Chapter 1030 Things Go Athwart, Matching up to Her Hopes!
“Any officials are obliged to correct their errors, and I can’t do as Minister Zhao said. Imperial Grandmother, I am here to apologize to Infanta Yuan’an on behalf of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Even if the severe punishments may shake to the mansion’s very foundations, it is what we should do!” Shao Wanru lowered her head with a sad look.
This time, the Empress’s face also changed drastically, and her cold eyes fell on Shao Wanru’s face twinkling with hatred.
Infanta Yuan’an could never be considered one of the state masters. No matter how inferior the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was, it was the home of an official working for the Emperor. How could she be risen to gain the status of a state master?
Of course, neither Infanta Yuan’an nor Prince Zhou was a master of this state. Before Prince Zhou became a crown prince, he couldn’t be regarded as the future master.
What was more, Minister Zhao was also mentioned. Compared with Shao Jing, who was Marquis Xing, Minister Zhao was an important official in the court. How could he be ignored?
!!
Ruiping Great Elder Princess suddenly felt that she was wrong. If the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was severely punished according to Shao Wanru’s request, what would others think of her mansion and Prince Zhou’s Mansion? Even worse, they might even bring trouble to Prince Zhou’s Mansion.
Prince Zhou and the Empress would never accept that.
She looked at the Empress’s face with a gloomy expression and patted Infanta Yuan’an’s back gently. Almost instantly, Infanta Yuan’an’s cry trailed off, and she just sobbed in a low voice, appearing very weak and pitiful.
“Princess Chen, Yuan’an wouldn’t dare to make the decision for the Empress and the Empress Dowager. Infanta Yuan’an is in a humble position though she is related to the royal family by blood. The Marquis Xing’s Mansion is excessively modest when handling this matter about her. If… if the First Young Master of your mansion could be more careful at that time, how could everything get into such a mess?”
Ruiping Great Elder Princess bowed her head and wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Does the Marquis Xing’s Mansion want to evade the responsibility? Why are you talking about officials and the state? Whoever made a mistake must bear the responsibility, right?” The Empress said with a cold snort.
Originally, she planned to denounce the Marquis Xing’s Mansion publicly, for they had seriously offended the royal family member. More than that, the n.o.ble t.i.tle of this mansion should be taken away either, which would be a hard blow to Shao Wanru. Then there was no hope for the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. She didn’t expect Shao Wanru to come in and make that speech. If the Empress put this matter in the same way, she connected this incident to a monarch-official relations.h.i.+p again.
In the Empress’s heart, she thought it was offensive for Shao Hua’an to b.u.mp into Infanta Yuan’an’s carriage because he was an official and Infanta Yuan’an would marry into the imperial family. But after all, Prince Zhou hadn’t become the crown prince. Thus, even if she had this idea, she could not say it.
Shao Wanru mentioned it first, so she could no longer use it.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I feel the same way. Originally, my grandmother should have come to apologize to you and Empress Dowager. Unfortunately, my grandma happened to fall ill due to her old illness and couldn’t even get up from bed. Since no one in the mansion was in a position to decide on this matter, Sister Zhao invited me over and asked me to apologize to Your Majesties!”
Shao Wanru submitted herself to the Empress’s wishes.
“Is she ill? Well, she became sick just in the nick of time!” The Empress, who had found nowhere to vent her anger, smiled sardonically upon hearing Old Madam was sick. “She has been in poor health and will have a recurrent sickness whenever anything happens, which is not good. I heard a nun in the Yuhui Nunnery has good medical skills. Old Madam in your mansion should go there to recuperate.”
The Empress had wanted to take away the n.o.ble t.i.tle from the Marquis Xing’s Mansion forever. But after Shao Wanru took the initiative to raise the subject, she could only transfer her anger onto Old Madam.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt Old Madam of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion deliberately got sick at this time. How could it be so coincidental? Old Madam was supposed to come here, but Shao Wanru presented on her behalf. Obviously, Old Madam didn’t take her seriously.
“Well… Grandma has always been in poor health, and her old disease comes back frequently,” Shao Wanru said hesitantly, and her eyes looked a little nervous. It seemed she was anxious to stick up for Old Madam.
It was rumored that Old Madam and Princess Chen didn’t get along well with each other in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, but Old Madam was Princess Chen’s elder after all.
The Empress frowned and said unpleasantly, “She has been sick all the time, so she had to be taken good care of. Anyone? Send an imperial physician to check her up for me. If Old Madam can’t recover from her illness, she should recuperate in quiet surroundings!”
Since she couldn’t undisguisedly deal the Marquis Xing’s Mansion a crus.h.i.+ng blow, she should punish Old Madam first as a warning. Anyway, the Empress always detested her.
That little b.i.t.c.h Shao Yanru was given birth to and brought up in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, so these people there, from top to bottom, couldn’t be decent ones.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” A eunuch answered and left.
Shao Wanru looked anxiously at the Empress Dowager, looking a little fl.u.s.tered as if she didn’t know how to deal with it. Everyone here could tell the Empress was unhappy. If she braced herself up to plead for mercy again, the Empress would definitely rebuke her. But she couldn’t stand by because Old Madam was her elder.
Old Madam couldn’t easily avoid the so-called healing without disturbance, especially when the Empress proposed it. Even if the Empress did not issue an imperial edict, Old Madam of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion would have to move out this time. No matter how long it would take, she would have to endure an arduous period.
“Princess Chen, come to me!” The Empress Dowager waved to Shao Wanru, who looked quite perplexed and alarmed, and pointed to a seat nearby.
Shao Wanru didn’t plead for the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, which greatly satisfied the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager had always been partial to Chu Liuchen. In her mind, Shao Wanru should treat Chu Liuchen with her whole heart and soul. As for those people in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, they had always treated Shao Wanru badly. Shao Wanru might offer some help if there was anything she could do. But if she could do nothing, she might as well ignore their misfortune.
In the past, the Empress Dowager thought Old Madam in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was a nice old lady. When she was free, the Empress Dowager would let someone invite her into the Palace for a chat. But now she found that Old Madam was getting more and more muddle-headed. Indeed, she needed to rest and recuperate quietly, so as not to create any disturbances with her high status.
If Old Madam in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion lost her power to suppress Shao Wanru, it would be good for Shao Wanru or Chen’er.
With this in mind, the Empress Dowager didn’t care if the Empress took her anger out on Old Madam. She was very satisfied with Shao Wanru’s performance since she married and moved into Prince Chen’s Mansion, for Shao Wanru wholeheartedly safeguarded Prince Chen’s Mansion and never troubled Chu Liuchen with the mansion’s troublesome things. Therefore, when she saw Shao Wanru was greatly embarra.s.sed, the Empress Dowager waved her over.
Shao Wanru nodded meekly and went over to sit beside the Empress Dowager. When she looked up, she happened to meet Infanta Yuan’an’s gaze.
Infanta Yuan’an, whose head was tightly wrapped up, only revealed her eyes. She looked at Shao Wanru with a deep look, the rims of her eyes still red. Though the corners of her eye still had a trace of tears, there was no pain in her eyes. It seemed that her scar that appeared frightening was not severe at all.
“How is the wound on your face? Have you asked any doctors to examine it carefully?” Shao Wanru asked softly in a very friendly manner.
Infanta Yuan’an trembled all over and quickly gathered her thoughts together. In a minute, she looked at Shao Wanru with more amiable eyes as though she wished to say something. However, after glancing at Ruiping Great Elder Princess whom she leaned against, she seemed to be at a loss for words.
As a wounded lady, the expression on her face at the moment was the most pitiful.
“Thank you for your concern, Princess Chen.” Ruiping Great Elder Princess sighed with tears in her eyes. “Yuan’an’s injury is not serious. Please don’t worry too much about it!”
Ruiping Great Elder Princess said it was not a big deal, but her tearful eyes told others she was not right.
“Why don’t you ask any imperial physician to have a look? It’s better to call a few more so that they can offer better treatments. In any case, Yuan’an’s face must recover!” Rui’an Great Elder Princess suggested.
“I’ve seen some. They all said… Well, it’s okay!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said reluctantly, forcing a smile with some bitterness. “She was careless and insisted on going to the street, saying that she took a fancy to something and wanted to give it to the Empress Dowager as a birthday present. We didn’t expect that… she…”
Ruiping Great Elder Princess couldn’t even finish her words.
She especially made a trip to get a wonderful gift for the Empress Dowager. It was an unexpected disaster caused by her love and devotion to the Empress Dowager. Hearing this, the Empress Dowager began to look at Infanta Yuan’an with soft eyes.
“The First Young Master of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion acted excessively wildly. As a mature man, how could he gallop the horse on the street? He had gone too far. Besides, Old Madam has no idea how to manage the mansion and is always sick. The legal wife in their mansion, who has been degraded to a secondary legal wife, isn’t very reliable either. Only First Young Madam, their senior, has been in charge of the mansion affairs.”
Rui’an Great Elder Princess said, “People in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion are increasingly ignorant. I intended to send Hao’er back there, but now I think it’s better to keep him in my mansion for the time being!”
According to the custom, Shao Yuanhao should move back to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion after becoming the heir of a duke.
“You’re right. He doesn’t have to go. The Marquis Xing’s Mansion is in such a mess that there is not even an elder who can manage it well. It’s improper to let Marquis Xing raise him if he moves back to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, isn’t it?” The Empress was very unhappy. Hearing Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s words, she immediately echoed.
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!” Rui’an Great Elder Princess stood up to express her grat.i.tude.
With the affirmation of the Empress, Hao’er could live in her mansion fair and square!
Infanta Yuan’an blinked, looking at the angry Empress, then at the obedient Rui’an Great Elder Princess and Shao Wanru, who was a little uneasy. It suddenly dawned on her that something had gone wrong. Shouldn’t she be the most wronged person here? She came to the Palace today because she had decided to fight with Shao Wanru openly.
How could the current situation be way different from what she had expected? Why did she feel that Shao Wanru was the biggest winner? As a victim, Infanta Yuan’an didn’t gain sympathy from the Empress and Empress Dowager, but Shao Wanru gained the most. As soon as she moved her hands, Ruiping Great Elder Princess, who was holding her hands, immediately understood what she was thinking. Gently, Ruiping Great Elder Princess pressed her hands, indicating that she couldn’t say anything at the moment.
Ruiping Great Elder Princess glanced at Rui’an Great Elder Princess and Shao Wanru thoughtfully, and her eyes darkened. Nevertheless, she held her granddaughter’s hand, hinting for her to wait and see.
The Empress’s eyes looked sinister and cold. As soon as Rui’an Great Elder Princess said that, she immediately realized that she had made a slip of the tongue. How could she benefit Rui’an Great Elder Princess instead? But since she said it out loud, she couldn’t go back on her word, especially the Empress Dowager was still with them.
She felt deeply aggrieved but couldn’t vent her anger on Shao Wanru. Judging from the Empress Dowager’s caring eyes on her, the Empress knew that she was taking care of Shao Wanru for her sickly grandson.
A palace maid came in in a hurry. When she saw the Empress sitting inside, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked carefully behind the Empress to serve her.