Chapter 83
Chapter 83: The Plan Full of Holes
Luo Yin slowly woke up. His head hurt as if it would split open.
He had taken a blow to the back of the head.
When he moved a little, he found that he was tied up tight and could not move.
The Earth God Temple was old and broken, but the early summer night wind carried a sweet flower smell as it slowly drifted in.
In a corner, a tiny lonely oil lamp flickered in the breeze, its small flame brightening and dimming.
Luo Yin turned his head in a panic and saw Luo Ning in another corner.
Luo Ning was wearing rough servants’ clothes. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun. She had no makeup and wore no jewelry. She looked plain and clear.
She was so calm and clear that she seemed almost unreal, and it made people afraid for no reason.
“Luo Ning, what are you going to do?” Luo Yin shouted at her.
But he found his voice was hoarse and weak. Only he himself could hear it.
His whole body ached, and his head hurt even more, so he almost ignored the burning sting around his neck.
In Luo Ning’s hand was a soft whip.
She had looped the whip around Luo Yin’s neck and cut into his skin, making his voice unable to come out loud so he would not make too much noise.
“Untie me at once. If you go too far, Grandmother and Father won’t let you go!” Luo Yin said angrily.
Luo Ning took a few steps forward.
Her face was still expressionless. There was no sadness in her eyes, and no pride either. She only looked quietly at Luo Yin and said: “You’ve fallen into my hands and you still think you can leave?”
Luo Yin held back his anger and looked at her with a cold smile: “What can you do to me? At most you can hurt me. Do you even dare to kill me? Luo Ning, I’ve been hurt again and again because of you. Do you think I’m still afraid?”
When he healed, he would still have a chance to deal with Luo Ning next time.
“I of course don’t dare to kill you,” Luo Ning said.
Luo Yin said: “Good that you know that. Luo Ning, I advise you to know what’s best for you. Going against me won’t do you any good. I’m your Brother. From now on you should listen to me about everything.”
“Why should I?” Luo Ning’s dark eyes shone even in the dim light as she kept staring at him.
“I’ll be the future Marquis of Zhen Nan. Even if you marry into a high family, without your maiden home to back you up, could you ever win against those secondary consorts and favored concubines?” he said.
For once, he spoke very calmly.
“Why should you be the Marquis of Zhen Nan?” Luo Ning asked again. “Are you even qualified?”
“You don’t get to decide that. I’m the eldest legitimate son. Both Father and Grandmother accept that. No matter how unwilling you are, you can’t change this fact,” Luo Yin said.
As he said this, he felt very pleased.
It was extremely satisfying.
“When you went to offer incense at the Qiu Clan Ancestral Hall, did you never think about being Madam Luo’s eldest legitimate son?” Luo Ning asked.
The room suddenly fell silent.
The lonely lamp in the corner shook. A gust of wind blew it so low it almost went out.
Luo Yin’s eyes widened. His head felt as if it had been struck hard again, buzzing.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Luo Ning did not answer. She only looked at him.
The room was still for a long moment. Then he said: “Are you slandering me?”
“Of course I have evidence. I have both people and things to prove it,” Luo Ning said. Her face was still calm.
She did not show a smug smile of success, nor any sly look of testing him.
She was as calm as a winter lake covered with a thin layer of ice, untouched even by the wind.
Cold, and lonely and grim.
Luo Yin stared at her in shock. His pupils tightened.
Luo Ning went on: “I know clearly what Qiu Shi Dong looks like and what his temper is like. I also know the year and month when Bai Ci Rong was born. Those years when you went out to study, you were always by Qiu Shi Dong’s side. He bought so many things for you. All of these are hard evidence.
“Luo Chong Ye, my father, is the Marquis of Zhen Nan. As long as the Luo family’s property and noble rank are still in our hands, does it matter whether anyone believes it right now?
“In short, you lowly lackeys crawling in the gutters haven’t achieved anything yet, other than sending a few bastards to be raised in the Luo family.”
“Father won’t believe you! Luo Ning, if you dare to slander me and Mother like this, I’ll never forgive you,” Luo Yin shouted angrily.
His voice was so hoarse that Luo Ning could only hear a weak hissing sound. It wasn’t sharp at all.
“…Don’t believe every rumor you hear, Luo Ning. This is slander,” Luo Yin finished shouting, then also realized his throat was too hoarse and had no strength, so he quickly quieted down.
He spoke these words slowly and carefully: “Qiu Shi Dong is only an old family friend of our grandparents’ home. If you really have to say there’s some connection, he and Mother were once engaged, that’s all.
“The one who bought things for me was my uncle. A’Rong is my uncle’s daughter. Don’t believe a single word of those ridiculous stories,” Luo Yin said again.
He also said: “If Father hears this, he’ll find it unbelievable.”
He went on: “Father’s reputation matters most. If you talk such nonsense and make him lose face, he’ll deal with you first.”
The lonely lamp in the corner that had been blown sideways by the wind slowly straightened again, giving off a faint, yellow light.
The light was so small it could only brighten a tiny patch of ground, but like a little spark, it wouldn’t go out.
“You don’t need to worry about matters between Father and me,” Luo Ning said. “Tonight you’ll die here.”
Luo Yin’s pupils tightened again.
“Unless you tell me the truth about what plan you had for tonight,” Luo Ning said, “and from now on listen to me and obey me. Only then will I spare you.”
Luo Yin’s eyes darted around.
He was trying to survive.
He was a man, after all. He only needed someone to untie him and he could overpower Luo Ning and twist her neck.
She had to die!
She knew about Qiu Shi Dong. Even if she didn’t know everything, she had touched the edges of the truth. He couldn’t let her live.
If he dragged things out, he might get a chance.
Luo Yin only needed one chance.
“I heard there are bandits causing trouble near the city. I wanted to make it look like you were kidnapped by bandits,” Luo Yin said.
“That simple?”
“Your maidservant Chu Shuang was carrying washed clothes back from the laundry room. I took one of your handkerchiefs and put it into Yu Zhuo’s trunk. I also stole one of Mother’s gold bricks as travel money.
“I even found a woman, a courtesan. Her figure is similar to yours, and her clothes were like yours too. I took her to the street outside Yu Zhuo’s house. It was getting dark, so no one could see her face clearly. She only walked around by the gate, then I sent her back. It was to pretend you went with me to meet Yu Zhuo in secret.
“After everything worked, I would insist that I took you to see Yu Zhuo. Then I would use your maidservant Chu Shuang, buy her off and make her testify that you and Yu Zhuo couldn’t cut ties and planned to elope at midnight, but were unlucky and got taken by bandits,” Luo Yin said.
“You’re really cruel,” Luo Ning said.
Seeing that she had loosened up a little, with some expression now on her face instead of that icy look from before, Luo Yin knew that his honest words had pleased her.
He couldn’t help trying to defend himself: “I was just afraid that if you became Princess Consort Yong, you’d harm me in the future. My cousin pushed me into all of this. I didn’t want to do it at first.
“I also don’t dare to kill anyone. I was going to tie you up, hide you at the country estate, and after a few years send you to Shaoyang, give you a new name and a new life. You could still get married.”
Saying this, Luo Yin grew more and more confident: “If you marry Prince Yong, you might be killed by the secondary consorts in less than half a year. You’re not their match at all. Shaoyang is better for you. You can stay alive there. A’Ning, Brother is doing this for your own good.”
Hearing this, Luo Ning gave a faint smile.
The coldness in her eyes seemed to melt under a spring wind, rippling a little.
“Brother, you really are full of schemes.”
“I was wrong, A’Ning, I was wrong about everything. From now on I’ll listen to you…”
“Have you ever thought about this? My handkerchiefs would never be sent to the public washing room. My clothes even more so,” Luo Ning asked.
Luo Yin froze: “What?”
But Chu Shuang had clearly said that…