青春期撞上更年期第1部

“Don’t say such silly childish things! Where else could she be if she weren’t here? Your mother was lucky to have her around. She is just a servant girl but an extremely loyal one!” Rui’an Great Elder Princess rebuked Shao Wanru in a deep voice.

Although Rui’an Great Elder Princess criticized Shao Wanru, she did it gently. She must be very affectionate toward her granddaughter and didn’t want her to suffer any grievance.

It was rumored that Prince Chen valued Princess Chen mostly because of Rui’an Great Elder Princess! After all, everyone could see how much Rui’an Great Elder Princess loved her granddaughter.

“Grandma! I think it was all over,” Shao Wanru said, not taking it seriously.

“Although it was in the past, I can’t let it go.” Rui’an Great Elder Princess said, her face darkening, “I won’t let your mother die with injustice unredressed!”

“Grandma, but it’s been so long. You can’t find out the truth about everything. How can you listen to and believe only in her words?” When Rui’an Great Elder Princess adhered stubbornly to this, Shao Wanru became anxious.

“Well, stop talking about it. It has nothing to do with you and won’t involve you. You just need to enjoy your high status as Princess Chen!” Rui’an Great Elder Princess was displeased, but even so, she just said a few words in an injured tone. Never had she tried to beat Shao Wanru down with her seniority as a grandma.

E’niang panicked as she listened aside. Once again, she lamented how much Rui’an Great Elder Princess doted on Princess Chen. When they didn’t coincide in opinion, Rui’an Great Elder Princess never scolded her. She just grumbled about it and made a few mild comments.

In E’niang’s judgment, Princess Chen only wanted to live a comfortable life and had no intention of taking revenge for her mother’s death. If she had known this, E’niang thought she would have come straight to Rui’an Great Elder Princess. Compared with Rui’an Great Elder princess, Princess Chen was powerless and seemed to have no desire for revenge. When E’niang returned, she would report Princess Chen’s attitude to Marquis Xing.

There was no need to be afraid of Princess Chen.

Marquis Xing had misjudged Princess Chen, regarding her as a key to solving their problems. But in fact, E’niang made progress only after she turned to Rui’an Great Elder Princess for help.

E’niang slightly lowered her head and hid the complacency in her eyes. With profound respect and humility, she stood aside, her hands trembling and not daring to say a word.

“Grandma, Sister, what are you talking about? Anything about my mother?” Shao Yuanhao looked at Rui’an Great Elder Princess and Shao Wanru with a puzzled look.

“He is still a child. Usually, no one would tell him this kind of thing.” E’niang struck upon a bright idea and stole a glance at Shao Yuanhao, who was at a loss and didn’t know what was happening.

“Shao Yuanhao can also be a good starting point for my further plan!”

“Hao’er, it has nothing to do with you. You can leave now. I have something serious to talk about with your sister!” Rui’an Great Elder Princess said to Shao Yuanhao, smiling. She seemed to have just noticed that Shao Yuanhao was with them. It was inconvenient for them to discuss this issue with him around.

“Sister…” Shao Yuanhao turned to Shao Wanru.

“Go ahead. I do have something important to tell grandma. Just give us a moment. You rarely have time to rest and can walk in the garden. Chu Liuchen asked me to bring you some items. They are in the open space beside the peach blossom grove in the garden. You will like them!” Shao Wanru also said softly with a smile. Like Rui’an Great Elder Princess, she also wanted Shao Yuanhao to leave.

Since his grandma and sister didn’t want him to be here, Shao Yuanhao had to stand up and say, “Grandma, Sister, I’ll go back first. Sister, don’t leave after this. I also have something good for you.”

“Okay, I won’t leave later. I will come to see you!” Shao Wanru promised with a smile.

Shao Yuanhao walked out after Shao Wanru readily agreed to his request.

As soon as Shao Yuanhao was out, the room quieted down. Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s face clouded over. Shao Wanru looked delicate but obviously a little stubborn. Looking around, Nanny Gao didn’t know where to start, though she wanted to mediate the dispute. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly.

This awkward scene made E’niang see the situation more clearly.

“Obviously, it is not the first time that they disagree with each other. Rui’an Great Elder Princess and Princess Chen must have had different views on this matter since I met Princess Chen last time.” At the thought of this, E’niang kept her eyes lowered, carefully hiding her numerous thoughts.

Marquis Xing told her to be careful when dealing with Princess Chen, who was shrewd and deep. E’niang could tell that Shao Wanru was difficult to deal with from their previous contact. At least, Princess Chen was more cautious and skeptical than Rui’an Great Elder Princess. Even after knowing E’niang was her mother’s “loyal” servant, she didn’t let down her guard.

Compared with the others, E’niang felt it was better for her to avoid Princess Chen. She had secretly prioritized all her choices in her heart. It was the most challenging to fool Princess Chen. Then, it was Rui’an Great Elder Princess. The little heir of a duke should be the best choice for her. From their attitudes toward the heir of a duke, E’niang knew Rui’an Great Elder Princess and Princess Chen had protected him well.

All-round protection had both its pros and cons. Under such protection, he would not be easily framed but was prone to be deluded. With scanty life experience, he could hardly understand all these complex twists and turns, let alone shoulder great responsibility.

“E’niang…” An icy voice in her ear shocked E’niang. She hurriedly raised her head, not allowing herself to be distracted again.

“I’m here!”

“E’niang, you were my mother’s servant girl. But I don’t know how my mother saved your life back then and how you managed to serve my mother. My mother had a lot of servants. Why she had to accept you?” Shao Wanru asked, eyes fixed on E’niang. Her manner was intolerably aggressive.

This was the reason why E’niang put her heart and soul into avenging Infanta Qinghua’s death!

“Your Grace, Your Highness.” E’niang quickly composed herself. Since she mentioned the story, she was fully prepared for it. “My parents died, and I became an orphan. I had been raised in my uncle’s house. My aunt saw that I was good-looking and planned to sell me to a brothel. When I knew that, I escaped in the middle of the night but accidentally fell into the river. My master happened to pass by and ordered someone to save me. After that, I swore to serve her with my life. My master accepted me and let me serve by her side.”

Speaking of this, E’niang was full of gratitude. “Without her, I would have died long ago. I owe her my life. I swear to collect this blood debt for her.”

Shao Wanru had been watching E’niang closely. E’niang poured out words in a steady flow, carrying herself with ease. Silently, Shao Wanru sarcastically raised the corners of her mouth. “Sure enough, she is all ready to answer this question, and this matter seems to be true.

“Her story applies to many questions. Even if my mother didn’t want such a servant girl, she might have been moved by E’niang’s insistence and let her be a servant girl. Horrifyingly, she never knew E’niang was far from being a loyal servant girl but a bloodthirsty viper!”

There was an icy place covered with sharp blades of hatred at the bottom of Shao Wanru’s heart. “Their conspiracy mustn’t have been initiated recently.

“They started plotting against my mother long ago. That was why they sent such a person to serve my mother. Shao Jing learned about my parents’ whereabouts from her. Back then, the Duke Xing’s Mansion had spent so much effort looking for them but failed. However, Shao Jing secretly left the capital city and found them. How could he do that?”

Shao Wanru tightly clenched her handkerchief. Then, slowly, she relaxed her grip on it, her eyes gloomy and vicious. “This woman is Shao Jing’s accomplice. She started working for Shao long ago.

“Perhaps, she is more than an ordinary pawn that was put into use long ago?”

Shao Wanru was sure that nothing could prove E’niang was lying about this. Even if her mother had sent someone to check her background, they could only have found she was telling the truth. No ordinary orphan girl could do this. Shao Wanru’s eyes fell on Qing’er, who had been following her. Slowly, she looked away, seemingly absorbed in thought. “Qing’er is also an orphan. She had once told me something about her previous missions…”

“E’niang, Zhuozhuo wants you to live a peaceful life. There is no need for you to get involved in the affairs of Marquis Xing’s Mansion. After all, you are the only servant left by my daughter. At least Zhuozhuo and I will take care of you. If you want to leave Shao Jing and live a new life with your daughter, we can help. It’s nothing serious!” said Rui’an Great Elder Princess.

“Your Grace, I, I must avenge my master’s death. If you and Her Highness don’t allow me to do so, I would rather die here now. Every day during so many years, I have been missing my former master day and night in extreme grief!” E’niang shed tears again. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and looked agitated.

“What about your daughter?” Shao Wanru asked.

“She is His Grace’s daughter. Marquis Xing will take care of her even if something terrible happens to me. At least, as his daughter, she won’t live a worse life than me. Even if I die, it doesn’t matter,” said E’niang in tears. Then, she lowered her head and wiped her tears.

This time, she looked less excited. Shao Wanru glanced at her thoughtfully, her long eyelashes fluttering, but she didn’t speak.

Rui’an Great Elder Princess sighed gently, saying, “Alright, we’ve known the whole thing. There’s no hurry. I’ll discuss it with Princess Chen and see what status we can offer you. Anyway, I can’t watch you marry into the Marquis Xing’s Mansion and become a concubine with inferior status. If you confront Madam Jiang with your humble status, you will have no chance of winning!”

“Thank you, Your Grace. Thank you, Your Highness!” E’niang said gratefully and finally felt relieved.

“His Grace has told me many times that without Princess Chen’s approval, I couldn’t succeed. Rui’an Great Elder Princess asked me questions before Princess Chen because she wanted Princess Chen to understand my thoughts. Since Princess Chen didn’t say anything, she must have agreed to it.

“Finally, I made it!” A barely perceptible smile flashed across her eyes, and she seemed totally relaxed.

Next, Madam Jiang would die. Marquis Xing had promised to let her be Madam of Marquis Xing. But if Madam Jiang was still alive, E’niang would never get the chance. When E’niang thought an orphan like her could also get such a high status, she was nearly beside herself with joy.

At this point, E’niang didn’t need to stay here any longer. Rui’an Great Elder Princess asked a young servant girl to take E’niang away. When they were out, Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s face instantly darkened, and she said with a gloomy face, “Zhuozhuo, this slut betrayed her master. How should we punish her?”