Chapter 895: Who Was Proposed?
Shao Wanru took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her delicate cheeks. She looked up with a smile and said, "Sisters will marry a good husband, Grandmother. You don"t have to worry about that."
"Fifth Sister is right, Grandma. Everything will be better in the future! Our Misses will marry into good families. You can rest a.s.sured!"
Zhao Xiran was always good at catching chances to flatter herself. On hearing what Old Madam said, Zhao Xiran hastened to comfort her with a smile. At the same time, she asked a servant girl to stand behind Old Madam and gently ma.s.saged Old Madam"s back with the wooden hammer. Every step was extremely natural.
A trace of sharpness flashed in Shao Wanru"s eyes when she saw the satisfaction in Old Madam"s. Zhao Xiran was indeed very clever. She had changed Old Madam"s impression on her within just a few days.
Zhao Xiran probably had something to do with Old Madam"s friendly att.i.tude towards Shao Wanru. Because Old Madam would never be good to people for no reason.
If Old Madam couldn"t get any benefit, it was in vain no matter how she was flattered.
"They are right, Mother. How could you say that with such a healthy body? Your words scared me!" Third Madam said with a smile. The smile on her face was reluctant, but her words were on time.
At first, the third branch was still in safety after experiencing so many accidents. But now it was in danger because Zhao Xiran gradually took over the management of domestic affairs. It was obvious that Old Madam wanted to elevate Zhao Xiran.
Third Madam did not dare to query Old Madam. After all, the master of the inner court was Old Madam, so she could choose whomever she liked.
"Since I have been old, I only wish that all my grandchildren can support each other so that they will live a good life in the future. That"s all I want!" Old Madam sighed again, ma.s.saged her forehead with her hand, and became sad. "The things about the Second Girl and the Third Girl before…"
At this point, Old Madam sighed again and could not continue. Apparently, something sorrowful came into her mind so she did not know what to say for a moment.
Shao Wanru didn"t answer her but looked at the handkerchief in her hand calmly, as if she didn"t understand Old Madam"s words. Neither did she intend to make them clear nor she was curious about Old Madam"s unfinished words.
She seemed to be in a daze.
Old Madam cast a secret glance at Shao Wanru, only to find her sitting there like a block of wood. She was so infuriated that she felt a pain in her chest. "As expected, Shao Wanru is not raised by me so she will not be considerate towards me! I have given such a conspicuous hint to her, who, however, doesn"t even ask about it. If it were First Girl, she would definitely stand on my side."
Of course, Shao Yanru could do nothing for her grandma in the current affairs. She had secretly sent a letter from the Palace to Old Madam… so Old Madam couldn"t trouble her with such a thing.
So Old Madam could only turn to Shao Wanru. However, since Shao Wanru didn"t react to her, Old Madam felt ashamed to ask her in person.
Old Madam looked at Zhao Xiran who was standing beside her, and the latter immediately got the former"s hint. Zhao Xiran looked at Shao Wanru with a smile and said, "Fifth Sister, our grandmother has a knot in her heart. Would you please help inquire about it and tell us the result of your investigation so that our grandmother can rest a.s.sured? She has had no appet.i.te for food and can"t sleep well at night for a long time because of the load on her mind."
Shao Wanru slowly raised her head to glance at Old Madam and saw her performance—It seemed that Old Madam wanted to stop Zhao Xiran but she failed. Then Shao Wanru said with a slight smile, "Sister Zhao, you"re too polite. How could I be powerful enough to help grandma? Why don"t you ask Second Uncle to help you instead of me, a girl who has just married, Grandmother?"
Her tone was both rude and tough.
Zhao Xiran was stunned and blushed with a red face. She didn"t expect that Shao Wanru would treat Old Madam with no respect like that in front of so many people and disagree to help her grandmother.
After all, she had just married into Marquis Xing"s Mansion. She felt awkward in front of so many people when she was retorted by Shao Wanru with an indifferent att.i.tude.
"Fifth Girl, what do you mean?" Old Madam was the first to lose her temper. She put down the teacup on the table heavily. "You are also the daughter from Marquis Xing"s Mansion! Well, you are married now, so are you going to abandon your parents" home?"
"Grandma, you sound like you want me to make a choice between my parents" home and my husband"s family, don"t you?" Shao Wanru looked up at her and said calmly. She had been used to Old Madam"s sudden coldness.
Her retortion greatly infuriated Old Madam. "What did she mean by saying that to choose between her parents" home and her husband"s family? Her husband"s family is the royal family! Did she want me to say that I force her to take good care of her parents" family and ignore her husband"s?"
If Empress Dowager heard it, Marquis Xing"s Mansion would be severely punished by her.
"Fifth Sister, Grandma didn"t mean that! She just wants you to pa.s.s a message for her!" Zhao Xiran hastened to disregard her embarra.s.sment and make an explanation after she realized the deadlock between Old Madam and Shao Wanru.
"What if I don"t agree?" Shao Wanru said coldly.
No one answered her. Shao Jie"er, who was sitting aside, moved her body. It seemed that she wanted to say something, but she didn"t dare to do so in the end and lowered her head.
"Fifth Sister, it"s not difficult! You just need to ask a question or ask Prince Chen to pa.s.s a message to Commandery Prince Qing!" Zhao Xiran had come to her senses and said with a smile, looking more amiable.
Old Madam had planned to teach Shao Wanru a lesson through the chance of her first visit to the mansion. Now it seemed that Princess Chen, who was once Fifth Miss Shao, was not afraid of her oppression at all. Zhao Xiran felt that it was better to importune Shao Wanru with family relations at this time.
After saying that, Zhao Xiran secretly squinted at Old Madam and sneered in her heart. She didn"t know what was going on with Marquis Xing"s Mansion. "Why do they want to plot against Princess Chen instead of flattering her? This Princess Chen can not be set up so easily. Otherwise, how could I fail to do that to her at that time?
"Instead of promoting the relations.h.i.+p between Shao Wanru and her, Old Madam even wanted to teach her a lesson! No wonder Marquis Xing"s Mansion was degraded. Its people couldn"t see clearly what they should do and what they shouldn"t. How could the mansion flourish?"
"What do you want to say to Commandery Prince Qing?" An idea came into being in Shao Wanru"s mind and she suddenly understand what they want. But she still asked lightly, with her eyes turned to look at Shao Jie"er who was in the corner of the room.
"We want to know why Commandery Prince Qing doesn"t come to propose. And he once promised that he would give our mansion an explanation for what happened in the Imperial Palace before. But he hasn"t come to our mansion yet. Grandma was so anxious that she once wanted Father to go to talk with him. But we will lose our face as the bride"s parents" family if we take the initiative in the marital matter. So we want to ask for the help of Prince Chen, who is Commandery Prince Qing"s brother, Then we can deal with it in private!" Zhao Xiran said with a flattering smile.
She sounded polite and honest with telling Shao Wanru the inconvenience of the people from Marquis Xing"s Mansion. It seemed that she didn"t hide anything.
Zhao Xiran was indeed Minister Zhao"s eldest legitimate daughter. Her words were so flawless and reasonable.
So if Shao Wanru still didn"t agree, she would look petty in others" eyes. If Zhao Xiran"s words were coupled with what Old Madam had said in anger just now, they would sound like an a.s.sault that Shao Wanru forget her roots. Because the request was just a piece of cake for her with such an ident.i.ty.
Chu Qing and Chu Liuchen were brothers, so it didn"t take much effort for Chu Liuchen to send a message!
But the truth was more complicated than that. Although they were both the descendants of the former Emperor, the weight of their status was different. Chu Liuchen"s status was far higher than Chu Qing"s. If Chu Liuchen asked Chu Qing, the latter would have to show respect to Chu Liuchen and come to Marquis Xing"s Mansion to propose, despite that he had other thoughts.
Old Madam was scheming, and so was Zhao Xiran!
Of course, compared with Old Madam, Zhao Xiran was much more friendly in att.i.tude.
"Grandma, do you wish that Commandery Prince Qing will marry Second Sister? But I heard that Commandery Prince Qing is engaged, so I"m afraid that he can"t take Second Sister as his legal wife!" Shao Wanru asked lightly after she heard Zhao Xiran"s explanation.
"Don"t worry about that, Fifth Sister. Father and Grandma will talk about it with Commandery Prince Qing. We just want Commandery Prince Qing to take the initiative to come to Marquis Qing"s Mansion!" Zhao Xiran said vaguely, not mentioning whether it was Shao Jie"er or not.
But it indeed sounded like an easy task to ask Chu Qing to come to the mansion.
"I"m afraid I can"t now. I heard from His Highness that Commandery Prince Qing seems to have an official a.s.signment to deal with. I am afraid that he can"t come to our mansion in the next few days. Anyway, we can"t be rash in marital matters. After Commandery Prince Qing finishes his work, I"ll ask His Highness to go to Commandery Prince Qing"s Mansion!" Shao Wanru thought for a moment and said seriously.
…
If Chu Qing went to Xu State, he would probably not come back in one or two months. Old Madam was not in a hurry before, but now she was anxious, which aroused Shao Wanru"s suspicion.
Hearing Shao Wanru"s words, Old Madam couldn"t help shouting, "No!"
"Why, Grandmother? Is it because… is it necessary?" Shao Wanru asked slowly with a confused face.
Old Madam swallowed and suppressed the anger in her heart to make her look kind. Shao Wanru"s interruption made her realize that she was no longer the Fifth Miss of Marquis Xing"s Mansion.
Even she, as Shao Wanru"s elder, had to bow to Shao Wanru.
"Your sister has come of age. I"m afraid something bad will happen if we delay her marriage!" Old Madam forced a smile and tried to look amiable.
"What will happen if she waits a little longer? Commandery Prince Qing is concentrating on his work at this time, so he must have no intention of getting married," Shao Wanru said calmly. Old Madam"s att.i.tude had no impact on her at all.
Shao Wanru had long been disappointed with Marquis Xing"s Mansion and Old Madam, so she would not have any expectations. She did not care what att.i.tude they showed towards her.
"It is not a big deal. It"s just… Fifth Sister, I don"t take you as an outsider anymore. I will get straight to the point. Another mansion wants to build a martial relations.h.i.+p with us. Its conditions are not bad but not as good as Commandery Prince Qing"s. Grandma needs to make careful consideration. We have to know Commandery Prince Qing"s thoughts before we refuse the other mansion. Otherwise, we might lose both the chances."
Zhao Xiran immediately thought of an excuse that was the most appropriate for the current situation and said it out with a smile.
"Another Proposal? Who are they?" Shao Wanru asked in surprise. She didn"t expect such a reason! Was it Shao Caihuan or Shao Jie"er who was asked?
It was really strange for such a man to show up at such a time…