Chapter 961 Taking Action in Front of the Empress
Hearing that Infanta Yuan’an came in crying, the Empress was stunned for a moment.
She was very satisfied with Infanta Yuan’an as her daughter-in-law.
She was not only pleased with the fact that Infanta Yuan’an had Great Elder Princess as her backing, but was also pleased with Infanta Yuan’an’s fortune, which mattered extremely. Her precious fortune indicated that her future status would be indescribably n.o.ble.
In the past, Infanta Yuan’an had been extremely dignified and decent and behaved very well among the Misses from aristocratic families. She had a different kind of dignified and decent manner from Shao Yanru’s, who just looked dignified and decent, not like Infanta Yuan’an. The infanta was also fair in dealing with things. She was gracious and handled affairs with n.o.ble manners.
“Infanta Yuan’an, who is so dignified and decent, has been bullied?” The Empress felt a little upset.
“My son will be the crown prince and the Emperor in the future, which makes Infanta Yuan’an the future crown princess and the future Empress. How could she get bullied and come to complain to me in crying? Shouldn’t she just strike back?
“Is it Princess Chen who came with her that bullied her? Princess Chen looks so weak and delicate that she doesn’t look like a strong figure at all. Moreover, even if she is strong, so what? With the ident.i.ty of Infanta Yuan’an, how could she allow Princess Chen to bully her?
“It’s not Prince Chen that did it to her.”
“Invite Infanta Yuan’an and Princess Chen in!” the Empress frowned and said.
The eunuch hurried down, and soon he led two people in.
As soon as Infanta Yuan’an entered the room, she quickly came over and bowed to the Empress, and then her eyes became redder and redder. “Your Majesty... Your Majesty...”
Her words were full of grievance as she said them while crying.
“Yuan’an, you may get up!” The Empress raised her hand slightly. A palace maid came over to help Infanta Yuan’an up and helped her sit down on one side.
Shao Wanru also knelt down and bowed.
“You may also get up, Princess Chen!” the Empress said with a smile. She glanced at Shao Wanru’s delicate face with a calm and emotionless look on it. Although she looked a little younger than Infanta Yuan’an, the Empress appreciated her calmness.
“Only my son’s wife should have such a temperament. How Infanta Yuan’an is doing today is really disgraceful!”
Shao Wanru didn’t get up, but waved off the hands of the palace maid who went to support her hand and said with her eyes widened slightly, “Your Majesty, please uphold justice for me!”
“You...” Infanta Yuan’an said in anger. Shao Wanru actually spoke before her, but she couldn’t ignore her dignity, nor could she speak before Shao Wanru at this time.
“Did something happen?” The Empress’s face darkened.
“Your Majesty, I met Infanta Yuan’an before...” Shao Wanru told the whole story calmly. After that, she kowtowed to the Empress, raised her head, and said, “Your Majesty, if I was b.u.mped into by Second Young Master Qu at that time, would my reputation be ruined?”
Her reputation could not be regarded as ruined if he only b.u.mped into her, but Second Young Master Qu was a playboy. Who knew if he would hold Shao Wanru in his arms out of l.u.s.t?
It was not impossible. Looking at Shao Wanru’s delicate facial features, the Empress felt that it must be true.
Qu Xinghong was obsessed with beauties and he would most likely grope them when he met them. The Empress a.s.sumed that when he met Shao Wanru, he would inevitably reach out to hold her in his arms and might even do something more outrageous. After she got disrespected in public, her reputation would almost be ruined.
Even though it was an accident, it would bring shame to the royal family.
The Empress could even ask Chu Liuchen to divorce Shao Wanru or demote her to a concubine due to this matter.
But the Empress thought that it was unlikely for her to do so because if she did it, she would really offend Rui’an Great Elder Princess and even Chu Liuchen. It was said that Chu Liuchen was very satisfied with Princess Chen. Of course, this had been only hearsay. The descendants of the royal family were not simple. The Empress did not know if that rumor was true.
If what she imagined had actually happened, the Empress thought it was good and could use it to threaten Shao Wanru. In the future, Shao Wanru would not dare to act tough in front of her. The Empress felt great that she now could take advantage of Shao Wanru’s mistake.
The problem was that it did not happen, and moreover, Infanta Yuan’an had made the trouble public and brought it to her.
If Infanta Yuan’an was just an ordinary Miss, the Empress could protect her. However, Infanta Yuan’an had another ident.i.ty, which was her son’s future wife. For this reason, she could not protect Infanta Yuan’an openly.
“If he just b.u.mped into you a little, it’s not a big deal. Get up and talk!” the Empress smiled gently, shrugging it off.
“Your Majesty, Princess Chen beat my second brother and said something else to frame me up!” Infanta Yuan’an got anxious and also knelt down.
The Empress was not very happy. She thought that Infanta Yuan’an had a bad intention in this matter. At this time, it was best to make concessions, but she still held on to it. It was too much and her action was off-key.
The Empress didn’t know that Shao Wanru and Infanta Yuan’an had fallen out just now. And right now, either one of them would win or be suppressed. How could Infanta Yuan’an be willing to be suppressed by her? At this moment, she couldn’t have a guilty conscience. Otherwise, all the gossip in the future would be targeting her.
She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Shao Wanru’s eyes were clear, and she remained in her posture. She asked unhurriedly, “Infanta Yuan’an, tell me what I said to frame you up. Can the Empress also hear it?”
“You said... you said that this is between Prince Zhou and Prince Chen!” Infanta Yuan’an now had to say it because she was in a difficult situation.
The Empress’s heart skipped a beat. What she avoided most was her son’s affairs. All of her son’s affairs were important matters, and she couldn’t let the Emperor dislike her son anymore.
“What happened between Prince Zhou and Prince Chen? Aren’t they good brothers?” Shao Wanru pretended not to see the displeasure in the Empress’s eyes and asked deliberately.
Infanta Yuan’an was so angry that her face turned livid. Shao Wanru had not said so when she was in b.u.t.terfly Clothing Shop. Every word she said was hinting that Prince Chen and Prince Zhou were not on good terms, and Infanta Yuan’an was going against her for Prince Zhou’s sake.
“Princess Chen, you, you said before that I did this for Prince Zhou to deal with Prince Chen’s Mansion!” Infanta Yuan’an said angrily. After that, her face changed dramatically, and she pressed her trembling fingers to the ground. She was so angry that she lost her composure and even said such words.
How could such words be casually spoken?
As expected, the Empress slammed her teacup on the table. “Infanta Yuan’an, what do you mean? Prince Zhou and Prince Chen are brothers and have always been on good terms. What are you two talking about?”
“Your Majesty, you are right. I also think that Prince Zhou has a good relations.h.i.+p with Prince Chen. I don’t understand what Infanta Yuan’an means. Why is she going against me like this? Why does she want to ruin my reputation? What good is it for her if my reputation is ruined? Or has Infanta Yuan’an been intending to target Prince Chen’s Mansion?” Shao Wanru answered in an extremely calm tone.
Infanta Yuan’an was so mad that she wanted to bite Shao Wanru. What Shao Wanru said sounded like Infanta Yuan’an was making trouble rudely and hurting people, but these things had nothing to do with Prince Zhou’s Mansion. After all, she had not married into Prince Zhou’s Mansion yet and had not been the real Princess Zhou. No matter what happened, it had nothing to do with Prince Zhou.
The Empress liked to hear what Shao Wanru said. What she hated most was involving her son in this kind of thing. She nodded at once and turned to look at Infanta Yuan’an. “What happened exactly? How could your second brother fall down all of a sudden?”
Shao Wanru sneered in her heart. “The Empress is indeed partial. She said that in order to find an excuse for Infanta Yuan’an and she intends to get rid of this matter in the name of an accident!
“How could there be such an easy thing in the world?
“In the past, I did not fight for everything, but it doesn’t mean that I will endure it when others bully me.
“If I tolerate it now, others will bully me more by the next time. Only if I nip it in the bud when others try to hurt me will no one dare to slander me lightly in the future.”
“Your Majesty, I... I really don’t know why this happened. I... wasn’t being cautious at that time. Who knew that my second brother couldn’t stand still!” Infanta Yuan’an was a smart person. Although she wanted to kill Shao Wanru, she hurriedly grasped at the straw sent by the Empress and used it to save herself.
“Infanta Yuan’an, you weren’t being cautious? But even so, it’s true that your brother offended me, isn’t it? I’m now Princess Chen. Shouldn’t he be punished for offending me?” said Shao Wanru with deep eyes.
She did not argue how it happened, nor did she ask if it was an accident at that time. She only stressed her emphasis.
This was what aggrieved Infanta Yuan’an the most. Hearing Shao Wanru’s words, she immediately wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, “Your Majesty, what my brother did was really just an accident. When Princess Chen came over, she asked someone to beat my brother and humiliated him in front of so many people. Please... please uphold justice for me. My elder brother was just being careless!”
Infanta Yuan’an said very well and made it sound like it was all just an accident. She didn’t believe that Shao Wanru could defeat her with just an accident.
With the Empress’s help, Shao Wanru’s reputation of being domineering could be confirmed.
She had just married into Prince Chen’s Mansion, but she was already so domineering. It could be seen that she was not a good person. The daughter-in-law of the royal family should be decent and reasonable, and she should do things reasonably. How could she declare somebody guilty just based on an accident?
“He was being careless?” Shao Wanru suddenly reached out her hand and asked.
Infanta Yuan’an was shocked and hurriedly stepped back, thinking that Shao Wanru was going to slap her.
Shao Wanru’s hand slid across her cheek, and her sharp nails scratched her tender face lightly. Immediately, a scratch appeared on her delicate face, leaving a faint bloodstain.
Everyone was shocked. Princess Chen just scratched Infanta Yuan’an’s face in front of the Empress.
“Your Majesty...” Infanta Yuan’an, who had come to her senses, covered her face and cried sadly and indignantly, but at the same time, she also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Shao Wanru dared to do such a thing in front of the Empress, which meant that she was doomed.
After this incident, the Empress had the reason to punish her as much as she wanted.
“How dare you!” At this time, the Empress came to her senses. She slammed her hand on the table heavily, and her face turned pale with anger. No woman had ever dared to be so presumptuous in front of her before.