Chapter 95
Chapter 95: Bai Ci Rong In A Sorry State
The second half of the birthday banquet went very smoothly.
The food was good and the opera performance was good too. The Princess had drunk a little wine and became even more relaxed and easygoing, in very high spirits.
At Luo Ning’s request, Second Madam had invited the Madam of the Zhongcheng Earl’s household.
Now, she quietly asked the Princess: “Imperial Elder Sister, do you think my third younger sister can marry into the Zhongcheng Earl’s household?”
The Princess glanced at Madam Zhongcheng.
The Zhongcheng Earl’s household was not counted among the few great prestigious clans of Shengjing, and the Princess was not very familiar with her.
However, Madam Zhongcheng looked very steady. She was older, yet there were no tight frowns between her brows, and her eyes were still clear and bright.
You could see a person’s temper from their looks, at least a part of it, especially when they were older. For example, Luo Ning’s mother, Madam Bai, looked very vain and calculating at a glance.
“Which one is the third young lady?” the Princess asked with a smile, deliberately raising her voice a little.
Second Madam hurriedly called Luo Wan forward.
Although Luo Wan was nervous, she loved gossip. When she saw the Princess, her curiosity outweighed her fear of the Princess, and she openly looked her over.
The Princess then said with a smile: “She is a good child, bright and lively.”
She slipped off a ruby ring and rewarded Luo Wan with it.
She also praised Luo Wan a few times in front of Madam Zhongcheng.
Everyone could see what she meant.
Including Madam Bai.
There was some resentment and jealousy in Madam Bai’s eyes.
[Why could Luo Wan gain the Zhongcheng Earl’s household’s favor, while her A’Rong had no one interested in her? It was all Princess Jia Hong’s fault. At the Spring Viewing Banquet, she ruined A’Rong’s reputation. It was also Luo Ning’s fault.]
When the birthday banquet ended, it was already mid-afternoon. The Princess was going back to her residence, and the other guests were also leaving one after another.
Among the Luo family’s womenfolk, some went to see the Princess off, some to see Madam Zhongcheng and the Yanping Commandery Princess off, and some escorted their own relatives. In a lively group, they all walked toward the Chuihua Gate.
All of a sudden, Bai Ci Rong let out a sharp scream.
Everyone turned back, and for a moment they were all scared out of their wits.
They saw a thick, large snake hanging down from the high branches of a tree, its head resting on Bai Ci Rong’s shoulder.
“Help, help!” Bai Ci Rong screamed. “Mother, save me, hurry!”
Madam Bai’s heart gave a fierce jolt. She forgot everything else and rushed over to help, but the snake had already coiled itself around Bai Ci Rong.
The snake was very tame. It did not try to strangle her; it only clung to her and wound around like it was playing. Even so, Bai Ci Rong had already fallen to the ground, her pretty face drained of color.
Madam Bai was afraid too. She stepped forward, wanting to move the snake away, but as soon as she touched its cold, slimy body, she trembled all over, her hands and feet turning weak, and she backed away.
“Call someone to help, quick!” Madam Bai roared, her voice cracking.
Bai Ci Rong kept crying out “Mother.”
She was not calling for an aunt, nor for a maidservant, but calling for her mother again and again.
Among the people present, apart from a few who were paying close attention, the others did not think much of it. After all, when someone was terribly scared, they only knew to cry for their mother.
In the eyes of those not thinking deeply, that word “mother” did not point to anyone in particular.
“Help quickly, go get the fire tongs to clamp it.”
“Call the servant boys inside to catch the snake!”
“Princess, be careful. Ladies and young misses, please be careful too.”
“Do not be afraid, do not be afraid. This snake is not poisonous and has no fangs. It is too fat to move much. We can just slowly move it away.”
“How could there be such a big snake in the Marquis Manor?”
A short while later, with the help of a servant boy and a rough servant woman, the big snake was stuffed into another large basket and carried away.
“Where did that snake come from?” Madam Bai could not help roaring as she looked at Bai Ci Rong, who had fallen to the ground.
She glared fiercely at Luo Ning.
Right now, Bai Ci Rong looked even more wretched than Luo Ning had in her past life.
At least, Luo Ning had not wet herself.
Her early-summer dress was thin, and the dampness and smell could not be hidden. Afraid that Bai Ci Rong would lose even more face, Madam Bai did not help her up and just let her sit on the ground.
To draw everyone’s eyes away, Madam Bai decided to drag Luo Ning into the mess. She could no longer care about anything else and only wanted to protect Bai Ci Rong for the moment, whether it would help or not.
“A snake like this is not wild. It must have been raised,” Luo Ning replied, looking back at her and then at the guests. “We have to find out where it came from.”
She sighed again and said: “At my birthday banquet, first a stray cat made a scene, and now a huge snake appears. This is aimed at me. Who hates me this much?”
As she said this, her eyelids lowered. She did not look at anyone, only appeared pitiful and fragile.
Princess Ping Yang held her arm and said: “Do not say such foolish things. Who would target you? You are the young lady of the Marquis Manor, you used your life to save the Empress Dowager, and you have been granted by imperial edict as Princess Consort Yong. Of all people, no one would choose to harm you.”
Bai Ci Rong’s face was deathly pale. She only buried her head in Madam Bai’s arms and kept crying.
Cousin Luo Wan stepped out and said: “Cousin has especially bad luck. I do not know if she caused trouble, or if trouble just keeps circling around her.”
Madam Bai had just lost Luo Yin and her mind was already unstable. With only those two simple sentences from Luo Wan, she lost her calm.
“Nonsense. Someone is clearly trying to harm her,” Madam Bai said angrily, turning to look at Luo Ning.
She openly pointed at Luo Ning.
Luo Ning looked very shocked: “Mother, are you talking about me?”
Madam Bai said: “Other than you, who is always jealous and competing with your cousin? Other than you, who has such great power in the Marquis Manor?”
Luo Ning’s eyes grew wet as she looked at Madam Bai in disbelief: “Mother, Cousin is just an orphan who was taken in to live in the Marquis Manor. She has no power, no influence, and no one to rely on. What is there for me to be jealous of?”
Everyone’s expressions were different.
Madam Bai was choked for a moment.
This year, Bai Ci Rong had indeed been unlucky in everything, while Luo Ning had risen step by step.
Saying Luo Ning was jealous did not seem very reasonable…
Madam Bai had been furious and had not guarded against Luo Ning fighting back.
“Mother, are you taking your anger out on me?” Luo Ning asked again. “When you lost your mind some days ago, is that madness still not cured?”
The guests all watched the Princess’s expression.
The Princess did not speak and only stood there in silence.
Old Madam spoke: “Enough.”
Her voice was not loud, but because of her position, it carried full authority. “My eldest daughter-in-law had her mind clouded over by a small matter some time ago and has not yet recovered. If it were not for A’Ning’s birthday, I would never have dared let her meet guests.
“From now on, she should still stay in seclusion to recover. The chaos today has also shown that the one in charge of the inner residence is not capable enough. We have made our honored guests laugh at us.”
Madam Bai glared viciously at Old Madam.
“I am not mad!” Madam Bai shouted in rage. “You bully A’Rong and humiliate me. How dare you! I am the Madam of the Marquis of Zhen Nan…”
Old Madam walked forward, not bothering to listen anymore.
The Princess followed her, and the other guests actually lifted their feet one after another and left as well.
Madam Bai and Bai Ci Rong were left behind.
Some people also wanted to stay and watch the drama, but they did not dare to overstep and could only follow along with the others.
Madam Bai shouted and screamed behind them.
Once they walked out of the Chuihua Gate, Luo Ning began to cry.
She said to everyone: “I actually did not want to hold a birthday banquet. It is only my last year spending my birthday in my maiden home, and I wanted it to be lively. Who knew it would cause my mother to fall ill again?”
She added: “I also do not know who is deliberately trying to make things hard for me.”
The Princess comforted her.
Although the guests were all watching the drama, they also felt she was quite pitiful.
At a proper birthday banquet, who would not want it to be handled with dignity?
News that the marchioness, Madam Bai, had gone mad spread among relatives and friends in a short time.
Princess Ping Yang did not return to her own residence. Even though the sky was already growing dark, she still entered the palace before the gates of the Imperial City were locked to visit the Empress Dowager.
She had many things she wanted to say to the Empress Dowager.
Luo Ning was the Empress Dowager’s life-saving benefactor, yet her situation in the Marquis Manor was truly terrible.
Everything that had happened today was aimed at Luo Ning. The stray cat and the big snake were full of malice.
The Princess’s heart was pounding with fear.