Chapter 1178 Husband and Wife Harboring Different Designs

Zhao Xiran acted quickly. As soon as she received the invitation card, she went to Shao Hua’an’s study.

Seeing her coming, the servant at the study door quickly went in to report. When she arrived, he was already back at the door. He stepped forward and bowed with a smile. “Greetings, First Young Madam!”

“What is your master doing inside?” Zhao Xiran asked.

“He had been reading for a while. He felt tired, so he is resting now!” The servant smiled and pushed open the study door.

With a nod, Zhao Xiran entered the study. Shao Hua’an was leaning there. When he saw her coming in, he smiled and waved to her.

Zhao Xiran walked over and sat down beside the couch.

Shao Hua’an reached out to hold her hand and asked softly, “What’s wrong? Do you have anything to tell me?”

“Princess Chen asked me to go to her mansion,” Zhao Xiran said. “And she especially sent me an invitation, inviting me to enjoy the flowers.”

Princess Chen sent the invitation card instead of casually asking someone to see her. It would be improper for Zhao Xiran to refuse such an earnest invitation.

Did it represent the overbearing attitude of Prince Chen’s Mansion? Shao Hua’an said with his face darkening, “Fifth Sister is so… I’m sorry you have to put up with this!”

Zhao Xiran had to go even if she didn’t want to. The domineering attitude of Prince Chen’s Mansion disgusted him.

“I won’t feel wronged with you around.” Zhao Xiran sighed, her tender eyes on Shao Hua’an. She did marry into this mansion for another purpose. Even now, she was working to achieve her aim. Nevertheless, she was more and more concerned about Shao Hua’an. Seeing him like this, she inexplicably felt a little uneasy.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you suffer like this for long,” Shao Hua’an seriously promised, but in his eyes, there was a trace of coldness that she couldn’t understand. Somehow, Zhao Xiran felt flustered. She grabbed Shao Hua’an’s hand and comforted him, “It’s okay. Just study hard. I’ll take care of the affairs in the mansion…”

Speaking of this, she paused with a bitter look on her face. She could handle anything except for the matter of Shao Jing. She had thought Old Madam could stop Shao Jing, who was eager to bring his mistress home as his secondary legal wife. What a crazy idea he had!

If Shao Jing got what he wanted, they would feel too shameful to see others.

Unexpectedly, Old Madam agreed and specially called her over to scold her. Every time she thought of this, Zhao Xiran felt depressed. What was worse, she even felt Shao Hua’an and Old Madam had been hiding something from her.

She seemed to be the only one kept in the dark. Only she thought this arrangement inappropriate, while all the others felt it was okay.

She had privately complained to Shao Hua’an, but Shao Hua’an said she was too narrow-minded. The mistress gave birth to a daughter, who was his younger sister. In this case, they could no longer let that woman be a mistress. It was normal to give her a title. Since her position was unrelated to matters about sons and heirs, it was not a big deal.

Even so, how could such a mistress ask to get married as a secondary legal wife? It was an excessive demand in Zhao Xiran’s eyes.

Although the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was apparently declining, it was still an aristocratic family. At least, it had to maintain its dignity on the surface.

It was a scandal to keep a mistress outside, but it was not a rare thing. When a mistress was exposed, she would become a concubine in the mansion at most, and her daughter would be a concubine’s daughter.

How could any mistress get married in an open, grand way?

“Well, let’s forget it. It was my father’s choice. Since he is our elder, we have to listen to him!” Seeing her like this, Shao Hua’an knew she would mention this matter again. Inexplicably, he felt a little displeased. In the past few days, Zhao Xiran would talk about this matter with him whenever he was free. He was annoyed.

E’niang turned from a mistress to a concubine. So what? It was nothing serious.

The illegitimate daughter was the key. Only when the illegitimate daughter rightfully became the legitimate daughter could her status be raised. As a humble concubine, who was once a mistress, how could she fight for power?

“Hua’an, about this matter…” Zhao Xiran still wanted to persuade him, but when Shao Hua’an’s face darkened, she could only give up. She stood up and said, “I’ll go to the Prince Chen’s Mansion in a while.”

When she stopped talking about that matter, Shao Hua’an calmed down and said with a gentle face, “Be careful. If you feel upset when talking with her, don’t mind it. I apologize to you on behalf of my Fifth Sister. Remember to ask Fifth Sister about my sister later.”

He was sure Shao Wanru would not say anything nice. Moreover, he only focused on Shao Yanru. So, Zhao Xiran was supposed to get some information today, and he knew Zhao Xiran would have been wronged.

Zhao Xiran was very disappointed. She just nodded and lowered her head to hide the disappointment in her eyes.

She was utterly disappointed. After leaving the study, she stood outside and looked back with inexplicable bitterness in her eyes.

She had ulterior motives and wanted to do something secretly, but all of this was for Shao Jing, not Shao Hua’an. She believed she had done nothing wrong to Shao Hua’an. In addition, she increasingly cared about Shao Hua’an.

However, unlike what he had promised, Shao Hua’an didn’t seem to take her seriously.

Because Shao Hua’an repeatedly expressed his affection for her, she agreed to marry into the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Perhaps, she was seriously wrong!

Clenching her handkerchief hard, she hid all the sadness in her eyes with a sigh and went out with her servant girl!

When Zhao Xiran arrived at the Prince Chen’s Mansion, Shao Wanru was admiring the flowers in the garden. She was on the pavilion’s second floor. From the window there, she could enjoy the lake’s natural beauty and these lovely flowers. Green bamboos stood upright, accompanied by exquisite waterside pavilions. Such a view was pleasing.

Some tender, pink lotus buds on the water’s surface made the lake look even more charming.

Seeing Zhao Xiran coming over, Shao Wanru waved the round silk fan at her and asked her to sit with her behind the fence.

The terrace behind the fence was very wide. There were fruits and snacks on the table. The tea had just been poured into the cups. Zhao Xiran enjoyed the view and smelled the tea fragrance wafting in the air, feeling pleasant and refreshing.

She sat opposite Shao Wanru as she was told and looked out of the window. When she saw the incredible view of the lake, the depression in her heart seemed to have faded a little. This was indeed a nice place to appreciate flowers.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xiran looked at Shao Wanru with a smile and asked, “Your Highness, are you all right?”

It seemed to be a blunt question, but the meaning was obvious — people in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion had also heard of the incident in the two foreign princesses’ courtyard.

“I’m fine!” Shao Wanru glanced at Zhao Xiran and smiled.

“That’s good.” Zhao Xiran looked relieved. “Fortunately, you’re okay. You’d better be more careful when you go out in the future…”

Speaking of this, she looked a little embarrassed. Something had happened to Shao Wanru when she came to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion last time. Although it had something to do with Old Madam, she felt embarrassed. After all, she came here as the First Young Madam of Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Luckily, Shao Wanru didn’t mention it and just talked about something else with a smile. “Has Second Uncle’s problem been solved after Old Madam returned?”

“About him…” Zhao Xiran lowered her head and sighed. This matter had been weighing on her mind for a long time. A cheap bitch would be her mother-in-law. Whenever she thought of it, Zhao Xiran would feel agitated. No matter how hard she tried, Zhao Xiran couldn’t get over it.

A woman like her had always been proud and arrogant. How could she not hold such a mistress in contempt?

“Old Madam agreed to their marriage, saying that… the woman also came from a good family. She seems to be a Miss from an aristocratic family!” Zhao Xiran felt stuffy in her chest.

Zhao Xiran didn’t believe it anyway. That woman had been her father-in-law’s mistress for so many years. How could any decent lady do that? If she was a daughter of an aristocratic family, her family must have been pissed off by her shameless conduct. They would quickly get rid of her so as not to implicate other unmarried girls in the family.

When that woman came to their mansion, Zhao Xiran glanced at her from afar. It was apparent she was not from a decent family. Although she was not overly coquettish, her ingratiating and luscious manner with Marquis Xing was simply intolerable to the eye.

Once the mistress became her father-in-law’s secondary legal wife, she would attend the social activities of the mansion. Madam Jiang was locked up now and couldn’t go out to socialize. As a result, Zhao Xiran would have to appear in public with this disgraceful woman and regard her as her mother-in-law. Whenever Zhao Xiran thought of this, she felt as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed a fly and only wanted to throw up.

In her heart, she repeatedly told herself to ignore this insignificant woman. Anyway, she was not her husband’s biological mother, and she didn’t have to take her seriously. However, Zhao Xiran just couldn’t accept it.

“Which aristocratic family is she from?” Shao Wanru asked with a trace of surprise in her watery eyes.

“I heard that the matter happened more than a decade ago. An imperial censor was exiled because he offended the former emperor. That woman was a Miss in the imperial censor’s family. She met my father-in-law when she left the capital. Back then, she was supposed to leave the capital with her family. Unexpectedly, some wicked people dispersed their carriages on the way, and she was separated from her family. After that, she encountered my father-in-law.”

Zhao Xiran said in detail. She didn’t believe the whole thing. After she heard the story, she asked her father, Minister Zhao, to inquire about it. It turned out that there was such a thing indeed. It was said that the imperial censor lost his daughter in the chaos. Surprisingly, she came across Shao Jing and became his mistress. Well, the story sounded flawless.

As for the imperial censor, he had not returned to the capital for so many years. He had been a small official outside the capital for more than ten years and never came back to the capital. She couldn’t find the imperial censor even if she wanted to ask him about the truth.

In other words, it was useless to investigate. Zhao Xiran had to believe it, no matter what.

“You should ask some people to investigate this matter. Who knows if she is a liar!” Shao Wanru casually reminded her.

“I’ve checked it out but found nothing useful. Besides, that woman even took out a jade pendant. The people who saw it said the imperial censor’s wife indeed had such a jade pendant on her,” Zhao Xiran said helplessly.

She didn’t believe a word of this story.

If this mistress were a Miss of the imperial censor’s family, she should be well-bred and have a sense of shame. How could she get involved with Marquis Xing? For so many years, Marquis Xing didn’t marry her. However, she was willing to live with him and even gave birth to a daughter for him. Didn’t she know it was despicable to be a mistress?

From her deeds, Zhao Xiran didn’t think she looked like a daughter of an aristocratic family.

Anyway, Zhao Xiran would never believe it!

“The jade pendant belongs to the imperial censor’s wife, but it can’t prove that she is the imperial censor’s daughter. Hasn’t anyone seen her other family members?” Shao Wanru asked in confusion.

“It’s been so many years. Even if some people had seen her family, they must have forgotten it.” Zhao Xiran became more and more annoyed and answered with a wry smile. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

“Things that happened many years ago may be unclear to you, but others may know something… Hasn’t Second Uncle done anything unusual when he was in the mansion?” Shao Wanru asked casually, gently shaking the round fan in her hand. Then, she turned to see the scenery outside the fence. She seemed not to take this matter seriously and just commented on it casually. “Marquis Xing has kept this mistress for so many years. Even if others are in the dark about this, how could the shrewd Old Madam not know it?”

There was a hint of sarcasm in her words.

If it were someone else talking about her grandmother, Zhao Xiran would think she was wrong. But now, Zhao Xiran felt that Shao Wanru’s words made sense. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind…

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