Chapter 1123 If His Highness Disagrees, I Dare Not

“They wanted you to do them a favor and let Old Madam out. They said… Uhm…” Shao Wanru felt too embarrassed to finish her words, and her elfin face turned red with anxiety.

“Get up and talk!” The Empress Dowager snorted coldly because she loathed those people of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Nanny Wei came over to help Shao Wanru up, showing every concern for her. Then she stepped aside and looked at Shao Wanru with a smile as if there had been no grudge between them. Since they had talked the previous matter through, everything appeared fine.

Nanny Wei looked broad-minded.

After a brief hesitation, Shao Wanru sat down, lowered her head, and said, “The mansion needs elders. Sister Zhao said Second Uncle wanted to marry his previous mistress. Before this, Second Uncle had even brought that woman to me!”

It seemed she didn’t know how to make this matter clear. After all, such a matter was usually handled by elders. As a niece, it was shameful for her to talk about this.

“Shao Jing is getting more and more ignorant. How could a mistress marry into the Marquis Xing’s Mansion? And he even brought her to you. What was in his mind? Did he want you to admit her status first?” After a cold snort, the Empress Dowager leaned back in anger. She was increasingly convinced that she had misjudged Shao Jing for many years.

In the past, she thought he could be entrusted with an important post, but now it was obvious that he was frivolous and dissipated.

The Empress Dowager frowned and suddenly felt she might have missed something. After thinking about it carefully, she said with an increasingly gloomy face, “He attempts to marry another woman? No matter how wrong Madam Jiang is, she is still Madam of Marquis Xing. Does he want to let the mistress replace her? He has no sense of decency at all!”

“It was not that he would give up Madam Jiang. He just wanted that woman to be his secondary legal wife!” Shao Wanru bit her lip and said bluntly.

“How dare he say that! A mistress from nowhere wishfully thinks she could be Madam of Marquis Xing one day! And he even wants you to back her up. Shao Jing thinks so highly of himself!” The Empress Dowager thumped the edge of the bed and bellowed.

Nanny Wei hurriedly said with a smile, “Her Majesty, don’t be angry. I guess the Marquis Xing’s Mansion needs an elder to take charge of it!”

Shao Wanru raised her head and nodded. “Imperial Grandmother, please allow Old Madam to come back. When an elder is in charge of the inner court, she could prevent Second Uncle from doing anything improper. If this trouble is left unsettled, who knows what will happen? The woman had even come to the Prince Chen’s Mansion, but His Highness was away, so I was not in the mood to meet her!”

Shao Wanru calmly told her that the woman named E’niang had come to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.

No matter what Shao Jing had planned to do to her, it was right to report it to the Empress Dowager first. Shao Wanru always felt this matter couldn’t be so simple. That woman dared to make trouble before the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Without any support, she wouldn’t have been audacious enough to do that. Besides, how could E’niang know she wouldn’t do anything to hurt her?

“How dare he! How could he make use of the Prince Chen’s Mansion at will? I’ll let His Majesty rectify the situation in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.” The Empress Dowager felt his anger mounting. Prince Chen was the prince she cared about the most, and Shao Jing intended to take advantage of him.

“Send some people to get her back. She must manage the Marquis Xing’s Mansion well and never let such things happen all the time,” the Empress Dowager said grumpily.

“Thank you, Imperial Grandmother!” Shao Wanru expressed her gratitude.

“All of this has nothing to do with you, and you don’t need to worry about it. Let those people in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion solve their problems. If they can’t even deal with a mistress, Shao Jing should give up his title of nobility as soon as possible!” The Empress Dowager became more and more disdainful of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Meanwhile, she felt lucky. Fortunately, although Shao Wanru was a Miss of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she didn’t grow up there and was different from the other Misses from that mansion. Upon hearing what the famous lady, Shao Yanru, had done, the Empress Dowager felt sick.

“Yes, I’ll keep it in mind. But I’m afraid outsiders might misunderstand it and think I abandoned my parents’ home after I became Princess Chen!” Shao Wanru said, looking uneasy.

She was a new daughter-in-law of the royal family. Since she was young and vulnerable, she did have these scruples.

The Empress Dowager could understand that and would support her. Thus, she said, “It’s okay. If anyone criticizes you for this matter, I will uphold justice for you!”

“Thank you so much, Imperial Grandmother!” Shao Wanru stood up excitedly and bowed deeply to her.

Nanny Wei looked down at her toes and listened quietly to the Empress Dowager and Shao Wanru with a respectful look. At this time, she knew that she had underestimated Princess Chen.

She was young and married Prince Chen, who enjoyed a much superior status, yet she could make flawless arguments. When Nanny Wei reflected on what had happened at the Empress Dowager’s birthday and what Princess Chen had said just now, she could tell that Princess Chen was not as innocent as she looked. If Nanny Wei was going to deal with Princess Chen, she had to be extremely careful and could no longer act as recklessly as before.

Because of her mistake, the Empress Dowager nearly drove her away.

She had gone through thick and thin with the Empress Dowager for many years. Beyond that, she piteously begged the Empress Dowager, who happened to fall ill. This time, Nanny Wei was lucky. Otherwise, she would have been punished severely.

Thinking of this, Nanny Wei felt a lingering fear in her heart. She was indeed careless and almost lost everything she and Wei Dahai had.

“Well, let’s put these things aside! I want to talk about something else with you. Prince Chen is no longer in poor health. You are underage, but Prince Chen isn’t. Anyway, he should have his children. Many people in the imperial court have been arguing with each other. If he has a son, it will be more justifiable for him to fight for something!” A smile touched the corners of her mouth, and the Empress Dowager dropped a hint. Then, she gestured for Shao Wanru to take a seat.

“I’ll do whatever His Highness wants.” Shao Wanru sat down and answered softly, lowering her head and pinching the handkerchief in her hand with a slightly red face. Since Chu Liuchen had instructed her on how to deal with this situation, Shao Wanru was well-prepared.

“You’re Princess Chen. How can you let him make all the decisions? You have the final say in the affairs of the inner court!” The Empress Dowager said in disapproval.

“But… I have no courage to do that if he doesn’t agree!” Shao Wanru raised her long eyelashes and blinked uneasily like a little girl.

It could be seen that she was perturbed. “He is recovered, but he should maintain his good condition. It’s not good to provoke him, so I must do whatever he pleases. If he is fond of anyone, I’ll take her in without hesitation. But if he dislikes those women sent into our mansion, I’m afraid he will blame me and drive them out. Even worse, he might…”

Speaking of this, Shao Wanru raised her eyes to look at the Empress Dowager with uneasiness.

Her words reminded the Empress Dowager: the few palace maids taken to the Prince Chen’s Mansion didn’t even come out alive.

It was not a big deal because they were insignificant palace maids. But this time, there would be daughters of aristocratic families. The Empress Dowager didn’t want them to get the same tragical ending after marrying them to Prince Chen.

In this case, the marriage would bring him no staunch allies but bitter enemies!

The Empress Dowager couldn’t do anything about her stubborn grandson, so she turned to Shao Wanru.

Thinking about it now, she realized it was inappropriate. No matter what, she had to satisfy Chu Liuchen. Otherwise, she had no idea what a terrible scene he would make.

The Empress Dowager sighed helplessly and reached out to rub her forehead. This grandchild always worried her, but she felt he was much more considerate than the other princes.

The Empress Dowager feared that Chu Liuchen would kill and throw out these Young Madams from aristocratic families sent to his mansion.

“Well, I know about it. I’ll ask for his opinion next time!” The Empress Dowager helplessly replied, her eyes falling upon a few paintings on the table — they were portraits of some Misses from aristocratic families. Initially, she wanted Shao Wanru to look over them, but it was not necessary now. When Chu Liuchen came to see her again, she had to let him have a look and choose one or two ladies.

Prince Yue and Prince Zhou had chosen their consorts, but there was no consort in the Prince Chen’s Mansion. In the past, the major concern was his health. Now that he was fine, he must pick one or two at least and give birth to more children for the royal family as soon as possible.

Shao Wanru nodded meekly as if she didn’t see the Empress Dowager was in a quandary. Seeing that the Empress Dowager looked tired, Shao Wanru got up and said goodbye.

The Empress Dowager didn’t ask her to stay. Instead, she asked Nanny Wei to see Shao Wanru off.

Nanny Wei accompanied Shao Wanru to the gate of the Imperial Palace. There, she stopped and looked at Shao Wanru with a radiant smile full of gratitude. “Your Highness, thank you for forgiving me.”

“It’s not a big deal. Just forget about it.” Shao Wanru smiled slightly and said casually, “I heard you’re Lord Wei’s aunt. You’ve been out of touch for so many years. It’s rare for you to meet each other again after a long separation.”

“It’s indeed a blessing. I thought I was alone in the world and didn’t expect to meet one of my close relatives,” Nanny Wei sighed and said.

“Do you know why Lord Wei insisted on taking Madame Dong back?” Shao Wanru asked curiously, “The Butterfly Clothing Shop is mine. He can reunite with Madame Dong if she forgives him. Other than that, there are no obstacles for him!”

Nanny Wei had learned that the woman Wei Dahai brought to her was not Madame Dong. With an awkward smile, she said, “Yes, I know. He is very anxious to get his wife and daughter back and make up for the mistakes he made when he was young. Back then, due to all sorts of accidental mishaps, the mother and daughter suffered. Now, it is not easy to end this matter! Your Highness, trust me. I will warn him not to use improper means!”

Accidental mishaps? Misunderstandings? Since Nanny Wei said so, the Empress Dowager must have agreed with the statement. It looked like Wei Dahai’s intention was good: he only wanted his wife and daughter to come back to him. The Empress Dowager believed them, but Shao Wanru was not convinced!

Wei Dahai didn’t seem to give up. That was good. Shao Wanru happened to want a chance to get in touch with him. Madame Dong could bring her a good opportunity. Then, Shao Wanru wondered what Wei Dahai would do…

Mo Qiuyi had something to do with Yuhui Nunnery…

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