Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Prince’s Harsh Words

Pei Ying stepped forward to salute. “Prince.”

Prince Yong gave a very cool nod. “Has Aunt rested well?”

“My mother is already up,” Pei Ying said.

“Lead the way. I will go see Aunt,” Prince Yong said.

Luo Ning stood there.

Prince Yong called her “Princess Consort” so often, yet now, when he was going to see his relatives, he did not call her along. So Luo Ning waited until they walked away, then went back to her own room.

Prince Yong and Pei Ying were maternal Cousins. Pei Ying was two or three years older than Prince Yong.

But in the face of the power of the Imperial House, blood ties were weak. Rank and status were what mattered most.

At the evening vegetarian meal, Luo Ning actually saw Prince Yong again.

She was a little surprised.

Prince Yong and Pei Ying sat at the same table, while the women of the Luo Family sat with the Princess.

After the meal, they still had to listen to the monks lecture.

Luo Ning truly could not take it in and thought: [I won’t come next time.]

But with Prince Yong there, she could not slip away, so she had to sit properly. Since she stayed, her Cousin did not dare leave alone either and stayed with her.

When the chanting ended, it was already late. Prince Yong had to go down the mountain and return to his residence.

Pei Ying saw him off to the mountain gate.

“…Your flute playing just now sounded good,” Prince Yong said without any expression.

Pei Ying was a little surprised.

Although this Prince was his Cousin, he had always been proud and distant. The Late Emperor had held him in the palm of his hand, and he made all his brothers look dull and useless in comparison. Pei Ying had almost never spoken a word with him.

When Prince Yong was thirteen, the Late Emperor fell ill. The Empress Dowager joined with the Cui Family to force Prince Yong away, sending him to a bitter, freezing borderland for seven years.

Only after the New Emperor ascended the throne and the court settled down did the Empress Dowager call him back to the capital.

In Pei Ying’s mind, Prince Yong was cold and arrogant, too proud to chat with ordinary people.

Yet now he was asking about the Bamboo Flute.

“I studied it for a few years,” Pei Ying said.

Prince Yong asked, “What tune did you play on the back mountain just now?”

“An old song I changed and arranged myself,” Pei Ying said.

Prince Yong did not answer. The corner of his mouth twitched.

He did not actually say anything, and his expression barely moved, but Pei Ying still felt as if he heard a soft, mocking laugh.

“…I only changed it for fun. It is not fit for any grand hall,” Pei Ying said.

Prince Yong said, “Indeed, the melody was all wrong. Anyone who heard it would feel it was very strange. If you do not have the skill, you had better not change it.”

Pei Ying was speechless.

Was his mouth this sharp when he was young too?

Pei Ying remembered that he had not liked talking to people. Everyone except the Crown Prince had always treated him with great respect. Only Prince Chen had dared tease him.

For no reason at all, Pei Ying had been picked at like this. He was not happy.

His Grandfather was a “teacher to the world”. Even the Imperial Censor, who dared scold the Emperor, would speak politely to his Grandfather. Pei Ying himself was very outstanding. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

He gave a small quiet laugh. “The melody is acceptable, barely pleasant to the ear. It is just that it is high and refined. Perhaps Your Highness is not used to it. The flute music from pleasure houses, Your Highness should like that.”

Prince Yong turned his eyes and looked back at him.

The lantern light at the mountain gate was dim. His dark eyes in the shadows were like those of a hunting leopard, sharp and bright. “So you know high, refined music, and also know the music of brothels. You have learned quite a lot.

“Next time, ask Imperial Mother to urge Aunt to push you to improve yourself more. You are a good man, and you look proper enough. Do not fall into low, dirty ways.”

Pei Ying was speechless again.

The muscles in his cheek twitched.

He had been away from the capital for more than two years and had only recently returned. He had not offended this Prince, and had not even seen him before.

So why was he suddenly being scolded like this?

After scolding him, Prince Yong did not leave right away. Instead, he asked, “Can you show this king your Bamboo Flute?”

“This item is precious. I cannot show it to others. Forgive me,” Pei Ying refused coldly.

He turned and went back through the mountain gate.

Prince Yong strode down the mountain and rode back to the city on horseback. At this hour, the city gates were already locked. Only when the guards saw it was him did they hurry to open the gate.

His face was cold. The Bodyguards at the gate were afraid of angering him and were very nervous.

The next morning, after eating breakfast at Guanyin Temple, the women of the Luo Family went down the mountain together with the Princess.

At the foot of the mountain, the Princess kept Luo Ning back to speak: “The Shangsi Festival is coming soon. I will hold a Spring Outing Banquet then. You must come.”

Luo Ning agreed. “This time I will not dare be so rude as to be absent. Thank you for your favor, Grand Princess.”

The Princess smiled in satisfaction. “I find you pleasing to the eye.”

Luo Ning chatted with her for a bit. Pei Ying stood at the side the whole time, silently listening.

He was gentle and cultured, speaking slowly and softly. His Bamboo Flute playing was very lovely to hear…

Thinking of the Bamboo Flute, Luo Ning thought of the widowed Madam Feng of Shaoyang.

“…Do you know this Madam Feng?” Luo Ning asked the Grand Princess.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Princess glanced at Pei Ying standing beside her.

Pei Ying’s expression did not change.

“She has a very wild nature,” the Princess said with a laugh.

Luo Ning was a little surprised. “Really? Madam Feng likes quiet…”

“She does not like quiet. She likes boats,” the Princess said, still laughing.

Luo Ning was silent.

What did it mean to “like boats”?

Did it mean ships and sailing?

What did that have to do with anything?

“I will tell you in detail another day,” the Princess said. “Why did you bring her up?”

“We lived next door to each other for a year. She was very good to me. If you send things to the Prince Consort’s hometown, I want to send some gifts to her with yours,” Luo Ning said.

The Grand Princess said: “I am sending things next month. Prepare what you want to send and deliver it to the Princess Manor.”

Luo Ning agreed.

On the way back, the Grand Princess called her Son into the carriage.

“You are not going to let her know?” the Princess teased her Son.

A trace of embarrassment crossed Pei Ying’s face. “That would not be right. If it gets exposed, I would be so ashamed I would want to knock my head against a wall. This is not something to be proud of.”

“It is not exactly something shameful either,” the Princess said.

“For a man, it is shameful. We must not lose face like that in front of a young lady. Mother, please do not push your Son to death,” Pei Ying said seriously.

He added, “Once she has a bad impression, it will be hard to change it for life. You must keep the secret. Not even half a word can slip.”

Grand Princess Jia Hong could not help laughing.

She did not try to persuade him anymore.

When Luo Ning and the others returned to the Marquis Manor, Marchioness Madam Bai had already gotten word from the Steward. She brought Bai Ci Rong and waited at the gate.

Helping support the Old Madam, Madam Bai asked with a smile: “Did you meet Princess Jia Hong at Guanyin Temple?”

“We happened to run into her,” the Old Madam said.

The Marchioness said: “If I had known yesterday, I would have rushed up the mountain overnight. With such a fate, we cannot treat her lightly.”

The Old Madam’s tone was very flat. “It was the Princess who hosted us, not we who hosted the Princess. Do not say ‘treat lightly’ outside, or we will have nowhere to put our faces.”

Madam Bai felt very awkward.

She lowered her eyes and was silent for a moment, then said: “This daughter-in-law was too forward.”

The Old Madam pulled her hand back. “Go take care of things. The household is counting on you.”

Second Madam and the Eldest Young Madam helped support her back to the West Main Courtyard.

At lunchtime, the Marchioness called the Eldest Young Madam, Madam Wen, to the East Main Courtyard and asked her about what had happened at Guanyin Temple.

“…Besides the Princess, were there any other Noble Ladies?” the Marchioness asked.

Madam Wen said: “This daughter-in-law did not recognize them. If not for marrying into the Marquis Manor, where would I ever see these Noble Ladies?”

That was true enough.

The Marchioness found this pleasant to hear and asked again: “Did the Prince Consort go with the Princess? I heard the Princess has a Son. Did he come to fetch the Princess?”

Madam Wen said: “There were many people from the Princess Manor. I stayed by Grandmother’s side the whole time and did not dare look around too much.”

“What about others?”

“It did not seem like there were any. They were all from the Princess Manor,” Madam Wen said.

The Marchioness finally asked what she most wanted to know: “Did the Princess speak with A Ning?”

“She did,” Madam Wen said.

“Did you hear what they talked about?”

Madam Wen thought for a moment. “Just small matters. She asked how A Ning’s health was, what medicine she was taking, and how the people in the manor treated her.”

The Marchioness’s heart tightened. “And what did A Ning say?”

“With the Old Madam and Aunt both there, of course A Ning said everything was good,” Madam Wen said.

The Marchioness did not doubt Madam Wen’s words and let her go back.

If she had known the Old Madam’s luck was so good that she could meet a Noble Lady just by going to burn some incense, Madam Bai really should have taken Bai Ci Rong along.

Such a good chance had fallen into Luo Ning’s lap for nothing.

Luo Ning did not know how to please people and had not shown off in front of the Princess, wasting such good fortune.

[If A Rong had even one-tenth of A Ning’s luck, she would have already flown onto a high branch by now,] Madam Bai thought. [Could it be that the Luo Family’s ancestral tombs are really blessing A Ning?]