Chapter 573: Offer the Steamed Rice out of Gratitude?

“The emperor recognized a new nephew, who is the posthumous child of the late emperor?” Shao Wanru asked indifferently in little surprise. She had been wondering when the posthumous child’s identity would be revealed. Now it happened earlier than it did in the last life in a different way!

At this moment, she happened to stand on a cliff at the back and could faintly see the courtyards within the high wall. Some ladies occasionally came into her view. They were all dressed in black clothes and kept their hair. They should be the imperial concubines of the late emperor.

The side door of the high wall was opened. There came plenty of people today. Some of them were the officials of the Ministry of Justice, and some were dressed in eunuch’s uniforms. Besides, there was a young man dressed in gorgeous clothes, who seemed to be the reason why those people came today.

In the last life, the incident happened in the Yuhui Nunnery later than it did in this life, and she had seen the newly recognized Commandery Prince Qing from a distance in the palace later. He had the same name and title in the last life, but his identity seemed to be revealed when he bumped into an official’s carriage by accident instead of when he got involved in the case of a profligate childe kidnapping a girl.

It seemed to have something to do with Great Elder Princess. Shao Wanru did not know the details, but only heard from the candidates in the Beauty Contest she had attended in the last life that the emperor was going to pick a consort for Commandery Prince Qing among the candidates, so there came the rumors about Commandery Prince Qing.

It was said that although Commandery Prince Qing was the posthumous child of an imperial concubine of the late emperor, he did not seem to be regarded highly by the emperor. The emperor recognized him just because there were too many rumors which made him sound like the descendant of the royal family. However, Commandery Prince Qing was not favored after being recognized.

No matter he happened to get involved in someone else’s case or he bumped into someone else’s carriage, in fact, it only showed that Commandery Prince Qing was obsessed with ambition. Shao Wanru was now sure that Commandery Prince Qing should have something to do with Mo Qiuyi and could even be the poor guy coming from the same place as Mo Qiuyi.

If it were not for her grandma’s refusal, would her grandma have helped them go down the mountain out of sympathy? After that, as Commandery Prince Qing showed up in front of the Emperor, her grandma would get involved in it.

The Emperor and the Empress Dowager didn’t like Commandery Prince Qing. If her grandma rashly intervened in it, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would inevitably be displeased with her grandma. As a princess of high status with no real power, if Great Elder Princess was out of favor with the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, she would definitely have a hard time.

With a trace of deep coldness across her watery eyes, she thought that Commandery Prince Qing and Mo Qiuyi obviously intended to take her grandma as a stepping stone.

The one she saw walk to Mo Qiuyi’s room from within the high wall that night should be Commandery Prince Qing. Thinking of Mo Qiuyi’s departure, she sneered. As she expected, Commandery Prince Qing, who grew up in the Yuhui Nunnery, was not an ordinary person, but he had probably been wrong about one thing.

He thought that with a similar family background, he, who was healthier than Chu Liuchen, could snatch the favor of the emperor and the Empress Dowager from Chu Liuchen. But in fact, in the last life, Commandery Prince Qing was not favored at all and had no impact on Chu Liuchen at all.

She had sent the painting to the right person. Chu Liuchen had brought her to see the sneaky Commandery Prince Qing before, so he had probably known about Commandery Prince Qing.

“Yes, he was born in the Yuhui Nunnery. It is said that he came here today for his mother with the intention of taking his mother away from here! It is said that his mother is the late emperor’s Imperial Noble Consort Yu, who is now entitled as Princess Dowager Yu by the emperor and allowed to move to live with her son in Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion,” Yujie said.

So many people came to the Yuhui Nunnery in a big way today. Everyone in the Yuhui Nunnery knew about it, so Yujie found out the cause as soon as she inquired.

It had been some time since those people entered the Yuhui Nunnery. Now Shao Wanru saw many of them come out followed by the man in splendid clothes supporting a lady. Shao Wanru couldn’t see the lady’s face clearly because the lady kept her head down, but she could vaguely see the lady’s tottering steps. The lady seemed to be older than she was supposed to be!

“The late Emperor’s Imperial Noble Consort Yu seems to be old!” Yujie, who also saw the lady, said in astonishment.

Yujie, who had good eyesight, not only saw that Imperial Noble Consort Yu seemed to walk in tottering steps with help, but also noticed that her hair was not as dark as that of the maids beside her and seemed to be a little grey.

“She should be in her thirties!” Shao Wanru said after calculation.

“No, she should be more than forty years old!” There suddenly came Shao Yanru’s over soft voice. As soon as she turned around, she saw Shao Yanru standing on the path leading to the top of the mountain. It seemed that Shao Yanru also came here to watch the fun.

“Big Sister!” Shao Wanru said lightly.

“Fifth Sister, do you also come here to have a look at the newly recognized Commandery Prince Qing?” Shao Yanru came up to Shao Wanru, also looked down and said with a smile, “It is said that Imperial Noble Consort Yu was not young when she entered the imperial palace because her marriage was delayed by the war. Nevertheless, she was so ravishing that the late emperor fell in love with her at first sight and took her into the imperial palace. However, she was unlucky. Not long after she entered the imperial palace, the late emperor passed away.”

“Isn’t it said that she was almost in favor with the late emperor as much as the late empress?” Shao Wanru said in astonishment, because she really didn’t know about it.

“Yes, she had been in much favor since she entered the imperial palace, but it lasted less than two months!” Shao Yanru said with a smile.

Shao Wanru frowned slightly with a trace of deepness across her watery eyes. It was different from what she thought. Imperial Noble Consort Yu, who was said to be in much favor, had only been favored for one or two months. Not long after entering the imperial palace, she, who was unlucky, was sent to the Yuhui Nunnery.

She sounded really pitiful.

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“Big Sister, have you discovered that Commandery Prince Qing has lived here?” Shao Wanru watched the crowd gradually going out and asked curiously.

“If it’s so easy to discover it, his identity wouldn’t have been a secret until now. Fifth Sister, you have also lived on the mountain for a period of time. Have you discovered anything?”

Shao Yanru asked with a faint smile.

“No!” Shao Wanru said with certainty.

Both of them burst into laughter and then turned their heads at the same time. Shao Yanru reached out to point down and said with a sigh, “It’s really surprising that the late emperor has a posthumous child, who is so healthy. I feel sorry for Prince Chen!”

Her words were so meaningful that they were quite thought-provoking although they were vague.

However, Shao Wanru acted as if she didn’t notice her words. Looking at the crowd that had gone far away and the closed door of the high wall, she turned around and said, “Big Sister, there’s nothing to watch. Do you want to go back with me?”

“You can go back first. I want to stay for another while!” Shao Yanru shook her head and said with a smile.

“Well, I’ll go first!” Shao Wanru said and then walked to the winding mountain path.

“Fifth Sister, take care!” Shao Yanru looked at her with a smile and said politely.

The two of them walked past each other. One of them went down the mountain, while the other continued going up the mountain. Shao Wanru looked back halfway, only to see the First Miss continue climbing up in high spirits. In the past, the two of them came here to stay for a while and enjoy the scenery from time to time, but neither of them would continue climbing up.

On the one hand, it was because the scenery on a higher place was not much better than that in this place. On the other hand, the path up the mountain was much steeper than the path down the mountain.

“Miss, what is the First Miss up to?” Yujie, who was also confused, asked. The First Miss had always been delicate and fragile, as if she would be worn out after taking a walk. She was quite different today.

“It’s none of our business. Let’s go down the mountain!” Shao Wanru said with an indifferent smile. There were not a few secrets in the Yuhui Nunnery. It was shocking enough that a son of the late emperor was raised here as a girl. She wouldn’t be shocking if she heard something like a secret meeting between a lady and a man.

She didn’t want to be killed in such a place because of what she saw.

She did not forget that Shao Yanru had intended to arouse her suspicion by saying something obviously meaningful. Now Shao Yanru continued climbing up, which didn’t seem like the sort of thing she would do. Anyway it was mysterious and tempting.

She, who cherished her life very much, would not lose her life because of excessive curiosity!

“Shall I tell Qing’er to guard the entrance to the mountain?” Yujie felt that there was something fishy about it, so she asked worriedly.

“No!” Shao Wanru shook her head and refused decisively, “Even if someone comes here, Qing’er could do nothing about it and could even be exposed. What we should do is go back and wait quietly without doing anything!”

After returning to the yard, Shao Wanru went back to the silence room and began to burn incense and copy the scriptures. She had done that for a whole day, during which she heard some voices from the yard and even Shao Yanru ask about her, but Shao Yanru was refused by Yujie. Everyone in the yard knew that Shao Wanru could not be interrupted once she began to chant or copy the Buddhist scriptures.

Shao Wanru didn’t stop until dinner time. She put down the writing brush in her hand, looked at the few scrolls of scriptures in front of her, rubbed her sore hand, walked up to the door and instructed Yujie to fetch some water for cleaning her hands.

Hearing Shao Wanru’s order, Yujie, who had been waiting outside the door, hurriedly brought in warm water. Shao Wanru cleaned her hands.

Qu Le held the hamper brought from the kitchen, took out a few simple dishes and a steaming basket of steamed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf, and said with a smile, “Miss, there is steamed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf in the kitchen today, so I brought some for you. I heard that it was granted by Commandery Prince Qing today in order to express his gratitude for the Yuhui Nunnery’s accommodation. Besides, he’s going to have a religious rite conducted in the Yuhui Nunnery!”

The steamed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf was quite fragrant and emitted a strong scent of lotus leaves as soon as it was taken out. It was the early autumn, and the lotus leaves in many places were still vigorous. The rice was extremely tasty after being steamed. She could tell that it must be delicious and had a good appetite before eating it.

“Commandery Prince Qing did express his gratitude in a big way!” Shao Wanru said with a smile. She sat down after washing her hands, and picked up a small bowl of steamed rice Qu Le prepared for her. She found it fragrant after smelling it, and found it delicious after tasting it. Coupled with some palatable pickles, it made her have a good appetite.

“Miss, I went to fetch the steamed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf with Shuqi. But when I left, Shuqi didn’t leave and was asking the chef from Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion about the recipe of the steamed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf. It seems that the First Miss likes it very much!” As Qu Le took away the remains of the steamed rice, she said.

One should not eat too much this kind of sticky food. A small bowl of it was enough, or it might cause indigestion.

“Is the chef of Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion still in the Yuhui Nunnery?” Shao Wanru stopped moving her chopsticks and asked.

“Yes, the steamed rice wrapped in a lotus leaf was made on the spot. It is said that it could only be fresh and delicious in this way!” Qu Le nodded and said, “Commandery Prince Qing said that the chef is going to offer the steamed rice to everyone in the Yuhui Nunnery for half a year in order to pay back the kindness of the Yuhui Nunnery for accommodating him during so many years!”