Chapter 813 I Won’t Return the Child I Raised
When they entered the room, Great Elder Princess took out two lists from her sleeve and handed one to Shao Wanru with a sneer, “How dare she only take so little?”
Then she pushed the other list to Shao Wanru and said, “This is the compensation from her. There are a few more properties in it, as well as some other things. Grandmother will negotiate with her about these shops and your mother’s shops. They will be registered under your name.”
“Grandma, I don’t want so much. Give it to Brother Hao!” Shao Wanru shook her head and said. She had her own shop and didn’t need so many shops.
“Your brother has enough, and I only have you two. You take these first, and I will give all my things all to Hao’er in the future. I won’t mistreat him. What’s more, there is Duke Xing’s Mansion. It’s not easy for them to drive you and Hao’er away!” Great Elder Princess said coldly.
Shao Wanru thought for a moment and suggested, “Grandma, let my brother come back. He is the son of Duke Xing’s Mansion after all.”
She had wanted to bring it up anyway, but since her mother had brought it up, she might as well just say it.
Hao’er was now ten years old. When she visited him before, she always felt that he was much more sensible than ordinary children at his age.
Perhaps it was because he didn’t have parents. Even if he was doted on by her maternal grandmother, it was still different for him.
“Hao’er is still young. I will be worried about him if he returns to the mansion at this time!” Great Elder Princess shook her head and refused, “You may not be able to let Hao’er grow up well in your mansion. You have just been acknowledged, but they still can’t tolerate you!”
“Grandma, I’m afraid that they will bring this matter up!” Shao Wanru reminded Great Elder Princess. Shao Yuanhao lived in Great Elder Princess’s Mansion for three years, so it was somewhat improper.
Because so many things had happened when she came in before, so Duke Xing’s Mansion didn’t mention it. Now it could be said that her loss had been compensated, so it was inevitable that this matter would be mentioned. In truth, three years was enough for her brother to live in her maternal grandparents’ home, and her maternal grandmother had no reason to continue to keep Hao’er here.
Even if this matter was brought to Empress Dowager, her grandmother would not be supported.
“Then what should we do?” Thinking of this, Great Elder Princess couldn’t help frowning. She was really worried and reluctant to leave her grandson.
In the past three years, her little grandson, who had been raised by her, had made her much happier and gradually eased the pain of losing her daughter. At present, she was unwilling to send her little grandson, who had been raised well, back to Duke Xing’s Mansion.
“Grandma, how many more years do you want to spend with him?” Shao Wanru asked softly.
“Three years, at least three years. After three years, He will be 13 and able to make judgments on his own!” Rui’an Great Elder Princess thought for a while. At first, she hesitated, and then she said with certainty, “No less than 3 years. The people in that mansion have no good intentions. Hao’er is still so young. It’s really worrying me to raise him here!”
In fact, in the past three years, Chu Liuchen had been helping raise Shao Yuanhao. Shao Yuanhao was not as gentle as he looked, but Great Elder Princess was still worried.
“Grandma, if you have to choose between giving up the title or raising Hao’er, which one will you choose?” Shao Wanru looked at Great Elder Princess’s distressed expression and said with a smile.
Great Elder Princess hesitated for a moment and said decisively, “Hao’er can give up the title of nobility, but he can’t give up his life. And this title must not be given to Duke Xing’s Mansion. It belongs to your father and your brother has the right to take it. Your Second Uncle stole your father’s title of Duke Xing.”
Shao Wanru was not surprised by Great Elder Princess’s thoughts. She also considered Hao’er’s safety first and then the title of nobility. No matter how good the title was, it was not as important as Hao’er’s life. In Duke Xing’s Mansion, she was sure that someone would definitely hurt Hao’er.
There was always a knife hidden in their smile, and Shao Wanru didn’t like Duke Xing’s Mansion at all.
“Grandma, there’s still a way to keep him beside you,” Shao Wanru said with a smile.
“What’s the way?” Great Elder Princess became anxious. Unconsciously, she had developed complete trust in her granddaughter.
“Grandma, listen to me…” Shao Wanru leaned over and whispered in Great Elder Princess’s ear. Great Elder Princess nodded while listening.
After Shao Wanru finished speaking, Great Elder Princess looked at Shao Wanru kindly with slightly reddened eyes. Compared with her, her granddaughter was an unloved child, so she was shrewd and considerate. For a moment, she blamed herself and felt sad.
Speaking of which, it was Duke Xing’s Mansion’s fault and her daughter’s fault. Why did her daughter leave Duke Xing’s Mansion just like that? She thought her daughter should really send a letter to her if her daughter could not pull it together. Not only did she lose her life for no reason, but she also left her son and daughter alone and asked no one to take care of them.
“Zhuozhuo, when you get married in the future, you will be the princess of Prince Chen’s Mansion. Although Prince Chen is a little arrogant and cold-hearted and I have never seen him care about a girl. Since he treats you like this now, I am afraid that he really cares about you. With Prince Chen’s protection, I will… be relieved.”
As she said that, Great Elder Princess was about to cry. Her granddaughter was going to get married before enjoying the happiness of the reunion. Even though she knew Chu Liuchen would take good care of this girl, Great Elder Princess still couldn’t help crying.
“Grandma, I’m fine. I… I’ll come to see you again in the future. It may be more convenient than here!” Shao Wanru reached out to shake Great Elder Princess’s hand and said coquettishly.
“Okay, okay!” Great Elder Princess wiped her tears with a handkerchief and nodded repeatedly with joy and sadness in her heart.
“Grandma, just go find someone to check the account book as I said. They won’t leave mother’s stuff for so many years!” Shao Wanru comforted Rui’an Great Elder Princess and said with her heart aching. She hurriedly lowered her head. In her last life, her grandma must have lived in despair. She was frustrated again and again and had been plotted against by others, so this woman couldn’t even live a normal life.
In this life, with Hao’er and her, her grandma finally pulled herself together.
After talking with Shao Wanru for a while, Rui’an Great Elder Princess put away the list and left with Nanny Gao. These lists were only a piece of papper now. It was not suitable to give it to Zhuozhuo before seeing the things with their own eyes. Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion had always been a cunning person, and she would not give up so easily.
In fact, this was also what Shao Wanru had guessed. As she had expected, not long after Great Elder Princess left, Old Madam sent someone to summon her. After dressing herself up, Shao Wanru followed the servant girl who summoned her to Old Madam’s courtyard and met Shao Hua’an on the way.
After meeting Shao Wanru, Shao Hua’an stepped forward and greeted her politely with a smile, “Fifth Sister.”
Then she looked at the old maid who led the way in front and asked, “Fifth Sister, are you going to see grandma? What a coincidence! I’m going there too!”
“Yes!” Shao Wanru bowed her head and answered.
In fact, Shao Wanru had never been able to see through the First Young Master of Duke Xing’s Mansion. In the last life, the two of them didn’t have any disputes with each other, as if he didn’t know that she was here. Both Second Uncle and this elder brother of Duke Xing’s Mansion didn’t care about the affairs of the inner courtyard.
But was he really ignorant of her existence? Shao Wanru was sure that the current Duke Xing definitely knew about her. Then what about Shao Hua’an, who looked equally innocent and kind?
In this life, they hadn’t met much. Shao Hua’an looked like a kind elder brother. Although they hadn’t seen each other often, he was very polite every time they met. No matter what disputes there were between the second branch and her, this elder brother seemed to be natural. But who knew what kind of a person this man really was?
Shao Hua’an and Qi Rongzhi had an unusual relationship, but Shao Wanru couldn’t tell whether it was because of Qi Rongzhi or Qi Tianyu.
Moreover, was there really no grudge between the two of them? Madam Jiang was still in the nunnery. The reason why she ended up like this had a lot to do with her. She did not believe that Shao Hua’an really knew nothing about it.
“I heard that Great Elder Princess is here. Fifth Sister, have you seen her?” Shao Hua’an asked as he walked, as if he did not notice Shao Wanru’s indifference.
“Yes, grandma had just come to see me just now!” Shao Wanru said.
“Did they talk about Brother Hao? Brother Hao has lived in Great Elder Princess’s Mansion for so long, but he doesn’t come back often. Before, Grandmother was still talking about him and said that she missed him very much!” Shao Hua’an sighed and reached out to pinch his glabella. “Great Elder Princess and Grandmother are so old, but they are still arguing with each other. It makes things difficult for us!”
His words were extremely peaceful and there was intention of blaming either of them at all. It sounded like he was smiling, which made Shao Wanru unable to figure out his meaning at the moment.
“Hao’er is still young. She is reluctant to part with him!” Shao Wanru said vaguely.
“Hao’er is still young. In the past, he followed me out to play. Now when I think about it, it has been three years. He should be much older. Every time she thinks of it, she feels that she had neglected the boy!”
Shao Hua’an said with a gentle smile, and then stopped asking about Shao Yuanhao. On the contrary, he was very concerned about Shao Wanru’s affairs. He asked her about life in detail, and he said if there was anything she didn’t like, she could tell her third aunt or her grandmother, and she could also tell him about what had happened outside.
Before understanding Shao Hua’an’s meaning, Shao Wanru nodded and answered Shao Hua’an’s questions occasionally. Although she sounded indifferent, she answered his questions all the time.
The two of them seemed to be talking and laughing when they arrived at Chuntang Courtyard. Someone had already gone to remind Old Madam. Although Old Madam was full of resentment against Shao Wanru, it was improper for her to show it on her face and she asked someone to invite them in.
After entering the room, they bowed to Old Madam together. Old Madam nodded and asked them to sit down.
After they sat down, Old Madam asked with a smile, “Hua’an, what brings you here?”
Shao Hua’an put down the teacup in his hand and answered with a smile, “My father asked me to tell my grandma about the item we bought last time. It’s gone. The shop said it was similar, but my father didn’t know if my grandma liked it or not, so he specially asked me to come over and ask for your opinion!”
“That thing is gone?” Old Madam pondered for a moment and frowned. Her face darkened. She glanced at Shao Wanru subconsciously and then turned back.
Her eyes turned towards her unconsciously, but they turned away consciously..