Chapter 564 Deliver Dinner to His Beloved Girl in a Hurry!
When Yujie returned to the yard, Shao Wanru was still studying the painting. She looked through it over and over again, but found nothing. She even looked at it in front of the window in an attempt to discover something under the light, but still found nothing.
After reporting what Doctor Qi had done to Shao Wanru, Yujie joined her in examining the painting.
Compared with Shao Wanru, Yujie had stayed in a nunnery for longer and knew about Buddhism better than her. However, they still found nothing through comparison and cla.s.sification.
In the end, Shao Wanru had no choice but to make a copy of the painting as she usually did.
When Qing’er brought the dinner, Shao Wanru had just finished painting and placed the two paintings together. If it weren’t for the seal on the original painting, they would have looked exactly the same.
“Yujie, is there Pushan Nun’s private seal on the paintings in the alb.u.m?” Looking at the seal she could not recognize, Shao Wanru suddenly asked.
Yujie thought for a moment, shook her head and said with certainty, “There’s no such a seal on the paintings in the alb.u.m!”
“Why is that? Don’t those with a private seal like to leave it on their paintings?” Shao Wanru asked in astonishment. The reason why she asked this was that she suddenly felt like having a private seal, so that she could leave it on the paintings she appreciated.
“Maybe she thinks that the paintings in the alb.u.m are placed in a way that is too commercial!” Yujie thought for a while and answered. The stuffs were placed in the commercial way so that the pilgrims could pick what they wanted.
Was it really the reason? Shao Wanru had an intuition that it was not, but she couldn’t find any other reason at the moment. After thinking for another while, she carefully copied the characters on the private seal.
“Miss, the First Miss’s personal maid Shuqi hasn’t come back yet.” Qing’er came in, put down the food container in her hand and said.
Shao Wanru paused for a while and asked, “Hasn’t she come back yet?”
The sky was already a little dark outside the window.
“Yes, she should have come back.” Qing’er nodded and said.
Shao Wanru put down the writing brush in her hand. Yujie put the paintings away, and she went to wash her hands. After was.h.i.+ng her hands, she thought for a while with her eyelashes down and instructed Qing’er, “Go forward to have a look. If Shuqi comes back, try to stop her. Since she has been late, let her come back a little later!”
“Should I go now?” Qing’er asked in confusion.
“Yes, go now.” Shao Wanru nodded and said. Qing’er accepted the order and left in a hurry. Just like the other personal maids of Shao Wanru, Qing’er became increasingly convinced of her master’s capability after seeing her master’s tactics.
Since Shao Wanru said so, she must have a reason. It was no big deal for Qing’er to stop Shuqi and make her come back later.
“Yujie, you should also leave for a while. Go and ask the officials of the Ministry of Justice about the Taoist priest from the Baiyun Taoist Temple. Tell them that I sent you there to inquire about it. If you see the official Qiu Yu, tell him implicitly that the First Miss has not had dinner yet!” Shao Wanru sat down and said as she cleaned her hands with a handkerchief.
How could she miss such a good opportunity!
“Are we going to leave you here alone?” Yujie asked, worried and hesitant.
“After all of you leave, Shao Yanru can find no one to serve her. When you come back later, no matter what you see Shao Yanru is doing, just stay aside and don’t be discovered by her,” Shao Wanru said meaningfully. Her safety was guaranteed here, because Qing’er had told her that there were two secret guards following her. They wouldn’t show up in normal times, but would definitely come out to save her if she was in danger.
The reason why she told Yujie to stay aside was not that she did not want to catch Shao Yanru on the spot. There were some things that could influence Shao Yanru’s reputation slowly. Someone like Shao Yanru would not let go of a person she could make use of. Even if she couldn’t make use of him now, she could do that in the future.
The Ministry of Justice was not a small department…
Figuring out the meaning in Shao Wanru’s words, Yujie was still a little worried. How could she rest a.s.sured at the thought that all three maids went out and left Shao Wanru alone?
Later, urged by Shao Wanru repeatedly, she turned around, left helplessly and hurriedly turned to the remaining officials of the Ministry of Justice…
Shao Yanru was in her room and didn’t see Shuqi come back after waiting for a long time. She looked outside the window and found that it was getting late. She felt hungry now. However, because Shuqi was not there, no one went to bring her dinner.
A Miss like her usually had her meals brought over by her maids.
Looking at the sky outside the window, Shao Yanru couldn’t bear to continue sitting here. She got up, went to the corridor and glanced at the courtyard. However, she didn’t see Qing’er, who usually swept the floor with a big broom, and felt astonished.
The inferior maid usually looked quite diligent, but why was she not here today? Could it be that she was sent to bring the dinner over by Shao Wanru?
As she thought, she walked to Shao Wanru’s silence room. As soon as she came to the door of the room, the fragrance of food came to Shao Yanru and made her feel even more hungry.
She lifted her dress and entered the room, only to find that Shao Wanru was alone in the room. She asked, “Where are your maids?”
Shao Yanru asked as she walked inside.
Shao Wanru had finished her dinner, and there was only some leftover on the table because no one cleaned it up. Shao Wanru picked up a book and flipped through it casually, looking leisurely.
Hearing Shao Yanru’s voice, Shao Wanru looked up at her and said, “I’ve sent them out for some business.”
“When will they come back?” Shao Yanru asked after hesitating for a while.
“I’m really not sure. It depends on when they can finish their tasks. The one sent down to mountain to have the painting mounted probably can’t come back tonight!” Shao Wanru said slowly.
Shao Yanru glanced at the dishes again and really felt hungry. She asked, “What’s the earliest time they will come back?”
As a Miss from an aristocratic family, she couldn’t go to bring the dinner over by herself, because it was inappropriate for her to do that.
“At least more than an hour later. Big Sister, what’s the matter?” Shao Wanru put down the book in her hand and asked.
Shao Yanru glanced at the cover of Shao Wanru’s book and compressed her lips with disdain. This book was obviously an ordinary script showing no good taste. She asked, “Can they come back earlier?”
“Uh… I’m afraid they can’t. I can’t go out to find them directly at the moment.” Shao Wanru shook her head helplessly and said. Seeing Shao Yanru’s queer look, she asked again, “Big Sister, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing, I just came to see you!” Shao Yanru turned around and said. Since she couldn’t get help from Shao Wanru, she certainly would not stay.
Looking at the time, she found that if no one went to fetch her dinner now, the kitchen of the Yuhui Nunnery would be closed later. Shao Yanru was naturally unwilling to starve for a whole night.
Coming out of the silence room and walking to the door of the courtyard, she opened the door after thinking for a while in order to see if there was any nun outside. She intended to ask a nun at random to fetch her dinner and give her some money after that.
It was dark now. Fortunately, the lights outside the courtyard were lit up. Shao Yanru walked to the door and stood still for a while. But found no one. So she could only walk out along the road, hoping to meet a nun.
She just took a few steps, and someone suddenly came out from the shadow of trees. Shao Yanru was so scared that her face turned pale. She staggered and almost fell down with a thought coming across her mind, “Does Shao Wanru try to trap me?”
“First Miss, it’s me. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. I’ve brought you dinner!” She was held in a man’s arms and heard him whisper in her ear.
After standing still in the man’s arms, Shao Yanru pushed him away, and saw him clearly after taking a few steps back. Finding that it was Qiu Yu, she felt relieved.
But then she pulled a long face and asked, “Your Excellency, why do you show up here at this moment?”
“First Miss, don’t be afraid. The Fifth Miss sent a maid to inquire about the case of the Baiyun Taoist Temple. I specially asked her about you. Knowing that your maid has gone out and no one brings you dinner, I hurried to bring you dinner!” Standing a few steps away from Shao Yanru, Qiu Yu involuntarily got excited when seeing Shao Yanru’s sedate and pretty face.
He tried hard to hold back the excitement in his heart, reached out to carry the food container by his side over, handed it to Shao Yanru and said with concern, “If I don’t go to bring it, the kitchen of the Yuhui Nunnery will be closed.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency!” Shao Yanru composed herself and reached out to take the food container, but she didn’t hurry to leave and said, “Your Excellency, you said that my fifth sister sent a maid to inquire about the case of the Baiyun Taoist Temple from the Ministry of Justice?”
“Yes, the Fifth Miss Shao has been set up by the evil Taoist priest from the Baiyun Taoist Temple, so she specially inquired about it from us. But I am not in charge of this case, so I don’t know many details. I could only tell the Fifth Miss Shao’s maid that if I got any news about it, I would inform the Fifth Miss Shao immediately,” Qiu Yu said. Since his beloved girl stayed to talk to him, did this mean that she also had feelings for him?
Qiu Yu was very excited, so he told her everything he knew. The case was not confidential, so he could tell his beloved girl as much as possible to please her.
“Why did my fifth sister suddenly inquire about this?” Shao Yanru said with her face darkening slightly.
“She probably thought that since I’m a member of the Ministry of Justice, I should know something about the case. But in fact, we are in charge of different cases, and there is something that we can’t even tell our colleagues!” Thinking that Shao Yanru might not understand, Qiu Yu gently explained.
His words made sense. Many Misses from aristocratic families didn’t understand it, but Shao Yanru was not one of them. What she had learned was not limited to the affairs in the backyard.
“Thank you, Your Excellency. I’m leaving now!” Shao Yanru said. Since she had got the information she wanted, Shao Yanru certainly would not stay. She turned around and was about to leave.
“First Miss, please wait a moment!” Seeing that his beloved girl was about to leave, Qiu Yu couldn’t help asking and staring at Shao Yanru affectionately. The girl in front of him almost met all his requirements of his wife. If it weren’t for Duke Xing’s Mansion’s status which was too high, he would have sent someone to propose to her.
Nevertheless, if he and the First Miss Shao were in love with each other, would it be possible that Duke Xing’s Mansion would consent to his proposal even if the relations.h.i.+p between them could be considered a scandal?
“Your Excellency, what else can I do for you?” Shao Yanru turned her head and asked without turning around completely. It was obvious that she was aloof and unwilling to continue the conversation with Qiu Yu at this moment.
Under the only light at night, she stayed with him alone. If they were seen by others, there would be gossip about them. Shao Yanru definitely would not risk her good reputation.
“No… nothing else. First Miss, take care!” Seeing Shao Yanru’s aloof look, Qiu Yu was upset and felt weak all over. It seemed that the First Miss Shao didn’t like him and intended to keep a distance from him.
“Thank you for bringing me dinner, Your Excellency!” However, Shao Yanru turned around slowly at this moment and said with a pleasant smile, showing a hint of shyness in her gentle eyes!