“Great Elder Princess, these are part of Infanta Qinghua’s dowries that she left behind, please count them,” Old Madam said with a smile.
Nanny Yu took out a list from her sleeve and handed it to Great Elder Princess respectfully.
Great Elder Princess looked at the list but did not take it immediately. She lifted the corners of her mouth and said with a sneer, “What do you mean by part of?”
“You may not know this, but when Infanta Qinghua married into our mansion, she got along very well with everyone in the mansion and gave some of her dowries to us as gifts. She also gave some to her friends and relatives as gifts during all kinds of festivals. As for those gifts, I don’t think there is any need to record them on the list, and we don’t need to ask those people to return those gifts, do we?” Old Madam answered unhurriedly.
“Some dowries are not on the list because they were burned in the fire. When that courtyard was on fire, you saw it, right? It was Wanru that lived in that courtyard, which had been prepared for the main branch. All those decorating objects in the courtyard were from Infanta Qinghua’s private storehouse. It’s such a pity that those objects were burned down. However, it was an accident, and there is nothing we could do about it,” Old Madam sighed as she said.
She took the list from Nanny Yu, placed it on the table, and pushed it to Great Elder Princess. “Great Elder Princess, please have a look. If there is anything else missing, our mansion is willing to compensate you for it.”
Great Elder Princess was so angry that she almost laughed. She had never seen a person as shameless as Old Madam. The list was so short, so she knew at a glance that many things were still missing. When Qinghua married into Duke Xing’s Mansion, she had so many dowries that the lists were bound into a booklet. However, now, the list was so short.
“Old Madam, if my memory serves me right, when that courtyard was on fire, Zhuozhuo was just temporarily living in that courtyard. She had just known her true identity, how could the courtyard have been prepared long ago? Besides, I heard that the courtyard was prepared by Madam of Duke Xing for First Young Master of your mansion. Is it true?”
Great Elder Princess sneered and did not take the list.
“That’s just a rumor!” Old Madam smiled to cover her embarrassment, retracted her hand, leaving the list there on the table.
“Well, more than one person said it was prepared for First Young Master of your mansion. Do you need me to invite some ladies that were introduced by Madam of Duke Xing to come over and verify if what I said is true or not? Let them tell us if the courtyard was prepared for First Young Master of your mansion or for Zhuozhuo, who had just entered your mansion for one day back then.”
Great Elder Princess sneered and continued with an angry face, “The first day Zhuozhuo moved in, there was an accident that night. Someone framed Zhuozhuo at first and then, suddenly, the courtyard was on fire. If Zhuozhuo had not been lucky, she would have lost her reputation or even her life at that time. I want to ask you, Old Madam, why did such a terrible thing happen to Zhuozhuo as soon as she entered Duke Xing’s Mansion while the mansion had been in peace for so many years and all those ladies in the mansion had been fine?”
Great Elder Princess didn’t intend to go easy on Duke Xing’s Mansion this time. She thought that Duke Xing’s Mansion went too far this time, and she was ready to fall out with them.
It had been decided that Zhuozhuo would marry Chu Liuchen, and Hao’er was still young, so it wouldn’t have a big impact on him even if she fell out with them.
She slammed the table so hard that the teacup on the table shook.
In fact, Old Madam was very depressed when that courtyard was on fire. She had even suspected Madam of Duke Xing of setting the courtyard on fire, but she didn’t think that Madam of Duke Xing would be so stupid as to do such a thing. After all, that was the courtyard Madam of Duke Xing carefully prepared, so she had no reason to burn it down just to take Shao Wanru’s life. However, Old Madam could not think of any other people who might be the person behind this.
Even if she racked her brains, she would never expect that it was Shao Wanru that planned the whole thing for the purpose of not falling into Madam of Duke Xing’s trap.
“That fire was just an accident…” Old Madam coughed softly.
“An accident? Would an accident cause one’s reputation to be ruined and cause one to lose his life? There were so many ladies in your mansion, and why did they never have an accident? However, as soon as Zhuozhuo entered your mansion, someone eagerly wanted to kill her and ruin her reputation, leaving her no choice.” Great Elder Princess snorted coldly and yelled.
Old Madam was so angry at Great Elder Princess’s aggressive attitude that her face turned pale. If it weren’t for that accident, Shao Wanru wouldn’t have gone to the Yuhui Nunnery in mourning for her parents, which helped her gain a good reputation but at the same time, put Duke Xing’s Mansion. in the spotlight. Many people secretly gossiped that Duke Xing’s Mansion was evil. Thinking of this, Old Madam felt depressed.
She was forced to suffer the loss silently back then and failed to find out who was behind it. She didn’t believe that the courtyard was set on fire itself. The fire was so huge, and kerosene was found on the spot, so the fire must have been set by someone.
In the end, Shao Wanru was the only person who benefited from the matter. Thus, Old Madam had suspected Shao Wanru of being the person behind it, but after careful thought, she thought it was impossible.
Back then, Shao Wanru was just eleven years old and had never experienced such a thing, so it was impossible for her to conduct such a thing. What was more, even if she wanted to do it, she had no access to kerosene. Moreover, she went to the mansion in the company of Qin Yuru, so she couldn’t have prepared kerosene in advance.
She couldn’t have learned the matter related to Madam of Duke Xing either. She was just a small kid, and even if she had Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s advice, she couldn’t come up with such a careful plan.
After thinking over it, Old Madam turned to suspect the third branch of the mansion. After all, the third branch had suffered a huge loss, so it was possible that they did such a thing in resentment.
However, Old Madam didn’t dare to dig into it as she believed that it would become a scandal of their mansion in the end. If Old Madam’s third daughter-in-law was really behind it and was held accountable for the accident, then, she possibly would reveal what Old Madam’s second daughter-in-law and Qin Yuru were up for and how she was implicated by them. Besides, Old Madam was not sure about her suspicion.
Her third daughter-in-law had never had a hand in household affairs. How could she have done something like this without anyone noticing? Furthermore, she had been so badly injured back then that she couldn’t have been able to make any arrangements.
The case remained suspicious in Duke Xing’s Mansion, and Old Madam was afraid to mention it, but now, it was brought up by Great Elder Princess. Old Madam didn’t know what to say and felt very aggrieved.
“Old Madam, I don’t care what you think, but your mansion has owed me an explanation for three years. Now, you tell me that the courtyard was on fire and Qinghua’s dowries have been burned away. Well, it seems like your mansion were so lucky to have gained all the benefits while my daughter and granddaughter were so unlucky to have had an accident. If you insist that what you said is the truth, then let’s go to His Majesty and let him judge the matter.” Rui’an Great Elder Princess snapped.
“I’ll ask Her Majesty the Empress Dowager to ask those ladies who had visited your mansion back then to come over and tell us what Madam of Duke Xing had said. I’ll ask them why Qinghua’s dowries were moved to that courtyard. After that, let’s talk about why the people of your mansion wanted to hurt Zhuozhuo again and again just as she entered your mansion.”
The more Rui’an Great Elder Princess said, the angrier she became. Thinking of her daughter who had died young, her granddaughter who had lived in other’s family for so many years, and her grandson who was almost taught into a good-for-nothing, she was so furious and couldn’t suppress her anger.
Shao Wanru had told her that she could say whatever she wanted and do whatever she wanted with no scruples.
Anyway, she didn’t like Duke Xing’s Mansion; there was no need to show them respect.
Seeing that Rui’an Great Elder Princess mentioned the Empress Dowager again and seemed to be prepared to fall out with them, Old Madam felt afraid. Duke Xing’s Mansion would be found to be in the wrong if they dug into the matter, and it might cause more secrets of the mansion to be exposed. Thus, Old Madam did not dare to argue with Great Elder Princess in terms of this matter.
“Great Elder Princess, don’t be angry. Even if it’s for the sake of Hao’er and Wanru, you should hold your temper. No one wanted the misfortune to happen. Forget it, I’ll take it as our being unlucky. How about we compensate you for the missing objects at their original prices?” Old Madam softened her tone as she said.
“At their original prices? Can you afford it? Among them, many objects were made by the royal palace. You say that you will compensate me according to their original prices, then I want to ask, do you know their prices?” Rui’an Great Elder Princess mocked.
Old Madam blushed. The objects made by the royal palace were certainly much more precious than ordinary ones.
“What else can we do? As I said, no one wanted the misfortune to happen. We can’t really fall out with each other just because of those objects, can we? We’ll try our best to compensate you. Wanru is going to marry Prince Chen, so I don’t think it’s good for us to make a fuss over the matter at this time.”
Despite her soft tone, Old Madam was trying to threaten Great Elder Princess with Shao Wanru’s marriage.
Great Elder Princess sneered. Zhuozhuo had expected Old Madam to say those words, and fortunately, Great Elder Princess had prepared for this.
“Well, it’s Her Majesty the Empress Dowager who intends to let Zhuozhuo marry Prince Chen. If you think Her Majesty won’t get angry even if you ruin the marriage, then you can try to do it. At most, I’ll take care of Zhuozhuo if you kick her out,” Great Elder Princess said.
These words were like a slap in the face to Duke Xing’s Mansion. Everyone in the city knew that the people of Duke Xing’s Mansion had a hard time not long ago. After the Empress Dowager decided to let Shao Wanru marry Prince Chen, Duke Xing’s Mansion saw the hope of a better life. Therefore, Old Madam didn’t want to see anything ruin the marriage even more than Rui’an Great Elder Princess.
“Great Elder Princess, what do you think we should do? Those objects made by the royal palace have been burned into ashes. We can’t find the same objects in the world.” Old Madam was angry and full of resentment. She clenched her fists but had to soften her attitude first.
Rui’an Great Elder Princess also knew that she couldn’t push her too hard. She sat down with a cold snort and ordered Nanny Gao beside her. “Take out what we brought over!”
Nanny Gao nodded and took out a list from her sleeve. Old Madam took the list and she was furious after reading its content. However, she was at a disadvantage now, so she had no choice but to agree to it. She could only offer compensation according to the list Great Elder Princess gave her, even though Duke Xing’s Mansion would suffer a loss that was 20% to 30% larger than she had expected.
Shao Wanru would get married, and became a part of other’s family. Old Madam’s heart ached when she thought of the loss their mansion would suffer this time. However, since Great Elder Princess had a hold on her, she could only do as she said despite her unwillingness.
After “negotiating” with Old Madam, Great Elder Princess specially went to the Piaoyun Courtyard.
Seeing Great Elder Princess coming in with a bright smile on her face, Shao Wanru knew that her grandma had won the battle against Old Madam this time. She walked to the door with a smile and greeted her. “Grandma.”
“Let’s get in and talk!” Great Elder Princess took Shao Wanru’s hand and said with a smile, seeming to be in a good mood.