Chapter 779 It’s You, Not Us!
It was very quiet in the hall with no one speaking, which made Shao Yanru’s cry mournful, painful, and even a little desperate.
It was not just acting. What happened today was so sudden that Shao Yanru was caught off guard. She could hardly believe that her brilliant trick would suddenly turn into a mess.
She cried so hard that she couldn’t control herself. Shuqi held her in her arms and cried silently. Shao Yanru was crying and peeping at Shao Wanru. She saw her looking down at a corner in front of her in silence, as if she was sad. Such a thing was a great disaster for the girls of the Shao Family.
If Shao Yanru seducing two princes was exposed, not only Duke Xing but also the women of the Shao Family would end up miserably.
Yujie stood behind Shao Wanru and didn’t move at all.
“Fifth Sister, I’m sorry… I… I’m sorry for all the women in our family!” Shao Yanru sobbed.
Shao Wanru raised her head slowly and hid the coldness in her eyes. She didn’t believe Shao Yanru’s regret at all.
“What’s the use of saying that now!” She sneered inwardly but slowly frowned.
“I… I know… but… but what should I do now… What… what should I do!” Shao Yanru cried.
“What are you trying to say, Big Sister?” Shao Wanru frowned with some displeasure.
“I… I’m just afraid that His Majesty will vent his anger on Father. What… what should I do? Father and Grandmother know nothing about it. If they are blamed, our whole mansion will suffer. I’m afraid that even the t.i.tle of n.o.bility will… be…” Shao Yanru cried again.
Shao Wanru looked at Shao Yanru coldly and then restrained the sarcasm inside her. Both Chu Liuyue and Shao Yanru thought that she valued the t.i.tle of n.o.bility. Great!
“His Majesty will take this t.i.tle back?” She raised her head, and her brows furrowed.
“Maybe… maybe… I don’t know… Fifth Sister, what should we do now? If the t.i.tle is really taken back because of us, how… how are we going to face Grandmother and Father? Our ancestors exchanged it with military achievements… We will be the sinners of the Shao Family!”
Shao Yanru’s eyes were full of tears. She looked at Shao Wanru sadly and uneasily.
Shao Wanru glanced at her with coldness in her eyes and said slowly, “Big Sister, it’s you, not us!”
“I know, I know. My heart is so messy that I mistakenly got you involved. It is I who will become an eternal sinner of the Shao Family. What should I do now? If there is no other way, I am willing to die to atone for my crime as long as it does not implicate our family!” Shao Yanru said in a daze.
She gazed at Shao Wanru as if she was trying to get support from her.
When Shao Wanru looked at her pale face and thought of her act of seeking death, no matter how much hatred she had for her, it seemed that it would fade away.
Anyway, anyone would feel sorry for Shao Yanru at this moment. Considering what had happened to her, it was normal for her character to change greatly. In the face of life and death, the past grievances seemed not so important.
The coldness on Shao Wanru’s face faded a little, and she said after a pause, “What do you think we should do, Big Sister?”
“Fifth Sister, tell me how Her Grace is going to deal with me and Duke Xing’s Mansion first?” Shao Yanru asked with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe what she had heard. Therefore, she asked again, trembling slightly. Shuqi hurriedly helped her lie down and carefully avoided the wound on her chest.
Shao Wanru blinked and said slowly, “She will keep you here for recuperation for a few days, and then send you out of the palace when you recover.”
Shao Yanru’s hands, which were holding the corners of the quilt, clenched tightly. “Will I be sent out of the palace? I don’t want to. If that really happens, I won’t have a chance,” she thought.
“Then… then what did she say to Father?” Fearing that Shao Wanru would see her through, Shao Yanru hurriedly turned aside and pretended to wipe her tears.
“I don’t know. His Majesty has left the Phoenix Palace. Her Grace will deal with your affair!” Shao Wanru seemed to be unhappy, but she still told the truth.
“Then… then why doesn’t she send me out of the palace now? Shouldn’t she send me out of the palace immediately after such a thing happened?” Shao Yanru looked blank and said in a choked voice. It seemed that she could not bear the blow.
But what she had asked was the key.
Shao Wanru sneered secretly. Shao Yanru indeed lived up to her reputation. After such a big event, not only did she not break down, but she quickly grasped the crucial point. With this, she wanted to change her unfavorable situation.
Her perfect performance just now was just to confuse Shao Wanru. If Shao Wanru had been less determined, she might have been deceived by her this time.
However, it just so happened that Shao Wanru wasn’t trying to hide it. She wanted to see how Shao Yanru became a concubine of the Emperor this time.
“Her Grace means that if you are now sent out of the palace with the previous two ladies, others may mistake you for being as disreputable as them!” Shao Wanru answered calmly.
Shao Yanru suddenly raised her head and looked at Shao Wanru with tears in her eyes. The look on her face was complicated for she seemed to be crying, smiling, happy, and sad. Her lips trembled before she said, “Did Her Grace really say that?”
This meant that what had happened between her, Chu Liuyue, and Chu Liuzhou had been hidden.
Shao Wanru stood up and said, “That’s what Her Grace said. Big Sister, you can recover here in peace!”
“Fifth Sister… could you please do me a favor?” Shao Yanru looked at Shao Wanru with wide eyes, which were filled with sadness and tears.
“What’s the matter?” Shao Wanru asked calmly.
“Could you… could you help me tell Father and Grandmother that I’m safe? I… I’m afraid they’re worried about me…” Tears rolled down Shao Yanru’s face again. Teardrops falling from her fair and tender chin was a pitiful sight.
Shao Yanru was born to be pretty. Under this circ.u.mstance, she became all the more delicate and pitiful. She was not as dignified as before but was more delicate and weaker. Such a woman leaned against the head of the bed with tears all over her face. She cried silently, making anyone who saw her feel sorry for her. Even Yujie, who was standing behind Shao Wanru, couldn’t help being softhearted.
She s.h.i.+fted her gaze from her Miss to Shao Yanru. She wanted to say something but stopped on second thought.
Shao Wanru refused Shao Yanru’s request calmly. “Big Sister, we’re both partic.i.p.ants in the Consort Selection. It won’t do us any good if any news leaks. If you want to send a message home, do it yourself. I don’t know anyone well in this palace!”
“But… it’s not convenient for me to do that right now!” Shao Yanru said sadly.
“Me neither!” Shao Wanru refused straightforwardly. She looked at Shao Yanru with a gloomy face and said, “Big Sister, I’m just here to take care of you, but I really don’t dare to send any messages. If you insist, I will go to Her Grace and ask her to send someone to do it for you. Her Grace knows that Prince Zhou misunderstood you before, so she feels guilty about you. If you ask her for help, she’ll surely agree!”
Shao Wanru was obviously lying through her teeth.
At this time, the Empress even wanted to eat Shao Yanru alive. If it weren’t for Prince Zhou’s sake, she wouldn’t have asked him to stop pursuing this matter. Moreover, she concealed his previous secret dealings with Shao Yanru. Shao Yanru didn’t dare to meet the Empress at this very moment.
“Big Sister, although Her Grace asked me to take care of you, I don’t think it’s convenient to live here. Otherwise, I have to set up a bed here. Do you think I should go back or live here?” Shao Wanru looked around and pointed to a place. “It’s not bad to put another bed here!”
At the head of Shao Yanru’s bed, there was an empty place. The other places were not big. This was a wing room in a side hall. To put it bluntly, it was just a slightly broader room that was divided into two compartments. There wasn’t much room for a bed.
“Miss, isn’t your bed too close to First Miss’s?” Yujie came over and shook her head, feeling inappropriate.
It was almost beside Shao Yanru’s bed.
“I have to take care of my Big Sister, so it doesn’t matter if our beds are next to each other. If I live here during this period, I can take care of her all the time and try my best to help her recover!!” Shao Wanru said casually. She glanced at Shao Yanru with a pair of deep and serene eyes and suddenly smiled. “Anyway, I can’t walk around at will in the palace. I won’t be bored by her side!”
She meant that she would follow Shao Yanru closely.
“Fifth Sister, I think you’d better go back to Chuxiu Palace to sleep. Please come over in the morning and go back at night. If we spend the night together, you won’t feel comfortable, and it won’t be convenient for me, either. I have never lived in the same room with anyone!” Shao Yanru said softly. She reached out to wipe her tears with difficulty. It seemed that she had pulled her wound, and her face turned pale with pain.
“I won’t feel uncomfortable. The distance between the two places is too far, and it is too much trouble for me to walk so far every day!” Shao Wanru said unhappily.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate. Are you going to quit the Consort Selection if you live in the Phoenix Palace too? You’re the only girl left in our mansion. How can you quit the Consort Selection? I have no hope. How can I ruin your opportunity?” Shao Yanru said with concern.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I can’t just leave you here by yourself. Her Grace asked me to take care of you here!” Shao Wanru said indifferently.
“Fifth Sister, you silly girl. My situation is already bad. If you quit the Consort Selection now, how will others think of Duke Xing’s Mansion and the unmarried girls of our mansion?” Shao Yanru wiped her tears again with feigned firmness. She looked at Shao Wanru expectantly, with bitterness deep in her eyes.
It seemed that she was considering Shao Wanru’s future wholeheartedly!
Of course, Shao Yanru was trying to get Shao Wanru to leave. Shao Wanru looked at Shao Yanru’s face, and as expected, she saw the impatience hidden behind her bitterness.
Originally, she didn’t want to stay here, so that she could dissociate herself from what would happen to Shao Yanru later.
“But Her Grace asked me…” Shao Wanru was swayed.
Seeing that Shao Wanru was swayed, Shao Yanru was overjoyed and said hurriedly, “Don’t worry, I have an idea!” She couldn’t let Shao Wanru stay and keep watch on her.