Chapter 645 Princess Zhou in the Last Life
“Madam of Duke Xing, aren’t you going to look into it? After all, it’s a gift from the imperial palace.” Infanta Yuan’an looked up and asked curiously as if she just asked casually.
“Of course, I will. Nevertheless, it’s related to Old Madam, so I have to start from Old Madam’s courtyard!” Madam of Duke Xing made an excuse with a forced smile.
“Although it’s more convenient to start from Old Madam’s courtyard, how could an old maid be so daring?” Infanta Yuan’an looked at the maids and old maids in the courtyard and said.
Madam of Duke Xing’s face almost stiffened. Although they were all maids and old maids, each of them had connections with other servants in Duke Xing’s Mansion. If she dealt with them all, it would break the peace of the entire Duke Xing’s Mansion and even cause a lot of trouble.
Moreover, none of them was innocent!
Madam of Duke Xing decided that she could never let that happen. If the request was made by Shao Wanru, as an elder, she could use Old Madam to excuse herself from looking into the matter. However, the request was made by Infanta Yuan’an. At this moment, Madam of Duke Xing began to regret bringing Infanta Yuan’an, who was supposed to be the witness of Shao Wanru’s crude and rude behavior.
Madam of Duke Xing had intended to show Infanta Yuan’an that Shao Wanru was so disrespectful to her elder that she dealt with the servant sent by her elder on the first day she moved to Duke Xing’s Mansion. She didn’t expect that she would lift a rock only to drop it on her own feet at this time!
“Come on, lock them up and forbid them to meet anyone before we find out the truth!” Madam of Duke Xing gnashed her teeth and had no choice but to say so.
Madam of Duke Xing had intended to bluff it out. However, now she definitely could not end it by pus.h.i.+ng the old maid forward to take the blame. She had to talk it over with her daughter after returning and see how many servants she should push forward and who should they be. However, the more servants she pushed forward, the more criticisms she would receive as the hostess of Duke Xing’s Mansion. Thinking that others would inevitably gossip about her evil intentions behind her back, Madam of Duke Xing was so furious that she almost spat blood.
It was discovered in front of Infanta Yuan’an that the old maid stole a gift from the imperial palace. She had intended to bluff it out by making a scapegoat of the old maid. Now that Infanta Yuan’an had asked her to look into it, she could not reduce it into a minor one. The Empress Dowager would probably ask about it personally one day. If Duke Xing’s Mansion could not give a proper explanation, they would be rebuked by the Empress Dowager!
“Madam, you are as fair as I expect!” Infanta Yuan’an said with a slight smile and joyfully watched the maids and old maids taken away by a group of people. After that, she looked towards Shao Wanru, as if she had just seen her. After looking Shao Wanru up and down a few times, she said slowly, “Are you Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s granddaughter, the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion?”
Shao Wanru bowed sideways and nodded gently and politely.
“I am Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s granddaughter, Infanta Yuan’an!” Infanta Yuan’an said with a gentle look, looking at Shao Wanru with no obvious emotion in her eyes. The obvious contempt in her eyes had been replaced by curiosity.
Shao Wanru felt her heart skipped a beat and remembered who Infanta Yuan’an was. She was Chu Liuzhou’s consort, the future Princess Zhou. Shao Wanru had heard that she was dignified, decent, and impartial and had been widely praised among the Misses from aristocratic families.
In the last life, Infanta Yuan’an did marry Chu Liuzhou and almost became the Crown Princess. If it were not for Chu Liuzhou’s rebellion, she would have been the Crown Princess. Although Shao Wanru had never met her, Princess Zhou at that time, Princess Zhou enjoyed a good reputation in the imperial palace.
But later, Prince Zhou was defeated and mistakenly killed in the rebellion. Although Infanta Yuan’an, who almost became the Crown Princess, was fine, she, who had no children, also lost her power and stayed in the declining Prince Zhou’s Mansion.
Infanta Yuan’an was still alive when Shao Wanru got killed.
“Greetings, Infanta Yuan’an!” Shao Wanru said in little astonishment and bowed again.
Although her grandma and Ruiping Great Elder Princess were both princesses, they were not very close. Ruiping Great Elder Princess married a childe from an aristocratic family, which inherited the t.i.tle later and lived a smooth life with children and even grandchildren now. Infanta Yuan’an was even enn.o.bled as an infanta not long after she was born.
It could be said that she had both the t.i.tle of n.o.bility and power, which made her the best candidate for a princess. She was even better than Shao Yanru. After all, she was an infanta with a fief.
“Although you are the granddaughter of Great Elder Princess, you can’t cross the line. Madam of Duke Xing is in charge of Duke Xing’s Mansion anyway!” Infanta Yuan’an said with a smile and bowed sideways back to Shao Wanru, looking very kind. Although what she said was unpleasant, her kindness made it acceptable.
As the descendant of another Great Elder Princess, it was very convincing for her to advise Shao Wanru in this way, and people would even consider that she was reasonable and sensible and didn’t make use of her ident.i.ty as a member of the royal family to suppress others.
Meanwhile, what she said made Shao Wanru appear to be someone making use of her ident.i.ty to suppress others, although Madam of Duke Xing obviously should take the blame for what had happened before.
Madam of Duke Xing, who had maintained a stiff smile, felt her face relaxed and seemed to be stroked by a spring breeze.
“Thank you for your teachings, Your Highness!” Shao Wanru said, raised her eyebrows slightly, and bowed to Infanta Yuan’an respectfully again. Despite her indignant look, she behaved properly. After that, she lowered her head slightly and acted as if she were listening respectfully.
As the descendant of another Great Elder Princess, despite her t.i.tle of infanta, Infanta Yuan’an and Shao Wanru were of the same generation and had just met for the first time. The so-called teaching was a little strange. At the thought that Shao Wanru had to restrain her indignant look and listen to Infanta Yuan’an respectfully, people might think that Infanta Yuan’an, who looked kind, was actually the one making use of her ident.i.ty to suppress others.
Infanta Yuan’an looked towards Shao Wanru, who slightly lowered her head, without turning a hair and frowned slightly. Unexpectedly, Shao Wanru was so difficult to deal with. She thought that she could suppress Shao Wanru with her ident.i.ty as the infanta. However, with just a few words, Shao Wanru made her seem like the one making use of her ident.i.ty to suppress others.
Fortunately, she was in Duke Xing’s Mansion. If she said the same words in the imperial palace, she probably would not be able to deal with the situation. With vigilance in her eyes, she no longer dared to look down on her gorgeous cousin.
Strictly speaking, Shao Wanru was indeed her cousin, but she didn’t take Shao Wanru seriously before and considered Shao Wanru just a good-looking plaything no matter how pretty she was. But now, she didn’t dare to look down on the Fifth Miss Shao in front of her.
“Don’t mention it. We are cousins, so you don’t have to be so polite. I come here today to meet the First Miss Shao and should leave now. I will definitely pay you a visit the next time I come here!” Infanta Yuan’an said friendly with a smile as if she didn’t notice Shao Wanru’s silent resistance.
She acted as if she really considered Shao Wanru her cousin.
“You are over courteous. I’ve just moved here. My courtyard is in a mess with no servants to receive a guest. If you come here later, I’ll definitely clean up the couch to welcome you!” Shao Wanru raised her head and said with gentle eyes as if the displeasure she had shown were just an illusion.
What she said was true. There had been a lot of servants in her courtyard, but now they had been taken away. The maids she brought were far from enough. Besides, she had just returned to the mansion, so it was indeed inconvenient for her to receive a guest.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll come to visit you next time. By the way, I’m going to hold a banquet a few days later. Why don’t I send you an invitation card? You can come over, and then we can get close to each other!” Infanta Yuan’an suggested with a smile.
“Uh… I’m afraid I can’t go. I’ve been observing mourning for my parents!” Shao Wanru refused in embarra.s.sment.
“Oh, you are right. It’s my fault to neglect it. I’ll invite you after you finish it. I intended to introduce you to other Misses from aristocratic families!” Infanta said with regret.
“Thank you for your kindness!” Shao Wanru said softly.
The two of them talked happily. After an intimate chat, Infanta Yuan’an made her farewells with a smile and left. Seeing her leave with Madam of Duke Xing, Shao Wanru stared at the back of Infanta Yuan’an thoughtfully with the smile fading on her face.
In the last life, she was not acquainted with Infanta Yuan’an and only heard that she had an excellent reputation and was fine even after Prince Zhou was defeated, Besides, she heard something through the grapevine, but didn’t know whether it was true or not. Now she couldn’t remember where she heard it and who told her about it.
It was said that the record of her horoscope indicated that she was meant to be an extraordinary person. If it was true, it was not surprising that she would be Princess Zhou.
But in the last life, she had never heard that Infanta Yuan’an was close to Shao Yanru. When Shao Yanru tortured her for various reasons in the imperial palace later, she had never seen Infanta by Shao Yanru’s side. Unexpectedly, she met Infanta Yuan’an in Duke Xing’s Mansion earlier in this life, which was really surprising!
In their short conversation, Infanta Yuan’an had changed her att.i.tude several times from her indifference at the beginning to her intimacy in the end. She had even tried to suppress Shao Wanru and invited Shao Wanru to her banquet and said that she would introduce Shao Wanru to other Misses from aristocratic families as if she didn’t know that Shao Wanru had been observing mourning for parents. All of these made Shao Wanru think deeply.
“Fifth Miss, be careful of Infanta Yuan’an!” Nanny Zheng came out at some time, stood behind Shao Wanru, also looked at the back of Infanta Yuan’an, and said with a frown.
“Nanny, why do you say that?” Shao Wanru restrained the suspicion in her eyes and turned to ask Nanny Zheng. Her suspicion of Infanta Yuan’an was caused by what had happened in the last life, but what caused Nanny Zheng’s suspicion of Infanta Yuan’an?
“Infanta Yuan’an is one of the Empress Dowager’s favorite young members of the royal family. When she enters the imperial palace, she usually likes to chat with the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager likes to hear some gossip from her. Every time Infanta Yuan’an enters the imperial palace, she makes the Empress Dowager very happy.”
Nanny Zheng said while organizing her words.
It meant that Infanta Yuan’an had a voice in front of the Empress Dowager! Meanwhile, she was not a member of Duke Xing’s Mansion. It seemed that Infanta Yuan’an’s visit to Duke Xing’s Mansion was not a coincidence, but Shao Wanru wondered whether the trap was set by Shao Yanru or Infanta Yuan’an.
Or it was set by the two of them. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that she met Infanta Yuan’an, who had a voice in front of the Empress Dowager when she just moved to Duke Xing’s Mansion. At the same time, the Empress Dowager supported her in Duke Xing’s Mansion by sending gifts…
With a deep smile on her face, she thought, “What a coincidence!”