Chapter 850 Big Trouble During the Wedding
She not only suffered a loss for no reason and was unable to talk about it but also felt extremely offended by it!
Since the matter had been solved, Shao Wanru asked the Nanny in charge to keep an eye on it and rush to report to her if there was anything she could not deal with.
She went back to Piaoyun Courtyard and changed her clothes.
When Shao Wanru came back, the bride’s bridal sedan chair had entered the mansion. She didn’t go back to the tea room again but directly went to Qiuhui Courtyard to see the bride with Yujie.
Qiuhui Courtyard was covered with bright red colors. The carpets on the floor of the porch and curtains hung on the door were all red, which built an atmosphere of happiness.
In the bridal chamber, with the veil on her head removed, the bride was sitting on the bed with shyness, listening to the praises from the crowd in the room.
“Fifth Sister, you are here too! Let’s go in together!” Shao Caihuan happened to arrive at the same time and invited Shao Wanru with a smile when they met at the door.
Shao Wanru nodded, and then they entered the bridal chamber together.
There were some Madams and Misses from the bride’s family in the bridal chamber. When they saw the two, they bowed and made jokes. The whole room was full of laughter and cheer.
Shao Wanru looked at Zhao Xiran with a smile. Today, Zhao Xiran looked as commonly shy as a bride, completely different from that day on which she showed indifference to her marriage. Only at this moment did it look like that she had married into Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Standing aside calmly and watching Shao Caihuan join others to make fun of the bride, Shao Wanru just smiled slightly and did not show excessive intimacy or coldness.
Some of them had never seen Shao Wanru before, and they were amazed by her beautiful appearance. They looked at the bride sitting on the bed and then at Shao Wanru who was not dressed meticulously, and secretly made a comparison on the two in their minds, after which they couldn’t help praising that Fifth Miss Shao was really beautiful!
Even the bride, who was in an exquisite wedding dress, paled in front of her.
The banquet had begun, and the ladies in the bridal chamber went away one by one. Shao Wanru and Shao Caihuan as the host were not in a hurry, so they stepped aside and made way for them to go first.
In a moment, the bridal chamber quietened down.
“Fifth Sister, shall we also go there now?” Shao Caihuan looked at Shao Wanru and asked.
Shao Wanru hesitated. She and Shao Caihuan each had their own functions, so they did not have to go to the banquet right now. Even if they went there, they were not in a hurry to have lunch.
“Third Sister, Fifth Sister, please don’t go yet!” Zhao Xiran, who had been sitting on the bed like a mute, suddenly asked them to stay.
“What’s the matter, Sister Zhao?” The two of them turned around together and changed the way they addressed her with a smile. Since she had married into Duke Xing’s Mansion, there was no First Miss Zhao anymore, but only Madam Zhao, the First Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Zhao Xiran stood up and walked to her dressing table, from a drawer at the top of which she took out a jewelry box and then said to them with a smile, “You two have been busy with my affairs until now. I’m afraid you won’t even have a peaceful lunch. Thank you, my two sisters. Here are two palace flowers I made by myself. I want to give them to you as thanksgiving gifts.”
Zhao Xiran said as she presented the jewelry box open in front of them.
They looked in the box and saw two delicate silk flowers.
“They are so beautiful!” Shao Caihuan’s eyes lit up and she reached out to take out the purple palace flower. “I have never seen such beautiful palace flowers. I am afraid that even in the palace there is no such beautiful palace flower, right?”
These two silk flowers were not only in the shape of a flower but also each stuck with a pendant, which made the palace flowers even more charming.
In Duke Xing’s Mansion, there were silk flowers made in palace, most of which were awarded by the masters in the palace. Not to mention others, Shao Wanru herself had several boxes given by Empress Dowager. But compared with the ones in front of her, they were obviously more beautiful, with some small branches and leaves scattered around.
“I am glad that you like them. I made them by myself and I was so afraid that you would dislike them!” Zhao Xiran breathed a sigh of relief, which made people have a good impression of her.
“You are too polite, Sister Zhao. If these flowers are not beautiful, no flowers in the world can be said to be beautiful!” Shao Caihuan said with a smile. She did not put down the purple flower in her hand. She liked the purple one.
“Thank you, Sister Zhao!” Shao Wanru also thanked her with a polite smile.
The one left in the box was a light white-and-pink silk flower, with elegance mixed up with a little charm. It was the exact color that Shao Wanru was fond of.
The two flowers happened to be to both Shao Wanru’s and Shao Caihuan’s tastes.
“Don’t mention it. I’m sorry to trouble you today!” Zhao Xiran bowed deeply and said.
Not daring to accept her salute, they both bowed in return.
As it was getting late, Shao Caihuan and Shao Wanru said goodbye and went out. They had to go now, for fear that Old Madam and Third Madam needed their help.
The two sisters went on their separate ways at the gate of Qiuhui Courtyard for their own business.
Shao Wanru went to the tea room. At this time, people in the tea room were not so busy. Everyone was cleaning up and seemed to be in a good mood. The Nanny in charge smiled with great happiness when she saw Shao Wanru was there.
Because the tea room prepared a dessert called fried salty Spring rolls, many servant girls and old maids who served the guests with them were awarded, including Nanny in charge. Moreover, Old Madam specially awarded all people working in the tea room. All of this was owed to Fifth Miss’s good idea.
When she saw Shao Wanru again, she certainly flattered her more.
“Fifth Miss, you haven’t had lunch yet, have you? Everything is fine here. You can go to have your meal!” Nanny in charge said with a smile.
Shao Wanru looked around and confirmed that nothing was wrong. She nodded and turned around to find a place to have lunch.
After lunch, some guests said goodbye and left one after another. Old Madam called all her granddaughters to see them off with her.
Among her three granddaughters, Shao Wanru was praised most by the guests. Even if their aim was not to flatter Rui’an Great Elder Princess, it was certainly to Prince Chen.
Many people had been confused before why Empress Dowager would choose the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion as the partner of her most favored Prince Chen. Now they knew the reason when they saw her in the flesh. They couldn’t help but sigh what a good decision Empress Dowager had made to choose such a beauty. Of course, everyone knew that Rui’an Great Elder Princess must be involved in the decision.
Otherwise, the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion would not be good enough for Prince Chen.
However, she didn’t match him in ident.i.ty. But in terms of appearance, several Old Madams who had seen Chu Liuchen would never deny that if they two stood together, it would look like the handsome man and the beautiful woman were made for each other!
So everyone praised Shao Wanru a lot in many aspects, from her beautiful look to her virtue of filial piety to any new trick they had just thought. Shao Wanru almost became a flawless woman in their praises.
Every time it happened, Shao Wanru would lower her head with shyness, looking like a little girl who didn’t know what to do. She looked very well-behaved, which was also approved by all these Old Madams, who nodded and praised that Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion was a good teacher and had taught Fifth Miss Shao well.
Old Madam accepted all these compliments.
Most of the women guests left after lunch, and only some close relatives stayed for dinner. So there were few guests to serve in the afternoon, and the tea room was less busy. Shao Wanru also had time to go back to her courtyard to have a break, after which she went back to her position.
As soon as she sat down in the courtyard where the tea room was located, an old maid ran in with anxiety. When she saw Shao Wanru, she breathed a sigh of relief but said anxiously, “Fifth Miss, go and have a look! Something bad happened!”
“What’s the matter?” Shao Wanru asked in surprise. In general, when something went wrong, they should report it to Old Madam and Third Madam instead of her!
“It’s Prince Chen… something happened to him…” The old maid took a few more breaths and said, “Old Madam asked me to ask you to deal with it…”
Shao Wanru narrowed her eyes instantly and said with a cold look, “What do you mean by saying that something happened to Prince Chen?”
“Why would Prince Chen have an accident in our mansion?” Yujie also asked with anxiety.
The old maid wiped the sweat on her face with her hands. She was anxious, but she had to be calm and make it clear. In fact, it was not Chu Liuchen who had an accident. It should be said that Chu Liuzhou and Chu Liuyue were making trouble.
Unfortunately, it had something to do with Shao Wanru.
After hearing the old maid’s detailed report, Shao Wanru was out of patience. Followed by the old maid and Yujie, she rushed to the outer court.
There was a fight, which was relevant to Prince Chen and Prince Zhou. The other two princes seemed to be involved too. That was a huge problem!
A man’s resting place in the outer court was in a mess, but it only happened inside the courtyard. There were people guarding outside and no one else was allowed to come in. Shao Wanru was also blocked as soon as she reached there.
“Go and report to Old Madam that I have been here!” Shao Wanru stopped and said slowly to the person who blocked her.
The guard nodded and ran to report to Old Madam. After the accident, Old Madam and Shao Jing came at once and gave the order of setting cordons around the entire courtyard to prevent others from coming in it.
It was a day of great joy for Duke Xing’s Mansion today. There were servants not only of Duke Xing’s Mansion but also other mansions. So it was easy that there would be some bad rumors.
Shao Wanru didn’t wait long outside before an old maid of Old Madam came to lead her in. The first place she was led to was not the main room, where there seemed to be plenty of people, some of whom were having a fierce quarrel in loud voices.
In the wing room, Old Madam sat with a gloomy face. After Shao Wanru came in, she pointed aside, signaling Shao Wanru to sit down. She frowned tightly, and the atmosphere in the room was very depressing.
After bowing to her, Shao Wanru sat down beside Old Madam and kept silent, waiting for her to speak. She understood that she was not called over by Old Madam in such a hurry for watching the fun. She could even hear the noise from the main room. It seemed that Old Madam was unable to suppress it.
“Fifth Girl, can you invite Prince Chen to come?” Hearing another quarrel over there, Old Madam couldn’t help frowning, and she pinched and relaxed the muscle between her eyebrows. It should be a good day, but now it was about to become a disaster, which made Old Madam very helpless.