Chapter 1068 Cunning, Talking Nonsense
“Whether it was true or not, someone couldn’t sit still. Let’s wait and see!” Shao Wanru said indifferently.
This woman called E’niang came as a complete surprise. She was an unexpected guest.
What was Shao Jing up to now? What was his plan?
“My Lady, this woman is audacious. When I drove her away on purpose, she didn’t panic but said something that made me hesitate. She doesn’t look like an ordinary mistress,” Yujie said uneasily.
She didn’t look like a mistress. Although she wore flashy clothes and didn’t look like a respectable woman, she was pretty bold. When facing Yujie, a principal maid of Princess Chen, she stayed cool and hung loose. Judging from her unusual behavior, she could tell that this mistress couldn’t be that simple.
“She had been hiding under Madam Jiang’s nose for so long and chose to make her first appearance in this special period. She knows how to assess the situation and seize the right time to make progress. If what she said were true, Shao Jing might suffer because the evidence against him had fallen into her hands. Otherwise, they must have conspired together!”
Shao Wanru said with an icy look in her eyes. The latter guess seemed to be more convinced in her eyes. Shao Jing was an expert in concealing his wicked thoughts and was merciless. If E’niang had gone against him, she couldn’t have survived till now and given birth to a daughter for him.
It seemed that there was something strange about that daughter. She acted at the opportune moment…
“Aunt, please help me. This… this is true… I had no choice but to do this.” Wei Dahai knelt before Nanny Wei, placing his hands on her knees. The tall man cried bitterly like a child before Nanny Wei, filled with genuine grievances. “Aunt, I… I had no choice!”
They were in a simple courtyard. It was not big, but expensive because it was located in the center. It was Nanny Wei’s courtyard outside the Palace. The Empress Dowager had prepared it and bestowed it on her long ago. When Nanny Wei retired and was sent out of the Palace in old age, she could live a comfortable life here.
Nanny Wei was aged. Although she had spent most of her time serving in the Palace, the Empress Dowager would let her out sometimes. The Empress Dowager had been extremely kind to her, so Nanny Wei could live in this yard outside the Palace for ten days per month.
After she recognized Wei Dahai, her nephew, he would come to see her from time to time when she was out of the Palace. Since they were reunited, Wei Dahai had been very close to her. He had always said that he would take care of her after Nanny Wei retired from the Palace.
Nanny Wei was sincerely concerned about this nephew.
But at this time, she couldn’t agree to his request.
Reaching out to take Wei Dahai’s hand, she sighed and said, “Dahai, don’t think about this shop. Princess Chen took a fancy to it, and even the Empress Dowager knew about it. Her Majesty even criticized you for being ungrateful, saying that she would find out who this man of evil character was.”
When Nanny Wei accepted Wei Dahai, her nephew, she wanted to tell the Empress Dowager about it early. However, Wei Dahai stopped her from doing so, for he thought there was no need to announce it in such a hurry. Nanny Wei was still serving the Empress Dowager by her side. If he got promoted in the imperial court, people would think he made it with Nanny Wei’s help.
It would do no good to Nanny Wei or him.
He said righteously that it was his own business whether he could be promoted or not. It had nothing to do with Nanny Wei, and he didn’t want to take advantage of Nanny Wei. He just wanted to be her nephew, her family member, as his father had asked him to do. His father had told him that Nanny Wei had been living a miserable life since she was a child. Therefore, once Wei Dahai found Nanny Wei, he must take good care of her in her old age as if she were his mother.
These words greatly moved Nanny Wei, and she repeatedly nodded in agreement, feeling her nephew was well-behaved and filial.
Before the Empress Dowager, she only mentioned that she found her nephew but didn’t take about anything else.
Unexpectedly, her nephew, willing to keep a low profile, offended Princess Chen this time, but Nanny Wei could do nothing to help.
Nanny Wei had heard about the Butterfly Clothing Shop from Wei Dahai. Wei Dahai said that the shopkeeper used to have a romantic relationship with him and gave birth to a daughter for him. He wanted to take her back and let their daughter manage the shop. Anyway, he wouldn’t take a penny from them.
Wei Dahai’s words sounded entirely reasonable. Nanny Wei nodded vigorously and told him that he couldn’t look down on the shopkeeper because she only gave birth to a daughter. He had to treat her well if he took her into his mansion. As for her niece-in-law, he had to explain it clearly. Her niece-in-law had always been understanding and filial before Nanny Wei.
Wei Dahai said he was almost done and only needed to wait for a while. It had never occurred to him that Princess Chen would say something against him today.
Nanny Wei felt a headache. Although the Empress Dowager thought highly of her, Princess Chen was different from others — she was Prince Chen’s legal wife. Besides, everyone knew how much the Empress Dowager doted on Prince Chen. Even the Empress in the Palace didn’t dare to offend Prince Chen easily. Moreover, no matter what, she was just a humble servant.
“Lady Ming and I are deeply in love with each other. Back then, she had no choice but to leave me. If she were forced to stay away from me again, I… I would lose all my courage to see her. She trusts me so much and has been waiting wholeheartedly to marry into my mansion. We have already prepared a courtyard in my mansion for her, and everything is well-prepared. We even revealed this matter to some people. But now… Princess Chen forcefully intervened. Aunt, what… what should I do?”
Wei Dahai cried like a child, his face sad.
Dignity is the most valuable for men. They should never kneel before others. As for crying, Wei Dahai always came over with a smile and never cried in front of her.
“Aunt, I’m begging you only for this time. For Lady Ming and Xiuer, I beg you this time. Please help me!” Seeing Nanny Wei’s face, Wei Dahai knew there was hope and cried more sadly.
He begged Nanny Wei for the sake of his wife and daughter. Nanny Wei was even more convinced that he was affectionate and had true feelings toward his family members. When seeing him be overwhelmed with sorrow, she also felt like crying.
This woman named Lady Ming and her nephew finally reunited after an enforced separation. She hadn’t remarried for so many years and had strived hard to bring their daughter up. All of this was for her nephew. Obviously, she also valued her relationship with him. They had been united in their secret hearts, but the couple was forced to part because of Princess Chen. Such a tough man was pushed to the wall, nearly crying his heart out.
Somehow, she got a little angry at Shao Wanru.
Princess Chen seemed to be a lovely noble lady. How could she do such a thing and deliberately report it to the Empress Dowager? Was it because of her?
She put forth her strength and pulled Wei Dahai up before sighing helplessly. “Don’t cry. We can think of a way!”
“Thank you, Aunt! Thank you so much!” Wei Dahai was overjoyed. Though Nanny Wei tried to stop him, he still struggled to kneel down and sincerely kowtow to her three times with loud and clear thumps.
“Get up quickly. Aren’t you afraid of getting a headache?” Nanny Wei forcefully dragged him up.
This time, Wei Dahai didn’t refuse and allowed Nanny Wei to pull himself up. Taking the handkerchief handed over by Nanny Wei, he wiped his eyes casually and scanned her face anxiously.
Nanny Wei sighed again and pointed to the chair. “Sit down and talk!”
“Thank you, Aunt!” Wei Dahai sat down and looked at Nanny Wei with high expectations in his sparkling eyes.
This big, burly man was not young anymore, but Nanny Wei’s heart softened inexplicably when she saw his pleading expression. He was her only relative, her nephew, and the only son in her parents’ family. Merely for this reason, she couldn’t bear to let the loving couple go their separate ways.
It hadn’t been easy for them to stay faithful to each other after so many years apart.
“Today, Princess Chen said in the Empress Dowager’s place that you fancied the shop, so you proposed to marry the shopkeeper. Besides, she said you were greedy, cruel, and ungrateful. Tell me, is it true? Do you want the shop, or do you have feelings for each other?”
Nanny Wei asked seriously.
Since she decided to interfere, she had to make everything clear. Only in this way could she stand in a firm position. Even if they took the dispute to the Empress Dowager, she would have nothing to be ashamed of.
“How could you believe such words? It is obvious that Princess Chen likes that shop and wants to take it by force. So, she deliberately wrecks the relationship between Lady Ming and me. She might even blacken Lady Ming’s name by accusing her of cheating. Aunt, Lady Ming is a good woman. We separated by accident. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been living apart from each other for so long. She took care of our child alone… I feel sorry for her…”
Speaking of this, Wei Dahai couldn’t help crying again.
He looked significantly distressed about Lady Ming’s sufferings. As Nanny Wei saw this, her expression softened a little. “It’s pitiful! So unjust!”
“Aunt, if you don’t believe me, I’ll ask Lady Ming to come over in a few days and let her explain it to you. Then, you’ll know who on earth takes a fancy to her shop, I or Princess Chen,” Wei Dahai said indignantly. He stood up and seemed to go out to let Lady Ming make everything in the past clear.
Seeing him like this, how could Nanny Wei not believe it? She reached out to pull his sleeve and make him sit down again. “You are my nephew. How can I not believe you? But the current situation is a little troublesome. The Empress Dowager also knows about it.”
“Aunt, Princess Chen abused her power to bully an orphan and a widow. It has never been easy for such a poor woman like Lady Ming to make a living with our daughter. Finally, she managed to run her own business but was driven to the wall by Princess Chen. What if she can’t bear the blow and kill herself?”
A trace of maliciousness flashed in Wei Dahai’s eyes. If Lady Ming didn’t appreciate his kindness, she couldn’t blame him for being cruel. Anyway, He was determined to get the Butterfly Clothing Shop.
Initially, he thought it was a sure thing, but because of Princess Chen, things changed. Fortunately, he had reported this matter to Nanny Wei before. His rival was Princess Chen, but so what? She was just a woman who married a sick prince.
How could Great Elder Princess have more powerful backing than the Empress Dowager?