Chapter 1240 Gu Xishu the Cunning Girl
“What should we do?”
“Let’s wait and see,” Jieyan said.
“We won’t help him?” Prince Cheng frowned. It happened so suddenly that he didn’t know how to deal with it for a while.
“No!” Jieyan shook his head and said meaningfully, “Your Highness, you should be more careful at this time.”
Prince Cheng understood the meaning of Jieyan. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said, “I know what to do.”
Jieyan reminded him that it was not only about Shao Jing but also about Shao Yanru. Prince Cheng said, “If there is any news about Shao Yanru, send her to Prince Zhou’s Mansion.”
Prince Cheng had asked Shao Yanru to contact Prince Zhou in private before.
“Send her to Prince Zhou’s Mansion? It’s not the right time now, is it?” Jieyan felt that no one would take Shao Yanru in at this time.
“We’ll see what she can do!” Prince Cheng sneered. He had accepted this woman for the sake of Shao Jing. Although he needed children and had to overcome his psychological barrier to accept this woman, it did not mean that this woman could win his heart. It was a deal. Now it was inappropriate for him to keep her, so it was best to give this troublemaker to Chu Liuzhou.
It was not that he didn’t want to give her to Chu Liuyue. Compared with Chu Liuzhou, Chu Liuyue was less likely to be bewitched. As for Chu Liuchen, Prince Cheng had never taken him into consideration. Chu Liuxin was not dangerous, so he didn’t need him.
Since the Empress was grounded, Chu Liuzhou had been in a bad situation. At this time, Chu Liuzhou would need a woman the most. Moreover, Chu Liuzhou did covet Shao Yanru’s figure before. Therefore, Prince Cheng thought that Chu Liuzhou was the most suitable one.
Hearing what Prince Cheng said, Jieyan understood and said, “I understand. Are you going back to your mansion now, Your Highness?”
“Yes. The plan remains.” Prince Cheng nodded, straightened his sleeves, and strode out.
His brother had repeatedly asked him to go down the mountain and go back to Prince Cheng’s Mansion. If he continued to refuse, his brother would definitely give him trouble. Especially at this time, he should be aboveboard. If he stayed here any longer, he would inevitably be suspected.
The news that Marquis Xing had been taken away by the Ministry of Justice had also spread to Prince Yue’s Mansion and Prince Zhou’s Mansion. It was well known in the capital city that Shao Jing’s mistress pretended to be an official’s relative and got discovered. The two princes’ mansions didn’t take the fact that Shao Jing got arrested again seriously. However, Shao Jing was now known as an indecent man.
When no one thought it was a big deal, the atmosphere in the Mansion of the Prime Minister was not good.
Wen Xichi hadn’t gone back yet. He had gone to the Ministry of Justice and hadn’t returned to the mansion yet. However, Prime Minister Wen returned to the mansion at night and went straight to Madam Wen’s courtyard. After driving all the servants out, he said a few words to Madam Wen. After that, he went straight to the study in the front yard without staying.
Madam Wen sat under the lamp with her face turning pale. “Someone go and call cousin Miss over.”
An old maid answered and left. After a while, she came over with Gu Xishu.
Gu Xishu also had a hard time. As soon as she came back from Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she was slapped twice by Madam Wen and then driven away. She wanted to go to the front yard to stop her second cousin but was stopped by a servant girl. There was an old maid sent by Madam Wen at the gate of the yard to prevent her from going out.
At this time, hearing the summons of Madam Wen, she hurriedly dressed up and came over.
It was late at night, and the lights were on. Gu Xishu looked a little scared under the lights. Usually, she rarely came to Madam Wen’s place at this time.
In contrast, Madam Wen, who was under the lamp, looked a little cold. Her cold eyes fell on Gu Xishu. When she saw Gu Xishu coming up to salute, she accepted her salute motionlessly and then said nothing.
Gu Xishu bowed slightly. After a long time, she couldn’t hear Madam Wen’s voice. She couldn’t help but feel weak and fell to the ground. Her servant girl wanted to help her, but when she saw Madam Wen’s face, she showed timidity and quietly stepped back to hide in the shadow.
“Aunt!” Gu Xishu fell to the ground, raised her head, and looked at Madam Wen with tears in her eyes. She felt extremely wronged.
Madam Wen looked down at Gu Xishu with coldness and disappointment in her eyes.
“Do you really want to kill me so badly? I’ve raised you for so many years as a daughter of my own. Is this how you repay me?” Madam Wen asked.
“Aunt, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m Xishu, the daughter you raised. Why do you think of me like that?” Gu Xishu cried. She looked really pitiful under the light, and her tears fell drop by drop, which made her look extremely miserable.
Madam Wen didn’t want to get entangled with her anymore, so she coldly asked her to leave. “Whether you meant to kill me or not, we are done. Pack up your things and go back to your home tomorrow. Don’t come back again from now on.”
“Aunt… Aunt, what happened? Why did you do this to me? How… how can I leave you? You raised me up, and I haven’t repaid you for raising me yet!” Gu Xishu took two steps forward on her knees in a hurry, hugged Madam Wen’s leg, and cried even louder.
“I can’t leave. How could I leave? I am to marry Third Cousin. I have to marry Third Cousin!”
As soon as Madam Wen moved her legs, two old maids came over and removed Gu Xishu’s tight grip.
“Aunt, I really didn’t know. I really didn’t know that E’niang was lying. I thought she was really the daughter of the imperial censor, so I brought her to you. Aunt, please spare me. I really didn’t know it.” Gu Xishu struggled violently and cried while struggling. The makeup on her face had been destroyed, and her beautiful face looked messy and ugly.
The two old maids pulled her aside and stopped. Madam Wen sneered and said, “Was it really an accident that I met E’niang that day? If it weren’t for your suggestion, would I have gone there? If I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t have met E’niang, would I? And I wouldn’t have almost died. There was no one around, and my legs were fine. I’m not in my seventies or eighties yet!
“I walked very carefully on the steps. I saw no annoying stones blocking the way before, but I accidentally stepped on them and fell in the end. I almost died. Coincidentally, I met E’niang, who was good at martial arts, and she saved my life. Then, I listened to you and introduced her to others. Previously, I went to Marquis Xing’s Mansion to support her!”
“Aunt, I don’t understand what you’re talking about. It’s my fault. I took you out to enjoy the scenery. I didn’t take good care of you. You can punish me however you want, but you can’t say that I have bad intentions toward you. After so many years, don’t you know my character? How could I hurt you? What benefits can I get?”
Gu Xishu felt so wronged that she couldn’t speak. She choked with sobs and defended herself loudly, but she didn’t dare to rush over to hug Madam Wen’s leg again.
She cried so sad that she looked terrible. She fell to the ground and looked sad. “Aunt, if you don’t believe me, I’m willing to die to prove my innocence. As long as you believe me, I… I’m willing to do anything! Aunt, you’ve been very good to me for so many years, and I’ve treated you as my biological mother. You suspect me so much… I… I really can’t take it anymore!”
As Gu Xishu spoke, she stumbled to her feet, as if she really wanted to run into the wall and commit suicide to prove her innocence.
The servant girls and old maids hurried forward to stop her, and Gu Xishu cried and fell to the ground again.
Looking at Gu Xishu, who was so determined, Madam Wen hesitated again. “Does it really have nothing to do with her? Is it really just the plot of the woman named E’niang? After all, I’ve raised her since she was a child.” Madam Wen’s determined face softened a little, and her expression was no longer cold.
“Aunt, please let me die. If I die, God will bless you with a long life. I won’t hate you. I just hope that you can bury me here so that I can always be with you. My parents have been far away from me since I was a child. I don’t matter to them. Except for you, who else will love me?”
Gu Xishu saw Madam Wen’s expression and knew that her heart had softened. She immediately cried even more bitterly, as if she had been abandoned. She looked at Madam Wen and talked about the deal between them with tears in her eyes.
Seeing her crying like this and hearing her sincere words, Madam Wen felt that she couldn’t be cruel to Gu Xishu.
“Alright, get up!”
“Aunt, do… do you forgive me?” Gu Xishu was very excited.
“Get up first!” Madam Wen said.
“If you don’t forgive me, I’ll keep kneeling here until I die,” Gu Xishu said stubbornly, looking at Madam Wen pitifully.
Looking at Gu Xishu, Madam Wen thought of her well-behaved appearance when she was a child. At that time, her daughter had just passed away, and such a young child had been staying by her bedside. When she saw Madam Wen wake up, she was also so pitiful and even asked someone to send a bowl of medicine to her. Gu Xishu also insisted on trying the medicine for her.
“Get up…” Madam Wen sighed. She really couldn’t be cold-hearted to Gu Xishu. This was the girl she had raised as a daughter. When Madam Wen saw her, she would always think of her daughter. She wondered if her daughter were still alive, would she look like this? Madam Wen’s heart immediately softened. How could a girl she had raised have such bad intentions? Moreover, Gu Xishu had said that she would not be benefited from harming her.
“Mother, let her kneel!” A cold voice came from the door of the room. Wen Xichi, dressed in a black brocade robe, stood at the door, with coldness and sharpness in his eyes.
“Xi, you’re back!” Madam Wen looked up and saw Wen Xichi. “Why did you come back so late today? You need to rest first.”
“Third… Third Cousin!” Gu Xishu said timidly and looked increasingly weak. She looked at Wen Xichi pitifully and expectantly, hoping that Wen Xichi could help her when he entered the door.
Wen Xichi ignored her and went straight past her. He stepped on the hem of her dress and walked past her as if he didn’t see her.
Gu Xishu was shocked and looked at Wen Xichi’s back in a panic. Even if Wen Xichi had ignored her in the past, he had not been so indifferent to her. He had even stepped on the hem of her dress and left a footprint on her snow-white clothes. Was he still her elegant and noble Third Cousin? Why was he so rude and cruel to her?
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