Chapter 82
Chapter 82: Sister-in-law Wants a Cut
Luo Ning had set up a simple trap.
Luo Yin stepped into it without any hesitation, and everything moved forward just as Luo Ning, Nanny Kong, and the others had planned.
Nanny Kong had secretly cursed Luo Yin several times. Even someone as gentle and honest as she was could not help spitting insults at him, saying he was cruel and ruthless.
“We will stay fully alert and not be afraid of him,” Luo Ning said.
In Wenqi Courtyard, there was also an unexpected surprise.
Sister-in-law Madam Wen came over holding the child to visit.
She took out a gold brick and handed it to Luo Ning.
Luo Ning was a little surprised and asked: “Where did this come from?”
“Under the step by the bed in the inner room, one of the bricks was loose. That day he stayed alone in the inner room for half a shichen. I heard noises, but he did not call anyone in.
“After he left, I noticed the dust beside the bed step looked different, with signs it had been moved, so I told people to clear everything out.
“My trusted maid searched with me, and we found this. Don’t worry, my people can be trusted. They have all served me since they were young,” Madam Wen said in one breath.
Luo Ning looked at the gold brick.
The gold brick was heavy in her hand, about a pound in weight.
In the Marquis Manor, even the storeroom might not hold such a thing; only the Marchioness would have it.
If the Marchioness had given it to Luo Yin, he would have already taken it out to exchange for silver for daily use, not secretly hidden it under the bed.
“Did he steal it?” Luo Ning asked.
Madam Wen nodded: “That’s what I think too. It must be Mother-in-law’s. Before this, Mother-in-law most hoped he would study. She would never give him such a large sum and distract him.”
Then she said: “Keep it with you. Think of some way, or maybe put it in Old Madam’s Buddha hall. After things are settled, we will split it. You take sixty percent, I take forty.”
Luo Ning could not help laughing.
She said to Madam Wen: “Sister-in-law, you should quietly put it back.”
“Why?”
“A gold brick that weighs a pound, Sister-in-law, think about how much silver that is worth. If it goes missing, and it was in your inner bedroom, you will be the only suspect.
“For such a large sum, Luo Yin might even think of killing you. Don’t lose your life over money,” Luo Ning said.
Madam Wen’s face turned pale.
Luo Ning added: “If such a gold brick goes missing from the Marchioness’s room, she will find out sooner or later. When they start checking, you may not be able to keep even a hint of it from leaking out, and the Marchioness will not let you go.”
Cold sweat formed at Madam Wen’s temples.
In the end, Luo Ning said: “Put it back where you found it. First arson, then stealing gold. Luo Yin’s sins are not small.”
She gave Madam Wen a deep, meaningful look.
Madam Wen no longer tried to hide it. She just could not stand sharing a bed with Luo Yin.
“A’Ning, let’s think of a way,” she said.
“All right, I’ll think of something,” Luo Ning said.
The gold brick added more weight to this matter. To push Luo Yin even closer to a dead end, Luo Ning wanted to add one more crime to his name.
However, Luo Ning could not do this on her own. She needed to ask Prince Yong for help.
Luo Ning went to Prince Yong’s manor, but he was not home, so she waited for several hours.
The Chief Steward led her around the rear courtyard of the Prince’s Manor.
When Prince Yong came back, Luo Ning stated her request. Prince Yong looked at her in silence and asked: “Are you sure?”
“I beg the Prince to help,” she said.
“A defense deployment map. If it is real, your whole Marquis Manor will be dragged into disaster; if it is fake, it will be useless,” Prince Yong said. “What do you want something like that for?”
“I only want a fake one. I just want to scare someone,” Luo Ning said.
Prince Yong said: “Madam Luo, A’Ning, I chose you to be my Princess Consort because I value you. Do not disappoint me.”
“Yes.”
“…You keep going easy on people, as if you are just playing around. The commotion is big, but you never let the enemy bleed. I am already disappointed,” Prince Yong said.
Luo Ning lowered her eyes and said: “Prince, please trust me this time.”
“Just this once,” Prince Yong said after a long silence.
If Luo Ning was not decisive enough in killing and not ruthless enough in her methods, then she would not be fit to carry heavy responsibility.
Before this, Xiao Huai Feng had even thought that maybe she could serve as a deputy general, taking Cui Zheng Lan’s place to charge and fight for him. But if she kept making only small moves and her vision stayed so low, Prince Yong would give up on her first.
By then, he might even talk terms with Cui Zheng Lan again.
He knew Cui Zheng Lan also had her own goals. She could be used.
For now, he would give this chance to Luo Ning.
Luo Ning left Prince Yong’s manor with a fake defense deployment map. It was enough to fool many people; even the Marquis of Zhen Nan might not be able to tell it was fake.
She went back home.
She sent someone to deliver the map to Sister-in-law Madam Wen and told her to put it next to the gold brick and not say a word.
Madam Wen agreed.
The next day, Chu Shuang told Luo Ning that the eldest young master had come to her again: “He told me to wait for news at midnight tonight. When I hear a whistle, I am to go out the courtyard gate, and he will give me ten taels of silver. He said he has a surprise to give you, Miss, to ease things between you.”
She shivered again and said: “Miss, he is clearly up to no good. Does he think I’m stupid?”
Luo Ning said: “When the time comes, open the gate, but don’t go out. Just pretend to be very flustered.”
Chu Shuang agreed.
That night, the woman guarding the side gate, Sister Feng, was quietly knocked out, and the side gate fell silent.
The door bolt was lifted.
It was midnight with no moon, dark everywhere.
Someone blew a whistle.
Sure enough, the gate of Wenqi Courtyard was quietly opened, and a young maidservant poked her head out.
But she seemed very timid and shrank back again, only leaving the gate unlocked.
Someone walked softly inside.
Luo Yin stood in the dark and saw three people carry Luo Ning out.
“How is it?” he asked.
“There was only one maidservant on night duty. We already knocked her out and didn’t alarm anyone else,” a servant boy said.
Luo Yin told them to tie Luo Ning tightly and toss her onto the carriage.
“You don’t need to follow. All of you go back,” Luo Yin said.
He drove the carriage himself to a very remote place.
It was the Earth God Temple in the north of the city.
The temple had been in disrepair for years. There were few households nearby, and the place was remote, close to a horse farm.
Luo Yin had chosen this road on purpose to avoid the night patrols.
He felt he was fully prepared.
He would burn Luo Ning to death and turn her bones into ash; then he would go back and tell the family that she had eloped with Yu Zhuo.
Luo Yin had already stuffed one of Luo Ning’s handkerchiefs into Yu Zhuo’s wardrobe trunk. He had secretly taken it when he lay in wait for Luo Ning’s maid Chu Shuang to come back from the washing room with clothes in her arms.
He had also stolen one of Mother’s gold bricks.
Then he would tell outsiders that Luo Ning and Yu Zhuo were deeply in love. She had not wanted to marry Prince Yong, so she had arranged to run away with Yu Zhuo. Her money was usually kept by her maidservant, so to avoid alerting others she had no choice but to steal Mother’s money to elope.
It was just that lately there had been bandits around the city.
Luo Ning would sneak out in the middle of the night and be captured by bandits.
She would be unlucky.
The bandits might find out that she was Prince Yong’s intended consort and would burn her to death in some ruined temple.
Prince Yong’s intended consort eloping would be a huge disgrace. For the sake of the Empress Dowager’s and Prince Yong’s reputation, the Imperial Court would definitely suppress the news, just like when Luo Yin set the fire and the Empress Dowager had protected him.
Everything would be settled quietly.
It would be best if Luo Ning died like this.
Luo Yin had lost his post and suffered so much wrong. He had to make Luo Ning pay the price.
She could forget about marrying Prince Yong.
If she became Princess Consort Yong, he would have to look at her face for everything, and he was not willing.
As Luo Yin happily thought about this, the carriage arrived at the Earth God Temple.
When the carriage stopped, he lifted the curtain, only to find that the inside was empty.
The hairs on Luo Yin’s back stood on end.
He had clearly watched the servant boys tie Luo Ning up and throw her into the carriage.
Where was Luo Ning?
He had driven all the way here under cover of darkness.
In disbelief, he struck a fire striker for light, and the carriage was indeed completely empty.
Luo Yin’s heart jumped in fright. As he turned around, there was a sudden dull pain at the back of his head.
The sky spun and the earth turned. As he fell, he vaguely saw a slim figure standing at the gate of the Earth God Temple.