Chapter 807 The Considerate Grandmother and Granddaughter
Shao Wanru returned to Duke Xing’s Mansion that night.
Since her engagement with Chu Liuchen had been settled, there was no point in staying in the palace. Empress Dowager also asked her to go back to the mansion first. That night, she went out of the palace in a small sedan chair. The carriage of Duke Xing’s Mansion had been waiting outside the palace. Shao Wanru got in the carriage and returned to Duke Xing’s Mansion.
When they arrived at Duke Xing’s Mansion, it was late, but the gate of the mansion was brightly lit.
It was not until Shao Wanru’s carriage entered the mansion that most of the light dimmed.
Shao Wanru got out of the carriage, and Nanny Yu had already been waiting outside. She stepped forward with a smile and said, “Fifth Miss, Old Madam has been waiting for you in the mansion for a long time. Please come with me!”
Shao Wanru nodded and went to the Chuntang Courtyard where Old Madam lived with Yujie. The Chuntang Courtyard was also brightly lit. When they saw Shao Wanru, all the maids and old maids seemed respectful. Four Misses entered the palace to attend the Pageant. Now, only the Fifth Miss could come back safe and sound and be chosen.
Although they looked down on the Fifth Miss in the past, they did not dare to be presumptuous at this time.
Old Madam sat in the main room with a happy face. When she saw Shao Wanru come in, her eyes turned red. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, nodded, and said kindly, “It’s good that you’re back. It’s good that you’re back!”
“Fifth Miss, Old Madam has been thinking about you since you left. She is afraid that something will happen to you in the palace. The four other Misses are not going well this time. If something happens to you, Old Madam will be very worried!” Nanny Yu said with red eyes as if she was thinking about Shao Wanru sincerely like Old Madam.
“Don’t worry, Old Madam. I’m fine!” Shao Wanru said softly.
“It’s best if there’s nothing. I a.s.sume the life here is at least better than that of the palace. You look thinner!” Old Madam sighed and asked Shao Wanru to sit down beside her. “You don’t have to be so aloof all the time. Although you have been living in the Yuhui Nunnery before, you are my granddaughter after all. Don’t call me Old Madam like an outsider.”
“Yes, Fifth Miss, you should call her grandma. Don’t distance yourself from her because you have not been together for a long time!” Nanny Yu also nodded repeatedly and said with emotion.
Looking at the maid and her master, Shao Wanru only felt funny. Shao Wanru had called this woman “Old Madam” for a long time, and she had not said anything before, but now she didn’t want Shao Wanru to address her like that as if it was different in the past.
“As you wish, grandma!” Shao Wanru said gently. It was not the time to argue about it. Besides, it was just a t.i.tle. When Old Madam did not care about it, she called her that. Now that she mentioned it again and again, Shao Wanru could not turn a blind eye to it.
Old Madam wiped her tears and asked, “What happened to your Big Sister? Why did she suddenly enter the palace? When did she get in touch with His Majesty?”
So this was the most important thing. Shao Wanru sneered in her heart. She rolled her calm eyes and said, “Grandma, this… actually…”
Shao Wanru said and looked around. Old Madam understood and waved her hands to suggest the servants leave. The servant girls and old maids on both sides left one by one. Only Nanny Yu and Yujie stayed.
“Tell me, what happened?” After all the servants left, Old Madam’s face darkened, and she asked.
It was said that the girl was trying to seduce the Emperor. How could such a thing happen to her eldest granddaughter whom she valued most? In the past, Madam Jiang had repeatedly said that Ru’er would either marry Prince Yue or Prince Zhou in the future. How could she took an interest in the Emperor and take the initiative to seduce the Emperor?
When these words came out of her second son’s mouth, she almost couldn’t believe it was true. At that time, she fainted. After someone woke her up, she burst into tears.
She had raised her granddaughter for so many years, yet she was ruined just like that. This was the same as breaking her heart. The pain almost killed her.
“Big Sister used drugs… She intended to drug Prince Xin…” Shao Wanru pondered for a moment and said slowly, “But she didn’t expect that the Emperor would come!”
Her words were very few, but also very direct. Hearing this, Empress Dowager’s face turned pale, and her hands and feet trembled. She originally thought that Shao Yanru was wronged, but now she thought that it was not the case. So her eldest granddaughter was not wronged. The girl did have done this, and she made a mistake.
No one was supposed to drug any member of the royal family!
“Why, why does she look for Prince Xin? No, there are still Prince Yue and Prince Zhou, right!” There was no one else in the room. Although Old Madam was afraid, she said it directly.
Shao Yanru had never fallen in love with Prince Xin. How could she be so stupid to seduce Prince Xin?
“Previously, Prince Yue and Prince Zhou fought with each other for the sake of Big Sister, and they said…” Shao Wanru paused here.
“What did they say?” Old Madam asked anxiously.
Something had happened to Shao Yanru before, and she also knew something about it. The news from the palace said that Prince Yue and Prince Zhou had a dispute over Shao Yanru, and Shao Yanru accidentally hurt herself when persuading them, so she was allowed to rest in the Empress’s palace. After she got better, someone would send her out of the palace.
Unexpectedly, they fought with each other. It was not a good thing for two brothers to fight for a woman in an ordinary family, let alone in the palace. Although Old Madam asked about her granddaughter, she had already fallen into despair. She thought her eldest granddaughter was useless now!
“Prince Yue said that Prince Zhou and Big Sister had an ambiguous relations.h.i.+p and had tried to plot against him together in the past. Prince Zhou said that Prince Yue and Big Sister had known each other for a long time to plot against him. The Emperor was furious and wanted to punish Big Sister, so Big Sister committed suicide to redeem herself. Fortunately, she was saved. At that time, it happened in the Phoenix Palace of the Empress. In order not to be known by others, Big Sister chose to go to the Phoenix Palace to recover.”
Shao Wanru was telling the truth.
So many things happened, and she didn’t know them at all. Old Madam’s lips trembled, and there was almost no trace of blood on them. She tried to say something, but she felt dizzy. Her eyes suddenly darkened, and she heard a voice calling her from afar.
“Fifth… Fifth Miss, please help Old Madam!” Seeing that she couldn’t wake Old Madam up, Nanny Yu hurriedly turned around to pull Shao Wanru’s hand and wanted Shao Wanru to find out what happened to Old Madam.
“Are the old medicines still there? If so, give grandma two pills of them!” Shao Wanru said calmly. Old Madam made the old medicines herself, but Shao Wanru didn’t want to fetch them. “If it’s still not working, it’s better to go to the imperial palace to ask for an imperial physician!”
Before, she had done it once for an emergency, but now she didn’t want to have too much to do with Old Madam.
Moreover, Old Madam didn’t look as sick as she used to be. She had medicine with her, so she could be better with two pills. What had happened to Shao Yanru had happened. Shao Wanru didn’t believe that Old Madam hadn’t guessed about it. Maybe she didn’t know the details, but the final result had been determined.
It was impossible for Madam Dowager, who had experienced so much, to faint because she did not know of it.
Nanny Yu hurriedly went to get the medicine and fed Old Madam with water and the medicine. Only then did Old Madam slowly recover. She opened her eyes and looked around like a sad and powerless old woman.
After Nanny Yu helped her up, she looked at Shao Wanru and felt extremely sad. She reached out to pat the edge of the bed and asked Shao Wanru to sit down.
Then she said slowly in a low voice, “I raised your elder sister since she was a child, so I treated her differently. When she was young, she liked to dress up as a man, just like your father. At that time, your father was not here, so looking at her was like looking at your father when he was young. So my hope fell on her.”
Speaking of this, Old Madam shed tears. Nanny Yu hurriedly handed a handkerchief to persuade her. “Old Madam, don’t be sad. I know you. If First Miss hadn’t disguised as a boy and looked like the heir of a duke, you would have cried from time to time since you miss the heir of a duke so much. Fortunately, First Miss was by your side, so you could move on gradually!”
Shao Wanru lowered her head, looked at the ground in front of her, and raised the corners of her mouth silently. These words were for her to hear. Was this the reason why Old Madam was so partial to Shao Yanru?
At the moment of her rebirth, she didn’t care who Old Madam favored. The b.l.o.o.d.y facts of her last life had enabled her to see clearly who Old Madam favored. What was more, after her rebirth, Old Madam showed no mercy to her. The so-called love for her father had long disappeared after repeated schemes.
“Grandma, don’t be sad. It’s all over!” She looked up with a gentle and tired smile. Her face was a little pale, but it was mild.
“Well, I’ll listen to you. Your Big Sister was raised by my side for so many years. I just don’t understand why she has done such a stupid thing in the end. However, you have never been raised by me, but you are well-behaved and sensible. In the past, grandma neglected you. But I won’t do it again. Now it is your Third Aunt who is in charge of the mansion. If you need anything, you can ask someone to find your Third Aunt. If you feel reluctant to ask her, you can come to me!”
Madam Dowager looked kind and seemingly felt sorry for her.
This only made Shao Wanru feel more disgusted, but she didn’t show it on her face. She still nodded, neither too enthusiastically nor too coldly.
After affectionately talking to her granddaughter for a while, Old Madam considerately asked Shao Wanru to go back to rest.
After coming out of Old Madam’s courtyard, Shao Wanru returned to her own courtyard. The courtyard had already been prepared. After freshening up, Shao Wanru sat down leisurely and had the sumptuous dinner that had been prepared for her by the mansion. This was the most sumptuous meal since she entered Duke Xing’s Mansion. It could be seen that it had been specially arranged by the master.
After that, she sat under the window and wrote a piece of paper. When it dried, she put the ring she “picked up” into it and wrapped it up.
Some things should be settled. What should be hers should be hers. She was not willing to give it up at all.