Medical Princess

Others were more convinced that the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was on the decline. For the sake of Princess Chen, some families had intended to unite with the Marquis Xing’s Mansion by marriage. But this time, they hesitated again.

The third branch of Marquis Xing’s Mansion was not close to the first branch’s two children. Princess Chen had only stayed in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion for a few days. As for the young heir of a duke, he was now living in the Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. In this situation, he couldn’t be close to his cousins in the mansion.

These families held back their thoughts for a moment and watched the situation develop quietly. Recently, the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion became a hot topic, attracting many people’s attention.

Commandery Prince Qing had been engaged. It was said that he was engaged to a woman of common origin long ago. Commandery Prince Qing’s faithfulness to her never wavered. He didn’t choose any noble beauties during the Pageant in the Palace. He spoke bluntly that he already had a legal wife. In this respect, Commandery Prince Qing made a favorable impression on many people. Everyone praised him for being loyal and trustworthy.

After the Xu State princess came to the capital, everyone suddenly learned that she seemed to be going to marry Commandery Prince Qing. Then what about his fiancee?

Many people thought rumors were unreliable, but the news should be real since some people had been talking about it.

Moreover, since the marriage with the Xu State princess could be considered a national affair, more people were concerned about it. Many people couldn’t figure out the situation, so they could only keep an eye on the courtyard where the two princesses of the Xu State lived temporarily.

Some people even visited Qin Huaiyong’s place to get some information.

It was easier to inquire about the information from Qin Huaiyong than from Prince Chen and Commandery Prince Qing.

But even after meeting Qin Huaiyong, they all shook their heads in dismay. Qin Huaiyong always clammed up when others asked about this marriage. He only said everything was under the Emperor’s command. Although there were various rumors, the Emperor issued no imperial edict. Did it mean that everything was possible?

Unexpectedly, before Shao Wanru could solve the problem of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, the Xu State princesses came to the Prince Cheng’s Mansion.

Both Princess Yuyan and Princess Yutao arrived.

Hearing the two princesses come to visit, Shao Wanru pondered for a moment and asked someone to invite them in.

When they got inside, Shao Wanru found that not only the two princesses of the Xu State but also Infanta Yuan’an were there. She felt a little surprised.

“This is Princess Chen!” Infanta Yuan’an led the way for the two princesses. When seeing Shao Wanru, she stepped forward to bow and retreated aside, pointing to Shao Wanru and introducing her to the two princesses.

“Greetings, Your Highness.” Princess Yutao looked Shao Wanru up and down with critical eyes. Chu Liuchen wouldn’t marry her, but she felt she only lacked a chance. When the time came, Chu Liuchen would marry her. Princess Yutao had always been very proud of her outstanding appearance.

But as soon as Princess Yutao saw Shao Wanru, she was petrified. This woman, no, this girl dressed as a married woman, but she appeared a little childish. Her delicate and beautiful facial features made her look soft and feminine. When this graceful young girl watched them, her limpid eyes sparkled. Besides, her snow-white skin set off her rosy lips. With just one glance, people would be stunned by her beauty. She was just like a fairy descending to the earth.

Princess Yutao had learned the traditional Han culture of the Kingdom of Dongcang. She could even recite many excellent lines of verse describing beautiful women. In the past, she had thought those poems exaggerated the beauty of women. But now, Princess Chen made her feel these poems were too superficial. They could only roughly describe a beautiful woman with distinguished air of elegance. However, no poem could fully describe a great beauty fair as a flower and beautiful as the moon.

“But isn’t the first beauty Secondary Consort Shao in the Palace? How could she be more beautiful than Princess Chen?” Princess Yutao asked in surprise upon seeing Shao Wanru.

As soon as she arrived in the capital, she sent someone to inquire about important affairs in the capital. She heard the most outstanding woman in the capital was Shao Yanru, the First Miss of Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Now, she had become Secondary Consort Shao in the Palace. Because of this, Princess Yutao was confident that she could outshine Princess Chen.

“Secondary Consort Shao is surely beautiful, but Her Highness is also of peerless beauty.” Princess Yuyan said after greeting Shao Wanru with a smile. She reacted quickly.

Jealousy flashed across her eyes.

On that day, she tried every means to seduce Chu Liuchen, but he remained unmoved. Therefore, she was also very curious about Princess Chen.

Since Shao Wanru couldn’t be as good-looking as her, how could she maintain her position as Princess Chen?

However, at this moment, Princess Yuyan was devoured by envy. “Why could she be so beautiful and marry such an excellent man as Prince Chen? The Emperor has confirmed Prince Chen’s status, but Chu Qing is good for nothing.” Thinking of this, she felt increasingly aggrieved and didn’t want to marry Chu Qing at all.

She didn’t have the slightest desire to marry Chu Qing but was willing to be Prince Chen’s consort.

Her mother married her father as a consort. Now, even the Xu State Queen had to give in to her!

It didn’t matter whether she would be the legal wife or a consort when marrying Prince Chen. Princess Yuyan felt she could rely on her charm to gain the upper hand in the future. So what if Princess Chen was exceedingly beautiful? The Xu State Queen looked attractive but was still defeated by her mother.

The striking appearance was far from enough. A successful woman must be sensible and intelligent. Moreover, she had the support of Xu State. With these advantages, Princess Yuyan was sure she would soon be in charge after marrying into the Prince Chen’s Mansion.

With this in mind, Princess Yuyan put up a genial smile, and her face softened.

After they greeted each other, everyone took their seats.

Princess Yutao put down the teacup and smiled. “Your Highness, please excuse us for visiting you suddenly. But among the princes, only Prince Chen has married, so we came to visit you first. Please forgive us if we disturbed you!” Although Princess Yutao felt reluctant to give up on Chu Liuchen, she knew she couldn’t marry him. Thus, she just smiled and let go of this idea.

Since she was determined to become the Xu State Queen, she could only marry a noble childe from her country. It was nice to encounter Prince Chen, but that was all. She accepted her fate without complaint.

After figuring out this, Princess Yutao was sure of her position. Deep down, she had to admit that Chu Liuchen didn’t like her at all. Otherwise, she might have had another idea. At present, she must concentrate on getting the throne of the Xu State, so it was best to cooperate with Chu Liuchen.

“They heard that we were close, so they invited me to come with them.” Infanta Yuan’an explained with a smile.

“I have a good relationship with Infanta Yuan’an?” Shao Wanru frowned. “It should be Zhang Qilan!”

“They also invited Prime Minister Zhang’s daughter, but it seemed Miss Zhang was ill.” Princess Yutao smiled and explained.

Zhang Qilan would be Princess Yue, and Infanta Yuan’an would become Princess Zhou. They would soon enjoy the same high status as Shao Wanru. In addition, because Prince Yue and Prince Zhou were Prince Chen’s elder brothers, the positions of Zhang Qilan and Infanta Yuan’an would be slightly higher than that of Shao Wanru.

They were indeed perfect companions for the two Xu State princesses.

“Infanta Yuan’an is nice, so we sent someone to invite her. And she immediately came over!” Princess Yuyan said. She was a little dissatisfied with Zhang Qilan.

Since the two princesses of the Xu State had just arrived in the capital, there were many things they didn’t know. How could Prime Minister Zhang let his daughter get involved? As for Infanta Yuan’an, she was in a different situation.

“Your Highness, has Miss Zhang fallen ill?” Infanta Yuan’an asked, wearing a smiling face.

“I… I’ve been in poor health recently, so I’m not very sure about that.” Shao Wanru shook her head.

“Didn’t Miss Zhang come to see you? But I heard you were best friends even before your marriage.” Infanta Yuan’an became curious and asked as if she didn’t know her words sounded offensive.

“She doesn’t feel well, but I don’t know it.” Shao Wanru smiled faintly and added, “It’s my fault!”

“Your Highness, we want to invite some distinguished guests in the capital city to our courtyard in a few days. Could you please provide us with a name list?” Princess Yutao asked. She was a little impatient, for she hated the implicit talks between women the most. Couldn’t they be outspoken in their remarks?

“Well… why don’t you ask Ruiping Great Elder Princess for help?” Shao Wanru suggested, looking at Infanta Yuan’an.

“We want to invite some Young Madams about the same age. It’ll be easier for us to get familiar with each other.” Princess Yuyan explained, “Ruiping Great Elder Princess knows many Misses, but as an elder, she can’t be as understanding as a young lady like you!”

She meant to let the Prince Chen’s Mansion take the lead!

Shao Wanru was keenly aware of this. She refused lightly, keeping her gentle and elegant smile, “I’m afraid I can’t help you with this. I’ve only been in the capital city for three years. I’ve spent most of my time in the Yuhui Nunnery and have little contact with Misses of aristocratic families in the capital city. Unlike me, Infanta Yuan’an is one of the few well-known beautiful ladies with talent in the capital city. Besides, I don’t feel very well recently!”

The two princesses of the Xu State had just arrived in the capital, and many people took a wait-and-see attitude. Shao Wanru didn’t want to intervene at this time.

All she wanted to do was to solve the problem of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. There was probably something fishy about the matter of Xu State princesses. Moreover, she had been in poor health and had just recovered from her injury. Now, she fell ill again.

Infanta Yuan’an’s eyes fell on Shao Wanru’s face, and she found Shao Wanru indeed didn’t look well. With concern on her face, she asked, “Why do you suddenly get sick again? I heard it happened when you went to welcome Old Madam back to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Did anything happen?”

...

Infanta Yuan’an failed to find out what happened in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion that day. She only vaguely heard that Old Madam had something to do with Shao Wanru’s illness.

“It’s nothing serious, but I must take good care of myself. I can’t worry about too many things!” Shao Wanru said softly. Then, she tilted her head, gently covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and coughed a few times.

Although Princess Chen was as beautiful as a painting, she looked too fragile to live long. Thinking of this, Princess Yuyan secretly despised Shao Wanru in her heart. She didn’t necessarily need Shao Wanru. She just came here to see Princess Chen out of curiosity. Chu Liuchen had refused her many times, but did he do all this just for such a weak and useless woman?

But the next moment, the smile on her face froze when she heard Princess Yutao ask, “Your Highness, could you please ask Prince Chen to invite Commandery Prince Qing? Since we came here, he has never shown up again!”