Chapter 511 Surprise, Met Younger Brother Again
“There are three more days for the religious rite. In the next three days, I will stay temporarily on the mountain and then leave after the rite is over. During those days, you need to stay in the Buddha Hall every day and prepare the materials for wors.h.i.+p. Anyway, they are your biological parents, so you should give more attention to this rite!” Old Madam reprimanded.
Her words meant that Shao Wanru had not paid much attention to it before. Hearing this, Yujie was so angry that her feet jerked and she wanted to step forward to defend Shao Wanru.
Usually, the rite was more formal during the last few days. It was impossible for someone to keep a close watch over the rites for ten days or half a month. One would be exhausted by such an immense task.
Old Madam had sent someone before to inform her that she just needed to take care of the rite first and then check on it every day. Now she meant that Shao Wanru needed to not only take a look, but also had to guard it all the time.
A faint sneer appeared on Shao Wanru’s lips. She reached out and waved her hand slightly, indicating that Yujie should not act rashly. With her eyes sweeping around, Shao Wanru looked up and said, “I did not know that this religious rite needs someone to be on guard here every day for more than ten days. In the past, when I was in Jiangzhou, probably because it is a small place in the countryside, the relatives in my family said that I only needed to stand guard for the last three days.”
Her voice was gentle with no trace of displeasure, but the meaning behind her words was like a slap in Old Madam’s face, which made Old Madam so angry that her face turned blue.
This was not only Jiangzhou’s rules, but also the capital city’s. Old Madam was so intent on scolding Shao Wanru that she forgot this point. When she heard what Shao Wanru said, she immediately knew that she had made a mistake. She was so ashamed and angry that she almost could not help smas.h.i.+ng the teacup next to her.
Sure enough, Shao Wanru had the same origins as Rui’an Great Elder Princess. It was annoying to look at her.
Shao Yanru hurriedly smiled and said on behalf of Old Madam, “Grandma, you are too anxious about the matters of Eldest Uncle and Aunt. You even forgot this point!”
Old Madam nodded and leaned back. She looked at Shao Wanru coldly and said, “I cared too much about this, so I did not think it clearly.”
Shao Yanru covered her mouth and said with a smile, “Grandma, you are not the only one who was confused, actually, I also forgot it too. If Fifth Sister had not said this, I would have really forgotten about it!”
Shao Wanru looked at the grandmother and granddaughter who echoed each other and she sneered coldly in her heart. What they meant was that the two of them paid a lot of attention to this, but she, as her parents’ daughter, did not do enough.
“My sister is also very concerned about it, but my grandmother said that I must go up to the mountain during the last three days. I originally wanted to come here early, but my grandmother insisted that we had to comply with the rules for the last three days. ” A voice came from the door.
Everyone looked up and saw a young man walking over and his handsome face was cold. Shao Wanru was stunned for a moment, but she suddenly felt familiar when she saw the face. Her voice trembled unconsciously and she asked, “Hao’er?”
“Sister!” Shao Yuanhao strode in and stood beside Shao Wanru. Then he bowed to Old Madam and said, “Grandmother, sorry, I’m late.”
“Hao’er!” Old Madam stood up excitedly and reached out to touch the young man’s head. The original naive child had suddenly turned into a young man.
Although he was not very tall, he was not as naive as he used to be. He was so young, but now he had a maturity beyond his years. Shao Wanru’s eyes were red for some reason.
This was her younger brother, her blood-related younger brother. Her s.h.i.+mmery eyes fixed on him and this was the first time she saw her younger brother in more than two years.
In the past, there were only some letters from Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion, giving the sister and brother some snippets about each other.
“Grandmother!” Shao Yuanhao took two steps forward, held Old Madam’s hand, and addressed her affectionately.
He was different from Shao Wanru. After all, he had been raised by Old Madam since he was a child and had a deep affection for her.
“Hao’er, Hao’er!” Old Madam held Shao Yuanhao in her arms and burst into tears. In the past two years, Old Madam hardly saw her grandson. Rui’an Great Elder Princess seldom allowed him to come to Duke Xing’s Mansion, except for special occasions when he had to come.
Seeing that her beloved grandson was in front of her, Old Madam could not bear it anymore and burst into tears.
Everyone tried their best to stop Old Madam from crying and she finally sat down. Then Shao Yuanhao also sat in front of Old Madam.
“Are you comfortable in the Elder Princess’s Mansion?” Old Madam held Shao Yuanhao’s hand and refused to let him go.
“Grandmother, don’t worry. My maternal grandmother is very good to me and everything is very comfortable. It is all right,” Shao Yuanhao said with a smile.
“If there is something, remember to inform me. Do you hear me? I’m worried about you. I want to see you, but I can’t!” Old Madam began to shed tears again.
Shao Yuanhao said with a smile on his face, “Grandmother, don’t worry. I’ve been good at my studies recently. Maternal grandmother says that she will let me go out more often and I’ll come and visit grandmother at that time.” He held Old Madam’s hands and shook them like a spoiled child.
Because he was still young, this action did not look odd, even though it was a little girlish. What’s more, he was pretty, like a celestial child, which could melt people’s hearts. Old Madam was going to cry again. She repeatedly answered yes, but she became more dissatisfied with Rui’an Great Elder Princess in her heart.
He was her own family’s child, but Rui’an Great Elder Princess forcibly took him away, so she could not even see this little grandson as often as she wanted.
“Grandma, when I came here just now, I seemed to hear you all scolding my sister. Did she do something wrong?” Shao Yuanhao rolled his eyes and looked at Shao Wanru. He stood up and reached out to pull Shao Wanru over with his other hand. “Sister, what happened just now?”
“Nothing happened. Grandmother was just giving me some lessons!” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She was in a good mood because she saw that her younger brother had grown up.
Obviously her maternal grandmother was really making great efforts to teach her younger brother. The Shao Yuanhao, who had been like a little bully in the past, had disappeared and became a smart little Yuanhao. From his behaviors and his manners, he was no longer the young master who was careless and spoiled.
“How can I scold your sister? I was talking to her about the rites. This is the rite for your parents, so I am telling your sister to pay more attention in the next three days!”
Old Madam explained with a gentle face. She glanced at Shao Wanru with an almost kind look.
“Big Sister, are you blaming my sister too?” Shao Yuanhao turned back and looked at Shao Yanru with a little childish surprised look and displeasure.
It was justifiable for Old Madam to scold Shao Wanru, but it was not for Shao Yanru to scold Shao Wanru. Even if her younger sister did something wrong and she could say something as an elder sister, now that the elders were all here, it was not up to her to speak.
“Why do you say so, Third Brother? Of course, I will not scold Fifth sister,” Shao Yanru said, with a gentle expression on her face.
“Oh, that’s good!” Shao Yuanhao seemed to be at ease. He even patted his chest twice, as if his heart had really returned to its original place.
However, Shao Yanru’s face turned pale with anger and she felt short of breath. She had not seen Shao Yuanhao for more than two years, but he had become better at dealing with people. He even insinuated that he would be a.s.sured only if she really did not bully Shao Wanru!
Now they had their break, and the group of people returned to the main hall. Pushan Nun led them to recite scriptures together for a while and then allowed them to disperse to have rest.
Old Madam allowed her two grandsons to wander alone instead of accompanying her. Madam of Duke Xing had something to do downhill, so after the ritual, she hurried down the mountain during lunchtime. Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion was left with her three granddaughters and they followed Pushan Nun to recite and listen to the scriptures of Buddha and offer incense to Buddha in a devout way.
After lunch, they could rest for a while. Old Madam was tired, so she went to the incense room that Yuhui Nunnery had arranged for her to rest. Shao Yanru and Shao Jie’er followed to attend to her, while Shao Wanru went to her silence room to practice.
Not long after she came back to the silence room and sat down, Qu Le came in and reported, “First Miss is here!”
She came so quickly. Shao Wanru raised her s.h.i.+mmery eyes slightly and said, “Invite her in!”
Qu Le responded and went out. After a while, she brought Shao Yanru in.
“Big Sister!” Shao Wanru stood up and bowed to the side.
Shao Yanru also bowed sideways to her and then smiled gently to explain, “Grandmother is tired, so she fell asleep after going back. I could not sleep for the moment, so I wanted to come and visit my previous room. I wonder if it’s convenient for you, Fifth Sister?”
“How can it not be convenient? This used to be Big Sister’s courtyard, but now I’m staying here temporarily. Does Big Sister want to visit the main room? I don’t have the keys for that!” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She had already figured out that Shao Yanru would come, because recently, Shao Yanru seemed to be very anxious.
Thinking about the details in her previous life, she concluded that Shao Yanru was really anxious and it was about something related to Shao Wanru. She was trying to deal with her.
In the past two years, Shao Yanru seemed to have forgotten her and never made trouble for her. Shao Wanru had thought that Shao Yanru would wait and then deal with her until she went down the mountain and returned to the Duke Xing’s Mansion after three years.
But now, it seemed that she could not wait any longer!
Shao Yanru sat down gracefully on the mat. She looked around the silence room. Shao Wanru noticed that Shao Yanru seemed to glance around the place each time she came over.
Actually, it was extremely empty and there were only a few things in it. Everything could clearly be seen at a glance, except for the soft couch behind the extra screen.
It had just been a silence room before and the place where Shao Yanru did her paintings. But now, it also became Shao Wanru’s bedroom, where she would sleep as well.
“Fifth Sister, do you sleep here?” Shao Yanru asked in surprise when she saw the screen.
“Walking around is a waste of practicing time and living here gives me a sense of calm. I notice that Pushan Nun seldom leaves the silence room either, so I think it’s good to do so. It’s hard to be distracted and I can also pray for my biological father and mother more devoutly.” Hearing her question, Shao Wanru was already well prepared and answered softly.
She mentioned Pushan Nun, so she waited to see how Shao Yanru would answer, what she was going to say and why she was here?