Chapter 520 The Most Considerate Big Sister
“It’s too conspicuous to ask for it directly. Fifth Sister, how about…” Shao Yanru looked a little hesitant and said, as if she really had no idea at the moment.
Shao Wanru looked at her with a straight face and clear eyes, waiting for her suggestion.
“Why don’t you ask him to come here for a secret meeting and make it clear that you’ve broken off with him, lest he send you this kind of ambiguous letter and make others misunderstand the relations.h.i.+p between you. I think the man from the Ministry of Justice seemed to be suspicious of the relations.h.i.+p between you and the First Young Master Qi.” Shao Yanru said seriously, “Of course, it’s inappropriate for you to go alone. I’ll go with you. In this case, even if you are seen by others, they won’t consider that you meet a man in secret.”
Her words were extremely stern and just, and she had even figured out how to explain for Shao Wanru if the secret meeting was discovered by others. She was well considered in every aspect.
If Shao Wanru was really an ignorant girl who had always stayed in her boudoir, she would probably be deceived this time.
Shao Yanru intended to accompany her to meet Qi Tianyu. By the time they met, Qi Tianyu and Shao Yanru could claim that she intended to use Shao Yanru to cover for the secret meeting between her and Qi Tianyu, so she deliberately asked Shao Yanru to go out with her and then left Shao Yanru aside and had a secret date with Qi Tianyu. In this case, her reputation would be ruined.
The same thing could be described as totally different from different angles.
“Big Sister, I have nothing to talk with him. Anyway I don’t care about bearing life long grudges against him!” After thinking for a while, Shao Wanru declined with a smile. She curled her lip slightly and said, “Although he has taken the third place in the imperial exam, so what? With my grandma as my backing, I’m not afraid of him. Besides, it’s rare for a lady in the inner courtyard to meet a man in the outer courtyard.”
She showed obvious contempt in her words.
“This, this is not very good! After all, you two grew up together. He might have been deceived at that time. Now everyone in the capital city knows what the First Miss Qin has done in Jiangzhou. If the First Young Master of the Qi Family is still rational, he certainly will not blame you. He probably intends to send you the letter to show his concern for you and his regret for what happened in the past!”
Shao Yanru wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and said with concern, “But no matter what he means, he is a unrelated man with nothing to do with you now. He should avoid doing anything that may arouse suspicion, such as sending you a letter or anything else. You are not in Jiangzhou. If there come some gossips, it will be detrimental to your reputation! You’d better make it clear to him as soon as possible!”
“Should I ask him to come up the mountain and talk it over with him?” Shao Wanru said. She fell silent for a long while this time, because she seemed to find it hard to make a decision at the moment.
“Of course you should ask him to come up the mountain and talk it over with him. What happened in Jiangzhou is all over, and the fact has been exposed to the world. Speaking of which, the Young Master Qi and you are both victims. After talking it over, you should go your own way and never contact each other again.”
Shao Yanru said with increasingly sincere eyes and a gentle look, “A man may not know how important a girl’s reputation is, but Fifth Sister, you and I definitely know it! Your current ident.i.ty makes it inappropriate for you to keep up a correspondence with any other man. I did intend to accept the letter for you, but I found it inappropriate after thinking about it later. If I accept it, it may cause misunderstanding.”
Every word she said seemed to show her concern for Shao Wanru, as if she was really a good elder sister who set her mind on taking care of her younger sister for fear that her younger sister would go the wrong way. Any younger sister would be moved on hearing her words. Shao Wanru had said something harsh when preventing her from accepting the letter in front of the door. As the elder sister, she not only did not mind it, but also offered advice.
She did deserve the best reputation among the Misses in the capital city.
“Okay, I’ll do as you told me, Big Sister!” Shao Wanru said without hesitating too much this time. Since Shao Yanru said such sincere words, it would be a little unapproachable for her to refuse again.
“Fifth Sister, would you like to make the appointment for your meeting, or would you like me to send someone to tell the official of the Ministry of Justice about it?” Shao Yanru asked.
“I have to trouble you, Big Sister!” Shao Wanru thought for a moment and said.
“No problem. You don’t need to mention it, since we are sisters. After going back, I’ll instruct Shuqi to tell the man to bring the First Young Master Qi to come up the mountain tonight. Is that okay?” Shao Yanru said with a smile, as if she was unaware that she might be suspected if she sent her maid to make the appointment.
She seemed like a good elder sister who had never doubted her younger sister and even disregarded the fact that her reputation might be tarnished!
If it were not for the fact that Shao Wanru had died from her false accusation in the last life, she might have been deceived by her hypocritical look.
“Thank you, Big Sister!” Shao Wanru said, showing her trust in Shao Yanru at the moment.
Of course, Shao Yanru didn’t gain Shao Wanru’s trust unconditionally, but earned it through hard work, which made Shao Yanru consider it increasingly convincing.
Shao Wanru was just a little girl raised on the mountain and almost as mentally mature as two years ago when she came up the mountain at the age of eleven. Shao Yanru had every reason to believe that if it were not for Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s instructions, Shao Wanru would be nothing. It was inconvenient for Shao Wanru to tell Rui’an Great Elder Princess about this kind of thing, which happened to make it convenient for her to carry out her plan.
Shao Yanru went back and instructed her maid to go out to make the appointment. Shao Wanru stood up, walked to the desk in front of the window and lifted the white gauze under which there was an unfinished picture. She picked up the writing brush on the inkstone, looked out of the window and added a few strokes.
“Miss, why did the First Miss agree to send her maid to make the appointment? If it’s found out by others, how can she explain it?” Yujie came in with a cup of fresh tea, placed it at a corner of the desk and stepped aside, while involuntarily asking.
“Who saw her maid go to make the appointment?” Shao Wanru said casually and added another stroke.
“With so many people in the Yuhui Nunnery now, there must be some of them seeing her maid make the appointment,” Yujie answered. There were not too many nuns in the Yuhui Nunnery, so it would not necessarily be seen. But now, besides the nuns in the Yuhui Nunnery, the officials of the Ministry of Justice were also here, digging deep in an attempt to find out the criminals. So it was impossible for them not to keep an eye on every suspicious or unsuspicious person.
“Even if it’s seen by others, so what? The maid can claim that she does it for me. With Qi Tianyu’s testimony, they can make it more convincing!” Shao Wanru put down the writing brush and took a few steps away to look at her painting.
They could make Shao Wanru take the blame, as long as Qi Tianyu claimed that Shao Wanru deliberately asked Shao Yanru’s maid to make the appointment on her behalf and gave the maid a large-amount note after that.
“The First Young Master of the Qi Family and the First Miss Shao know each other?” Yujie asked in shock.
“How could they not know each other? Now Qi Rongzhi could be considered Shao Yanru’s younger sister. How could they not know each other?” Shao Wanru walked back to the desk and added a few strokes to the part which she considered a little too empty just now, thus making the painting fuller as a whole.
A person’s testimony might not be convincing enough, but what about the testimony of the two of them? Moreover, there would inevitably be plenty of people seeing her meet Qi Tianyu. Fact spoke louder than words.
“Miss, why don’t you let me go to make the appointment? Moreover, I can ask the officer of the Ministry of Justice to prove that you make the appointment for meeting the First Young Master Qi just in order to make it clear to him that he should stop sending you any letter,” Yujie said with a little anxiety. She was extremely unwilling to see Shao Wanru get involved in anything related to Qi Tianyu.
“It’s useless!” Shao Wanru said with a sweet smile. She could tell that the young man from the Ministry of Justice was unreliable from his obsession with Shao Yanru.
“Neither is feasible. What should we do? No, Miss, you can’t go to meet the First Young Master of the Qi Family,” Yujie said anxiously with her head covered with sweat.
This kind of thing would disgrace any Miss, not to mention that Shao Wanru was still observing mourning for her parents on the mountain. By the time her secret meeting with Qi Tianyu was discovered, the three years she had spent on the mountain would lead to nothing. her reputation would be ruined, and she would be blamed for meeting a man in secret. What was more, in such a complicated situation on the mountain now, she might get involved in something else.
Shao Wanru tilted her head to look at Yujie’s nervous face, and put down the writing brush with a sweet smile.
“Miss, you are still smiling in such a situation. This matter can’t be underestimated,” Yujie said anxiously.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine! I’ll ask grandma out tonight!” Shao Wanru said meaningfully with a trace of deepness across her watery eyes. The Qi’s mansion had always been reluctant to mention what had happened in Jiangzhou, seeming to be covering up something. for someone. Although what Qin Yuru had done was basically known to all, the Qi’s mansion had never made it clear.
Even Qi Tianyu, the victim, had always attended to the reputation of the Qin’s Mansion, leaving a good impression on others.
Shao Wanru had hated his ambiguous att.i.tude and wanted to come to an open break with him long before.
In the last life, she was the victim. Now she wanted to take this opportunity to come to an open break with Qi Tianyu.
No matter what Qin Huaiyong was after, she did not want him to collude with the Qi’s mansion, because she could not let her grandma and Shui Ruolan be implicated by him!
If Qi Tianyu did that for Qin Yuru, now that Qin Yuru’s reputation had been ruined, why did Qi Tianyu still avoid mentioning what had happened in Jiangzhou? Or even if he did not want to mention it, he could spread the news through other channels. She would not forget how eager Qi Tianyu looked when he came up the mountain in a hurry to express his feeling after taking the third place in the imperial exam!
When she was in the Qin’s Mansion, Qin Huaiyong meant to arrange another marriage with the Qi’s mansion. Even if Qi Tianyu was outstanding, how could the two mansions sit down and arrange another blind date after what had happened? There were other outstanding childes in the capital city!
She recollected that in the last life, Qi Tianyu and Qin Yuru still bore no grudges against each other even after what had happened in Jiangzhou. Regarding Magistrate Qi and Qin Huaiyong, they were still as close as good brothers. They kept in touch through letters. There were presents coming all the way from Jiangzhou from time to time, while the Qin’s Mansion also sent some presents to Jiangzhou.
No matter what Qin Huaiyong was after, Shao Wanru was sure that he didn’t work for Chu Liuchen.
Placing the painting on the desk aside, Shao Wanru pulled out a piece of paper, picked up the writing brush, and began to write after thinking for a while. After finis.h.i.+ng writing, she left it aside to dry, but did not put it away.
“Yujie, where is the letter Madam of Duke Xing gave me before?” Shao Wanru said.
“Miss, wait a minute, I will get it immediately!” Seeing her master act calmly, Yujie realized something. On hearing her master’s question, she immediately took out a letter from a drawer of the desk and handed it over.
She pulled out the letter paper and flipped through the “fancy letter paper”. She placed them on the desk and said, “Go and pick a few orchid leaves based on the patterns on the paper!”
Shao Wanru instructed Yujie, pointing at the patterns of orchid leaves on the paper. Everyone had their own preferred pattern. The “flower fancy letter paper” actually couldn’t always catch these Misses’ fancy, so they created their own original pattern. These leaves slickly made a pattern shaped like “ru” (the character in Shao Wanru’s name).
She could make it shaped like another “ru” (the character in Shao Yanru’s name) by drawing a few more simple and elegant gra.s.s above it!