Chapter 94
Chapter 94: Exposed Without Mercy
Luo Ning’s birthday banquet was held in the grand flower hall used for feasts at the Marquis Manor.
The main table was set near the west window, since the west side was the place of honor. The other seats were arranged farther to the east.
The banquet had just begun. When Princess Ping Yang raised her cup to toast Luo Ning and congratulate her birthday, a stray cat suddenly leaped in through the window.
The stray cat was filthy all over. One eye was ruined, oozing pus and blood, and its one remaining eye stared sharply at the dishes on the table.
“Miss, be careful!” The round-faced young maidservant who was pouring wine for Luo Ning was the first to see the cat. She cried out and tried to shield Luo Ning.
Luo Ning slipped to the side to avoid her, and at the same time her short crossbow flashed from her hand. Her movement was extremely fast.
The stray cat let out a sharp cry and fell.
Luo Ning had hit its left leg. It was nailed to the floor and struggled wildly.
The maidservant guarding the door was one of Sister-in-law Madam Wen’s trusted maids. She was more alert than anyone. Seeing something was wrong, she at once took off her short jacket and wrapped the cat up in it.
Inside the clothes, the cat clawed and thrashed, and its paws quickly tore the fabric.
Another young maidservant grabbed a basket used for holding things nearby and told the maid to throw the cat inside and cover it tightly.
These two were both Madam Wen’s people. They had been on guard for any accident, and their reactions were so fast and sharp that the guests were all stunned.
Second Madam smiled and stood up to apologize: “My sister-in-law is ill, so she asked me and my niece-in-law to handle this birthday banquet. It has only just begun and there is already a mistake. I will punish myself with a drink.”
She tipped back her head and drained the cup in one gulp.
Everyone laughed and cheered.
“Every household has strays coming in. It is not your fault,” Old Madam added.
The guests all spoke at once to comfort Second Madam.
The mood relaxed.
Only Madam Bai and Bai Ci Rong looked gloomy, their smiles forced.
Luo Ning also apologized to everyone: “I almost ruined the mood.”
She turned to the Princess and said: “Imperial Elder Sister, I really am sorry.”
The Princess could not help laughing: “If you are this polite, it shows you do not truly treat me as your sister. You do not need to be so cautious around me.”
Luo Ning agreed.
She was about to sit down when the Princess asked about her short crossbow: “This thing is amazing.”
Luo Ning smiled and said: “If you like it, Imperial Elder Sister, I can let you take a look. But I cannot give it to you. It was a gift, someone else’s thoughtfulness, and I really cannot pass it on.”
The Princess said: “I will look at it slowly another time. There is plenty of time.”
Everyone laughed and praised how close Luo Ning and the Princess were. Their flattering words sounded very pleasant.
Luo Ning sat down. Looking at the young maidservant next to her, whose face was full of shock and doubt, she asked with a smile: “What is your name?”
The young maidservant came back to herself, her expression complicated: “This servant is Han Zhi.”
“Which part of the manor are you from?” Luo Ning asked again with a smile. “You are so rash. You made such a fuss over such a small matter. You really are not steady enough.”
The young maidservant’s face turned pale.
She instinctively wanted to look at Madam Bai, but as soon as her head turned a little, she realized it and forced herself to stop at once: “This servant works in the kitchen.”
“No wonder. You have never served close at hand, so you were so easily frightened,” Luo Ning said with a smile. “Nanny Ge.”
Nanny Ge stepped forward to take orders.
Luo Ning said: “Later, tell her steward nanny not to punish her. Who does not make mistakes?”
The young maidservant knelt down: “Miss, if you are willing to take this servant to your side and train her…”
Nanny Ge’s face changed at once: “Foolish child, hurry and take her away!”
A maidservant immediately covered her mouth and dragged her out.
A young maidservant who had made a mistake and almost caused chaos had just been clearly pleaded for by the eldest miss, who told the steward nanny not to punish her. Yet she still pushed her luck and wanted the eldest miss to take her into her service.
How outrageous!
This was completely against the rules and would make the guests laugh at them. Nanny Ge had only just taken over the inner residence affairs and was afraid that any trouble at this moment would drag her down.
The young maidservant was dragged away.
Madam Bai’s expression grew even darker.
When she looked up, she saw Luo Ning.
And Luo Ning was looking right at her.
Madam Bai forced out a smile: “A’Ning, were you frightened?”
“I am not afraid of cats,” Luo Ning said. “That cat was only dirty, not dangerous. Mother, do not worry about your daughter.”
The marchioness had bitterness she could not speak.
She had wanted to place some people in Wenqi Courtyard so that Luo Ning would not have a peaceful life there.
When Luo Ning was upset and angry, she would lose control.
This young maidservant named Han Zhi had saved Luo Ning in front of the guests and the Princess, blocking the stray cat for her and even getting her hand scratched.
If Han Zhi later asked to be assigned to Wenqi Courtyard, and she even looked a bit like Chu Shuang, then Luo Ning would have to accept this so-called “benefactor.”
Han Zhi had once served in the East Main Courtyard, so Luo Ning would surely be suspicious.
At first, suspicion was a good thing. Once that suspicion was cleared later, she would trust Han Zhi even more.
The marchioness had staged all of this today in order to plant this chess piece, but she had never expected Luo Ning to shoot the cat away herself.
The young maidservant was also dumbfounded.
Faced with this unexpected change and the noble ladies at the main table, the young maidservant had been far too nervous.
In her panic, she made a big mistake: she was too eager to reach her goal.
Now the move had completely become a dead end.
Even so, it would not be hard for the marchioness to keep arranging maidservants for Wenqi Courtyard. She had already recovered from her illness and would soon take charge of affairs again.
She was the household matriarch. In the Marquis Manor, she had the final say. Dealing with Luo Ning and tormenting her would be very easy.
“…A’Ning, congratulations on your birthday.” Bai Ci Rong was the first to come over to toast. Smiling, she raised her wine cup and also took out an embroidered pouch. “I stitched this. I am giving it to you.”
The embroidered pouch was stitched with gold thread, and the needlework was extremely fine. Bai Ci Rong even deliberately swung it in front of the Princess.
Before Luo Ning could reach out to take it, Madam Bai spoke with a smile: “You are only giving an embroidered pouch? People will say you are stingy…”
Next, she had planned to say, Let me see this embroidered pouch of yours.
Then she would show Bai Ci Rong’s embroidered pouch to the guests.
Princess Ping Yang would certainly follow along and politely praise it once or twice, saying the needlework was good.
All Bai Ci Rong needed was that one polite sentence. Then next time she would be able to call on the Princess, and use Qiu Shi Dong’s money and treasures to win the Princess’s favor.
Madam Bai would use every chance to push Bai Ci Rong up to a higher position.
However, before Madam Bai could finish speaking, Luo Ning spoke first: “Cousin really is stingy!”
Everyone was stunned.
Madam Bai and Bai Ci Rong both tensed up.
Luo Ning went on: “An embroidered pouch made by a maidservant is hardly a proper gift.”
When she said this, her gaze was calm and she did not look angry at all. But the air in the flower hall tightened for no reason.
Was she really going to lose her temper with her cousin at her own birthday banquet?
That would be like hurting the enemy and hurting herself at the same time, and others would also end up speaking badly of her.
Second Madam was planning to chime in to smooth things over for Luo Ning so she could get angry another time, but then she saw Luo Ning smile.
Luo Ning’s smile was sincere and cheerful: “You are so naughty. You are teasing me on purpose, aren’t you? Hurry and bring out the real gift.”
It was as if she had only been teasing her cousin just now, joking with someone she was close to.
Everyone laughed as well.
But there was something meaningful hidden in their smiles.
Because after those first few sentences from Luo Ning, Bai Ci Rong’s expression had looked very wrong.
So even after those later words were spoken, Bai Ci Rong’s face stayed stiff. She could not recover for a while.
In other words, this cousin who was only a guest living in the Marquis Manor had really planned to use an embroidered pouch made by a maidservant as a gift for the manor’s eldest miss, Prince Yong’s intended consort, and to do it right in front of the honored guests.
She might even have planned to say that the embroidered pouch was stitched by herself, taking the maidservant’s credit as her own.
Everyone had mixed feelings.
Madam Bai’s face did not look good either.
“A’Ning, the real gift has already been sent to Wenqi Courtyard. It is meant to be a surprise for you,” Bai Ci Rong said with a smile.
She also realized how stiff she had been, so she forced out a proper smile.
Wanting to appear perfect, she had tried too hard. Now, even if the guests were dull, they could see that something was off about her.
Many people secretly sized her up.
Madam Bai almost choked on her own anger.
Luo Ning had said so firmly that the embroidered pouch was stitched by a maidservant. How had she known?
That maidservant always did Bai Ci Rong’s needlework for her, and Bai Ci Rong had silently allowed others to think it was her own embroidery.
Had Luo Ning just guessed, or did she truly know? Madam Bai very much wanted to keep explaining for Bai Ci Rong, but she was afraid that if she kept talking, she would only make things worse.
She did not dare to take that gamble.