mtl008 Chapter 396 The visitor is evil
Chapter 396 The visitor is evil
The thought of this gave Prince Chen a terrible headache.
He now truly felt that Wang Wanshu's brain had broken down; otherwise, how could a normal woman do such a foolish thing?
If she had succeeded that day, not only would Wang Wanshu's own reputation have been completely ruined, but the entire Prince Chen's mansion, and even Consort Duan in the palace, would have been implicated.
Prince Chen was secretly relieved that Yun Shang and Yu Wan were magnanimous and did not hold the matter against him. They simply detained Wang Wanshu in secret and then sent her back to the Prince's residence in private.
When he learned of this, he was incredulous. In a fit of rage, he ordered Wang Wanshu to be confined to her quarters and deprived of food for three days.
Three days later, Wang Wanshu was released, and she tearfully apologized to him.
But this time, Prince Chen dared not trust her again. He ordered the entire household to keep an eye on her and only allowed her to move around within the palace. She was not allowed to step out of the palace.
Upon seeing Prince Chen, Wang Wanshu seemed to realize something, and a look of shame appeared on her face. However, she still stood up and greeted Prince Chen, "Cousin."
Prince Chen nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on Wang Wanshu for a moment, his expression complex, a hint of helplessness mixed with indifference: "I need to go out of the palace for a while. Is there anything you want? I can bring it back for you."
Wang Wanshu lowered her head, not even having the courage to look at Prince Chen any longer. "Cousin, I...I know I was wrong."
"Cousin, believe me, those actions weren't my intention. I don't know why I would do something like taking Yu Wan's place in the bridal sedan chair..."
As she spoke, she raised her head with red eyes, her eyes filled with pleading and helplessness. "Cousin, I beg you to trust me one more time. I promise I will be careful with my words and actions and will never cause trouble again."
Looking at her red and swollen eyes, Prince Chen felt a mix of emotions, his expression growing increasingly complicated. He couldn't help but sigh softly, his tone tinged with weariness and disappointment: "You said the same thing last time."
"Tianyin, how can I trust you again?"
Wang Wanshu stared at him blankly.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she didn't know what to say for a long time.
Prince Chen shook his head helplessly and instructed again, "You should stay in the manor for the next few days and not go out."
Wang Wanshu didn't answer. Instead, she bit her lower lip and hesitated for a while before cautiously asking, "Cousin, I heard that Yu Wan and the Yun family have fallen out. Why is that?"
Prince Chen frowned. "Why are you asking these questions?"
Seeing that Prince Chen was angry, Wang Wanshu panicked and quickly explained with a hint of grievance and urgency in her voice, "Cousin, I know I have made a big mistake and I am filled with guilt."
"So I thought that if I could help resolve the matter between Yu Wan and the Yun family, it would be a way to atone for my sins and make myself feel better..."
She lowered her head slightly, her hands unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes.
Without even thinking, Prince Chen refused, saying, "No need. You can just stay in your residence."
After saying that, he strode away without stopping and quickly disappeared from Wang Wanshu's sight.
Wang Wanshu tried to call out to him, but it was too late. She could only watch helplessly as Prince Chen's figure disappeared.
Just then, Qiaobi, who had gone to fetch the cloak, saw her staring blankly in the direction outside the mansion. Puzzled, she draped the cloak over her shoulders and asked in a low voice, "What are you looking at, Master?"
Wang Wanshu gripped the hem of her robe with both hands, her expression conflicted.
When Qiaobi saw her like this, her heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong.
Sure enough, the next moment, Wang Wanshu whispered, "Qiaobi, go and find out exactly what happened between the Duke of Anguo's mansion and the Yun mansion."
Qiaobi's expression also became complicated.
At this moment, she could hardly help but wonder if her master was deliberately using such an absurd excuse as "unable to control his own actions" to deceive everyone.
After all, the master usually behaves perfectly normally, but as soon as he encounters anything related to Yun Shang, he immediately becomes strange.
Where in the world could there be such a strange "disease"?
Qiaobi naturally wouldn't actually go and inquire for her, but she still pretended to hesitate and reluctantly agreed, "Yes, Master."
On the other side, Prince Chen, despite his illness, personally visited the Duke of Anguo's residence.
When Duke Anguo learned of this, he naturally could not refuse the man any longer. Moreover, since Prince Chen had come on official business, there was even less reason to refuse him.
Duke Anguo politely welcomed Prince Chen inside, but half an hour later, Prince Chen left the mansion with a grim expression.
Anyone could see that Prince Chen was in a much worse mood than when he arrived, and his whole being exuded a gloomy aura.
When King Qi heard that Prince Chen had personally visited the Duke of Anguo's residence, he was overjoyed.
He smiled and summoned the steward, "I remember that it's Li Zhuoyue's grandmother's birthday banquet in two days. Go and tell Li Zhuoyue to send an invitation to both the Duke of Anguo's mansion and the Yun mansion, inviting the women of the household to attend the birthday banquet."
The steward respectfully responded and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "Your Highness, what if neither the Duke of Anguo's Mansion nor the Yun Mansion attends the banquet?"
The King of Qi smiled knowingly. "They will go."
The butler paused for a moment, then realized something and a look of understanding crossed his face.
He almost forgot that the Duchess of Anguo's wife was also surnamed Li. Although they were not from the same family, they shared the same surname, so there must be some connection between them.
The women of the Yun family were newcomers to the capital and had little influence in the elite circles of Shengjing. They had not yet established themselves and would certainly not dare to refuse an invitation from a prestigious family like the Li family.
On this day, as Yu Wan was talking with the Duchess of Anguo, a servant came in to announce: "Madam, the Li family has sent an invitation to a banquet for the women of the household."
Li Zhuoyue's father, Li Guan, is currently serving as the Minister of Personnel.
Lady Anguo took the invitation, examined it carefully, frowned slightly, and asked in confusion, "Our household doesn't usually have much contact with them, so why was this invitation sent here?"
Yu Wan took the invitation from her mother, glanced at it, pondered for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Since the invitation has arrived, let's go and take a look."
When Lady Anguo saw that her daughter's smile was somewhat malicious, she immediately understood what was going on.
The daughter has already realized the deeper meaning behind the post and plans to use it against him.
The Yun family also received the same message.
Shen frowned as she looked at the post.
Yunxi took the invitation, looked at it carefully for a few moments, and then whispered her analysis: "Li Guan is the Minister of Personnel, in charge of the promotion and appointment of court officials. In the future, my brother will probably still have to deal with him in the officialdom. We can't offend him easily."
Madam Shen naturally understood this principle, but she still had other concerns in her mind. She asked doubtfully, "Our family is really inconspicuous among the powerful and influential families in Shengjing. Why would the Li family's invitation suddenly be sent to our house?"
Yunxi looked up and exchanged a glance with Shen Shi, both seeing worry in each other's eyes.
They all knew in their hearts that this post was suspicious and probably meant trouble.
Feeling uneasy, Madam Shen pondered for a moment and then said, "Don't rush to agree. I'll have someone ask Yu Niang for her opinion."