青春期撞上更年期第1部

Chapter 772 Shao Yanru, Being Dragged Down, Is Innocent?

Shao Yanru and Chu Liuyue stood very close to each other, and the loose balustrade was behind them. Shao Yanru rubbed her handkerchief hard to suppress her tension.

What Chu Liuyue had just said made her angry, resentful, and quite jealous. She wanted to marry Chu Liuyue wholeheartedly, but she didn’t expect that the man only wanted to give her the consort’s position. He said that she had a bad reputation because many people had seen her in her wet clothes and the Empress must have known it.

He didn’t say that on that very day. What did he mean by saying that now?

The bait that she had put on that day did not make Chu Liuyue retreat. What he meant was that she could marry into Prince Yue’s Mansion only as a consort to earn herself a bright future. It was fine for her to scheme like that, but he told her to do it that way, which obviously meant that he disliked her. How could a woman despised by her husband be the Princess, the final winner in the future?

Shao Yanru was unwilling to give up, but she could not offend Chu Liuyue. While they were talking, she put her hand on the balustrade and held it hard from under her sleeve from time to time to suppress her anger. She was afraid that she could not hold it and would explode.

She could not get angry. She could not allow it to happen. If she got angry, she could only get a result she didn’t want in the end.

She wanted to be the Princess. She wanted to be the Princess of Prince Yue. Even if she was despised by Chu Liuyue, she must hold fast to the Princess’s position. If she got this position and also had the support of Duke Xing’s Mansion, Chu Liuyue would not repudiate her even if he did not love her in the future. Anyway, his disposition would not let him do that.

When she had a child in the future, the whole empire would be hers.

She had not cared about the consort’s position in the past because she had thought that she was sure about Chu Liuyue’s heart. But now she was clear that Chu Liuyue did not love her as he had previously. In this case, she must be the Princess.

At this time, she found that the balustrade was loose. She was overjoyed when she found it. While holding the balustrade, she slowly walked and checked which part was the loosest. Then she found it, and Chu Liuyue followed her and stood in front of it.

She said that she would marry into Prince Yue’s Mansion and be a consort as she was told, and then they would plan their future wholeheartedly. This was a very good place for a conversation. It was surrounded by water on all sides. If someone came, they could see him clearly. And they were not afraid of being watched or eavesdropped on.

They began to talk a little privately. Chu Liuyue behaved like he was sincere, and Shao Yanru said that she was willing to compromise for his great cause. They showed that they would like to sacrifice for the same goal. Then the scene was harmonious.

When they finished the business, their estrangement seemed to have gone. Shao Yanru proposed to invite the two ladies down there upstairs. Moments earlier, the two ladies had wanted to go upstairs, but they had been stopped by Chu Liuyue’s men.

Chu Liuyue had wanted to talk something private to Shao Yanru, so he couldn’t let others ruin it. Now that the private affair was done with an agreement reached and they were in a good mood, he asked his men to invite the two ladies upstairs. With the two ladies being present, he and Shao Yanru being together would not arouse gossip.

When they heard that Chu Liuyue asked them to go upstairs, the two ladies blushed. But they were a little jealous when they saw Shao Yanru.

Prince Yue had talked with First Miss Shao for so long, and they seemed to be in a good mood. It was so annoying.

It was said that the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion was dignified and decent, but how could it possibly be true? Obviously, she and Prince Yue had unknown stories. As for these words, they didn’t dare to say them out aloud. Now, what was most important was that they should talk to Prince Yue as much as possible and leave a good impression on him.

“Your Highness, the scenery here is so beautiful. I thought it was a ruined courtyard when I came in just now. If some flowers are planted here and bloom, flowers will flourish even before spring begins!” a lady said as she pointed to the lake and rockeries around. As she spoke, she moved closer to Chu Liuyue. It seemed that she was pointing to the lake outside, but in fact, she was approaching him quietly.

Shao Yanru smiled disdainfully. Ladies from aristocratic families only had such tricks. The most frequently used method was to throw themselves into the arms of men, but they forgot who this man before them was. Children of the royal family didn’t lack women who wanted to throw themselves into their arms!

In order to avoid suspicion, she stepped back as if she wanted to stay away from Chu Liuyue.

Chu Liuyue was very satisfied with her behavior, and he also took one step back as she did. Before the final result of the Consort Selection was announced, he was unwilling to have close physical contact with the other beauties so as not to let his father suspect.

He could make a scheme with Shao Yanru secretly, but he would not do it with others. Anyway, the other beauties’ relationships with him were not comparable to his relationship with Shao Yanru. Besides, the act that Shao Yanru took a step back from him proved that she was much better than the two ladies approaching him. If it were not for her impure reputation, he would have been willing to make her his Princess.

He would stand here for a while before he left. He had told Shao Yanru everything. Slightly indifferent, he looked at that lady but did not answer.

Chu Liuyue remained silent, but Shao Yanru answered gently. She looked in the direction the lady pointed and whispered with a smile, “Beautiful indeed!”

Then she turned to Chu Liuyue and said, “What do you think, Your Highness?”

This was Shao Yanru’s question, so Chu Liuyue would show her some respect. He nodded with a softened expression and said, “It’s really good!”

Shao Yanru and Prince Yue stood so close to each other, and it was Prince Yue who had approached her. Seeing that, the two ladies looked at each other and became jealous, feeling that something seemed to be gnawing their hearts. They didn’t think they were so much inferior to Shao Yanru, but why did Prince Yue avoid looking at them?

Another young lady turned her eyes and pointed in a direction, saying, “What’s over there, Prince Yue? Why does it look so tall?”

Chu Liuyue looked in the direction and found that it was a tall tower of the palace. One could see such tall towers from many places in the palace, so he turned his head disapprovingly with no mind to care about it.

But something unexpected happened at this moment.

In order to show it to him more clearly, the young lady who was pointing at the tall tower walked toward them. But for some unknown reason—she seemed to have sprained her foot, so she ended up falling straight toward Chu Liuyue.

With his head still turned to the side, Chu Liuyue didn’t notice it. When he realized that something was wrong, he hurriedly moved to Shao Yanru’s side with strong disgust in his eyes. Truly, he had experienced the thing that a woman threw herself into his arms many times, and he had avoided every one of them. But what was behind him now was the balustrade, so he could only move to his side. Shao Yanru was on one side, and the lady who had spoken first was on the other side.

He thought that Shao Yanru could make him feel at ease.

Thinking like this, he moved to Shao Yanru’s side, but he suddenly felt that his hand was hit hard by something. He fell back hard on the balustrade, and the balustrade got broken. Realizing that he would fall off the high balcony, he subconsciously wanted to hold something. At this moment, he only had time to hold a corner of Shao Yanru’s clothes, and then Shao Yanru fell with him.

Dragged by Chu Liuyue, Shao Yanru fell with him and screamed, “Prince, save the Prince!”

Shao Wanru almost widened her watery eyes to watch the scene in shock. She saw that Chu Liuyue was knocked down and fell and that Shao Yanru was brought down by him.

“Why... why did they happen to go there?” Shao Wanru couldn’t help asking.

“This is the only place in the garden suitable for enjoying the scenery and having a chat. Going to another place won’t be like enjoying the scenery!” Chu Liuchen said with a smile and hid the coldness in his eyes. “As for Shao Yanru, if she found that the balustrade was loose, she would surely take advantage of it!”

Shao Wanru pursed her lips tightly and knew that he was telling the truth. Shao Yanru was that kind of person. She was so good at finding the most suitable breakthrough point for herself.

If something like that had not happened, she would set a trap for Chu Liuyue another time. But she would look innocent on the surface.

In her previous life, Shao Yanru and Chu Liuyue had colluded with each other. Although one was a palace concubine and the other was a Prince, they had plotted against her. This showed that they must have had contacts in private. But they had had conflicts this time, so she wanted to see if they would still be so close.

“Will Prince Yue marry Shao Yanru?” Shao Wanru asked curiously while looking out the window.

Some guards came and jumped into the water to save Chu Liuyue. Sure enough, retinue would guard people with such status from a short distance, although they didn’t follow them at their heels.

Some guards went to save Shao Yanru, who was still holding Chu Liuyue’s hand tightly. Her face was as pale as snow, and her eyes were tightly shut. She tried her best to hold Chu Liuyue’s hand, looking fragile and helpless, but she was holding his hand firmly and would never let go.

Chu Liuyue’s heart softened. At this time, he had realized it. He waved at the guards beside him, and he partially held Shao Wanru and saved her. Actually, this spot was not far away from the bank. He swam a bit and reached the bank.

Shuqi had already run down. Seeing Chu Liuyue coming over with Shao Yanru in his arms, she hurriedly rushed over, hugged Shao Yanru, and wept. “Miss, Miss... don’t scare me. Nothing should happen to you!”

Shao Yanru fell straight over, and Chu Liuyue almost fell with her.

“Go and change your clothes first!” Chu Liuyue forcefully took Shao Yanru’s hand off his wrist and then looked up coldly. On the balcony, the two fallen ladies were shivering now.

How could they dare to knock Prince Yue off the balcony and make him fall into the water? They had never expected anything like this to happen.

When Chu Liuchen saw that Chu Liuyue entered that room with his guards, he turned his dark eyes and said with some interest, “I will go back first, but I will come to you in a while!”

“Go back first, Your Highness! I will deal with the rest!” Shao Wanru nodded and said. She knew what Chu Liuchen meant. Of course, she would deal with the rest. “If you have time, could you send a message to Prince Zhou for me?”

“Well, it happens that I’m going to see the Empress!”