Chapter 624 One Step Late, Making the Evil Old Woman Angry
Shao Wanru left the next morning, and no one expected that she would leave. Old Madam of Duke Xing took Madam of Duke Xing to Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion, but she did not find Shao Wanru. Old Madam of Duke Xing, who struggled to come over, was so angry that she almost fainted. That girl must have done it on purpose. She knew that she would come over and “implore” her to go back, but she left early.
Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion was reluctant to come and then left angrily. It was rare for Rui’an Great Elder Princess to send her to the gate, and she held the hand of the Old Madam with a reluctant look, repeatedly explaining Shao Wanru’s intention to observe mourning and cultivate for her parents.
Even though she was still injured and it was difficult for her to take a step forward, she still asked someone to carry her to Huaguang Temple.
Her words made Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion, who had claimed that she was sick and came to invite Shao Wanru back to her mansion to recuperate, blush with embarra.s.sment. However, she couldn’t say anything else when she saw Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s smiling face. She only felt that she was holding a breath in her heart. She couldn’t get it up or down. She almost vomited blood because of suffocation.
In the past, she had dealt with Rui’an Great Elder Princess a lot. The princess had always been mighty. Even if she had been wronged, she was still very mighty. Usually, the Old Madam would show that she was at a disadvantage at this time, and she would say that it was not a big deal for her to be at a disadvantage. The two mansions had a relations.h.i.+p. Even if her son and daughter-in-law were gone, she would still let Rui’an Great Elder Princess win.
Looking at the princess’s resentful and aggrieved look, the Old Madam felt that she was much smarter than the princess. How could a Great Elder Princess with just a n.o.ble reputation be powerful?
Now the roles were reversed. She was so angry that her face turned blue. With trembling fingers, she held Madam of Duke Xing’s arm and pinched her hard. Madam of Duke Xing felt it so painful that her face turned pale, but she dared not make a sound.
It was not easy to wait for Great Elder Princess to finish “showing her politeness”. Old Madam got on the carriage with Madam of Duke Xing’s help. Her face immediately darkened. She patted the wall of the carriage hard and said in a hateful voice, “She has gone too far!”
Madam of Duke Xing rubbed her own arms and gritted her teeth. “Mother, let’s go to Huaguang Temple!”
She didn’t believe that she could not see this girl.
“We can’t go now. Since she has gone to Huaguang Temple, it means that she is going to cultivate. If we disturb her rashly, it will only make more gossip in the capital city!” the Old Madam rejected Madam of Duke Xing’s suggestion.
“Then what should we do?” Madam of Duke Xing said without giving up.
“Just do as you said before!” the Old Madam glanced at her and said slowly.
Madam of Duke Xing was stunned at first, but then she realized something and nodded repeatedly. In fact, this idea was not made by her, but by her daughter. Since it had been arranged, it should not be wrong.
“Then later I’ll ask someone to go to Yuhui Nunnery to get her stuff.” Madam of Duke Xing’s face looked a little better.
“Go!” the Old Madam closed her eyes and said coldly. She disliked this little granddaughter more and more. It seemed that she had no feelings for Duke Xing’s Mansion. When she came out of the Yuhui Nunnery, she didn’t go back to the mansion. No matter how outsiders pointed fingers at Duke Xing’s Mansion, she didn’t say a word for Duke Xing’s Mansion. It was really hateful!
When she thought of this hateful girl, she thought of Infanta Qinghua. If it weren’t for Infanta Qinghua, her son wouldn’t have died. He was her most promising son. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but have tears in her eyes. Her son was killed because of Infanta Qinghua. Great Elder Princess was so shameless to say that she was the victim in front of her.
Shao Wanru was now persuaded by Great Elder Princess to stay away from her father’s family despite being a member of the family. However, it also showed that this girl and Qinghua were the same kinds of people. Both of them were not good people and came to ruin the family. The string of Buddha beads hanging in the Old Madam’s hands began to slide slowly, which could eliminate the anger in her heart.
How could she love this girl considering what this girl had done?
Forget it, forget it. The girls in her mansion were quite a lot and they did not lack her. When this girl was not recognized, everyone in the mansion was kind and peaceful. There was nothing wrong. But when she was recognized, there were so many accidents, as if she was really a “disaster”. Of course, the Old Madam did not dare to say these words to others. After all, the emperor had heard it before.
When Shao Wanru arrived at Huaguang Temple, she didn’t take the Wenxin Road. In her current situation, it was not convenient for her to get up, so she naturally didn’t have the strength to walk on the Wenxin Road. After entering Huaguang Temple from the side, she arrived at the room where she had contacted to live before.
In the temple, a reception monk and a young monk came to welcome her into her yard.
In order to keep quiet, Great Elder Princess chose a relatively remote room for her.
Because Huaguang Temple was a royal temple, both the Buddhist temple and the yard for pilgrims inside were different from the small ones in Yuhui Nunnery. It looked very gorgeous.
In particular, the courtyard Shao Wanru was living in now was said to be a top-cla.s.s courtyard for distinguished guests. It was not only quiet but also elegant. There were several purple bamboos in it, which were the most famous in Huaguang Temple. There was also a tablet of the sage. The words on it were grand and clear.
It was not inferior to the stone tablet in the tablets forest that Shao Wanru had seen in the purple bamboo forest of Huaguang Temple.
The yard was set against the back mountain, and there was a small stone path directly up to the mountain from the back gate. It could be seen that the scenery of the mountain was not bad. From a distance, there were rocks and trees, and pavilions towering on the mountains. From time to time, tourists would pa.s.s by, but they would all go up from another road.
It should be a small shortcut to enjoy the scenery in the back mountain, but it was not a necessary path.
Apart from being close to the other courtyard, there was still a distance from the courtyards of other pilgrims with at least two-hundred-meter way. There was only a small Buddhist temple around it. Although the scale was not big, the Buddha statues inside were all with a golden body. At first glance, one could tell that they were valuable. The layout here represented the royal temperament.
It should be used for the guests of the royal family to rest and present incense. Ordinary pilgrims couldn’t come here at all!
There was a small rockery at the door. A few plum trees behind the rockery even began to show their sprouts, which might have something to do with the mountain. It was really an unexpected joy.
Shao Wanru slightly checked the courtyard and was very satisfied. It was not very big, but it was exquisite and ingenious. Even the stone tablet in the courtyard was enough for her to read for a month. As for the courtyard on the side, it seemed to be empty and no one should live there.
This was even better. If there were someone from the royal family living by her side, she would have to pretend to be seriously injured and frightened, and she would not dare to show up in front of others. It would be really stuffy. It would be best if there was no one living by her side!
There was also a tall maple tree planted in the yard. It was the time when the maple leaves were brilliant. When the wind blew over, red maple leaves would fall down from time to time. If they were not cleaned up for a while, they would pile up under the tree.
Yujie and Qu Le were interested in picking up the beautiful maple leaves.
They were the girls who had served Shao Wanru in the Yuhui Nunnery. Shao Wanru also brought Qing’er here. She told the public that this servant girl was better than before and if no one frightened her, she might be fine. She brought her to the mountain for her health. If she was disturbed too much at the foot of the mountain, she would be frightened more.
Both Shao Wanru and Qing’er were “frightened”!
There were not many things, only a few clothes to be sent to the mountain. As for the rest, the Huaguang Temple said they would provide them, but it was much simpler than the original ones.
Huaguang Temple was not like Yuhui Nunnery. Since there was a courtyard specially prepared for the royal family, the things inside were naturally more exquisite. Although the color of the things was the same as that of other ones, they were actually different.
The reception monk and the little monk led them here and left. But they also said that there would be a little monk responsible for delivering food for them in the future. If they wanted to eat anything, they could tell the little monk in advance.
This was also different from that of the Yuhui Nunnery. Yujie and Qu Le expressed their grat.i.tude to the reception monk on behalf of Shao Wanru and sent him to the gate of the courtyard. Then the reception monk and the little monk left sensibly.
After they left, Shao Wanru went to the courtyard and sat on the stone bench under the maple tree to rest. She leisurely enjoyed the scenery. The autumn was about to pa.s.s, and the weather had turned cold. The thick green color of the mountain had faded, and the layers of red leaves had almost fallen. But even so, the mountain was still beautiful and made people feel refreshed.
Although the lunch was very simple, it was good to taste. Shao Wanru was in a good mood and ate half a bowl of rice more than usual. Yujie and Qu Le also kept praising it. In the afternoon, they strolled around in the yard. After walking around, they went into the room to take a nap.
While she was in a daze, she suddenly heard a voice coming from outside the courtyard. It was very loud as if someone wanted to wake her up deliberately. It was really not pleasing to hear.
Shao Wanru sat up, used her hands to rub her eyes, and asked, “Is anyone there?”
“Miss, you’re awake. I’m here!” Qu Le’s voice came, followed by the sound of footsteps. She reached out to hang the hook on Shao Wanru’s bed and handed her a cup of warm water.
Shao Wanru took it and took a few sips to relieve her dry throat. Then she asked lazily, “What are they talking about outside?”
Qu Le took over Shao Wanru’s cup, turned around, put it on the table, and said, “Miss, someone indeed sent something here. He said it’s ours, but Yujie said it’s not. The other person insisted that it must be ours, so there is a quarrel at the gate of the courtyard!”
“That’s it? Why were they so noisy?” Shao Wanru leaned back and was not in a hurry to get up. She was originally injured, so it was not appropriate for her to get up at this time.
“If there were only people from Duke Xing’s Mansion, of course, they wouldn’t have quarreled. But there are also the people from the Ministry of Justice!” Qu Le curled her lips in disdain.
“The Ministry of Justice? Shao Yanru is really capable. Is this also related to Qiu Yu?” Shao Wanru thought for a while and then made up her mind.
“It’s not related to Lord Qiu. It’s related to the person you can’t think of…” Qu Le’s expression was a little terrible. She glanced at Shao Wanru secretly and wanted to say something but stopped on second thought!
“Just say it!” Shao Wanru said lightly. She raised her watery eyes slightly with a little curiosity. There was a trace of a smile in her picturesque eyes. Was Shao Yanru going to give her a surprise?