Luo Ning was very curious about the feelings between Prince Yong and Empress Zheng, but she did not dare to be presumptuous.
She lowered her gaze and was led by Empress Zheng to sit down.
"…This dog is truly frightening," Empress Zheng said, looking at the black dog lying in a corner of the main hall, while having Luo Ning sit beside her.
Prince Yong did not reply.
The black dog bared its teeth at Empress Zheng, then was scared back by its master's gaze, continuing to lie on the ground, only occasionally letting out two grunts.
Empress Zheng withdrew her gaze and praised Luo Ning's loyalty, for risking her life to shield the Empress Dowager from the blade.
When she spoke of the touching moment, her voice even choked slightly.
The Empress Dowager smiled and comforted her.
Prince Yong remained silent.
"Mother, has Miss Luo been betrothed yet?" Empress Zheng asked.
The Empress Dowager did not know, so she asked directly, "A Ning, do you have a marriage engagement?"
"Not yet," Luo Ning replied.
Empress Zheng smiled and said, "I would like to act as a matchmaker for Miss Luo."
The Empress Dowager: "Do you have a candidate in mind?"
"There are many candidates," Empress Zheng said with a smile, glancing at Prince Yong, who was leisurely drinking tea beside her.
The Empress Dowager also looked at him.
Luo Ning sensed something unusual and followed the Empress Dowager's gaze.
Prince Yong wore a black robe, his eyes deep. He carried himself with an air of elegance, but a hint of ferocity was hidden in his brows, spilling out slightly with a subtle frown.
Luo Ning quickly withdrew her gaze.
"This matter needs to be discussed at length. A young lady is thin-skinned, so don't talk about it in front of A Ning," the Empress Dowager said with a smile, changing the subject.
Empress Zheng also regretted her slip of the tongue and turned to ask Luo Ning, "I heard that Zhennan Marquis Manor has a Biao Guniang, whose talent is extraordinary and beauty unparalleled, making her the foremost noble lady in the capital. Is the rumor true?"
She could only think of this topic.
Zhennan Marquis was a newly conferred title, and in Shengjing, where powerful families abounded, they were quite unremarkable. It was difficult for Empress Zheng to pay attention to their family.
However, the matter of that Biao Guniang was quite widely spread, and even the Empress had heard of it—of course, with mixed reviews.
There were people outside who were currying favor for Bai Cirong.
Luo Ning's maternal Bai Family lacked no money; and the person who truly cared about Bai Cirong's future possessed immense wealth.
They desired status.
Using the Marquis Manor's status, they aimed to help Bai Cirong marry into a powerful, esteemed family.
"Your Majesty, I have only just returned to the capital, and my information is far less comprehensive than that within The Palace," Luo Ning said with a smile, "However, Cousin is indeed gentle and intelligent; everyone in the household loves her."
They then discussed other young ladies in the capital based on this topic.
Luo Ning sat for a while, and as it was getting late, she rose to take her leave.
The Empress Dowager again asked Eunuch Wei to escort her.
Empress Zheng also had matters to attend to in The Palace, so she also bid farewell after Luo Ning stood up.
She even walked a short distance with Luo Ning.
"Come to The Palace often to keep Mother company and relieve her boredom. I manage the six palaces and am busy with trivial matters, often unable to fulfill my filial duties. If you can make the Empress Dowager happy, that is the greatest filial piety in the world," Empress Zheng said.
Luo Ning assented.
Empress Zheng harbored no ill will towards Luo Ning.
Luo Ning's background was not high; the Luo Family had only been ennobled for three years. She couldn't be called a "new noble," and "upstart" wasn't even an insult. She was extremely insignificant in front of Empress Zheng.
Luo Ning was like a beloved pet of the Empress Dowager.
No one would consider a pet by their mother-in-law's side a threat, and thus be wary.
They would only offer a little benefit, praise the pet's cleverness, to curry favor with the mother-in-law.
—Empress Zheng's kindness towards Luo Ning was precisely this.
"What are your usual hobbies?" Empress Zheng asked again.
Luo Ning: "Besides reading, I practice with a whip."
"You can use a whip?" Empress Zheng was very surprised, her smile radiant, "Then you are truly accomplished in both literary and martial arts."
"I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty, I just play around with it."
After chatting for half a day, Luo Ning was finally allowed to leave.
Inside Shoucheng Palace, Empress Dowager Cui was asking her son if he intended to get engaged.
"…You are twenty this year, and it's time you had a Wangfei. The Censorate is pressuring the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites is bothering His Majesty. Otherwise, the Empress wouldn't have rushed to bring this up, to alleviate His Majesty's worries," the Empress Dowager said.
"Let's discuss it later."
"What about Miss Luo?" the Empress Dowager asked, "Looking at her beauty alone, her character is calm and inwardly refined; I don't find her overly brilliant. When she stood next to the Empress, she was not at all inferior. A rare beauty."
Prince Yong's brows furrowed even deeper: "Mother, you are overpraising her."
The Empress Dowager: "…"
She was not exaggerating.
Empress Zheng had been famous among esteemed families for her beauty and demeanor even when she was unmarried.
No woman of her age was qualified to be compared with Empress Zheng's beauty.
Luo Ning was elegant and pure, with light makeup and simple clothing. When Empress Zheng held her hand and sat with her, whether in facial features or temperament, she was not at all inferior.
—The Empress Dowager was also surprised.
It was only when there was a comparison that her extraordinary qualities could be seen.
Luo Ning was too quiet, like a bright pearl veiled in a thin mist, her brilliance hidden by her downcast eyes.
"What about her family's Cousin? She has a prominent reputation in the capital."
"A Biao Guniang who has achieved such a great reputation has no small ambition," Prince Yong said indifferently, "It's all for the sake of climbing, and her character is questionable."
—She's not even as good as Luo Ning.
"If you are stubborn, I will ask His Majesty for an imperial decree to grant a marriage, and then you will have no say," the Empress Dowager said.
"Then I will have to trouble Miss Luo to reincarnate sooner and be a good person in her next life," Prince Yong said with a cold tone.
The Empress Dowager was helpless and a little annoyed: "Presumptuous! She is your Mother's savior."
"Pushing her into a pit of fire, repaying kindness with enmity—is this how Mother repays her benefactor? I do not like her, and I cannot treat her kindly," Prince Yong said.
He added, "Since she is a benefactor, why is she so stingy with money? She has no new clothes on her entire body, nor much jewelry."
The Empress Dowager: "The Marquis Manor has already been rewarded."
"Can the rewarded items fall into her hands?"
"Zhennan Marquis is her father, she is the eldest legitimate daughter, and also a favored daughter; she should be cherished in their palms," the Empress Dowager said.
As she spoke, she frowned slightly.
Could her judgment be mistaken?
The Empress Dowager knew that Zhennan Marquis had three legitimate children: two sons and one daughter.
This daughter was Luo Ning.
As the only legitimate young lady of the main branch, Luo Ning should not be poor.
Yet, she wore half-new, half-old clothes when entering The Palace, which didn't quite fit her cautious demeanor—if it were merely for the sake of being low-key and inwardly refined, she could wear new clothes in elegant colors.
"Mother, instead of arranging a marriage for her, it would be more practical to give her some things directly during the New Year," Prince Yong stood up.
He called out, and the black dog scrambled up, wagging its tail, and followed him out.
The black dog was enormous, of an unknown breed.
After he left, the Empress Dowager pondered his words.
Luo Ning was an unmarried young lady; her family's respectability was her own respectability.
Whatever the reward, it should naturally be sent to Zhennan Marquis Manor, rather than bypassing the Marquis Manor and directly rewarding her, as that would be against the rules.
Luo Ning did not complain, nor did she show any trace of sadness on her face, so the Empress Dowager could not tell how she was living at home.
—She did not bring her grandmother or mother with her on her two visits to The Palace.
Especially her mother, who was conferred the title of a first-rank Lady of Mandate when Luo Ning's father was ennobled as a Marquis; she had the right to enter The Palace to request an audience with the Empress Dowager.
"Someone," she called to the female official.
The female official responded.
"Prepare one hundred taels of gold, three thousand taels of silver, along with fashionable fabrics and jewelry, and send them to Zhennan Marquis Manor," the Empress Dowager said, "Specifically by imperial decree, for the eldest Miss Luo Shi A Ning."
The female official responded.
The Empress Dowager thought for a moment, then said, "Also bring out the Floating Jade Brocade that was offered as tribute from the south, and give it to Luo Shi A Ning."
The Floating Jade Brocade was offered as tribute two months ago, a total of twelve bolts; the Empress Dowager kept two bolts, and the rest were given to the Empress; the Empress rewarded the imperial concubines and external titled ladies, keeping only two bolts for herself.
Ultimately, six bolts of Floating Jade Brocade circulated among prominent families, drawing countless praises. The Empress Dowager's mischievous and bold niece even asked her for some.
The Empress Dowager did not give it to her.
Now she brought it out to give to Luo Ning. Such a valuable item could test the Marquis Manor's attitude towards Luo Ning.