Chapter 857 A Life-and-Death Quarrel in the Bridal Room
Shao Caihuan suddenly goggled at Shao Wanru. She moved her lips but said nothing. Her eyes flashed with a trace of resentment.
Neither Madam Jiang nor Shao Yanru was in the mansion. If there was someone else who could intervene in it, it could only be the bride who had just married into the mansion.
Most servants used to follow Madam Jiang of the second branch. Without her in the mansion, Zhao Xiran could be the first person whose orders they would obey. Thinking of this, Shao Caihuan suddenly felt regretful and furious. If Zhao Xiran hadn’t abetted her, she would have never come up with such an idea.
Fortunately, Shao Caihuan was not hopelessly stupid. She was so furious now that her face turned pale.
“Third Sister, we have to put an end to this trouble. I’m afraid that they want to put the blame on your mother. If you want to save your family, you have to take action before a decreed comes here from the palace!” Shao Wanru smiled slightly and said softly.
Shao Caihuan had seen what had happened in her grandma’s room—her grandma and second uncle oppressed her mother. And it was she who had caused it. Thinking of it, she felt her heart was torn apart. She realized it was her fault, so she swore to stop her mother from being forced to be the scapegoat.
“Obviously, the second branch should be to blame. Why our third branch is taken as the cause?” Thinking that her mother’s health was also harmed by her second aunt, Shao Caihuan felt a burning pain in her heart. Her mother once asked her to have an eye on the people of second branch and not to have too much contact with them because they were extremely shrewd.
But, how careless she was and deceived by Zhao Xiran!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. No matter how to suppress the anger, she couldn’t just let it go. She gritted her teeth, turned around, and left. She didn’t allow them to put the blame on her mother.
Even if she couldn’t tell the truth, she could link it to Zhao Xiran. After all, it happened in Duke Xing’s Mansion but not in Minister Zhao’s Mansion. It was not that easy for Zhao Xiran to seize power here.
Seeing Shao Caihuan leave with a livid face, Yujie asked, “Miss, where is Third Miss going?”
Shao Wanru glanced through the window with cold eyes, watching Shao Caihuan walk away quickly, smiled silently, and said, “Some people always think that they are smart enough to get others wrapped around their fingers. But the ‘others’ are not as stupid as they thought. When a life-and-death struggle breaks out, they may not necessarily be ahead of the game!”
Her words were so vague that Yujie couldn’t understand them. She blinked her eyes and decided to ask some less vague questions, “Is Third Miss going to make trouble with Second Young Madam?”
Shao Wanru nodded.
“But Third Miss has no evidence. Besides, I don’t think Second Young Madam is so stupid and intends to hurt the two princes. It is a very serious crime to harm royal members!” Yujie muttered subconsciously.
“She didn’t drug the drink!” Shao Wanru said lightly. But she had a name in her heart. “Although it hasn’t been confirmed yet, I think it could be…”
However, though Zhao Xiran was not the “drug instructor”, she stirred up trouble via giving the pastry recipe and abetting Shao Caihuan. “Since you have committed evil deeds, never hope to escape unharmed!” Shao Wanru thought.
There was no evidence to prove the crime committed by a newcomer who had just entered the mansion? Sometimes, evidence was not everything. And it was not so difficult to spread gossip among the crowd!
Shao Caihuan was a double-edged sword, especially when she still wanted to protect her third branch…
Zhao Xiran had sat on the bed and waited for Shao Hua’an for a long time. As he hasn’t been back yet, she could not help frowning tightly and felt very uneasy.
“Miss, let me go and inquire about it!” Her servant girl Qiu Yue also felt anxious.
“No. we wait! We have just entered Duke Xing’s Mansion. Don’t act rashly!” Zhao Xiran shook her head and slowly relaxed her frowning eyebrows. She was just a bride. No matter what happened outside, it had nothing to do with her. Either it was related to the third branch or the second branch, in no way it would be linked to her, a newcomer of the mansion.
“Miss, shall I go to the door and have a look?” Another servant girl Qiu Lian suggested.
This time, Zhao Xi didn’t refuse and nodded.
As soon as Qiu Lian walked to the door and went out, she saw Shao Caihuan rush into the room with anger. She stepped back and bowed to her, “Third Miss!”
Shao Caihuan came to make trouble. She pushed Qiu Lian away and strode in. The bead curtain hanging at the door was pulled off by her, the pearls on it falling to the ground one by one.
Zhao Xi stood up from the bed and looked at Shao Caihuan with a displeased face. But she kept her voice gentle, “Third Sister, what do you mean by this?”
“What do I mean? Sister Zhao, you are good at pretending to be a fool! No sooner had you entered the mansion today than you bribed Second Aunt’s former henchmen and asked them to drug the drink that was served to the two princes, for the sake of trapping my mother and seizing her power of managing the mansion!” Shao Caihuan shouted with anger and trembled.
Actually, more than half parts of the words she just said were made up. But as she questioned Zhao Xiran with them, she started to think that they were just the truth. “Otherwise, Zhao Xiran would not have played a trick on me. She would benefit the most from the whole thing!”
“Third Sister, what are you talking about?” Zhao Xiran’s face became gloomy and unfriendly.
“Don’t you understand what I’m talking about? Don’t you like to stir up trouble in secret? Everyone praises that you are more talented even than a man. I think you are indeed more talented than a man, in viciousness! I thought that Eldest Brother married a good woman, but the truth is you are not but a Second Aunt to me!”
Shao Caihuan was so angry that she pointed at Zhao Xiran and swore at her.
“Third Sister, I don’t know what you are talking about, but it’s inappropriate for you to disrespect your elders!” Zhao Xiran’s face became colder and colder, but her words were very orderly. She didn’t show her grievance, but only pointed out Shao Caihuan’s disrespect to Madam Jiang.
“Don’t ever try to avoid my question with Second Aunt as an excuse. You don’t know what she has done to make herself end up like that. Don’t pretend to be kind! However, you seem to have a close relations.h.i.+p with her… Have you taken over all her former followers in the mansion? Are you ready to seize power to manage Duke Xing’s Mansion with their help?”
Shao Caihuan was not fooled at all and still questioned her with anger.
Shao Caihuan’s voice was angry and sharp, and all the servants in the courtyard heard her. Some of them had already noticed that something was wrong and went to report it to Old Madam, worried that something bad would happen in the bridal room.
“Third Sister, there is no need to slander our elders. Even if they were wrong, it was not what we juniors should talk about!” Zhao Xiran said coldly.
Shao Caihuan couldn’t outspeak Zhao Xiran, and she was further infuriated by the latter’s delicate and charming face. She waved her hand to slap her.
Zhao Xiran took a step back and avoided it.
Qiu Yue rushed forward to stop Shao Caihuan and said, “Third Miss, our Miss has just married into Duke Xing’s Mansion. Why are you being so rude to her? Is it because that you are discontent with her? If that’s the case, you can complain to Old Madam! Our Miss doesn’t have to marry First Young Master of your mansion!”
Indeed, it was Duke Xing’s Mansion who asked for this marriage for many years. It could be said that Zhao Xiran was a hard-worn daughter-in-law for whom Duke Xing’s Mansion had begged thousands of times. The servant of Minister Zhao’s Mansion had the confidence to say such words.
The failure to slap Zhao Xiran and the servant girl’s presuming words made Shao Caihuan so angry that her eyes widened and her face turned pale and livid.
Whether in arguments or other aspects, she couldn’t win Zhao Xiran, who took her down with just a few words.
She realized that even if she went on arguing with Zhao Xiran, she could not force her to confess and might make things even worse, which made her angrier. She reached out to pick up two red candles beside her and threw them to the ground with force.
Her mother, she, and even the entire third branch were about to be destroyed by Zhao Xiran. So how could Shao Caihuan have scruples at this time?
“Third Miss, how dare you…” Zhao Xiran was also shocked with her face turning livid. Even though she didn’t care too much about her marriage, she could not bear that Shao Caihuan smashed the red candles. That was extremely ominous for a marriage.
“And how dare you trick me? Zhao Xiran, did you want to hurt the two princes or our third branch? Just tell me what you want. There is no one else in this room. The people present are either your servant girls or mine. Neither of them could be valid witnesses to help you or me. Just tell me the truth!”
Shao Caihuan shouted in a sharp voice. And she stepped hard on the candles on the ground.
The brightly red candles with patterns of dragon and phoenix were broken, and the sparks were also put out.
In the bridal chamber, the candles could not be put out now.
The two servant girls of Zhao Xiran were so shocked that their faces became pale.
Zhao Xiran was so angry that her voice trembled, “Third Miss Shao, you… what do you want? Since I came and sat in this room, I have never stepped out of it. What did I do to make you so angry that you curse me here? Well, if you don’t give me an explanation today, I’ll go back to Minister Zhao’s Mansion right away. As for my marriage, let’s just call it off!”
No one could hold back their anger and say nothing when encountering such an insult just after entering the mansion. Zhao Xiran thought that she was a calm person, but now she was trembling with anger caused by Shao Caihuan’s rudeness.
“The Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion is as unruly as it was said to be. How could she be so savage? I have never seen it before!”
“I don’t mean anything special. I just want to know why you drug the two princes!” Said Shao Caihuan. After being defeated in the argument just now, she was smart at this time, no longer following to talk about the previous topic but mentioning the most serious problem.
“What are you talking about?” The half-closed door of the room was heavily pushed. Shao Caihuan and Zhao Xiran looked back together. When they saw the group of people at the door, they took a step back at the same time.
As was expected, such a big noise had alerted Old Madam.
Seeing the beads on the ground and the aggressive look on Shao Caihuan’s face, Old Madam was so angry that her face turned pale…