With the fear of somehow provoking Prince Chen, Old Madam answered him with utmost carefulness, trying her best to meet his needs. She had heard that Prince Chen was actually a temperamental and evil man instead of being as gentle and elegant as he appeared. Moreover, she had seen his cold face just now.

“In a while. I am not in a hurry!” Chu Liuchen said with indifference, the slight smile on his face showing a trace of impatience.

Old Madam was anxious inwardly because she had no idea what had offended Chu Liuchen again. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say and just discreetly followed behind him.

Chu Liuchen said nothing more and walked forward with his hands clasped behind his back.

He just walked around in the yard and didn’t go into the main house, for which Old Madam breathed a sigh of relief. She was so afraid that he would walk into the main house without asking permission, and she couldn’t stop him if he did so.

“Haven’t you decided who is the heir of the duke?” Chu Liuchen suddenly stopped, gave a sidelong glance at Old Madam, and asked her with a smile.

It was a difficult question to answer, so Old Madam became more cautious. “It is still a matter of no great urgency. We have to wait and see!”

“Who is your preference, Old Madam?” Chu Liuchen asked again.

“I… I have never thought of this!” Old Madam didn’t dare to mention Shao Hua’an’s name.

“You haven’t thought of it yet? Well, it is apparent that the First Young Master of your mansion is not valued!” Chu Liuchen turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

Not daring to respond to such a comment on her grandson, Old Madam pretended that she didn’t hear it. She lowered her head and followed Prince Chen out of the courtyard.

“Old Madam, I’m going to meet Fifth Miss Shao! See you next time.” Chu Liuchen waved his hand and said to Old Madam as if he were the host after going out of the gate.

Old Madam should have followed him, but she failed to say it out because of his snooty attitude just now, afraid that he would say something sharper.

After thinking for a while, Old Madam calmed down and said to Shao Caihuan with a smile, “Caihuan, you lead the way for His highness!”

“Yes, grandma!” Shao Caihuan was overjoyed. She bowed to Old Madam with great delight. It was such a hard-won opportunity to get along with Prince Chen. How could she not be happy?

She thought that she would get the chance to talk to Prince Chen without Old Madam’s supervision.

“Old Madam, you send her to follow me. Does it mean that you want to keep an eye on me?” Chu Liuchen asked after casting a cold glance at Shao Caihuan.

“No! How dare I have such a bad thought? I’m just afraid that Your Highness might be unaware of the way.” Old Madam hastened to explain, and she was so nervous that she even didn’t dare to breathe. By no means did she want to offend this prince.

“Then a servant is enough to lead the way for me. Is Third Miss of your mansion a close friend of mine? Hasn’t Old Madam ever considered that it’s improper that a woman and a man stay together without anyone else? I am still an unmarried man. If my reputation is ruined, it will be hard for me to explain myself at that time!”

Chu Liuchen said with great displeasure. He glanced at Shao Caihuan with sarcasm and coldness in his eyes. The latter’s face turned pale at first and then extremely red.

Old Madam felt terribly ashamed, and the expressions on her face changed from scaredness to embarrassment. Indeed she had such a plot, but she also felt it shameful that her disgraceful plan was seen through and directly uncovered by Chu Liuchen. What’s more, his sharp questions and rebukes were such a heavy slap in her face that Old Madam was incapable to resist them. She could only be shamed with her face going red.

Your Highness, it is all my fault! Hello, there! Lead His Highness to Quhuan Courtyard! Old Madam lowered her head and said.

Seeing the scene, Nanny Yu hurried to stand out to take the job. She saved Old Madam from embarrassment.

After Chu Liuchen and Nanny Yu left, Shao Caihuan burst into tears. At that moment, she was so ashamed and embarrassed that she wanted to hide in a hole on the ground and never came out.

“Stop crying, you fool!” Old Madam said coldly and glared at Shao Caihuan. “You were not the only one who was insulted.” Old Madam blamed everything on Shao Caihuan, thinking that if it weren’t for Shao Caihuan’s obvious affection for Prince Chen, she wouldn’t have had such a stupid idea. But it turned out that both of them were humiliated by Chu Liuchen.

“Grandma…” Shao Caihuan cried so hard that she couldn’t make a sound.

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“Go back to your house. If you don’t stop crying, your face will be ruined! That will make it more difficult for you to marry someone! Moreover, you’d better stop thinking of getting things that are impossible for you to have.” Old Madam scolded her in a harsh tone. She was in a bad mood, so she was not in the mood to comfort Shao Caihuan at the time.

On finishing her words, she turned around and left, followed by a group of servants. Shao Caihuan was left alone, sobbing. She did not dare to cry anymore, afraid that the tears would aggravate the scars on her face.

She turned to look into the distance, where she saw Chu Liuchen’s vague figure which was tall and straight. “Why does such a beautiful man belong to Shao Wanru? Why is Shao Wanru able to be treated with his kindness? Why was it impossible for me to get what I want? I didn’t ask for much. I didn’t ask for the position of his legal wife. I just wanted to be a consort of him!”

She stamped her feet and ran back to her courtyard with her face covered. She was going to ask her father for help. She believed that as her father had succeeded in asking Shao Jie’er to give up her marriage, he could be able to help her to get a position of a concubine from her Fifth Sister.

No matter whom she married, Shao Caihuan was doomed to be a concubine. In such a case, she would rather marry into Prince Chen’s Mansion than Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion…

A carriage was slowly moving forward. For quite a while, it was silent inside until Old Madam Zhao sighed, looked at her granddaughter sitting next to her with compassion and love, and then asked, “Ran’er, what do you think of it?”

“I think Prince Chen is satisfied with his marriage with Fifth Miss Shao. After all, she’s the granddaughter of Rui’an Great Elder Princess, who has always kept a close relationship with Empress Dowager. For this reason, Fifth Miss Shao is special enough in Prince Chen’s eye. What’s more, I bet Prince Chen is close to Great Elder Princess because both of them are intimate with Empress Dowager!”

Zhao Xiran gave an analysis with a gentle face. She looked calm and even indifferent as if what she said had nothing to do with her at all.

“I am afraid there is more than meets the eye.” Old Madam Zhao shook her head and said. It was the first time that she had met Fifth Miss Shao, and at that time she had had some opinions on her and now elaborated them slowly. “It is said that the First Miss Shao is the most beautiful woman. Even if she is stuck in such a dilemma now, she will certainly have a prosperous future. In my opinion, Fifth Miss Shao is more outstanding than any other girl. She is as beautiful and elegant as a peony, with a mixed aura of charm and indifference. There is no doubt that Shao Wanru is a gorgeous beauty!”

“Grandma, although there are few beauties in the world, they are not ‘endangered species’! Based on Prince Chen’s temperament, I don’t think he will keep taking a fancy to Fifth Miss Shao though a beauty like her has won his heart.” Zhao Xiran had an idea slightly different from Old Madam Zhao.

She had always been both intelligent and well-informed. “In terms of appearance, Prince Chen himself is an incomparably handsome man.”

“With a relatively high status and a beautiful look, Fifth Miss Shao has more advantages than other women. If her biological brother becomes the Heir of Duke Xing in the future, Prince Chen will benefit more from it!” Zhao Xiran said with an extremely indifferent attitude as if she was not going to marry into Duke Xing’s Mansion and become Shao Hua’an’s wife soon.

She was viewing this matter from a perspective of an outsider.

“If it is true, your marital engagement with Shao Hua’an is an inappropriate decision!” Old Madam Zhao frowned tightly. Her original intention of choosing Shao Hua’an for marriage was to make her granddaughter become the wife of Heir of Duke Xing. In Old Madam Zhao’s view, if he was merely a First Young Master, his identity couldn’t match her granddaughter’s, the eldest Miss in Minister Zhao’s Mansion.

At this time, Old Madam Zhao regretted agreeing on this marriage of her granddaughter. At first, she thought that it was a piece of cake to realize her ambition, but it became more difficult with many uncertain factors brought by Prince Chen’s intervention.

Zhao Xiran didn’t say anything. Before she met Prince Chen, she had always thought that he didn’t care too much for Shao Wanru. But when they were all in the flower hall, she could tell that he must have different feelings for Shao Wanru from those for other women. Although she didn’t know how much Prince Chen cared for Shao Wanru, or whether it was all because of her attractive appearance, Zhao Xiran was very sure that the man’s feeling was true now!

“If it is really a bad decision, why don’t we just annul the engagement?” Seeing that her granddaughter did not speak, Old Madam Zhao persuaded her in a low voice. In fact, Old Madam Zhao had never thought highly of this marriage, which was why it had been delayed for such a long time. They had discussed it for about three years before it was settled. The reason was also that she was dissatisfied with it.

At that time, it was Zhao Xiran’s hasty agreement that finally settled the marriage. But now Old Madam Zhao regretted it.

“Although it is not good for a woman to break the betrothal, we can make it delayed with some excuses until people of Duke Xing’s Mansion become impatient and break the betrothal first.” Old Madam Zhao advised, afraid that Zhao Xiran would feel wronged.

“Grandma, there is no need to cancel it. My marriage is still beneficial to us! Prince Chen may not be interested in Fifth Miss Shao for long. Why don’t we just wait and see?” Zhao Xiran shook her head and said. Chu Liuchen’s smiling face flashed in her mind. “He was extremely handsome and gentle. He seemed to be very kind to everyone, right?”

“Are you indeed going to marry into Duke Xing’s Mansion?” Old Madam Zhao asked and sighed. She didn’t think it was a good idea, but she loved her granddaughter so much that the latter was allowed to make her own decisions on this matter.

Her eldest granddaughter had always been a sensible and talented girl. Although she was a girl in the inner court, she had such great intelligence that even her elder brother was not in her league. Her father always said with a pity that it would be wonderful if his eldest daughter were a man. In such a case she could maintain her status in Minister Zhao’s Mansion for at least 20 or 30 years. Unfortunately, she was a daughter.

Because of Zhao Xiran’s cleverness, Old Madam Zhao liked to discuss many things with her and she also listened to her eldest granddaughter’s words. Old Madam Zhao cherished her as if she were a treasure. She never became worried when her eldest granddaughter’s marriage was delayed again and again, because she felt that her eldest granddaughter deserved a better partner than the First Young Master of Duke Xing’s Mansion, who, she believed, was unworthy.

For the sake of striving for her eldest granddaughter’s prestige, she even went to Duke Xing’s Mansion and cooperated with Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion to perform a play. So under the situation that her eldest granddaughter deserved a better marriage, Old Madam Zhao felt aggrieved that Duke Xing’s Mansion could not promise to give the position of the wife of the Heir of Duke Xing.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. Since the marriage has been decided, just let it go on with the plan. No one can tell what will happen to it in the future. What’s more, it’s also father’s idea that I marry into Duke Xing’s Mansion,” Zhao Xiran said with a smile. Her eyes were gentle and her smile was light. She showed no shyness that should be seen when talking about marriage.

It seemed that she was talking about others’ affairs. Although she had an aura out of ordinary, she lacked the gentleness of a girl who was about to get married.

Seeing that Old Madam Zhao still wanted to say something, Zhao Xiran shook her head with a smile. “Grandma, don’t try to persuade me anymore. I know what I am doing. For my father and our mansion, I don’t regret it. No matter what happens in the future, I have no complaints!”

Everything would be impossible unless she married into Duke Xing’s Mansion! She had to get married no matter how reluctant she was. After all, what she wanted was more than the position of the legal wife of the Heir of Duke Xing…