Chapter 645 Princess Zhou in the Last Life
âMadam of Duke Xing, arenât you going to look into it? After all, itâs a gift from the imperial palace.â Infanta Yuanâan looked up and asked curiously as if she just asked casually.
âOf course, I will. Nevertheless, itâs related to Old Madam, so I have to start from Old Madamâs courtyard!â Madam of Duke Xing made an excuse with a forced smile.
âAlthough itâs more convenient to start from Old Madamâs courtyard, how could an old maid be so daring?â Infanta Yuanâan looked at the maids and old maids in the courtyard and said.
Madam of Duke Xingâs face almost stiffened. Although they were all maids and old maids, each of them had connections with other servants in Duke Xingâs Mansion. If she dealt with them all, it would break the peace of the entire Duke Xingâs Mansion and even cause a lot of trouble.
Moreover, none of them was innocent!
Madam of Duke Xing decided that she could never let that happen. If the request was made by Shao Wanru, as an elder, she could use Old Madam to excuse herself from looking into the matter. However, the request was made by Infanta Yuanâan. At this moment, Madam of Duke Xing began to regret bringing Infanta Yuanâan, who was supposed to be the witness of Shao Wanruâs crude and rude behavior.
Madam of Duke Xing had intended to show Infanta Yuanâan that Shao Wanru was so disrespectful to her elder that she dealt with the servant sent by her elder on the first day she moved to Duke Xingâs Mansion. She didnât expect that she would lift a rock only to drop it on her own feet at this time!
âCome on, lock them up and forbid them to meet anyone before we find out the truth!â Madam of Duke Xing gnashed her teeth and had no choice but to say so.
Madam of Duke Xing had intended to bluff it out. However, now she definitely could not end it by pushing the old maid forward to take the blame. She had to talk it over with her daughter after returning and see how many servants she should push forward and who should they be. However, the more servants she pushed forward, the more criticisms she would receive as the hostess of Duke Xingâs Mansion. Thinking that others would inevitably gossip about her evil intentions behind her back, Madam of Duke Xing was so furious that she almost spat blood.
It was discovered in front of Infanta Yuanâan that the old maid stole a gift from the imperial palace. She had intended to bluff it out by making a scapegoat of the old maid. Now that Infanta Yuanâan had asked her to look into it, she could not reduce it into a minor one. The Empress Dowager would probably ask about it personally one day. If Duke Xingâs Mansion could not give a proper explanation, they would be rebuked by the Empress Dowager!
âMadam, you are as fair as I expect!â Infanta Yuanâan said with a slight smile and joyfully watched the maids and old maids taken away by a group of people. After that, she looked towards Shao Wanru, as if she had just seen her. After looking Shao Wanru up and down a few times, she said slowly, âAre you Ruiâan Great Elder Princessâs granddaughter, the Fifth Miss of Duke Xingâs Mansion?â
Shao Wanru bowed sideways and nodded gently and politely.
âI am Ruiping Great Elder Princessâs granddaughter, Infanta Yuanâan!â Infanta Yuanâan said with a gentle look, looking at Shao Wanru with no obvious emotion in her eyes. The obvious contempt in her eyes had been replaced by curiosity.
Shao Wanru felt her heart skipped a beat and remembered who Infanta Yuanâan was. She was Chu Liuzhouâs consort, the future Princess Zhou. Shao Wanru had heard that she was dignified, decent, and impartial and had been widely praised among the Misses from aristocratic families.
In the last life, Infanta Yuanâan did marry Chu Liuzhou and almost became the Crown Princess. If it were not for Chu Liuzhouâs rebellion, she would have been the Crown Princess. Although Shao Wanru had never met her, Princess Zhou at that time, Princess Zhou enjoyed a good reputation in the imperial palace.
But later, Prince Zhou was defeated and mistakenly killed in the rebellion. Although Infanta Yuanâan, who almost became the Crown Princess, was fine, she, who had no children, also lost her power and stayed in the declining Prince Zhouâs Mansion.
Infanta Yuanâan was still alive when Shao Wanru got killed.
âGreetings, Infanta Yuanâan!â Shao Wanru said in little astonishment and bowed again.
Although her grandma and Ruiping Great Elder Princess were both princesses, they were not very close. Ruiping Great Elder Princess married a childe from an aristocratic family, which inherited the title later and lived a smooth life with children and even grandchildren now. Infanta Yuanâan was even ennobled as an infanta not long after she was born.
It could be said that she had both the title of nobility and power, which made her the best candidate for a princess. She was even better than Shao Yanru. After all, she was an infanta with a fief.
âAlthough you are the granddaughter of Great Elder Princess, you canât cross the line. Madam of Duke Xing is in charge of Duke Xingâs Mansion anyway!â Infanta Yuanâan said with a smile and bowed sideways back to Shao Wanru, looking very kind. Although what she said was unpleasant, her kindness made it acceptable.
As the descendant of another Great Elder Princess, it was very convincing for her to advise Shao Wanru in this way, and people would even consider that she was reasonable and sensible and didnât make use of her identity as a member of the royal family to suppress others.
Meanwhile, what she said made Shao Wanru appear to be someone making use of her identity to suppress others, although Madam of Duke Xing obviously should take the blame for what had happened before.
Madam of Duke Xing, who had maintained a stiff smile, felt her face relaxed and seemed to be stroked by a spring breeze.
âThank you for your teachings, Your Highness!â Shao Wanru said, raised her eyebrows slightly, and bowed to Infanta Yuanâan respectfully again. Despite her indignant look, she behaved properly. After that, she lowered her head slightly and acted as if she were listening respectfully.
As the descendant of another Great Elder Princess, despite her title of infanta, Infanta Yuanâan and Shao Wanru were of the same generation and had just met for the first time. The so-called teaching was a little strange. At the thought that Shao Wanru had to restrain her indignant look and listen to Infanta Yuanâan respectfully, people might think that Infanta Yuanâan, who looked kind, was actually the one making use of her identity to suppress others.
Infanta Yuanâan looked towards Shao Wanru, who slightly lowered her head, without turning a hair and frowned slightly. Unexpectedly, Shao Wanru was so difficult to deal with. She thought that she could suppress Shao Wanru with her identity as the infanta. However, with just a few words, Shao Wanru made her seem like the one making use of her identity to suppress others.
Fortunately, she was in Duke Xingâs Mansion. If she said the same words in the imperial palace, she probably would not be able to deal with the situation. With vigilance in her eyes, she no longer dared to look down on her gorgeous cousin.
Strictly speaking, Shao Wanru was indeed her cousin, but she didnât take Shao Wanru seriously before and considered Shao Wanru just a good-looking plaything no matter how pretty she was. But now, she didnât dare to look down on the Fifth Miss Shao in front of her.
âDonât mention it. We are cousins, so you donât have to be so polite. I come here today to meet the First Miss Shao and should leave now. I will definitely pay you a visit the next time I come here!â Infanta Yuanâan said friendly with a smile as if she didnât notice Shao Wanruâs silent resistance.
She acted as if she really considered Shao Wanru her cousin.
âYou are over courteous. Iâve just moved here. My courtyard is in a mess with no servants to receive a guest. If you come here later, Iâll definitely clean up the couch to welcome you!â Shao Wanru raised her head and said with gentle eyes as if the displeasure she had shown were just an illusion.
What she said was true. There had been a lot of servants in her courtyard, but now they had been taken away. The maids she brought were far from enough. Besides, she had just returned to the mansion, so it was indeed inconvenient for her to receive a guest.
âIt doesnât matter. Iâll come to visit you next time. By the way, Iâm going to hold a banquet a few days later. Why donât I send you an invitation card? You can come over, and then we can get close to each other!â Infanta Yuanâan suggested with a smile.
âUh⊠Iâm afraid I canât go. Iâve been observing mourning for my parents!â Shao Wanru refused in embarrassment.
âOh, you are right. Itâs my fault to neglect it. Iâll invite you after you finish it. I intended to introduce you to other Misses from aristocratic families!â Infanta said with regret.
âThank you for your kindness!â Shao Wanru said softly.
The two of them talked happily. After an intimate chat, Infanta Yuanâan made her farewells with a smile and left. Seeing her leave with Madam of Duke Xing, Shao Wanru stared at the back of Infanta Yuanâan thoughtfully with the smile fading on her face.
In the last life, she was not acquainted with Infanta Yuanâan and only heard that she had an excellent reputation and was fine even after Prince Zhou was defeated, Besides, she heard something through the grapevine, but didnât know whether it was true or not. Now she couldnât remember where she heard it and who told her about it.
It was said that the record of her horoscope indicated that she was meant to be an extraordinary person. If it was true, it was not surprising that she would be Princess Zhou.
But in the last life, she had never heard that Infanta Yuanâan was close to Shao Yanru. When Shao Yanru tortured her for various reasons in the imperial palace later, she had never seen Infanta by Shao Yanruâs side. Unexpectedly, she met Infanta Yuanâan in Duke Xingâs Mansion earlier in this life, which was really surprising!
In their short conversation, Infanta Yuanâan had changed her attitude several times from her indifference at the beginning to her intimacy in the end. She had even tried to suppress Shao Wanru and invited Shao Wanru to her banquet and said that she would introduce Shao Wanru to other Misses from aristocratic families as if she didnât know that Shao Wanru had been observing mourning for parents. All of these made Shao Wanru think deeply.
âFifth Miss, be careful of Infanta Yuanâan!â Nanny Zheng came out at some time, stood behind Shao Wanru, also looked at the back of Infanta Yuanâan, and said with a frown.
âNanny, why do you say that?â Shao Wanru restrained the suspicion in her eyes and turned to ask Nanny Zheng. Her suspicion of Infanta Yuanâan was caused by what had happened in the last life, but what caused Nanny Zhengâs suspicion of Infanta Yuanâan?
âInfanta Yuanâan is one of the Empress Dowagerâs favorite young members of the royal family. When she enters the imperial palace, she usually likes to chat with the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager likes to hear some gossip from her. Every time Infanta Yuanâan enters the imperial palace, she makes the Empress Dowager very happy.â
Nanny Zheng said while organizing her words.
It meant that Infanta Yuanâan had a voice in front of the Empress Dowager! Meanwhile, she was not a member of Duke Xingâs Mansion. It seemed that Infanta Yuanâanâs visit to Duke Xingâs Mansion was not a coincidence, but Shao Wanru wondered whether the trap was set by Shao Yanru or Infanta Yuanâan.
Or it was set by the two of them. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that she met Infanta Yuanâan, who had a voice in front of the Empress Dowager when she just moved to Duke Xingâs Mansion. At the same time, the Empress Dowager supported her in Duke Xingâs Mansion by sending giftsâŠ
With a deep smile on her face, she thought, âWhat a coincidence!â
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