Chapter 941 Shao Jie’er Enters Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion
“Can it be covered without any trace?” A ghostly voice came slowly from the darkness.
“Yes, it has been well handled. Don’t worry! No one will figure it out!” a woman said in a low and soft voice, which sounded pleasant and weird in the dark.
“Good! If you hadn’t succeeded, I would never help you again!” The ghostly voice was so intermittent and unreal that it wasn’t like a human being’s voice.
“I never fail. Besides, it was just a piece of cake!” the woman replied indifferently with a hint of disapproval.
“You should be careful even if you are dealing with a trivial matter! Even the Empress suffered losses. Are you the Empress?” The unpleasant voice came again, and then it became impolite. “Let’s call it a day. You can leave now. I’ll contact you when it is necessary. You’d better not make any rash act in the near future!”
“Do you mean that we take no more action until Prince Chen leaves the capital?” The woman sounded a little unconvinced.
“If you can’t bear to wait, don’t come to see me again!” The weird voice became harsh and cold.
“Fine! I’ll keep a low profile!” The woman submitted. Then she listened carefully and only heard the sound of the wind in the dark.
She was in a towering old Buddhist paG.o.da close to the Cold Palace, so people rarely would go there.
The Cold Palace was located in the outer peripheral areas of the Imperial Palace. The old Buddhist paG.o.da near it was easy to be seen outside the Imperial Palace. Such a deserted place didn’t even have a ghost visitor, let alone the possibility that an imperial concubine came here to enjoy the scenery.
The woman showed up from the shadow of the paG.o.da. She looked up at the dark sky and saw a waning moon with faint light. Her whole body, including the head, was wrapped in a cloak. When raising her head, she showed her beautiful outline. That was Shao Yanru!
She was on the third floor of the paG.o.da and carefully went down the broken stairs along the side of the building. She stood still after reaching the ground and turned around to look behind with caution.
Moyan came out from behind a tree and whispered, “Young mistress!”
Marquis Xing’s Mansion had just sent her to serve Shao Yanru.
“Let’s go!” Shao Yanru said with cold eyes.
“Are you not going to stay and have a peep?” Moyan looked up and reminded Shao Yanru carefully. They had not known who the person was yet.
“No! We might expose ourselves to others if we stay here longer!” Shao Yanru shook her head and looked up at the sky again. She could no longer stay here. Once she was exposed, she couldn’t explain herself.
It was not her wish to become a Secondary Consort, the imperial concubine of the lowest rank. But there was only an advantage. At least the Emperor had no interest in her, which made her feel hopeful.
The Emperor didn’t like her, nor would she like him. She still aimed at Chu Liuyue. She wanted to be Chu Liuyue’s wife, the future Empress, who could stand high in the Imperial Palace overlooking all the women in the world.
In history, it indeed once happened that a low-level imperial concubine became the empress of the next emperor. With such a truth, Shao Yanru persuaded her father to send helpers to her. It was not hopeless. It could even say that she had great hope. At least in the Palace, it was no surprise to meet a prince!
It was much more possible than outside the Palace!
As for the person she met in the paG.o.da, she was shocked and panicked, but more surprised to find that the person not only had no evil intentions towards her but also offered her help after guessing right all her secret thoughts. She wanted to know who he was, but she did not dare to offend him.
“It doesn’t matter who he is now. I can figure it out later. At least keeping a friend is much better than having an enemy in the Palace.”
Moreover, Shao Yanru was sure that there must be a secret path in the paG.o.da, and that person knew it well. Every time he showed up or disappeared, he left no trace at all.
It was good for her. A person offering secret help to her was the best support.
Han Dan had been waiting there for a long time when Shao Yanru returned to her residence. When hearing the knocking, Han Dan hastened to open the door and let them in. After they entered the room, Han Dan looked behind them and quietly closed the door. The outside became quiet again, only shadows of trees swaying.
“Young mistress!” When Han Dan entered the inner room, Shao Yanru sat there calmly drinking tea.
“Did you send the letter?” Shao Yanru looked up and asked.
“Yes, I did. You can rest a.s.sured, young mistress!” Han Dan answered.
“Good!” Shao Yanru’s eyes fell on Han Dan’s face, which made the latter lower her head. Then Shao Yanru said slowly, “Both of you are my most trustworthy servant girls. As long as I make it in the future, I will definitely make you enjoy wealth forever!”
“Thank you, young mistress!” Moyan and Han Dan knelt down to express their grat.i.tude!
“Don’t mention it! I am in a predicament in the Palace now, and you two are the only ones I trust. Though we are master and servants, we have been going through many difficulties together. I have long regarded you as my confidantes. If I ascend to a high position in the future, you are the only people I will care about!” Shao Yanru sighed with her head slightly raised. Her delicate face looked soft in the dim light, making her words sound sincere.
Moyan trembled, but Han Dan looked very excited.
They looked at each other, stood up together, and moved to stand behind Shao Yanru with quite different expressions.
“Tomorrow… tomorrow…” Shao Yanru murmured some obscure words in a low voice. But she didn’t go on, leaving infinite s.p.a.ce for their imagination…
Fortunately, there was not too much publicity about what had happened in Prince Chen’s Mansion. At least the civilians in the capital knew nothing about it. They only knew about the affairs of Duke Yong’s Mansion and Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Obviously, Duke Yong’s Mansion would lose its t.i.tle of n.o.bility soon. The heir of Duke Yong was so infuriated that he even ran away from home. But soon after that he was found and brought back home.
Marquis Xing’s Mansion also became notorious for being degraded from a Duke’s Mansion to a Marquis one.
Old Madam of Marquis Xing’s Mansion lost her reputation for oppressing her juniors. The scandal that Shao Caihuan replaced Shao Jie’er to marry Commandery Prince Qing brought disgrace upon all the other sisters. “How could Marquis Xing’s Mansion defy the seniority and do such a thing? Who dare to marry a Miss of Marquis Xing’s Mansion from now on?”
Under such circ.u.mstances, Shao Jie’er was carried into Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion by a small sedan chair. According to the Empress, Shao Jie’er had to enter the mansion first, though she didn’t like Commandery Prince Qing, one of the royal members. As for her status, it all depended on whether Commandery Prince Qing would give her a t.i.tle.
Soon after Chu Qing rescued Shao Jie’er from the water in the Imperial Palace, the Emperor suggested Chu Qing take her as a consort and even asked an official and the Grand Prince to help register her name on the royal family list. However, now Shao Jie’er finally entered the mansion, but she was merely an inferior concubine without a t.i.tle. And the Emperor said that he did not want to intervene.
“Chu Qing will make the decision himself,” the Emperor thought.
It was the order by the Empress when she was in a fury that Shao Jie’er must enter Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion. No one from Marquis Xing’s Mansion dared to defy the Empress, because it was not Duke Xing’s Mansion as it had been before. Nothing would change no matter how much Shao Jie’er cried. She could do nothing but be put into the sedan chair and carried to Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion to suppress the scandal.
As for Shao Caihuan, she had no intention to get married these days. She told her mother that she didn’t care what others said, nor did she want to marry anyone. She would rather live a lonely life.
Third Madam could do nothing but return to her courtyard to cry. Neither her eldest daughter nor second daughter could marry out. After all, all the girls in Marquis Xing’s Mansion had lost their reputations. On thinking that it was Old Madam’s fault, Third Madam couldn’t help gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth with hatred in her heart.
“If it weren’t for that old woman, my two daughters wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
Shao Yanru was in the Palace, Shao Wanru had married into Prince Chen’s Mansion, and Shao Jie’er had just entered Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion. For a time, Marquis Xing’s Mansion, which had been in constant disputes, became peaceful now. It was said that Old Madam fell ill again. Her new granddaughter-in-law was said to be a virtuous woman. She would go to take care of Old Madam as long as she was free.
Third Madam was also sick, and Fourth Miss served her every day!
The whole Marquis Xing’s Mansion became depressed. The servants who used to be self-righteous outside behaved themselves now and did not dare to have any ulterior motives.
There was nothing to be proud of in their mansion anymore!
A small sedan chair was carried out of Duke Yong’s Mansion through the back door, followed by a servant girl who was wiping the tears on her face with her head lowered.
After making several turns, the sedan chair entered a big mansion through the back door.
After the sedan chair went into the mansion, an old maid there stepped forward and greeted the person inside. “First Miss!”
The servant girl stepped forward and lifted the curtain, behind which Qin Yuru appeared. She got off with Mei Xue’s help.
Mei Xue’s face was swollen with red and the corner of her mouth was broken. However, Qin Yuru looked more miserable, with messy hair and swollen face with a bruise. It was obvious that she had been beaten. The makeup on her face was a mess, making her no longer as beautiful as before.
Her gloomy eyes full of hatred, Qin Yuru ignored the old maid and directly went inside with Mei Xue’s help.
She was about to meet Madam Di, the only one she could rely on.
The old maid stood up and looked at Qin Yuru’s back, secretly taunting her. “First Miss is becoming more and more disgraceful now. No wonder her husband’s family taught her a lesson. It seems that she made trouble again. Messes come in succession to us! Who can bear to live such a life?
“Neither First Miss nor her husband is right!
“Fortunately, our general has Madam Shui and Young Master. Otherwise, General’s Mansion would have fallen. In the past, General would take care of First Miss and his son-in-law, but now he just leaves them alone. Duke Yong’s Mansion once asked our mansion for help when it was in trouble last time, which, however, caused more trouble.
“Duke Yong’s Mansion is indeed not a good family!”
“First… First Miss…” When Qin Yuru walked inside gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth, a surprised voice stopped her. She combed her hair back and then saw a beautiful servant girl. Qin Yuru didn’t recognize her, so she just looked at her coldly.
“First Miss, I am Qing Xue. Do you not remember me?” Qing Xue was excited and looked at Qin Yuru with red eyes.
“Why are you here?” Qin Yuru asked. She remembered Qing Xue was Madam Di’s servant girl. She looked around to be sure that they were in the garden, but Qing Xue didn’t dress like a first-cla.s.s servant girl.
Qin Yuru rarely went home. If she did, she came back because she had a quarrel with her husband’s family. Moreover, she would be sent or invited back to Duke Yong’s Mansion soon. That was why she paid little attention to the affairs in her parents’ home, let alone Madam Di. She didn’t even notice the change in Madam Di’s servants.
“I… I live here now!” Qing Xue lowered her head and murmured.