青春期撞上更年期第1部

He had once been the former empress’s general steward, yet the matter of the brocade box still frightened him.

Shao Wanru had been paying attention to him. When she caught the panic in his eyes, her heart skipped a beat, and she asked slowly, “Even His Highness couldn’t save us?”

“If His Highness were here, he might save you, but now he is not…” The chief supervisor said implicitly, without mentioning himself at all. Of course, he meant that Chu Liuchen couldn’t save him even when Chu Liuchen was in the mansion and wanted to do it.

!!

In the current situation, even Shao Wanru was in danger.

Shao Wanru took a deep breath. Before this, she had planned to inquire about the brocade box, but now she decidedly gave up the idea because anything related to the brocade box might be hazardous.

“What do you think will happen next?” Leaving behind the matter about the brocade box, Shao Wanru started to talk about other things.

The chief supervisor felt relieved. Though Princess Chen was intelligent, she was young. He was afraid that she would pursue the matter out of curiosity.

He knew something, but there were many things that he was not familiar with. But whether he understood it or not, it was wrong for Princess Chen to inquire about it at this time. If someone with evil intentions heard it, no one knew what kind of sensational rumors would come out.

It was indeed best not to ask about it at this time, and it was also the best method to avoid arousing suspicion.

“Your Highness, please rest assured. At least we can live in peace for some time!” said the chief supervisor. Such an issue had attracted the Emperor’s attention. Although the imperial guards didn’t come in to search the mansion, their visit had shown others that the Emperor’s imperial guards were keeping a close watch on the Prince Chen’s Mansion.

If any foolish fellow dared to offend the Prince Chen’s Mansion at this time, the Emperor would notice it.

“The delivery man should be an abandoned accessory. No matter how deeply we probe into his past, we can’t find anything. The first one sent to deliver the food was a nephew of the eunuch in the Palace. The eunuch was loyal to the former empress and died for her. This brocade box should have nothing to do with him. At most, it might have some connections with his nephew. Your Highness, I think it’s better to send someone to investigate him,” the chief supervisor continued.

He had pretended he didn’t know about the inside story because he needed to show others that he had no idea what was going on and that the dispute was simply about the food delivery. With the appearance of the brocade box, he should send someone to ask about it as the young man’s employer.

“Thank you for your help, Sir. You can deal with the matter about the food delivery in the usual ways!” Shao Wanru nodded and didn’t ask about his specific methods. It was the outer court’s business. Since the chief supervisor had decided to handle it normally, he certainly had a set of procedures.

Shao Wanru might mismanage the affair if she intervened rashly without the necessary information.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll take care of it!” The chief supervisor nodded. It was indeed the most appropriate thing to do at this time. By doing so, they could confuse their enemies.

“I won’t go out in the near future and will inform my grandma about this. If anyone invites me, please turn down the invitation and say I’m sick!” Shao Wanru thought for a moment and said.

“You mean…” The chief supervisor didn’t understand her arrangements at first. After he thought it over, his eyes lit up, and he looked at his young master with great admiration. Shao Wanru was impressive in his eyes because she could stay so calm and unhurried at such a young age. “Everything in our manor remains unchanged except that you are not feeling very well. Am I right?”

“I just feel a little uncomfortable, so you don’t need to disturb any imperial physician, let alone call for a doctor outside,” Shao Wanru added softly with a smile when she knew that he understood what she implied.

“Yes, I see.” The chief supervisor, completely convinced by Shao Wanru, nodded repeatedly.

Shao Wanru said meaningfully, “Our life in the mansion continues as usual, and let’s do nothing special. Even if we have to do something, it should be a minor matter. Let’s see which side can no longer stay calm first.”

This matter had come to an end for the time being. From now on, anything that happened outside the Prince Chen’s Mansion would have nothing to do with her. Shao Wanru just needed to wait for Chu Liuchen’s return.

With some efforts, Shao Wanru and the chief supervisor calmed down the people in the Prince Chen’s Mansion and subsided this tumult. People in the mansion only knew that the young man who delivered the food was imperious. He offended the master after helping his uncle deliver the cooking ingredients for two days. Since then, he was not allowed to do the job, and another person replaced him. It was said that this person was also the nephew of the man who had sent the food before. The first delivery man was indeed sick.

The servants in the mansion also heard that the imperial guards came to investigate the matter of the surviving evils of the previous dynasty, but they didn’t take it seriously. In their minds, these guards just came to ask some questions and left. They even took away the young man lying all the time who delivered the food for their mansion, which saved the Prince Chen’s Mansion a lot of trouble.

Anyway, the whole Prince Chen’s Mansion was peaceful and in perfect order.

Nothing was wrong with the Prince Chen’s Mansion, but hidden currents surged in the capital city. Many people were worried in the dark. It seemed to be a simple thing, but a lot of people tried to meddle in the affair.

In a deserted Zen room of the Yuyun Temple, Master Jieyan, the Yuyun Temple’s abbot, was sitting in a chair by the side window with his palms together devoutly. He did not look well.

Prince Cheng looked even worse. He slammed his hand on the table so violently that several cups on it jumped up. “How could this be? Didn’t you say that we must succeed this time? And as long as the brocade box was opened in the Prince Chen’s Mansion, Princess Chen would be severely punished. But what was all this about?”

How could he not be pissed off? It was not easy for him to get this brocade box back then. He had kept it carefully for so many years because he wanted to use it at the right time. But this time, it didn’t work. One of the precious cards in his hand had been wasted.

Slowly, Master Jieyan opened his eyes and said, “Your Highness, have you checked it out? Nothing happened to Princess Chen?”

“Yes. It was said that the chief supervisor of the Prince Chen’s Mansion appeared in public and looked fine. He even went to find the person who delivered the food to their mansion. He has been like this for so many years. How could he not be fine?” Prince Cheng said in a bad mood.

He didn’t have many such cards in his hand, but now the box was wasted. He got nothing back from it. The more Prince Cheng thought about it, the angrier he felt.

“The chief supervisor of the Prince Chen’s Mansion is fine, but it doesn’t mean that Princess Chen is also okay.” Master Jieyan didn’t believe their plot was useless and reminded Prince Cheng, “Your Highness, perhaps, we can consider it from another point of view? The chief supervisor is fine because he didn’t open the brocade box. However, the box has been sent to Princess Chen. No matter how smart Princess Chen is, she is young.”

“You mean something has happened to her?” Prince Cheng’s eyes lit up, and the anger drained from his face.

“Do you think Princess Chen may be in big trouble now? But they can’t let others know about it. If it’s related to the Emperor in the Palace, the chief supervisor of the Prince Chen’s Mansion doesn’t dare to show any feeling toward it. Since he had served in the Palace for so long and had become the former Empress’s general steward, he must be sensible enough to stay calm.”

Master Jieyan analyzed after thinking for a while.

Hearing this, Prince Cheng nodded repeatedly and said, “There is some truth in what you said. This wily old fox doesn’t dare to disobey His Majesty’s order and has pretended to live a normal life. If this is the case, I’m afraid that something has happened to Princess Chen. But this is only our speculation that may not be true!”

Prince Cheng’s last sentence brought them back to where they started. He didn’t think Princess Chen could avoid the disaster, but the Prince Chen’s Mansion remained quiet and peaceful as if nothing had happened, which greatly worried him.

“Your Highness, you’d better not take action rashly for now. I’m afraid His Majesty has already kept an eye on the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Whether Princess Chen is in trouble or not, the imperial guards have already taken action. If you want to find out the truth about her, I’m afraid you will attract His Majesty’s attention.”

Master Jieyan shook his head, thinking it was not the right time to investigate.

“I see. But what if someone whom Princess Chen is obliged to see visits her?” Prince Cheng knocked on the table and said slowly.

“You’d better not act on impulse at this time. You have waited so many years, so why are you in such a hurry? Anyway, you are not the only one who is anxious, and this incident has nothing to do with you. So, it’s not worthwhile for you to arouse suspicion. If the Emperor distrusts you, it will be a big deal!”

There was a hidden meaning in Master Jieyan’s words.

Once the Emperor found out Prince Cheng engaged in conspiratorial activities, he would immediately inflict punishment on him without showing the mercy he might give to other princes.

“Okay. Then let’s wait a little longer and focus on the Prince Zhou’s Mansion.”

Prince Cheng managed to send the box to the Empress, so the person directly related to this matter should have something to do with the Prince Zhou’s Mansion.

“Your Highness, it’s best for you to think so!” Jieyan breathed a sigh of relief. He feared Prince Cheng would refuse to listen to his advice and proceed imprudently.

In the Prince Zhou’s Mansion, Chu Liuzhou was smashing cups, also in anger. In addition to him, there was only one person in the study: Ji Lingzhen, Chu Liuzhou’s biological uncle and the second elder brother of the Empress.

“Your Highness, the Empress asked you not to let others see anything unusual and do what you should do as normal. Don’t stay too close to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.” Ji Lingzhen advised him. He was not the eldest, so he didn’t inherit the title of nobility. Usually, he was doing his job with little work and didn’t look like a person capable of outstanding achievements in daily life. Yet, he always gave Prince Zhou advice and suggestions from behind the scenes.

“Second Uncle, didn’t you say that this matter would inevitably cause great chaos? Why is nothing serious happening now?” Ill-tempered Chu Liuzhou felt increasingly aggrieved at this time. Like a stone dropped into the sea, their conspiracy drew little response, even though his mother had considered it a powerful weapon.

The battle of scheming brought him much less gratification than the real fights on the battlefield.

They wanted Princess Chen to disappear from the Prince Chen’s Mansion. It would be best to take her away or kill her. After such a big event that was supposed to be sensational occurred, nothing happened to the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Their plot sounded like a joke.

“No, I have to find someone to inquire about it. I can’t just wait and do nothing.” Chu Liuzhou stood up and called someone outside, “Anyone!”

A young male servant came in from the door. After saluting, he said respectfully, “Your Highness, I’m here!”