Chapter 757 The Hiding Palace Maid
“Are you angry?” Seeing Shao Wanru turn her face away in annoyance, Chu Liuchen stopped teasing her. He reached out to touch Shao Wanru’s messy hair and spoke softly, which reminded Shao Wanru of his fat cat. Did he also pet it in this way?
“Don’t be angry. Tell me what you want. Have you gotten used to the life in the imperial palace? If you aren’t used to it, I can ask Imperial Grandmother to allow you to live in her place. There used to be candidates living with the Empress Dowager.” Chu Liuchen asked.
Knowing that he was afraid that she would have a hard time in the Chuxiu Palace, she was moved. She lowered her head, shook her head, and said, “You don’t have to trouble the Empress Dowager. I’m fine with the life in the Chuxiu Palace, which is far away from the harem. It’s not a good thing to live too close to the harem!”
The life around the Empress Dowager might not be peaceful. In particular, if she moved to live with the Empress Dowager without a proper reason, she could easily become the other candidates’ target.
“Don’t worry. Shao Yanru is now a conspicuous target, so I’m safe here!” Fearing that he was really going to ask the Empress Dowager to help her, Shao Wanru added worriedly.
She said with great certainty and delight in her watery eyes. There were rules of survival in the harem, and it was the same in the imperial court. If he rashly intervened in the affairs of the harem, he could get into trouble easily.
She didn’t know what had happened to Chu Liuchen in the last life, but the bloodstained steps and plenty of dead women lying on them in her memory, all indicated the horrifying situation at that time. Who was he fighting against at that time? It seemed that he had no opponent at that time because no one was a match for him.
As the crown prince in charge of affairs of state when the emperor was seriously ill, he had almost inherited the throne. Those qualified to fight for the throne with him were dead or injured or weak. No one could compete with him. But why was there such a scene in her memory?
Besides, there was one more thing that she didn’t understand. In that case, why did Chu Liuyue, who was busy enough with his own affairs, killed her at all costs as Shao Yanru told him? Could he get any benefit from her death?
“Well, if there’s any problem you can’t deal with, just tell me. I have my own way to deal with it!” Hearing Shao Wanru’s words, Chu Liuchen said with a smile and nodded. He glanced at Shao Wanru’s messy hair and said, “Tell Yujie to comb your hair. It’s a little messy!”
After finishing his words, he naturally touched her hair again and then leaned over to her. She could almost feel his warm breath as she heard him say, “The consort selection won’t last too long. How about I help you comb your hair after it ends?”
“Your highness!” As Shao Wanru said, she involuntarily blushed and tried hard to throw her head back to avoid looking at his face. Comb her hair? How could he think of such a thing? As Prince Chen, did he really want to do such a thing?
“Your Highness, why are you here?” She changed the topic with a blush. She had never seen such a wicked person in her two lives.
Sometimes he was as handsome and gentle as an immortal, sometimes acting like an evil and enchanting playboy, and he dared to say whatever he wanted!
Chu Liuchen saw that she blushed like a piece of slightly flawed jade, pursed her thin lips tightly, and tried hard to put on a dignified look. However, her charming look and watery eyes made him feel protective toward her.
He was amused by her, who was obviously shy and uneasy but still tried hard to put on a composed look.
Of course, Chu Liuchen knew that if he laughed at this time, she would inevitably turn angry from embarrassment, so he pretended not to notice her forced calmness and said, “I happened to come here to look for an album!”
“Where is Madam Ou?” Shao Wanru asked, listening carefully, but didn’t hear any sound from Madam Ou, who was supposed to be here at this moment.
“Maybe she happened to go out for some business when I came here!” Chu Liuchen said casually. Of course, he would not tell her that he deliberately drew the female painter away. “Why didn’t you come to visit me when you were at leisure? My place has always been idle with a much better view than that of here!” Chu Liuchen said.
“Well, I’ll visit you when I have time!” Seeing Chu Liuchen fix his burning eyes on her face, Shao Wanru lowered her head and said in embarrassment. She somehow felt her heart beat so fast that it almost got out of her control. Clenching the handkerchief in her hand with more strength, she said, “With so many people in the imperial palace, I’m afraid that my visit will be discovered and spread!”
“If your visit is discovered, so what? You are only one step away from being my wife. It doesn’t matter even if your visit is discovered. Of course, if you have scruple, I can come up with a way to enable you to meet me without arousing suspicion!” Chu Liuchen said with a smile.
“What is it?” Shao Wanru asked curiously.
Shao Wanru didn’t expect that before she could adopt the method Chu Liuchen mentioned to tease her, Shao Yanru really adopted it.
Chu Liuchen left after talking with Shao Wanru for a while, and Shao Wanru sat down again so that Yujie could help her comb her messy hair and adjust her clothes. When Madam Ou came back, Shao Wanru was sitting there quietly and reading an album.
After Madam Ou apologized to Shao Wanru for her leaving just now, the two of them made comments on some paintings. Then Shao Wanru came back from Madam Ou’s place.
Just as Shao Wanru and Yujie arrived at the palace gate, they saw a figure flash. Yujie took a few steps forward and quickly caught the person.
It turned out to be the palace maid Han Dan.
“Why did you run away at the sight of me?” Shao Wanru looked the palace maid up and down and asked.
“I… I didn’t see you, Fifth Miss…” Han Dan stammered.
“Do you think we are blind and didn’t see that you hid here deliberately?” Yujie, who was so angry that she was about to laugh, took Han Dan’s hand, pointed to the place where Han Dan had hidden before, and said.
Shao Wanru looked at Han Dan composedly and said, “You keep an eye on the moves of the candidates in the imperial palace and follow them. If it’s reported to the Nanny in charge, you will land yourself in serious trouble!”
“Fifth Miss Shao, I didn’t do that indeed. I was just working and didn’t notice that you were coming!” Han Dan denied it and knelt down in front of Shao Wanru, looking very pitiful.
Seeing this, a candidate, who walked past them, stopped and looked at Shao Wanru in astonishment.
Shao Wanru sneered in her heart, thinking this palace maid was indeed not simple. Her kneeling with a pitiful look gave an impression that she was weak, while Shao Wanru was bullying her.
No Miss dared to act presumptuously in the Imperial Palace, no matter which mansion they were from. Wang Yuxin’s being driven out of the Imperial Palace was a warning for the other candidates. So the palace maid was sure that Shao Wanru couldn’t do anything to her.
“Get up! You can deny it. But if my Eldest Sister learns that you also bore witness that day, I’m wondering if she will still want you to work for her!”
Shao Wanru calmly glanced at the trembling and extremely pitiful palace maid and said in a low voice. Then she picked up the hem of her dress and walked inside with satisfaction when she saw the palace maid open her eyes wide in shock.
The palace maid was left alone.
At the sight of this, the candidate, who passed by, did not know what was going on. Glancing at the palace maid, who knelt on the ground with a pale face, and then glancing at Shao Wanru, who left leisurely, she shook her head, ignored this and walked out.
It was just the business of a palace maid. Besides, the Fifth Miss Shao didn’t do anything to the palace maid. So it was nothing serious.
After the candidate left, Han Dan, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly came to her senses. She hurriedly got up and chased after Shao Wanru. When she caught up with Shao Wanru, she lowered her voice and said, “Fifth Miss, please wait.”
“Is there anything else you want to say?” As Shao Wanru said, she stopped but did not turn around. However, Yujie turned her head and glared at Han Dan with dissatisfaction.
“Fifth Miss… it’s… it’s the First Miss who sent me to see if you’ve come back!” Han Dan, who did not dare to hide anything, answered. If the Fifth Miss told the First Miss Shao that she had testified that the First Miss Shao acted in a sneaky way and conspired with her maid, she would definitely get into trouble.
The First Miss Shao was not easy to deal with, while the Fifth Miss Shao was even more difficult to deal with.
At this time, Han Dan regretted her effort to gain an advantage from both of them. She had thought that they were both kind and had a promising future. Unexpectedly, she misjudged them, neither of whom was a woman to be trifled with, but now she had to take the path she chose with no opportunity to turn around.
“What happened to my Eldest Sister?” With her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, Shao Wanru asked slowly. It was impossible for someone as cautious as Shao Yanru to do such a thing, unless she could gain great benefit from it.
“Prince Yue… is… at the First Miss’s place!” Han Dan gritted her teeth and had to tell the truth. If she failed to stall the Fifth Miss Shao, the Fifth Miss Shao would definitely see it after returning.
“Why is Prince Yue here?” Shao Wanru had to ask, as she found it strange after thinking about it carefully.
The Chuxiu Palace was the place where the consort selection was held. Before the consort selection ended, the princes should avoid coming here so as not to arouse suspicion. No one knew who the candidates were going to marry. They could marry one of the princes or even be an imperial concubine.
In this case, it was inappropriate for any prince to come here before the final decision was made. Chu Liuyue’s visit was very strange.
“When the First Miss Shao went out in the afternoon, she fell from the rockery. Prince Yue, who happened to pass by, saved the First Miss Shao and sent for an imperial physician to treat her. At this time, Prince Yue is still in the First Miss Shao’s room!” Since Han Dan had brought it up, of course, she would not hide anything and said truthfully.
Shao Wanru was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter. Chu Liuyue took an approach similar to that of Chu Liuchen. They were indeed brothers, who came up with so similar approaches.
Of course, Chu Liuchen just said that to tease her at that time, but Chu Liuyue was so anxious that he immediately took this approach to come to Shao Yanru’s side. It seemed that he was here to support Shao Yanru.
It was not easy for them to come up with this idea. Shao Yanru pretended to fall from the rockery and happened to meet Prince Yue, and then the two of them got into a relationship. It had always been easy for a hero to win a beauty’s favor by saving her. What was more, he saved such a fascinating beauty.
“Let’s go and see my Eldest Sister!” Shao Wanru stepped forward, blinked, and said with a smile. She would like to see what the two of them were going to do in collusion this time
She knew that Shao Yanru would not accept her fate without doing anything!