Chapter 1175 It Jogged Her Memory
“What is it?” Shao Wanru’s eyes fell on a small piece of jade before her. It looked like a token. The fruit was made of blue jade, while yellow jade was the base. It should have been like a fruit, but this token looked like a flattened fruit. At first glance, it seemed an authenticating object of the inner court.
Of course, it couldn’t be a real authenticating object. Instead, the word “token” appeared in Shao Wanru’s mind.
“This token will be yours from now on!” Qin Yiyan looked at the token on the table, feeling reluctant to part with it. Her nose twitched, and she felt like crying. “This token should be mine!”
Shao Wanru did not expect it to be an actual token and couldn’t help laughing in surprise. Entirely at ease, she reached to take it and played with it carefully.
“You accepted it for real?” Qin Yiyan was slightly annoyed because Shao Wanru took it over casually and didn’t treat such a valuable thing seriously. She neither expressed her thanks nor pretended to refuse such a precious item.
“Can’t I take it?” Shao Wanru squinted at her and said, “Since it’s for His Highness, I can have it!”
She said it in such a very matter-of-fact way. Qin Yiyan was so annoyed that she burst out laughing. For some reason, she felt Princess Chen looked different from what she had expected. Qin Yiyan had thought she was a hypocritical and delicate beauty who looked impressive but lacked real worth. At least Princess Chen was now lively and courageous in her eyes.
She could take her cousin’s things whenever she wanted.
“This is for my cousin, and he may not give it to you,” argued Qin Yiyan. Although less irritated in her heart, she still appeared to be foaming with rage.
“Since it belongs to your cousin, he will give it to me.” Looking at Qin Yiyan’s reluctant look, Shao Wanru smiled.
Previously, she had misunderstood Qin Yiyan, thinking she was interested in Chu Liuchen. Thus, Shao Wanru was pretty hostile to her, especially when Qin Yiyan said she would be a better legal wife for Chu Liuchen. But now, she could tell Miss Qin seemed to be more interested in this token, and Chu Liuchen was more like a target she would acquire in passing. Thinking of this, Shao Wanru immediately felt much better and inexplicably liked her.
It was hard to pin down the relationship between people. When they first met, they loathed each other, but now both felt it was not difficult to get along.
Shao Wanru was so confident, and Qin Yiyan felt a little uncomfortable. “This is a precious thing from the deceased empress. Later, she sent it to my family. Before I came to the capital this time, my father gave it to me. Now that I have transferred it to you, I will never interfere in any affairs of your mansion.” Qin Yiyan said in a huff.
Her father repeatedly told her to protect Prince Chen and support him. In his opinion, although Prince Chen was in poor health, he was the most orthodox descendant of the royal family and the Qin family. Therefore, they must do all in their power to help Prince Chen ascend the throne.
She wanted to be loyal and contribute to Prince Chen, but he didn’t allow her to do so. The more Qin Yiyan thought about it, the angrier she became. She had been cultivating martial arts hard for so many years because she fully intended to protect the sick and weak Prince Chen. Unexpectedly, he didn’t appreciate her effort.
“I’m going back!” Qin Yiyan suddenly stood up. The more she thought about it, the more resentful and aggrieved she felt. In the past, Consort Lan supported her and praised her for being a nice choice for Prince Chen. But after hearing Prince Chen’s words, she changed her mind.
All her hard work over the years seemed to go for nothing!
“Cousin Qin, wait a minute!” Seeing that she was leaving in anger, Shao Wanru put down the token in her hand and said to her.
“What did you call me?” Qin Yiyan turned around in disbelief. Since they met, Princess Chen had never been close to her and kept calling her Miss Qin.
“Cousin? Aren’t you His Highness’s cousin? Then, you are also my cousin, right? Cousin Qin, please sit down first. I have something to tell you!” Shao Wanru’s long eyelashes fluttered twice, and she revealed a gentle smile.
But Qin Yiyan was unwilling to talk because Shao Wanru seemed to take her undeserved gain for granted. Shao Wanru was younger, so how could she have the nerve to treat her like a younger sister? Nevertheless, Qin Yiyan sat back in her chair. Tilting her head, she snorted coldly like a defeated rooster.
Shao Wanru burst into laughter and said, “Since you’ve come to the capital, it’s inconvenient for you to live outside alone. Don’t move out of the mansion in the future. It’s better for you to live in the mansion. If you want to visit Consort Lan, you can go and see her. It may be improper for me to visit her!”
With this, the smile on Shao Wanru’s face faded. She gave a gentle sigh and frowned slightly.
“Why can’t you go to meet Consort Lan? Do you know how much she wants to see you? But you and my cousin never visit her when in the Palace!” Qin Yiyan said indignantly. Consort Lan was so pitiful and devoted to Prince Chen. How could Prince Chen ignore her like that?
Consort Lan would agree to anything Prince Chen said.
“You know your cousin. He doesn’t want me to see Consort Lan, and it’s indeed not inappropriate for me to visit her often. But you’re different. You’re her niece, so it’s proper for you to visit her. Now you live in the Prince Chen’s Mansion. It will be easier for Consort Lan to send messages through you if anything happens.”
Shao Wanru said in a soft and earnest voice.
She had grown quite fond of Consort Lan, but at the same time, she had to respect Chu Liuchen’s ideas. There were some things that she didn’t want to recall. The more she thought about them, the more distressed she felt for Chu Liuchen and the less she wanted Chu Liuchen to be sad. On the other hand, she pitied Consort Lan and hoped she would be happy.
She didn’t know how to deal with this relationship before. Luckily, with Qin Yiyan, many knotty problems could be smoothly solved.
Qin Yiyan’s earlier performance had helped her win Shao Wanru’s recognition. Meanwhile, in her heart, she accepted Qin Yiyan as her cousin.
“Why doesn’t Prince Chen go to see Consort Lan?” Shao Wanru’s words sounded reasonable, and she seemed quite considerate to Consort Lan. The anger in Qin Yiyan’s heart gradually dissipated, but she was still unwilling to give up. Thus, she deliberately asked this. In her eyes, Prince Chen was also Consort Lan’s nephew. Why didn’t he visit Consort Lan? It was not a shameful relationship.
“He has his considerations. At present, the imperial court is not at peace either. Consort Lan is now the favorite consort of the imperial harem. With so many people watching, it is inconvenient for His Highness to meddle in it even if he wants to. He has to act the same as before. Otherwise, others will think he accepts her only after Consort Lan regains the Emperor’s favor. This will not be good for His Highness and Consort Lan,” Shao Wanru said. Her words were vague, but the meaning was realistic.
Qin Yiyan thought for a moment and agreed with Shao Wanru. With a nod, she said, “Okay, I got it. I will visit Consort Lan in the Palace from time to time. If you enter the Palace, take me with you. Consort Lan is too lonely.”
“Okay!” Shao Wanru said. She rolled her watery eyes slightly and asked, “You live a little far away from me. Do you want me to change a bigger and closer courtyard for you?”
Back then, she suspected Qin Yiyan had bad intentions, so she deliberately found a remote corner for her to live in. Now that all their misunderstandings had been cleared up, she had to ask her how she thought about her dwelling.
“No, that place is fine. Don’t let me live too close to you. I’m afraid my cousin will throw me out.” Qin Yiyan snorted and was very distressed. Her cousin had badly discouraged her. She felt a little scared when she thought about it and didn’t want to get anywhere close to him.
Looking at Shao Wanru, she felt her cousin-in-law was more thoughtful. She was not in a good mood after giving out the token, but still, she felt satisfied with the overall situation.
While they were talking, Qin Yiyan was observing this new cousin-in-law. The more she watched her, the more she felt her cousin-in-law was not as delicate as she looked on the surface. Instead, she was a very independent-minded young woman in a position of power to manage affairs in the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Even her cousin could not decide and act arbitrarily in his mansion, was he?
Thinking of this, Qin Yiyan felt even more satisfied.
Chu Liuchen had treated her harshly, so she was glad to see him being bullied.
“That’s good. Everyone knows Consort Lan arranged for you to live here, and you never get along well with me. Maybe, someone will come to you and ask you to make trouble for me!” Shao Wanru joked, feeling it a good idea.
“Then I’ll wait and see who will invite me to deal with you, my little cousin-in-law!” Qin Yiyan’s interest was aroused. She happened to be very bored after handing in her treasure.
“Just wait and see!” Shao Wanru said with a smile, and a trace of deep meaning flashed in her eyes. Qin Yiyan had moved in with such a unique background. As an explicit “threat” to her, how could she not attract attention?
Fortunately, they now stopped quarreling and made peace with each other. This way, she would not have to spare much effort to deal with Qin Yiyan, not to mention that Consort Lan was also involved.
The current situation was the best…
After Qin Yiyan left, the room quieted down. Shao Wanru’s eyes became cold with a trace of hostility.
How could she forget that candle?
She didn’t see it clearly then and wondered what it was. But at the sight of the candle, she remembered it was about a candle. The candle looked nothing special but was the most critical thing. She should have seen this candle at the last moment of her previous life, right?
Her blood suddenly ran cold, and her chest tightened. She felt suffocated by the dull chest pains. It had been a long time since she remembered the last bloody scene. When she recognized the candle, she shivered with cold. Only when her heart pounded did she feel she was alive.
Everything about the little prince, the child who had been murdered, seemed to appear before her. Bloody waves rose and surged as if they were going to drag her back into the sea of blood, into the last moment full of desperate cries.
He was cut into half at the waist but didn’t die immediately…
That day, they had all been in the Southern Palace. Why? What had she heard and seen when coming to the Southern Palace? Some vague memories had popped up in her mind all of a sudden. The candle seemed to have opened part of her sealed memories.
Involuntarily, she pressed her hands against her chest and bent down. It was the most basic protective gesture she subconsciously did to make herself feel safe and secure. Behind the bushes that day, she heard some people talking. It should be a conversation between Shao Yanru and Chu Liuyue…
After so many twists and turns, she met the same thing again.
Now she could be sure that Shao Yanru was not dead and must be hiding somewhere. No matter what, she would not let them succeed…
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