Chapter 1062 - Meet Trick with Trick, What Was Going on?
“Why do you say that?” Shao Wanru raised her thin eyebrows and asked with a tilted head, exuding a faint aura of glamor.
“My Lady, think about it. He didn’t do these things for my benefit. Long ago, he took no notice of us. When so many years have passed, how could he suddenly take a fancy to me? It’s even more impossible for him to care about Xiuer. He has many daughters and sons. Besides, Xiuer is not outstanding and has married into an ordinary family. There’s nothing he can get from her. I’ve thought about it for a long time and realized his real purpose should be this shop.”
Madame Dong analyzed rationally.
“And his wife, how could she possibly agree for me to marry him? If it weren’t for their interests, she wouldn’t be so generous. I’ve seen this lady before, and she isn’t a gentle and obedient woman. It looks like she is the dominant one instead of Wei Dahai, so how could she accept me? There must be a substantial benefit for her to take me in, and I have nothing valuable except for this shop.”
“Then what do you think you should do?” Shao Wanru remained unperturbed and said with a smile. Madame Dong was indeed rational and knew what she should do, but Dong Xiuer wasn’t clear-headed.
“If Xiuer comes again, I will give up the shopkeeper position and say that this shop is not mine. I’d like to see what Wei Dahai will say after he hears the truth.”
Madame Dong said peevishly. Thinking of her disappointing daughter, she was about to cry again.
She led a wandering life for half her life and only had one daughter whom she sincerely loved and cared about. Unexpectedly, her daughter fully believed Wei Dahai and hoped from her very heart that she could live a comfortable and luxurious life in her father’s mansion. She didn’t know that even if she could be there, her life wouldn’t be any better. How could she wish to rely on the Wei’s Mansion as a married daughter?
“Is it possible that Xiuer has told Wei Dahai what happened behind the scenes at the shop?” Shao Wanru asked, her long eyelashes fluttering.
“No, she won’t!” Madame Dong shook her head decisively and said, “Please don’t worry, My Lady. Xiuer definitely won’t do that. I have repeatedly warned her not to tell anyone about this matter. If she tells anyone about it without your instruction, it may cause a fatal disaster.”
Madame Dong had no choice but to threaten Dong Xiuer for fear that she would accidentally bring trouble to Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru understood her intention and nodded. Dong Xiuer had been timid. With Madame Dong’s warning, she must haven’t revealed the secret to Wei Dahai.
However, Wei Dahai was not ordinary. In her previous life, Madame Dong entered the Palace with the help of Wei Dahai, and she even managed to do business with the Empress Dowager. It could be seen that Wei Dahai was not merely bright but also had powerful connections.
She felt even more strange to hear Wei Dahai’s ordinary background. How could he casually arrange for people to serve the Empress Dowager? Or it could be said that someone around the Empress Dowager treated him very well.
Shao Wanru was more interested in another person, Mo Qiuyi.
It was said that Mo Qiuyi went to her relative for help who lived in the Yuhui Nunnery. She had stayed in the Yuhui Nunnery for five years since she arrived. Such a person should remain obscure all her life, just like the years she had been in the nunnery. However, her identity changed dramatically.
The first thing was that she became Wei Dahai’s niece. She was taken down from the mountain three years ago and raised in the Wei’s Mansion. What was more surprising was that Chu Qing’s fiancee was her.
It was something that no one had expected.
Shao Wanru got such news from Chu Liuchen and could scarcely believe it. Mo Qiuyi, it was actually Mo Qiuyi.
She had been an orphan brought up in the Yuhui Nunnery. Who would have thought that she would be engaged to Chu Qing?
With this excuse, Chu Qing refused the Emperor to arrange his marriage with any beauty. The Emperor initially disapproved of it, but he somehow agreed.
Chu Qing’s identity was embarrassing, but he was still the deceased emperor’s son. If he got a nobody as his wife, people would think he, the son of the deceased emperor, had been treated unfairly.
However, Chu Qing made his utmost efforts to fight for her. Then, this matter was settled like this, but no one paid attention to his future wife because of her low status.
If Shao Wanru hadn’t come in contact with Mo Qiuyi in the Yuhui Nunnery, she wouldn’t have taken her seriously, either.
In particular, Mo Qiuyi had begged Shao Wanru’s grandma to take her fellow townsman down the mountain, which attracted Shao Wanru’s attention to her.
With the whole recollection of the events, Shao Wanru quickly concluded that there was no fellow townsman. Instead, it was Chu Qing who wanted to come down from the mountain and appear in front of everyone.
If her grandma made it happen, the Emperor would detest and reject her.
Shao Wanru didn’t know about the gratitude and grudges between the deceased emperor and the Emperor. Yet, she was sure that the Emperor must be unwilling to see the children of the deceased emperor pop up one after another.
Nothing could be done about Chu Liuchen because he was universally known as early as he was born. As for others, the Emperor did not intend to publicize their existence.
Chu Qing was good for nothing, but the Emperor was reluctant to mention what had happened back then. It would be best if Chu Qing did not appear in public.
Mo Qiuyi, who took advantage of her grandma, didn’t look like an ordinary woman. No matter how Shao Wanru looked at this matter, it seemed mysterious. “Could it be possible that Mo Qiuyi came to the Yuhui Nunnery with ulterior motives? At that time, Mo Qiuyi was still young and could not arrange such a thing alone. There must be someone else behind.
“In other words, someone else is backing Chu Qing up!
“Is it Wei Dahai?” Shao Wanru couldn’t figure it out for the moment. Initially, she was not in a hurry for Chu Liuchen would deal with this kind of thing. However, Wei Dahai seemed so anxious that he couldn’t wait to get the Butterfly Clothing Shop.
“Madame Dong, you can transfer this shop to me,” Shao Wanru suggested.
Madame Dong didn’t understand it for a while and looked at Shao Wanru in a daze.
“Since Wei Dahai badly wants you to marry him and be his secondary legal wife, you can give me this shop and move to the Wei’s Mansion. In this way, Xiuer won’t blame you anymore, right?”
Shao Wanru explained her idea more clearly with a smile.
However, Madame Dong’s face blanched as she knelt with a thud and said, “My Lady, I really don’t want to live in the Wei’s Mansion and marry that heartless person again, let alone cause even more harm to Xiuer.”
The Wei’s Mansion was a dangerous place. Only Xiuer took it as her wealthy family.
“Get up and let’s talk,” Shao Wanru said softly. Yujie went over and hurriedly helped Madame Dong up.
“My Lady, you mean,” Madame Dong stood up, thought for a moment, and continued hesitantly, “we should make a big thing out of it first and see how Wei Dahai will react or how his Madam will respond?”
“If you spread the news that you will transfer the shop to me, how do you think Wei Dahai will react?” Shao Wanru asked with deep meaning in her eyes, but her long eyelashes blocked the trace of darkness in her eyes, making her look harmless and gentle.
“If I tell others I want to give the shop to you, Wei Dahai can’t stay calm.” Madame Dong was smart enough to understand what Shao Wanru meant, so she went on delightedly, “He will stop me from selling the shop or make sure I give it to the person he recommends. Once the shop is gone, there will be nothing he can get from me. At that time, Xiuer can see his true colors.”
At the mention of her daughter, Madame Dong was angry and distressed. This silly child believed her good father came back to them and even kept persuading Madame Dong to accept him. She even felt her husband was not good enough for her. As an official’s daughter, she could have married someone better. During this period, she actually set her heart on marrying into a rich and powerful family after getting divorced.
Thinking of Xiuer’s bad changes, Madame Dong hated Wei Dahai to the marrow of her bones.
“Madame Dong, can you make it?” Shao Wanru asked, smiling. She must handle the Butterfly Clothing Shop properly. Previously, Chu Liuyue and Infanta Yuan’an had set their eyes on this place. In case they would stir up trouble again, she might as well make it public that she bought this shop. Or, Madame Dong would hardly cope with a volley of open and covert attacks fired at her.
Before she married, it was inconvenient for her to run her shop. But as Princess Chen, it would be no big deal even if she hired someone to run a shop for her.
“My Lady, trust me. I can do it.” Madame Dong nodded vigorously and was very grateful.
At this time, they could only take drastic measures. Otherwise, Wei Dahai would never give up. Whenever Madame Dong thought Wei Dahai acted on his wife’s instigation, Madame Dong would gnash her teeth in anger.
His wife came from an official family. But how shameless the couple was! Wei Dahai pretended to be deeply in love with her purely for the Butterfly Clothing Shop, which was disgusting.
Fortunately, this shop belonged to Princess Chen, who secretly supported her the whole time.
When Shao Wanru came out of the shopkeeper’s room, the two servant girls behind her seemed very unhappy. Madame Dong sent them to the door of the accountant’s office as respectfully as she treated the other noble Madams and Misses, but the two servant girls still looked sulky.
Qu Le snorted and helped Shao Wanru out first. No one could see Shao Wanru’s face under the curtain hat, but everyone could see Qu Le’s expression.
When others entered the door, they saw the carriage of Prince Chen’s Mansion, and many guessed the lady must be Princess Chen, who had been keeping a low profile and recuperating in the mansion. At this time, her two servant girls with sullen looks became the center of attention. These onlookers couldn’t help wondering if the shopkeeper of Butterfly Clothing Shop had offended Princess Chen.
Everyone knew that they couldn’t afford to displease Princess Chen. Infanta Yuan’an seemed to have collided with Princess Chen here. In the end, both Infanta Yuan’an and her brother suffered losses.
A humble shopkeeper was far inferior to Infanta Yuan’an.
What was going on?