Chapter 1100 Slanders Entering the Ear, Taking Root in the Heart

Outside the tent, Zhang Qilan lowered her head and looked at her toes silently for a long time with a sad look.

Luo Xiaowan had never seen her look like this. She hurriedly reached out to pull her and asked in a panic, “Qilan, what’s wrong with you?”

After leaving the small tent just now, they had arrived at this place, far away from the tent. Thus, they could no longer hear the sounds in the tent, and those in the tent couldn’t hear their conversation either.

“Xiaowan, do you think Prince Yue likes me?” Zhang Qilan thought for a while and suddenly asked.

Luo Xiaowan flushed, subconsciously looking around. When she was sure that no one noticed them, she breathed a sigh of relief. How could Young Madams from aristocratic families like them say something like that? But Zhang Qilan had been her good friend for many years, so she knew that Zhang Qilan was not that strictly upright and correct in behavior.

Was it because she had misunderstandings about what had just happened?

In Luo Xiaowan’s heart, although Zhang Qilan was a good friend, Princess Chen was her benefactor. She didn’t want them to have any bad feelings about each other.

After pulling herself together, she suppressed the shyness in her heart and said, “Qilan, of course, he likes you. You said that he often sent you gifts. Since you were chosen as Princess Yue, Prince Yue always brought you many things whenever he went to your mansion. When you encountered problems, Prince Yue would come to you as quickly as he could.”

“Why would he come to see Princess Chen? And he came when Princess Chen was still lying in bed. It was inconvenient for her to see some other men. Although he is the elder brother of Prince Chen, it was not polite to see Princess Chen at this time.” Zhang Qilan stared blankly at the ground. It was unknown if she was talking to Luo Xiaowan or herself.

These words were hidden deep at the bottom of her heart. At first, she didn’t believe those words and thought they wouldn’t affect her. But now she realized the reality was contrary to what she thought — she had been unconsciously influenced. Was Shao Wanru the one Chu Liuyue liked in the beginning?

Chu Liuyue couldn’t make Shao Wanru his wife, so he chose to marry her, who must be less attractive than Shao Wanru in his heart. But even so, Chu Liuyue still had feelings for Shao Wanru. When he heard that Shao Wanru was injured, he deliberately went to check up on her with Consort of Virtue, despite the fact that others might think he behaved frivolously.

“Is he just unable to let go of Shao Wanru in his heart?

“If that is the case, how does he think of me? Am I a substitute for Shao Wanru?”

Zhang Qilan had a lively personality, and she was proud. How could she be willing to be a replacement? Moreover, she became a replacement for Shao Wanru, her good friend!

“Why didn’t Shao Wanru tell me about her relationship with Chu Liuyue? Aren’t we friends?

“Could it be possible that she wants to keep in touch with Chu Liuyue behind me? I’m the future Princess Yue and the one who will marry Prince Yue. Why does Shao Wanru keep hold of Prince Yue? She married Prince Chen, didn’t she? Why must she do this? Isn’t she afraid of letting me down?”

Luo Xiaowan, quite taken aback by her reaction, hurriedly said, “Prince Yue went there to keep Consort of Virtue company. If Consort of Virtue insisted on visiting her, what could he do? Don’t think so much about it. Prince Yue didn’t say anything but one sentence in the end.”

Looking at Zhang Qilan’s sinister expression, Luo Xiaowan panicked.

“He didn’t say much, but the one sentence he said was the most forcible one. He told her to go to him for help when necessary. But why must she look for him? Who is he? He is just Prince Chen’s cousin. When Prince Chen is not at home, he should avoid arousing suspicion rather than take the initiative to reach out to Princess Chen. The Empress also paid the visit, but Prince Zhou didn’t follow her. Why would Prince Yue come?”

Zhang Qilan’s eyes were bloodshot as she wept out her grief to Luo Xiaowan.

The Empress went there, but Prince Zhou didn’t come. Then, when Consort of Virtue visited Shao Wanru, Prince Yue came along with her, which meant something was wrong. Zhang Qilan didn’t think that she thought about it too much. There was definitely something wrong between Shao Wanru and Prince Yue!

“Qilan, it must not be what you think. Prince Yue must have come there for other reasons.” Luo Xiaowan, burning with anxiety, hurriedly appeased her.

She was weak, but it did not mean that she was stupid. She could see the whole thing more clearly than Zhang Qilan. After all, those closely involved usually cannot see as clearly as outsiders.

“I’m tired and want to go back to rest!” Zhang Qilan shook her head and turned back.

“Qilan…” Luo Xiaowan still wanted to say something to calm her down, but Zhang Qilan left decisively without looking back. Then, she could only follow her with a wry smile. Luo Xiaowan didn’t want her to feel hatred toward Princess Chen. They had been good friends, but why would it be like this now?

It was not proper for Prince Yue to do this. At this time, to avoid arousing suspicion, he should not go to see Princess Chen. Inexplicably, she got a little annoyed with Prince Yue. It was indeed his fault. Just now, she had witnessed and heard the whole thing, so she was sure that Princess Chen had nothing to do with this matter.

Zhang Qilan returned to her seat, throwing herself onto the seat heavily. She looked distressed. Madam of Prime Minister Zhang, who was talking to the Madam next to her, noticed her unusual act and asked softly, “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“Mom, I’m fine. I just have a headache!” Zhang Qilan reached out and touched her head.

The Madam next to them said with concern, “Are you sick? The weather has been good recently, but it’s easy to fall ill when the season changes.”

“She’s still a naughty child. She has been pretty fit and will be fine after a little rest!” Madam of Prime Minister Zhang replied with a smile.

“Thank you, Madam. In fact, I’m tired of walking. I’ll recover in a while!” Zhang Qilan thanked the Madam decently.

Shao Xiaowan came over and sat next to her. When she saw that Zhang Qilan’s face had returned to normal, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that Zhang Qilan would make a scene recklessly. It would humiliate Prince Yue and Princess Chen.

She reached out to hold Zhang Qilan’s hand. Feeling that her hand was icy cold, she hastily gripped it with great care and looked at Zhang Qilan, trying to comfort her.

Zhang Qilan turned around and smiled at her. Her face was indeed much better than before. She leaned over and said to Luo Xiaowan in a low voice, “I misunderstood them just now. Don’t tell Princess Chen. Otherwise, she might laugh at me!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t. It’s indeed…But I will ask Princess Chen about it in the future.” Luo Xiaowan vigorously expanded her chest and said. No one could be more delighted than her when she saw that Zhang Qilan got past this matter. How could she tell Princess Chen something that had not been confirmed? It might damage the friendship between them.

Everyone would lose control of their emotions sometimes. The key problem was that Prince Yue didn’t do this thing properly.

After thinking for a while, Luo Xiaowan suddenly thought of a rumor. She hesitated for a moment but still leaned over and whispered in Zhang Qilan’s ear, “In fact, I heard that First Miss of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion…that woman.”

To avoid being overheard by others, she deliberately said it vaguely, knowing Zhang Qilan could understand.

Shao Yanru, First Miss of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, was the one that everyone thought might become Princess Yue at first. Luo Xiaowan thought that if Prince Yue had some connections with someone, it must be Shao Yanru, definitely not Princess Chen.

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Zhang Qilan reached out and pinched Luo Xiaowan hard. Her arched eyebrows slightly creasing in pain, Luo Xiaowan frowned. “I know, he wouldn’t have an…with her.”

“Well, that’s good. It’s good that everyone is fine!” Seeing that Zhang Qilan bore no grudge, Luo Xiaowan cracked a smile. It was good that everyone was still the same…

“My Lady, who were they?” When the two long figures left, Yujie asked carefully, “Were they palace maids?”

They couldn’t be men because they wore women’s outfits.

Palace maids came and went most frequently.

“No, they aren’t palace maids!” Shao Wanru shook her head with certainty and pointed out their traits. “One of them has a hairpin with a string of pearls. Besides, they wore more than one hairpin.”

Since their shadows were quite stretched, she couldn’t see them so clearly. Vaguely, she saw a string of pearls shaking near the hairpin above one woman’s head. There was not only one but a row of pearls. Besides, there was more than one hairpin in her hair. Thus, she couldn’t be a palace maid. The palace maids were dressed in the same style today, and there was no such a luxurious row of pearls on their hairpins.

Another woman had no hairpin with pearls, but Shao Wanru could tell she used a few hairpins sticking out high from her hair. This woman should be a noble lady entering the Palace for the banquet.

Neither of them had taken any servant girls with them.

A trace of darkness slipped across her watery eyes. She hoped they were not the two people she thought of.

In this life, she was cautious and meticulous about everything at her heart. Not many people were like this among all the people she knew.

“My Lady…” Yujie wanted to say something more but was interrupted by Shao Wanru. She reached out to touch her head and asked, “Is Doctor Qiu still with us?”

Just now, the Empress asked Doctor Qiu to stay here because she feared that Shao Wanru would feel uncomfortable later.

Both Doctor Qiu, brought by the Empress, and Prince Yue were here to check up on her. The Empress did it more straightforwardly: she let Doctor Qiu feel her pulse, while Consort of Virtue brought Chu Liuyue here to see if she was truly injured according to his past experience.

Fortunately, Shao Wanru was indeed injured, so she was not afraid of being examined by them.

They all suspected that the Prince Chen’s Mansion had plotted the whole thing. So, the more seriously she was hurt, the less suspicious Chu Liuchen would be.

“Doctor Qiu is still here. My Lady, he is not a good person.” Hearing Shao Wanru’s words, Yujie answered immediately because she loathed Doctor Qiu.

As a doctor, Doctor Qiu brought death to his patient. How could she like a doctor like that? People like Doctor Qiu could no longer be called a doctor. They were actually more like killers who murdered others by underhand, subtle means.

Shao Wanru didn’t like Doctor Qiu either. When such a person staying at her tent entrance kept watching her movements, how could anyone like it? However, the Empress ordered him to stay here in the name of protecting Shao Wanru. How could Shao Wanru refuse such a well-meaning offer?

Shao Wanru slightly rolled her liquid eyes and hit upon an idea. She didn’t want Doctor Qiu to stay nearby, so she had to ask someone to take him away. Doctor Qiu appeared to be a nobody like Wei Dahai, but Shao Wanru couldn’t help being on guard against them…

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