There came laughter from the side hall one after another, which could be heard in the quiet main hall. Shao Wanru could tell that Old Madam was quite delighted now. Obviously what Hao’er said made Old Madam very happy.

She lifted the corners of her delicate lips silently, showing a sarcastic smile. In the last life, Hao’er had been missing. She heard that Old Madam had tried to search him at the beginning, but after a month, Old Madam left it unsettled.

Ola Madam liked Hao’er and doted on him. However, if he were missing, he could be replaced.

Old Madam had plenty of grandchildren, so Hao’er was not that indispensable. Moreover, Shao Wanru didn’t think that as the Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion, she didn’t know that Madam of Duke Xing purposely spoiled Hao’er by raising him in that way with ill intention!

If Old Madam really loved Hao’er, she would definitely not agree to raise him in that way!

At this moment, Shao Wanru felt glad that she had revealed her identity early in this life and sent Hao’er to her grandma.

When Shao Yuanhao came back, he came with Old Madam and the others to offer incense. This was the last time for them to offer incense in the afternoon.

After they finishing offering incense, Shao Yanru looked at the sky outside and said softly, “Fifth Brother, you can go down the mountain now. The servants sent by Rui’an Great Elder Princess are waiting outside!”

“I’m not leaving. I want to stay with Fifth Sister!” After hesitating for a moment, Shao Yuanhao looked at Shao Wanru who was still kneeling on the rush cushion and said with concern on his taut face.

Shao Wanru was going to stay up tonight, and could not go back to sleep until midnight.

“Nonsense. As a boy, you’d better go back at night.” Old Madam rebuked him in displeasure.

Yuhui Nunnery basically didn’t allow male guests to stay at night. After all, it was a nunnery. Shao Yuanhao was still young, but there was a rule that male and female should not be seated at the same table after turning seven years old, and he was obviously overage.

“Third Brother, you should go down the mountain. Tonight I’ll take turns with Fifth Sister staying here!” Shao Yanru advised gently as usual.

“Hao’er, go down the mountain.” Knowing that it was inappropriate for Shao Yuanhao to stay here, Shao Wanru said softly,

“But…” Shao Yuanhao was still dissatisfied. He pursed his lips and wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Old Madam rudely, “Go down the mountain. Your elder brother is going down the mountain later. You two can be companions!”

Seeing that Old Madam had made up her mind, Shao Yuanhao had no choice but to agree. After bowing to Old Madam, he and Shao Hua’an went out together, followed by his servants.

“Grandma, you should also go to sleep. You have spent all afternoon here. How can you stand it?” Shao Yanru advised.

“Grandma, please go back. Big Sister, Fifth Sister and I are here!” Shao Jie’er also tried to persuade Old Madam to leave.

Old Madam looked at Shao Wanru, who was kneeling there with a pale face. Sensing Old Madam’s gaze on her, she raised her head gently and said, “Grandma, you can go back now. I am here!”

“Is it okay for you to stay alone?” Old Madam looked relieved, but didn’t ask Shao Yanru or Shao Jie’er to stay with her.

“Grandma, it’s okay. You can go back to sleep, so can Big Sister and Second Sister. You’ve just come up the mountain today, and must be tired!”

Shao Wanru said in an increasingly soft voice, but there was a trace of sarcasm in her eyes. Their words were nice but empty. No one would really stay tonight.

“I’m not tired. I’ll stay with Fifth Sister,” Shao Yanru said and looked gentle and concerned, seeming to be sincere. As she spoke, she knelt down. Unexpectedly, as soon as she bent down, she fell on her knees heavily.

“Miss, Miss, be careful. You’ve hit your knees when kneeling down,” a maid said and hurriedly crouched down. She gently massaged Shao Yanru’s knees, while reminding her in a low voice.

“Nonsense. You shouldn’t kneel down with your injury. Help the First Miss go back for a rest!” Old Madam rebuked Shao Yanru with a cold face, “You don’t have to fulfill your filial duty for your eldest uncle at this time. Sincerity is all that matters. You don’t have to stick to the rituals!”

So Old Madam meant that staying here didn’t necessarily mean Shao Wanru was filial but only meant she was ritual. Shao Wanru sneered in her heart. Old Madam and her granddaughter were so disgusting. They made it look like they wanted to stay but had to leave.

“Big sister, big sister, let me help you go back!” Shao Jie’er rolled her eyes, pushed her way to Shao Yanru and said obsequiously. Of course she did not want to stay here until midnight. It was so tiring. She said that just now in order to maintain unity with Shao Yanru. Now that Shao Yanru was going back, she didn’t have to stay here.

“Second Sister, please stay with Fifth Sister. I’ll come here to accompany you after I go back and clear the bruises on my knees.” Shao Yanru gently pushed Shao Jie’er away and said.

“Jie’er, stay here. Ru’er, go back for a rest. If you don’t have a good rest tonight, how can you fulfill your filial duty for your eldest uncle tomorrow!” Glancing at the huge hall, Old Madam finally failed to ask Shao Wanru to stay alone. Besides, she didn’t care much about Shao Jie’er who was just a concubine’s daughter. It was reasonable for Shao Jie’er to stay here with Shao Wanru.

Although Old Madam didn’t like Infanta Qinghua, this religious ritual was held for her son. It was good to leave one more person to stay here.

Since Old Madam had made up her mind, no one else dared to say anything else. Shao Yanru left with the support of her servants.

Watching them leave, Shao Jie’er was so angry that her face turned ashen. She glared at the back of Old Madam with hatred. Old Madam was obviously partial. According to the rules, all of the younger generations should stay here tonight. Now only she and Shao Wanru were left, which made her indignant.

But no matter how indignant she was, Shao Jie’er was very clear about her identity. She was a concubine’s daughter who was unengaged. Her marriage was completely in the hands of Madam of Duke Xing. Old Madam would not interfere in the marriage of a concubine’s daughter.

Thinking of this, Shao Jie’er had to restrain herself. She stared unwillingly at the backs of the group of people who had gone far away, turned back to the Hall, and collapsed on a rush cushion. She ordered the maid beside her, “Go to get me a cup of water. I’m thirsty.”

The maid hurriedly turned around and brought a cup of water from the side hall. After taking a few sips, Shao Jie’er put the cup aside casually and ordered, “Where is my dinner? Hasn’t it been prepared now? I am starving!”

“I’ll go to inquire about it now!” the maid said and left in a hurry again.

At this moment, Pushan Nun and her two disciples had finished chanting scriptures. She handed a scroll of scriptures to Yujie and said, “Tell the Second Miss and the Fifth Miss to chant several lines of scriptures in the evening. They don’t need to chant many times. Two or three times are enough!”

This was a rule, and Yujie naturally knew it. She had prepared for this kind of religious rituals a lot under the leadership of the Abbess of Jingxin Monastery. She respectfully took it and nodded.

Pushan Nun stood up and left, followed by her two disciples.

The sky outside had darkened at this moment. It was not only because it was at night, but also because it was going to rain. It was autumn, but the weather was so dull that there seemed to be a thunderstorm in the sky. The dull weather made people extremely uncomfortable.

“What a terrible weather! If I had known it earlier, I wouldn’t have come up the mountain.” Shao Jie’er sat on the rush cushion, squinted at Shao Wanru, and complained coldly.

Shao Wanru ignored her.

“Hey, you should stay up and I’ll sleep. Wake me up when it’s finished!” Seeing that Shao Wanru ignored her, Shao Jie’er said with a frown and sneered.

Shao Wanru opened the scripture Yujie handed to her, as if she didn’t hear Shao Jie’er’s reproach. She picked up a wooden fish and began to knock it as she chanted scriptures.

Her low voice of chanting scriptures sounded in the hall, sounding peaceful.

Shao Jie’er, however, felt that she had been neglected. She walked up to Shao Wanru, looked down at her and said with a snort, “What are you chanting? Stop chanting if you don’t know how to do it!”

After saying that, she kicked the wooden fish in front of Shao Wanru and knocked it over immediately.

Although she was not favored in Duke Xing’s Mansion, she was nobler than Shao Wanru who was from outside. She looked scornfully at Shao Wanru in front of her.

As a Miss from outside who was forced out of the mansion, how capable could Shao Wanru be? Shao Jie’er’s mother had said that even if Shao Wanru died outside, no one in the mansion would feel sad. They would only pretend to be sad to maintain their decency.

Suddenly, Shao Jie’er felt a pain in her feet, and felt like being hit by something. she screamed in pain and fell to the ground heavily.

“Shao Wanru, bitch, what did you hit me with? I…” Shao Jie’er cursed in a sharp voice, but her voice was stuck in her throat. She looked at Shao Wanru in front of her in disbelief, froze and didn’t dare to move.

In front of her throat, there was the wooden stick for knocking the wooden fish. One end of it was round, while the other end was slightly tapering but not sharp. However, when the stick was pressed against her throat, Shao Jie’er did not dare to figure out whether it was the sharp end or not.

Shao Jie’er’s clothes on her chest were dragged by Shao Wanru, and the wooden stick in Shao Wanru’s hand was against her throat. Shao Jie’er was older than Shao Wanru, and Shao Wanru still looked a little childish in front of her. But now Shao Jie’er did not dare to move.

Shao Jie’er felt a sharp stuff against her throat. Shao Wanru’s watery eyes, which were supposed to look charming, showed a bit of rage in coldness. Shao Jie’er had never sensed the kind of blood-thirsty rage in anyone’s eyes. She was so scared that she almost burst into tears.

“Fifth, Fifth Sister, we, we can have a peaceful talk. Don’t threaten me with this…” Shao Jie’er stammered and her face turned pale with fear.

“Do you think I’m weak?” Shao Wanru asked softly. In the past, her voice would definitely make Shao Jie’er think she was weak. However, in the current situation, Shao Jie’er was scared out of her wits. She kept shaking her head and said in a tearful voice, “Fifth Sister, I… I didn’t bully you. I… I’ll stay up with you!”

As Shao Jie’er said, she felt that she was really going to cry. She had never expected that Shao Wanru would be ruthless enough to push her into the corner without saying anything.

She just wanted to vent her spleen rather than cause a murder. Moreover, she would be the murdered one. Seeing Shao Wanru’s ruthless and cold eyes, she felt that she was not scaring her. She would probably be killed here!