Chapter 1231 He’s Here to Make Trouble
Shao Wanru didn’t expect to see E’niang so soon, whose identity was different today. She was no longer the mistress as the alleged daughter of the imperial censor.
Today was the day when E’niang and her daughter would be recorded in the family tree, and only E’niang came. Her daughter had also entered Marquis Xing’s Mansion, but she was so seriously ill that she couldn’t even get up. E’niang could only get this done alone.
Shao Wanru didn’t expect to see not only the elders but also Madam Wen, who looked solemn, here. She smiled silently.
It was Gu Xishu who followed Madam Wen. She sat next to Madam Wen while looking very weak and well-behaved. She also looked extremely gentle when she looked up. If Shao Wanru had not dealt with her in this life and the last life, she would have been confused by her appearance. But now she did not need to deal with her in person. Her identity was enough to make Gu Xishu stay away from her.
Seeing Shao Wanru come in, Madam Wen stood up with the help of her servant girl and was about to bow to Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru smiled slightly and ordered Yujie softly, “Help Madam Wen sit down.”
Yujie stepped forward and helped Madam Wen sit down with the servant girl.
There were many people in the hall, who had been waiting for Shao Wanru. Even Shao Yuanhao had specially asked for leave to get here today. At this time, he sat next to Shao Wanru and looked indifferently at his eldest brother Shao Hua’an, who was sitting opposite him.
His eldest brother used to be the one he respected and admired the most, but now there was only a complicated look in his eyes.
“How are your legs, Madam Wen?” After sitting down, Shao Wanru asked Madam Wen, who was sitting aside.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have to thank you for your help in Huaguang Temple that day. I planned to come here early to express my gratitude, but it was inconvenient for me to walk at such an old age,” Madam Wen said with a wry smile.
When she was in Huaguang Temple, Shao Wanru went to see her once. At that time, she didn’t see Madam Wen but was stopped by Gu Xishu, for fear that she would be suspicious of E’niang. After that, Shao Wanru had never been there again. And now, it was the first time that Shao Wanru met Madam Wen since her fall.
“It’s so nice of you to say that, Madam Wen.” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She glanced at Madam Wen’s face with some doubt and said, “You’re here today for…”
Today’s matter was a family affair of Marquis Xing’s Mansion. It was not suitable for Madam Wen to come here as an outsider.
“Madam Lu saved my life when I was on the mountain. Now she has entered Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Because of Madam Jiang, it’s inconvenient for her to marry into the mansion in a big way. But she can’t do it alone without a family member. I’ll be here as her family member and support her,” Madam Wen said with a smile.
“So, are you here to support Madam Lu?” Shao Wanru asked lightly.
Madam Wen said gently, “In fact, it’s not some support. I just feel sorry for her loneliness. She used to be a Miss of an aristocratic family, but… it’s sad that she fell into such a situation.”
Shao Wanru looked up and asked seriously, “Are you familiar with her?”
“Well…” Madam Wen was confused by her series of questions. Thinking of what she had been warned by her husband last night, she felt inexplicably uneasy. She looked sideways at E’niang, who was standing aside with her head down, and said, “We’re not very familiar with each other. Madam Lu is a kind person, and her experience makes people sympathize with her.”
The last part of Madam Wen’s words was very vague.
But no matter how vague her words were, the purpose of her visit today was obvious. She wanted to support E’niang and help her establish a foothold in Marquis Xing’s Mansion.
Shao Wanru showed a trace of sarcasm in her eyes. Madam Wen had never been a stupid person, but she didn’t want to investigate E’niang too much because of Gu Xishu. She would believe whatever Gu XishuGu said. She always believed in the girl she had raised since she was a child, but she insulted other people’s daughters at will because she trusted Gu Xishu. On the surface, she just doted on her niece, but in fact, she was extremely selfish.
Madam Wen didn’t want to see Gu Xishu embarrassed, so she would rather cover it up with more vicious actions, while Shao Wanru could pretend that she didn’t see it.
When her interests weren’t harmed, she could ignore the pain of others.
In her last life, Madam Wen intended to kill her when she got driven away in that situation. She was homeless and had a bad reputation with no servants around her. If it weren’t for that man, she could only die miserably in a dirty unknown place. In this respect, Madam Wen was not only Gu Xishu’s accomplice.
In this life, Shao Wanru would expose the true colors of Gu Xishu and let Madam Wen see what kind of person the woman she wholeheartedly protected was.
The third branch was also here today. It was the day when E’niang was recorded in the family tree, and it was also the day when the third branch officially separated from the family tree.
Third Madam was too sick to get up. Shao Caihuan and Shao Cailing came over by themselves and sat quietly below at this time.
Since everyone was here, Madam Wen looked at the people around her and said with a slight smile, “Since everyone is here, Your Highness, why don’t we go and record Madam Lu’s name together? From now on, she will be the Madam of Marquis Xing.”
Since Madam Jiang had died and E’niang had entered the mansion as a secondary legal wife, if Shao Jing asked for a title later, she would naturally become the Madam of Marquis Xing.
Third Master Shao suddenly rolled his eyes and said, displeased, “She is just a secondary legal wife. Why should she be the Madam of Marquis Xing?”
He was really in a bad mood. Originally, he was the Third Master of Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Although he had gained a lot of benefits, his branch got separated from the family. “Speaking of which, it’s all caused by this woman. If it weren’t for this bitch who wanted to marry into the mansion, my wife would not have been worried about our daughters’ marriage and insisted on breaking away from the family wholeheartedly.”
After he and Third Madam went back, she also analyzed the matter with him. Third Master Shao was merely quite displeased before. After that, he felt very angry. “Madam Jiang was not a good person, and this woman doesn’t seem to be a good person either. We broke away from the family because of such a cheap woman.” The more Third Master Shao thought about it, the angrier he became.
He was furious and his words were harsh. He said that in front of so many people, and Shao Jing couldn’t bear it anymore. Shaojing’s face darkened and he said harshly, “Third Brother, mind your words.”
“Am I wrong? Second Brother, you have gone through a lot of trouble to marry such a woman. You are even willing to drive our branch out for her. I don’t think she’s beautiful. She’s just an ordinary woman. There are many servant girls and old maids in the mansion who are even much better-looking than her. Second Brother, you really shouldn’t have driven out our third branch because of her.”
Third Master Shao was angry and kept mocking E’niang. He made her sound like a servant girl and old maid and then made Shao Jing take the blame for Third Madam breaking away from the family.
Shao Jing was furious. He slammed his hand hard on the table and said, “What are you talking about? Did I drive you away?”
Shao Jing was also very angry. Because the third branch broke away from the family, he was annoyed and furious.
“Didn’t you? Second Brother, didn’t you do this for the daughter raised by your mistress? How could you drive my two daughters away for the sake of your mistress’s daughter? You are so cruel!” Third Master Shao was too annoyed with Third Madam’s crying. He vented all his anger on Shao Jing.
In the past, he had always been afraid of Shao Jing when he saw him. However, he was a careless person, so he didn’t have so many scruples when he was angry at this time. Moreover, Third Madam had asked him to make a scene today to get even with the second branch.
For so many years, the third branch had been weak and bullied by the second branch. They had never vented their anger. Now they didn’t have so many scruples. Third Master Shao was here to make trouble today.
The more Third Master Shao said, the harsher his words became. Shao Jing was so angry that he wanted to slap his younger brother hard in the face, but it was inconvenient for him to do so in front of so many people.
“Second Brother, are you feeling guilty? Such a woman…” Third Master looked at E’niang, and he smacked his lips sarcastically. “Did you get this woman from some brothel? She said that she was the daughter of the imperial censor. If she was really the daughter of the imperial censor, how could such a thing happen? Which noble lady would be someone’s mistress just because she’s in distress? One might as well commit suicide to prove her chastity if that really happens.”
The elders nodded. That was exactly what they were thinking.
A noble lady in distress wouldn’t be a mistress, but E’niang had to be a mistress. It was really hard to say what kind of woman she was. It was possible for her to have ended up in a brothel.
As a Miss who had no one around her and had no experience, it was reasonable for her to be used by someone and made to work as a prostitute. Did this E’niang really come from the brothel? Thinking of this, the elders looked at each other and felt that it was better to wait and see.
Although they had received orders from Shao Jing before, they thought that the other daughters of the Shao Family would be too ashamed to get married in the future if a woman from a brothel became the Madam of Marquis Xing’s Mansion.
All the elders had daughters and granddaughters. Even if it was not for themselves, they had to act while taking the future of their daughters and granddaughters into consideration.
“If you talk nonsense again, get out of here!” Shao Jing said angrily with a livid face.
Third Master looked at Shao Jing provocatively and said, “Second Brother, you got really angry. It seems to be true. You’re guilty.” At this moment, he was ready to risk everything. He tried his best to make Shao Jing suffer. Thinking that Shao Jing made his daughters separated from the family because of a mistress, he couldn’t suppress his anger.
Today, even if Shao Jing slapped him, he would still say these words.
“You…” Shao Jing stood up with a cold look in his eyes. He was so angry that he really wanted to fight his third brother.
Third Master stood up, jumped on his feet, and said angrily, “Second Brother, what do you want? Are you going to beat me for such a cheap woman from a brothel?”
His reaction was even more intense than that of Shao Jing. Seeing that the situation was not good, the elders hurriedly came over to persuade them to sit down again.
Looking at the mess, Madam Wen frowned. “No wonder Xishu and E’niang asked me to come here. It’s obvious that Marquis Xing’s Mansion can’t treat E’niang well. Those harsh words are really infuriating.”
She glanced at Shao Wanru, who was sitting next to her, and said with a smile, “Your Highness.”
“What’s the matter?” Shao Wanru was tidying up her cuffs with her head lowered. After hearing that, she looked up with her watery eyes, which were quiet and elegant, as if she was not affected by the noise just now.
Madam Wen felt inexplicably depressed.