Chapter 235
Chapter 233: The Secondary Consorts Fight
Luo Ning gave Wang Tang Yao a calm look and quickly put away her anger.
“In that case, running into you so often really is my punishment,” Luo Ning said lightly.
Then she said to Lin Zhao and Cui Zheng Lan: “A wild dog keeps barking non-stop. It is too noisy. Let’s step aside. Don’t lower ourselves to its level.”
Qiu Hua hurried to pay.
Both daggers were excellent pieces, extremely sharp and quite expensive.
The shopkeeper asked for one hundred taels for each one. Luo Ning and Lin Zhao had planned to bargain, since this price was sky-high. But now that it felt like they had stepped in dog poop, they decided to just treat it as letting the shop owner take advantage, paid, and left.
The group came out through the silk store, found their own carriage on the street, and went back to the manor.
“This time with Grand Princess Jia Hong’s case, I guess Wang Tang Yao did his part,” Luo Ning said to Lin Zhao and Cui Zheng Lan. “His mind is twisted, like a poisonous snake. Even if I don’t provoke him, he still wants to take a bite.”
“Then kill him,” Lin Zhao and Cui Zheng Lan said in unison.
Warmth rose in Luo Ning’s heart, and she pressed them both down again, saying: “We can’t act rashly. Last time in the hidden room at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, the Prince said one phrase to Cousin: ‘Imperial Court official.’”
“Those few words, ‘Imperial Court official’, are enough to protect his life. We can’t touch him easily. If we make one wrong move, it will bring disaster down on the Prince,” she finished.
Lin Zhao nodded.
Cui Zheng Lan asked: “Who is this Cousin? My brother?”
“Yes,” Luo Ning said.
Cui Zheng Lan: “…”
After the two of them returned to the Prince’s Manor, Luo Ning at once told Qiu Lan to take out that ruby.
She showed it to Cui Zheng Lan.
Cui Zheng Lan knew its value and said with a sigh: “This kind of ruby is very expensive. Only an Inner Court Lady or a first-rank Married Noblewoman has the right to wear it. Using it to decorate a dagger is far too much.”
“I thought about it for a long time and really didn’t know what kind of jewelry to make from it,” Luo Ning said. “A hair ornament would be best, but my neck is no good and can’t bear very heavy ornaments.”
“Leaving it in a drawer is too much of a waste,” she added.
Cui Zheng Lan nodded.
Anything the Princess Consort said seemed to make sense. Before, she had found it unbelievable, then thought it was too wasteful. Now she felt it was only right and proper.
A Princess Consort should indeed have a dagger with a ruby set into its sheath.
Luo Ning told Qiu Lan to take it to Tao Bo and have Tao Bo find someone to set the ruby into the dagger for her.
The other three Secondary Consorts soon heard about her going to the Cui family banquet.
Luo Ning had not tried to hide it. As Princess Consort Yong, she ought to visit relatives and friends and the great clans and keep up these ties.
She had also thought that the Secondary Consorts would make trouble and would also want to go back to their maiden homes.
She had even guessed that Zheng Jia’er would be the first to cause a fuss.
Unexpectedly, the first to speak up was Pei Yu.
“Princess Consort, could you also take me back to the Marquis of Clear Radiance’s manor once?” Pei Yu asked.
“If I receive an invitation from Madam Pei, of course I can make an exception and take you along,” Luo Ning said.
“You haven’t received the invitation yet?” Pei Yu asked in a hurry.
“Not yet,” Luo Ning said.
Zheng Jia’er could not hold back and said with a cold laugh: “The Princess has had her fief and title taken away. How would she have the time to hold a banquet? If the Heir Consort of the Marquis of Clear Radiance holds a banquet now, won’t the Princess tear her face off?”
Pei Yu was furious.
After the Pei family’s eldest son married the Princess, the second son inherited the family estate. He was Pei Yu’s father.
It was just that the Old Master was still alive, so Pei Yu’s father had not yet become the Marquis of Clear Radiance.
“Do you not have a maiden home?” Pei Yu said coldly. “You keep staring at others, know every bit of news, and never stay in your place.”
Zheng Jia’er refused to back down and said: “Who doesn’t know about these things? Don’t throw dirty water on me. Last time your dowry maid went out and the Prince put her under a ban. You are the one who cannot stay put.”
“So you really know everything!” Pei Yu said. “Do you also know the documents in the Prince’s outer study?”
“What did you say?” Zheng Jia’er was angered at once.
She picked up a teacup and threw it at Pei Yu.
It hit Pei Yu, and the tea spilled all over her.
Luo Ning: “…”
She was just thinking about whether to have each of them beaten ten times, so that they would not be able to get out of bed for half a month, when Cui Zheng Lan could no longer endure it.
Cui Zheng Lan had really had enough.
She had never seen subordinates so noisy and quarrelsome in any household.
She kicked Pei Yu to the ground with one blow, then turned and sent Zheng Jia’er flying with another kick, knocking her to the floor.
Before the two could get up, Cui Zheng Lan grabbed the back of each of their collars, one in each hand, and pushed them down to kneel in front of Luo Ning.
“Princess Consort, please enforce family discipline!” Cui Zheng Lan said.
Luo Ning: “…”
Wang Jun: “…”
Zheng Jia’er struggled, but Cui Zheng Lan’s grip was so strong that she could not move at all.
Luo Ning had a headache.
Things had gone from a quarrel to a fight.
The Prince had only gone to the suburban garrison camp and would be back today. If he saw this scene, Luo Ning would have completely failed in her duty as Princess Consort.
“Someone, send the three Secondary Consorts back to their courtyards for now,” Luo Ning said. “They are to be put under a temporary ban. I will decide on further punishment later.”
A few rough servant women came in and escorted the three of them back to their own rooms.
Cui Zheng Lan, who did not have to come pay respects and could also avoid running into the Prince, was quite pleased with this kind of “grounding” family discipline.
Her maidservant even said: “Miss, why didn’t you use your hidden weapons technique? You could have smashed their mouths so they would not dare disrespect the Princess Consort.”
“Wouldn’t the Princess Consort be the one to take the blame in the end? Foolish,” Cui Zheng Lan said. “I’m not the main general. I must not overstep and do her job for her.”
The maidservant agreed deeply and said no more.
After the main courtyard quieted down, only Luo Ning and Wang Jun were left, staring at each other.
Wang Jun comforted Luo Ning, saying: “Princess Consort, they really went too far. Please don’t be angry.”
Luo Ning nodded slightly and said: “You can go back first as well.”
Wang Jun agreed.
She stood up and left.
After walking out of the main courtyard, she could not help the corners of her lips curling up a little.
Even the Vegetable Market Execution Ground was not this fun. This Princess Consort, who was trying to act like a tiger but was really just a dog, and this inner residence that could not amount to anything – without a single true highborn lady sitting in the seat of Princess Consort Yong, there was no way to hold things down.
She felt a little sorry for the Prince.
She wondered when the Prince’s patience would finally run out.
After they left, Luo Ning slowly drank a cup of tea and started handling the household affairs for the morning.
The stewardesses came in one by one to report. Luo Ning stayed calm the whole time and handled each matter properly.
At lunchtime, Nanny Yin set out the chopsticks and served Luo Ning while she ate. In a low voice she asked: “Princess Consort, how will you deal with the Secondary Consorts?”
“Put them under a ban,” Luo Ning said.
“It doesn’t seem to have much effect,” Nanny Yin said.
Luo Ning smiled and said: “Nursemaid, A’Lan is young and hot-tempered. She is in a hurry. Why are you in a hurry too?”
Putting them under a ban was the best kind of soft knife.
If half a month could not grind down their tempers, then half a year could. If half a year still did not work and they still dared to shout, then make it one year, two years.
Luo Ning herself had once been that impatient. After she died, she had become a ghost, trapped in the void and unable to break free.
She had gone through that kind of torment. No one understood it better than she did.
Now, the Emperor was still alive, and Prince Yong was still one step away from holding real power. Why should Luo Ning go too far against the Secondary Consorts and give others a chance to seize on the faults of Prince Yong’s manor?
Wouldn’t that be just what the Emperor wanted?
The Emperor wanted the Prince’s Manor to be in chaos and wanted the Prince trapped by petty matters in the Inner Residence.
“We have to endure for a while,” Luo Ning said. “For the mistakes they have made, grounding them is probably the harshest punishment.”
The Empress Dowager had told her to find a fault and give the Secondary Consorts a beating.
That fault had to be chosen just right. It had to touch the real interests of the Prince’s Manor so that neither the Emperor nor the great clans could find anything to say.
The Empress Dowager had told her to be ruthless, but had not told her to charge ahead without using her head.