Chapter 1225 Send a Message for Her
E’niang didn’t expect her plan to go so smoothly. It was so smooth that she couldn’t believe it.
The news that Madam Wen had fallen somehow got out. When the madams from aristocratic families, who had come up the mountain to offer incense, heard the news, they all came to visit Madam Wen.
The two Prime Ministers in the imperial court, whether Prime Minister Wen or Prime Minister Zhang, were both the people those madams wanted to curry favor with. In the past, when they were in Prime Minister’s Mansions, they might not get the chance to see the Prime Ministers or their madams. Now it was such a coincidence. Any madam who had a rather powerful background wanted to take the opportunity of visiting Madam Wen to get herself known. Maybe it would be a great chance for her husband or son to get promoted.
For a time, Madam Wen’s incense room was particularly lively.
Many madams, who had only met Madam Wen once, also came over. They had thought that Madam Wen would definitely not see them, but they didn’t expect that Madam Wen was particularly easygoing this time. Whoever came over got to meet Madam Wen.
Therefore, those madams saw Gu Xishu, the cousin Miss of the Mansion of the Prime Minister, and E’niang, the lost daughter of the former imperial censor.
In fact, what had happened to E’niang had already been spread out in private. It was said that she was not only the mistress of Marquis Xing but also the daughter of the former imperial censor. Everyone was in the mood to watch the show and didn’t take it seriously.
People doubted if she was the daughter of the former imperial censor. If she was really Imperial Censor Lu’s mistress’s daughter, he would be utterly disgraced even if he died, not to mention that he was still alive.
He had been demoted before, but he might have a chance to work in the imperial court again. If he came back and knew about this incident, he would surely be furious.
Unexpectedly, E’niang really dared to appear in public. Seeing that she was very proud in front of Madam Wen, and Madam Wen introduced her to the madams one by one, they were very sensible. They all greeted E’niang with a smile and were very kind. They let Lu E’niang in without Madam Wen saying anything.
All the madams who stayed overnight in Huaguang Temple knew E’niang.
And they were very optimistic about her.
E’niang had the support of Madam Wen, and Marquis Xing had no First Madam now. In addition, E’niang had an extraordinary family background. According to these points, she would be the future Madam of Marquis Xing.
Thinking of this, everyone pretended that they didn’t know that it was bad of E’niang to be a mistress and talked to her with a smile. Many people gave gifts to E’niang and held her intimately.
Every time this happened, Madam Wen would smile and express her satisfaction with E’niang. She would say that it was all thanks to E’niang that she was saved. Otherwise, she would have been in real danger this time.
Gu Xishu called E’niang Aunt Lu again and again, and they were very intimate. The outsiders would believe that they were mother and daughter.
E’niang was very satisfied with becoming close with the madams of aristocratic families so quickly. After living on the mountain for two days, she accompanied Madam Wen down the mountain. They appeared so affectionate as if they were a family.
When the carriages of the Mansion of the Prime Minister left the Huaguang Temple, Shao Wanru was standing on a small mountain. When she saw that E’niang had taken Madam Wen’s carriage, she smiled silently. She was not surprised by what she saw now.
E’niang had been looking for an opportunity to enter Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Because of the favor of Madam Wen, she could appear in public openly and be recognized as the daughter of the imperial censor. It was no longer just a rumor.
Since it wasn’t a rumor, then it was true.
“Has she arrived in the capital city?” Shao Wanru asked calmly. The wind blew up the hem of her dress, making her waist look thin and slim.
She stood on a pavilion on the top of the hill, which was facing the mountain gate. She could clearly see the mountain gate from there.
“She’s about to arrive in the capital city!” Qing’er stood beside her and reported. She knew who her master was asking about.
“After she arrives, arrange for her to stay in the courtyard outside and tell her not to go out unless necessary,” Shao Wanru ordered.
“Yes, My Lady!” Qing’er knew Shao Wanru’s plan and answered straightforwardly. Then, she followed Shao Wanru to look down the mountain. The carriages of the Madam of Prime Minister had begun to go down the mountain one by one. Madam Wen was in the carriage in the front, as well as Gu Xishu and E’niang.
The two of them entered the carriage of the Madam of Prime Minister together just now. It seemed that they were with Madam Wen to help relieve her boredom.
“My Lady, the Madam of Prime Minister doesn’t seem to be stupid!” Qing’er said in confusion. She thought that Madam Wen seemed to be very good at talking, so how could she fall into Gu Xishu’s trap so easily?
“She trusts Gu Xishu very much. She believes everything that Gu Xishu says and does. She thinks that since she has raised Gu Xishu up, she knows her best, she thinks Gu Xishu is much better than other girls outside.” Shao Wanru sneered sarcastically. It wasn’t hard to guess Madam Wen’s thinking, who doted on Gu Xishu to the extreme.
It was to the extent that Madam Wen could even disregard other people’s lives merely because of what Gu Xishu said.
Shao Wanru thought that Madam Wen was not a nice person.
However, it had nothing to do with her. She looked away indifferently and sat down in the pavilion again. She picked up the tea made by Qing’er, took a sip, and smelled the faint fragrance of the tea.
“Help her pass on the message. It will be better if the whole capital city knows the current identity of the mistress’s daughter of Shao Jing,” Shao Wanru said lightly.
E’niang now had higher status and had come into contact with Madam Wen. It seemed that Madam Wen also liked her very much. Someone would naturally go up to flatter her and bring up the matter between E’niang and Shao Jing.
With Madam Jiang gone, it didn’t matter even if it had only been a few days. A lot of people in the world enjoyed polishing the apple.
“I’ll ask someone to spread the news about E’niang soon, especially about how she saved Madam Wen and won her favor.” Qing’er knew Shao Wanru’s intention. In this respect, she was much smarter than other servant girls, but there was one thing she didn’t quite understand. “My Lady, are you really going to let her marry into Marquis Xing’s Mansion?”
“Why not?” Shao Wanru smiled, and her eyes became meaningful in the vapor.
“Why not? She will do that!”
Especially at this time, the funeral of Madam Jiang would be held tomorrow. At the time of her inexplicable death, Madam Jiang had been found to be disreputable. She had been grounded and lost her reputation. Then, she made such a big scene in front of the gate of Marquis Xing’s Mansion, which almost became a joke in the entire capital city. Shao Jing was so angry that he planned to bury her hastily. The funeral would be held tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, Madam Jiang would be buried.
Even the bodies of dead madams from ordinary families would be viewed for three days. Only the once arrogant Madam of Marquis Xing had come to such a miserable end.
However, she brought this upon herself.
Her death was planned by Shao Jing, and her son was also involved. Although her son didn’t kill her himself, at that time, her death was the consequence of her son laundering what Marquis Xing’s Mansion had done.
Shao Hua’an went to visit Madam Jiang and made Madam Jiang say that what she said before was nonsense. He comforted her and acted like he wanted to take her back and support her well. In fact, it was all an illusion. Both Shao Hua’an and Shao Jing knew what kind of place the Ministry of Justice was.
It was common for the officials of the Ministry of Justice to monitor the detainees in the room on the side when they had visitors over.
Madam Jiang was killed by Shao Jing and Shao Hua’an.
Shao Jing took action, and Shao Hua’an not only refused to save Madam Jiang but also helped with the plan. When Shao Hua’an went to see Madam Jiang, he already knew that she was doomed.
Shao Hua’an watched his biological mother fall into a desperate situation and did nothing in order to get some uncertain power. Also, he had helped with her death, which showed his cruelty.
In Shao Wanru’s last life, Shao Hua’an had been an outsider.
“Let Nanny Yu talk. There is no lady in charge of Marquis Xing’s Mansion, and Shao Jing won’t remain a widower for three years. Third Aunt will make trouble tomorrow. Zhao Xiran doesn’t have enough status. Marquis Xing’s Mansion will be in chaos…” Speaking of this, Shao Wanru smiled more coldly and indifferently. She would have the entire Marquis Xing’s Mansion in chaos.
Those people thought that she couldn’t bear to hurt Marquis Xing’s Mansion since the heir of Duke Xing was Hao’er. Shao Wanru would show them how ruthless she could be to get what she wanted.
She didn’t care whether Marquis Xing’s Mansion was destroyed or not. She just needed to make sure that Hao’er and her grandma were fine in this life.
Those people thought that Madam Wen and Old Madam had arranged for E’niang to marry into Marquis Xing’s Mansion. In addition, the members of Marquis Xing’s Mansion were suffering from trouble at home and outside the mansion. At this time, even if Shao Jing went a little too far, it would not be a big deal to let E’niang marry into the mansion as soon as possible, as long as no one objected.
Shao Yanru was determined to return to Marquis Xing’s Mansion, while Shao Hua’an and Shao Jing were determined to make Shao Yanru live a better life and regain glory. Both of them were greedy, and so did E’niang.
The decline of Marquis Xing’s Mansion was just around the corner.
“Let’s go back. It’s time to go down the mountain after packing up!” Shao Wanru stood up and walked out slowly. She had said goodbye to the Empress Dowager before. Tomorrow, Marquis Xing’s Mansion would hold the funeral, and the Third Madam would make a scene in the mourning hall. In any case, Shao Wanru had to be present.
Qing’er nodded, and they went down the hill one after the other. When they returned to the courtyard, Yujie had already packed up with a group of servants. They surrounded Shao Wanru and headed for the gate of Huaguang Temple. The carriages of Prince Chen’s Mansion had been waiting there for a long time. Seeing them come out, the coachmen hurriedly pulled the carriages over.
After Shao Wanru got in a carriage, several carriages went down the mountain. By the time they arrived at Prince Chen’s Mansion, the chief supervisor had been waiting there with a smile. When he saw Shao Wanru get out of the carriage, he hurried forward to bow with a smile and said, “Greetings, Your Highness!”
“Where is Prince Chen?” Shao Wanru asked casually.
“His Highness Prince Chen is in the study. He asks you to go there first!”
Shao Wanru was slightly stunned and asked, “Is there anything wrong?” In the past, when she came back from outside, Chu Liuchen would come back to the yard to see her if he was missing her.
The chief supervisor said with a smile, “It’s nothing serious. Queen Consort Lan just sent someone here!” He seemed to be in a good mood, so it should not be something serious.
Shao Wanru nodded and went to the outer study of Chu Liuchen with Yujie, but she was a little confused. Consort Lan’s men had never been able to show up in front of Chu Liuchen. Why did Chu Liuchen receive her men now?
The chief supervisor stood at the door of the outer study. He didn’t leave until he saw Shao Wanru being led in by Xiao Xuanzi. Looking at the half-open window above the study, he slowly stopped smiling and sighed helplessly. “Consort Lan is actually a poor person!”
He did not dare to say that in front of his master. He could only think to himself. He only hoped that with Princess Chen around, his master would not be so extreme.