Chapter 635 Sending a Few Pairs of Bracelets to Duke Xing’s Mansion
“Of course, I am in your room. I have to rest even though you have changed your bed with me!” Chu Liuchen looked at Shao Wanru with a meaningful smile.
That was to say, the prince didn’t go out at all just now but hid in her room?
Shao Wanru opened her watery eyes wide and stared at him sincerely. She shouldn’t have been panic just now, for he had been in the next yard the whole time!
She took a deep breath and subdued the rush of anger inside. “Your Highness, since it’s over, I’ll go back!”
“Why are you in such a hurry? Since you are already here, you don’t have to go back so early!” Chu Liuchen smiled sideways at her. He had a pair of beautiful, s.h.i.+ning eyes, but a few traces of laziness could be seen in them.
“It’s improper!” Shao Wanru said unhappily with a straight face.
“Why is it improper? Since you’re here, why are you in such a rush?” Chu Liuchen asked with a smile. Noticing the shame and anger in her watery eyes, he quit teasing her. He took out the pair of bracelets from his sleeve and handed one to Shao Wanru. “Take a look. Do you feel anything unusual?”
Shao Wanru had seen this bracelet before. Now since she had to look at it again, she could only do it perfunctorily!
Feeling helpless, she took the bracelet that was stuffed into her hand and looked up at Chu Liuchen’s beautiful and elegant face in confusion.
“Did you find anything unusual?” Chu Liuchen asked.
Shao Wanru shook her head. She really didn’t find anything.
“I’m going to send you the pair of bracelets!” Chu Liuchen suddenly smiled meaningfully and reached out to put the other bracelet in Shao Wanru’s hand. “Take it as your best dowry!”
Shao Wanru blinked her eyes speechlessly. Shouldn’t this so-called best dowry be used as a gift to the bride when a woman got married? Moreover, it was often women who did such a thing. What on earth was his doing?
In the end, Shao Wanru took the pair of bracelets that Chu Liuchen forced to give her back. She had no choice but to take them. When she went back, she asked Yujie to put them away. Such bracelets were not designed for people to wear initially. They were so heavy and solid that no one would wear them!
After Shao Wanru left, Chu Liuchen also got up and walked to the window. Looking at the mountains outside the window, he asked with a smile, “Xiao Xuanzi, what do you think of the bracelets?”
“There’s no doubt that the bracelets are prime, but if they’re kept by Fifth Miss Shao…” After Shao Wanru left, Xiao Xuanzi entered the room. At this moment, he hesitated and paused. He a.s.sumed that it wouldn’t be a good choice to have Fifth Miss Shao keep the bracelets. If anything went wrong, something serious would unquestionably happen!
“I can’t ask her to keep the bracelets?” Chu Liuchen glanced at him from the corner of his s.h.i.+ning eyes, looking elegant and n.o.ble.
“Master, if someone discovers that the Fifth Miss possesses such a pair of bracelets, he’ll be suspicious of her!” Xiao Xuanzi reminded him carefully.
Chu Liuchen’s extremely long eyelashes cast ragged shadows on his face. He looked at Xiao Xuanzi with a faint smile and asked, “So?”
“So… you’d better be cautious!” Xiao Xuanzi replied helplessly. As a servant, he felt he had seen through it, but his master didn’t seem to realize it.
“Of course, I’ll be cautious. She’s my Princess Consort. If I’m not careful, I won’t even have a wife!” Chu Liuchen said casually.
If one listened to these words alone, he would have a feeling that they had a deep meaning, as if they meant something.
Xiao Xuanzi gazed at his master speechlessly, and his face wrinkled. He believed he had made it clear, but his master didn’t seem to get him.
After thinking for a while, he thought he could explain it again, so he reminded his master a second time. “Master, if the Fifth Miss engages in the consort selection, she’s likely to be chosen by other princes!”
Fifth Miss Shao was getting more and more gorgeous now and was no longer the childlike little girl she once was. She was even more outstanding than the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion. In Xiao Xuanzi’s view, the top beauty in the capital was none other than the Fifth Miss.
With such striking features, how could those princes not be mesmerized by her the moment they saw her? Even if they didn’t promise her the t.i.tle “Princess Consort”, they were willing to have her as their concubine!
“How dare they!” Chu Liuchen’s face darkened, and a trace of gloom was floating in his pretty eyes. His previous gentleness and elegance immediately changed into weirdness and coldness.
“Master, it’s not about whether they dare to do it. Although the Empress Dowager has agreed to the marriage between you and the Fifth Miss, it hasn’t been made public. If the other princes make their desire for the Fifth Miss public, it’ll be too late for you to regret it!” Xiao Xuanzi said earnestly and secretly wiped his sweat!
Chu Liuchen landed his cold eyes outside the window and suddenly found the previous beautiful scenery to be not that eye-catching, and he even had an aversion to it. He snorted and said, “If anyone dares to harbor any unrealistic delusions about my woman, he has to see if he can survive my tricks!”
Xiao Xuanzi supposed his master understood and asked again, “The gold bracelets…”
“Ask Zhuozhuo to keep them temporarily. I’d like to see who dares to make an issue of the gold bracelets!” Chu Liuchen said. Suddenly, he smiled devilishly, turned around, patted Xiao Xuanzi on the head, and added, “Go and tell her men that if anyone asks about the gold bracelets, just turn the Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion into the wire-puller!”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Xiao Xuanzi breathed a sigh of relief.
“Why should I say that?” Chu Liuchen chuckled. Looking relaxed, he looked like a gentle and harmless young man, but his words didn’t sound harmless at all. “It’s better for her not to know what has caused by the Duke Xing’s Mansion!”
It didn’t matter as to whether others thought that way!
“Do you mean that it was the Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion who privately gave them to the Fifth Miss? The Fifth Miss was ignorant of it because she didn’t like them and hadn’t seen them before?” Xiao Xuanzi’s eyes lit up, and his face was full of joy. It seemed that his master understood it. He had thought that his master didn’t understand his feelings for Fifth Miss Shao and accidentally put her in danger. It would be too late to repent if something truly happened!
“Send one or two pairs to each lady of Duke Xing’s Mansion!” Chu Liuchen said lightly.
“Yes, master, I’ll go and prepare now!” Xiao Xuanzi nodded repeatedly. If his master behaved generously by sending other ladies the same gift, it would have nothing to do with the Fifth Miss in the eyes of others!
Shao Wanru knew nothing about the arrangements of Chu Liuchen, but the next day, Yujie secretly told her that the bracelets were given by the Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion. If someone asked about them in the future, she could say that she didn’t have a clue. The bracelets were originally mixed in a pile of gifts and put away by a servant girl.
Previously, after Shao Wanru had an accident, Duke Xing’s Mansion had sent a lot of gifts to her. She seemed to take them seriously, but basically, she didn’t spare them a glance before her maids packed them up. It was a suitable reason for this situation.
There was a pair of gold bracelets on the gift list. If one didn’t observe them, he wouldn’t notice that they were so different. They were so heavy to wear.
Shao Wanru deliberately took out the pair of gold bracelets again. She studied them for a long time in the sunlight pouring in through the window but found nothing. Then she asked Yujie to put them away and lock them!
Since it had a cause and effect and was done under Chu Liuchen’s instructions, it seemed to be a trap. As for whether the trap involved people from Duke Xing’s Mansion or not, it was not something she needed to consider.
In her last life, she had no idea how Chu Liuchen defeated all his opponents and took the position of Crown Prince. But there was one thing she was sure of. The means Chu Liuchen used to take the position were undoubtedly sinister. He had never been a kind person, so being gentle and elegant was just a front for his viciousness.
Peace stayed the next few days. Duke Xing’s Mansion hadn’t sent anyone to disturb her, and even the courtyard next door was quiet. Chu Liuchen seemed to be convalescing from his illness. Yujie even saw Mingqiu Nun appear next door from time to time to treat Chu Liuchen.
People from the palace came here occasionally.
The men of the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress seemed to concern about Chu Liuchen’s health genuinely. However, even if they called on him, they kept their voices low and didn’t make much noise. They all knew that Prince Chen was recuperating, so no one dared to make a noise.
One day, someone knocked on the door of Shao Wanru’s courtyard.
Yujie looked at the palace maids standing outside in surprise and said, “You are…”
The leading palace maid stepped forward and said with a smile, “Ordered by the Empress Dowager, I’m here to make clothes for Fifth Miss Shao!”
Yujie couldn’t figure out what it meant. After looking them up and down for a while, she asked again, “Make clothes for my Miss?”
“The Empress Dowager heard that Fifth Miss Shao doesn’t have any fabulous clothes, so she ordered us to prepare a few sets of clothes for her. That way, she can go straight to the palace to partic.i.p.ate in the consort selection!” The palace maid explained with a smile and a gentle att.i.tude.
The fact that this Fifth Miss Shao could get an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager meant that the Empress Dowager had thought highly of her. It seemed that she was blessed, so the palace maid naturally treated her maid kindly.
Of course, what mattered most was Rui’an Great Elder Princess mentioning Fifth Miss Shao now and then when she came in and out of the Empress Dowager’s palace. The servants in the Empress Dowager’s palace basically knew that. Many people thought that the reason why Rui’an Great Elder Princess said so was probably that she wanted Fifth Miss Shao to marry a prince.
With Fifth Miss Shao’s status, she could be the Princess Consort. However, she seemed to be in a high position, but in fact, she had no practical use. These princes might not take a fancy to her.
Nonetheless, since Rui’an Great Elder Princess had said so and done so, even if this Fifth Miss Shao could not become the legal wife, the royal family would have to give her the position of concubine. There were tons of people who thought so, and this palace maid naturally could not afford to offend Fifth Miss Shao.
Nevertheless, she merely had no guts to offend Fifth Miss Shao in her presence. To be honest, she didn’t take her seriously. She showed her respect in her presence just for the sake of Rui’an Great Elder Princess.
Yet when they saw Fifth Miss Shao, the palace maids sent by the Empress Dowager no longer dared to underestimate her, who was said to be of little use.