Chapter 449 A Secret Meeting in the Mid-Lake Pavilion at Midnight!
The ceremony to record Qin Wanru into the family history went well in the afternoon because everyone had been clear about this before they arrived. Now Duke Xing's Mansion and Rui'an Great Elder Princess had authenticated this, and it was even said that Empress Dowager had also sent someone to authenticate her. Thus, they all believed that Qin Wanru was indeed the lineal daughter of the former Heir of Duke Xing, who had been left outside.
After Qin Wanru had been officially recorded in the family history, she changed her name to Shao Wanru.
She was recorded in the name of the former Heir of Duke Xing and Infanta Qinghua, and she ranked as the fifth Miss in Duke Xing's Mansion.
There were three branches in Duke Xing's Mansion, and they were all lineal sons of Old Madam of Duke Xing's Mansion. There were only Shao Wanru and Shao Yuanhao in the first branch now. One ranked fifth and the other ranked third.
The second branch was the legal wife of Duke Xing, who had two daughters and one son. There were a lineal son and a lineal daughter, as well as a non-lineal daughter. The two daughters were ranked first and second respectively, and the son also ranked first.
In the third branch, Madam had two lineal daughters and a non-lineal son. The two daughters were ranked third and fourth respectively, and the son ranked second.
Those non-lineal relatives had been separated early, so that the whole Duke Xing's Mansion was the offspring of Old Madam of Duke Xing's Mansion, and there were not many people in Duke Xing's Mansion. There were no parents in the first branch, which seemed to be smaller in scale.
There were only a son and a daughter left in the first branch, and they were both young.
The ceremony to record Qin Wanru into the family history went on for a long time. When the ceremony was completed, it was getting dark, and in the winter, it got dark earlier than usual.
At this time, of course, the banquet had to be held. The banquet in Duke Xing's Mansion had been prepared, and the fragrance of wine filled the air for a while.
The women finished their dinner quickly, and after that, they wandered around casually. Most of them came here with their fathers and brothers. They could not leave before their fathers and brothers had finished.
They had wandered for a while in the afternoon, so many women were unwilling to wander again and they stayed in the banquet hall to drink tea and chat. But there were some lively people who did not want to sit down and continued to wander in the garden.
Some Misses went farther and farther, and then even lost their way. They could not find anyone for a while, so they could only go forward in the direction of the street lights, and were ready to look for the servants of Duke Xing's Mansion to ask for directions before going back.
Along the way, the more they walked, the darker the sky got. The lights to lead the way were set every few steps, but now only one appeared almost after a certain distance. The distance was getting farther and farther, and part of the road was dark. Fortunately, there were many women walking together, and they were not so afraid after emboldening each other.
Suddenly, a woman with sharp eyes pointed to the front and said excitedly, "There's someone up ahead!"
There was a lake in front of them, and in the middle of the lake was a waterside pavilion. There was a pavilion outside the waterside pavilion, in which there was a lamp, and someone seemed to be there.
"Let's go over and ask the way. We finally see someone!"
"Yes, yes. Let's go there right away!"
Everyone could not help breathing a sigh of relief. If they continued to go on without encountering anyone, these girls would also be panicked.
The light in front of them was no less than a savior to them.
Everyone hurried to the lakeside. When they got closer, they saw clearly that there was a man in the pavilion, which made them slow down again.
In such a dark place, there was only a light on in the pavilion on the lake. Was it impolite for them to disturb him like this?
As they were hesitating, someone said in a low voice, "Look, someone is going there!"
"Who?" Everyone's gaze followed the direction that she pointed in. There was indeed a woman coming over from the waterside pavilion. She was wrapped in a cloak, which made it unable for them to see clearly who she was. It was only a vague figure of a woman.
At this time, she, dressed like that, went to meet a man. All the people looked at each other, stopped, and even hid behind the trees.
The woman with a cloak walked slowly along the waterside pavilion to the pavilion. The man who was originally sitting in the pavilion stood up excitedly. He originally faced in another direction with his back to the group of girls. As soon as he turned around, those with sharp eyes immediately recognized that he was Childe Wang, Wang Shengxue, who lived in Duke Xing's Mansion.
One reason why everyone present knew him was that he had been there today when Shao Wanru had been recorded into the family history and entered the Shao family. He became the object of discussion among many women because of his good looks and they had asked who he was. The rumors spread quickly. As women are capable of spreading rumors, most people knew his identity immediately.
Another reason was that some of the people present had witnessed the scene when Wang Shengxue had stopped Shao Wanru.
When Wang Shengxue saw the woman coming over, he reached out to hold her in his arms and untied her cloak with the other hand. The cloak was thrown aside and fell to the ground, but no one paid any attention to it.
The young man and woman hugged tightly. From their angles, they could only see that Wang Shengxue lowered his head and began to kiss the woman. Thus, all the girls were stunned.
"Is she the newly recognized Fifth Miss Shao?" someone in the dark said.
"It seems to be true. That dress. Yes, it's her." Other people's attention immediately fell on the girl. She had her back turned to everyone, so they could not see her clearly.
But those exquisite and gorgeous clothes, as well as the unique embroidery and beautiful color, immediately caused a discussion among the crowd.
They didn't know without talking about it. But the more they talked, the more it looked like her. These were exactly the clothes that Shao Wanru had been wearing today.
Shao Wanru was an important person in today's ceremony and also the focus of everyone's attention. The focus of the women was also on her gorgeous and enviable clothes. Every piece of her clothing was bright, and they envied and hated it in their hearts. They wanted to replace her and become the daughter of the former Heir of Duke Xing.
Such beautiful clothes, such beautiful embroidery, how could they not attract people's attention?
At this time, after a careful identification, everyone was sure that the woman in front of them was Shao Wanru, who was the fifth Miss newly recognized by Duke Xing's Mansion.
"Shameless! Really shameless!"
"I don't want to see this!"
"She is really cheap!" The women scolded her in a low voice. Wang Shengxue and the woman were still hugging and kissing, and they looked like they couldn't be separated. The situation of the two of them became more and more hot. It was obvious that this was not the first time that they had done this.
"She's now the daughter of the Shao family. Her actions will damage the reputation of the daughters of the Shao family. Let's go and invite the elders to take a look right now." Someone suggested sternly.
"Yes. Go to find them right now! Right now!"
After a discussion, they had four women go back the way they came before. Then they would quickly come to catch Shao Wanru in the act. They would put her into the swine cage. How could such a cheap woman enter the family history of the Shao family?
Previously, they only wanted to go forward, but now they realized that they could retreat. The four women went back to call for help, and they walked very fast. What's more, they happened to meet the servant girl of Duke Xing's Mansion, who took them to a shortcut, and soon returned to the hall.
The elders were almost drunk by this time and were talking happily. When they suddenly heard such news, they immediately became furious.
They didn't know where Duke Xing had gone. At this time, there was no master of Duke Xing's Mansion. A few elders, who were almost drunk, took the lead to catch Qin Wanru. They followed several women who had taken a shortcut to catch Qin Wanru red-handed.
For fear of being discovered by the other party, no one spoke. When they arrived at the place guarded by the previous women, they looked up and saw a couple embracing each other in the pavilion on the lake.
"It's true that it's the new Fifth Miss of Duke Xing's Mansion." Some people also recognized the dress. This kind of dress could not be possessed by any ordinary people. And everyone had seen it before.
The two people in the pavilion became more and more intense. The man sat down with the woman in his arms and kept kissing her.
"Drown that woman in the swine cage."
"We must drown her. The reputation of the daughters of our Shao family can't be spoiled."
"Just drown her before Duke Xing finds out. We all have seen it. Don't be afraid!"
"That's right. That's the idea. It's for all the girls of our Shao family."
The words came out of their mouths one by one, and those who were drunk became excited. In this way, the discussion was settled, and a few elders of the family and a large group of people rushed to the pavilion.
However, when a large group of people rushed out, it immediately alarmed the people in the waterside pavilion. The two people saw the crowd rushing on the water bridge and panicked.
The path had already been cut off. At this moment, the only way out for them was the lake in front of them. The woman had actually jumped into the water with a splash.
Wang Shengxue also seemed to want to jump, but he was timid. After trying a few times, he didn't dare to jump down again. He just watched the woman swimming away from him.
It was actually not far from the other side of the lake.
The people of the Shao Clan did not expect that the woman would dare to jump in. After a moment of hesitation, some people ran back, but the way they went was not a direct route. It was farther away to run from where they were to the opposite side of the lake. When some people finally got over there, they only saw a line of water.
The people in the pavilion had already caught Wang Shengxue.
Under the light, he could clearly be seen. It was indeed Wang Shengxue.
After tying Wang Shengxue up, they took him around the pavilion. When they arrived at the opposite bank, they saw a clear line of water on the ground. It was clear that someone had come ashore right there and escaped.
"Go after her!" The elders discussed this matter and felt that it could not be settled amicably. Then they continued to chase after her. They had to capture Fifth Miss Shao, who had ruined the reputation of the Shao family, and drown her in the swine cage!
If people knew that the Miss of the Shao family was secretly dating a man in the garden, how could the women of the Shao family get engaged or married in the future? What would people think of the Shao family?
The elders became clear-headed at this time, and they felt that this was the best way. Duke Xing was still not here, which was a better opportunity. They would catch Shao Wanru and directly drown her in a swine cage. Even if Duke Xing found out about that and came here, it would be too late.
For the sake of the reputation of the entire Shao Clan's women, it was right for them to do so!
A large group of people detained Wang Shengxue and chased after her. But they didn't expect that after they took a few steps, they would suddenly see a fire in front of them shooting up into the sky. Smoke was billowing, and the fire was surging. It was on fire!
The flames alerted the people of Duke Xing's Mansion. All the servants carried buckets and water-filled objects and ran over there. They shouted, "Put out the fire!" The whole place was in chaos...