Chapter 873 Shao Wanru Was the Woman in His Dream?
“It’s not you? You are lying to me, Shao Wanru! Who could it be if it’s not you? Well, you don’t want to admit it, do you? I’ll show this painting to others.”
Gu Xishu was infuriated. She reached out to take the painting away and said that with anger.
Shao Wanru didn’t try to stop her. Instead, she took a step back and said with a cold face, “That’s good. Let’s do so! I also want to know who it is! If it’s me, how could Third Young Master be drawn in the same painting with me in a void scene? Besides, the woman in it is older than me. Could Third Young Master Wen’s eyes see through the future?”
Shao Wanru’s calm look made Gu Xishu hesitate. Glancing at her, Gu Xishu found that she was so calm that it seemed to have nothing to do with her.
But was there really nothing between her and the painting?
Gu Xishu lowered her head and observed it carefully. The more she looked at it, the more confused she became. She looked at Shao Wanru and then at Yujie behind her. Then Gu Xishu’s confidence was shaken.
At this time, Shao Wanru should rush over to s.n.a.t.c.h the painting and tear it into pieces in a panic, right?
However, she was not afraid that Shao Wanru would tear it up. If Shao Wanru did that, it meant that the person in it was indeed her. Her third cousin had drawn two paintings, but Gu Xishu had not taken out the other one. If Shao Wanru tore off this one, there would be another painting as evidence. She was not worried at all that it would be destroyed. But how could Shao Wanru be so calm?
“Not you?”
“Of course, it’s not me, Miss Gu. If you don’t believe me, you can show it to others and ask them. But if it’s proved that it is not me, I’m afraid that your mansion will be in trouble. After all, my marriage with Prince Chen is a decree of Empress Dowager. Don’t you think that the painting by Third Young Master in your mansion indicates that he is planning something inappropriate?”
Shao Wanru tidied up her clothes slowly and looked at Gu Xishu leisurely.
Shao Wanru looked calmer, and her words changed Gu Xishu’s facial expression. Empress Dowager’s decree… If the result was not as she had supposed, not only would Third Cousin be punished, but also she, the initiator of showing the painting, would probably not get away from it.
“If it’s not you, then who could it be?” Gu Xishu asked. She was still unconvinced, but she became less confident with herself.
“How would I know, Miss Gu? I want to get an answer from you. Who is she and why does she look so much like me? Could it be possible that she is related to me by blood? If that is the case, does this woman have anything to do with Marquis Xing’s Mansion or with Rui’an Great Elder Princess? Could it be possible that I have an elder sister?”
Shao Wanru’s face became cold, and she said, “Miss Gu, why don’t you give this painting to me. I’m going to show it to my grandma. After all, the royal family blood should be confirmed!”
As Shao Wanru not only kept calm but also became sharp and cold, Gu Xishu panicked. She rushed to the desk and blocked Shao Wanru. “Fifth Miss Shao, I can’t give this painting to you. This is Third Cousin’s. I don’t know whom he has drawn, but anyway, this painting belongs to Third Cousin.”
“Though it is Third Young Master’s, didn’t Miss Gu show it to me just now? And you also pointed at the painting and claimed that the woman was me, so it means that the painting is mine. Can you give it to me now?”
Shao Wanru became impatient and took a step forward to get Gu Xishu out of her way, but Gu Xishu stood still and blocked her. She shouted with anxiety, “Who said that it was you? How could it be you? You look different from her. She is obviously older than you. My Third Cousin Brother is not familiar with you. How could he paint a picture of you?”
At this time, Shao Wanru’s att.i.tude turned the last flame of suspicion in Gu Xishu’s mind into ashes. It was not Shao Wanru! Definitely not her! On a closer look, she did not look like Shao Wanru at all.
Moreover, Shao Wanru had always looked calm. How could she become so sad like the woman in the painting? There were many similar people in the world. How could it be Shao Wanru? Although they looked alike, their temperaments and expressions were not the same.
The more Gu Xishu thought about it, the more wrong she thought she was and the more regretful she felt. If Third Cousin knew that she had touched his stuff, he would definitely ask her aunt to punish her.
In fact, she just wanted to trick Shao Wanru and find a way to make use of her.
“Are you sure it is not me or someone else related to me?” Shao Wanru stood still and did not go forward anymore. However, her eyes were cold and a little sharp, as if she did not believe Gu Xishu.
“It’s really not you, Fifth Miss Shao, and it’s impossible that it is relevant to you. Infanta Qinghua can’t have another daughter!”
Gu Xishu only hoped that Shao Wanru would quit taking away the painting. Otherwise, it would be impossible to hide it. She tried hard to persuade Shao Wanru. And the more Gu Xishu said, the more she believed that she had been wrong before. She was deceived.
“All right. Since it isn’t me, then I will forget it!” Shao Wanru said with flagging interest. Then she turned around and walked out as if she was not interested in it at all.
Seeing that Shao Wanru had given up, Gu Xishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She rolled up the painting carefully and put it in the painting jar with lingering fear in her heart.
After cleaning up, she looked around and then went out with her servant girl after she made sure that nothing was left there.
Shao Wanru had been waiting in the yard for a while until she saw Gu Xishu walk out of the study. Gu Xishu with timidness in her expression hurried up to catch up with Shao Wanru. She looked no longer arrogant and confident like before. Her status could naturally not be compared with Shao Wanru’s.
Without self-righteousness, she unconsciously showed weakness in front of Shao Wanru…
After they left, Wen Xichi appeared behind a pine tree in the back corner of the courtyard. He looked at the back of two Misses with his hands clasped behind his back. He stood still there, eyes becoming so deep that thousands of thoughts seemed to flash in his mind, and looked lonely and isolated.
“Master…” Seeing that he kept still for so long, the servant couldn’t help calling to remind him, “Cousin Miss has left!”
The servant was confused. In the past, he had never seen Third Young Master pay any attention to cousin Miss. Why did he look so affectionate today? If he was pa.s.sionate with her, then why didn’t Third Young Master respond to her when she came to please him before and even show indifference and dislike to her? What happened to him now?
Cousin Miss was about to marry Second Young Master and become Third Young Master’s sister-in-law. Was Third Young Master reluctant?
The servant scratched his head and couldn’t figure it out!
“Do you know why, if we keep dreaming of the same person?” Wen Xichi asked in a low voice. It sounded like he was talking to himself with some confusion that he could not figure out either. When he came here, he heard someone’s voice in the room, not only Gu Xishu’s but also Shao Wanru’s. Inexplicably, he wanted to hide.
He felt like observing Shao Wanru in secret.
Wasn’t it her? Yes! It was her! How could it not be her? But the memory in his dream seemed to be different from the reality. The woman in the dream looked sad, which made him feel a heartache. He wanted to try his best to protect her, but he seemed to be very ill and needed she to take care of him in his dream? How could he look after her?
That was a pain, feeling even worse than when he woke up. The woman in his dream made him feel distressed, but he was too weak to help her and could only look at her from a distance. He knew that even if he helped her out once, she would face more difficulties later. What would happen to her if he was gone?
He had begged his mother, who said that she was good to her. But in fact, she had always been indifferent to her, right?
He put his hand on the tree trunk and felt a pain in his heart. He felt that the woman in his dream was Shao Wanru but not the Shao Wanru in front of him. That feeling was very confusing and mysterious.
It seemed that he knew it was her, but he couldn’t find any evidence to totally convince himself. Moreover, the person he drew was a little different from the real Shao Wanru. It seemed that the girl in his memory meant a lot to him before and had deeply imprinted in his heart. Now when she showed up in front of him again, she just looked different from what he remembered.
So it was her!
He had thought that those dreams would fade away, and they once got out of his memory for a while. Unexpectedly, he had dreamt a lot in the last few days and almost every dream was about her, who was sad, timid, and panicky. Every scene sored his heart.
He couldn’t help squeezing the tree drunk, and pain in the hand woke him up. So what if it was or wasn’t her? She was going to marry Prince Chen and become his princess soon. Moreover, there was a scar on his heart. He had once helped Prince Yue to ruin her reputation, which almost took her life.
How could he be qualified to draw her?
He turned around and walked to the main house. The servant hurriedly took out the key and opened the door. After entering the room, he looked at the painting jar and pondered for a while. Then he took out two paintings, tore them up, and threw them into a pot filled with water. The water slowly became turbid, and the clear paintings became blurred. But in his brain, the woman’s figure in his dream became clearer and clearer.
He had always been cautious and would never leave any traces. But this time, he did something stupid. He even drew a picture of the woman in his dream. If it fell into someone’s hands, it would ruin her reputation.
If someone scheming saw it, it might bring disaster to her.
He had thought his study was locked and that it was lucky enough that no one would see the paintings. But Gu Xishu should have the key to his study!
“Go and report to Madam later. Tell her that someone broke into my courtyard and stole a few precious calligraphy and paintings. Find out who has the key to my study and who has been here today!”
The paintings in the water had been completely dissolved, but Wen Xichi’s eyes still fell on the surface of the water. After a long while, he slowly ordered in a cold voice.
The servant didn’t quite understand his master’s behavior today. Who had come? Hadn’t cousin Miss just come? His master didn’t catch her directly but asked Madam to inquire about it. Could it be possible that he made a mistake and his master had no interest in cousin Miss at all?
Thinking of this, the servant suddenly became happy and took the order. In fact, he didn’t like cousin Miss either. She had been engaged to Second Young Master, but she always came to see his master. After knowing that, Second Young Master glared at his master from time to time. She was such a dissolute woman. Madam even asked Second Young Master to marry her!