Chapter 1012 - Is She Crazy for Real?
Chapter 1012 Is She Crazy for Real?
Old Madam’s gloomy eyes were glued to Shao Wanru’s face, trying to find any evidence to prove that she was just pretending to be sick.
Shao Wanru looked up and met her eyes. Then, she gave her a graceful smile. In the Palace of Benevolent Peace of Empress Dowager, she was in a higher position than Old Madam and should not treat Old Madam as an elder like in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.
“Princess Chen, I heard that when you offered a sacrifice to your parents in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion yesterday, Qiu Yu from the Ministry of Justice hid behind the sacrificial altar. When you entered the door, you smelled the whiff from Madam Jiang’s handkerchief, so you nearly lost control of your emotions. Did it badly hurt you when you tried hard to suppress your physical sensations?” The Empress Dowager looked severe.
Her favorite grandson had just left, and she had repeatedly promised that she would take good care of Princess Chen for him. Before long, such a terrible thing happened. At this time, the Empress Dowager was also full of anger.
Shao Wanru raised her white face and answered in a silky tone. “It was a coincidence yesterday. Maybe because I was in poor health, I passed out again and again!”
Shao Wanru didn’t blame anyone, only saying she was not in good condition. The Empress Dowager nodded in her heart and commended that she was as sensible and adorable as her grandson.
“Since you’re not feeling good, don’t go there these two days. You had been mourning for your parents for three years in the Yuhui Nunnery. You can skip two days!” the Empress Dowager said.
“That’s right. Princess Chen said that she wanted to go, but she had been observing mourning for her parents in the Yuhui Nunnery for three years. Compared with her, the Marquis Xing’s Mansion hasn’t done any religious ceremony for many years. Instead of Princess Chen, the others in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion should perform the memorial ritual!”
Infanta Yuan’an echoed the words of Empress Dowager.
Since what Infanta Yuan’an said catered to the Empress Dowager’s pleasure, she gave her an approving nod, but her face didn’t soften. Then, with this deadpan expression, she turned to see Old Madam of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.
So many years had passed, but the Marquis Xing’s Mansion held not a single religious rite for Shao Wanru’s parents. Now that this one was to force Shao Wanru to go to their mansion. When she was there, a series of incidents happened. Lucky for Shao Wanru, the self-made sachet for clearing away the heart-fire on her maid helped her. Otherwise, worse things might happen to Shao Wanru.
Whenever this idea crossed her mind, the Empress Dowager would bristle with fury.
What would happen when her grandson knew that something had happened to his wife? Prince Chen got his eye on Shao Wanru for three years, during which he actively accepted any treatment for him. He had never been so cooperative before. It was a great benefit that Shao Wanru could bring to him.
For this reason alone, the Empress Dowager couldn’t let anything happen to Shao Wanru.
“The Marquis Xing’s Mansion hadn’t performed a memorial ceremony for many years. Why did you do it this time?” the Empress Dowager asked the Old Madam of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, her stern eyes falling on her face.
Old Madam could no longer sit still and knelt down with a thud. “Madam Jiang, my daughter-in-law, came back not long ago. She said that she dreamed of Princess Chen’s parents when living an ascetic life in the Yuhui Nunnery. Therefore, she wanted to hold a religious ceremony in the mansion for them. Your Majesty, you also know that the old Duke was sick when my eldest son died, so we did not dare to do it openly. Since then, this matter has been postponed to now. For so many years, I… I didn’t want to think about it and didn’t dare to do it either…”
When Old Madam said this, she thought of her eldest son and couldn’t help crying with her hands covering her face.
“At first, it was because of the old Duke, but later we didn’t dare to do it. According to Madam Jiang’s dream, my eldest son wanted to go back and have a look at our mansion. We wouldn’t have done it if it had not been for my eldest son’s wishes.”
“My father appeared in my second aunt’s dream to make a request?” Shao Wanru asked in surprise, “Why would he appear in my second aunt’s dream instead of mine?”
Shao Wanru appeared to be asking herself because her voice was very low. But since everyone’s attention was on her, they heard it clearly. When they thought it over, some revealed a weird expression.
The deceased giving people dreams was possible. However, he didn’t appear in the dream of his daughter and mother but walked into the dream of his second younger brother’s wife, which sounded irrational and strange.
“The Madam of Marquis Xing said that the former heir of Duke Xing gave her a dream, and there was a smell of medicine on her handkerchief that could make people insane. Beyond all of this, a man somehow appeared in the mourning ceremony. Old Madam, does this Madam of Marquis Xing play a leading role in your mansion? Even you have to do whatever she asks, right?” Ruiping Great Elder Princess asked curiously.
When thinking about the entire process, Madam Jiang was the most suspicious.
Old Madam stammered and argued, “But Madam Jiang also suffered… She has been acting oddly. I don’t know if she is also affected by the drug.”
“The case in the charge of the Ministry of Justice implicated the Madam of Marquis Xing. Then she had urged that a mourning rite should be done. That was why Princess Chen was invited there and her reputation was nearly ruined. After that, she was out of her mind and violently pushed her daughter-in-law, who then lost the baby in her belly,” another old lady said.
She was also present yesterday and watched the beginning and the end of this matter. Madam Jiang disgusted her. A good baby was gone because of her crazy act.
Back then, the Madam of Marquis Xing had been standing by her side with extreme caution. Who would have expected her to spring into action suddenly? More surprisingly, she targeted her pregnant daughter-in-law.
“Did Madam Jiang feign madness to shirk responsibility?” the Empress Dowager asked coldly.
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“Yesterday, when I took Hao’er there, the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was in a mess. No decent person was taking care of the memorial ceremony, so I hosted it with Hao’er. It was only until late at night that some people of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion finally came. They said I could go back and asked Hao’er to stay there. I refused. After all, Princess Chen just had an incident in the day. I was afraid they would plot against Hao’er!”
Rui’an Great Elder Princess said grumpily.
When she learned Shao Wanru had an accident yesterday, she planned to go and see her in the Prince Chen’s Mansion, but she couldn’t leave at that time. In addition, Rui’an Great Elder Princess didn’t feel easy about leaving Shao Yuanhao alone in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Thus, she had no choice but to send someone to ask about Shao Wanru’s situation in the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Upon learning Shao Wanru was okay, she felt relieved to accompany Shao Yuanhao.
Speaking of this, Rui’an Great Elder Princess was also full of anger. The Marquis Xing’s Mansion announced that they would hold a mourning ceremony for her daughter and son-in-law, but they invited no host. There were only some monks and Taoist priests chanting at random.
“Yesterday, my granddaughter-in-law was severely injured, so I had to stay by her side. Worse still, Madam Jiang was somewhat abnormal, and I didn’t dare to leave her alone. In such a desperate situation, people in the mansion were too panicked to take care of the religious services,” Old Madam lowered her head and said with grievances.
“So, your son that is still alive is always the most important!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said casually.
Shao Wanru clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves and then slowly loosened her grip—Ruiping Great Elder Princess came straight to the heart of the problem.
“The living son is the best. For Old Madam, Shao Jing, her son who is still alive and well, is of utmost importance. And my father was the abandoned one.”
A hint of coldness flashed in her eyes. “Since it was the reason, why would you have to display your deep attachment to your son in front of others? It’s disgusting.”
“Empress Dowager, please allow me to complete my father’s mourning ceremony in the Prince Chen’s Mansion.” Shao Wanru sighed and pleaded.
“How can that be?” Old Madam was shocked and hurriedly stopped her when hearing the suggestion. How could they stop the memorial ceremony for the former heir of Duke Xing halfway and go on with it in his son-in-law’s mansion? The change would hold the Marquis Xing’s Mansion to public ridicule.
It would be a great humiliation to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.
“Why can’t it be? In my opinion, Madam Jiang is the villain of the piece! She must have committed the crimes in the case in the charge of the Ministry of Justice. Even before Princess Chen got back to her original family, she delivered a knockout blow to her as if she were crazy. When Princess Chen returned to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she came up with a vicious scheme to deal with her. Likewise, yesterday, did she intend to destroy Princess Chen?”
Ruiping Great Elder Princess said unhurriedly.
As an outsider, she didn’t feel guilty and stressed at all.
Rui’an Great Elder Princess glanced at Ruiping Great Elder Princess, with a much amiable smile. No matter what would happen in the future, at least at this time, Ruiping Great Elder Princess was speaking for Shao Wanru.
“The Ministry of Justice can stop investigating this case. Judging by yesterday’s incident, Madam Jiang must be a criminal. Old Madam couldn’t be at Madam Jiang’s beck and call, could she?” another Madam asked.
She was on Shao Wanru’s side.
“How could they all support me?” Shao Wanru raised her bright and beautiful eyes to glance at everyone’s faces calmly. Finally, her eyes stopped on the Empress Dowager’s face, which was congested with anger. It was evident that she was well pissed off. Her heart skipped a beat when she suddenly realized what was happening.
They backed her, partly because of her, but what they cared about the most was the Empress Dowager’s attitude. Since the Empress Dowager was distinctly partial to Princess Chen, no one dared to go against her will.
“Your Majesty, I’m not saying it to protect Madam Jiang, but she is not quite right in the head.” Old Madam kowtowed heavily three times and said with tears in her eyes, “I didn’t notice it before. After what had happened yesterday, Madam Jiang has been behaving inappropriately. I’ve asked the old maid who served her. She said that Madam Jiang had been in such an erratic state recently. Sometimes she looked sober, but sometimes she became confused. She would even strike a blow!”
“Behaving inappropriately?” Shao Wanru’s long eyelashes fluttered twice and covered the trace of sarcasm in her eyes. This was a good reason.
Was Madam Jiang out of mind?
“You mean, the Madam of Marquis Xing, she is crazy, right?” Infanta Yuan’an asked with astonishment, gazing surprisingly at Old Madam with round eyes. “But she looked fine when she left yesterday.”
“Didn’t you notice her weird act yesterday? Old Madam asked.
“Well…” Infanta Yuan’an was slightly taken aback. For a moment, she didn’t know whether she should believe it or not. During a period, Madam Jiang seemed insane and uttered some incoherent remarks. She asked Qiu Yu intensely if he had seen Shao Wanru’s maid bully her.
Her question sounded odd. Then Qiu Yu mentioned the matter she had talked about, saying he didn’t see it.
“Yesterday, Madam Jiang’s behavior was abnormal. We had the doctor check on her. He said she suffered from hysteria,” Old Madam said.
The so-called hysteria was a psychological disorder when people lost their minds.
Shao Wanru reached out to hold Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s hand and gently pinched it under the cover of her sleeve, secretly hinting that she might as well agree with Old Madam.
Rui’an Great Elder Princess understood what she meant and said, “Empress Dowager, send someone to make a diagnosis. If it’s not hysteria, Madam Jiang must go to make things clear in the Ministry of Justice. She will never again be allowed to meet Princess Chen, whatever excuses she gives. Whether she intended to hurt Princess Chen or force her to compromise, she should be punished by national law!”