Chapter 550 Forceful Visit to Find Trouble
When they entered Old Madam’s courtyard, there were servant girls raising the curtain. Shao Wanru followed Madam of Duke Xing to go inside from the main room to the bedroom. It was very quiet inside, with only the sound of sobbing in a low voice.
When Shao Wanru looked up, she found that Old Madam was lying on a large bed. She seemed to have aged ten years in a night. The wrinkles on her face were piled up, and her face was pale and haggard. At first glance, she knew that she was indeed ill.
Shao Yanru was holding Old Madam’s hand in front of the bed. When she heard people’s voices, she wiped away her tears and turned her head. When she saw Shao Wanru, she reached out and patted Old Madam’s hand gently. “Grandma, Fifth Sister is here to see you!”
Old Madam, who was lying on the bed, raised her head slowly and then looked at Shao Wanru with her sharp eyes. Her kind expression before immediately became rigid.
Facing her sight, Shao Wanru stepped forward gracefully and bowed deeply to Old Madam, “Grandma!”
Old Madam couldn’t hide the disgust in her eyes. She felt that Shao Wanru was really a jinx and a troublemaker. She had made such a mess in her mansion.
“Don’t bother. Sit down!” Old Madam said with neither joy nor anger on her face.
The things before had not ended yet. At this time, she could not really blame her. Maybe the Empress Dowager would call Shao Wanru to see her under Rui’an’s advice.
Shao Yanru patted Old Madam’s hand to comfort her. She stood up and said softly with red eyes, “Fifth Sister, why do you come so late? Grandmother has sent someone to ask about it a few times just now!”
This kind of gentle att.i.tude with certain intimacy seemed to show that she really regarded Shao Wanru as her sister.
Old Madam couldn’t help showing disgust on her face again. She felt that she could not make Shao Wanru be intimate with her. She had the family name of Old Madam’s. But she had such a good relations.h.i.+p with Rui’an, the Great Elder Princess, who had no posterity in her family.
“I just met Prince Xin, Your highness, at my grandmother’s place, and he brought some news to me. That’s why I was delayed for more than two hours when I was at my grandmother’s place.”
Shao Wanru said calmly. She turned a blind eye to Old Madam’s disgust. Since Old Madam could even do such a vicious thing like framing her granddaughter, there was no need for Shao Wanru to pay attention to her. She would no longer pretend that they had a harmonious and gentle relations.h.i.+p.
Shao Yanru was different from her. She had always pretended to be filial to Old Madam. She had intended to be far away from Shao Wanru when she went with her before. Although Shao Yanru came back a bit earlier than her, it was impossible for her to come back much earlier than her after all.
Given Shao Yanru’s filial piety that she wanted to emphasize, she must have come directly to Old Madam’s place after coming back to show how much she cared about Old Madam.
Sure enough, when Shao Wanru said this, Old Madam’s face darkened and she quickly got up. She lowered her lips and glanced at Shao Yanru a few more times, but she did not say anything.
“There is not much time. Fifth Sister may have remembered wrongly.” Shao Yanru knew that Shao Wanru had ruined her plan when she saw Old Madam’s expression. However, she did not show it on her face. She pretended that she did not hear anything and explained vaguely.
“How could I remember wrongly? Coincidentally, Prince Xin was also there when we entered the capital. Just now, he also mentioned that we didn’t go back to Duke Xing’s Mansion after we entered the capital!” Shao Wanru said, a little surprised.
Her voice was not very loud, but everyone in the room heard it. The servant girls all lowered their heads and did not dare to move.
With Prince Xin as the witness, this must be true!
Just now First Miss cried in front of Old Madam and repeatedly said that she hurried down the mountain when she received news from Old Madam. When she entered the door, she hurried to Old Madam. But how to explain the thing in front of her?
Old Madam’s eyes swept across Shao Yanru’s face, and the corners of her lips drooped even more. She shook her hands on the bed in annoyance, and she could not control her emotions when she was ill.
Shao Yanru wanted to bite Shao Wanru a few times in her heart, but she didn’t dare to show it on her face. “I went to the pharmacy before and wanted to see if there were any good medicinal materials in the pharmacy for my grandmother. I didn’t expect that I couldn’t find any good ones in several pharmacies. So I only found some ordinary ones. I thought that our mansion still had these medicinal materials, so I didn’t say anything about it. Finally, Fifth Sister said it out!”
Since Shao Wanru had mentioned Prince Xin, Shao Yanru would not challenge her. She could only make an excuse for herself. She turned to say to Shuqi behind her, “Go and bring me the medicinal materials I just bought!”
“Yes, First Miss!” Shuqi nodded knowingly and went out.
Since it was just ordinary medicinal materials, there were many ones in the mansion. She just needed to go and get some here.
Shao Wanru narrowed her eyes. She did not expect to tear off Shao Yanru’s false face in a short time. The more urgent the matter was, the less she could get angry. She just needed to take her time.
“Old Madam, Madam, Great Elder Princess’s mansion sent someone to inquire about something!” An old maid reported outside the door.
Old Madam leaned back. She hated the words “Great Elder Princess” the most now. She waved her hand and said, “Wanyan, go and deal with it. My head hurts again. Let Ru’er stay here. Everyone else should go so that I won’t feel uncomfortable when I see so many people.”
The so-called many people making her uncomfortable meant that Shao Wanru made her uncomfortable. She and Yujie were the only ones who had just come in.
“Grandma, Wanru will leave now. Grandma, please take good care of yourself!” Shao Wanru said sensibly. She glanced at Shao Yanru with a sneer in her heart. Old Madam really wanted to see Shao Yanru and wanted to keep her here to talk to her. But this also hindered Shao Yanru. This was a good thing for Nanny Gao.
Shao Yanru was more cunning than Madam of Duke Xing and had a faster reaction. With these words just now and the help of the medicinal materials brought by Shuqi, she had made up for what had happened perfectly.
However, after all, she had misjudged the human mind. This matter was now flawless, but if other things or evidence came out in the future, this so-called flawless thing would be torn apart slowly.
“Wanru, let’s go to see Nanny Gao of the Great Elder Princess’s Mansion!” Madam of Duke Xing smiled gently as if she did not hear Old Madam’s dislike.
Shao Wanru nodded and followed Madam of Duke Xing to go out.
Shao Yanru frowned and her heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling. As soon as Shao Wanru arrived, the people of Great Elder Princess came, and the one who came was the personal Nanny of Rui’an Great Elder Princess. She had stayed in Great Elder Princess’s Mansion and knew that Nanny Gao was very powerful. She dealt with many affairs in Great Elder Princess’s Mansion.
Rui’an Great Elder Princess had never tried to manage the mansion. Only Nanny Gao managed such a big Great Elder Princess’s Mansion in such an orderly way. Ordinary servants could not compare with her.
In fact, she really wanted to see it. But when she saw Old Madam smiling and waving at her on the bed, she knew that she couldn’t leave, so she could only wipe the corners of her eyes, looking worried. She went to the bed and sat down on the stool again to comfort Old Madam…
In the flower hall, Nanny Gao sat there with two servant girls standing behind her. Outside the flower hall, several craftsmen stood at one side obediently. When they saw Madam of Duke Xing and others coming over, they bowed their heads and retreated to stay at one side.
Seeing so many people coming from Great Elder Princess’s mansion, Madam of Duke Xing intuitively felt that today’s matter was not a good thing, and she felt uneasy in her heart.
When she stepped into the room, Nanny Gao stood up and bowed to Madam of Duke Xing first, and then to Shao Wanru.
“Nanny Gao, please sit down!” Madam of Duke Xing said politely.
With Nanny Gao’s reputation, she could even say a few words in front of the Empress Dowager. Of course, she did not dare to offend her.
In other words, Old Madam could ignore Nanny Gao, but she could not.
Nanny Gao was not very polite to her. As long as she behaved properly, it was ok. She just sat down again. Madam of Duke Xing and Shao Wanru also sat down together.
The servants served the tea. Shao Wanru picked up the teacup and took a sip. She lowered her watery eyes and listened quietly. Next, she just needed to listen!
“Why Great Elder Princess asked you to come here?” Madam of Duke Xing put down the teacup, took a handkerchief, wiped the tea stains at the corner of her mouth, and asked with a smile.
“It’s presumptuous of me to come to the mansion. I’m sorry to disturb you. But I can’t delay this matter, so I have to come here shamelessly. Madam, please forgive me!” Nanny Gao said politely.
Madam of Duke Xing was very satisfied with her words and nodded at once. The smile on her face became more and more amiable. “Nanny Gao, if you have something to say, just say it. If I can do it, I will definitely obey!”
“Madam, it’s great that you can say that. In fact, this matter is indeed a matter of your mansion. Great Elder Princess also knows that your mansion has prepared it early, but Great Elder Princess only has only one granddaughter, so she always feels that she should worry more about her. Well, she asks me to come here to see the courtyard that is prepared for Fifth Miss in the mansion. I take people to measure the house and make a set of suitable furniture!”
Nanny Gao said with a smile, pointing at the several famous craftsmen standing outside, “These are all famous craftsmen in the capital. Our Great Elder Princess specially invited them here. We can’t let Fifth Miss feel wronged. In half a year, Fifth Miss will go down the mountain. If you are not ready, Fifth Miss will not even have a place to live at that time.”
Madam of Duke Xing was slightly shocked. She glanced at Shao Wanru, who was sitting quietly by the side and did not interrupt. There was a trace of embarra.s.sment and ferociousness on her face.
“The courtyard is ready, but it hasn’t been cleaned yet. As for the furniture in the room, it has been prepared early. We would not bother Great Elder Princess!” Madam of Duke Xing said.
Who would bother to prepare the courtyard for Shao Wanru? The good courtyard had been burned before. Thinking of this, Madam of Duke Xing still felt distressed and pity.
“Madam, Great Elder Princess wants to make a set of furniture for cousin Miss and also wants to see the yard where cousin Miss lives. Among the Misses in your mansion, cousin Miss has the highest status. Perhaps Great Elder Princess will ask for a reward from Empress Dowager for cousin Miss. If it is not the best yard in the mansion, it will not be agreed by Empress Dowager!”
Nanny Gao’s words were extremely rude, and her face turned serious. She had been following Great Elder Princess all the time, and some of her personalities were quite similar to those of Great Elder Princess. Especially when she had a serious face, Madam of Duke Xing inexplicably felt a little deficiency of vital energy.
After rubbing the handkerchief in her hand into a ball, she gritted her teeth secretly. “The most distinguished Miss… Why should it be her?”
“Nanny Gao, the status of the Misses in our mansion is the same, so they live in similar yards. If we give the best yard to Wanru, I’m afraid it will be unfair to other Misses!” Madam of Duke Xing forced herself to swallow her anger and explained with a smile.
“Bang!” The teacup in Nanny Gao’s hand fell heavily on the table, making the table shake.