Chapter 457 - Being Known for Talents or Filial Piety, Which One Was Better? (1/2)

“Grandma, it’s not the right time for me to stay in Duke Xing’s Mansion. I’ll leave the mansion and live in another place for three years!” Shao Wanru said in a soft voice, but looked very serious. She stared fixedly at Rui’an Great Elder Princess with her watery eyes full of persistence and firmness.

She showed no intention of hesitating or shrinking back, as if she did not know that she had said something extremely shocking.

No one had heard of a Miss of an aristocratic family who left the backyard and lived in another place for three years.

“What are you thinking?” Great Elder Princess didn’t refuse her directly and said in a soft voice. She loved her granddaughter dearly, but also knew that this child was smart. Although plenty of things had happened in Jiangzhou Prefecture, this child managed to come to the capital city anyway.

Just because of this, Great Elder Princess would not really consider that she was being childish.

“Why did the First Miss of Shao’s Mansion leave home and live in another place?” Shao Wanru said slowly after sorting out her thoughts.

The First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion known for her talents? Rui’an Great Elder Princess frowned. She didn’t like Duke Xing and his wife, so certainly didn’t like their son and daughter either.

She heard that both of them were outstanding, but they went out to study and were not at home. The First Young Master went down to the south of the Yangtze River to study. He only returned home once in a while, and was basically not at home.

The First Miss was in the Yuhui Nunnery in the suburbs of the capital city. It was said that she set her heart on learning painting from a nun in the nunnery, which was equivalent to meditating in the Yuhui Nunnery. Because of this, she even got a better reputation.

“You want to use Shao Yanru’s excuse?” Great Elder Princess frowned in disagreement. As the first one coming up with this, Shao Yanru could be considered ambitious, well-mannered and elegant. However, if Shao Wanru did the same thing with the same excuse, she would be considered exposing herself to ridicule by imitating Shao Yanru and losing her own individuality.

“Grandma, I’m not going to do the same thing. I’m different from her. She intends to meditate in the mountain like an ancient virtuous lay Buddhist, learn painting skills from the well-known nun Pushan and thus give an impression of being pure and elegant and not being stained by the mortal world. So she left home for a period. People describe her as a naturally elegant girl with extraordinary spirit when speaking of her.”

Shao Wanru smiled slightly and said with slightly gloomy eyes.

In the last life, Shao Yanru was the same. She seemed to be free from worldly cares without being stained by dust, and everyone considered her as unsullied as jade, as pure as snow in the sky. At that time, everyone thought that she was going to marry into Prince Yue’s Mansion. Unexpectedly, the Emperor took a fancy to her for some unknown reason, so she married into the imperial palace.

However, although she married into the imperial palace, she was the emperor’s favorite imperial concubine. Afterwards, she even colluded with Chu Liuyue to kill Shao Wanru.

Others only described her as pure as cloud, but they did not know that she was so vicious. All of the hardships Shao Wanru had suffered in the imperial palace at that time were almost brought by her.

Going to the Yuhui Nunnery to learn painting brought her a noble and pure reputation and the simple mind different from that of other Misses of aristocratic families, as if wealth and honor were nothing but floating clouds to her.

She had learned painting in the Yuhui Nunnery for half a year. After that, she became the most elegant and outstanding noble Miss in the capital city with a painting she presented to the Empress Dowager for her birthday.

Counting the time, Shao Yanru was still in the Yuhui Nunnery located in Mount Donghua. Reluctant to have her meditation disturbed by others, she even didn’t go down the mountain on the Spring Festival. Others only said that she was strong-willed, but only she knew whether it was true.

Shao Wanru was sure that on the eve of the Spring Festival, Shao Yanru not only went down the mountain, but also met Qin Yuru and might have given her some “implicit” advice!

Mount Donghua was a small mountain outside the capital city. Although it was similar to Mount Hua, it was not the real Mount Hua and was quite far away from the real Mount Hua.

Mount Donghua was very famous, and the most famous site on Mount Donghua was the Yuhui Nunnery. It was the largest nunnery around the capital city and had once been a nunnery bestowed by the imperial family.

Nun Pushan was a Miss of an aristocratic family around the south of the Yangtze River when she was young. Afterwards, she shaved her head and became a nun because of something and became extremely famous in the capital city for her painting skills. Numerous aristocratic families wanted to invite her to teach their daughters, but they were all rejected, for she said that the disciple she accepted must meditate with her.

Shao Yanru gave up the wealth and rank of Duke Xing’s Mansion and really learned painting from Nun Pushan, which became a story passed on with approval at once. People became increasingly appreciative of this First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion. Nowadays, how many Misses could bear the tranquility in the nunnery and get up early in the morning and do morning classes with a group of nuns?

Some madams and Misses had met this First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion in the nunnery. Speaking of this First Miss Shao, they only described her as a fairy who had come to the mortal world by chance with a great blessing.

“In this case, how can you leave home in a justified way?” Great Elder Princess asked in confusion.

“Grandma, do you think that Duke Xing’s Mansion can find out the truth of yesterday’s fire crash and give us an answer?” Shao Wanru asked gently with a slight smile.

Great Elder Princess shook her head after thinking for a while. Seeing that her granddaughter seemed to have a ready plan in her mind, she knew that it was extremely difficult or even impossible to check it out.

Up to now, she hadn’t figured out how Shao Wanru got the kerosene and found such a good opportunity to ruin Wang Shengxue and Dongxing’s plot and trapped the entire Duke Xing’s Mansion.