Chapter 964 You Can’t, Prince Zhou Can’t Either!
Infanta Yuan’an followed Ruiping Great Elder Princess out of the Palace.
After getting on the carriage, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief and choked with sobs!
Ruiping Great Elder Princess looked at her coldly with disappointment in her eyes.
“Grandma, why? Why would it end up like this?” Infanta Yuan’an raised her head and looked at Ruiping Great Elder Princess with her red and swollen eyes. And then her eyes were filled with resentment. She said, “She is a princess, but I will also become a princess. Besides, I am the wife of a legitimate son. There is no reason she could trample me!”
“It’s because Prince Chen showed up and protected her, but Prince Zhou didn’t show up and protect you!” Looking at her granddaughter’s aggrieved look, Ruiping Great Elder Princess sighed, the coldness in her eyes gradually fading. Her granddaughter was smart, and she had a good reputation for her conduct. But she had failed this time.
“A woman’s dignity depends on how much a man cares about her!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said.
Infanta Yuan’an disagreed and said, “Shao Wanru is married. It’s normal for Prince Chen to protect her, but I’m not married yet. Even if Prince Zhou wants to protect me, he has no grounds for doing so!”
“Now that you know he has no grounds for protecting you, then why did you make trouble? It’s improper for you to make trouble now!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said and reached out to knock hard on Infanta Yuan’an’s forehead. She was exasperated at her granddaughter’s failure to live up to her expectations.
“Grandma, I... I happened to meet her and suddenly came up with that idea...” Infanta Yuan’an felt guilty and bit her lip. It was really just an accident at that time.
Before she met Shao Wanru, she had no such bad intention. She had been comparing herself with Shao Wanru and always felt that she herself would be the future Empress in the end. In order to rise to that position, she had been behaving generously and decently. However, when it came to Shao Wanru, she became jealous of her.
Shao Wanru was not the only one that unsettled her. Shao Yanru had been unsettling her before, but now there was only Shao Wanru. Even though Prince Zhou’s intention was vague and obscure, she could sense there was something unusual.
She had hidden this jealousy and no one had noticed it.
That day, when she saw Shao Wanru, suddenly she wanted to humiliate her, so she had someone trip up her second brother and made Qu Xinghong almost b.u.mp into Shao Wanru.
“You suddenly came up with that idea and get your second brother in trouble? Do you think everyone can humiliate Prince Chen at will? No! You can’t do that, and neither can Prince Zhou!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess got angry at the thought of this.
Although her second grandson was disappointing, he was her legitimate grandson with n.o.ble status. Prince Chen breaking her grandson’s arm at the palace gate was like slapping Ruiping Great Elder Princess in the face, and she had to bear it.
“Why is it that even Prince Zhou can’t do it? Prince Chen is just a sick patient. Is there any other reason? The Former Emperor pa.s.sed away long ago. If it were not for the Emperor’s kindness, as a son of the Former Emperor, Prince Chen would not have survived.” Infanta Yuan’an became even more unconvinced.
Prince Zhou was the most legitimate one among the princes.
Although he was not the eldest son, he was the legitimate son of the Empress. In Infanta Yuan’an’s mind, Chu Liuchen had nothing to compare with the legitimate son.
“Empress Dowager dotes on him, and the Emperor favors him very much. That’s enough!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said.
“The Emperor is just pretending to favor him. Does the Emperor actually favor him? I don’t think so! It’s just because he is so sick, so the Emperor would not find fault with him!” Infanta Yuan’an said with a sneer. She had been frightened by Chu Liuchen just moments before, but now she no longer hid the anger in her chest. “Prince Chen may die anytime, so the Emperor doesn’t have to deal with him, because he won’t live long!” Infanta Yuan’an continued.
And then her mouth was quickly covered by Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s hand. Great Elder Princess’s face turned pale, and she scolded her harshly in a low voice, “Shut up. You can’t say things like that!”
Infanta Yuan’an pushed Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s hand, and then shook her head, indicating that she would not say that to anyone else.
Ruiping Great Elder Princess lowered her hand but still looked nervous. Fortunately, they were in the carriage. There was no one else in the carriage, so they could talk freely, and no one would hear it.
“Grandma, is Prince Chen really...” Infanta Yuan’an said in a low voice.
“Don’t say that!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess waved her hand and warned her with a cold look, “You can’t say this kind of thing carelessly. Even if you will be Princess Zhou in the future, you should avoid saying this kind of thing. Remember that Empress Dowager favors Prince Chen the most and always cares about him. If someone gets in the way of Prince Chen, the Empress Dowager will not let off that person. Even the Emperor is not as important as Prince Chen in her mind!”
“Grandma, do I have to salute Shao Wanru when I meet her in the future?” Infanta Yuan’an said unwillingly. She would be Princess Zhou in the future.
“If you don’t salute, you should at least get along with her. Let’s forget what happened today and never mention seeking revenge for your second brother again. If he has anyone to revenge on, it’s you!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said with resentment.
Thinking of her innocent second grandson who was dragged in, she warned Infanta Yuan’an with a livid face, “Yuan’an, you have to remember that after you marry into Princess Zhou’s Mansion, you can’t drag Great Elder Princess’s Mansion through the mire of struggling for the throne. What Prince Zhou’s Mansion should do is benefit Great Elder Princess’s Mansion, not harm Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. Otherwise, I would rather you don’t marry Prince Zhou!”
She used to be satisfied with her granddaughter, but now she was disappointed. She had confronted Princess Chen before she married Prince Zhou.
“Grandma, is Second Brother... all right?” Infanta Yuan’an asked guiltily. Speaking of this matter, Qu Xinghong was totally innocent.
“I’m afraid his arm can’t be cured. Even if it is cured, it may be stiff in the future!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess frowned and said angrily.
“They were so unkind. Second Brother is really innocent. He didn’t do it on purpose!” Infanta Yuan’an said.
“He didn’t do it on purpose, but everyone can see that you did it on purpose. Don’t think that they will consider you innocent because you didn’t admit it just now. Prince Chen is not a person who will suffer losses. In the past, he has made Prince Zhou and Prince Yue suffer a lot, let alone you,” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said coldly. Her eyes were filled with anger.
Although she knew that Prince Chen could not be offended, Ruiping Great Elder Princess hated him for humiliating her grandson this way.
Like Infanta Yuan’an, she was also annoyed with Chu Liuchen. But of course, she hated Shao Wanru the most. If it weren’t for Shao Wanru, such a thing wouldn’t have happened to her grandson. If this matter spread out, she had no idea what others would think of her and the Great Elder Princess’s Mansion.
Thinking of this, Ruiping Great Elder Princess felt depressed.
“Grandma, don’t worry. I will be well-behaved in the future. Even if I don’t like her, I will hide it, and I will be on good terms with her!” Seeing her grandma’s look, Infanta Yuan’an hurriedly comforted her.
“It’s best if you think so!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess sighed. Although she comforted her granddaughter and repeatedly warned her not to provoke Shao Wanru, she did not approve of Shao Wanru in her heart either.
In her mind, her own granddaughter was certainly n.o.bler than Rui’an’s granddaughter.
Even though they both married the prince, Prince Zhou was more legitimate than Prince Chen who was just a sick patient. But now it was not the time to confront Prince Chen’s Mansion. When this sick patient was still alive, they had to deal with Princess Chen carefully. They knew it from Prince Chen’s behavior today. He protected her so much.
Ruiping Great Elder Princess glanced at her granddaughter and felt a little helpless. Prince Zhou didn’t even show up today. It was really not a good thing!
Although it was a little improper for Prince Zhou to show up for the matter, his presence in the Palace of Benevolent Peace would be considered silent support for Yuan’an, and people wouldn’t look down upon her when something happened.
However, Prince Zhou didn’t show up, while Prince Chen showed up to revenge himself on Infanta Yuan’an in person.
It was obvious which princess was more valued by the prince!
There were many smart people in the Palace, and they immediately realized how the two princes valued the two princesses. In the future, when they met Princess Chen and Princess Zhou, they would obviously respect the former more than the latter.
Her granddaughter’s move not only failed to harm Shao Wanru but instead made herself lose face in front of many people in the Palace. What she said before was right. A woman’s dignity was supported by a man. It was not helpful for a woman to be a.s.sertive if she was not supported by a man.
Prince Chen supported Princess Chen, but Prince Zhou did not show up, and people could tell the difference between the two princesses.
“Don’t go out of the mansion recently. Do some embroideries when you have time. Before you marry into Prince Zhou’s Mansion, it will do more harm than good for you to go outside, because it will make the Empress Dowager and the Empress unhappy. The daughters-in-law of the royal family should stay calm!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess reminded her.
“Grandma, I know. I won’t do it again. I went to buy some good clothes today. I thought that the embroideries and clothes in that shop are good, so I wanted to buy some and asked my second brother to accompany me!” Infanta Yuan’an wiped her tears and nodded obediently.
Seeing that her granddaughter was obedient, Ruiping Great Elder Princess was less angry and gave her some advice.
The carriage arrived at Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. After they got out of the carriage, Ruiping Great Elder Princess hurried to see her grandson first. After Infanta Yuan’an got out of the carriage, she stood at the gate and called a servant girl over. They said something in a low voice, and then she followed Ruiping Great Elder Princess into the mansion.
She still couldn’t bear it, but she wouldn’t be as reckless as she was today.
If she, as the future Princess Zhou, couldn’t do anything to Shao Wanru, what if she cooperated with the future Princess Yue?
She heard that the future Princess Yue had a good relations.h.i.+p with Shao Wanru...
After they went back to Prince Chen’s Mansion, Shao Wanru went back to her courtyard, and Chu Liuchen also followed her in. When they were inside, Shao Wanru sat down and took a sip of tea. Then she frowned and put down the teacup in her hand. She raised her watery eyes and said seriously, “Your Highness, did I cause you trouble?”
Ruiping Great Elder Princess was not easy to deal with. In her last life, even after Prince Zhou had failed in the rebellion and died, Infanta Yuan’an still lived a good life, maintaining the dignity of a princess and an infanta. Ruiping Great Elder Princess must have contributed a lot to it. Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion was not implicated even in that case, which meant that the mansion was extraordinary.
“So what? I’m not afraid of any trouble!” Chu Liuchen said lazily.
“You came here as soon as you heard the message from me?” Shao Wanru said in surprise, “You just broke Qu Xinghong’s arm without asking him about it?”
It was said that he had broken Qu Xinghong’s arm at the gate of the Palace without a word!