Chapter 66
Chapter 66: The Close Relationship Between Prince Yong and the Empress
Luo Ning whispered a few words with the Empress Dowager, then followed the palace maid to the entrance of the Imperial Garden.
She sat down along the covered corridor and told the palace maid her shoe size.
The palace maid asked her to sit and wait, saying she would be right back.
So Luo Ning sat and waited.
Beside her, peonies were planted. At this time of year, they were in full, heavy bloom. Their petals were bright and vivid, layer upon layer, like piles of embroidered brocade.
Someone walked over.
She lifted her eyes and saw Prince Yong.
Prince Yong casually sat down on the corridor opposite her.
“Prince, Sister Lin has been here for a few days. She teaches very well. Thank you,” Luo Ning took the initiative to chat with him.
Prince Yong nodded slightly and said: “Her whip technique is very good. You should study hard.”
He added: “I will test you in a month.”
Luo Ning immediately felt the pressure.
How would he test her?
“At the very least, you cannot let someone take your whip so easily,” he said.
Luo Ning agreed.
After that, he fell silent again.
Luo Ning felt that he had come out just to get some air and did not want to deal with the people inside. It was also possible that he had caught her secretly glancing at Pei Ying twice just now and was unhappy about it.
Feeling guilty, she forced herself to chat: “Prince, why do I not see your dog?”
“If I brought a dog into the palace for a banquet, who do you think I would be slapping in the face?” he asked.
His tone was impatient.
The unspoken meaning was that her question was thoughtless.
“Yes, I was careless. It is just that I have not seen it for some days and I miss it very much,” Luo Ning tried to make up for it.
“You miss a dog?”
“It is very brave. Last time it even saved me,” Luo Ning said.
Prince Yong said: “You spend your time looking at people and then thinking about a dog. You are quite busy.”
Luo Ning was speechless. She had not been looking at a person. She had only been looking at the bamboo flute.
The tune Pei Ying played sounded so much like the guqin piece Luo Ning had adapted, and the purple bamboo flute in his hand looked somewhat like the one she had given Madam Feng.
She was curious.
Besides, she had controlled herself and only looked twice. The third time, before she even turned her head, the back of her hand had been struck red. The red mark had still not faded.
Luo Ning wanted to explain, but a palace maid ran over, panting, with a pair of shoes.
After bowing to Prince Yong and Luo Ning, the palace maid knelt and said: “This servant will change your shoes, my lady.”
Luo Ning said: “I will do it myself.”
“Wait,” Prince Yong suddenly spoke.
The palace maid did not understand, but lowered her head and awaited his order.
Prince Yong said: “Show me the shoes.”
The palace maid handed them over.
Following his hand, Luo Ning also looked at the shoes.
But she saw Prince Yong’s face darken. In a hard voice he said: “Take these back and bring an ordinary pair of blue satin shoes.”
Luo Ning asked: “Prince, what is wrong with these shoes?”
The shoes were beautiful, also lilac in color, embroidered with a gorgeous peony. A twisted pattern ran all around the edge.
“You are not qualified to wear this kind of shoes,” Prince Yong said coldly.
Luo Ning said nothing.
The palace maid answered and was about to retreat to change them when a group of people entered the Imperial Garden, led by the Empress.
Behind her came Beauty Chen, then a wet nurse, palace ladies and maids, and several eunuch attendants. The wet nurse was holding the Imperial Prince in her arms.
Seeing the palace maid going out, the Empress paused for a moment, then told Beauty Chen to take the wet nurse and the child inside first, while she herself walked toward the corridor.
Luo Ning and Prince Yong stood up and bowed to the Empress.
“Imperial Sister-in-law.”
“Your Majesty, I wish you peace.”
In the Empress’s eyes, there was a faint ripple, bright and clear. She said: “A’Ning, why are you still calling me Your Majesty the Empress? You should call me Imperial Sister-in-law.”
Luo Ning fell silent.
Because she knew about the secret feelings between Prince Yong and the Empress, that perfectly proper “Imperial Sister-in-law” from Prince Yong sounded ambiguous to her.
Calling her “Imperial Sister-in-law” in front of Prince Yong as well made her feel very strange.
She only bowed respectfully and said: “I was rude. I will remember your teaching.”
The Empress smiled, not minding, and looked at Luo Ning’s feet: “Why have you not changed your shoes?”
Luo Ning understood at once.
The pair of shoes from before actually belonged to the Empress.
[Prince Yong even recognizes her shoes. Their relationship is closer than I thought.]
Prince Yong answered for Luo Ning: “The palace maid took the wrong pair. I told her to change them.”
The Empress laughed and said: “Those are my shoes. They are for everyday wear, nothing special. My fourth younger sister sometimes wears my old shoes too.”
Prince Yong said: “Imperial Sister-in-law, rules cannot be broken.”
Luo Ning nodded and said: “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness.”
The Empress did not insist and went in to take her seat first.
The palace maid found another pair of plain blue satin shoes, and Luo Ning changed into them.
While she changed shoes, the palace maid deliberately blocked the view, since it was not proper for others to see a woman’s feet. Prince Yong tactfully left first.
Luo Ning told the palace maid to throw away the old pair. They were very ordinary shoes, and she did not care to take them back.
The imperial banquet was about to begin when the Emperor finally arrived.
Beside the Emperor was a consort of Jieyu rank, who had been his favorite before.
She had a full face, cute and charming. Her round eyes and baby-fat cheeks made her look completely guileless.
[So the Emperor likes this kind of woman,] Luo Ning thought.
But Empress Zheng was the exact opposite.
No wonder Empress Zheng still had no children. She probably did not enjoy much favor.
She was intelligent and wise and certainly not lacking in schemes. The Empress Dowager admired this most about her, but the Emperor was not very pleased with it.
The Empress herself did not care much.
The Emperor and Empress shared a bed but dreamed different dreams. The Imperial Clan men and noble scions each had their own plans. Prince Yong’s mind was elsewhere.
The Empress Dowager held the eldest prince in her arms, smiling kindly. She said: “This child looks exactly like the Emperor did when he was little.”
Everyone showered her with compliments.
Luo Ning followed along.
Once the banquet started, she ate and drank at ease and stopped paying attention to petty matters.
She ate slowly, every bite looking refined. But she never set her chopsticks down, and at that slow pace she still managed to eat a lot and fill herself up.
Luo Ning truly did not want to waste effort at an Imperial Clan banquet. The matters at home had already tired her out and drained her mind.
Besides, she would not really become Princess Consort Yong. For now, she had no conflict of interests with these people.
Luo Ning stood too far outside it all. She had no desire for the power of the Imperial Clan. All she wanted was a Commandery Princess title. That was already settled and did not require her to struggle; Prince Yong had promised it to her.
While they schemed against each other, it seemed that Luo Ning had nothing to do except eat.
Prince Yong did not need her help at all.
Luo Ning felt that once she entered the Imperial Palace, she shed all those annoying troubles of the Marquis Manor and became like an invisible ghost again. It was rare for her to feel so relaxed.
She also knew very clearly that many people were pleased with her uncompetitive attitude, such as the Empress Dowager and Empress Zheng.
Having figured this out, Luo Ning continued eating until she was full.
“Imperial Mother, Seventh Sister-in-law is good-looking and has a good temper,” Princess Ping Yang said to the Empress Dowager after the banquet ended. “She does not look foolish.”
“She is a bit childish.”
Princess Ping Yang said: “She is not pretending to be childish. She is just open-hearted, which is why I say she is not stupid.”
She added: “She owes much kindness to Imperial Mother and can still be so open-minded. Imperial Mother chose this daughter-in-law well.”
“The ones I choose for you are all good,” the Empress Dowager said.
This time, when Luo Ning left the palace to return home, Prince Yong did not see her off.
Halfway back, Grand Princess Jia Hong stopped Luo Ning’s carriage and chatted with her for a while.
“In a few days I will hold a banquet and send you an invitation,” the grand princess said.
Luo Ning smiled and said: “Thank you for your kindness, Princess, but I have been busy lately. Imperial Mother has sent two nursemaids to instruct me.”
She glanced toward the carriage on the other side and asked: “Has the Heir Apparent already gone back?”
The princess glanced over and smiled: “He rode off first.”
Luo Ning very much wanted to know where Pei Ying’s bamboo flute music came from, and she also wanted to look at his bamboo flute.
“Have there been any news from Sister Feng lately? Did she receive the gift I sent last time?” Luo Ning asked the princess.
The princess said: “He received it and is very pleased. But his mood has not been good lately. He has come across a very difficult matter and does not know how to work through it.”
“What happened?”
The princess said: “The person who had been with him for a long time has left.”
Luo Ning said: “That is truly something to be sad about.”
The princess said: “Would you like to write him a letter to comfort him? I will have someone deliver it for you.”
Luo Ning asked: “What kind of person was he to her?”