After receiving Shao Wanru’s hint, Qu Le walked to open the door and saw a clean-cut servant standing outside, but she didn’t recognize him for a moment. After looking him up and down, she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, great! Her Highness is here. What a coincidence! Marquis Xing said he had seen you coming and wanted to invite you over. He is in the last box.” The servant smiled and pointed to the innermost box.

“Is Marquis Xing there?” Qu Le surveyed him and said with suspicion, “But I haven’t seen you before.”

“It’s normal that you haven’t seen me because I’ve been handling part of the marquis’s affairs outside and seldom go back to the mansion,” the young servant explained with a smile, seemingly not bothered by her doubt.

In other words, this young man before her was more than a servant. He could be regarded as the supervisor of the outer court. It was rare for such a young man to become the supervisor of the outer court. At least Qu Le had never heard of any. Hearing his words, she looked at him narrowly again and said, “Wait a minute!”

Afterward, she turned around and closed the door, leaving the young male servant outside.

“Miss, why would the marquis be here?” Yujie, who was inside, had already heard the conversation outside and asked in surprise.

It had always been the women’s favorite thing to watch the top three scholars of the imperial examination. Shao Jing had no daughter keeping him accompany now, so he couldn’t be here with his daughter.

“Let’s go and have a look!” Shao Wanru said with a smile. When she saw the figure before, she knew it was Shao Jing, who was blessed with a big and bulky figure. She could recognize him from a distance.

However, Shao Jing specially sent someone to invite her, which made her quite confused. But since she was here, she had to go and see him.

The door was opened again, and the servant outside was still waiting with a smile. When he saw Shao Wanru coming out, he hurried forward to salute her respectfully to the utmost.

Indeed, she didn’t know this servant.

She slightly raised her eyes and said, “Let’s go!”

The servant led the way, heading for the innermost private room. When they arrived at the door, he faced the door and reported, “Your Grace, Princess Chen is here!”

“Invite her in!” After a slight cough, Shao Jing’s voice came from inside.

The young male servant gently pushed the door open and stepped aside, his hands reaching out to guide Shao Wanru inside. “Your Highness, please!”

When Shao Wanru entered the private room, she saw Shao Jing and a woman in her thirties sitting next to him. This charming and a little shrew woman looked very intimate with Shao Jing.

At the sight of Shao Wanru, she hurriedly stood up and retreated aside, behaving somewhat amorously. Although she stood behind Shao Jing with a bright smile, her appearance came as a surprise.

“Greetings, Second Uncle!” Shao Wanru took two steps forward and said. With her current status, Shao Wanru didn’t need to salute Shao Jing.

Shao Jing rose to his feet and said with a big smile, “As I said, the person I saw was you! I asked my servant to inquire about it, and it turned out to be you, Princess Chen. You live alone in the mansion, so you ought to get out of the house more if you feel bored.”

After saying that, Shao Jing waved to the woman beside him and said, “E’niang, come here to greet Princess Chen!”

“Greetings, Your Highness!” E’niang came over gracefully and paid the highest respect by making a deep bow to Shao Wanru.

“As you were!” Shao Wanru took her seat, looked the woman up and down, and asked in a puzzled tone, “Second Uncle, this is…”

“I’ve been living in misery. When I met His Grace, he saved me from my miserable life. I will serve His Grace wholeheartedly for the rest of my life!” E’niang cooed.

The faces of Qu Le and Yujie darkened. They understood this woman was Marquis Xing’s mistress. Well, he could keep his mistress as he pleased. It had nothing to do with Princess Chen. But what exactly did he mean by introducing her to Princess Chen? Did he want Princess Chen to act as a witness to their relationship before others?

“The Young Madams from Prime Minister Zhang’s Mansion and Duke Yangqu’s Mansion were watching the fun with me just now. Why didn’t you come over to look for me earlier? Then we could watch the fun together. But it doesn’t matter. They will come back after buying some flowers.”

Shao Wanru withdrew her gaze and no longer paid attention to E’niang. With a wave of her hand, she motioned for her to step back as if she was no longer interested in her.

E’niang was stunned for a moment, for she didn’t expect Shao Wanru to ignore her because Princess Chen was very curious about her when entering the room.

“Oh, there are two Misses from the other two mansions. I’m an elder but still a male outsider. It is inconvenient for me to meet them at this time.” Shao Jing hesitated before replying.

Of course, he didn’t intend to see the two Young Madams. After going upstairs, he looked back and saw Shao Wanru enter the private room, so he asked someone to keep an eye on that booth. Later, after he was sure the two Misses coming over had left, he asked the servant to invite Shao Wanru over.

E’niang was indeed his mistress, and he planned to use Shao Wanru to publicize her first.

But if there were outsiders around, it would be inconvenient.

“Then, shall I… go back first?” Shao Wanru asked.

“Yes, please, Your Highness. I’d like you to formally meet with E’niang if there is a chance the next time!” Shao Jing said with profound resignation. He had to waste this good opportunity, since E’niang couldn’t meet outsiders at this time.

“Then I’ll go back first.” Shao Wanru stood up and said with a smile.

“Your Highness, please!” Shao Jing had to say.

Shao Wanru nodded at him. Without looking at E’niang standing aside in embarrassment, she turned around, walked out, and returned to the door of her private room.

After entering the private room, Yujie and Qu Le came to their senses.

“What did he mean? What did he want to do? He led his mistress to our master. Did he want our master to confirm her status?” Yujie complained angrily.

Qu Le was also upset and said, “How could His Grace do such a thing? Even if he meant to announce their relationship, he should let Old Madam of his mansion do this. How could he ask our master to do that? It may impair her honor. He has gone too far.”

The mistress didn’t look like a decent lady at all. As a mistress, she behaved as if she were a Madam from a noble family. She wished to show up before others with Princess Chen’s support! How could she have such a high opinion of herself?

Shao Wanru, however, remained meticulous and thoughtful in handling this matter. After pondering over the entire process, she figured out that this woman was Shao Jing’s mistress, and Madam Jiang had been looking for her for a long time but never found her. Since Shao Jing was very careful and seldom called on his mistress, Madam Jiang could not find any traces. Unexpectedly, Shao Jing would lead this woman to her. It seemed that Shao Jing had another plan.

In the previous life, Shao Yanru flew into a rage because of this woman. To her surprise, such a woman came out again in this life. Not only did she appear, but she seemed eager to marry into the Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

Shao Jing insisted on letting her marry into his mansion when Madam Jiang was out of luck. Did Shao Jing like this woman so much that he must marry her now?

At present, the Marquis Xing’s Mansion was in a bad situation. Old Madam had moved to the Yuhui Nunnery to recuperate while Madam Jiang was locked up. Besides, Zhao Xiran had a miscarriage. Since Third Madam had been sick all the time, she let Zhao Xiran take care of the family affairs instead. After all, compared with the third branch, it would be more appropriate for the second branch to be in charge.

With Zhao Xiran around, Third Madam found it inconvenient for her to intervene. Moreover, she preferred staying quiet for self-protection and not involving herself in the affairs of the whole Marquis Xing’s Mansion.

If Shao Jing brought this mistress in at this time, she could probably get involved in household affairs.

In the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, there were several concubines, most of whom were not favored. When this one joined them, she was likely to take over the affairs of the mansion with Shao Jing’s support.

At this critical moment, Shao Jing couldn’t wait to implement such an idea. He must love this mistress called E’niang deeply. Was that so?

This matter had nothing to do with Shao Wanru, but Shao Jing was thinking of taking advantage of her. If she hadn’t left early, E’niang would have begged her to agree to this matter.

With Shao Jing sitting aside and watching, she couldn’t take an uncompromising attitude towards E’niang as his niece. Even if she couldn’t officially accept E’niang, she would have to agree to some small requests. Given Shao Jing’s character, he would use these small matters to benefit himself, which might implicate her.

He could advertise that Princess Chen knew about his affair long ago, and E’niang had even paid a courtesy call on her. Then, people would think she had accepted this mistress. If Shao Jing asked E’niang to see her off or do something with her, the rumors about them would sound more authentic to others.

“Does he plan to step on me to aggrandize E’niang?”

In silence, the smile on her lips turned cold. In this life, Shao Wanru would not allow anyone to trample over her for their interests. As for this mistress, she had casually asked about her but never looked into her business seriously. It seemed that she had to inquire thoroughly into the matter.

Madam Jiang had been investigating it for so long but found nothing, so it was not easy to dig out any information. But now, Shao Jing’s intention appeared quite strange, and it might be much easier to conduct this survey.

Shao Wanru left there very late. Only after Shao Jing took his leave did she walk out. Even so, she was not in a hurry to go back. With her two maids, she loafed about the street.

The top three scholars had passed, but a lot of people remained there, talking about them along the way. The Number Three Scholar attracted the most attention. After all, Yan Xi was the youngest bachelor among the three, and the other two were much less popular than the top three winners in the last exam.

Many people claimed that the top three in the last exam made the best group they had ever seen. Whether the Number One Scholar, the Number Two Scholar, or the Number Three Scholar, they were all very eye-catching, creating a scene bustling with noise and excitement. By contrast, there was only the Number Three Scholar to keep up the festive atmosphere this year.

A lot of onlookers were comparing the top three in the two exams, and Wen Xichi was still the most talked-about person. As the Number One Scholar in the last exam, he overshadowed the others.

Along the way, they listened to the discussions of passers-by, feeling at ease.

Qing’er suddenly popped up by the roadside. When she saw them, she breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed through a crowd from behind, bowing to Shao Wanru. “Master!”

“Why are you here?” Qu Le asked in surprise, for they didn’t come out with Qing’er today.

“I asked the coachman just now and found you. Master, there is news from the prison!” Qing’er took another step forward and approached Shao Wanru to whisper in her ear.

Shao Wanru paused for a moment. Her eyes lit up when she saw the unusual look in Qing’er’s eyes. Then she lowered her voice and asked tentatively, “Qin Yuru?”