青春期撞上更年期第1部

“You don’t have to be so polite.” Wen Xichi said, his clear and soft eyes on Shao Wanru. “May I ask you a question?”

“Please go ahead, Lord Wen!” Shao Wanru smiled.

“Back then, you had just moved to the capital, but you seemed to have trusted me at first glance. Why would you believe me, a person you just met? And you even let me vouch for you. Weren’t you afraid that I would deceive you?”

They first met in the Butterfly Clothing Shop. At that time, Shao Wanru was just an eleven-year-old girl who had just entered the capital. While Wen Xichi, Third Young Master Wen of the Mansion of the Prime Minister, hadn’t yet become the Number One Scholar. Nevertheless, it was certain that they had never met before.

“I was young then. When I saw you, I thought you must be a good person, so I took it for granted that you would help me. Now when I think about it, I feel myself childish!” Shao Wanru thought back on it and laughed in spite of herself.

She was under fifteen but beyond her years in speech. Her charming, liquid eyes slightly crinkled up at the corners as she smiled. He felt a natural charm emanating from her. Meanwhile, she held herself slightly aloof, neither close nor distant to him.

“Then, thank you for trusting me!” Wen Xichi averted his gaze and said with a lopsided smile. He stood up and gave Shao Wanru a fist-and-palm salute. “I still have something to do in the yamen, so I’ll take my leave first!”

Shao Wanru got up, bowed sideways with a smile, and said, “I have to thank you for what you did today. Without you here, I don’t know what would have happened!”

She deliberately planned to take Wei Dahai down with one blow today and shatter his fantastic idea. Lucky for her, Wen Xichi was well-prepared and brought all the evidence necessary to convict them. In this way, even if Wei Dahai and his wife had other ideas, they didn’t dare to say anything.

Shao Wanru had these formal documents and an official of the Ministry of Justice to be the witness. So, even if they had to go to court, Wei Dahai couldn’t win the case, not to mention Madame Dong had been supporting Shao Wanru wholeheartedly.

“I’m happy to help, Your Highness. If Wei Dahai makes trouble again, just send for me!” Wen Xichi said in a businesslike manner and turned to leave.

Many people had gathered around the Butterfly Clothing Shop, gossiping about the matters among Wei Dahai, his wife, and Madame Dong. When they saw Wen Xichi come out, someone exclaimed in a low voice. Obviously, the person recognized Wen Xichi.

She leaned aside and took a few steps to avoid Wen Xichi, her eyes landing on the accountant’s office with the door unlatched. Then, she looked up at Wen Xichi’s back with a trace of disapproval in her eyes. Sure enough, Shao Wanru was never a decent woman. Not only did she hook up with Chu Liuyue, but she also had an intimate relationship with Third Young Master Wen.

“My Lady!” When a servant girl called her in a low voice, she withdrew her eyes. Then she looked down at the few bolts of gauze before her. Just now, she casually picked them to cover up her real intention.

“How could Shao Wanru uphold justice for others here?”

She came late and roughly heard that, which aroused her curiosity. Thus, she stayed to listen to the gossip and was surprised to see Wen Xichi come out of Shao Wanru’s room.

Wen Xichi, a noble young master, was also one of the few well-known young talents in the capital city. Infanta Yuan’an rather admired him and even regarded him as an ideal husband. Of course, marrying a prince was always the best choice for her. After all, she was looking forward to getting the high and mighty position as the empress.

“All of them!” Infanta Yuan’an said carelessly, asking her servant girl to pay the bill. Before they walked away, Infanta Yuan’an stood at the door and looked outside, but she didn’t see Wen Xichi. He should have left early. A gloomy look flashed across her eyes. “Chu Liuyue, Zhang Qilan, and now Wen Xichi…”

“Your Highness, isn’t it time for us to go back to the mansion?” The servant girl reminded her cautiously. Infanta Yuan’an had sneaked out of the mansion without noticing Ruiping Great Elder Princess. The wedding was approaching, so Ruiping Great Elder Princess didn’t allow Infanta Yuan’an to go out casually.

“Let’s go!” Infanta Yuan’an nodded and was no longer in the mood to stroll around. When she got on the carriage, she thought for a moment and ordered the servant girl, “Go to Prince Zhou’s second courtyard outside the capital!”

Chu Liuzhou spent much time in his second courtyard outside the city. When Infanta Yuan’an went to ask his whereabouts, she learned that Chu Liuzhou had been living in his dwelling place outside the city these days.

“Your Highness, this… this is a breach of etiquette!” The servant girl hurriedly cautioned her.

“Don’t chatter on and on!” Infanta Yuan’an frowned unhappily, her fierce eyes sweeping across her. The servant girl was so scared that she hurriedly lowered her head and no longer dared to try to stop her master.

The carriage turned a corner and drove out of the city. Around the corner, Wen Xichi appeared at the intersection with his hands clasped behind his back. From a distance, he watched the carriage leave. He learned from the mark on the carriage that it belonged to the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. It should be Infanta Yuan’an who peeped at him outside the shop.

When in the Butterfly Clothing Shop, Wen Xichi seemed to have seen a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. However, she dodged aside fast, so he didn’t find out who it was. In the past, Wen Xichi would smile and ignore this matter. He didn’t care who paid attention to him but avoided him later. But since he served in the Ministry of Justice, he became more vigilant and deliberately kept an eye on her.

“Why would Infanta Yuan’an avoid me? Shouldn’t she be waiting to get married in the mansion now?” Infanta Yuan’an didn’t wear a veil. Although Wen Xichi didn’t see her clearly, he knew her wound must have healed. Otherwise, she wouldn’t go out without wearing a veil. He watched the carriage leave. It turned into the official road in the middle and sped up, advancing without the intention of stopping. It seemed it would go out of the city along this official road.

“What’s outside the city?

“Prince Zhou’s second courtyard?” This answer arose naturally in Wen Xichi’s mind. He pondered for a moment, looked again in the direction the carriage left, and turned to leave…

Shao Wanru had no idea what had happened outside. Little did she know Infanta Yuan’an imagined many unreal things according to the partial facts she had seen. In addition, she had gone to tell Chu Liuzhou everything.

“My Lady, is this matter settled? Won’t they come over again?” Madame Dong was still worried, fearing that Wei Dahai and his wife wouldn’t give up. She deeply hated this couple and didn’t want to see them again.

“Wei Dahai dare not do that. I won’t solve the dispute privately if they trouble us with it again. Instead, I’ll sue them and bring them to a bad ending.” With a smile, Shao Wanru comforted Madame Dong.

“But… but…” Recently, Madame Dong had been restless with anxiety because of the couple. Even at this time, she was a little unsure about the future.

“Don’t worry. It won’t happen. The couple is not simple. Except for their crisis of money, the matter of their niece will keep them busy.” Seeing Madame Dong still feel uneasy, Shao Wanru revealed some information. “If Commandery Prince Qing wants to marry the Xu State princess, their niece will have no choice but to be a consort.”

Mo Qiuyi was also a woman who couldn’t be seen through easily. How could she be simple?

“That’s the best. They’d better not come again.” Madame Dong made an effort to compose herself and said, gritting her teeth decisively. Princess Chen’s words appeased her. The Xu State princess had just entered the capital, so Wei Dahai and his wife would be too occupied to deal with her. “My Lady, when can I transfer the shop to you?”

“In a few days, Yujie will come and take you to close the case in the Ministry of Justice. We’ll get everything done!” Shao Wanru said. She had written a letter to Wen Xichi, asking him to look into the case involving their shop-boy. Since Wen Xichi mentioned it before the couple, the case wouldn’t be a big problem.

“Yes, I’ll wait for Yujie to come over!” Madame Dong nodded. With the ownership of Butterfly Clothing Shop settled, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

They only needed to change the owner’s name in a register. Everything else remained the same. For Madame Dong, Wei Dahai lost an excuse to harass her, which was the best.

After solving this issue, Shao Wanru asked about the shop’s situation before leaving with her servants. She was going to ask Chu Liuchen to send someone to check up on Wei Dahai. Why was he so short of money? To get this shop, he even had the courage to confront Princess Chen. Anyway, there must be something fishy about it.

Wei Dahai and his wife returned to their mansion in low spirits. Both of them looked very embarrassed. After asking all the servants to leave, the couple watched each other in uncomfortable silence.

“What should we do now?” Wei Dahai touched his head and asked in distress. He did need money, a large sum of money. Initially, he intended to make ends meet with the Butterfly Clothing Shop.

“Did Commandery Prince Qing say anything?” Madam Ouyang thought for a moment and asked, wearing a worried frown. Her face set in grim lines. “Would he make Qiuyi his consort?”

“That was what Commandery Prince Qing meant. After all, the princess from the Xu State is also… of royal blood. And her status is much higher than Qiuyi’s!” Wei Dahai vaguely said.

“Much higher? I think they’re the same. They are both the descendants of the princesses. Why do you think she is nobler? Honestly, Qiuyi’s blood relationship is closer, and her background is better. He thought the Xu State princess had higher status and changed his mind. But what did he promise us? We had made a deal, but he got back on his word!”

Madam Ouyang slammed her hand heavily on the table and scolded angrily, “Ungrateful thing! Doesn’t he remember who saved him? How dare he break off the engagement now!”

After a long silence, Wei Dahai spoke, “What’s the point of getting angry? We can’t let him dissolve his marriage with Qiuyi. Why don’t you go and talk to Consort Dowager Qing? In the first place, we made a big effort to save Commandery Prince Qing and her mother, but now they can’t even guarantee Qiuyi a position. How could they do that?”

“It’s all your fault. You should have let Qiuyi marry him earlier, but you decided to postpone it. You said they couldn’t marry before Prince Chen got married. Now, great! You’ve given them a reason to break off the engagement!” Madam Ouyang said grumpily.

“Don’t worry. Commandery Prince Qing has to rely on us to get married. At present, the best approach is to prove our strength. It’s just that we lack a sum of money!” Wei Dahai said.

“We can sell a few pieces of land and go to the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion. I’ll talk to Consort Dowager Qing about it!” Madam Ouyang said, smoldering with indignation. At this point, she could only sell something to get the money!

“That’s it. You’ll have to take the trouble of going to the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion!” Wei Dahai said helplessly. He had given up on the Butterfly Clothing Shop and would never dare to think about getting it. Princess Chen almost had all the evidence. If he insisted on taking it from her, he would bring destruction upon himself. Wei Dahai could swallow his pride and endure in silence. This was why he managed to live safely without causing any serious problems!