“I, I…” Ling Fengyan hid her annoyance and shame hurriedly when she saw the anger on the Princess’ face. Her eyes reddened and she cried delicately as she knelt on the ground, “I heard that there were other young ladies who have come to greet the Princess, so I came as well. I did not know that I behaved rashly.”
The other young lady she was talking about was Mo Xuetong. Mo Xuetong was the daughter of a third-grade official. Young ladies from noble and wealthy families like Ling Fengyan spurned her. As such, she was mentioned at this time by Ling Fengyan, who was feeling resentful.
Since Mo Xuetong could come, why couldn’t she? She was instructed to be here by the Empress. If the Princess mocked her again, it would mean that she was going against the Empress. The back of the palace was still governed by the Empress. Even though she did not have any sons, she still held the position and the status that came with it. No matter which Prince take the throne in the future, she would still be considered their legal mother and the Empress Dowager. Nobody could deny that.
However, if the Princess allowed Ling Fengyan to stay, should there be rumors circulating in the back of the palace regarding Ling Fengyan and Feng Yuxuan, what transpired today would definitely be mentioned. The two of them had accompanied the Princess and they had chatted all night. This meant that they are acknowledging the relationship between Ling Fengyan and Feng Yuxuan! This also meant allowing the Empress to extend her reach into Mingzhu Palace. The Princess could not accept that.
Chasing Ling Fengyan away meant going against the Empress. If she did not chase Ling Fengyan away, it meant agreeing to the Empress’ interference. It also meant surrendering to the Ding General Manor.
Mo Xuetong sighed to herself. The people in the palace were all not simple. The Empress played a mean hand of chess!
But she could not do anything. She could only wait silently as others picked the game apart. She looked at Feng Yuran who sat there calmly and knew that he had a plan. As such, she lowered her head and looked at her toes silently.
Ling Fengyan realized that all was silent after she spoke and felt confident. Then, she thought of how the Princess used to be arrogant and overbearing and she could not help but start to fear. Sweat started to appear at her forehead. She bent down and did not dare to say anything else.
Feng Yuran stood up suddenly and walked up to the window. It had started to snow lightly. A red plum tree stood outside the palace in the snow. Its long branches with a stark difference in the pure white snow made the sky looked even more colorful and beautiful.
He looked at the scene outside and then turned around to smile at Mo Xuetong seductively. He said, “Third Miss Mo, it is getting late. Aunt is busy here. You are a girl, so you don’t need to stay in the palace. The lantern festival is about over and I am going to return to my manor. I shall send you home on the way back.”
He had said that really casually, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room. He did not ask Mo Xuetong if she had any opinions. Instead, he turned and smiled at the Princess. “Aunt, have pity on your nephew. Look, it’s snowing again. I might as well return to my manor, get warm and have some hot wine. I will definitely bring you a New Year’s gift that you like tomorrow.”
“Oh you, don’t forget to bid your father goodbye before you leave the palace later or he will think that you are still in the palace. I don’t need anything from you. Just give me that red coral tree tomorrow. Don’t bring those mediocre things here.” A smile appeared on the Princess’ somber face.
“How would I dare? Aunt, you just wait. If I don’t send you that red coral tree, then you can trash up my manor.” Feng Yuran said with a smile in his eyes. Then, he bid Feng Yuxuan farewell. Mo Xuetong took the opportunity to bid the Princess and Feng Yuxuan farewell as well.
This was for the best. As long as she left, Ling Fengyan could not use her as an excuse to stay. Furthermore, if King Chu was not interested, he would leave as well. The Princess had nothing to do with everything else!
That devilish man was not simple indeed. He had ruined the Empress’ plan with just a few words. Mo Xuetong could not help but admire him. He was indeed different from the playboy prince who was good for nothing that everyone thought he was. He was a treacherous man!
He had dealt with the stalemate with just a few words.
The lanterns lit up the dark as white snowflakes fell from the skies. It brought an additional beauty to the lantern festival in the palace. The snowflakes drifted as skirts swayed. The young men were handsome and the young ladies, beautiful. The young people were easily pleased and were in good spirits which were further enhanced by the beautiful scenery.
The incident between Marquess Zhenguo, Sima Lingyun, and Mo Xuemin, the eldest daughter of the Mo family, had long disappeared in the beautiful snow. No one remembered that Mo Xuemin had been sent out of the palace early on and that Sima Lingyun had been reprimanded by the Emperor. The Dukeship that he had been about to get his hands on was now put on hold indefinitely. Sima Lingyun was still the Marquess of Zhenguo.
He had behaved improperly in the palace and had annoyed the Emperor. Even the other officials felt that he was flighty. A few of them had agreed in private to speak up for Sima Lingyun when the Emperor mentioned him so that he could take the dukeship.
However, the Emperor had been in a bad mood even before he spoke. They did not dare to say anything else. Emperor Zongwen was a powerful ruler. There were no other dissensions in court since he assumed his position. Great Qin was considered orderly and he was a fair ruler. The families of those who helped to establish the nation remained titled so that their descendants could be taken care of.
The descendants of these lords were already in straitened circumstances. They were no longer the legendary figures they once were and now depended on the court for money. The Duke’s Manor was a representation of these people. Sima Lingyun was determined to make the Duke’s Manor rise again, which was why he became interested in the Mo Manor and wanted to marry their legal daughter. This was how he could become related to the General’s Manor.
Due to Emperor Zongwen’s power, only the Four Great Manors in the Great Qin retained actual power amongst those who helped to build the nation. This power was one that not even the Emperor could underestimate. If he received the help of General Manor, it would not be an issue for the Duke’s Manor to rise again. However, Sima Lingyun did not expect something like this to happen in the palace.
First, his sister had gotten into an argument with Mo Xuemin and the matter had even been escalated to the Empress. Then, what happened at Qingfang Pavilion was something that he could not explain no matter how much he tried. Coupled with what happened the last time, his relationship with Mo Xuemin had become really complicated. However, she was just a concubine’s daughter and he was not interested in her.
He was already very annoyed and angry for having Mo Xueqiong as a concubine for no rhyme or reason. If Mo Xuemin joined her, he would truly have nothing to do with Mo Xuetong anymore! How could he bear that! He would do anything it took this last time…
He sat in the horse carriage outside the palace and watched the entrance coldly. It was just past 12 and his carriage stopped at an inconspicuous corner outside the palace.
It was an ordinary horse that was not striking. Compared to the other horse carriages outside the palace entrance, his carriage could be considered dull. Fortunately, no one took any notice of the inconspicuous horse carriage at all. No one noticed someone was inside even though it had parked there for some time. Furthermore, inside sat the Marquess Zhenguo who had been chased away earlier.
A few servants chatted and laughed outside the palace entrance. It was the New Year and the patrols were not very strict. Everyone was relaxed. There would be rewards in the palace later and they did not know how much they would be given. The servants chatted excitedly and even mentioned how much they received in the previous years. In recent years, the rewards from the palace had increased and the servants smiled so widely that their teeth showed. They were not in the mood to care too much. It was cold and their masters in the palace did not have much on, so they were free as well. No one could care to walk in the wind and snow to examine each and every horse carriage.
This was the palace entrance, the largest entrance in the world. Who would dare to do anything here!
Mo Xuetong and Feng Yuran parted ways not long after they left. Feng Yuran needed to bid Emperor Zongwen farewell before he could return to his manor. Mo Xuetong was accompanied by the Princess’ maid. She found Luo Mingzhu and the Princess’ maid told Luo Mingzhu that Mo Xuetong had met the Princess in Cloud City, which was why the Princess had sent someone to fetch her earlier.
Luo Mingzhu was not alone. She was accompanied by a few other young ladies whom she got along well with. Together with the ladies were their brothers and friends. When they heard what the Princess’ maid said, those who suspected Mo Xuetong because of what Mo Xuemin said discarded their suspicions. Third Miss Mo had been with the Princess, so how could she have asked to meet her sister? It seemed that the elder sister was the vicious one who wanted to get her younger sister into trouble.
The incident at Qingyu Pavilion had happened very suddenly and ended oddly. Even though it was said to be a misunderstanding at the end, any girl who ended up implicated would find their reputation tarnished. A girl’s reputation was already hard to defend. Anyone who came close to such an incident would try to avoid it as best as they could. No matter what happened, Mo Xuemin’s reputation was tarnished and there was one accusation that Mo Xuemin would not be able to defend herself against.
She had tried to frame her younger sister, saying that she was meeting a man in private. That was vicious and infuriating!
Furthermore, Mo Xuetong behaved graciously and only just bit her lips when Mo Xuemin was brought up. Despite the sadness in her eyes, she had still tried to defend Mo Xuemin in public. She only said that her elder sister was mistaken, or that someone had pretended to be her and arranged to meet her elder sister. She truly seemed to be defending Mo Xuemin.
However, because of this, it made others feel even more so that Mo Xuemin was evil and shameless!
Which noble family would dare to marry a girl like that? Those who had thought that they might be interested in becoming in-laws with the Mo family after Mo Huawen’s promotion, all shook their heads then. First Miss Mo must not be married into their family!
After observing the new year, the palace gates opened. The lantern festival had ended. Mo Xuetong held on to Mo Yu as they followed Luo Mingzhu. They followed the crowds to the exit. There were many horse carriages stopped outside the palace. So many young masters and ladies had appeared at the same time and the drivers could not react in time, jamming the entrance.
Mo Ye went out to search for Mo’s carriage. It was a mess and difficult to move.
The servants hurried to clear the traffic. Fortunately, everyone knew each other and as such, scuffles for space did not happen. The people stood by the side of the road and chatted with smiles on their faces. They did not notice the curtains of a horse carriage being lifted surreptitiously. A pair of eyes shone sinisterly behind the curtains before the curtains were dropped down once more.
“Head over there!” The cold, sinister voice ordered softly.
“Yes!” The carriage driver answered softly. Then, he drove the Mo’s horse carriage over.
Mo Xuetong and the others did not know they were being watched as they continued chatting softly.
“Cousin, you might as well come back to the Luo Manor with us. It would save you from that reputable elder sister of yours from weaving a story about you later.” Luo Mingzhu suggested and tugged on Mo Xuetong’s hand. She had only found out about what happened at Qingyu Pavilion afterward. She was so angry she had almost collapsed a lung. What kind of person was Mo Xuemin! She had gotten into trouble and had tried to shift the blame to her sister.
She had seen evil people, but she had never seen someone so evil. She was forcing Tong’er to her death! Ever since Luo Xia passed away, the Luo family had become extremely dissatisfied with the Mo family. Now that Luo Mingzhu saw her cousin being framed, she could not bear it any longer. She had always had a bad temper and she was determined to bring Mo Xuetong home.
“Cousin, I am fine. I will visit Grandmother in a few days to wish her a happy new year.” Mo Xuetong smiled and refused. The rules of the Great Qin were that one had to spend the first day of the new year in their own homes so that they could remain safe and the family would be happy in the new year. It was already considered to be the first day of the new year, so it was against the rules to go to the Luo Manor now.
