Chapter 862 Everything Is Settled; Summoned to the Palace
Shao Wanru looked up and motioned to Qu Le. The latter hurried out and saw Zhao Xiran standing in the yard with a smile on her face, accompanied by her servant girls. She hastened to step forward and bow, “Eldest Young Madam!”
“Is your Miss here?” Zhao Xiran asked softly.
“Yes, she is. She was meeting the people who came to send the gifts from Prince Chen’s Mansion just now, and they have just left,” Qu Le stepped aside and said with a smile.
Zhao Xiran nodded and walked inside with a smile. Yujie had lifted the curtain for her.
“Sister Zhao!” Shao Wanru stood up and greeted her in the main room.
“Fifth Sister, you’re all politeness! I just came to see whether you need anything,” Zhao Xiran said politely. Her eyes fell on the jewelry box in front of Shao Wanru. At first glance, she knew that it was something extraordinary. However, the lid of the jewelry box was closed so that she couldn’t know what was inside. “Was it the special gift sent by Prince Chen?”
“I thank you, Sister Zhao!” Shao Wanru said with a calm face after they sat down, showing no intention of being intimate.
“It shouldn’t be me to arrange your wedding, but now you have to be tolerant of me, Fifth Sister. I have just married into the mansion, and I might know little about the rules. If I do something wrong, please point it out! I will make up for it,” Zhao Xiran said modestly.
A newly married woman though she was, she had to deal with the domestic affairs of Marquis Xing’s Mansion on the first day after her wedding. She was so busy that she didn’t even have time to eat lunch. How unfair it was for her! But she didn’t have any complaints, only which was sufficient for her to make a good impression on others.
“Thank you for your hard work, Sister Zhao!” Shao Wanru still looked calm.
“Did Prince Chen mention how his family will handle this matter? My father-in-law asked me to ask you, Fifth Sister!” Zhao Xiran sighed and said softly.
She was sincere. Obviously, it was not a coincidence that she happened to appear in Piaoyun Courtyard at this time, so she did not hide it at all.
If it had been anyone else, they would have thought that Zhao Xiran was a sincere person at this time, even if they had doubts about her before. She even said out the person who sent her. What an honest person she was!
“It was Prince Chen’s private servants who came here just now. He didn’t say anything, and I didn’t ask anything. If you came a few earlier, you could have asked him directly,” Shao Wanru smiled slightly and said with elegant indifference.
It was not easy to follow such words. Zhao Xiran hesitated for a moment and then said with a smile, “Since Prince Chen didn’t say anything serious, that’s good news. Grandma and Third Aunt have been sick because of the matter. If those servants had talked more nonsense, our mansion will not have a good end!”
Zhao Xiran’s smile was reluctant. This was really an unexpected disaster. It should be a satisfying banquet, but bad things had happened on that day. That made her not only lose the favor of her husband’s family but also have to manage the family affairs. No matter in what aspect, Zhao Xiran was at a loss.
It fell silent all of a sudden in the room. No one knew what to say next.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Xiran stood up and said, “Fifth Sister, since there is nothing that I could do for you, I shall leave first. If there is any news, please tell me. Our mansion is demoted from Duke’s Mansion to Marquis’s Mansion, and it has become a joke in the whole capital city. Now we should share the same enemy. We can’t let them see more jokes!”
She meant to unite every person in Marquis Xing’s Mansion and ask them to work together!
Shao Wanru slightly smiled in silence, and then nodded and said, “Of course, you are right, Sister Zhao!”
As Shao Wanru didn’t oppose her, Zhao Xiran breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she had married into Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she certainly did not want to see anything bad happen to it now.
After walking with Zhao Xiran to the door, Shao Wanru returned, sat in the chair, opened the jewelry box, and took out the exquisite headwear inside, which was very familiar to her.
But she couldn’t remember though she had tried hard to do so. She watched it carefully with her hand holding it. The golden light on it flashed under the sun, catching the sight of everyone in the room.
“Miss, can it be worn now?” Yujie asked.
“No!” Shao Wanru shook her head and said. Even though she would be a princess, she couldn’t wear such an exquisite headwear. There were nine hairpins on the phoenix which shaped the headwear. That was customized for the empress but not for the princess!
“Since it is not for you, why did Prince Chen give it to you?” Yujie was shocked. She didn’t ask the question until she saw the phoenix sign.
“It is not new-made,” Shao Wanru said after she lowered her head and looked at it carefully. There were some worn signs on its pattern. At first glance, one could tell that it had existed for a long time.
“Then… then did it belong to Prince Chen’s mother?” Qu Le thought of another answer and asked in surprise.
Although Chu Liuchen was only Prince Chen, his mother was the Empress of the former Emperor. So if it was her legacy, it was reasonable for her to have such a kind of headwear.
“It should be!” Shao Wanru also guessed so. She turned and observed the headwear in her hand again but still couldn’t remember whether she had seen it before.
She felt that she had seen it before, but she didn’t have such a memory in her brain and she couldn’t be sure whether she had seen it or not.
“Since it belongs to the former Empress, why did Prince Chen give it to you?” Yujie still didn’t understand. It could be regarded as a relic, so it was reasonable that Prince Chen wanted to give it to her Miss. But her Miss couldn’t wear it now, then why was it sent here now? Shouldn’t he give it to her after she married into Prince Chen’s Mansion?
Shao Wanru observed the headwear in her hand again and then her eyebrows frowned due to its shiny reflection. What did it mean? Chu Liuchen could not give it for no reason. Whom did he do that for?
With a flash of light in her eyes, her look at the hair ornament became deeper and deeper.
“Put it away first!” Since Shao Wanru couldn’t figure out the reason, she carefully put it back in the jewelry box and asked Yujie to put it away.
At this time, Nanny Yu rushed in. After bowing to Shao Wanru, she said, “Miss, there is news from the palace!”
“What is it?” Shao Wanru was stunned, thinking that it was about the servants of Marquis Xing’s Mansion sent to the palace. Didn’t Xiao Xuanzi just now say that there was nothing serious about them?
“It’s about the Pageant. Everyone is talking about it now,” Nanny Yu had just come back from outside, so she came to report after hearing some rumors on the street.
“What’s the detail?” Shao Wanru asked with interest.
“Miss Qi has become Prince Zhou’s consort and another Miss Prince Yue’s, but neither Princess Zhou and nor Princess Yue was selected in the Pageant. A few new consorts were chosen to enter the palace, and our First Miss is also on the list,” Nanny Yu said.
“The positions of Princess Zhou and Princess Yue are still available?” Shao Wanru asked in surprise.
“No, no! It’s said that the candidates were not among those selected beauties. Infanta Yuan’an is Princess Zhou, while Miss Zhang is Princess Yue. Prince Xin is too young to be engaged. Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion also received a beauty, but it is heard that he has been engaged before and the position of his princess has been decided, so he didn’t accept her,” Nanny Yu explained.
Shao Wanru couldn’t remember who Princess Yue was in her last life, but she remembered who Princess Zhou was. She was indeed Infanta Yuan’an. Shao Wanru had met her once when she came to Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Unexpectedly, it was always her either this life or last life.
Shao Wanru’s eyes flashed with a trace of cold. Infanta Yuan’an could become Princess Zhou without competing in the Pageant. It could be seen that she had been engaged since a long time ago. However, nothing relevant had even been heard before. The Empress did a good job in blocking the news!
What she didn’t expect was that Princess Yu was Zhang Qilan. The Pageant was just a formality for her and she had left the palace early. But she was chosen though she showed such a perfunctory attitude. It made Shao Wanru speechless. However, when it came to the fact that her father was Prime Minister Zhang, Shao Wanru felt that it made sense.
“Prince Yue and Prince Zhou each take a princess and a consort, and Commandery Prince Qing a princess. First Miss Qi is Prince Zhou’s consort. The imperial edict has been issued now. At this time, everyone should have been informed, and all the remaining consorts have left the palace.”
After working for Shao Wanru for a while, Nanny Yu became more and more sophisticated and reassuring in Shao Wanru’s eyes now. She was no longer reckless and could deal with things concisely and clearly, completely different from what she used to be when they were in Jiangzhou. Of course, it was also owed to Nanny Zheng’s help.
“Let’s wait and see,” Shao Wanru said extremely calmly. She had thought that this matter was very far away from her. After all, the engagement between her and Chu Liuchen had been settled early.
However, she didn’t expect that she would be involved in it so soon. The next morning, she received an imperial edict summoning her to the palace.
Before she set off, Old Madam specially called her over and repeatedly reminded her to be cautious in the palace. She warned Shao Wanru that Marquis Xing’s Mansion could no longer suffer anything in the current situation. She also hinted that if something bad happened to Marquis Xing’s Mansion again, Shao Wanru might not necessarily be able to keep her position as the future Princess Chen.
Shao Wanru stood in front of Old Madam, with her head obediently lowered.
Old Madam was satisfied with Shao Wanru’s docile look. She reached out to touch her head which was in pain, waved her hand, and said, “I’ve said what I want to say. It’s up to you next. That’s all I can do for you!”
It sounded like Old Madam was truly worried about Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru raised her watery eyes to look at Old Madam and then smiled softly under Old Madam’s gaze. Then she left with her servants.
The carriage of the imperial palace had already been waiting at the gate of the mansion. Shao Wanru got on the carriage with Yujie. The carriage rushed to their destination and stopped when they arrived at the gate of the imperial palace. Yujie jumped out of the carriage first and then helped Shao Wanru get off.
The sedan chair was waiting at the door. Shao Wanru got on the sedan chair and Yujie walked beside her. They went all the way to the palace.
Sitting in the palace sedan chair, Shao Wanru
frowned slightly. She didn’t think that she should enter the palace at this time. But why was she called to come in such a hurry?
She twisted the handkerchief in her hand hard, with a trace of suspicion in her eyes…