Chapter 4
Chapter 4: First Meeting with Prince Yong
Luo Ning returned to Wenqi Courtyard.
In her last life, she had made a huge scene. What was clearly hers, when she finally took it back, instead gave her cousin the good name of being generous and yielding.
She herself ended up losing in every way.
From the Old Madam’s quarters, someone sent over her daily allowance.
The stewardess was polite and respectful, not daring to slight her at all.
Her mother, Madam Bai, asked her in a faintly mocking tone: “Do you still want those two second-class maids you used before?”
Luo Ning said: “I have people I can use now. Qiu Hua and Qiu Lan serve me very well, so I will promote them to second-class maids. As for the other maidservants, my cousin is already used to them. How could I steal what she loves?”
She could also speak in that generous way.
Madam Bai froze for a moment.
She held back her temper and put on a loving-mother tone: “A Ning, I really worry for you. If you act like this and leave yourself no way out, you will suffer in the future.”
Facing her, Luo Ning was always quiet, with almost no expression.
She did not mock, and she did not smile. She was distant and cold.
Luo Ning did not even care enough to refute anything her mother said.
Her mother added: “You had better take care, A Ning. A bit of favor will be used up sooner or later. Who will protect you then?”
Luo Ning’s expression did not change: “Mother, as long as the Marquis Manor does not fall, the favor I hold will not fade. Isn’t that so?”
Madam Bai flicked her sleeves and left.
The Old Madam then sent Luo Ning an older maid who also served as a steward, and two third-class young maids.
This older maid was the one Luo Ning had asked for by name. She was the wife of the accountant in the outer courtyard, and everyone called her Nanny Kong.
In her previous life, Nanny Kong had taken a disaster for Luo Ning and died.
Luo Ning said: “From now on, Nanny Kong will be in charge of managing everything in the courtyard. Qiu Hua will manage the money, and Qiu Lan will manage clothes and jewelry.”
The two young maids were in charge of daily chores.
Wenqi Courtyard had four main rooms, six side rooms on each side, and an extra rear building. The courtyard was very spacious, almost as large as the Old Madam’s West Main Courtyard.
Even better, its location was excellent.
In front of it were the east and west main courtyards. Behind it was the Rear Garden, close to the North Corner Gate of the Rear Courtyard. From there, one could overlook the whole Marquis Manor, and it also had its own separate way in and out.
After Luo Ning moved in, she wanted the key to the North Corner Gate.
Of course, her mother, Madam Bai, would not give it to her.
Her mother said: “What do you want a key for? As an unmarried young lady, do you plan to sneak out through a corner gate? That would be improper.”
Luo Ning did not press the matter.
Her mother even added two older maids on duty at the North Corner Gate, set there especially to guard against Luo Ning.
Having just been reborn, Luo Ning now had a rather tricky problem: she did not have much money or property.
Her cousin Bai Ci Rong had built up prestige in the inner residence of the Marquis Manor and had almost taken Luo Ning’s place as the eldest miss. This was because Luo Ning’s mother had used money and connections to pave the way for her.
Her mother’s dowry and the Luo family’s original fortune were all in her mother’s hands now.
As long as nothing happened to her mother, no one would ask her to settle the accounts.
Besides, there was someone very rich outside the manor who kept giving money to support her and Bai Ci Rong.
What they wanted was status.
Bai Ci Rong had gone from an unclear “legitimate daughter of the Bai family” to a noble young lady of Shengjing. The Marquis Manor was her stepping stone.
They did not lack money.
Luo Ning did.
After she finished arranging everything in Wenqi Courtyard, Luo Ning had a good sleep.
The next day, she went into the palace to visit the Empress Dowager.
She was there to return the Buddhist Prayer Beads.
Luo Ning said: “When I went to Fahua Temple, I found out that this string of Buddhist Prayer Beads is so precious and is Your Highness’s beloved item. I am just returning it to its rightful owner. I dare not be greedy.”
This string of Buddhist Prayer Beads had been with the Empress Dowager for decades.
She had been willing to give it to Luo Ning, but when Luo Ning brought it back, she did not try to push it back into the girl’s hands.
This was a comfort to her heart.
Her life had gone smoothly mostly because the Buddhist Prayer Beads gave her support, making her believe every choice she made was right and that she was blessed by the gods.
The Empress Dowager asked her: “What do you want? I wish to repay you.”
Luo Ning said: “His Majesty has already granted me a noble title and an estate manor. Your Highness has already given me too much.”
The Empress Dowager shook her head: “That was given by His Majesty. He rules the world with filial piety. He wants to show his own filial devotion. It was not given by me.”
Luo Ning said: “Your Highness, I only wish to ask for one thing.”
The Empress Dowager asked what she wanted.
Luo Ning said: “When I was recovering from illness in the Southern Region, I was bored and learned a bit of divination and esoteric calculations from a Daoist priest. I have a prediction that I would like to tell Your Highness. I ask for your permission.”
“You may say it and let me hear,” the Empress Dowager said.
Luo Ning slowly told her the prediction. When she finished, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly.
While the two of them were talking, an eunuch came in to report: “Your Highness, Prince Yong has arrived.”
Luo Ning kept her face calm.
Prince Yong was the Empress Dowager’s younger son.
Eight years later, he would become the new emperor.
Before Prince Yong even stepped into the hall, Luo Ning heard a dog’s bark.
A huge dog, black from head to tail, ran in first.
When the Empress Dowager saw it, she could not help laughing: “So Chang Ying the grand general is here too.”
She liked this dog very much.
But the dog’s looks were truly frightening.
Luo Ning, however, froze for a moment.
She could not help calling it in her heart: [Sesame.]
After she died and became a ghost in her last life, people could not see her, but one dog could.
A huge and very fierce dog that everyone feared could see Luo Ning.
Luo Ning often played with it.
It would always run out late at night to look for Luo Ning and keep her company.
Luo Ning had never seen its owner.
It was so big, but in Luo Ning’s heart, it was a cute little thing, so she called it “Little Black Sesame.”
All the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall hurriedly moved aside, each one tense and afraid.
“Imperial Mother.” A man’s lazy voice drifted in.
Just as Luo Ning clearly saw the man, the dog pounced at her.
The Empress Dowager was shocked, afraid that Chang Ying the grand general would scare Luo Ning to death.
The dog was very fierce, with sharp teeth, but without a command it would not bite anyone on its own.
It had knocked people it disliked to the ground before. Being frightened by it was common.
The dog came up to Luo Ning and sniffed at her.
Luo Ning, as she used to, raised her hand and gently patted its head.
With a thump, the big dog lay down in front of her and rolled onto its back, begging for belly rubs.
The Empress Dowager was speechless.
Prince Yong, who had just entered the hall, was also speechless.
The man’s eyes darkened, and his voice turned cold: “Chang Ying!”
The big dog, who had been ready to enjoy being petted, rolled over and jumped up, then obediently ran back to the man’s side.
Luo Ning raised her eyes and met a pair of pitch-black, deep eyes.
The man had handsome features, thin lips, and a high nose. His expression was cold and distant, and there was a hint of cruelty in his eyes.
He glanced at Luo Ning, and his gaze grew even darker.
He asked: “What trick did you use to make my grand general so close to you?”
Luo Ning stood up and bowed respectfully: “This humble woman greets Your Highness, Prince.”
He sized her up.
He even leaned closer and quietly took a sniff, wanting to know what kind of scent worked so well on his dog.
He did not smell anything special, only a faint scent of powder.
[Vulgar.]
He frowned again.
The Empress Dowager laughed and said: “This is Eldest Miss Luo. She is the one who took the blade for me.”
Only then did Prince Yong say: “Rise.”
Luo Ning stood up.
The black dog secretly peeked at her, wanting to get close to her for no reason. Prince Yong, Xiao Huai Feng, kept watching her from the corner of his eye.
The Empress Dowager laughed and said: “This dog understands people.”
Then she added: “How did you bring it into the palace? The Censorate will impeach you again later.”
“They already scold me plenty,” Xiao Huai Feng said.
Now that he was here, mother and son had things to talk about, so Luo Ning meant to stand and take her leave.
Just then, an eunuch came to report: “Your Highness the Empress Dowager, Her Majesty the Empress asks to see you.”
The smile on the Empress Dowager’s face grew deeper, and she told the eunuch to invite the Empress in.
Luo Ning saw the Empress, Madam Zheng.
The Empress was around twenty years old, at the height of a woman’s beauty. Her eyes were bright, her brows dark, her nose straight, and her lips like a cherry blossom. Her skin was like frost and snow. She was tall and graceful.
It was as if all the golden light outside the hall had fallen onto her, making her dazzling and bright.
She had the finest bone structure and a flawless face.
She was the Empress of the current dynasty. Eight years later, when Prince Yong ascended the throne, she would still be the Empress of the new dynasty.
Even if the whole city talked about her, it would not stop the new ruler from going against the whole world for her sake.
Luo Ning bowed and said: “This humble woman greets Your Majesty the Empress.”
“You must be Miss Luo?” the Empress asked in her clear, pleasant voice. “Please, rise.”