Chapter 231
Chapter 229: Husband and Wife Eat the Same Piece of Pastry
Pei Ying escorted his mother back to the estate.
Grand Princess Jia Hong now lived in the best courtyard in Madam Pei’s old residence. This courtyard had been built by Madam Pei for the imperial son-in-law and had stood empty for more than twenty years.
Last year the princess had it renovated because Pei Ying said he wanted to get married. After the wedding, he did not plan to live in the Princess Manor with his wife.
Jia Hong’s way of treating her son was to go along with him at first. By going along with him, she gained an excuse to control him: I am already yielding to you and respecting you. If you do not listen, then you are unfilial.
She had never planned to let her son leave the Princess Manor after marriage.
Grand Princess Jia Hong had not expected that this residence would actually come in handy one day.
She still had the bearing of a grand princess of the Imperial House.
The Imperial Court had removed her name and cut her lands, but it had not taken away her wealth. Even if you added up everything Madam Pei owned, it could not compare to how rich the grand princess was.
Except for a very few brainless ones, no one dared to look down on her or mock her.
The princess still held herself with great arrogance.
After Pei Ying sent his mother back to the estate, he went out again.
He had made an appointment to drink tea with Wang Tang Yao and to give him a gift at the same time. This time, Dali Court Vice Minister Wang Tang Yao had helped the princess, so the princess had been able to get away so easily.
“This is the Han dynasty jade jue pendant you liked last time. I specially asked Grandfather to let me have it. Thank you for what you did for my mother,” Pei Ying said, pushing a brocade box toward him.
Wang Tang Yao did not like common money or vulgar things, but he was interested in antiques.
He opened the box, took a look, and nodded slightly: “Thank you. Old Master was willing to part with it.”
Pei Ying let out a quiet sigh that did not show.
“What is making you unhappy?” Wang Tang Yao asked. “Even without the Princess Manor, your mother is still of imperial blood. That cannot be changed. There is no need to hang your head.”
Pei Ying said: “I am not unhappy.”
“Is it because of Princess Consort Yong?”
Pei Ying looked at him.
Wang Tang Yao had a face whose gender was hard to tell. His eyes were bright, and when he looked at people quietly, his gaze was like ice that had lasted ten thousand years. It could pierce skin and chill a person to the deepest part of the heart.
Pei Ying had always been very close to him.
They had been friends since childhood, and their noble households were of similar standing, so there were things they could talk about.
But now, looking again, he felt that Wang Tang Yao had changed and that the distance between them had grown wide.
Pei Ying’s face stiffened: “She is already Princess Consort Yong. She behaves with care and her manners are proper. You must not speak of her carelessly.”
“I did not say anything,” Wang Tang Yao said.
Pei Ying: “…”
“Since you answered like that, it proves that you know very well in your heart. As for what happened at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, I can let it go. What about Princess Consort Yong? This time it was Prince Yong who struck at your mother,” Wang Tang Yao said.
Pei Ying stood up: “I still have something to do. I will take my leave.”
He flung his sleeves and left.
He allowed no one to slander Luo Ning.
He also did not want to bring trouble to Luo Ning. Whatever the truth was, in Pei Ying’s heart Luo Ning was always that melancholy young lady who played the zither at night.
He felt she was pitiful.
Luo Ning did not have to marry Pei Ying. She only needed to marry well.
Pei Ying did not like worldly disputes. Being forced into such a whirlpool, his heart felt as if thousands of needles were stabbing it.
After he left, Wang Tang Yao sat alone and drank his tea slowly.
This time, Wang Tang Yao had helped Grand Princess Jia Hong. It was not that he had forgotten his grudge. He was only adding fuel to the fire.
If Grand Princess Jia Hong lost something, she would grow even more furious. And since Prince Yong had not achieved the result he wanted, he too was full of anger.
Wang Tang Yao was provoking them and deepening their hatred. The next time they clashed, both sides would be hurt.
It would only be interesting when they fought each other.
Wang Tang Yao thought: [Without Prince Yong, when the emperor dies one day, the empress and the eldest prince can rely on the great aristocratic families.]
He wanted to clear the roadblocks for Empress Zheng.
Prince Yong should die, and Madam Pei as well.
That demoness Luo Ning should also be removed, so that she would not become an obstacle, win over the Empress Dowager, and make the Empress Dowager favor Prince Yong, thus stealing away some of the Empress Dowager’s support and trust that should belong to Empress Zheng.
Wang Tang Yao looked again at the jade jue pendant Pei Ying had given him.
He picked it up and played with it. The jade was hard and smooth. It was so valuable and beautiful, yet it could be held easily in the palm and toyed with. This strangely made him think of that secret room in Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
Luo Ning, napping with her head on a pile of human bones, seemed as if she too could be treated like this jade jue pendant…
The jade jue pendant slipped from his hand onto the table.
Wang Tang Yao felt as if this cold dead object had burned his palm. He drew his hand back in pain.
The strange thought was like a poisonous snake that had drilled into his veins and taken a fierce bite.
In the end, he left that valuable antique jade jue pendant lying on the table. He did not take it with him and got up to leave the teahouse.
Luo Ning returned from the Imperial Palace.
Xiao Huai Feng was at the training grounds, so she went there on purpose to look for him.
“Do you want to spar?” he asked, his long spear stuck into the ground. He stood even straighter than the spear.
Luo Ning said: “If you want to stab me to death with one thrust, then go ahead. I will obediently accept my fate. Before I die, I do not want to use any strength.”
“You have learned to talk back, Princess Consort,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
Luo Ning laughed.
In the past, Xiao Huai Feng had used his long spear to spar with Luo Ning’s whip and had even gotten the tiger’s mouth of his hand injured by the whip’s tail. Another time, Luo Ning’s life gate had been caught by him in just a few breaths, yet he had praised her for improving.
In short, sparring with him was asking for a beating. Luo Ning did not like to suffer losses.
The husband and wife went back to Linhua Courtyard beside the training grounds.
He quickly bathed and changed his clothes. Because his hair was soaked with sweat, he had rinsed it with water too. He rubbed it dry carelessly himself and let his black hair hang loose.
With his hair loose, he did not look feminine, but he looked much better. Maybe it was because Luo Ning had hardly ever been around men since she was young and had never seen how they looked with their hair down in their rooms. She had only seen women.
Men with their hair down were not much different from women with their hair down, and Luo Ning found the sight pleasing.
“The gifts you brought back from the Southern Region, I gave them to Imperial Mother. She liked them very much,” Luo Ning said. “I also met Princess Jia Hong in the Imperial Palace.”
Xiao Huai Feng’s face darkened a little: “Did she make things hard for you?”
“She did not. But she did not look depressed at all and even spoke politely to me. It is frightening,” Luo Ning said.
How could Grand Princess Jia Hong be someone who accepted losses quietly?
Having her lands cut and her title stripped was a deep hatred to her. She would definitely take revenge.
“Prince, we have to be careful in everything these days,” Luo Ning said.
“Do not worry,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
He then asked her, “Did you see anyone else?”
Luo Ning even thought about it seriously: “No. Your Majesty is ill and does not favor the consorts much now. The Four Consorts have all been behaving themselves. No one came to hover around Imperial Mother.”
She looked up and saw Xiao Huai Feng watching her. She paused and asked, “Is something wrong, Prince?”
Xiao Huai Feng withdrew his gaze: “Nothing. Go on.”
“I already finished,” Luo Ning said.
Xiao Huai Feng changed the topic very naturally: “Second Aunt sent you an invitation and two kinds of pastries. The day after tomorrow, take A’Lan and go to the Cui family.”
Luo Ning agreed.
He told the steward, Nanny Shi, to bring up the invitation and the pastries.
Among them was a kind of jujube blossom pastry covered thickly in sugar frosting. It looked very tasty.
Luo Ning said: “I will try one.”
“They are meant for you,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
She picked one up and took a bite. The crust was crisp, and the filling was soft, fragrant, and sweet. It was very good.
“How is it?”
“It tastes good,” Luo Ning said.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “Let me have a taste.”
Luo Ning wanted to pick up another piece for him, but he held her hand instead and guided it forward. Following his strength, Luo Ning lifted the jujube blossom pastry to his lips.
He took a bite.
Luo Ning: “…”
Half of the pastry was still left. Would he keep eating it?
And what about her?
He had already bitten it. Did she still need to eat the rest?