Shao Wanru spoke of that incident again and again, making Shao Yanru so angry that she almost couldn’t control herself. And she had almost torn her handkerchief into pieces.

This was the last thing she wanted to mention. Although the truth had been hidden, the two people who should never have seen it saw it. And she was also injured. Although she was being treated with Doctor Qiu’s medicine, the doctor said that her condition would only be clear in the future.

The medicine used on her was strong, and her future condition was hard to predict, so Shao Yanru clenched her teeth.

These words pained her heart and made her so guilty, but now Shao Wanru mentioned them repetitively, so how could she not hate her?

But she had to keep quiet at this time. She suppressed her anger so hard that she broke her lips with her teeth.

“Commandery Prince Qing will be willing to marry my sister Yanru, but now I heard that he already has a princess. Even if she clung to him, she would not be his princess. If she is only a consort, her future will be hard to predict!” Shao Wanru said suggestively. Obviously, there were hints in her words.

Shao Yanru’s heart had a violent shake. She remembered that Chu Liuyue had promised to make her his consort and added that she could also have further plans after that. Then, she couldn’t help picking up her ears to listen, but she wondered if there were still tricks that she didn’t know in being a consort.

“Miss, in fact, it’s not bad to be a consort at the beginning as long as she has the chance to be the princess in the future!” Yujie said.

These words made Shao Yanru calm down. Her face was no longer so dark that she would swallow others. These words were reasonable. A consort had her own benefit. She was not noticeable at the beginning, but she could laugh till the end.

“How many consorts could defeat the princess and have the greatest power in the end in history? When one has a lower status at the beginning, it’s hard to guess what she will achieve later, let alone that those who can have a high status must be able to give birth to a son. Can she guarantee that she will give birth before the princess and surely have a boy?”

Shao Wanru seemed to think for a moment before answering.

Shao Yanru was furious. This time, she was afraid that it would be hard for her to meet the baby-bearing requirement because of Shao Wanru. It was so hard to get pregnant, let alone guarantee the sex of the child.

“Well, let’s end the talk about my sister’s affairs. They have nothing to do with us. Let’s just watch the show. Now my sister wants to marry into Prince Yue’s Mansion… but I’m afraid that she has no chance. The far future? She can’t even grasp what is present, let alone the future. If the consort has been the taboo of the princess, the princess will immediately suppress her to the point that she will never have her day. A consort is just a concubine!”

The contemptuous voice made Shao Yanru even feel the pain in her exhaled air.

Her heart was burning with pain. She had not been so confident, and now her confidence was all gone after she heard Shao Wanru’s words. She held her handkerchief, but her fingers were trembling. A few words were reverberating in her ears: “A consort is just a concubine!”

A consort was a concubine. If Chu Liuyue loved her, she would have the strength to fight. But if he wavered between Shao Wanru and her, or if Shao Wanru became the princess, she would have no chance at all.

The two of them had challenged each other several times, but she had never won. Now she had been made so embarrassed, so how could she defeat Shao Wanru in winning the favor?

The veins on the back of her hand holding the handkerchief were bulging. This was the fruit of her victory, so she would not let Shao Wanru have it.

She stood up and walked out quietly. She had learned what she wanted to know, so she did not want to stay and hear the heart-wrenching words anymore.

Shuqi followed her gingerly. The teasing voices of Shao Wanru and Yujie came from the next room, and they were ridiculing Shao Yanru. Really, the following words were too unpleasant to hear.

When they came to the door, Shao Yanru took a deep breath, suppressing her envy and hatred, and then turned and went to her room.

Shuqi instantly grabbed her sleeve and pointed to the closed lock. It was on the door, but it didn’t connect the door handle. The door seemed to be locked, but the lock was actually useless.

Shao Yanru shook her head, indicating that they could do it later. Shao Wanru was in the next room. If they made any sound, it was easy to get her alarmed.

Shao Yanru, followed by her maid, returned to her room, but both of them didn’t notice that the closed lock on the door of their next room was another one that did not lock the door.

After they walked into their room, Yujie came out of the next room. She looked around and found that there was no one around, and then she slipped into Shao Caihuan’s room. She walked quietly into it and leaned against the wall between this room and the next, beginning to eavesdrop.

There was also a window in the wall between the two rooms.

Every two rooms seemed to be one suite with a small window in the wall between them. But it was high and it was covered by something, so it was not conspicuous.

Shao Yanru’s vicious voice came from the next room. “Bitch, I won’t let you get what you want!”

“Miss, what should we do now? Does Prince Yue mean that you should take the consort’s position temporarily? But… but…” Shuqi said anxiously. She had also heard the conversation between Shao Wanru and Yujie moments earlier.

She had been so confident in Shao Yanru previously, while she was unconfident in her the same degree now. After all, her lady was no longer the stunning First Miss with an excellent reputation.

Even her maid did not believe in her anymore. How could Shao Yanru not know what Shuqi meant? She slapped her angrily and scolded, “What do you mean by ‘What should we do’? I’m not willing. I just want to be the princess. I’ll only be the princess of Prince Yue’s Mansion. No one should think about taking the position from me, not even Prince Yue!”

“But… but…” Shuqi knelt down and said panickily with her head down, “But the jewelry Prince Yue sent to Fifth Miss is even better than what he gave you, First Miss. If… if Prince Yue approves of Fifth Miss, you won’t even get the consort’s position, Miss!”

If Shao Yanru ended up in a poor fate, they, her maids, would also have to accept a poor fate. No matter how scared she was, Shuqi had to tell the truth.

Shao Yanru pondered for a moment with a gloomy face, her heart burning with hatred.

Of course, she couldn’t just let it happen.

“Let’s go and visit Prince Yue!” She suddenly stood up and said coldly.

“Your foot is injured, and Prince Yue had come here yesterday. If you go to him, what will he think?” Shuqi reminded her gingerly.

Shao Yanru was silent for a moment. What Shao Wanru had said moments earlier was still rattling in her ears. She really couldn’t let it go, but she also knew that what Shuqi said was true. It was indeed not suitable for her to visit Chu Liuyue at this time.

In the past, she had been quite experienced in maintaining equivocal relationships with Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou. She knew when she should write to them and when she should keep a distance from them. Now was the most inappropriate time.

Her former teacher, whom her mother brought to her from a brothel, had repeatedly told her the bad nature of such men. They held the view that a wife was not better than a concubine, a concubine was less attractive than someone else’s woman, and having some else’s woman was not as alluring as having no chance to get a woman.

Over the years, she had always kept ambiguous relationships with Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou because she wanted them to know her affection toward them. But they could not get her. Only in this way could she lead them by the nose. It was not wise to go straight to Chu Liuyue at this time. Once the man got tired of her, no matter how well she behaved, he would not like her.

“Take out the generous gifts my grandmother prepared for me and send them to Consort of Virtue. Tell her that I wanted to go and thank Prince Yue in person, but Prince Yue is a prince and I am one who has joined in the Consort Selection, so it is not suitable for me to do it. But ask Her Highness to accept them and tell her that when I get home, my father will prepare other valuable gifts for Prince Yue!” She took a deep breath and said.

When she came to the palace, Shao Yanru had prepared generous gifts. Now was the right time to send them out.

Since she could not start with Chu Liuyue, she should start with Consort of Virtue. Her grandmother had been to the palace a few times, and Consort of Virtue had been showing her friendliness to her secretly.

Consort of Virtue was different from Chu Liuyue. She would let Chu Liuyue know that marrying her was much better than marrying Shao Wanru.

At this time, Shao Yanru couldn’t help taking Shao Wanru as her rival for the princess’s position. If this were not the imperial palace, she would dare to do anything. Now, she couldn’t stand Shao Wanru, the b*tch, anymore.

She warned herself not to act rashly or be provoked by Shao Wanru at will in case she be in a mess herself. Gradually, she calmed down.

She still had a lot of time, and she had many ways to trample on Shao Wanru.

Shuqi showed the prepared generous gifts to Shao Yanru. After seeing them, Shao Yanru told her a few things to pay attention to but asked her not to mention Shao Wanru at all. The more she mentioned her, the more suspicious this looked. Since Consort of Virtue could be a consort with the highest rank after the empress, how could she be cheated so easily?

She wanted Consort of Virtue to know her sincerity, not her calculation.

After Shuqi went to send the gifts, Yujie returned to their room quietly. Shao Wanru was leaning against the bed with a book in her hand in the room. She casually flipped through the book, ready to have an afternoon nap.

“Miss, First Miss has asked Shuqi to take her gifts to Consort of Virtue, extending her gratitude to Prince Yue for saving her that day. She also said that after she leaves the palace, Duke Xing will also show his gratitude. I feel that First Miss’s idea seems to be the idea of Duke Xing.” Yujie recounted everything she had just heard, and came to a conclusion.

Shao Wanru smiled, put down the book, and nodded. This was indeed Shao Yanru’s idea. She wanted Consort of Virtue to see her role in Duke Xing’s Mansion. Naturally, the whole mansion supported her marriage. Of course, Shao Yanru was different from her, Fifth Miss, whom the whole mansion hated.

“Go and keep hearing when Shuqi gets back. Shao Yanru should have something else to say!” Shao Wanru said with a sweet smile. In fact, she was very curious about what Shao Yanru would do next. Shao Yanru was striving to get the princess’s position, and she was too busy to deal with her. That was good for her!

Shao Yanru had always kept secret ambiguous relationships with Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou. If one day they found that Shao Yanru was not as affectionate as they had imagined, she wondered what would happen then!

She strongly looked forward to seeing the scene in the end. Who would marry Shao Yanru in the end? People would have to see who was sincerer to her.

Consort of Virtue planned for her son’s future wholeheartedly, how could she know nothing about what happened in the palace? She probably cared more about the overall situation compared to Chu Liuyue. This was also an important reason for Shao Yanru to ask for her help. Now, she could also make use of her!

“You should take an afternoon nap in that room. When Shuqi returns, hear what Shao Yanru says to her and then come back!” Shao Wanru yawned and lay down, her long eyelashes fluttering a few times. She was really a little tired now.