Chapter 894: The First Visit to the Bride's Parents' Home
Chu Liuchen said with his usual flamboyant and fierceness, "If you fail to deal with them, I'll seek revenge for you after I come back. I'll kill whoever bullies you!"
"Okay, okay, I see!" Shao Wanru slightly pummelled him and said with a smile.
Her gentle and playful move drove fierceness off his face, and he became relaxed again.
The two of them chatted as they walked. As it was getting late, they went back to the main courtyard. When they sat down in the room, Shao Wanru suddenly remembered something, so she stood up, went to the inner room, and then came out with a small jewelry box in her hands. Before she said anything, Chu Liuchen's expression had changed. He stood up, picked up the jewelry box that had just been put on the table, and threw it out of the room.
"Your Highness…" Shao Wanru was greatly shocked. Chu Liuchen had never been infuriated in front of her. There was not a trace of warmth in his handsome eyes.
"Ignore her if you come across her again!" Chu Liuchen said without showing any politeness to the person, and his cold face was full of disgust.
"Your Highness… do you know her?" Shao Wanru asked.
Chu Liuchen's reaction had told Shao Wanru that he knew the gift was from Consort Lan. But she didn't know why Chu Liuchen was so angry. Did the imperial consort, who was favored by the Emperor before, have any ulterior secret?
Otherwise, the two of them couldn't have connections because they were totally irrelevant in any aspect, let alone that Chu Liuchen hated her so much now.
It seemed that she had poked Chu Liuchen in his heart.
"Of course, I know her. She is nothing but a sycophant with evil intentions. Zhuozhuo, ignore her!" Chu Liuchen said with a sneer, with his eyes filled with coldness and hatred.
"Okay, I will avoid her when I am in the Palace!" Shao Wanru replied gently.
Shao Wanru's words made Chu Liuchen feel a little better. He nodded at once and said seriously, "Since she is in the Palace, you can't always avoid her as you wish. But you can pay no attention to her. Don't consider whatever she says serious!"
But Shao Wanru could just understand parts of his words, some of which were not clear to her.
After hearing Chu Liuchen's words, she started to think that her encounter with Consort Lan in the Peony Garden today might not be a coincidence. She felt that the palace maids she met along the way today were early arranged to lead her in the direction of Consort Lan.
Otherwise, a down-and-out consort wouldn't have had the ability to know her whereabouts, especially the one that she would come out from Empress Dowager's Palace of Benevolent Peace.
"She will meet you on purpose again in the future. If you don't want to talk with her, turn around and leave!" Chu Liuchen said again.
"Okay, I'll do as you say!" Shao Wanru nodded and said with a trace of doubt in her shimmery eyes. She felt more and more confused. However, it seemed that Chu Liuchen hated Consort Lan so much that he even did not want to talk about her.
Of course, Shao Wanru would not force Chu Liuchen to tell her more about that imperial consort. She would just stay away from Consort Lan.
"On the day when we return to your parents' home, I will take you to shop for jewelry on the street!" Chu Liuchen said with a relaxed face and reached out to hold Shao Wanru's hand, which had turned cold after she walked around the courtyard.
"Your Highness, are you going to take me to the street?" Shao Wanru said in surprise, regardless of her hand being held by Chu Liuchen.
Seeing that the couple were talking intimately, the servant girls and Xiao Xuanzi were tactful and quietly left the room.
"Yes, of course!" Chu Liuchen nodded and said with a smile on his face. He was now an elegant and gentle young man as if he was not the cold and gloomy person just now.
Shao Wanru had been used to his unstable emotions. And she did not care about Consort Lan now. In the past, she could usually go out of the mansion. But now she was Princess Chen and she was a newly married woman, so she couldn't go out at will.
But it was great that Chu Liuchen could take her out.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Shao Wanru saluted Chu Liuchen with her hand getting off his holding.
Chu Liuchen changed into a good mood. He caught her in the hand and asked with a smile, "Isn't it too insincere to show your gratitude like this?"
Chu Liuchen had been tortured by the load on his mind for so many years. Every time he thought of it, he had never been happy. But at the moment when he saw Shao Wanru's teasing smile, he felt a trace of warmth in his heart. He had always known what he cared about and what he didn't.
Suddenly, the load was taken off his mind.
He was not alone now. He fell in love with a girl, who happened to be in love with him. So he didn't need to hide all his emotions anymore because he could share with her now.
"Then what do you want, Your Highness?" Shao Wanru looked up at his eyes and saw the overflowing affection in them. She felt shy and turned her eyes away with a blushed face.
Chu Liuchen leaned forward and whispered in Shao Wanru's ear, after which she became so angry that her face seemed to be burning. Not only her face but also her neck and ears were burning red. This person looked dignified, but in fact, he had no bottom line!
Shao Wanru snorted at him and then turned around to walk into the inner room. Chu Liuchen patted his sleeves leisurely. "I can't force her too hard. I should take it slow…"
The gifts for the returning visit to Marquis Xing's Mansion had been prepared early. Shao Wanru had checked the list in advance. The list was very detailed with abundant gifts. Different people would be given different gifts according to their identities. Even the most censorious person could not find anything wrong with the list.
The couple didn't get up early because there were no other masters in the mansion. After having breakfast, they got on the carriage of Prince Chen's Mansion together and went to Marquis Xing's Mansion.
They went around a big circle on their way before arriving at the gate of Marquis Xing's Mansion. Old Madam had been waiting there with all the family members.
Old Madam and Duke Xing didn't care too much about Chu Liuchen's identity as a prince, but they had to curry favor with him because he was the most favored and trusted third prince of the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
Moreover, Marquis Xing's Mansion was no longer favored by the Emperor as it had been in the past.
Chu Liuchen got out of the carriage first and then helped Shao Wanru get off. Shao Wanru was not tall, but the carriage of Prince Chen's Mansion was extremely big and tall.
When she got on the ground, Chu Liuchen tightly caught her sleeves. Obviously, he was afraid that she would fall over.
Old Madam and Shao Jing exchanged eye contact with each other secretly, and they understood what it meant.
It was true that Prince Chen treated Shao Wanru well!
Old Madam felt regretful at this time. If she had known that Prince Chen really cared about Shao Wanru, she should not have been indifferent to Shao Wanru before. And she didn't often stand up for her. Now it was not so easy to ask Shao Wanru to support Marquis Xing's Mansion.
"Your Highness!" But it was not the time for self-accusation. Old Madam restrained her thoughts, stepped forward with a smile, and was about to salute them.
Chu Liuchen said lightly, "Stand up!"
Although he looked gentle, there was no intimacy in his expression, which made Shao Jing frown secretly. He wanted to ask Prince Chen for help, but it seemed that it would not be easy for Prince Chen to agree.
Shao Wanru bowed deeply to Old Madam. Even though she was now Princess Chen, she was also a descendant of Old Madam. She had to salute, especially when she returned to the family today.
"Well, it's windy, so don't talk here. Let's go in together!" Old Madam reached out with a smile, intending to hold Shao Wanru's hand affectionately.
However, Shao Wanru stepped back to avoid Old Madam's hand and then smiled slightly, as if she didn't mean to do that.
Old Madam's face darkened for a second, but then she showed a kind smile and walked in the front.
At this time, she couldn't be angry with Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru slightly widened her eyes for she was surprised by Old Madam's endurance. Her behavior just now indeed made Old Madam lose face. She didn't expect that Old Madam could be so calm with it. Shao Wanru fluttered her eyelashes and hid the darkness in her eyes. She was clear about Old Madam's character now.
A person like Old Madam never endured when there were no benefits. But she remained humble in front of Shao Wanru. Then Old Madam must need her help. "Then, what will she ask me for?" Shao Wanru thought in her heart.
However, she was not eager to know. She would wait and see what Old Madam would say next!
Chu Liuchen was led by Shao Jing and Shao Hua'an to the outer court, while Shao Wanru followed Old Madam and a group of female members to Old Madam's residence in the inner court.
As everyone sat down, Shao Wanru naturally sat in the first guest seat. Now she was called Princess Chen instead of Fifth Miss of Marquis Xing's Mansion.
Once she was married, a woman's status changed according to her husband's.
Old Madam sat in the main seat, and Zhao Xiran sat beside her with a smile. On the other side were Third Madam who was struggling to sit up, Third Miss, and Fourth Miss. Second Miss Shao Jie'er sat next to Zhao Xiran with her head down. It seemed that Shao Jie'er had been lowering her head and well-behaved since Shao Wanru entered the mansion!
Had Shao Jie'er, who used to be the most disorderly, been tamed to be quiet after her imprisonment?
However, Shao Wanru didn't believe it…
Shao Caihuan also lowered her head and occasionally looked up at Shao Wanru with a little shame in her eyes. While Shao Cailing was the happiest one. Now she got along well with Shao Wanru, so she was a little reluctant to face the fact that Shao Wanru had been married. But after all, it was the royal family's affair and a little girl from an aristocratic family like her could never intervene in it.
"Wanru, how does Prince Chen treat you?" Old Madam looked at Shao Wanru and asked with a smile. Judging from Shao Wanru's ruddy face and fair skin, she knew that Shao Wanru must live a good life in Prince Chen's Mansion, so she just made a few polite remarks. On the other hand, the elders must ask such a question when the married daughters returned to their original families, which showed that the elders attached great importance to their girls or they were worried about their daughters!
"Very well!" Shao Wanru said softly with a faint smile. She was as shy as a newly married bride would do, looking very pleasant and charming.
Shao Jie'er cast a secret glance at Shao Wanru with jealousy in her eyes. "Why can Shao Wanru be so lucky to own everything instead of me? I am the one who was born and grew up in Marquis Xing's Mansion! She, as a bastard from another family, cannot compare at all!"
"Then I am relieved. You are married now. Among all the girls, you are the only one whose marital life can make me rest assured. If your other sisters can be the same as you, I will be without any remorse even when I am dying!" Old Madam sighed and said.
"As expected, she's been waiting for me!" Shao Wanru sneered in her heart and thought.