lcionline Chapter 167: How to get rid of Consort Shen?
Chapter 167: How to get rid of Consort Shen?
Su Mowan and the Seventh Princess rode in the same carriage with Qinghe Yinshuang, while Shen Murui rode with her dowry maid Xiaoyun.
The seventh princess chattered incessantly the whole way. Seeing that Su Mowan remained in low spirits, she clung to her arm and said coquettishly, "Sister-in-law, don't look so listless! You have to cheer up! The enemy is just ahead!"
"..."
Su Mowan was speechless.
The enemy the Seventh Princess was referring to was undoubtedly Shen Murui. Shen Murui's carriage was in the middle, Murong Jing's carriage was at the front, and Su Mowan and the Seventh Princess were at the back.
Seeing that Su Mowan still didn't speak, the Seventh Princess clung to her arm tightly and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, sister-in-law, something's not right! Why aren't you nervous at all? Although you're prettier, have bigger breasts, a slimmer waist, and longer legs than Shen Murui, and you're also very good at making money! But Shen Murui's advantage is her gentle and delicate nature. No man can resist a woman like that!"
Su Mowan finally gave the Seventh Princess a proper look.
She took the opportunity to educate the seventh princess: "Since you already know this, then stop doing stupid things, lest your reputation spread far and wide and you be unable to get married in the future."
"..."
The seventh princess ended up getting a lecture instead.
She pouted, dissatisfied, and said, "If I hadn't promised my third brother, I wouldn't have—"
"Seventh Princess, many people will be setting off fireworks on the river tonight. Would you like some? I'll go to the ferry crossing to buy some for you in a bit."
Yinshuang quickly changed the subject.
The seventh princess perked up at the mention of fireworks and immediately forgot her earlier gloom.
She exclaimed excitedly, "Great! I want the most beautiful and spectacular fireworks! I want everyone on the river to be envious!"
Yinshuang smiled and agreed.
Inside Shen Murui's carriage, the maid was also asking, "Miss, we didn't tell the eldest young lady that we came out with the prince. Will she be unhappy and cause trouble if she finds out?"
Shen Murui had almond-shaped eyes, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her fair face. Her eyes were filled with unyielding sorrow.
"There's nothing I can do even if I find out. She doesn't dare to cause me trouble now, but who knows what will happen in a few days."
In Shen Murui's view, it would be difficult for her to gain a position in the Qin Prince's backyard. The reason why Shen Muyue was being so kind to her now was only because His Highness the Qin Prince needed her. If His Highness the Qin Prince became distant in the future, Shen Muyue would not be so polite to her.
Xiaoyun, a maid, came to Shen Murui's side when she was ten years old. Now, many years have passed, and the two have a deep affection for each other and can talk about anything.
At this moment, she boldly said, "Miss, in my opinion, the eldest young lady is not favored at all in the backyard of the Prince's mansion. As long as you make His Highness Prince Qin happy, we don't need to be afraid of her!"
Shen Murui had also harbored hopes, but all of them vanished on that very morning of their first meeting. It was clear that His Highness Prince Qin only favored Su Mowan.
When she poured the tea, she could only place the teacup on the table; His Highness Prince Qin did not take it directly from her hand, which was completely different from how he treated Su Mowan.
Shen Murui could only sigh inwardly.
"As long as Su Mowan is around, no one else has a chance."
The maid, Xiaoyun, misunderstood the meaning of these words. Her dark eyes widened, and she lowered her voice, saying, "Miss, do you mean... to get rid of Consort Su?!"
Shen Murui was startled by these words.
She quickly covered the maid's mouth, panicking, "Don't talk nonsense! If others hear this and it causes a misunderstanding, we're doomed!"
Seeing the maid nod blankly, Shen Murui finally let go of her hand.
She explained in a low voice, "What I mean is that His Highness Prince Qin only likes Consort Su. No one, whether it's Shen Muyue or anyone else, has a chance."
The young maid was puzzled, her eyes filled with confusion.
"But His Highness Prince Qin and Consort Su haven't spoken a word to each other these past two days. How do you know, Miss, that His Highness Prince Qin only likes Consort Su?"
Shen Murui smiled somewhat dejectedly.
"It's precisely because she hasn't said much that His Highness Prince Qin had us come out with him tonight, presumably to see Consort Su's reaction."
The maid understood what was being said.
Then his eyes lit up: "Miss, could we move in with Consort Su in the west courtyard? That way, the eldest young lady won't be able to cause trouble in the future!"
"I'm afraid not."
Shen Murui shook her head.
“Shen Muyue may not like me, but going to the West Courtyard might not be any better. We don’t know what kind of person Consort Su is.”
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage arrived at Yaoliang Ferry.
Before I even got out of the car, I could hear a lot of noise outside; it sounded quite lively.
The group disembarked from the carriage.
At the ferry crossing, two beautiful painted boats were already waiting there. Feng Yue went over first and gave an order. Then, the painted boats moved slightly and moved closer to the shore.
Despite her joy, the Seventh Princess urged Yinshuang to buy fireworks.
The ferry crossing was indeed crowded. It was getting dark, and all sorts of red lanterns were lit up. Many young men and women were gathered at the crossing, waiting to board the boat. It seemed they were all going on a river cruise.
Before Su Mowan could even scan her surroundings, she heard a weak "Consort Su" behind her. Su Mowan turned around and saw Shen Murui, dressed in a scarlet dress, smiling timidly at her.
Su Mowan smiled warmly.
"Madam Shen is here too?"
Shen Murui nodded.
She wanted to say something more, but when she saw Jiang Zhuo coming over, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Jiang Zhuo approached and said to Su Mowan, "Consort Su, the pleasure boat is ready."
As for Shen Murui, Jiang Zhuo had no intention of greeting her, since Shen Murui was just a concubine and her status was incomparable to that of Su Mowan.
Su Mowan nodded and told Jiang Zhuo to go first.
She waited until the Seventh Princess and Yinshuang returned with the fireworks before calling Shen Murui to walk together towards the painted boat.
There were two pleasure boats in total, both larger than the one Su Mowan had rented last time. Jiang Zhuofengyue boarded the first boat with four guards, while Su Mowan and the Seventh Princess naturally boarded the other.
Shen Murui stood there awkwardly until Murong Jing said to her, "You should join them too."
The Seventh Princess and Su Mowan boarded the painted boat first. The boat was spacious and had two low square tables, one of which had a pot of tea on it.
I had just chosen a seat when I heard people boarding the boat.
The Seventh Princess glanced around and, after recognizing Shen Murui as the one boarding the boat, said to Yin Shuang and Qing He, "You two, don't stand there, sit down!"
Su Mowan knew that the Seventh Princess didn't like Shen Murui very much, so she had Yinshuang and the other woman reserve the seats so that Shen Murui and her servant could sit at another table.
Shen Murui, who had just entered the cabin, naturally heard what the Seventh Princess said. Even though Qinghe and Yinshuang hadn't taken their seats, she spontaneously led Xiaoyun to another table.
Su Mowan glanced at the Seventh Princess with some disapproval.
Then, she chuckled and extended a friendly invitation to Shen Murui, who had not yet taken her seat: "Mrs. Shen, would you like to come and sit with us?"