was a complete mess.
She even held Bai Yu Lin’s hand and whispered: “When my son becomes Lord Marquis, I will still be the Old Madam. Brother, by then Marquis Manor will have our family name.”
Then she started crying again. “No, by then it will have Dong’s surname. He died so miserably. Luckily there is still the child.”
Bai Yu Lin was scared out of his wits.
If she talked like this, wouldn’t it ruin Luo You’s future?
If even a bit of this spread, not only would Luo Chong Ye never tolerate this son, but outsiders would also look down on Luo You.
Who would respect a son born from an affair?
Qiu Shi Dong had won all of Madam Bai’s heart. She no longer cared about her own children. She thought only about Qiu Shi Dong.
After he died, Madam Bai completely went mad.
Afraid of being dragged into this, Bai Yu Lin stood up to leave.
Madam Bai still clutched him. “Brother, aren’t you happy for me and Dong?”
“Sister, no one in our family forced you to break off your engagement and marry Luo Chong Ye instead,” Bai Yu Lin said. “You can’t blame us.”
“This is a grand plan between me and Dong. You don’t understand,” Madam Bai said. “You people who are short-sighted and vulgar don’t understand anything!”
Bai Yu Lin could not stand it anymore. He rushed out of the East Main Courtyard, with Madam Bai’s shouting still coming from behind him.
At the gate, he ran into Luo Chong Ye.
Bai Yu Lin’s heart gave a hard thump.
Luo Chong Ye’s expression was dark.
“What are you planning to do?” Luo Chong Ye asked. He had heard a few lines.
“I will leave at once,” Bai Yu Lin said. “Don’t worry. I will never come to Shengjing again.”
“Do you know that right now I want to crush you like an ant?” Luo Chong Ye said.
Bai Yu Lin was silent.
“I’ll give you something to do,” Luo Chong Ye said again. “If you do it well, I won’t hold anything against you.”