Chapter 980 The Scene in the Previous Life Reappeared: the Woman Jumped to Her Death
Seeing the middle-aged woman run away, the crowd gave a burst of mocking laughter. Finally, many people suddenly realized that the woman was here to blackmail. Now that she had been exposed and might get involved in a serious lawsuit, how could she dare to stay?
A moment ago, she was a righteous businesswoman, but now her receding figure looked a little obscene in the eyes of the crowd.
“Which mansion sent her to stir up trouble? Aren’t all the coming and going customers Young Madams and Madams?” Someone asked in surprise. Zhang Qilan’s shocking words diverted their attention.
“Perhaps it’s done by their compet.i.tors. Red eyes are always in the same business!” Another person commented.
“Have you ever heard of what happened in the b.u.t.terfly Clothing Shop...” A well-informed busybody suddenly thought of something and mentioned it in a low voice.
Seeing that he would share a secret, many people immediately listened carefully. Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Tell What’s the matter? Does it have anything to do with what happened today?”
The man lowered his voice and continued, “I heard that a few days ago, Princess Chen had a dispute with Infanta Yuan’an here, at the stairs. Later, they even took the matter to the Palace, and Infanta Yuan’an suffered a great loss!”
Because this matter was related to Infanta Yuan’an and Princess Chen, few rumors spread out widely, so not many people knew about it!
“Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion?” Someone got it and gasped.
“It must be...”
“It should be...” Many people chimed in with others. Sure they would think so, for Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion had down many similar things.
In the past, people from the Great Elder Princess’ Mansion had vented their anger on many people who were not to blame. No one knew what had happened to these people.
Their words made sense. They hadn’t ever heard the b.u.t.terfly Clothing Shop had any conflict with anyone. Then, except for the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion, who else could it be behind this plot?
......
Someone who knew Madame Dong tried to soothe her. “Forget it. What else can you do? We common people don’t fight with officials!”
“That’s right. You can’t argue with them, can you? They are not rich and powerful!”
“Madame Dong, admit that it’s your bad luck. Peace breeds wealth. Give out some gifts to avoid the trouble!” Someone came up with an idea for Madame Dong!
... Madame Dong nodded and bowed to those warmhearted people around her, her face full of grat.i.tude.
Witnessing her humble att.i.tude, they were even more convinced that Madame Dong must have been wronged. They all felt sympathy for her. Since the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion picked on her, she’d better pay to avoid the misfortune. The b.u.t.terfly Clothing Shop could never afford to offend such a family.
At this time, there was no more fun to watch. After giving Madame Dong several kind suggestions, they left while discussing talk about it!
“Go and find out who that person is!” Shao Wanru rolled her watery eyes and looked at the onlooker who mentioned the grudge between Infanta Yuan’an and her.
It was this person who had brought up the matter between her and Infanta Yuan’an.
In that situation, the statement beneficial to Shao Wanru attracted everyone’s attention and s.h.i.+fted the responsibility to Infanta Yuan’an.
Although it was to Shao Wanru’s advantage, the matter that Madame Dong involved had already been solved without it. It was just that they didn’t know who was behind the dirty trick. Now, since the responsibility fell on the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion, the suspicion of Chu Liuyue had been removed.
It was true that the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion vented their anger on the b.u.t.terfly Clothing Shop. However, before Madame Dong gave a clear reply, people from Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion would not deal with her. Then, the Prince Yue’s Mansion was the only suspect left.
Compared with the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’ Mansion, the Prince Yue’s Mansion was also angry with the b.u.t.terfly Clothing Shop!
Few people knew the hidden reason: the two account books of the Fanglan Embroidery Shop led the Duke Yong’s Mansion to its tragic situation.
Only some people in the Prince Yue’s Mansion knew about this.
Qing’er nodded and withdrew silently. She was the most inconspicuous servant girl around Shao Wanru. It appeared that she wasn’t that favored either. Moreover, before she got promoted, she was a servant girl doing manual jobs. Thus, compared with other servants who began to serve Shao Wanru when they were young, Qing’er might not be so close to her.
When they went out, she always stayed aside, as if she had been sidelined.
But in fact, such an unfavorable situation made it the easiest for her to perform tasks outside without being noticed.
After Qing’er left, Shao Wanru looked at Zhang Qilan and asked, “Shall we go in or go back?”
“Since we’re out, let’s go for a walk!” Zhang Qilan was unwilling to leave like this. She turned her eyes and pointed to the intersection in front of them. “Let’s go there. The matter of Xiaowan has been solved, and we have nothing to do!”
Luo Xiaowan, also in a good mood, looked at Shao Wanru with eager eyes.
Seeing that both of them agreed, Shao Wanru could only nod and say, “Let’s go!”
They chose not to take the carriage and walked forward casually with their maids. No elders or old Nannies were around to stop them from doing the things they liked to try. The three of them strolled around joyfully and walked all the way to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Seeing the crowd flood back, they hurriedly entered a shop on the side to avoid others.
It turned out that those candidates attending the Palace Examination came out!
Shao Wanru abruptly raised her head and her face changed drastically. The memory of her last life popped into her mind. “It’s almost this place. Yes! It’s around here!”
She lifted the hem of her skirt and took a quick step forward, hurriedly looking out. Eventually, her gaze landed on a pavilion diagonally across the street from her. There should be a restaurant.
The four-floor building of the restaurant was high, which was the place for hanging the list of successful candidates. On the day the list was released, most of the candidates for the Palace Examination would be waiting there. Therefore, the business here was better than that in other places. Since the building was high enough, others could see whether the list had come out or not. The restaurant had a delightful name: Number One Scholar Restaurant!
It was actually the Number One Scholar Restaurant!
“My Lady, what’s wrong with you?” Yujie asked anxiously when she saw Shao Wanru’s face ghastly pale!
Her slightly flushed face suddenly became pale, and even the color of her lips faded, almost as transparent and cold as ice.
Shao Wanru held Yujie’s hand and barely stood firm with her support. Memories of the last life rushed into her mind. The time was not right, but the position was.
“Where was I at that time?” She turned her watery eyes and spotted a carriage at the entrance of another shop. “Yes, right! Near that carriage, I saw the maid jumping off the building!”
The list was released, and many people knew their rankings. Those who failed the exam would return to their hometown while those who succeeded were giving the former a farewell dinner. Therefore, many people were enjoying their feast in the Number One Scholar Restaurant. It was very lively. “At that time, Yan Xi also pa.s.sed the exam. He should also be drinking in this restaurant back then.”
“The people were right, the time was not right, and the position was right.” Shao Wanru’s watery eyes suddenly turned to a private room with open windows on the fourth floor in horror. She could not clearly see who was in the box from her position. It seemed to be a woman.
It gave her gooseflesh, and she shuddered all over.
She might have misjudged the time. Her present life was different from her last life. In her previous life, it was easy for w.a.n.g Shengxue to scheme against Yan Xi. However, with her unique presence in this life, w.a.n.g Shengxue could no longer scheme against Yan Xi smoothly, and hence some changes happened.
“Let’s go there and have a look!” Shao Wanru didn’t have time to explain and walked straight to the Number One Scholar Restaurant diagonally opposite.
“Well, I am also hungry. That restaurant is perfect!” Zhang Qilan readily agreed. After walking for such a long time, she wanted to find a place to rest. The Number One Scholar Restaurant was just right for her. When she used to think about visiting it, her Eldest Brother didn’t allow her to go. He said that it was a place filled with self-satisfied and dissolute scholars, definitely not a place for girls!
What he said instead tempted Zhang Qilan even more. Now that Shao Wanru had told her she would go there, she naturally had to follow up. She pulled Luo Xiaowan to go after Shao Wanru and entered the restaurant.
Those candidates for the Palace Examination had just finished the exam, so they were not in the mood to eat here. They would all go back to wash up and go to bed.
At present, the people waiting here were their families and friends, most of whom had gone out to pick up the candidates. It was rare for the Number One Scholar Restaurant to appear the less hustle and bustle.
The waiter was sharp-eyed. At first glance, he knew that Shao Wanru and the others were not from ordinary families, so he hurried to greet them with a smile.
“Is there any private room on the fourth floor?” Shao Wanru had calmed down at this time and asked softly.
“Yes... Sure, yes! Only one room is occupied, and the other rooms are available. Miss, you can choose as you like!” The waiter bowed and led the way.
Shao Wanru nodded and followed the waiter upstairs.
On the top floor, they didn’t see many private rooms. There was only one circle of ten or so rooms, much less than the private rooms downstairs. Most of the doors were slightly opened, and only one was tightly closed.
“It should be this room.” Shao Wanru walked to the door, looked at the entrance of the private room, and said, “This looks good. I want it!”
“Miss, I’m afraid it won’t work. There are guests inside!” The waiter said with a bitter face.
“The view of this room must be fantastic. How long has it been since the people inside entered?” Yujie, who understood Shao Wanru’s intention, went forward and asked. She then handed over a piece of silver in her hand and added, “Our master has taken a fancy to this room. Would you kindly make an exception for us and ask the guests inside to change a place?”
The waiter was overjoyed when he saw the two taels of silver in his hand. He hastily said, “The guests inside are also two ladies. One of them left, and the other stayed inside. It’s been a long time since we last met. Perhaps she would leave soon. Miss, please wait for a moment. I’ll go in and ask her!”
“Thank you!” Yujie nodded.
The waiter pushed the door open and saw a woman sitting inside. Because both sides were women, the waiter did not close the door.
Through the door, Shao Wanru could see the woman inside. She was the woman who jumped out of the building that she saw in her previous life. After accusing Yan Xi of abandoning his wife and child, she jumped off the building and died.
Shao Wanru’s face suddenly turned ice-cold. How could there also be such a woman in this life?
“Miss, may I trouble you...” The waiter came in and bowed to the woman first. Seeing that she turned her head to look out of the window and did not seem to notice him coming in, he coughed.
As he spoke, he saw the woman stand up and turn around. Her scary smile gave him a rude shock, and he took two steps back in horror.