Chapter 48
Chapter 48: The Lure of Wealth
After the Spring Viewing Banquet, Bai Ci Rong really did gain a bad reputation in the Capital City.
Whenever people mentioned her, it was mostly with disdain and contempt, and with doubts about how her earlier fame had started.
“She’s a parasite eating away at the Marquis Manor.”
“The Marquis of Zhen Nan is newly ennobled. He only got that Noble Rank because his daughter saved the Empress Dowager. He came from a poor family. Now that he has risen high, he’s trying to act refined and noble, but it just looks wrong. The Marchioness is a merchant’s daughter from Yuhang. She even dreams of helping her niece soar to the heavens in one step.”
The Enfeoffed Ladies all admitted Luo Ning’s merit.
Even if she had not killed enemies on the battlefield, she had still gone through a life-and-death ordeal. It was right for the imperial house to reward her heavily.
At the same time, they also used this chance to belittle the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s household as unpresentable.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan was sitting in a teahouse with his colleagues when he heard the storyteller talking about all this.
Someone else added: “Starting from early April last year, someone has been paying high prices to hire storytellers to praise Miss Bai of the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s manor. They say two of her calligraphy-and-painting pieces sold for five thousand taels each, but the buyers never left their names.”
“Madam Bai from Yuhang is rich. It’s obvious who paid. If the girl really had talent, her buyers would stand up and say a word. Anyone willing to spend five thousand taels on a painting is not some ordinary commoner.”
“It was clearly her own family buying it.”
“For vanity to reach this point, it’s just laughable.”
After hearing this, the Marquis of Zhen Nan felt deeply ashamed.
When he returned home, he exploded at Madam Bai again.
“You will send A’Rong back to Yuhang. Settle this before the fifth month. If you don’t, I will send people to escort her myself,” the Marquis of Zhen Nan said.
He then asked: “Who bought fame for A’Rong? Was this your doing? Bring out the account books. I want people to check them.”
The Marchioness was the least afraid of having the accounts checked.
She had managed the household for more than ten years and had plenty of private savings. The Luo family did indeed have steady income, and she had never needed to put her own money into it. Her daily luxurious life was not built on stealing from the Luo family.
Bai Ci Rong had not spent a single copper of the Luo family’s money.
“Fine, go ahead and have them checked!” Madam Bai was angry too. “You are throwing the face of the managing madam to the ground and stomping on it. In the end, the one who looks shameful is still you.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan was choked with anger.
The Marchioness went on: “Now you dislike A’Rong? When Madam Wen was having a difficult labor, who went to find the female physician? The lives of the Marquis Manor’s eldest daughter-in-law and eldest grandson were both saved by A’Rong. Has Lord Marquis forgotten all of that?”
For a moment, the Marquis of Zhen Nan was speechless.
Life-and-death matters could not be erased so easily.
Luo Ning had saved the Empress Dowager, and the imperial house had granted the Luo family a Noble Rank for it. But after Bai Ci Rong saved Madam Wen and her son, what had the Luo family given her?
“Lord Marquis, if both my daughter and my niece can marry well, I will feel proud. I worked hard for my whole life for this bit of face. Can you not even allow that?” Madam Bai’s voice shook as she cried.
Her wish to support Bai Ci Rong did not clash with the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s own aims.
“She has already stained the Marquis Manor,” the Marquis of Zhen Nan said.
“She was only driven out by the Princess. How is that such a big deal? In a few days the Grand Master will forget,” the Marchioness said. “Lord Marquis, the Bai family also wants their daughter to have a bright future. If this road works, the Bai family is willing to offer one hundred thousand taels of silver.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan had a stomach full of words, but the three simple words “one hundred thousand taels” instantly filled his mind. He could not think of anything else.
As Lord Marquis, his estate was good compared with common officials, but his foundation was far too shallow when compared with prestigious clans and powerful families.
He needed money.
If he kept Bai Ci Rong, he would keep Madam Bai of Yuhang tied to the Marquis Manor and have the chance to get even more silver.
“What does Madam plan to do?” the Marquis of Zhen Nan asked.
The Marchioness said: “First we keep quiet for a while and let the gossips forget about this. Then we look for another chance.”
She wiped her tears and leaned closer to the Marquis of Zhen Nan. “Lord Marquis, if there is one day a Consort Bai in the Imperial Palace, you will not only receive one hundred thousand taels of silver from the Bai family, you will also have His Majesty’s pillow-side person speaking on your behalf…”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan froze.
“A’Ning has no hope. Her nature is too dull. Even if she really entered the palace, she would only cause trouble. A’Rong is different. She is beautiful and clear-minded. She will surely win the Emperor’s favor.
“Lord Marquis, you are a man of great talent and bold plans. What you lack is just a path for the Son of Heaven to see your abilities, isn’t it?” the Marchioness said.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan still had some sense left. He scolded her lightly: “Foolish daydreams.”
“Lord Marquis, this matter can be hard, but it can also be easy,” the Marchioness said. “A’Rong is your niece. Once she gains power, won’t she have to rely on the Marquis Manor to add to her glory?
“When she becomes a Noble Lady and gives birth to an Imperial Prince, tell me, will that Imperial Prince feel closer to Yuhang merchants, or to the Marquis of Zhen Nan?”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan suddenly felt his mouth dry and his tongue stiff.
These words were like a crazy dream, yet when they came out of the Marchioness’s mouth, they sounded as easy as picking peaches from a tree, needing only a stretch on tiptoe.
If Bai Ci Rong really did enter the palace, gained the Emperor’s favor, and gave birth to an Imperial Prince, that prince might even have a chance to become Emperor.
The Emperor’s “grandfather on his aunt’s side”…
At that time, the Luo family would become what Madam Cui’s clan was today.
The ruling noble clan would shift, and the Luo family would be raised to the highest place of all.
In less than twenty years.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan stood up and still scolded Madam Bai: “Stop talking nonsense. Behave yourself.”
But then he added: “Have A’Rong rest well these days.”
He no longer mentioned sending Bai Ci Rong away.
The Marchioness let out a long breath of relief.
When the Marquis of Zhen Nan stepped out of Madam Bai’s courtyard, the cold wind cleared his head a little.
He knew that the vision Madam Bai painted was only a mirage. But his greed treated those images as real. Whenever his reason wavered, greed came out and took over his heart.
The next day, the Marquis of Zhen Nan had tonics sent to Bai Ci Rong to calm her nerves.
Everyone inside and outside the Marquis Manor was shocked.
Even the Old Madam was startled by this and called the Marquis of Zhen Nan over to question him.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan brought up the story of Bai Ci Rong saving Madam Wen and her son’s lives, and used that to shut the Old Madam’s mouth.
Outside, Bai Ci Rong’s reputation was completely ruined. But inside the Marquis Manor, it was partly saved. At least the servants no longer dared to bully her as they pleased.
The suffering Luo Ning had tasted in her last life, Bai Ci Rong did not taste at all.
“…I feel a bit unwilling,” Luo Ning said to Nanny Kong, Qiu Hua, and Qiu Lan.
Qiu Hua quickly understood: “Lord Marquis and Madam favor Cousin so much. You are their real daughter, of course you feel unwilling. Even I feel wronged for you.”
Luo Ning nodded. “Yes.”
Her mood was like the spring sky over Shengjing. It was usually bright and warm, but it would rain from time to time.
Luo Ning knew this was normal. She let it be and talked it out with people she trusted.
Once she said the words out loud, her feelings were released.
She would not let anyone who had hurt her go. She was only slowing her steps because her wings were not yet fully grown. She was protecting herself.
Her parents did not care about her, but she cared about herself.
Because she wanted to be in a good mood, she had to stay healthy and keep a good reputation.
“Is there anything tasty?” Luo Ning asked Nanny Kong.
Nanny Kong said: “There are some snacks.”
“Boil some tea and bring the snacks,” Luo Ning said.
After eating some snacks, Luo Ning took out a copybook and practiced her calligraphy. Her mood improved a lot.
She then received a letter from Prince Yong.
Nanny Kong had gone out with the purchasing steward, and someone had specially passed the letter to her.
In the letter, Prince Yong told her that the imperial betrothal would be granted in the first ten days of the third month. The exact date was not set yet. The Ministry of Rites was already drafting the imperial edict.
It would be within these few days.
Luo Ning hid the letter and put it away carefully.
That night, she slept soundly and peacefully, without a single dream.
The Marchioness had pulled the Marquis of Zhen Nan over to her side. When the imperial edict granting the marriage came down, he would be pushed back again. This man, whose heart was full of selfish desire, was always being played with.
Luo Ning did not feel even a little sorry for him.
Before the imperial edict for the marriage arrived, Luo Ning’s childhood sweetheart returned.