Chapter 1127 - Chapter 1127 The True Ident.i.ty of E’niang?
Chapter 1127 The True Ident.i.ty of E’niang?
The princess of the Xu State would marry into the Kingdom of Dongcang, and she was on the way to the capital city. Shao Wanru had long known it. Hearing that it would be very lively outside, Shao Wanru had told Chu Liuchen early that she would join in the fun.
During this period, she had been staying in the mansion every day and was bored.
She lived in peace in the mansion. None of the troublesome things in her mind happened. A lady moved here, but her appearance made no difference to the life in the mansion. Shao Wanru had sent someone to watch her, but gradually, she became much less vigilant against her. It seemed that Miss Qin Yiyan had never thought of being Prince Chen’s consort.
However, it had only been a few days, and they didn’t have much contact. Shao Wanru couldn’t see through Miss Qin Yiyan. As long as Miss Qin behaved well in this mansion like this, Shao Wanru was not in a hurry.
The wound on her arm was almost healed. If she moved it gently, she could hardly feel she was hurt.
Early in the morning, Shao Wanru got up and went out with Qing’er and Yujie. This time, she didn’t take her s.p.a.cious carriage. Instead, she chose one that looked normal. It appeared exactly the same as other ordinary carriages except for the symbol of Prince Chen’s Mansion.
Of course, its interior was elaborately furnished. Upon entering the carriage, they stepped onto the soft carpet. Though the road was a little b.u.mpy, they would not feel uncomfortable in the carriage.
Shao Wanru got on the carriage with her two servants, heading for the city gate. They heard there would be a welcoming ceremony there today.
Chu Liuchen had booked a room for her. It was a private room with a good location in a restaurant near the city gate.
When Shao Wanru arrived, many people were already at the city gate. They were Young Madams and childes rarely seen in the past. Everyone was anxious to see the two princesses of the Xu State. It was said that they were the most famous beauties in the Xu State. They wondered if the two princesses were more charming than the beautiful women in the Kingdom of Dongcang.
“My Lady, are Miss Zhang and Miss Luo over there?” Yujie was sharp-eyed. She pointed to one of the carriages in the crowd and asked.
Some people in the carriages before them also lifted their curtains to watch.
Before they reached their destination, the road was blocked. Everyone moved forward little by little. Many Misses sitting in the carriages could hardly wait and secretly peeped out.
Some girls, refined in manner, watched from behind the gauze curtains, and some cheerful ladies lifted their curtains high to enjoy the fun.
Today was such a joyful day, so no one criticized them for being slightly unrestrained.
Shao Wanru looked through the gauze curtain and nodded, and her eyes deepened a little.
“Miss Zhang and Miss Luo like hanging out with you the most, don’t they? It is an exciting event, but why didn’t they invite you to come with them?”
Yujie asked without thinking.
After that, she suddenly thought of something and hurriedly zipped her mouth. She stole a glance at her master and breathed a sigh of relief, for Shao Wanru looked calm and collected. Yujie almost forgot what had happened in the imperial Palace that day. Back then, it was obviously the two Misses who had eavesdropped outside of their tent.
The two Misses had a good relations.h.i.+p with her master, so why would they overhear her? Besides, even if they secretly heard something, so what? They didn’t say anything confidential. Thus, Yujie didn’t understand why they never showed up later on.
Somehow, they had distanced themselves from her master.
Their carriage moved forward slowly and finally arrived at the restaurant where they had booked the private room. Today, the restaurant was bustling with lots of customers. Not only the private rooms upstairs but also the tables downstairs were all occupied. Many people sat together, chatting animatedly. Sure enough, what they talked about the most were the affairs of the Xu State.
Things related to Princess Yutao and Princess Yuyan were mentioned the most frequently.
Princess Yuyan was said to be the princess who would marry into the Kingdom of Dongcang, and Princess Yutao was here to accompany her younger sister. The two princesses enjoyed a good reputation in their home country. According to their stories, they had looks that outshone the moon and put the flowers to shame.
They gathered here so as to get the first glimpse of the two exceedingly beautiful princesses.
Shao Wanru, wearing a curtain hat, walked into the restaurant with two servant girls. As soon as she entered, a sharp-eyed shop-boy noticed and welcomed her warmly. When he heard that she had booked the private room upstairs, he became even more attentive and carefully led her upstairs step by step.
The large private room was in the innermost. After the shop-boy led them in, Yujie ordered a few dishes and the light fruit wine and asked him to retreat.
Qing’er helped Shao Wanru remove her curtain hat and opened the window for her. Their field of vision in this room was surprisingly wide. Better still, they could see everything outside early. It was early. The people of the Xu State had not come yet, and Chu Liuyue had not sent his people to pick them up. More carriages came over, and most of these people got out of the carriages before the nearby shops.
Some people entered stores nearby and sat down to wait, and some just strolled around casually when waiting.
After all, there weren’t enough seats for everyone to sit down and wait with ease.
There was also a restaurant across the street. Coincidentally, as they opened their window, the people opposite them also opened theirs. After choosing the dishes, Yujie also came and looked out of the window. Then, she recognized the person in the private room across the street — Infanta Yuan’an.
Yujie had met the few personal servant girls of Infanta Yuan’an. At this time, she saw them clearly.
“My Lady, it’s Infanta Yuan’an across the street!”
Shao Wanru sat in the chair and nodded indifferently, not caring if it was Infanta Yuan’an or Zhang Qilan who came to watch the fun. It didn’t surprise her at all.
“My Lady, do you want me to put down the curtain?” Qing’er turned around to ask.
“No need!” Shao Wanru shook her head and said. Infanta Yuan’an and Zhang Qilan came to join in the fun, and she also had a reason to be here. Today was the day that Chu Liuchen officially returned to the capital city. So, as Princess Chen, she should undoubtedly come.
The people standing before the window on the opposite side also noticed Yujie. Then, Infanta Yuan’an appeared there, looking over with a gentle look and even a suggestion of a smile. Shao Wanru also walked to the window. After greeting each other, they smiled and retreated.
The dishes in the restaurant were good, and the fruit wine had a delicate flavor. Shao Wanru didn’t drink wine in the past. But since Chu Liuchen recommended it to her, she would like to taste it. After taking some of this wine, Shao Wanru nodded approvingly.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Yujie was stunned because she had told the shop-boy not to come over if there was nothing important. All the dishes had been served. Who was knocking on the door?
“Go and have a look!” Shao Wanru put down the chopsticks in her hand, gently wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, and ordered.
As she was told, Yujie walked to the door and opened it. But when seeing the woman outside, she frowned.
“Excuse me, but is Princess Chen here?” The woman looked at Yujie and asked after a polite bow.
“No!” Yujie unceremoniously pulled the door, intending to close it.
To her surprise, the woman gave the door a hard shove and suddenly knelt at the door. “Please let me see Princess Chen. I… I have something to tell her!”
“Let her in!” Yujie wanted to drive her away, but when she heard Shao Wanru’s voice behind her, she could only open the door and say coldly, “Come in!”
She detested this woman on sight. What did Marquis Xing’s mistress have to do with Princess Chen? Why would she keep pestering her master?
The woman named E’niang stood up, entered the private room, and Yujie closed the door behind her.
At the sight of Shao Wanru, E’niang was very excited, and her lips moved in an attempt to speak. Abruptly, she went down on her knees and said, “Greetings, Fifth Miss!”
After saying that, she dissolved into tears. Then she lowered her head and kowtowed heavily to Shao Wanru three times. When she raised her head, her face was covered with tears.
Shao Wanru’s eyes fell on E’niang. She could find her here, which meant E’niang had been keeping an eye on her. She should have guessed that Shao Wanru would come here today, so she deliberately waited around this area.
There was the mark of Prince Chen’s Mansion on the carriage. So, E’niang could locate her as long as she paid close attention to it.
However, it was not easy to achieve that, especially when so many people and carriages were coming and going outside.
“No matter what you want, you shouldn’t have come to me. This matter of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion has nothing to do with me, and I won’t stop you, either. If you’re competent enough, you can do whatever you want!” Shao Wanru said, her widened eyes serene and ice-cold.
“Fifth Miss, I have to come here for a reason. I…” E’niang reached into the pocket before her bosom and took out something looking like a letter. The yellow envelope indicated that it must be an old letter written by someone long ago. “Fifth Miss, I’m here to deliver the letter, not because Marquis Xing wants me to marry into his mansion.”
...
“That day, before His Grace, it was inconvenient for me to say anything. Thus, I went to your mansion later. But I heard you were injured, so it became even more difficult for me to enter the Prince Chen’s Mansion. This time, Prince Chen was said to have brought the princesses of the Xu State to the capital city. I guessed you would show up, so I stayed here to wait for you.”
Shao Wanru didn’t take it, and her hand in her sleeve clutched the handkerchief. Though her face remained calm, her palms began sweating.
Her heart was racing uncontrollably.
A letter, just a letter? E’niang called her Fifth Miss as if she were her old servant. Beyond this, Shao Wanru remembered E’niang’s message pa.s.sed to her when E’niang came to her mansion and asked to see her. All of this seemed to remind her of a fact.
However, could it be true? Could she believe the words from Shao Jing’s mistress?
Why would E’niang give her the letter?
“Who are you?” After a long while, Shao Wanru calmed her excitement and asked slowly. Her eyes were as indifferent as ever, and she set her elfin face grimly, revealing an air of quiet authority that her peers did not possess.
“Fifth Miss… Fifth Miss, don’t you remember me at all? When you were a child, I always held you in my arms. At that time, you were First Miss… you were the only daughter of Infanta Qinghua and the former heir of Duke Xing!” E’niang finished her words and burst into tears.
Her statement shocked Qing’er and Yujie so much that their faces changed dramatically. They exchanged glances, feeling too startled to believe it.
“Is she a servant of the former heir of Duke Xing and Infanta Qinghua?” Qing’er had helped Shao Wanru investigate those who were related to the case. It turned out that almost all of them had disappeared. It was said they lost their lives in the chaos caused by war. Could it be possible that the woman before her survived the war?
“Shao Jing protected her, but why would he take E’niang as his mistress? Did it simply because he had taken a fancy to her?”
...
“Tell me what happened?” Shao Wanru spoke with a trace of coldness in her voice!