Chapter 455 - Forced to Make Her Exit
Chapter 455 Forced to Make Her Exit
"If you are not the one behind it, who else could it be? Madam of Duke Xing, you've been in charge of the inner yard of Duke Xing's Mansion and enjoyed a good reputation. Why can't you explain it clearly today?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess sneered. Even if Madam of Duke Xing was not the one behind what had happened today, she would make her take the blame.
On hearing her words, Madam of Duke Xing became speechless. She flushed in embarrassment and wiped her tears with a handkerchief, "Great Elder Princess, I, I really don't know what happened. Although I'm in charge of most of the domestic affairs, there are some things that I don't know."
"Madam, do you mean that those things that you don't know were done on instructions from Old Madam? Old Madam is your mother-in-law, so her deeds are out of your reach, right?"
Rui'an Great Elder Princess asked in an aggressive manner.
"How, how could it be Old Madam..." Madam of Duke Xing was so flustered that she didn't even have time to wipe her tears.
"Now that it has nothing to do with Old Madam, whom does it have something to do with? Madam of the third branch? Because of her grudges against the First Miss Qin, she vented her anger on Zhuozhuo, trapped her with sinister tactics and intended to kill her?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess said in an increasingly harsh tone.
Her aggressive words made everyone in Shao's Mansion stand gazing at one another and did not dare to say anything else. Did Great Elder Princess get her eye on Duke Xing's Mansion?
Compared with what had happened to the fifth Miss Shao, the affair between Wang Shengxue and the maid was just a minor matter. Everyone's attention was caught up in the conversation between the two of them.
According to the meaning in Rui'an Great Elder Princess's words, someone in this mansion intended to trap the Fifth Miss Shao. Was it Old Madam, Madam of Duke Xing, or Madam of the third branch?
Thinking of this, everyone present got butterflies in the stomach. If it was found out to be true, the entire Shao clan might be implicated.
Everyone stared fixedly at Madam of Duke Xing.
Duke Xing coughed in a low voice and came out to ease the situation, "Great Elder Princess, rest assured. We will definitely check it out. We will hand over anyone we find out to you for interrogation."
"What if you fail to find out anyone?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess slightly lifted the corners of her mouth and said coldly, "Aren't there numerous intricate cases without clues that the officials failed to find out the truth and left them unsettled in the end?"
Others might not know about the hidden rules of the official circles, but Great Elder Princess knew clearly.
The officials usually shifted the responsibility and left the cases unsettled in the end.
"Great Elder Princess, we will try our best to check it out!" Duke Xing said with uneasiness.
"How long will it take to check it out?" With her face turning cold, Rui'an Great Elder Princess asked.
Duke Xing became speechless. He looked at Madam of Duke Xing, who felt aggrieved with a pale face, and then looked at Shao Wanru, who was still nestled in Rui'an Great Elder Princess's arms. Knowing that he had to answer, he could only brace himself to say, "Great Elder Princess, rest assured. I will check it out as soon as possible!"
"As soon as possible? Can't you tell me the exact time?" With her face turning cold, Rui'an great elder princess said with gloomy eyes.
"Uh... it's hard to tell the exact time." Duke Xing said with a sweaty forehead.
"Duke Xing, don't you think that you are shirking your responsibility deliberately? You said that you would check it out, but you don't know when you can do that. Perhaps Zhuozhuo will get killed in your mansion before you check it out. It hasn't been long since she entered your mansion and was recorded in the pedigree of your clan, but she almost got killed and was trapped with such sinister tactics. If the one behind it could prepare in secret for a few more days, will Zhuozhuo have any chance to survive?"
Rui'an Great Elder Princess raised her voice to say and glanced coldly at all the elders of the Shao clan present. "When the elders are here today, the one behind it plotted against Zhuozhuo with a series of setups. What happened before is also part of it. What profound hatred makes the one unable to tolerate Zhuozhuo's existence?"
Although Shao Wanru didn't get involved in what happened before, everyone was smart enough to tell that obviously the one behind it was supposed to get Shao Wanru involved in it.
What profound grudges the one bore against a girl who had just entered the mansion?
If there was someone bearing grudges against Shao Wanru, it should be Old Madam and Madam of Duke Xing. It was said that both of them didn't like and even hated the fifth Miss Shao. It was rumored in the capital city that Old Madam liked the First Miss Qin. Now although the First Miss Qin was proved to be the fake fifth Miss Shao, did Old Madam still dislike the real fifth Miss Shao?
But even if she disliked Shao Wanru, she wouldn't be so vicious, would she?
The elders did not dare to speak and could only continue sitting there and watch them helplessly. Some of them even regretted that they had come here today. It was obvious that this was not a good thing!
"I promise it won't happen again!" Duke Xing promised Rui'an Great Elder Princess.
"Duke Xing, are you the one setting Zhuozhuo's yard on fire?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess sneered.
"How, how could it be possible!" Duke Xing forced a smile and said, "What makes you think so!"
"Since you are not the one behind it, what makes you think that it won't happen again?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess said with contempt.
Duke Xing couldn't answer for a while. Madam of Duke Xing felt resentful in secret and wanted to answer, but she was afraid of Rui'an Great Elder Princess, so she could only gently push Nanny Sheng and motion for her to speak.
"Great Elder Princess..." Nanny Sheng had to speak, but was interrupted by Rui'an Great Elder Princess directly, "I'm talking to your masters. You are unqualified to interrupt as a servant. Is it the way the servants of your Duke Xing's Mansion show their good manners?"
With his fat face turning red dramatically, Duke Xing stared at Nanny Sheng harshly. Duke Xing's Mansion had always been known for their good manners. Today they were totally disgraced.
Nanny Sheng lowered her head in a hurry and dared not speak again, extremely ashamed. As a servant, she certainly couldn't interrupt in front of Rui'an Great Elder Princess.
Shao Wanru lifted her head slightly and took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, while sitting up straight. Her tiny body was still twitching slightly, indicating that she was too sad to speak.
In fact, she shed no tears at this moment. Under the handkerchief, her eyes were slightly red and filled with coldness. She sneered in her heart. If it weren't for her grandma's presence today, even if she got evidence, Duke Xing and his wife would have explained away the matter in the end. After all, they were her elders.
At this point, she couldn't be as aggressive as her grandma!
"Duke Xing, please tell me how to check it out and protect Zhuozhuo at present. Is your mansion really safe?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess continued asking after scolding Nanny Sheng.
"Uh..." Duke Xing couldn't think of a good way at the moment, and didn't dare to promise that it would be all right.
"Since your mansion is not safe at the moment, I'll take Zhuozhuo to my mansion where she can live for some time. We'll talk it over after you find out the truth, lest something like this should happen again." Rui'an Great Elder Princess stood up, took Shao Wanru's hand and said.
"But..." Madam of Duke Xing became anxious and wanted to stop them.
"What else do you want to say, Madam of Duke Xing? You want Zhuozhuo to stay here and get killed?" Rui'an Great Elder Princess looked sideways at Madam of Duke Xing, completely showing no respect for her.
Madam of Duke Xing didn't dare to look towards Rui'an Great Elder Princess. She bit her lip and could only look at Duke Xing. She didn't dare to ask Shao Wanru to stay.
If the news of Shao Wanru's leaving went out, it would do harm to the reputation of Duke Xing's Mansion. There were plenty of elders present. Madam of Duke Xing was sure that as soon as Shao Wanru left, there would be all kinds of rumors against Duke Xing's Mansion in the capital city tomorrow.
"Great Elder Princess, since you miss your granddaughter Wanru, we'll trouble you to take care of her for a few days!" Duke Xing sighed helplessly. Although he knew that Shao Wanru's leaving would do harm to the reputation of Duke Xing's Mansion, he had to give in.
Rui'an Great Elder Princess asked him to find out the one setting the fire at once. However, he was incapable of doing that at the moment, so he had to make a concession.
Nevertheless, Duke Xing did not dare to consent to her request, so he just agreed that Shao Wanru could live there for a few days.
"Duke Xing, I hope that you could find out the truth as soon as possible. I'm going to take Zhuozhuo to the Imperial Palace and meet the Empress Dowager tomorrow!" Rui'an Great Elder Princess glanced at everyone coldly and said.
The faces of Duke Xing and Madam of Duke Xing changed dramatically. They couldn't suppress this matter even if they wanted to. They had to talk with Madam Dowager over the countermeasure later.
Rui'an Great Elder Princess took Shao Wanru's hand and went out. After they took a few steps, Shao Wanru suddenly broke away from Rui'an Great Elder Princess's hand, went back up to Duke Xing and Madam of Duke Xing and bowed to them gracefully. "Farewell, second uncle and second aunt!"
She showed great respect. Even with the support of Rui'an Great Elder Princess, she didn't show any arrogance at all. The elders of the Shao clan nodded secretly.
The Fifth Miss Shao was very polite. Bearing no grudge after suffering such a great shock and grievance, she was a good child.
"Wanru, just go to Great Elder Princess's mansion and live there for a few days. If you need anything, just send someone back to fetch it," Duke Xing said with a guilty look.
"That's right. Wanru, just tell us what you want. Your Second Uncle will find out the truth and won't let you suffer any grievance!" Madam of Duke Xing also adjusted her mood at this moment. She looked at Shao Wanru with pity in her red eyes. She looked so gentle and reluctant to part with Shao Wanru, as if she were Shao Wanru's real mother.
Shao Wanru calmly glanced at Madam of Duke Xing, who behaved like a loving mother, and then glanced at Duke Xing, who showed a gentle look. After that, she nodded slightly, turned around and walked towards Rui'an Great Elder Princess.
Rui'an Great Elder Princess took her hand and left.
Yujie and Qu Le followed them closely. Everything had been burnt, so they had no luggage.
They were followed by the four inferior old maids left to Shao Wanru by Great Elder Princess.
Watching Rui'an Great Elder Princess and others leave, Duke Xing made a bow with hands folded in front of all the elders present and said with a bitter smile, "I've incurred ridicule by what happened in our mansion today. Elders, I hope that you could excuse us. I should make an investigation now, so I won't keep you!"
"Duke, it's very kind of you to say so!"
"We are tired and should go back now!"...
They were sharp-eyed enough to realize that it was a serious matter and Duke Xing was not in the mood to receive them at this moment, so they stood up to leave successively.
They left, leaving Duke Xing, his wife and a group of servants, as well as Wang Shengxue kneeling aside and Dongxing curling up in the corner.
"Clap!" A violent slap threw everyone off their guard. They looked blankly at Duke Xing, who had always been good-tempered, and the entire hall fell silent at the moment.