Chapter 637 Bet the Hope on Which of Them!
“I know, I know, but your father…” Madam of Duke Xing became increasingly annoyed, raised her eyebrows, and said furiously, “Your father also asked me to tell you to be more cautious in conduct. Don’t hook up with Commandery Prince Qing! Bah, when did you hook up with Commandery Prince Qing?”
“Mother, when did father say that?” Shao Yanru froze for a while and said. She didn’t expect that there would be such a thing. “Mother, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“It’s nothing but your father’s groundless accusation. I know that you met Commandery Prince Qing when you came down the mountain that day. I wonder who gossiped in front of your father and said that you hooked up with Commandery Prince Qing. How could you take a fancy to Commandery Prince Qing?”
Madam of Duke Xing said with a sneer.
When she heard Duke Xing’s words at that time, she was so furious that she almost left in a rage. How could her arrogant daughter take a fancy to Chu Qing, who had just reclaimed his ident.i.ty as the son of the late emperor. The late emperor had pa.s.sed away. Even Chu Liuchen, the legitimate son of the late emperor, was not favored by the current emperor. How could Chu Qing be favored?
“Mother, did anyone say something in front of my father?” Shao Yanru said calmly with her face darkening.
“I don’t know who said that. Your father specially came to tell me this. Madam of Duke Xing said angrily and even got angrier as she thought about it. She was proud of her daughter. She could ignore that others spoke ill of her daughter, but it was impossible for her not to get angry at Duke Xing’s criticism of her daughter.
“Mother, since father said so, it must not be groundless. My reputation has been tarnished now. I have to partic.i.p.ate in the consort selection this time. Otherwise, I won’t have any chance in the future!”
Shao Yanru clenched her fists, stopped in front of Madam of Duke Xing after walking around the room twice, looked into Madam of Duke Xing’s eyes, and said, “Mother, I can’t keep waiting!”
“Ru’er, have you made your decision?” Madam of Duke Xing grabbed Shao Yanru’s hand and asked in a panic.
To choose Chu Liuyue or Chu Liuzhou had always been a question in Duke Xing’s Mansion. At present, the situation was not clear yet, so betting the hope on which of them was of vital importance!
“Mother, attending the consort selection doesn’t mean that I will be selected. My reputation has been tarnished now, and what put me in this situation was related to either Shao Wanru or Qin Yuru. The two of them have the greatest impact. Shao Wanru is still in the Huaguang Temple, so I can’t deal with her for the time being. But I can deal with Qin Yuru!” Shao Yanru gnashed her teeth and said.
She had enjoyed a great reputation. At that time, speaking of her, everyone described her as a model of Misses from aristocratic families with a ravis.h.i.+ng look and decent bearing. However, now when people spoke of her, she got both praise and blame, and even plenty of women thought that she was the most scheming and vicious lady.
She had sent her maid to inquire about it that day. Getting the news, she was so furious that she smashed all the things in her room. When was her reputation as terrible as that of Qin Yuru’s?
She couldn’t keep waiting, but she couldn’t make up her mind, so she couldn’t skip the consort selection for any reason. Nevertheless, attending the consort selection didn’t mean that she was going to make a bet.
She considered both Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou promising, so she had to wait for another period of time. She decided to enter the imperial palace to attend the consort selection, but she had to be left in the basket and could make Shao Wanru take the blame. She had some scratches on her face because of Shao Wanru, so she had to quit the selection. No one could blame her for this.
She could wait longer to deal with Shao Wanru, but she couldn’t wait any longer to deal with Qin Yuru. She had to try everything to restore her reputation.
“Mother, you should meet Countess Yong again. If she still refuses, tell her about what her son has done and let her know that she can’t protect her daughter-in-law even if she wants to!” Shao Yanru said with a sneer.
“You mean Di Yan’s mistress, the prost.i.tute?” Madam of Duke Xing said hesitantly. She got the news from Duke Xing, but Duke Xing told her to wait and see what would happen, not to stir up trouble with it for the time being and save it for greater use.
“Yes, make Di Yan’s mistress known. If Qin Yuru knows it, the entire Duke Yong’s Mansion will have no peace.” Shao Yanru said with a sneer, not believing that she couldn’t deal with a lady with a ruined reputation, “Mother, if you don’t do it, my bad reputation will have a great impact on our plan!”
With a bad reputation, even if she became a member of the imperial harem, it was impossible for her to become the empress, who only played the second fiddle to the emperor. This was an important reason why Shao Yanru did all she could to maintain her reputation in front of others!
She could not bear any damage done to her reputation!
“Okay!” After thinking for a while, Madam of Duke Xing finally said with a nod. She could only do that now. No matter what she intended to do with it, she could only make use of it now. Moreover, if Countess Yong complied with her request, she didn’t have to expose it.
She just wanted to remind Countess Yong that she knew what Countess Yong’s son had done. If she exposed it, it would definitely be significant. Considering that Old Madam of Duke Yong had always been protective towards Qin Yuru, neither Di Yan nor Countess Yong could get away with it!
“Mother, if Countess Yong agrees, you can ask her to hide Qin Yuru for the time being and suggest that the Huaguang Temple should be a good choice!” Shao Yanru said with a sinister smile.
It was indeed a good choice to make Qin Yuru hide among the pilgrims of the Huaguang Temple, and she could s.h.i.+ft the blame onto someone else. Wasn’t Shao Wanru on the mountain?
Regarding Qin Yuru, Shao Yanru didn’t think that she could restrain herself. Based on her impression of Qin Yuru, Shao Yanru knew that Qin Yuru would definitely make a scene after being told about it.
However, she didn’t expect that she would guess wrong again…
There was a path from the back door of Shao Wanru’s courtyard leading to the back mountain of the Huaguang Temple. On the back mountain, there was a plum blossom forest, a corner of which was planted with white plum blossoms.
White plum blossoms were different from red plum blossoms, which were as dazzling as fire and looked strikingly gorgeous against the white snow.
Numerous people went to the back mountain to appreciate a large number of red plum blossoms while paying no attention to the white plum blossoms in the corner. At the sight of the white plum blossoms in the corner, almost all pilgrims would turn back. They considered that the red plum blossoms against the white snow were amazing, while the white plum blossoms against the white snow were a little boring!
There were light snowflakes falling from the sky. Shao Wanru didn’t wear black clothes today. Instead, she was dressed warmly and wrapped in a light purple cloak, and her dark hair was bound up with a simple hairpin made of purple bamboo. But even so, she still looked ravis.h.i.+ng against the white plum blossoms.
The snow scene in front even made her look like a fairy in a dream.
She walked along the path among the white plum blossoms. When she went out, there was only light snow. Unexpectedly, when she arrived at the back mountain, the snowflakes became large. The sky and the ground were both white, making her even unable to see the road in front of her clearly.
There were no other pilgrims on the way.
Few people came to the white plum blossom forest in normal times, not to mention on such a snowy day.
“Miss, let’s go down!” Yujie looked at the acc.u.mulated snow behind her and advised. Although she was used to climbing mountains, she could not help gasping at this moment.
“It’s okay. It’s not far away!” Shao Wanru said, shook her head, and narrowed her fluid eyes to look ahead. With layers of plum blossoms in front of her and the falling snow, she could only see a small section of the path.
Chu Liuchen had been weird recently. He didn’t live in the yard at the foot of the mountain, but got into the depths of the white plum blossom forest from time to time and lived there. Moreover, he asked Shao Wanru to bring him lunch.
At this time, the sky was dark, but in fact, it was only noon!
“Miss, you can rest here and wait for me. I’ll deliver the lunch and go down the mountain with you after returning!” Yujie put down the hamper, gasped, and suggested.
“No, that’s okay. It’s just a little cold!” Shao Wanru rubbed her hands together and said. Fortunately, the cloak was warm, so she didn’t feel so cold with her hands under it. It was much colder here than in Jiangzhou, especially in winter.
“Well, Miss, I’ll walk fast, while you can walk slowly!” Yujie picked up the hamper and said.
“We are not in a hurry. It’s rare to enjoy such beautiful scenery. It’s actually not bad!” Shao Wanru said with a smile and stretched out her hand. A snowflake, which was cold but fascinatingly beautiful, fell on her palm. She involuntarily showed a smile. She was indeed cold while thinking that everything in front of her was beautiful!
Seeing that her master kept ignoring her suggestion, Yujie had no choice but to follow her helplessly. With a hamper in her hand, she couldn’t hold an umbrella for Shao Wanru. Meanwhile, her master was so disobedient that she lifted the hood, which was supposed to cover her head.
“Miss, the snow is too heavy. You’d better let down your hood, in case you catch a cold!” After taking a few steps, Yujie said again.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m in good health!” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She somehow thought of what had happened in Jiangzhou. She had been very naughty since her childhood, and there were not so many rules in Jiangzhou. In addition, Madam Di indulged her intentionally or otherwise. So she had done something like climbing over a wall and climbing a tree in her childhood.
She had often acted as naughty as a boy behind Qi Baiyu at that time. But now thinking of it, she found that it seemed to be a long time ago as if it happened in the last life. In fact, it did happen in the last life. From the day she was reborn, she was no longer the Qin Wanru in the last life!
“Miss…” Yujie still wanted to advise her, but Shao Wanru reached out to stop her.
Shao Wanru stood still and frowned slightly. She keenly captured a series of sounds different from the sounds of wind and the sounds of snowing.
The sounds were caused by swords and came from not far ahead! With her face changing slightly, she said in a low voice, “There’s some people in front and some sounds caused by swords!”
“There… there are some people in front and some sounds caused by swords?” Yujie said, trembled in fear, and almost failed to hold the hamper in her hand.
“Go down the mountain quickly and tell Qing’er to come here!” Shao Wanru looked around and said decisively. She walked slowly and could be discovered easily, while Yujie walked fast and wouldn’t be discovered easily.
“Miss, I can’t leave you behind!” Yujie said in fear and almost cried. She was strong, but it didn’t mean that she was skilled in martial arts, and she had never experienced this kind of thing before.
“Go, tell Qing’er to come and protect me. You can’t help me if you stay, and you will make me exposed!” Shao Wanru reached out to push Yujie, took a deep breath, and said, and then looked at the path in front, which was distant and gray, “Go. They’re coming here!”