Chapter 869 Trampling on Others’ Reputation
Shao Wanru nodded.
“Then I will ask people to come to move. Eldest Young Madam has sent someone to ask me if I am ready before,” Nanny Yu said.
Now Zhao Xiran was in charge of the affairs in the mansion, of which the most important thing was preparing for Shao Wanru’s marriage.
These large pieces of furniture should be moved to Prince Chen’s Mansion today to decorate the couple’s room.
As a part of a woman’s dowry, big things like furniture could be placed in the bridal chamber first.
Shao Wanru carefully walked around a big pile of furniture in the garden, went into the inner room, and sit down. Then she ordered Yujie, “Bring me yesterday’s headwear.”
She always felt that this headwear looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen it before.
Yujie replied and fetched the headwear. Shao Wanru opened the brocade box, and examined it carefully again. And she found that it was very similar to the one in the Empress’ jewelry box just now.
However, it seemed different when she observed more carefully. It was obvious that the headwear in her hand was more exquisite and ingenious. Each part of it was designed elaborately, making it look natural and noble.
On the headwear, the phoenix’s head could shake gently with beads hanging down. With a slight shake, there would be gorgeous fine lines, looking extremely attractive.
Picking up the headwear, she presented it on her hair and looked into the mirror. She didn’t know why but she kept feeling that it looked familiar.
Then she put it on the table and looked at it narrowly.
Seeing that Shao Wanru had been studying this headwear for quite a while, Yujie began to look at it carefully. But she found nothing. After a long time, she noticed Shao Wanru’s abstraction and couldn’t help asking, “Miss, is there anything wrong with this headwear?”
“No!” Shao Wanru didn’t know what she was looking for. She felt it familiar as if she had seen it several times before. But where had she seen it?
She seemed to recall something, but when she thought about it carefully, she couldn’t remember anything. Not even a clue.
Where had she seen this headwear before?
It couldn’t be in this life, maybe somewhere in the last life. Shao Wanru had forgotten a lot of things of her last life, so she had no confidence in recalling this headwear now.
She carefully considered what had happened in her last life. This headwear could only be seen after she entered the palace, but she was a mere painter in the palace at that time. How could she have any chance to see this headwear which was a relic of Chu Liuchen’s mother?
She rubbed her brows, and slowly closed her watery eyes. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly like exhausted butterflies and cast two jagged shadows on her pale face.
She quietly thought about it for a while, but still, she recalled nothing.
She got up and walked to the window, looked into the sky, and saw a tall building at distance. It was the courtyard where her Second Uncle lived. She somehow remembered that her father had moved some things there before.
She was wondering whether her father also had ever stood on that tall building and looked around the scenery of the whole Marquis Xing’s Mansion.
If her parents hadn’t left at that time, all the tragedies might not have happened then, and her parents would still be alive now.
Her heart inexplicably ached, and her eyes turned red.
If her parents were alive, they would not let their own son and daughter live so hard. Without parents, they were like duckweed, rootless and helpless. If she did not become stronger, she would end the same way as she did in her last life. Instead of giving a helping hand to her, those so-called relatives would push her into a deeper abyss and gnaw away all her blood and bones until beyond redemption.
Shao Wanru raised her head slightly and looked at the tall building calmly as if she could see her parents in there…
“Ah!” Suddenly, sounds of exclamation rang out the yard, which interrupted Shao Wanru’s thoughts. She looked down at the noisy yard to find that someone seemed to be hit.
“Go and check it!”
Yujie replied and went out. She got into the crowd, took a glance quickly and came back to report, “Miss, an old maid’s leg got hit by a cabinet. Don’t worry about it. Nanny Yu has been dealing with it. I suppose it is not a big problem. I’ve checked, the maid is fine!”
Yujie had learned medical knowledge before, so she could tell the condition at a glance.
Shao Wanru nodded and squinted her watery eyes slightly. When she was about to turn around and go back, suddenly, she heard another scream. Someone else fell down.
Shao Wanru stopped and looked to the yard. Many people worked in a rush. In a short while, they gathered into two groups. Some of them were screaming in a panic, while others were helping solve the issue. It was a mess.
“Stop moving anything. Rescue the injured first and send them to have a rest. You can come back and move these things later!” Shao Wanru said decisively.
“But, Miss…” Yujie wanted to say that things were very urgent and they didn’t have time to rest.
Shao Wanru waved her hand and said, “It doesn’t matter to let them rest for a while!”
Seeing that Shao Wanru had made up her mind, Yujie turned around resignedly to tell Nanny Yu about it. Then, she helped Nanny Yu get the two injured old maids out to the wing room to rest.
Others were also allowed to go back to rest first. These people had been busy since morning, and had not even had lunch yet. They had been told to move several pieces of furniture out of the yard before resting, but now they were told to have lunch first. Everyone thanked profusely and went back.
After checking the two old maids’ injures, Yujie came back.
“Miss, it’s not a big deal. The furniture fell down accidentally when being moved and hit the maids.”
“Didn’t they have lunch before?” Shao Wanru just knew that these servants hadn’t had lunch yet. It had already been late for having lunch now.
“I’ve asked them just now. They were told to move these big pieces of furniture out of the yard first and then they were allowed to have lunch. Actually, some pieces of furniture looked light, but they were not easy to move at all. In addition, the servants’ legs and feet were weak as they worked till now. They were exhausted, thus they failed to carry them firmly and caused the maids to be injured!”
Yujie learned all the ins and outs of the affairs clearly and reported in full detail to Shao Wanru.
“Who gave them the previous order?” Shao Wanru raised her eyebrows and asked indifferently.
“Someone sent by the Eldest Young Madam. Eldest Young Madam specially promised to give them more rewards if they worked harder. She said that after they finished, they would be given other rewards,” Yujie answered.
A smile slowly appeared on Shao Wanru’s lips, beautiful, charming, but cold.
Once something happened to those servants, Shao Wanru would be blamed for it. Zhao Xiran had well planned everything. If Shao Wanru hadn’t found Zhao Xiran’s ulterior motives before, she would also think that Zhao Xiran was a good person now, given that she not only dedicated her efforts but also paid a lot of money.
Zhao Xiran was always maneuvering. Although she hadn’t caused any substantial harm to Shao Wanru yet, it was really annoying.
“Send the two injured old maids to the Qiuhui Courtyard and tell them that they accidentally got their feet injured. Ask Sister Zhao to help treat them. Whatever it costs, I will pay for it!” Shao Wanru said
Since Zhao Xiran played tricks to disgust her, Shao Wanru thought she should get back at her. She believed that Zhao Xiran was tiring to feel out her, and she wanted to give Zhao Xiran a warning. No matter what Zhao Xiran’s purpose was, she should not treat others as her stepping stone. Shao Wanru was not to be trampled easily. Whether Zhao Xiran wanted others to think that she was a person or she wanted to get praises from the whole mansion, she should not ruin the reputation of others to benefit herself…
“Eldest Young Madam, Fifth Miss sent two old maids over saying that they were injured. They obviously got injured at her place and were working for her. How could she let us take care of them?” Qiu Yue came in angrily to report to Zhao Xiran.
In the room, Zhao Xiran looked mad and gloomy. She had been well prepared when she married into Marquis Xing’s Mansion, and she even had played some tricks in order to take charge of the mansion. But she had never expected that so many things happened to her marriage. On her wedding day, they even lost the title of duke. In any case, it was very unlucky.
After that, Old Madam turned her anger on Zhao Xiran. Although Zhao Xiran was in charge now, it was difficult to get started without any guidance. Besides, some supervisors of the mansion didn’t obey her. Everyone knew that she could hardly please her elders since so many things happened after she married into the mansion.
Therefore, she had to be more patient now. If possible, she was willing to cooperate with others.
“Bring them in and ask someone to take good care of them. Then go to find a doctor to check them. Don’t worry about money. Make sure to cure them!” Zhao Xiran ordered.
“Eldest Young Madam, Fifth Miss said that if you need money, just ask her for it. It sounded sweet, but she didn’t give us any substantial help. Sweet words are easy to speak!” Qiu Yue pursed her lips and said angrily.
In front of so many servants, what the people from Piaoyun Courtyard said sounded so sweet, and the two injured old maids kept showing their sincere gratitude to Fifth Miss.
It was Eldest Young Madam’s effort, while Fifth Miss gained the gratitude. Qiu Yue was very unconvinced. Eldest Young Madam had just married into Marquis Xing’s Mansion and encountered such a big event. She really needed a good reputation to support herself in the mansion. Why did Fifth Miss want to grab Eldest Young Madam’s chance to build a good reputation?
“Just forget it. It will be Prime Minister’s wife’s birthday in a few days. Have you prepared all the gifts?” Zhao Xiran was very calm while the servant girl was in anger. She had known that Fifth Miss Shao was not simple. Things came out as she had expected—Fifth Miss Shao was a tough person. She had to be more careful.
“Everything is ready, but why are you planning to give away the good stuff among your dowry as presents? Shouldn’t Old Madam be the one to prepare gifts?”
Thinking of this, Qiu Yue got angry again. No newly married woman would be asked to spend her own money on the family. However, Old Madam said that their mansion couldn’t be outshone by other mansions in terms of the Prime Minister’s wife’s birthday gifts. She also said that most good stuff in the mansion had been given to the Fifth Miss as her dowry and there was barely anything precious. Wasn’t she forcing Zhao Xiran to give away her own dowry?
Fortunately, Zhao Xiran was good-natured. Otherwise, she would not have endured it.
Qiu Yue felt more and more indignant for Zhao Xiran.