Chapter 60
Chapter 60: Luo Ning Spies on the Poison Plot
Madam Wen watched from the side.
The Old Madam saw that Luo Yin had already apologized, then said: “Alright, alright, stop making a fuss.”
She turned to Madam Wen and asked: “Where is A Qin? Bring him to me.”
“A Qin is still asleep. He hasn’t woken up yet,” Madam Wen said.
Just as she finished, they heard a child’s voice.
Madam Wen went out and soon came back in, holding the just-awake Luo Li Qin.
The Old Madam looked at the little child. Her heart softened. She gently stroked his head.
The little child did not speak very clearly, so his voice was soft and sticky: “Great-grandmother, Aunt A’Ning.”
He looked like Madam Wen, and his temper was like hers too.
“A Qin is so good,” Luo Ning said.
The Old Madam also felt the child was well-behaved and very cute.
The Senior Madam’s maidservant saw that people inside kept talking. She stretched her neck and peeked in at the door.
Luo Ning noticed her and called out: “Come in and speak.”
When Luo Yin saw it was a maidservant from the Marchioness’s side, he said to Madam Wen: “Go ask what is going on.”
Madam Wen smiled casually and said: “It’s Chan’er. Come in, Chan’er.”
The maidservant named Chan’er had to go into the inner room. After she bowed respectfully, she said to Luo Yin and Madam Wen: “The small kitchen in Madam’s courtyard made some cheese. Madam sent it for the little young master to taste.”
She added: “Madam needs to meet with the stewards and is very busy, so she sent this maid to check on the little young master. But the little young master had not woken up, so I could not finish the errand and had to wait.”
Madam Wen smiled: “Where is the cheese?”
Chan’er went to the main hall and brought in a food box.
Luo Ning saw it and said: “It smells very good. Give it to me, I will feed A Qin.”
She took Luo Li Qin’s hand and said: “Come with Aunt. Let Aunt feed you, alright?”
Luo Li Qin nodded.
Luo Ning carried the cheese and took the child to the east side room. She held the cheese under her nose and sniffed it. Then she caught a very faint extra scent.
“Aunt will do a magic trick with you. If you do well, Aunt will take you out to eat candy,” Luo Ning said.
“Really?”
“Of course,” Luo Ning said with a smile. “When Aunt moves the spoon, you say: ‘It’s really tasty.’”
Luo Ning found a small flower vase and poured all the cheese into it. Then she used the empty bowl to “feed” Luo Li Qin.
Luo Li Qin did not like cheese, but he really wanted candy. After he said the first line, Luo Ning praised him, so he got more and more into it.
“…The cheese is really tasty, I want more,” he said to the maidservant Chan’er when he came out.
Chan’er had finished her errand. Madam Wen gave her a handful of copper coins as a reward, and she left.
It had been a small errand to begin with, so Chan’er did not think much of it.
In the East Main Courtyard, the Marchioness had just finished dealing with trivial matters. She called Chan’er over and asked: “Why did you stay there for so long?”
Chan’er told the Marchioness everything one by one.
Because she knew the Marchioness did not like Luo Ning, Chan’er did not mention that Luo Ning had fed Luo Li Qin. She only said: “The little young master liked it very much and even asked for more to be sent.”
The Marchioness smiled softly: “He really is a good child.”
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
Bai Ci Rong was going back to Yuhang and had already packed.
The servants in the Marquis Manor were all talking.
“A cousin who is only staying here as a guest has to go back in the end.”
“She stirred up quite a few things these days. It’s time for her to leave. The Marquis Manor is not her home.”
When Bai Ci Rong left, her manner was calm and unhurried, elegant and gentle.
The Marchioness stood at the gate to see her off, secretly wiping her tears.
Madam Wen and Luo Yin also came to see her off.
“…Why didn’t you bring A Qin to send his aunt off?” the Marchioness asked.
A bit of worry showed on Madam Wen’s face. The dark circles under her eyes were very heavy: “A Qin has been fussing in his sleep these past few days. At night he refuses to sleep. It was hard to coax him to sleep, and now he’s finally sleeping soundly.”
The servants the Marchioness had planted in Madam Wen’s courtyard also said that the little young master had been crying nonstop at night these past two days.
The child was very uncomfortable.
Luo Yin also said: “He keeps me from sleeping. I have been resting in the outer study these last two days.”
The Marchioness said: “You should invite a physician to take a look.”
Madam Wen said: “He is only fussy in his sleep. It is nothing serious. Mother, A’Yin, you don’t need to worry.”
Bai Ci Rong got into the carriage.
She did not bring many things. Most of her luggage stayed in Huifu Courtyard. She said Yuhang did not lack anything. She might come to stay for a while again later, so there was no need to take everything away.
The Marchioness agreed.
When the carriage went far off, the news spread inside the Marquis Manor.
The Second Madam was chatting with Luo Wan. Mother and daughter were both very surprised.
“She really left?” The Second Madam could not believe it. “I thought she would rather die than go.”
Luo Wan thought for a moment and said: “I’m afraid there is some scheme. Mother, I don’t think she will get far. She will definitely come back.”
“How would she come back? Lord Marquis already said he would send her away,” the Second Madam said.
Luo Wan did not know the answer either, but she felt it was not so simple.
“I’ll go ask Big Sister,” Luo Wan said.
The Second Madam agreed and told her to go ask around.
Sadly, Luo Ning was busy. Today she was learning Imperial Palace etiquette from Nanny He: how to walk, sit, stand, drink tea, and eat.
Luo Wan had no choice but to go back.
Bai Ci Rong left in the morning. In the afternoon, people arrived from Yuhang, bringing two extremely charming twin sisters.
“…My brother said we troubled them to look after A’Rong these days, so he sent some gifts. He also heard that Concubine Song is pregnant and is afraid Lord Marquis might feel lonely at his pillow, so he specially sent two girls over.” The Marchioness pointed at the twin sisters.
The two of them had figures like small jade gourds, curvy and alluring. They were young, and their eyes hooked when they looked at people.
The soul of the Marquis of Zhen Nan was almost hooked away.
He spoke as if in a dream: “A’Rong has already gone back.”
“Yes. If my brother knew we drove A’Rong away, how embarrassed he would be. The Bai family has not wronged the Marquis Manor,” the Marchioness said.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan sobered up a bit.
“Letting A’Rong go back is better for her,” the Marquis of Zhen Nan said.
The Marchioness lost her temper a little at once: “You are so cruel. Since A’Rong has left, we cannot accept these things. Someone, take the gifts and the people away. First settle them in a side room, and send them back to Yuhang tomorrow.”
The twin sisters looked at the Marchioness, then at the Marquis of Zhen Nan.
They both answered sweetly and withdrew.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan’s heart itched with desire.
He wanted to say something, but did not know how to start.
He was weighing the pros and cons.
Luo Ning had been granted the title of Princess Consort Yong.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan was not obsessed with women. All his life, he loved power the most. So Luo Ning’s matter had to come first.
Even though he was a little shaken at this moment. He had been abstinent for too long and had let that pair of temptresses steal his soul for a moment.
While the Marchioness was sulking, a young maidservant from Madam Wen’s courtyard ran over and said to the Marchioness: “Something bad has happened, Madam. The little young master is in trouble. The little young master has fallen into a coma.”
“What?” The Marquis of Zhen Nan shot to his feet and was instantly wide awake. “How could the little young master be in a coma?”
The Marchioness also showed worry: “We must go check on him.”
“Lord Marquis, Madam, the little young master hasn’t been well these last few days. Especially today, he keeps wanting to sleep and won’t wake up at all.
“The Eldest Young Madam still hasn’t invited a physician. Right now she is crying in the room. The wet nurse is also very anxious and said she might as well go with him.
“The older maids are blocking the door, and I can’t get in. The Eldest Young Master is in the outer study. I saw the whole place in chaos, so I hurried over to report to Madam,” the maidservant said.
The Marchioness’s hand trembled: “Quick, I want to see A Qin! If he’s in a coma, what if some evil thing is pressing on him?”
Before the Marquis of Zhen Nan could say anything, she raised her voice and ordered: “Someone go invite Dharma Master Hui Neng. Ask the Dharma Master to come and drive out the evil for the child.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan frowned.
When a child is sick, you should invite a physician first.
But Luo Li Qin was the eldest grandson. Madam was scared out of her wits and could not think things through so carefully.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan told another maidservant: “Go invite a physician at once.”
The Marchioness walked in front, and the Marquis of Zhen Nan followed behind. They went to Luo Yin’s courtyard.
When they arrived, they found the courtyard gate locked from the inside. There were still sounds of crying within.