青春期撞上更年期第1部

Chapter 1027 Getting Information, Calling on Great Elder Princess

“How could you not know who my master was?” Qu Le looked at her smilingly and took out an emerald bead from the pocket in her arms, flashed it before Ning Xueqing. “We’re in the jail of the Ministry of Justice, so it’s inconvenient for me to speak out something. Please forgive me, Madam Ning!”

The emerald bead had appeared at Wang Yishu’s funeral, which greatly embarrassed Dongxing, who was Wang Shengxue’s concubine at that time.

It was also because of this matter that Ning Xueqing came into contact with Shao Yanru. Even Wang Shengxue did not know about it.

The little bead of emerald before Ning Xueqing represented Shao Yanru.

Ning Xueqing clenched her fists and said, her voice throbbing with emotion, “Please tell your master to save me. I don’t want to be locked up in this big prison. I have put all the blame on Wang Shengxue according to the instructions from your mansion!”

!!

She believed Qu Le’s words and deliberately lowered her voice.

A few days ago, someone from the Marquis Xing’s Mansion let her shift all the blame on Wang Shengxue, who was already a dead man. Considering her relationship with Shao Yanru and the statement to be the best way to get away, she had no hesitation in agreeing with their suggestion and changing her testimony before the officials of the Ministry of Justice.

Wang Shengxue committed all the crimes, including the plot against Shao Wanru. Ning Xueqing only knew that there was someone behind Wang Shengxue. Beyond that, this person seemed to be a formidable enemy of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, who spared no effort in dealing with the Marquis Xing’s Mansion secretly.

Back then, Shao Wanru would return to her original family, the Duke Xing’s Mansion. Dealing with her was dealing with the Duke Xing’s Mansion, and Madam Jiang would have to take the blame.

Likewise, setting up Yan Xi was also a move against the current Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Of course, the purpose was to make Shao Jing, the master of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, take the rap.

To prove that, Ning Xueqing even revealed Wang Shengxue’s private property, some nice fat cheques for silver, which was an enormous fortune. At a glance, they couldn’t belong to Wang Shengxue unless he got them from someone else.

After the investigation by the staff of the Ministry of Justice, they vaguely found that there seemed to be someone behind Wang Shengxue, but they couldn’t find out who it was for a while, so they put the matter aside.

Therefore, Ning Xueqing was still behind bars.

“My master has already known what happened in our mansion. Don’t you know Wang Shengxue had another master? I heard that he was most amenable to your idea. In the manor, although you were just a concubine, you performed the duties of his legal wife. Madam Ning, don’t you think you should be more sincere?”

Qu Le said nonchalantly with calm assurance, still smiling.

She made a veiled reference to her past things to sound her out. Before coming here, Princess Chen urged her again and again to stay calm. She mustn’t be impatient.

Princess Chen knew Wang Shengxue had a master, and she seemed to have figured out who it was.

However, Wang Shengxue turned to that master after Wang Yishu’s death, which had nothing to do with what he had done before. Wang Shengxue did it to fight against the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Wang Yishu had passed away at that time. Although Wang Shengxue had grasped some evidence, he would have to hand it over if Shao Jing, Marquis Xing, pushed him to get the evidence. Therefore, he needed a backer.

Later on, Madam Jiang and Shao Yanru got into serious trouble one after another, so the evidence became useless. Shao Jing, who was Marquis Xing, couldn’t take the blame for Wang Yishu’s death. As for the other two who were responsible, Madam Jiang was degraded to the Yuhui Nunnery, and Shao Yanru went to the Palace. After that, Wang Yishu’s evidence outlived its purpose.

At least Wang Shengxue could no longer use it to threaten the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

After that, Marquis Xing made some effort to persuade Wang Shengxue to work for them again. Only then did they target Yan Xi, who had just arrived in the capital.

Generally speaking, the person behind Wang Shengxue was made a scapegoat taking the blame for the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

“I… I really don’t know. My husband never told me this kind of thing. I’m just a woman, a humble concubine. If he treated me sincerely, why didn’t he make me his legal wife after so many years? He held other intentions — he only wanted to marry some noble Young Lady from a wealthy and influential family.”

Ning Xueqing burst out crying, stretching out her hands to wipe her tears with grievances.

Qu Le sighed softly. “If you don’t want to say it, then forget it. Our master doesn’t want to help you for nothing.”

After that, she turned around and was about to leave.

Almost instantly, Ning Xueqing became so anxious that she pounced on the wooden fence. Grabbing the two big wooden bars before her, she hurriedly called, “But I… I’ve said everything your mansion told me to say!”

“It was in the past. Besides, my master didn’t let you say those words. At most, my master will think about it, but you can’t let her save you for that!” Qu Le turned around and sneered, “You’re smart and know what my master wants. I advise you to behave honestly. Do you think it’s possible to gain advantages from both sides? Is my master so stupid in your eyes?”

Right after saying this, Qu Le turned around to leave. She seemed very disappointed with Ning Xueqing and didn’t even want to spend more time persuading her.

However, Ning Xueqing wouldn’t let her go like this. In the past few days, she had been living in terror and uncertainty in her cell and had a great yearning to go out. At this moment, someone who could get her out appeared. How could she let the chance slip? No matter how uneasy she felt when telling the truth, she no longer dared to hold anything back. “You… wait a minute, I… I’ll tell you!”

“Madam Ning, you finally straightened out your thinking! That’s great. My master likes to associate with honest people. You’ve made the best choice!” Qu Le said joyfully and returned to the fence with a big smile. “Her Highness was right. Secondary Consort Shao indeed has something to do with Ning Xueqing.

“As long as she believed I negotiated with her on behalf of Secondary Consort Shao, I can get twofold results with half the effort. Then, I’ll send someone to see Ning Caixian…”

Shao Wanru arrived at the Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion.

As soon as she got off the carriage, she saw that Nanny Gao, Great Elder Princess’s trusted maid, was waiting there already. Seeing her coming down, Nanny Gao stepped forward and saluted with a smile. “Greetings, Princess Chen!”

“Nanny Gao, why are you here?” Shao Wanru was stunned when she found out Nanny Gao was staying here for her. After all, it was a sudden visit to Rui’an Great Elder Princess.

“I was going to go out to see you as Great Elder Princess ordered, but I didn’t expect to see your carriage coming over as soon as I got here. Then I happened to be able to welcome you!” Nanny Gao smiled and leaned to one side, making way for Shao Wanru to go first.

“Why is my grandma looking for me?” Shao Wanru asked as she walked in.

Shao Wanru came to Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion frequently, so she was familiar with the route.

“You went to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, so Her Grace asked me to accompany you because she was afraid that you would suffer losses!” Nanny Gao answered, “Just now, I asked someone to prepare a carriage for me to go to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion!”

When Rui’an Great Elder Princess heard Shao Wanru would go to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she felt anxious for her and sent her most reliable Nanny to help for fear that she would get into trouble. Unlike her, Old Madam, her grandmother in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, didn’t show up even when Shao Wanru arrived at her mansion. Other than that, she forced Shao Wanru to confront Infanta Yuan’an. Their attitudes toward Shao Wanru were widely divergent.

Shao Wanru felt deeply touched in her heart, and a touch of tenderness flashed across her eyes.

“I come here to discuss with my grandmother because I’m afraid I might make a mistake in the end. After all, I may be too young to know the whole thing!”

“My Lady, it’s best that you think like this. Her Grace is quite worried about you. Although you are now Princess Chen, in her eyes, you’re always her granddaughter, her beloved junior!” Nanny Gao breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, and the smile on her face became more sincere.

She was worried that Princess Chen would misunderstand her master, blaming her for keeping an eye on her.

After all, Fifth Miss Shao had become Princess Chen. But now she was relieved. Even if she was Princess Chen, she was also Fifth Miss Shao, her master’s dear granddaughter.

Great Elder Princess had been firm and unyielding. Even though she was a woman, her way of doing things was not gentle but even quite aggressive. Nanny Gao worried that Great Elder Princess might end up making a blunder when trying to help out of kindness. Now when ensuring that Shao Wanru didn’t feel repulsion for her deeds and was very grateful to her, Nanny Gao finally put her mind at rest.

In the past, Infanta Qinghua didn’t care about Great Elder Princess’s concerns. Great Elder Princess learned about her daughter’s marriage after she was endowed with it. No matter how hard she felt to accept this marriage, she could do nothing about it because the Emperor approved of it. She could only watch her daughter marry into the Duke Xing’s Mansion.

Many incidents happened after Infanta Qinghua got married. Outsiders only knew some superficial things. They all thought that Infanta Qinghua left so suddenly that no one could contact her.

In fact, just when Infanta Qinghua married into the Duke Xing’s Mansion, Great Elder Princess sent some people to watch out for her daughter. However, Infanta Qinghua didn’t like it, thinking that her mother had placed her under surveillance. After Infanta Qinghua had vigorously protested against it several times, Great Elder Princess had to withdraw her people. Then, after Infanta Qinghua and the Heir of Duke Xing left, Great Elder Princess couldn’t find their whereabouts.

By the time they found her, Infanta Qinghua had become delirious and had no idea what had happened. There was also Princess Chen, her granddaughter, who had been wandering outside for so many years.

Princess Chen in front of her was very grateful. She understood that Great Elder Princess was doing this for her good. Nanny Gao was so excited that she felt like crying. This time, her master’s hard work didn’t go in vain, and Shao Wanru could understand her kind intention.

Hearing that Shao Wanru had come, Great Elder Princess had already asked someone to wait at the gate of the courtyard. As soon as any servant saw Shao Wanru, they would pass the news until it reached Rui’an Great Elder Princess.

When Shao Wanru entered, the bead curtain was lifted high for her. Then she saw Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s upright figure sitting in the main room of the courtyard.

“Greetings, Grandma!” Shao Wanru came in and saluted Great Elder Princess.

Rui’an Great Elder Princess held her hand, observing Shao Wanru’s face. When making sure that she was fine, she let out a long sigh of relief and pulled Shao Wanru to sit down on a chair beside her. “Did the people of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion force you to fight against Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion?”

Her question showed all her concern for Shao Wanru and all the schemes of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Shao Wanru gave her a warm and vivid smile. It turned out that her grandmother wasn’t always that blunt and straightforward. Judging from this question, she knew her grandmother was quite clever and sensible. “Grandma, what do you think I should do?”