“To watch a good play, we need to find a good position first. There are too many people and no good seats left. I choose a position which offers a good view, and it’ll definitely make you happy.” Feng Yuran smiled evilly, and lazily leaned on the cushion on the carriage. He glanced at Mo Xuetong’s beautiful face for a moment and felt frightened. Maybe it’s because of Bai Yihao? His eyes suddenly darkened.
“You just saw Bai Yihao?” He raised his eyebrows and asked smilingly with bright eyes.
“Yes, why was he there?” Mo Xuetong asked honestly. She couldn’t imagine why Bai Yihao showed up at this place. The Xiangman Tower was too noisy rather than elegant. Besides, it was crowded with customers. Such a noisy place could never be elegant. Bai Yihao seemed to be a person who would stay in a quiet tower, playing the zither and drinking tea. And he should never come to such a place!
“Why can’t he come? That box in Xiangman Tower is saved for him all year round. Tong’er thinks he is a fairy?” Feng Yuran looked at Mo Xuetong with a half-smile. The curtains by the window were open and the moonlight reflected on his face, which blurred his profile and made him look handsome. There seemed to be something in his dark beautiful eyes.
She couldn’t see clearly from her angle, but she could still tell there was unhappiness in his charming eyes! He was really… hard to please! Mo Xuetong sighed and didn’t know which of her sentences was wrong. She just changed the topic.
“That was King Yan!”
She didn’t say that as a question but as a fact! She had secretly observed King Yan at Baihua Banquet and just realized it was King Yan then who used to be elegant. She couldn’t imagine why the calm and elegant King Yan would look so angry.
Feng Yuran didn’t answer and the carriage stopped. Feng Yuran carefully put on the hood for her and then put on his too. Then he jumped out of the carriage, took her hand and led her off the carriage.
The carriage parked in front of an inn and the two rows of lanterns hanging in front of it were very conspicuous. It was quiet in front of the inn. Even if there were guests, they would definitely hang out and enjoy the lanterns. Feng Yuran led Mo Xuetong upstairs. The accountant who was calculating on an abacus behind the counter didn’t even turn his head. And the waiter who was cleaning the desk with a duster on his shoulder also seemed to have ignored them. Only a clever waiter by the staircase warmly welcomed them upstairs to the top floor of the inn.
They pushed the door open and saw a splendid room with plush decorations. The beauty screen divided the whole room into two parts. There were a few books on the willow desk and several plum blossoms in the vase, which looked noble and elegant and seemed like a study of the rich.
“What are we doing here?” Mo Xuetong quietly observed everything in the room, blinked her eyes and asked strangely.
“The good play is about to begin. Hurry up.” Feng Yuran stood behind the screen and lazily asked.
Walking to the other side of the screen, she saw Feng Yuran leaning against the bed beside the window. That was a large bed, and there was a table beside the window. The waiter carefully put down the candle and brought in some tea. Then he went out with his head down and pulled the door close for them.
“Come here.” Feng Yuran waved at her with a slight smile.
Mo Xuetong got onto the bed from the other side of the table. The window had already been open, so she casually looked out through the window and got amazed with her eyes wide open. She looked at the opposite, and across a river, there were Feng Yuxuan and Ling Fengyan behind another window.
The most important thing was that she could clearly see that Ling Fengyan was almost in Feng Yuxuan’s arms. They cuddled together closely and smiled.
The candle was suddenly put out and the whole room went dark. She heard Feng Yuran smiling evilly by her ears. “Where we’re now is actually pretty close to Xiangman Tower. But it was not noticeable because there is a river in the middle of them, especially now when the candle is out. No one there would know we are watching secretly. And we’re at the perfect position with the same building height and size.”
This position was perfect? It was of the same height? Her long eyelashes fluttered and she got shocked that he knew it all so well. Was he really an arrogant son of the rich…?
Feng Yuran seemed to have sensed Mo Xuetong’s shock and said lazily in the dark, “Xiangman Tower and this inn are all mines, so I know my big brother reserves that box. And I saved it for him. Otherwise, I can’t take you to see this good play!”
She didn’t know why he told her all that which had nothing to do with her. These were all his secrets. Mo Xuetong had already known King Xuan who seemed useless was not as simple as he seemed, which could be shown from the way he treated the assassination. She believed if it’s not for her sake, he could have dealt with it more calmly and wouldn’t get himself hurt.
He was in great danger. Mo Xuetong knew clearly that if Feng Yuran was just a normal duke, he wouldn’t have too much trouble. However, now, though Feng Yuran didn’t mention anything, she could distinctly feel that he had been in this fight over the throne. When she thought about the position where you either lived treading on other people’s lives or fell to the deepest abyss, she couldn’t help but shiver.
Mo Xuetong had wanted to keep away from the fight over the throne, but now she was involved in it in such a way. She fiddled with the hem of her clothes and bit her lip in the darkness. She heard herself asking calmly, “Why?”
Why did he tell her? Why? Why?
She didn’t want to be involved in such national affairs, but she was still asking. If she was sober enough, she should have left without a word. She should stay away from him and those family-destroying danger. However, she was sitting here calmly with a prince fighting over the imperial power.
Mo Xuetong felt her life was upside down. In such a romantic night with fireworks all over the sky, seeing such an ambiguous scene, she asked such a disputable question. Even she wanted to ask herself why! That was a crime which would cause killing, but her first response to it was not escape but inquiry!
Was it because she felt Feng Yuran who was sitting opposite to her was harmless?
“I don’t want to die, so I have to walk forward. There are not so many answers in the world and you don’t have to worry that much! Look, it’s coming!” In the darkness, Feng Yuran fixed his eyes on Mo Xuetong and smiled even more brightly. He didn’t think Mo Xuetong’s question was difficult to answer, reached out to stroke her head and pointed at the door which had just been knocked open.
He didn’t explain why, but his smile was quite reassuring.
Feng Yuxuan and Ling Fengyan arrived at Xiangman Tower an hour ago. After they saw the fireworks and hung out for a while, Ling Fengyan had sore feet. She didn’t go out much usually and seldom showed up at the tea parties arranged by those young ladies. She was the most beloved girl in Ding General Manor.
Although Ling Mingyan had the position of the legitimate daughter, she didn’t get as much as Ling Fengyan because of her appearance and character. Instead, when there was something fun or delicious, Ling Fengyan was always the first one to get it rather than Ling Mingyan who was supposed to be the most precious.
Thanks to the Queen, the third prince, King Yan Feng Yulei had a close relationship with Ding General Manor. King Yan Feng Yulei’s mother died when he was little and was adopted by the Queen because the Queen and his mother were sisters. Although he was not really the Queen’s son, he had a close relationship with the Queen because she had no son. Thus he had a close relationship with Ding General Manor.
Ling Fengyan grew up with Feng Yulei from a young age. Ling Fengyan seemed to be gentle and generous from the outside, but in fact, she was quite arrogant. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be the rumor that she was the most beautiful girl in the capital. If she hadn’t secretly implied that, a rich girl like her who seldom went out couldn’t get such fame.
Her marriage had been decided by the Queen to be with a prince, but the Queen never clearly told her who was the one she would marry. Ling Fengyan had thought herself to be a great beauty with much talents and good virtues, so she had been observing First Prince and Third Prince, who were most likely to be the next emperor.
The Queen wanted it to be Third Prince, while she had another plan. King Chu Feng Yuxuan who was gentle and had a good reputation looked more attractive in her eyes than King Yan Feng Yulei. Besides, Feng Yuxuan was more virtuous. Therefore, she thought King Chu had more chance to win than King Yan who only had a little fame. But she knew clearly that the Queen was in control of her marriage, even her parents couldn’t decide it.
She didn’t want to know what the Queen had in mind. She just maintained the relationship with King Yan. No matter what would happen in the future, she thought it would be a nice thing to win a duke’s affection and save herself another way! She didn’t want to be a tool used in the rivalry of the imperial throne and she had to think for herself. She couldn’t go against the Queen’s will, but she could still do something for her best benefits.
She wouldn’t let another woman get what she had cultivated.
When the Queen met Feng Yuxuan for the first time in the palace, she told them to hang out together, which was not out of expectation. Ling Fengyan was quite clever, and the Queen had said it clearly to her. Therefore she had already got her idea and asked Feng Yuxuan to take her to rest in Xiangman Tower with the excuse that her feet ached.
However, when she got in, she was knocked by someone and her clothes got stained. The man who knocked her was pretty polite and asked his servant to buy new clothes for her. It was very warm and even hot in the box, so she opened the window to let the fresh air in. The clothes brought to her was a red dress which was extremely beautiful and superb, which was sewed with golden and silver strings and had colorful clouds and daisies on it. Such a beautiful dress must be invaluable.
When Ling Fengyan was dressed in it, she looked beautiful and charming, which was very attractive.
“Fengyan did not behave, so please forgive me.” Under the lamp, the beautiful girl blinked her eyelashes with shyness, which was touching. Though she sounded shy, she appeared much more delicate and milder than usual with some coquettishness, something that the elegant Ling Fengyan had never shown.
“You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s my fault that I took you out today but didn’t take good care of you. It is really my fault. I don’t know what you like, so these may represent my apologies to you. Hope you’ll like them.” Feng Yuxuan’s voice sounded gentle and elegant. Then he took out a beautifully decorated box from his sleeves and pushed it in front of Ling Fengyan.
“Your Highness?” Ling Fengyan flushed instantly and didn’t know what to say.
“Open it and tell me if you like it. If you don’t like it, I’ll prepare something else tomorrow for you as my apologies.” Feng Yuxuan laughed loudly and raised Ling Fengyan. His fingers pinched her wrist with some strength, and then just let go of her hand. He invited Ling Fengyan into her seat, and all his behaviors were gentle as she had heard about.
“Thanks, Your Highness.” Ling Fengyan stood up delicately while relying on Feng Yuxuan’s hand, and sat down with a red face on a chair made of willow.
