Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Luo Ning’s Wish Fulfilled
Luo Ning told everything she knew one by one in front of the Marchioness, the Third Madam, and the room full of maidservants and old maidservants.
She even said: “I also saw a figure. I think she was down below, making trouble.”
Old Madam asked at once: “Who was it?”
Luo Ning paused, glanced at the Marchioness, and said: “She looked a bit familiar, but I can’t remember who she was for the moment. I’m sure I’ve seen her before.”
The Marchioness’s expression changed slightly, but she quickly went back to her calm and steady look.
Old Madam said: “Investigate this carefully. This is a plot!”
“Yes, Mother. Your daughter-in-law will definitely have people look into it thoroughly,” the Marchioness said.
Her voice was steady. There was some anxiety in her face, but no fear. A thin layer of sweat had broken out at her temple.
She wiped it away as if nothing had happened.
Old Madam then went to see Luo Xuan.
The Bone-setting Physician had already put a splint on Luo Xuan. She lay weakly on the bed.
Old Madam asked a few caring questions.
Then she asked Luo Xuan: “Did someone harm you?”
Luo Xuan had grown up under the Marchioness’s hand and knew very clearly who her backer was. Besides, she could not move now, and the people serving her all belonged to the Marchioness. If she dared say even half a word, she would be tormented.
So Luo Xuan’s eyes filled with tears: “Grandmother, it is all my fault. I shouldn’t have been greedy for fun. I lost my earring, and over such a small thing I still fussed and insisted on going to look for it. When I slipped and fell, I panicked and tried to grab someone. I ended up dragging A’Rong down with me!”
As she spoke, she cried harder and harder until she could barely get the words out.
Maybe it really hurt. Maybe she was afraid.
Maybe she also felt wronged.
Seeing this, Old Madam and the Third Madam knew they would not be able to get anything out of her.
They went to visit their cousin, Bai Ci Rong.
The Physician had already examined Bai Ci Rong’s hand. Her wrist was not broken, but a big lump had swollen up around the joints of her right hand, and it hurt terribly.
Her chin had smashed against a stone, leaving a cut that was neither deep nor shallow, and her whole chin had swollen.
Her bones were not broken and her face was not ruined. It was misfortune with a bit of luck.
“Grandmother, Aunt, it is all my fault,” Bai Ci Rong also said.
Her way of addressing Old Madam and the Third Madam sounded much more natural than Luo Xuan’s.
Anyone who did not know the truth would think she was the real Miss of the Luo family, and that Luo Xuan was only living here as a guest.
“A’Ning and A’Xuan argued. I shouldn’t have gone to join in the fun. Now I’m hurt and have made Grandmother, Aunt, and Aunt feel bad, and I’ve even made A’Xuan feel guilty,” Bai Ci Rong said.
She added: “I only wanted to persuade them to stop fighting.”
The Marchioness hurried to comfort her.
Old Madam and the Third Madam could not say much either. They only sighed in their hearts at how smooth her tongue was.
If this had happened three months ago, the sisters Luo Ning and Luo Xuan would both have been scolded because of Bai Ci Rong’s words.
But after Luo Ning returned home, many things had happened. Old Madam had started to feel dissatisfied with Bai Ci Rong, and the Third Madam had grown ambitious for the House Steward’s power. Their attitude when they looked at Bai Ci Rong had changed.
Once you start looking for faults, and your eyes are clear, you can see a person’s true nature.
Old Madam said nothing.
The Third Madam thought: [What a clever mouth and what a vicious heart.]
The Marchioness kept comforting Bai Ci Rong: “You’ve suffered so much. Focus on resting well.”
After sitting a while, Old Madam let the Third Madam support her back to West Main Courtyard.
On the surface, the Third Madam praised the Senior Madam, but in private she kept speaking ill of her.
Luo Ning stayed in East Main Courtyard.
The Marchioness wanted to give her a lecture.
“You were fine. Why did you end up arguing with your second sister at Emerald Pavilion?” the Marchioness asked.
Luo Ning’s eyes were clear. She looked straight at her: “Mother, Second Sister lost her earring in front of you. You told me to go with her to look for it. Have you forgotten?”
The Marchioness was speechless.
Luo Ning understood her mother’s true intent: the Marchioness wanted to deliberately pin the fault on her, then use her guilt and fear to trick the truth out of her.
She wanted to know whether Luo Ning had really seen that old maidservant, whether she could recognize her, and whether Luo Ning knew about Luo Xuan’s plan.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, she was blocked by Luo Ning.
Mother and daughter chatted a few more lines, but none of the Marchioness’s goals were met.
Still, it made her understand what cards Luo Ning was holding.
“That old maidservant, I am sure I could recognize her. But she was far away. It’s possible I might be mistaken,” Luo Ning said.
The Marchioness’s chest tightened.
Luo Ning took the chance to say: “Mother, I was also frightened this time. I want some quiet to rest.”
“Do as you like.”
“When your daughter is recovering, she will need to eat some late night snacks. If I go to the main kitchen every day to ask for food, I’m afraid the servants will gossip that I’m greedy,” Luo Ning said.
Being known as greedy was not a good reputation.
Before the Marchioness could speak, Luo Ning went on: “Mother, Wenqi Courtyard is spacious and has many rooms. I want to set up a small kitchen there.”
In great noble families, a small kitchen was not just an extra expense. It was also a kind of privilege.
Only Old Madam and the Marchioness had small kitchens in their courtyards. Only they had the right not to eat food from the big communal pots.
Others, even if they were rich, did not have a status equal to Old Madam or the Marchioness and could not set one up on their own.
Yet Luo Ning brought it up.
“That is not proper,” the Marchioness thought for a moment and said. “If we set up a small kitchen for you, what will everyone else think? Your Grandmother and Father will accuse me of managing the household unfairly.”
“Then I will go speak with Grandmother and Father myself. What do you think? This Marquis Manor, this noble rank, was traded for by me taking a knife. Because of that, I was left with an illness and a weak body. If I want to eat something hot at night to take care of my health, I think Grandmother and Father will be willing to make an exception,” Luo Ning said.
The Marchioness’s face twisted with anger.
She really wanted to scold Luo Ning again.
Luo Ning spoke even more bluntly: “Mother, you need to look after Second Sister and Cousin. How about I go ask Grandmother first about this matter…”
She was hinting that as long as she got the small kitchen, she could turn a blind eye to what had happened at Emerald Pavilion.
The Marchioness took a deep breath and said: “Since it is like this, I will take the risk and help you open this door. You are your mother’s own flesh and blood. Of course I will favor you.”
She added: “The only reason I did not agree before was that I was afraid the servants would talk, saying you were spoiled because you rely on my favor. That would be bad for your reputation. Since you are not afraid, I will have the stove built for you tomorrow. But from now on, if you hear any gossip, you are not allowed to cry.”
Luo Ning agreed.
After she left, Luo Xuan was carried back to her own courtyard to recover. Bai Ci Rong was also sent back to Huifu Courtyard.
After the Marchioness finished arranging things for Bai Ci Rong and returned to East Main Courtyard, a maidservant came in with tea. She threw the cup to the floor.
Her face was twisted.
She had wanted Luo Ning to break her leg so she could not attend the banquet, so that the Marchioness could take Bai Ci Rong in her place.
Such a small matter had ended up going completely the wrong way.
The Marchioness had sacrificed Luo Xuan instead. This concubine-born daughter could have been a stepping stone for Bai Ci Rong. Now she would likely be left with a bad leg and would be useless from now on.
Not only that, the Marchioness also had to give Luo Ning a small kitchen to shut her mouth.
As for whether Luo Ning had actually seen that old maidservant and whether she could recognize her, the Marchioness was not sure.
She could only try to keep her calm for now.
The Marchioness was not afraid of Luo Ning having special privileges and living too comfortably.
She feared that once Luo Ning had this privilege, in this small place of Marquis Manor she would outshine Bai Ci Rong in every way.
The Bai family had spent so much money, and Bai Ci Rong had spent so much effort, to buy people’s hearts in Marquis Manor and build up her reputation.
In the end, with just a small kitchen, Luo Ning would become the one and only big Miss in the hearts of the servants. Then what place would be left for Bai Ci Rong?
It was hard to build up a reputation, but knocking it down only took one matter, one moment.
Thinking of this, the Marchioness could not get rid of the anger in her heart for a long time. She could only vent by smashing the teacup.
She had not been this angry in many years.
The last time she flew into such a rage was when she found out she was pregnant with Luo Ning.
Every time she shared a room with Luo Chong Ye, she secretly drank birth-control decoction.
Yet Luo Ning had still stubbornly ended up in her womb. From the very beginning, she had been a bringer of misfortune.