Chapter 233
Chapter 231: The Prince Spends a Fortune to Win Over Luo Ning
Luo Ning gave the pastries that the Cui family had sent to Cui Zheng Lan.
She also told her that the day after tomorrow they would go to the Cui family.
Cui Zheng Lan did not really care and had no interest in going home.
But she liked the pastries a lot. She loved sweets, yet her mother and wet nurse always kept her under tight control and would not let her eat too much.
Luo Ning sent her a whole food box, enough for her to eat her fill. Cui Zheng Lan said: “Thank you, Princess Consort, for thinking of me.”
“You like pastries?”
“And preserved fruits,” Cui Zheng Lan answered.
Luo Ning smiled and said: “Another day, the two of us can stroll along the street and buy some pastries and preserved fruits.”
Cui Zheng Lan was not very interested in “strolling on the street” either, but going out for some fresh air was all right. Going out together with the Princess Consort seemed even better.
From childhood to now, Cui Zheng Lan had never been very close to her sisters at home and had no special close friends. It was rare that Luo Ning suited her taste.
She did not want to spoil Luo Ning’s mood, so she nodded: “All right.”
Xiao Huai Feng came back very late that day.
By the time he returned, Luo Ning was already in bed. She thought he would rest in Linhua Courtyard or somewhere else.
“You sleep first. I will come after I wash up,” he said.
Luo Ning dozed in a half-sleep.
Suddenly a thought popped into her mind. She wondered: [Should I arrange the nights for the secondary consorts?]
This matter was part of Luo Ning’s duty and also one of the small chores of the inner residence.
The principal wife would set the schedule, and after the husband agreed, everyone would follow it from then on.
But after the secondary consorts entered the manor, everything was in chaos, and the Prince had gone out for ten days, so this matter had been put aside for the moment.
The Prince had even said he wanted to beat or kill them…
But from his attitude, he probably did not really want that. After all, it was still unclear whether the secondary consorts were truly loyal or not, and whose eyes their dowry maids were.
The situation was still unclear.
[…Forget it. He did not bring it up, so I will pretend I do not know about it,] Luo Ning quickly told herself.
She was not a real Princess Consort anyway.
The Prince had given no hint about this. If Luo Ning made the decision on her own and angered him, her own future would not be safe.
[Why should I do that?]
She was not aiming for some empty name of being “virtuous and capable.”
In the end, the identity of “Princess Consort Yong” was false, while the future title of Commandery Princess would be real.
Weighing which was lighter and which was heavier, Luo Ning quickly made her decision.
When Xiao Huai Feng lay down on the bed, Luo Ning half sat up: “Prince, I sent the pastries to A’Lan. The day after tomorrow we will go to the Cui family for a banquet. If it ends early, I want to stroll around the street with her.”
“She asked for that?”
“I suggested it,” Luo Ning said.
“Do you want to buy something?”
“Not really. Just walking around to pass the time,” Luo Ning said.
It was rare to go out for a banquet on a court rest day. If she did not go out for a walk, it would feel like a waste.
“Ask Tao Bo to give you some silver banknotes…”
Speaking of this, Xiao Huai Feng suddenly said: “Let Tao Bo hand over the Prince’s manor’s money to you to manage.”
Luo Ning quickly waved her hands: “Prince, that will not do! This is his job. I have not done him any favor yet, so he will surely hold resentment in his heart.
Tao Bo might be broad-minded, but what would the other stewards think? Managing money is very important. Changing people lightly would cause needless changes. It is not suitable.”
The importance of a position was not just the many chores it involved, but also the status and dignity tied to it.
For example, in the main courtyard, the maidservant Qiu Lan held as much authority in the servants’ eyes as the steward Nanny Yin, all because Qiu Lan managed the money.
Everyone’s monthly allowance passed through Qiu Lan’s hands.
In essence, Luo Ning and Tao Bo were not master and servant.
Both of them were doing work for the Prince. Luo Ning only carried the empty title of Princess Consort, so she and Tao Bo were more like colleagues.
She had been here for less than a month. If she snatched away the most important and most prestigious job from a colleague, it would cause hatred no matter where it happened.
Even someone with the broadest heart could not help feeling a knot over it.
“You do not have to be so careful. This is Prince Yong’s manor, and you are the Princess Consort,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
But in the Prince’s manor, the Prince was the only head of the family.
Seeing that he truly seemed to be thinking about this and was not just speaking casually, Luo Ning softened her voice and smiled: “Prince, I am really very busy. Do not ask me to manage the money. Even my own money is managed by Qiu Lan.”
Even when offering advice, one had to pay attention to strategy.
From what she had just said, it was clear Xiao Huai Feng had not really listened.
“…All right,” Xiao Huai Feng said. He covered the lampshade, and the inside of the bed curtains dimmed. With the soft rustling of movement, he lay down.
The next day, Xiao Huai Feng got up early again.
Luo Ning was still half asleep when he woke her up and said to her: “I am going to the suburban garrison camp. I will not come back tonight and will return the day after tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, wait for me to eat dinner.”
Luo Ning agreed.
Then he left.
By mid-morning, Luo Ning had not yet finished her errands when Tao Bo arrived.
He held a red lacquer box and handed it to Luo Ning, smiling as he said: “When the Prince left early this morning, he ordered me to bring some silver banknotes for the Princess Consort.”
Luo Ning also remembered this matter.
“Thank you for your trouble.” Luo Ning smiled, asked the stewardesses to step out, and then told a maidservant to bring tea.
She invited Tao Bo to sit and drink a cup of tea before leaving.
Tao Bo gave her face, chatted kindly with her, and then said: “The carriage and gifts for tomorrow’s outing are already prepared.”
Luo Ning thanked him.
After he left, Luo Ning did not have time to look at the silver banknotes. She kept busy with her tasks for the morning.
All morning, she assigned various tasks. She ate lunch alone.
After her noon nap, when she got up, the maidservant Tao Ye helped her comb her hair. Seeing the red lacquer box on the dressing table, the maid was quick-eyed: “Princess Consort, what kind of jewelry is this? Let this servant put it away for you.”
“It is not jewelry. It is money the Prince gave me as extra,” Luo Ning said.
“The Prince really dotes on you,” Tao Ye said.
Luo Ning smiled.
In any noble household, a husband who sometimes gave his wife a few taels of silver could already be called very considerate.
When Luo Ning opened the box, her smile froze a little, because the box was not shallow, and the silver banknotes were piled all the way up to the rim.
Each one was worth five hundred taels.
She took them out. It was a thick stack and very heavy in her hands.
Tao Ye was also shocked: “So much? Did the Prince move the whole treasury to you?”
Luo Ning was speechless.
She counted them once. There were one hundred notes.
Then she called Qiu Lan in and had her count them again.
“Fifty thousand taels, Princess Consort. What did the Prince tell you to buy? Land or a residence?” Qiu Lan asked.
She added, “Even this whole Prince’s manor of ours would not sell for fifty thousand taels.”
Princess Consort Yong’s monthly allowance was two hundred taels of silver. That was already extremely generous, much more than that of most Imperial Prince’s Consorts.
It meant the Prince had just given her twenty years of allowance in advance.
“He told me to go to the street and buy some snacks to eat,” Luo Ning said.
Tao Ye was speechless.
Qiu Lan was also speechless.
Was the Prince planning to stuff his Princess Consort to death?
Before she married, Luo Ning had made up her mind that any property she got after marriage, she would not be greedy for. She would only use it, not take it away, and would leave it all for the next, true Princess Consort Yong.
Yet less than a month after their marriage, the Prince had given her such a big test.
It was easy not to be moved by jewelry, but who could truly not care about giving up fifty thousand taels in silver banknotes?
[These are silver banknotes!]
If she went to Shaoyang, this money would be enough to buy several thousand mu of good farmland. Her sons and grandsons for three generations would never have to worry about food and drink.
The Prince was actually using money to weigh her character.
Luo Ning took one note, planning to go out with Cui Zheng Lan to buy some things.
Even if she did not take the things with her in the end, the process of buying and using them would still be very fun.
“Put it away,” Luo Ning said as she handed the money box to Qiu Lan.
Qiu Lan felt very happy and could not help saying to Luo Ning: “Princess Consort, our Prince really is not short of money.”
“He does not lack anything. He is also good-looking and full of energy,” Luo Ning said.
He was a favored son of Heaven and could even become Emperor in the future.
He almost had no weaknesses.