“Since you haven’t, then what were you doing there? I heard that some of the courtyards in that alley are occupied by beautiful women.” Feng Yuran’s light voice could be heard from behind the curtain.
Ling Fengyan could vaguely make out the figure of a woman inside as well. Feng Yuran was leaning onto the woman.
Ling Fengyan could tell that the woman was extremely beautiful even from just her silhouette.
“Your Highness.” Ling Fengyan stood up with tears in her eyes. She took out her handkerchief and tried to dry her tears. She continued before she even wiped her eyes, evidence of how sad she was, “Your Highness, I just wanted to pass through from there to get to the other side to see the fireworks. I didn’t expect someone to come after me and try to kill me. If not for your help. I fear I would have already…”
Then, she curtsied deeply and wiped her tears away in a frightened manner. Any man who did not have a heart of stone would feel their hearts stirred by such a beauty.
Mo Xuetong sat on the couch and sized Ling Fengyan up silently. The advantage of sitting behind the curtain was that you could watch someone carefully while not having to be worried that the other person would be observing you.
Ling Fengyan’s face had been carefully made up. There was a layer of translucent white powder on her face that showed off her gentleness. Her tears did not make any ugly tracks on the layer.
Even though her hair was messy, she seemed soft and charming. Her clothes were in slight disarray, but she was beautiful and seemed inviting…
Was Ling Fengyan trying to seduce Feng Yuran?
This knowledge made Mo Xuetong feel something that she could not describe. To Ling Fengyan, Feng Yuran should be a licentious prince. He was a useless playboy to her. Why would she be interested in him? Could it be that Ling Fengyan felt that having two princes fight for her was not enough and she wanted to add Feng Yuran into the mess?
“So I have saved your life then?” Feng Yuran’s voice was lazy and charming. It sounded flirtatious for some reason. However, his expression was one of faint mocking and Ling Fengyan, who was outside, could not see this.
How could this guy have such an expression while saying something like that that could make a person blush? Mo Xuetong could not help but glance at him.
“Fengyan owes Your Highness a big favor. I will definitely repay you.” Ling Fengyan’s eyes were filled with tears as she spoke softly. She sounded grateful and pitiful.
A woman whose eyes were filled with tears would be able to stir a person’s heart especially if her eyes were filled with emotion. Mo Xuetong did not expect Ling Fengyan to behave so pitifully. Coupled with her beautiful face, she was extremely beautiful and charming and would make a man want to protect her.
Her tear-filled eyes and porcelain skin, as well as her small trembling lips, made the beautiful girl look gentle and fearful…
Ling Fengyan had really given her all to seduce Feng Yuran. If Feng Yuran had been the playboy that he appeared to be, he would definitely have been seduced by the beautiful woman.
Indeed, an extremely interested voice rang out from behind the curtains. “How about you marry me then!”
He really dared to say something like that! Mo Xuetong was shocked. However, she realized that he squeezed her hand lightly, as if telling her that she could rest easy.
Rest easy? What was she worried about? Mo Xuetong was stunned by her question. She felt the heat rushing from her hand to her heart and then to her face. Her pale face immediately blushed a light red. She was afraid that he would see her. As such, she looked straight forward and did not even dare to move.
She was just here to watch the show. Since the two people involved were not even shy, what did she have to blush about?
“Your Highness…” The coy voice sounded pitiful. One had to admit that Ling Fengyan was more skilled than Mo Xuemin. She had not even said anything but had already conveyed her intentions.
“Then that’s set.” Behind the curtain, Feng Yuran’s lazy voice sounded careless. This made Ling Fengyan secretly happy. However, she appeared to look shy.
If she could marry Feng Yuran, she would get what she wanted. Her eyes had always ended up landing on the beautiful youth. Despite having heard of his licentious behavior, she believed that she was different. She was beautiful, and every man who saw her would be interested in her. They would just fall before her.
On the other hand, this was the only way she could think of to get out of the difficulty that the Empress had posed. The Empress liked Feng Yuxuan, King Chu. She wanted Ling Fengyan to enter King Chu’s manor and test him out. If Feng Yuxuan was so easy to deal with, he would not have become Feng Yulei’s opponent. The Empress, her aunt, would not have been helpless against him either.
She did not want to end up being collateral damage!
She rather picked the most undependable Feng Yuran.
Feng Yuran would not be able to fight with the two. No matter who took the throne in the future, they would not ill-treat their only brother. She would be able to have the riches as well. Furthermore, she was rather interested in Feng Yuran. As such, her eyes flashed with satisfaction when she heard what he said.
“I will go to the palace and tell Her Majesty in a few days. I will take you as a second consort. You will be in charge of my inner courtyard before I marry my first consort.” Feng Yuran’s statement made Ling Fengyan look up suddenly at the man behind the curtain incredulously.
“The people in my inner courtyard right now are those who cannot behave well in public. After we marry, take charge of them. When there are many women, the place becomes a mess. They give me a headache. Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have taken so many women in.” She lost hope completely when she heard what Feng Yuran had to say.
Ling Fengyan’s blushing cheeks paled immediately and she almost fell. Feng Yuran’s words were like a thunderbolt and she was so shocked that she could barely remain standing. This man, how could he? How could he say something like that given how she had behaved earlier? He wanted the legal daughter of the Ding General Manor to become his second consort?
“Your Highness…” Her voice sounded extremely aggrieved. Ling Fengyan looked up. There were still tears at the corners of her eyes from her acting earlier. She was beautiful and charming. Any ordinary person who looked at her would sympathize with her. They would not want to make the beautiful girl sad and make her their legal consort immediately.
Mo Xuetong thought about it. However, given her interactions with Feng Yuran lately, Feng Yuran was no ordinary man. As such, she could only sigh for the beauty.
“What is it, are you not willing, Second Miss Ling? That’s such a pity. I do not have such a beautiful girl as you in my inner courtyard. I would regret it for life if I missed out.” Feng Yuran sounded as if he was sighing. His voice was lazy yet also filled with regret.
“Your Highness, I fear that I will not be able to marry you. My aunt once said that the legal daughters of the Ling family have to be legal wives.” Ling Fengyan shook slightly out of fear. She only clearly realized how much in danger she was. Who was the person in front of her? He was the wildest son of Emperor Zongwen. He was a prince who dared to speak his mind and offend Emperor Zongwen in front of him.
If he insisted on making her his second consort, and if he goes to the Emperor and asks for her, her aunt would not be able to say anything no matter how unwilling she was. No, no. She cannot be a second consort. If she were to marry him, she wanted to be the real master of the King’s manor.
If he forced her, she would rather die!
“Oh, then forget it. Men, escort Second Miss Ling out. It is so late at night, and if there are rumors of how Second Miss Ling is secretly dating me, my reputation will be ruined.” Feng Yuran said lightly.
Mo Xuetong rolled her eyes. Did he even have a good reputation? His words were so annoying…
His words had shocked Ling Fengyan though and her thoughts scattered. He was releasing her just like that. Could it be that her unparalleled beauty was not attractive to him?! She had wanted to make Feng Yuran concede to her. Was Feng Yuran not interested at all despite her beauty?
The door opened and the guard who escorted her over gestured toward the door. He said very politely, “Second Miss Ling, please!”
Lazy laughter that could make one’s heart beat faster and flush sounded from behind the curtain when he saw her standing at the door dazedly. “What is it, Second Miss Ling, are you unwilling to part with me?”
Ling Fengyan was shocked and she hurriedly said to Feng Yuran, who was behind the curtain, “Thank you, King Xuan.” Then, she tugged on her maid and stumbled out. It was as if Feng Yuran would change her mind if she left any later.
The guard closed the door lightly.
“She wants to enter my manor without the approval of my consort. That’s a pipe dream. Tong’er, don’t you agree?” His expression, which had been distant grew charming immediately. He smiled at Mo Xuetong and patted her pale hands, trying to ingratiate himself to her.
Mo Xuetong stood up suddenly and flung away the hand that was caressing the back of her hand. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and asked, “Your Highness, you aren’t really going to marry Second Miss Ling, are you?”
Feng Yuran leaned back and laid on the couch. His expression was one of aggrieved as he said, “Tong’er, you’re my consort. If you don’t agree, how would I dare to?”
He was never serious even for a moment. Mo Xuetong rolled her eyes at him and decided to ignore him. She said directly, “Did you lure her here because of King Ning who came to the capital secretly?”
King Ning, Feng Yuzhen, was his real target.
Even though Mo Xuetong did not know what he had done she knew that something else was going on from how Ling Fengyan was behaving. They had even talked about her marrying Feng Yuran because of him saving her life. With Ling Fengyan’s family background, who would dare to hurt her in the Ding General Manor? Unless they were from the royal family, or unless Ling Fengyan found out about something others should not know about. For example, the thing about King Ning. That would bring death upon her.
The Empress would protect her from the royal family. King Chu and King Yan both liked her and Feng Yuran seemed to have saved her. All of that pointed to King Ning.
“Tong’er, why are you so smart? I am really lucky.” Feng Yuran turned to look at her from where he was lying on the bed. His eyes were gentle under the light as he looked at Mo Xuetong. They looked at each other for a while and then Mo Xuetong looked away.
“Ling Fengyan is an unparalleled beauty and this is such a good time. It is the time when a talented man meets his beautiful lover. If there is any drama about how a man is meeting his lover in secret, the Empress would not be able to accept it. She had said confidently that the next Empress would come from the Ding General Manor. This is not good news.” Feng Yuran raised his brows. Even though his voice was lazy, it was filled with something deeper. He was completely different from how he usually was.
Even though he was lying on the couch, he seemed to be hiding something. Even though he was smiling, his eyes were sharp. This was the real Feng Yuran!
Even though Feng Yuran shocked Mo Xuetong, it was expected. She glanced at him and said, “Your Highness, aren’t you afraid that Ling Fengyan might notice something?”
“She’s a woman. Who would dare to say anything out there carelessly after so many things that could ruin her reputation had happened. Even though she has suspicions, she won’t be suspicious of me. Furthermore, Ling Fengyan is a prideful woman and has many plans. I am a lazy playboy who doesn’t do anything. It is normal for me to do ludicrous things.”
