Chapter 646 Two Sides of a Coin
“Thank you for your visit, Your Highness!” Shao Yanru, in her room, picked up a cup of tea, stood up, drank the tea as a subst.i.tute for wine, bowed sideways to Infanta Yuan’an, and spoke softly.
“We’re as close as sisters, so don’t mention it!” Infanta Yuan’an picked up the tea with a smile, took a sip, took Shao Yanru’s hand to have her sit down, and said helplessly, “It’s not a big deal. I intended to come to back you up, but didn’t expect that your Fifth Sister is not simple! I’m not sure if I’ve been more of a hindrance than a help!”
Knowing that she was talking about the matter of her making Madam of Duke Xing unable to excuse herself from dealing with the servants a.s.signed to the Piaoyun Courtyard, Shao Yanru said kindly, “Your Highness, you don’t have to say that. It’s supposed to be my mother’s fault. No one would expect that someone would be daring enough to steal the gift from the Empress Dowager.”
She would not take the blame for it! Claiming her ignorance of it was the best excuse!
“I appreciate that you think so!” Infanta Yuan’an took her hand and said with a smile, “Since the gift was given by the Empress Dowager, it can’t be neglected, let alone stolen by a servant. If the news gets out, you will not only find the gossip unpleasant, but even enrage the Empress Dowager!”
“I know… I went to advise my grandma to investigate into it thoroughly… lest the old maid ruin our reputation and make others misunderstand our mansion… Your Highness, please explain it to the Empress Dowager,” Shao Yanru said, then sighed softly and held Infanta Yuan’an’s hand with tears in her pretty eyes, looking extremely aggrieved.
“Don’t worry. I will explain it to the Empress Dowager. Strictly speaking, you shouldn’t be blamed for it… It was caused by the disappointing servants. Probably because of the Fifth Miss’s long term absence in the courtyard as the master, the servants had other thoughts!”
Infanta Yuan’an tried to straighten her out in a gentle tone.
“It makes sense. The courtyard was not supposed to be prepared in a hurry, but Rui’an Great Elder Princess intervened in it… My mother can’t disobey Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s order, so she prepared it early and selected some servants to work in the courtyard. Unexpectedly, a prepared courtyard with no master made the servants try to steal something!”
Shao Yanru spoke while nodding.
Both of them tried to absolve Duke Xing’s Mansion from blame by suggesting that the servants were fine when being selected and a.s.signed to the courtyard, but they got out of control without a master and did wrong. Generally speaking, what had happened today was caused by a prepared courtyard without a master.
It shouldn’t be the fault of Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Madam of Duke Xing was even less responsible for it. After all, when she selected the servants, they were fine. She shouldn’t be blamed for what they did later in the Piaoyun Courtyard, where there was no master.
Hearing Infanta Yuan’an’s words, Shao Yanru felt relieved. Infanta Yuan’an had a voice in front of the Empress Dowager and had always enjoyed a good reputation and been considered a fair-minded person. Since she said so here, she would say the same thing to the Empress Dowager.
She sort of explained what had happened just now for Duke Xing’s Mansion.
It was just the two sides of a coin. Duke Xing’s Mansion didn’t have to bear the brunt of the blame.
“Even Rui’an Great Elder Princess shouldn’t intervene in the domestic affairs of your mansion. Your Duke Xing’s Mansion can turn down such an inappropriate request!” Infanta Yuan’an said in a soft voice. She was totally speaking on Shao Yanru’s side, which could leave a good impression on Shao Yanru!
“But… she’s my Fifth Sister’s maternal grandma. For the sake of my Fifth Sister… how could Rui’an Great Elder Princess not intervene in it?” Shao Yanru sighed softly and said helplessly. Then she lowered her head and wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. When she raised her head again, her eyes were slightly red.
Meanwhile, she said reluctantly with a proper smile, “Well, let’s stop talking about this. My grandma and mother will handle it. I’m really sorry to trouble you to come here. I only intended to bring her pressure with your power and influence, I didn’t expect to cause you to be wronged. I apologize to you on behalf of our Duke Xing’s Mansion!”
What had just happened in the Piaoyun Courtyard had been reported to Shao Yanru, who had learned that Infanta Yuan’an had run into a stone wall in Shao Wanru’s place. Now she mentioned it in a subtle way in an attempt to provoke Infanta Yuan’an’s rage.
Meanwhile, she said it sincerely, as if she really meant it. Moreover, she took the initiative to admit her mistake, which even left a better impression!
“It doesn’t matter. Since there’s nothing else, I’ll go back now. I’m going to the imperial palace later, as the Empress Dowager sent someone before to tell me!” With a sparkle in her eyes, Infanta Yuan’an said and stood up with a smile, as if she didn’t realize Shao Yanru’s attempt to provoke her.
Shao Yanru also stood up and said, “Let me walk you out, Your Highness!”
“First Miss Shao, you don’t have to be overly courteous to me. You should help your mother handle what happened today. After all, the gift is from the imperial palace, so you should handle the matter properly. If the Empress Dowager asks about it, I will report it truthfully. When the time comes, it will be inappropriate to let the Empress Dowager know that your mansion has not handled it!”
Infanta Yuan’an spoke with a smile, patted Shao Yanru’s hand intimately, and then left with her entourage, as if she didn’t see Shao Yanru’s slightly stiff face!
Although she didn’t like Shao Wanru, she didn’t intend to become Shao Yanru’s weapon!
She had thought that her ident.i.ty could be a deterrent to Shao Wanru, but she found that Shao Wanru was not as simple as she seemed. In this case, she decided not to pick a side just yet and to take a wait-and-see approach.
Her grandma said that with her ident.i.ty, she could definitely be a princess. Now she was waiting to see which prince she was going to marry, while Shao Yanru was her biggest compet.i.tor…
In fact, the Piaoyun Courtyard had been decorated properly and looked good. However, in addition to some fine ornaments sent by Great Elder Princess, Shao Wanru could see some simple and ordinary ornaments that Duke Xing’s Mansion had prepared for her in the courtyard from time to time.
The entire Piaoyun Courtyard looked neat, but in fact, it hardly had any cla.s.s. However, Shao Wanru had to bear it.
Because she hadn’t finished observing mourning for her parents and cultivation in seclusion, she had to bear it no matter how ordinary her courtyard was. However, if she chose to bear it for the time being, she could not say anything about it even after finis.h.i.+ng observing mourning for her parents and cultivation in seclusion. After all, when she moved here, she had said nothing.
Mentioning it afterward would make her look hypocritical and make others wonder if everything she had done before was just a show, after which she just felt free to throw off her disguise!
Although Shao Wanru’s returning at this time was an accident, she had said that she would come down the mountain before the Spring Festival and spend the last few days of her observing mourning for her parents in Duke Xing’s Mansion. Even though she came down the mountain at that time, it was still inconvenient for her to interfere with the decoration of her courtyard.
On one hand, it was still during the period of her observing mourning for her parents. On the other hand, Madam of Duke Xing had plenty of things to handle before the Spring Festival, so it was reasonable that the Piaoyun Courtyard wasn’t prepared perfectly!
“Miss, that’s too much!” In the room, Nanny Yu angrily told her what had happened recently and then pointed to a screen behind her and said, “This screen is obviously in poor condition, but no one came to change it. I turned to Madam, who said that the screen was placed here on the instructions from Old Madam. Then I turned to Old Madam, but she said that it was for Madam to take care of…”
As Nanny Yu spoke, she became angrier. In fact, besides the screen, many items in the room were so ordinary and even shabby. She found it ridiculous to place such ornaments in her master’s room. Nanny Yu was furious, but although she had turned to every master in Duke Xing’s Mansion, they all just pa.s.sed the buck.
Moreover, most of the time, she was sent away by their trusted servants even before meeting them. So even if the matter became significant, they could pretend that they knew nothing about it.
None of them should take the blame. Besides, Shao Wanru couldn’t take the initiative to find them now!
Since she could cultivate in seclusion on the mountain, how could she stir up trouble because the decorations in her courtyard were not gorgeous enough after returning to Duke Xing’s Mansion? Madam of Duke Xing did that because she was sure of it.
After Nanny Yu told her all the grievances, Shao Wanru smiled slightly and turned to look at the screen behind her.
This screen included 12 parts and was extraordinary in size. Even the screen in Old Madam’s room was smaller than it.
In this case, no one would think that Duke Xing’s Mansion treated her lightly, because they placed such a big screen with 12 parts in her room, while the only other screen with 12 parts in the entire Duke Xing’s Mansion was in Old Madam’s room.
The screen with 12 parts was made of top-grade yellow pear wood. However, the embroidery on it was worn with curling edges. The flower patterns, which were supposed to be gorgeous, had been blurred and even damaged. Some threads had been worn.
The screen was worn and disagreeable to the eye.
From the extremely gorgeous peonies in spring to the ethereal red plum blossoms in winter, all of these were supposed to be amazing from every direction. But at the moment, it looked mildewy because of being used for long.
In fact, besides the screen, a large part of other ornaments seemed to have been well-used. They should be thrown away or repaired before being reused. However, they were placed in this room directly.
“Miss, how could they do that!” Yujie looked around the room and said angrily.
The ornaments in the room were completely different from those when they had lived here three years prior. At that time, the decorations were extremely gorgeous and every ornament was meticulously prepared. Although they had been used for some time, they looked new after being polished. But now, everything in front of them obviously had been used by others or was too worn to be used.
They were just placed here without cleaning and repair.
“Miss, let’s ask Great Elder Princess to have a look.” Qu Le, who was also very angry, suggested after walking around.
“No, I can’t always turn to my grandma!” Shao Wanru shook her head and said. Rui’an Great Elder Princess couldn’t intervene in the business of Duke Xing’s Mansion again and again. Otherwise, it would inevitably displease the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
She couldn’t let her grandma intervene in the business of Duke Xing’s Mansion. Even if it was necessary, her grandma could only intervene in Hao’er’s business rather than waste the opportunity on something unimportant. She would handle this kind of thing and wouldn’t bring more trouble to her grandma. With gloom in her eyes, she thought that she wouldn’t suffer the loss!
“We’ll repair them by ourselves. We should find a way to make them look more decent, shouldn’t we?”