Chapter 1300 The Pastries Given by the Empress Dowager
“If they go together, they might cause a dispute. Let Princess Yuyan go there tomorrow, and let Mo Qiuyi go the day after tomorrow. It will be more convenient for them to act separately. Anyway, everyone knows that they are at odds with each other,” Chu Qing explained.
“Okay, that’s it,” the Consort Dowager said with a gloomy face.
She disliked these two daughters-in-law more and more. When Mo Qiuyi was her only daughter-in-law, the Consort Dowager felt it was okay. Mo Qiuyi was filial to her and would usually keep her company, chatting and laughing with her. But now, she had the other daughter-in-law, Princess Yuyan. Neither of them had the thought to keep her company. Instead, they went against each other head-to-head and made a fuss in the mansion. How would the Consort Dowager like them?
Shao Wanru entered the Palace early the next morning. When she arrived, the Empress Dowager had not gotten up yet, so she had to wait in the side hall.
After arranging Shao Wanru well with a smile, Nanny Wei went to serve the Empress Dowager.
Shortly after, Nanny Wei led the way for Princess Yuyan to come over.
“Please wait for a moment, My Lady. Her Majesty is about to get up,” Nanny Wei said with a smile and invited Princess Yuyan to have a seat.
Princess Yuyan nodded, and Nanny Wei left again.
After Nanny Wei left, the atmosphere became strangely quiet in the side hall. Shao Wanru fiddled with a jade pendant in her hand. It seemed that she didn’t notice that Princess Yuyan was looking up and down at her, and her two servant girls stood behind Shao Wanru in a well-behaved manner.
“Princess Chen, it’s said that you were injured, but you look fine now,” Princess Yuyan finally spoke with a hint of sarcasm. “It’s been in chaos outside, and even Ruiping Great Elder Princess got into trouble. To my surprise, you just get such a minor injury. See, how capable you are!”
“Princess Yuyan, do you have any problem with that?” Shao Wanru looked up at Princess Yuyan opposite her coldly.
Princess Yuyan had always thought of herself as noble, so could not bear to be ignored.
“How dare you!” Being refuted by Shao Wanru, Princess Yuyan got angry. She slammed her hand on the tea table so hard that the teacup almost fell to the floor.
“Princess Yuyan, you’d better know your place. You are just a concubine of an unknown Commandery Prince. How dare you talk to me like that?” Shao Wanru said unhurriedly. She deliberately hit the pain point of Princess Yuyan.
“You’re talking nonsense. I am the legal wife!” Princess Yuyan gritted her teeth in anger and said hatefully.
“Is it written on the royal family list? I remember that the person at the front of the list is Commandery Princess Mo, Mo Qiuyi, right?” Shao Wanru glanced sideways at Princess Yuyan and curled her lips into a hint of a mocking smile. She leaned back and put the jade pendant on the table. “Princess Yuyan, you are just a concubine.”
The title of Princess Yuyan had not been confirmed yet, but Mo Qiuyi’s name was indeed written as ahead on the list because her title was confirmed early. Of course, if there was any change in the future, it could be modified.
Princess Yuyan was furious because this was the last thing she wanted to mention.
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
“Don’t you know whether I’m talking nonsense or not? Besides, I’m Prince Chen’s wife. I don’t mind that you, a consort, not bowing to me, but how dare you yell at me? Who gave you so much courage?” Shao Wanru said sternly, with a trace of evil Qi in her delicate eyes.
Shao Wanru’s voice was not loud, but it shocked Princess Yuyan. Then her face turned pale and then flushed.
Since Princess Yuyan came to the Kingdom of Dongcang, she had never been humiliated like this to her face. For a moment, she was so angry that she wanted to hit Shao Wanru. As the Princess of Xu State, how could she stand it?
She suddenly got up and tried to approach Shao Wanru, but Shao Wanru’s two servant girls took two steps forward and stood in front of Shao Wanru.
“Consort Yuyan, if you fight here, I’m afraid you can’t leave the Palace tonight. Her Majesty valued well-behaved the most,” Shao Wanru warned Princess Yuyan in a cold voice.
Shao Wanru deliberately emphasized the address “Consort Yuyan”. She was not afraid that Princess Yuyan would get angry to hit her.
“You… You…” Princess Yuyan was irritated at it and almost fainted. She wished to tear Shao Wanru apart.
“Your Highness,” An old maid standing behind Princess Yuyan called her in a low voice, distinctly hinting at something.
Princess Yuyan suppressed the anger with great effort. She also knew that she could not confront Shao Wanru now. Shao Wanru was Chu Liuchen’s wife, and Chu Liuchen was the most favored grandson of Her Majesty Empress Dowager. Offending Shao Wanru meant offending the Empress Dowager. Moreover, this was the Empress Dowager’s place, so Princess Yuyan would inevitably suffer losses if she made a scene there.
Even though Princess Yuyan was furious, she had no choice but to grit her teeth to bear it.
Princess Yuyan thought, “This is not the best chance now. When I become the Empress, I will make Shao Wanru kneel in front of me until her death.”
Picking up the teacup at hand, Princess Yuyan took two gulps of tea. Then she pursed her lips and stopped talking. She couldn’t afford to offend Shao Wanru, so she just pretended to be invisible.
“Do you know about the Changxing Grass?” Since Shao Wanru asked with a sneer. Since she had met Princess Yuyan, she did not intend to let Princess Yuyan go so easily.
Princess Yuyan’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately calmed herself down and looked at Shao Wanru warily. “What do you mean, Princess Chen?”
“Nothing. I am just asking who gave Infanta Yuan’an the Changxing Grass. It’s said that Infanta Yuan’an and you were best friends before you got married. I wonder if Infanta Yuan’an got the Changxing Grass from you.” Shao Wanru said bluntly, staring at Princess Yuyan’s face with her bright sharp eyes.
Shao Wanru didn’t take it seriously whether Chu Qing or the background of Princess Yuyan.
Chu Qing’s identity doomed everything he thought was just a fantasy. As for the Xu State, Princess Yutao was about to obtain the final victory. If Princess Yutao descended the throne, Princess Yuyan’s biological mother and her elder brother would not be able to escape, and Princess Yuyan would lose the backer.
“Stop talking nonsense. Even though you are noble Princess Chen, it’s inappropriate for you to say such words. Didn’t His Highness Prince Chen teach you that?” Princess Yuyan said fiercely, “Can you bear the responsibility of affecting the relationship between the two countries?”
“Sure, I can. I heard that Princess Yutao in the Xu State is about to become the Imperial Great Daughter soon,” Shao Wanru said slowly.
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Princess Yuyan said in horror.
“Don’t you know whether it’s true or not?” Shao Wanru raised her eyebrows. The more panicked Princess Yuyan was, the calmer Shao Wanru became. “If Princess Yutao becomes the Empress, what will you have left? The position of Consort of Commandery Prince Qing? I heard that Mo Qiuyi won more favor with Commandery Prince Qing. Princess Yuyan, it will be a tragedy for your marrying into Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion by that time, and Princess Yutao won’t care about your life and death.”
Princess Yuyan clenched her fists with force. This time, she was not angry but flustered. If it happened as Shao Wanru said, Princess Yuyan was sure that Chu Qing would not protect her, nor would the Consort Dowager.
Mo Qiuyi was no longer just an object of jealousy, but her mortal enemy.
Only if Mo Qiuyi died, Princess Yuyan could get Chu Qing’s support and survive as the wife of Commandery Prince Qing so as to make a comeback…
“Your Highness, My Lady, Her Majesty summons you in.” Nanny Wei came in with a smile.
Shao Wanru stood up, tidied up her clothes slightly, and walked outside.
Princess Yuyan fixed her eyes on Shao Wanru fiercely, but she didn’t dare to do anything. She gritted her teeth and followed Shao Wanru closely.
They entered the main hall one after the other.
The Empress Dowager was sitting in the middle of the main hall. When she saw Shao Wanru coming over, she asked with concern, “Princess Chen, are you seriously injured?”
Shao Wanru bowed to the Empress Dowager. Then she held Qiu’er’s hand to support her body and said, “Thank you for your concern, Imperial Grandmother. I am fine.”
Shao Wanru said she was fine, but her face looked extremely pale. The Empress Dowager hurriedly asked Shao Wanru to sit next to her. Then the Empress Dowager also arranged a seat for Princess Yuyan.
“You don’t have to enter the Palace if you are not in good health. You should take good care of yourself.”
Empress Dowager blamed, a little crossly.
“Imperial Grandmother, I’m really fine. I’ll take good care of myself from now on. His Highness doesn’t allow me to go anywhere else. I’ve been lying in bed all the time, and I feel very bored, so I came to chat with you,” Shao Wanru said softly.
The Empress Dowager was pleased by Shao Wanru’s words. She smiled, “Smart girl, you are asking me to chat with you, right?”
Shao Wanru lowered her head shyly as if she had been exposed and said, “Imperial Grandmother, please don’t tell His Highness. Otherwise, he will blame me again.”
“No worry. I won’t tell him. He’s swamped now, so how could I tell him such things? I’ve been bored in the Palace lately. It’s good that you can come to keep me company.”
The Empress Dowager said with her face full of smiles.
There were many consorts and concubines in the Palace, but for the Empress Dowager, they all had their own purposes to approach her. She preferred Shao Wanru to come and chat with her.
“Thank you, Imperial Grandmother.” Shao Wanru bowed sideways to express her gratitude to Empress Dowager.
Seeing that Shao Wanru was so obedient and gentle with her eyes full of smiles, the Empress Dowager smiled again. After asking Nanny Wei to serve the newly made snacks, she started chatting and laughing with Shao Wanru, and revealed a smiling face from time to time, snubbing Princess Yuyan on the side.
Princess Yuyan wanted to join their conversation, but she couldn’t get in a word at all. She was either ignored by the Empress Dowager or by Shao Wanru. She felt so wronged that she almost spat out blood, but she had to keep smiling.
The smile on Princess Yuyan’s face became stiffer and stiffer.
When the snacks were served, the Empress Dowager pointed to the exquisite pastries on several plates delightedly and said, “Have a taste. They are all newly made and taste very good. I wanted to eat a few more pieces, but I am not feeling well, so I can’t eat more.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She turned to Princess Yuyan and said, “Princess Yuyan, I guess that you haven’t had the snacks at Imperial Grandmother’s place yet, right? Try it.”
As Shao Wanru spoke, she politely picked up a piece of pastry with her chopsticks and put it on Princess Yuyan’s plate. She looked at Princess Yuyan with a smile and said, “Please have a taste first, and then give some advice to Imperial Grandmother, lest she will eat too much at a time in the future.”
Princess Yuyan didn’t want to eat it. However, when she saw the smiling face of the Empress Dowager, she choked and had to force a smile. Princess Yuyan broke a small piece with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and tasted it. Then she nodded and flattered, “Imperial Grandmother, the pastries here taste delicious!”
“Imperial Grandmother, where did you get these pastries? I’ll ask someone to make them after I return to the mansion,” Shao Wanru said.
“Not everyone can make it. I have found a new chef, who is professional in making pastries,” Empress Dowager smiled happily.
“Clatter!” Princess Yuyan’s hand went weak, and the pastry between her chopsticks slipped off and fell on the table…
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