Chapter 226
Chapter 224: Luo Ning – Only Goes, Never Returns
Prince Yong practiced what he preached.
He had told Luo Ning that in the Inner Residence she should beat whoever ought to be beaten and kill whoever ought to be killed, and he really did follow that rule himself.
He could casually pick out some fault and then confine a Secondary Consort to her rooms.
Luo Ning thought of the second day after the Secondary Consorts entered the manor. Zheng Jia’er had been wild and unruly, and Luo Ning had lightly let her off. Her back turned cold at the memory. It was lucky she had not told the prince, or she herself would have been punished along with Zheng Jia’er.
After they entered the Main Courtyard, Luo Ning accompanied Xiao Huai Feng to the side hall and told the maidservants to set out the meal.
In the fresh bamboo shoot soup there was cured pork. It was salty and savory, the broth rich and the shoots crisp and tender. It tasted very good.
After Xiao Huai Feng finished one bowl, Luo Ning ladled him another half bowl and said: “Your Highness, have some more.”
He took it.
He did not talk much, but he seemed to be in a decent mood, a little better than before. The maidservants waiting on him were not as nervous.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “The bamboo shoots are good.”
Luo Ning said: “Fresh bamboo shoots are delicious no matter how you cook them.”
He said: “The braised pork is very tasty too.”
Luo Ning smiled and said: “Nanny Kong is the best at braising meat.”
She took the chance to flatter him and said: “If Your Highness has free time, you can often come to the Main Courtyard for meals.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “I will stay in the Main Courtyard for one month. The days I spent in the palace these last few days do not count.”
Luo Ning fell silent.
[So you even want to make up for the days you spent in the palace? Is that really necessary?]
She thought this to herself, but aloud she answered very neatly: “Yes, Your Highness.”
Then she asked him: “Your Highness, what dishes do you like? I will ask Nanny Kong to prepare them.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “I will just eat whatever you eat. You are more picky. The dishes you choose always taste good.”
Luo Ning again had no words.
With that mouth of his, even nice words sounded like he was mocking her. But it was fine. If Luo Ning liked what he said, she would take it that way; if she did not, she would pretend not to understand.
After lunch, Luo Ning invited Xiao Huai Feng to sit on the window-side heated bed in the inner room and helped him let down his hair.
Luo Ning said: “Your Highness, you tied up your hair right after washing it. If you do not let it dry, you will have headaches when you are old.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “There is no need to call a maidservant in to serve me. You do it.”
The maidservants who served in the inner room were all close attendants, people Luo Ning was used to using.
They were her trusted aides.
When they faced Xiao Huai Feng, they were always very nervous, which was hard on them.
Since Xiao Huai Feng had spoken, Luo Ning was happy to let her own people relax a little. She personally stepped forward and loosened his hair.
She took a comb, half-kneeling behind him, and combed his hair smooth.
His hair was thick and not very long, but smooth and black and glossy.
He asked: “Do you want to let your hair down too?”
Luo Ning’s hair had already been half dry before; by now it was almost dry.
Luo Ning said: “No.”
“Aren’t you afraid your head will hurt?”
Luo Ning said: “Walking back and forth, my hair will dry on its own. If I let it down, I will not feel like going to Linhua Courtyard to watch the guqin being made.”
He said: “You do not need to go. What is there to see in carving a guqin? It is very dull and boring.”
As he spoke, he turned slightly and casually pulled apart her hair bun.
The bun Luo Ning wore had been tied rather loosely to begin with.
He did not bother to pick up a comb. His fingers slid through her dark hair, smoothing it once from top to bottom.
Luo Ning’s scalp tingled for no reason.
She shifted to the side and said: “Your Highness, I will comb it myself.”
Xiao Huai Feng did not say anything more.
The husband and wife both had their hair loose as they sat on the window-side bed. They almost looked as if they were about to take a nap.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “The Jiangnan region is having a drought during spring planting. I am afraid I will have to make a trip there.”
Luo Ning said: “Your Highness can just focus on your work. You do not need to worry about the affairs of the manor.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “Do you not want to go have a look? I heard the Jiangnan region is very beautiful at this time of year.”
There were white walls and dark roof tiles, willow catkins and pale green willows. The spring light there was the freshest sight of the whole year.
Luo Ning laughed and said: “I have already seen the spring in the southern region, Your Highness. I lived in Shaoyang for three years. When I go back to Shaoyang in the future, I will see it for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. Your Highness does not need to worry about me.”
Xiao Huai Feng sat there in silence.
Sunlight came in through the window lattice, and fine dust danced in the beam of light.
He asked: “Shaoyang is like spring all year round, is that right?”
Luo Ning said: “Yes. There are always flowers and fruits, and there are lychees.”
He added: “It is several thousand li away from Shengjing City. It takes months to get there.”
Luo Ning said: “The journey is indeed long. But if it is only going and not coming back, it is not such suffering.”
“Only going and not returning,” he repeated, tasting the words. “It seems your heart longs for that.”
Luo Ning smiled and said: “It is the wish of my whole life, Your Highness. Shaoyang is also my ancestral home. For falling leaves to return to their roots is a blessing in a person’s life.”
Xiao Huai Feng did not ask anything more.
When his hair was almost dry, Luo Ning helped him tie it up. She was not very good at it and fumbled around. She could not help asking: “Your Highness, may I call Qiu Lan in to serve you?”
He said: “No need, just tie it up casually.”
Luo Ning put his hair into a rather crooked topknot and then set his hair crown on his head.
Xiao Huai Feng stood up and left.
After he left, Nanny Shi came in with several stewardesses to report.
There were many matters in the Outer Courtyard of Prince Yong’s manor. In the past, Chief Steward Tao Bo had told Nanny Shi what to do. Now that there was a Princess Consort, everything had to pass through her hands.
Besides the daily affairs of the manor, there were also social obligations.
Luo Ning was busy for half the afternoon before Nanny Shi brought in a stack of invitation cards.
Luo Ning’s eyes were sore. She passed them to Nanny Yin and said: “Please pick a few for me.”
Nanny Yin agreed.
In all the rush of work, it was soon evening. The clouds at the edge of the sky were bright and glowing.
Nanny Kong asked Luo Ning: “Will the prince have dinner here?”
“That is what he ordered,” Luo Ning said.
Nanny Kong asked again: “Shall we wait for him, or send someone to Linhua Courtyard to invite him?”
Luo Ning sent a young maidservant and told her to go over.
Soon, Xiao Huai Feng arrived.
Two rough servant women followed behind him, each holding a guqin case.
One held an old paulownia-wood guqin. The other held a catalpa-wood guqin that Xiao Huai Feng had made himself, which he had named “Spring Ripple.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “I am giving you ‘Spring Ripple’. Keep it for me and nourish it for a while.”
A new guqin had to be taken out and played often. Only then could it be said to be “nourishing” the instrument.
Luo Ning said: “Rest easy, Your Highness. I have learned the guqin since childhood and know a bit about nourishing an instrument. I will not ruin your things.”
Xiao Huai Feng nodded.
He ate dinner in the Inner Courtyard, but instead of going straight to bed, he went over to the Outer Courtyard.
He found Chief Steward Tao Bo and said: “Build a flower arbor in the Rear Garden. Hire a well-known gardener. The flower arbor in Prince Yong’s manor must have flowers in all four seasons.”
Tao Bo smiled and said: “This is not hard, Your Highness.”
Xiao Huai Feng said calmly: “Flowers and fruits in all four seasons are indeed not hard to have in the prince’s manor. I will not be the one using them. It is enough that the Princess Consort does not lack them.”
Tao Bo answered that he understood.
Xiao Huai Feng went on: “Also bring in a few musician courtesans.”
Tao Bo kept his face calm and asked: “What kind does Your Highness want?”
“Ones who can play the guqin and the flute.”
Tao Bo asked: “No, I mean what look does Your Highness like?”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “The Princess Consort likes to play the guqin. Bring in a few to keep her company, so she does not seem as if she has never seen the world.”
Tao Bo let out a breath of relief.
So they were for the Princess Consort.
It was still the same prince he knew. He had not gone crazy with desire and gain.
After Xiao Huai Feng finished giving his orders, he returned to the Inner Courtyard.
The husband and wife washed up simply and lay down. Xiao Huai Feng and Luo Ning chatted a little.
They mainly talked about the banquets Nanny Yin had chosen for her.
Luo Ning said: “There is another spring viewing banquet.”
Around last year’s spring viewing banquet, Luo Ning’s life had still been in deep trouble. This year did not seem much better.
Xiao Huai Feng asked: “Do you want to go?”
She did not answer. Maybe she was tired. She fell asleep while still talking, her breathing even.
Xiao Huai Feng turned his face slightly and looked in her direction.