When someone came down the stairs, she moved aside towards the handrail.
A pair of men's wide-toed shoes with a dark blue satin upper embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns caught the eye.
Wushuang recognized the shoes as the ones she had made at a glance.
According to custom, when a girl gets married, shoes are made for her husband's elders. Since Wushuang married into the imperial family, it was impossible for all of them to be given away; shoes were only made for the Empress Dowager, Emperor Deqing, Consort Jing, the old princess, and others.
These men's shoes were the ones that were officially given to Emperor Deqing.
She never imagined that Emperor Deqing would wear it, but who would be so bold as to wear the emperor's things out in public?
Wushuang looked up angrily and met a familiar face...
She was in her fifties, well-maintained, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her appearance bore a resemblance to her beloved husband, Chu Yao.
Who else could it be but Emperor Deqing?
Chapter 146 | Table of Contents
Chapter 146:
Wushuang lifted the veil covering her face and was about to bow when she saw Emperor Deqing coldly turn his face away.
She was slightly taken aback, then noticed that Liang Sansheng, who was standing behind Emperor Deqing, was giving her a wink.
Wushuang suddenly realized that although teahouses weren't necessarily bad places, it wasn't a very pleasant thing for the emperor to visit one. Liang Sansheng was telling her to pretend she hadn't seen it.
She immediately put her veil back on and ran quickly up the stairs.
After finally reaching the second floor, Wushuang stood in the corridor.
Looking back, Emperor Deqing and his entourage had vanished.
She patted her chest, thankful that Liang Sansheng had reminded her, otherwise she would have offended Emperor Deqing.
Next time I visit the palace for a festival, I should give Eunuch Liang a larger purse as a token of my gratitude.
Just then, I heard a series of cracking sounds as porcelain shattered.
Wushuang followed the sound and found her mother-in-law, the old princess, standing angrily by the window in a private room with the door half open. In front of her was an overturned mahogany carved round table.
“…What the hell!” she heard the old princess cursing.
Wushuang knew that the old princess was never one to speak harshly, so she assumed that she was just throwing a tantrum for some unknown reason and quickly went in to try to comfort her.
To everyone's surprise, the old princess coldly demanded upon seeing her, "What are you doing here?"
They had informed the old princess about their trip, but no one knew that the old princess would be going out.
Wushuang knew that saying that would only make the old princess angrier, so she obediently replied, "I went shopping with Wanwan, Peipei, and my cousin Sheng. I'm a little tired, so I came up to rest for a bit. They're still outside. Mother, would you like me to call them up?"
"No need!" the old princess refused. "You may leave!"
Wushuang was puzzled and stood still without moving.
Upon seeing this, the old princess roared, "Get out!"
Wushuang immediately turned around and ran outside.
Then the old princess's voice rang out from behind: "Don't tell anyone you've seen me here!"
Without looking back, Wushuang rushed into the corridor and hurried towards her reserved private room. Unexpectedly, she ran into Hongyu, the second-class maidservant of the old princess, at the top of the stairs.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Hongyu curtsied to her. "Your Highness is here for tea too? What a coincidence."
Wushuang then asked her, "Why are you accompanying Mother?"
Why use a second-class maid when there are head maids to serve you closely? (Read the latest chapters at www.QiuSHU.cc)
Hongyu said, "Our princess said it's rare for me to go out, so she brought me along to broaden my horizons." She then asked, "Just now, our princess met an old friend, and the snacks at the teahouse weren't very good, so she sent me to Jiqingzhai to buy some tea and snacks to entertain him..."
Wushuang interrupted her: "Then you're late. When I went to pay my respects to Mother, the guest had already left."
Hongyu wasn't very composed. She exclaimed "Ah!" and then lifted her skirt and ran towards the old princess's private room.
Wushuang found it increasingly strange.
Although it was her first time visiting the Lu Family Teahouse, she had heard that the chefs who made tea and snacks in their shop were either retired from the imperial kitchen or hired from Jiangnan at great expense.
Although Jiqingzhai has a great reputation, its master chef's skills may not be as good.
Why did the old princess send Hongyu out to buy snacks instead of going to the trouble of finding them nearby?
Could it be that he deliberately sent her away?
What secret did the old princess have with that old friend that she was afraid to let others hear?
Who was that old friend?
Suddenly, I remembered the Emperor Deqing I had met by chance on the stairs.
Could it be such a coincidence that everyone has come to the teahouse at the same time?
If it was arranged by Emperor Deqing and the old princess...
The thought had barely crossed Wushuang's mind when she shivered.
No, no, it's unacceptable for an elder brother-in-law to meet with his widowed sister-in-law in private. Even in ordinary people, this would be a scandal, let alone in the royal family.
The old princess was such a person who valued rules and regulations; she would never do such a thing.