Zhao Luoning was not at all surprised by this outcome.
To the Ji family, she, as the new daughter - in - law, was still an outsider. Whether it was the well - entrenched Lady Ji or the favored Second Lady Zhao, they were more important than her.
So, they could only punish a few servants to give her an explanation.
However, Zhao Luoning wanted to see how they would fob her off, so she asked,
"So, what happened to those old women?"
"The ones who spoke the most maliciously have been driven out of the Ji Mansion. All those in the mansion who spoke ill of you have had their monthly allowances deducted according to the severity of their offenses. The Second Lady is in a bad situation. Master Ji has punished her by forbidding her to go out for a year and ordering her to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors. The old matriarch also said that anyone who speaks ill of you without evidence will be driven out of the Ji Mansion."
Caixue finished speaking in one breath and was so parched that Zhao Luoning playfully handed her the untouched tea in her hand.
Caixue smiled sheepishly and gulped down the tea in the cup.
"If you don't pull out the weeds by the roots, disasters are bound to occur. Even the young lady of the Zhao family and the mother - in - law were just incited by someone with ill intentions. Our life in the Ji Mansion will still be difficult after we go back."
Zhao Luoning put down the ledger and sighed.
"Miss, do you mean that the person who wanted to harm you still hasn't been found out?"
Caixue put down the cup and asked anxiously.
"This is a scheme aimed at me. I never expected the Ji family to find out the mastermind."
"Miss, why do you say so?"
"Think about it. When I had an accident, the mother - in - law and the young lady of the Zhao family were not the biggest beneficiaries. Although the young lady of the Zhao family had ill intentions, she wouldn't go so far as to harm me like this."
When Zhao Luoning said this, Caixue began to understand.
"So, Miss, you mean there's someone else who wanted to harm you. If Miss were no longer the mistress of the house, the three concubines of the Second Master would have a chance. The eldest concubine, Nan Shuang, the second concubine, Chen Chuliu, and the third concubine, Lu Qu. A bit further, there's also the prospective third young mistress, Liu Qingyun."
Caixue listed all the possible people in the mansion one by one, which made the situation much clearer.
"You've finally got the hang of it. I've never met the prospective third young mistress, Liu Qingyun, and I can't do anything about her. But I can manage those in my own yard."
Zhao Luoning already had a plan in mind.
Zhao Luoning knew clearly that since the news had reached Caixue, it meant that the day for her to return to the Ji Mansion was approaching.
Therefore, she dared not slack off even more. She stayed up late to read the ledger and deal with the accumulated affairs of the tea house. After two days of staying up, she finally couldn't hold on and fell into a deep sleep on the second night.
She slept until dawn, until Caixue shook her awake.
"Miss, hurry up and dress up. The Second Master is here to pick you up."
Zhao Luoning was not fully awake yet and didn't care about anything. She turned over and just replied,
"Even if the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother come, I still need to sleep."
"Miss, wake up. It's the Second Master. The Second Master."
Caixue emphasized the words "Second Master" in Zhao Luoning's ear.
Sure enough, Zhao Luoning reacted. She bounced up, grabbed Caixue's sleeve and asked,
"Who did you say is here?"
"The Second Master. He's talking to Master and Lady in the main hall now. He'll probably come to pick you up soon."
All of Zhao Luoning's sleepiness disappeared at once.
She didn't expect Ji Shisu to come so early.
She almost bounced up from the bed at once, touched her face, and it was clean, with nothing on it.
"Rouge, rouge, hurry up."
Caixue quickly took out all the rouge and served Zhao Luoning to dress up.
Zhao Luoning picked up the eyebrow pencil and was about to put on makeup, while Caixue was behind her arranging her hair.
Unexpectedly, before Zhao Luoning could draw a single stroke, the maid guarding the door came to report that from afar, they could see Master Zhao leading the son - in - law coming.
There was no time left.
"Caixue, stop doing my hair. Go and find a square kerchief for me first."
Caixue rummaged through the drawers and finally found a square kerchief.
"Miss, this plain kerchief is used to hold inkstones. It has a strong smell of ink."
Before Caixue could finish speaking, Zhao Luoning snatched the plain kerchief from Caixue's hand and asked Caixue to find two flower ornaments to clip the kerchief.
The plain kerchief did have a strong smell of ink, and Zhao Luoning couldn't help but frown.
"Miss, Master and the son - in - law are coming."
With the maid's announcement, everyone entered the room.
Master Zhao immediately saw Zhao Luoning covering her face with the plain kerchief.
"Luoning, why are you covering your face?"
"Luoning got a rash this morning. I'm afraid I'll scare Father and Husband."
"Got a rash? Is it serious?" Ji Shisu stepped forward with concern. In his eagerness, he wanted to check Zhao Luoning's injury.
"I just applied medicine to Miss. The doctor said this medicine can't be exposed to the wind."
Fortunately, Caixue was smart enough to help Zhao Luoning get through this.
Seeing what the mistress and the maid said, Ji Shisu didn't insist on asking Zhao Luoning to take off the kerchief and finally got back to the main topic.
"Luoning, I'm here to pick you up. Pack your things."
Zhao Luoning just replied indifferently, "Yes." Without any objection,
This made Ji Shisu very puzzled.
He thought she would throw a tantrum with him to some extent.
After all, he was from the Ji family, so Master Zhao didn't dare to be negligent and said some polite words.
"If you're not in a hurry, son - in - law, you can have a meal here before going back."
"Then I'll trouble Father - in - law."
Master Zhao waved his hand while saying some polite words and found an excuse to leave the Yuzhu Courtyard.
In the room, only he and Zhao Luoning were left.
"Why didn't you resist?" Ji Shisu finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Would resistance be useful? I still have to go back with you anyway. In the end, I'll just be scolded for being impolite. I can't bear that."
Ji Shisu smiled. After nearly two months of getting along, although he hadn't fully grasped Zhao Luoning's temper, he still knew some of her personality traits.
For example, she would never do something that was thankless.
The more he got along with this woman, the more interesting she became.
Since he had already come to the Zhao Mansion, in order to make up for the etiquette he had missed during the visit after marriage, Ji Shisu decided to go and visit Lady Zhao, Zhao Luoning's biological mother.
Zhao Luoning thought that she wasn't wearing any makeup and was afraid of something unexpected happening, so she made an excuse that she was not feeling well and asked Ji Shisu to go to the Buddhist hall to pick up her mother first.
After seeing Ji Shisu off, Zhao Luoning quickly put on makeup, changed into a goose - yellow skirt, and asked Caixue to find a light - blue cloak from the cabinet. Of course, the square kerchief full of the smell of ink was replaced. Caixue found a light - yellow face towel from the wardrobe, and only then did Zhao Luoning feel much more comfortable.
After examining her outfit and finding nothing amiss, she finally felt at ease.
Zhao Luoning asked Caixue to tidy up the things and then went out of the Yuzhu Courtyard alone towards the Buddhist hall.
Zhao Luoning had just walked a short distance when she saw Ning Huainan walking over with a strange - looking man. The two were walking side by side, chatting and seemed to have a good relationship.
Zhao Luoning immediately guessed the identity of the man beside Ning Huainan.
"Brother Ning, Second Brother Ning."
This person was none other than Ning Huaizhi, the second young master of the Ning family.
This one was no good person.