五月阁色婷婷丁香五月

Chapter 996 Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Teachings

“What? She refused our invitation?” Infanta Yuan’an turned angrily to Ruiping Great Elder Princess, who was at the seat of honor. She put down the teacup heavily and snorted. “How could she turn it down? She nicely indicated she would come here. She deliberately refused now to humiliate us, didn’t she? Is she proud of being a daughter-in-law of the royal family? Doesn’t she know I will marry into the royal family too?”

Rui’an Great Elder Princess told them that Shao Wanru accepted the invitation and was willing to heal the relationship between the two families. So long as they sent an invitation and showed her the intention to make peace, she would accept it. Therefore, Infanta Yuan’an began early to prepare for the meeting and even finished choosing the guests. In the end, Shao Wanru said she wouldn’t come.

“Yuan’an, can’t you calm down?” Ruiping Great Elder Princess said calmly. She reached out and gently pushed the teapot to her. “To demonstrate the art of tea-making, you need to calm down first. But now, when you are in such an agitated state, how can you make people feel peaceful and comfortable when drinking your tea?”

“Grandma, but Shao Wanru…” Infanta Yuan’an was furious. Although her hand was on the teapot, she could no longer regain the previous serene mood. Finally, she lowered her head heavily with anger, biting her lips hard.

“Yuan’an, what did I teach you in the past? Making tea is like testing character. If you are too hasty, the color and taste of your tea will be different. You pull yourself away from being a tea master. No matter what Shao Wanru did to offend you, she is Princess Chen, and you will soon become Princess Zhou.”

Ruiping Great Elder Princess said in a mild tone, smiling at Infanta Yuan’an with tranquil eyes that gave people a feeling of peace and serenity. It seemed she could detach herself from what was going on and didn’t notice the resentment in Infanta Yuan’an’s eyes.

“Prince Chen ignored the rules and married her first. So, as Princess Chen, she can embarrass me now. I will…” Infanta Yuan’an was not convinced, and the rims of her eyes were red with the grievance.

She had been superior to Shao Wanru, thinking that Shao Wanru could never be compared with her before or after the marriage.

Before the marriage, she was Infanta Yuan’an while Shao Wanru was just an orphan, even if she was the daughter of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. After the marriage, she would be Princess Zhou, which made Shao Wanru, Princess Chen, her sister-in-law. In terms of nobility, Prince Zhou was the most honored. Thus, Princess Chen had to salute her when they met.

However, the current situation was not what she had expected. Shao Wanru married Prince Chen first, which reversed their superior and inferior position. Shao Wanru was already Princess Chen, but she was still Infanta Yuan’an. In this respect, she ranked lower than Princess Chen.

But so what? The Emperor bestowed the marriage with Prince Zhou on her. Though she hadn’t yet married, she would become Princess Zhou sooner or later. So, why would Shao Wanru do this to humiliate her?

“Yuan’an, no matter what, she is now Princess Chen, and you are not Princess Zhou. In this respect, you are inferior to her now. Since your status is lower than hers, why do you have to compete with her? You can’t compete with her anyway.” Ruiping Great Elder Princess picked up the teacup before Infanta Yuan’an and gracefully poured the tea into the two cups before them.

The tea was light in color with faint fragrance. It had passed the process of cleaning the tea, and the tea now should be pure perfection.

Ruiping Great Elder Princess put down the teapot and picked up a small cup of tea in front of her. Then, she gently raised her sleeve and took a sip behind it. However, she frowned slightly. “It’s supposed to be a good pot of tea. Your skills and control of the cooking duration and degree are excellent, but because you stopped for a moment just now, it passed the best time and tasted a little bit bad!”

Infanta Yuan’an, filled with anger, was not in the mood to drink tea with her grandmother. How could she calm down? She picked up the tea beside her, trying to take a sip. In the end, she put it down and called, “Grandma…”

“You… Do you think it will affect Princess Chen?” Ruiping Great Elder Princess asked slowly, pretending not to see that Infanta Yuan’an wanted to say something.

“No. It’s useless.” Infanta Yuan’an lowered her head again.

“Since your filthy mood is useless, why do you have to stay in your low spirits and act like this? Others who see you can easily figure out what you’re thinking.” Ruiping Great Elder Princess put down the teacup in her hand, her eyes cold. “Yuan’an, how did I teach you in the past? Don’t waste your time and energy on useless things. When it’s time to maintain a cool composure, you have to calm down. Or even if you can’t find your inner peace, you should pretend to be so!”

“But, Grandma… But I… I cannot restrain my anger!” Infanta Yuan’an felt wronged.

“So, what if you can’t contain your anger? Go to beat up Princess Chen or plot against her in the dark? The matter of the Butterfly Clothing Shop has nothing to do with you, but once you feel hostile toward her, you bear the blame. Prince Zhou is obviously behind this matter. Everyone will think you vent your anger on a small shop if you do anything reckless. Yuan’an, you will be Princess Zhou. If you are so incapable, I think you’d better not marry into the royal family. Otherwise, you would only bring trouble to our mansion!”

Ruiping Great Elder Princess said coldly. Her face froze, and there was obvious disappointment in her eyes. Ruiping Great Elder Princess watched Infanta Yuan’an grow up and raised her with great care so that she could marry into the royal family.

Ruiping Great Elder Princess was born noble in the royal family. Of course, she hoped that her granddaughter could marry back to the royal family.

For Ruiping Great Elder Princess, Prince Zhou was the most favored prince. He was born a legitimate prince. If it were not for the eldest son of a concubine, the throne would be his. Even though there was Prince Yue, Ruiping Great Elder Princess thought more highly of Prince Zhou and believed he was the one to ascend the throne.

If her granddaughter married Prince Zhou, she would be the most revered and respected Empress.

When Infanta Yuan’an was very young, she had invited a well-known fortune teller to predict her life, who said she was born at the best time and was blessed with an extremely honorable fate. Then, the fortune teller stopped with caution because he dared not reveal too many of Heaven’s secrets. Nevertheless, they got the meaning. For a girl like Infanta Yuan’an, becoming the Empress would be her extremely honorable fate in the future.

Since then, Ruiping Great Elder Princess was very concerned about Infanta Yuan’an’s words and deeds. She wanted to cultivate her to become the Empress who enjoyed the most glorious status.

In the past, Infanta Yuan’an had always been doing well. Even when facing Shao Yanru, she behaved graciously and decently. Also, she carried herself with ease and natural poise in public, displaying her perfect demeanor as a noble lady. Though she hadn’t enjoyed the reputation of being the first beauty in the capital, she stood out from those noble ladies and was even more popular than Shao Yanru.

But now, her granddaughter’s mind was in a turmoil. That day, she suddenly came up with an idea to plot against Princess Chen in the Butterfly Clothing Shop. In Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s view, it sounded crazy.

Who was Prince Chen? He was the Empress Dowager’s most beloved grandson. Since Shao Wanru had married into the Prince Chen’s Mansion, the Empress Dowager must also like her very much. No lady marrying other princes could not be compared with her. Targeting at Princess Chen was equal to going against Prince Chen. How could the Empress Dowager stand by?

Ruiping Great Elder Princess really couldn’t understand why her intelligent granddaughter couldn’t endure Princess Chen. It was impossible for Prince Chen to seize the throne. Only by being friendly with Prince Chen’s Mansion this time could she please the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. However, instead of getting along well with Princess Chen, she dared to plot against her!

And the most important thing was that Infanta Yuan’an failed! She was foolish to the extreme.

Infanta Yuan’an didn’t make a best-laid plan in advance, which Ruiping Great Elder Princess felt was the biggest mistake. She came up with the idea of plotting against Princess Chen suddenly. In the end, Princess Chen managed to escape and even fought back. Even Ruiping Great Elder Princess was implicated. At this time, her grandson was still lying sick in bed. Thinking of all this, Ruiping Great Elder Princess gradually fell into a rage.

“Grandma, Shao Wanru…”

“Princess Chen!”

“Shao Wanru…”

“Princess Chen!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess repeated it twice. With a fierce look, she picked up the teacup beside her and smashed it hard on the ground.

Immediately, Infanta Yuan’an stopped, biting her pale lips. She didn’t dare to mention Shao Wanru’s name again. After a short pause, she apologized, “Grandma, I got it now. It’s my fault for what happened in the Butterfly Clothing Shop!”

Her voice became softer, and she lowered her eyes. Although she was resentful and scared, her face looked calm. The cup in pieces sobered her up a lot.

This set of teacups was her grandmother’s favorite one, and she begrudged using it in the past. Today, because Infanta Yuan’an wanted to make tea for her, she specially asked the servants to bring it over. But now, one cup was shattered, which led the whole set useless.

As she had thought, Ruiping Great Elder Princess waved her hand. “Throw them away!”

“Yes!” A servant girl came over and carefully took away the teacup before Infanta Yuan’an. Before getting a chance to appreciate the tea in it, she watched the servant girl take it away. From then on, she wouldn’t see this set of teacups again.

Her grandma wouldn’t give away the rest of the teacups. The servant girl would smash all of them before throwing them away.

Her grandmother would never keep useless things and would ruin them directly. “Then what about useless people?” At the thought, a chill ran through Infanta Yuan’an from her head to her heart trembling with fear. She hung her head to hide the panic in her eyes. Ruiping Great Elder Princess scared her, even if she was her biological grandmother.

“The Butterfly Clothing Shop, leave it there. Just wait and see what Prince Yue will do. If he makes a mistake, we will certainly expose the truth and let others know it was Prince Yue who did these things. But if he does nothing wrong, our mansion can never act rashly again.” Ruiping Great Elder Princess, seeing Infanta Yuan’an know how to behave in a delicate situation, felt satisfied and looked slightly relieved.

Prince Yue stirred up troubles in the Butterfly Clothing Shop, but shifted the blame onto the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion. It was obvious that he had an ulterior motive. Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s granddaughter would soon become Princess Zhou, so Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion was destined to stand against the Prince Yue’s Mansion. Unlike Princess Chen, the Prince Yue’s Mansion would be their major opponent for the throne in the future. Therefore, it was good to get hold of some of his secrets.

Prince Yue, who had the same purpose, deliberately made troubles related to the Butterfly Clothing Shop. By doing so, he could deliver a blow to the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion.

Ruiping Great Elder Princess didn’t know Chu Liuyue was determined to deal a blow to the Butterfly Clothing Shop. She thought they used the dispute in the Butterfly Clothing Shop between her granddaughter and Shao Wanru on purpose to stir up trouble between Prince Chen and Prince Zhou. The more Prince Yue wanted to do this, the more she couldn’t let him get what he wanted. If Prince Yue kept an eye on them, they would also pay close attention to Prince Yue.

Once she spotted any weak points of Prince Yue, she would not let go of him either.

“Grandma, I’ll do as you say. Then what should we do with Princess Chen?” Infanta Yuan’an suppressed the anger in her heart, looked up, and asked with a gentle smile. It seemed that she no longer cared that Shao Wanru had offended her and had learned the meaning of what her grandma said.