Chapter 344 - Someone Secretly Passed on the Message

Chapter 344 Someone Secretly Passed on the Message

Nanny Duan turned and walked to the door, lifted the curtain, and saw a maid with sweat all over her face outside the curtain.

“What did you say?”

“The Empress Dowager sent someone to announce that she summons the Second Miss to go to the palace!” The maid finished her words after taking a breath.

“Why and when?” Madam Dowager asked anxiously.

“I don’t know why, but it’s urgent. Now the carriage from the palace has been prepared in the doorway, and they ask the Second Miss to go to the palace immediately!” the maid hurriedly said.

It was such an emergency that Madam Dowager was shocked. The Empress Dowager wasn’t in charge of domestic affairs of the palace, and the Empress was usually the one summoning people when there was something to deal with. This time the Empress Dowager actually summoned Qin Wanru in person.

“Grandma, it’s okay. I should be summoned for what happened at the entrance of the palace before. It’s related to Prince Chen. I heard that Prince Chen is the most beloved grandson of the Empress Dowager!” Seeing Madam Dowager shocked with her face changing, Qin Wanru hurriedly consoled her.

“Prince Chen’s condition has worsened?” Madam Dowager was not comforted, but increasingly panicked as she thought about it. Prince Chen was in poor health. No one thought that he would live long. It was said that he was fine before. However, if his condition really worsened, the Empress Dowager would inevitably vent her anger on Qin Wanru.

“I don’t think so. If his condition has really worsened, the Empress Dowager won’t summon me peacefully at this time!” Qin Wanru said with a smile, a gentle expression and no panic.

Seeing Qin Wanru’s expression, Madam Dowager was slightly relieved. She sat down again and told Qin Wanru with concern, “You can go now. Be careful. Remember not to make any indiscreet remarks or look around at will. You can’t afford to offend any master in the palace!”

“Grandma, rest assured. I will be careful!” Qin Wanru nodded and promised. She then bowed to Madam Dowager respectfully and headed for the outer court with Yujie.

At this moment, Qin Huaiyong also got the news. He hurried over and encountered Qin Wanru on his way. Qin Huaiyong exhorted Qin Wanru to be careful with concern. After Qin Wanru left, Qin Huaiyong went directly to Madam Dowager’s Xinning Pavilion instead of returning to the outer courtyard.

The carriage had stopped at the gate of the mansion. Although it was not big, it was different from the carriages outside the palace and looked more exquisite. Qin Wanru got in the carriage with Yujie, and the carriage went all the way to the palace gate.

Upon her arrival at the palace gate, the eunuch sent to pick her up showed the pass to the guards at the palace gate. The guards checked it carefully and then let the carriage pass the palace gate.

After the carriage entered the palace, Qin Wanru got in a palace palanquin. Two eunuchs carried it all the way to Palace of Benevolent Peace of the Empress Dowager.

It was different from the last time she entered the palace. She was the only one along the way, and the two eunuchs went in a hurry. It took much less time than before.

Upon her arrival at Palace of Benevolent Peace, Qin Wanru looked at the other two palace palanquins parked in front of the palace in astonishment with slight deepness in her watery eyes. It seemed that she was not the only one summoned today. She recovered from slight anxiety.

Chu Liuchen should be fine.

A palace maid with a delicate face was waiting in front of the palace. Seeing Qin Wanru come over, she stepped forward, bowed to her and asked her, “Are you the Second Miss Qin?”

“Exactly!”

“Old Madam has been waiting for a long time. Please come in with me!” the palace maid said with a smile.

Qin Wanru nodded, and then stepped on the stairs behind her.

At the gate of the palace, the palace maid asked her to wait for a while and got in to report. She then came out and led Qin Wanru to go inside.

Qin Wanru bowed her head and walked in obediently. As soon as she entered the hall, she heard the laughter inside and looked steadily forward at once.

There were not a few people that were about four or five in the hall. On hearing the sounds at the door, they all looked at Qin Wanru.

“This is the Second Miss of the Qin’s Mansion. She’s pretty indeed. Your Highness, you brought such a pretty girl here, and she out-competes all of us!” It was a new imperial concubine beloved by the emperor. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, she looked gorgeous. At this moment, she covered her face with a fan and said with a sweet smile.

“Exactly. She’s so gorgeous. Her Highness likes another pretty girl and doesn’t like us anymore!” Another imperial concubine said with a smile. They all stayed in the Empress Dowager’s palace after paying respects to her. They had been quite familiar with the Empress Dowager and enjoyed due respect in front of her. So they boldly teased her.

“Nonsense. I just heard something interesting and specifically called her over to ask about it. What makes you think that I don’t like you anymore!” the Empress Dowager said with a gentle smile, while looking Qin Wanru up and down with a trace of sharpness and criticism in her eyes and frowning.

It was really shameful that two sisters of the Qin’s Mansion had a fight on the street for a pair of blood jade bracelets. At first, she was quite dissatisfied with Qin Wanru. At this time, she was increasingly displeased with Qin Wanru. Fighting on the street for a pair of bracelets, Qin Wanru was so petty.

If Chen’er favored other ladies and rewarded other ladies in the future, would she also mess with Chen’er and mess up Prince Chen’s Mansion? In poor health, Chen’er couldn’t bear this kind of trouble maker.

Sensing the sharp eyes from above, Qin Wanru became increasingly cautious. After entering the hall, she looked steadily at the Empress Dowager sitting on the high seat, knelt down, respectfully bowed and said, “I pay my respects to Your Highness!”

“Look up!” The Empress Dowager’s voice came from above.

Qin Wanru raised her head with her long eyelashes fluttering above her eyes, and looked calm and natural.

Seeing her unhurried look, the Empress Dowager showed a faint smile on her face. The Empress Dowager hoped to choose the best concubine for Chu Liuchen. Even if the girl had no powerful family background and was unqualified to be the princess, she couldn’t be that kind of girl who always made a fuss and wasn’t decent enough.

“Your Highness, the Second Miss of the Qin’s Mansion turns out to be so pretty. I didn’t see her face clearly. Now I take a closer look and find that she’s extremely gorgeous!” An imperial concubine said with a smile, “Compared with this Second Miss Qin, we could be considered middle-aged!”

It was an imperial concubine who was about twenty years old.

Her words made the Empress Dowager laugh. “If you are middle-aged, I should be considered weighed down with age!”

“Your Highness, you are incomparable to us. Your Highness looks much younger than me. People may consider me a little bit older than Your Highness if they don’t know our age!” The imperial concubine had a glib tongue. She flattered the Empress Dowager with a smile.

“It’s true. Your Highness is much younger than us. One looks young in a good mood, unlike us who look like withering!” Another imperial concubine teased.

“Your Highness, I wouldn’t be able to recognize Your Highness when my first meeting Your Highness if no one told me!” The new imperial concubine also joined them teasing.

Her words made the Empress Dowager laugh and curse, “You are so bold to make fun of me.”

“Your Highness, we don’t dare to do that!”

“Yes, Your Highness. Only the heaven could prove our filial respect to you. How dare we make fun of Your Highness!” …

Hearing the laughter from above, Qin Wanru touched her knees with dull pain caused by kneeling. She knew that the Empress Dowager was showing her severity and didn’t ask her to get up on purpose.

Blinking her watery eyes, she remembered the Empress Dowager seemed to be not so hostile to her when they met last time. Was it because of what had happened yesterday? At the thought of this, she knew what was going on.

After a long while, the Empress Dowager seemed to have just seen Qin Wanru, withdrew her smile and said lightly, “Get up and sit aside!”

The palace maid leading the way came over and helped her up, and then helped her to the stool aside.

“In front of Your Highness, I shouldn’t have a seat!” Despite her trembling knees, Qin Wanru still stood in an orderly manner in front of the stool and did not sit down.

“You don’t have to be overcourteous. Sit down now!” the Empress Dowager said without carrying any attitudes and expressions.

The palace maid held her hand and let her sit down. This time, Qin Wanru didn’t decline and sat down naturally.

“What happened on the street yesterday? I heard that you quarreled with your elder sister on the street? How could you do this as a Miss from an aristocratic family?” After Qin Wanru sat down, the Empress Dowager said with her face darkening.

Hearing the reprimand of the Empress Dowager, others in the hall even breathed lightly at the moment.

Qin Wanru had prepared herself, and respectfully said at once, “Report to Your Highness, I didn’t quarrel with my elder sister yesterday.”

“It couldn’t be a rumor. Now the whole capital is gossiping about your disgraceful affair. Could it be possible that everyone mistook it?” the Empress Dowager said unkindly.

“My elder sister and I were originally in a carriage. However, at the thought that my grandma felt uncomfortable, I intended to get out of the carriage and get in the carriage in front to accompany my grandma. My elder sister helped me out and dropped the bracelets. My elder sister was very angry, but did not beat and curse me on the street. She just picked them up anxiously, and I helped her to do that. She accidentally pushed me. With numerous people on the street, some people didn’t see it clearly, so they mistook that my elder sister beat and cursed me!”

Qin Wanru said calmly.

Young Madams from aristocratic families had their own etiquette. Even if what had happened yesterday was true, as a younger sister, she couldn’t speak ill of her younger sister in front of others. Moreover, the sisters of the Qin’s Mansion were considered as a whole in front of outsiders. If Qin Yuru’s reputation was damaged, it would also do harm to Qin Wanru’s reputation, not to mention that someone had deliberately misrepresented the news.

The purpose was to make Qin Wanru punished by the Empress Dowager.

They quarreled and fought with each other on the street because of a pair of jade bracelets? This sentence could have the same meaning as what Nanny Yu said before. It meant that the incident was started by Qin Wanru. Otherwise, why were they said to quarrel with each other for a pair of jade bracelets? The only pair of jade bracelets was the pair Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion gave Qin Yuru.

Qin Yuru got the jade bracelets, so she certainly would not quarrel with Qin Wanru because of the jade bracelets. In this case, the truth must be that Qin Wanru was jealous of Qin Yuru, so she quarreled with Qin Yuru and made such a scene.

The person who passed on the message was extremely malicious, because she knew that Qin Wanru could not bluntly say that the incident was caused by Qin Yuru in the presence of the Empress Dowager.

However, Qin Wanru didn’t know who deliberately passed on this plausible message. She looked towards the chairs beside her. There were two Young Madams sitting there. Based on their dress, she could tell that they weren’t the imperial concubines in the palace, but were carried here with the palace palanquins she had seen outside. But both of them lowered their heads. She did not recognize who they were for a moment. There was slight deepness in her eyes.

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