Chapter 648 The Heir of Duke Xing
“Mi… Miss, what’s the matter?” Chunxi looked at Qi Rongzhi with some timidness and asked. She really didn’t dare to offend Madam of Duke Xing, who was in charge of the entire inner courtyard of Duke Xing’s Mansion. Even the princ.i.p.al maid serving Old Madam was very respectful to Madam of Duke Xing, not to mention her.
To put it nicely, Qi Rongzhi was the foster daughter of Madam of Duke Xing, but to put it bluntly, Qi Rongzhi just lived under the roof of Duke Xing’s Mansion and no one took her seriously. Even the servants in the mansion were sn.o.bs. What was more, Qi Rongzhi had never been favored since she moved to the mansion.
Qi Rongzhi was treated lightly, not to mention her maids. In the past three years, Chunxi had been bullied many times in Duke Xing’s Mansion, so she didn’t dare to turn to Madam of Duke Xing to look for trouble.
“It’s so hateful… I… I didn’t expect that she let the scoundrel w.a.n.g Shengxue set me up!” Qi Rongzhi said furiously, unfolded the note in her hand, and read it again. When she saw the words in front of her clearly, she only felt her eyes became sore.
How could Madam of Duke Xing let her rascal nephew hook up with her with frivolous and shameless words? Thinking of w.a.n.g Shengxue, Qi Rongzhi felt so sick that she even wanted to vomit. She decided that she would never marry such a disgusting man even if she had to remain unmarried all her life.
“Miss, how do you know that it’s Madam of Duke Xing who told him to write this?” Chunxi asked.
“It’s written on it that Madam of Duke Xing won’t release me unless I agree on the engagement with him arranged by Madam of Duke Xing. Otherwise, she will lock me up all my life. I doubt whether she can do that!” Qi Rongzhi sneered, tore the note in her hand, and said angrily.
At this moment, she had calmed down and known that it was useless to send someone for Madam of Duke Xing. The one she sent might not even be able to meet Madam of Duke Xing, let alone make things clear.
“Miss, don’t worry. The Eldest Young Master will help you. Maybe he has made an agreement with the prince’s mansion and will directly send a sedan chair to take you away later. No matter how powerful Duke Xing’s Mansion is, they can’t compare with the prince’s mansion, right?” Chunyi took up her remark.
Her words calmed Qi Rongzhi down. She trusted her eldest brother very much. Who did w.a.n.g Shengxue think he was? How dared he dream of marrying her? He really should look in the mirror to see what a loser he was.
At this moment, she had no appet.i.te, so she instructed the two maids to clean up the dishes.
She thought that it was over, but she didn’t expect that she would discover other notes in the next few meals. w.a.n.g Shengxue even wrote in a note that he would come to meet her secretly at dusk and he could marry her and she could be released as soon as she agreed. What was more, he repeatedly indicated that he would treat her like a treasure with frivolous and disgusting words.
Qi Rongzhi was both annoyed and anxious. She didn’t even dare to sleep alone at night and kept the two maids by her side. But even so, she could still hear some sounds from outside the courtyard from time to time. She couldn’t tell what was going on in the dark, but she was sure that the sounds were made by someone.
After spending two days in anxiety, Qi Rongzhi almost had a nervous breakdown. She could neither eat well during the day nor sleep well at night. Any slight sound could make her wake up the two maids at once and looked at the door vigilantly, for fear that w.a.n.g Shengxue would suddenly break in. If w.a.n.g Shengxue managed to sleep with her, she would be doomed.
However, there were only two maids loyal to her. They were brought into the mansion by her and now also locked up together with her. She could not even send a message to Qi Tianyu, who was outside. Looking at her haggard face in the mirror, Qi Rongzhi picked up the mirror and threw it to the ground in rage.
The sharp breaking sound seemed to break Qi Rongzhi’s silence at once. She screamed sharply and turned her hand to slap Chunxi, who was standing behind her, and Chunxi took two steps back. If it were not for Chunyi’s help, she would have fallen on the ground scattered with sharp broken gla.s.ses.
“Miss, don’t get angry. We can think of another way!” Chunyi held Chunxi and said.
“What else can I do? What else can I do? The b.a.s.t.a.r.d said that he would come in the next few days, but… but my eldest brother still doesn’t know it!” Qi Rongzhi said emotionally with tears and stamped hard on the ground as if she were treading on w.a.n.g Shengxue and Madam of Duke Xing.
“Miss… Actually, there is another way, but… it is…” Chunxi looked at Qi Rongzhi and said hesitantly, seeming to want to say something but stop on second thought. Obviously, she was not sure whether it was a good idea.
“Say it!” Qi Rongzhi wiped off the tears on her face violently and said in a harsh voice.
“Since the Eldest Young Master is outside, he obviously doesn’t know our predicament and can’t help us, but… but we can ask someone else for help… such the Eldest Young Master of the mansion!” Chunxi trembled under Qi Rongzhi’s horrifying gaze and said with drifting eyes.
“The Eldest Young Master Shao Hua’an?” Qi Rongzhi was stunned. She slowly sat down and said with a frown.
Although Chunxi didn’t finish her sentence, Qi Rongzhi immediately understood what she meant. After moving to Duke Xing’s Mansion, Qi Rongzhi found that everyone in the mansion did not like her and completely ignored her.
Qi Rongzhi could barely meet Madam of Duke Xing after Madam of Duke Xing pretended to be kind to her on the day she recognized her as a foster daughter. Besides, Madam of Duke Xing even sent someone to tell her that she didn’t need to go to pay her respects, and didn’t say a word and ignored her when running into her on the road.
Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion was not someone she could meet and please as she wanted.
Although Shao Yanru allowed her to follow her from time to time, Shao Yanru just considered her a maid and she couldn’t make any decision. However, everyone thought Shao Yanru was so kind-hearted that she even cared for and treated a “foster daughter”, who was not favored by Madam, kindly.
In fact, she could just act on instructions from Shao Yanru. Nevertheless, if she didn’t follow Shao Yanru, her life in Duke Xing’s Mansion would be even more difficult.
Everyone in the mansion was unfriendly to her, and even the maids and old maids dared to challenge her. Only the Eldest Young Master of Duke Xing’s Mansion was nice to her, and he stopped and talked to her gently every time he met her.
He was the only person she could count on, so she certainly would not let go of such an opportunity. Every time she met Shao Hua’an, she acted gentle and even pitifully like a young lady from a n.o.ble family. Her gorgeous look and elegant manners made Shao Hua’an appreciate her a lot.
Qi Rongzhi even noticed that Shao Hua’an looked at her in the way Di Yan looked at her at that time. Of course, it meant that Shao Hua’an had a crush on her.
“No, I’m going to marry into the prince’s mansion. I can’t have any connections with Shao Hua’an!” Qi Rongzhi thought for a while, and then said and shook her head.
“Miss, you don’t have to have any connections with the Eldest Young Master. We just want to ask him for a favor!” Chunxi said.
“Yes, Miss. You can ask the Eldest Young Master Shao to stop Childe w.a.n.g or frighten him, and we can do it in secret without telling Madam. As long as Childe w.a.n.g doesn’t make trouble, we can wait for the news from the Eldest Young Master.”
Chunyi said.
Hearing the words of the two maids, Qi Rongzhi became hesitant and nodded after thinking for a while. Shao Hua’an was indeed the only one who was kind to her in the entire mansion as well as the only one who could help her at this time.
“Grind the ink!”
“Miss, the First Miss Qi has sent the note to the First Young Master Shao!” When Qing’er entered the room to report to Shao Wanru, Shao Wanru was standing by the window and drawing a portrait of a lady. The lady in the portrait only showed half of her face, and there was a red maple forest behind her.
The lady was dressed in a plain eight-piece dress and stepped on the maple leaves as red as fire. Although she only showed a small half of her, it gave an impression of fascinating beauty.
“What did Shao Hua’an do?” Shao Wanru asked, put down the writing brush in her hand, and looked at the painting she had not finished yet. In fact, she was not very satisfied with it. In the last life, she was famous for portraying the best look of the candidates for the consort selection, and the portraits would be presented for selection.
Painting different scenery from different perspectives could make her painting completely different.
“The Eldest Young Master led a few servants to intercept w.a.n.g Shengxue, who was going to enter the mansion, dragged him to a corner and beat him, and then advised him not to take liberties in the mansion! Otherwise, he would be driven out of the mansion!” Qing’er said, and then told the whole thing in detail.
Beating w.a.n.g Shengxue secretly without letting anyone realize it and making his intention clear, both these indicated Shao Hua’an’s extraordinary tactics.
Shao Wanru showed a meaningful smile. She had met the First Young Master Shao several times. He looked very gentle every time, treated her as his biological sister, and seemed to be perfectly impartial. Nevertheless, she had neither met him nor talked with him in private, so she did not know about his personality.
But after this, she could tell that Shao Hua’an was not so easy to deal with, and he was the one who could inherit Duke Xing’s Mansion instead of Hao’er.
Compared with Hao’er, Shao Hua’an, the Eldest Young Master of Duke Xing’s Mansion, should be the candidate for the Heir of Duke Xing’s Mansion in favor with the general public!
In the last life, Shao Wanru had met Shao Hua’an in Shao Yanru’s place. On that day, Shao Yanru made her kneel at the entrance as a punishment. When Shao Hua’an entered the courtyard, he glanced at her and gently asked her who she was. After knowing who she was, the gentle and elegant Heir showed a trace of contempt, looked down at her arrogantly, and said, “As a humble person with no manners, you should keep kneeling!”
He hated her, a girl he just met for the first time, so much after knowing her name. Of course, it was not only because of her name. Needless to say, the First Young Master Shao also knew her real ident.i.ty, so he harbored deep hatred against her and involuntarily mocked her as soon as he knew her ident.i.ty.
In the last life, she was ignorant and didn’t understand why she enraged the Heir of Duke Xing’s Mansion, who was said to be a graceful childe. It turned out that all members of the Second Branch of Duke Xing’s Mansion had a desire to kill her family members!
In this life, she would tear apart the mask of all members of the Second Branch so that everyone could see their true colors. They should pay back what they owed Hao’er and her in the last life anyway…
It was better to take action as soon as possible, and she could use Qi Rongzhi to make the first move!