Mo Xuetong raised her head and stared at him blankly.
Her eyes, which ought to have been a little cold, glowed. There was some misty mist in her big, inky eyes. Her long eyelashes quivered a little, and her small mouth was half-open, but she could not utter a word. She had an ineffable charm. On her attractive, pointy, oval face, her peerless beauty was dreamlike as if it were covered with a light mist.
She, too, seemed to be as poor as an abandoned little animal.
Feng Yuran felt that his heart had never been so soft. His eyes were as tender as water! He held her more and more tightly in his arms, as if she were the most precious treasure.
It was a long time before Mo Xuetong bit her upper lip and gave him a gentle push, beckoning him to let her go. This time, however, Feng Yuran did not exert too much force. He loosened his grip after she gave him a gentle push. However, after experiencing the intense passion just now, the two were speechless for a time. Sensing the awkwardness of the atmosphere between them, Mo Xuetong pretended not to care. She looked down and brought up a topic.
“Where did you get all those women in your manor?”
With that, she almost bit off her tongue.
As expected, the man laughed lazily with unspeakable joy. “Tong’er, are you jealous?” Laughing, Feng Yuran pulled her sleeve.
Mo Xuetong repressed the shyness deep down in her heart. She lifted her head, puckered her lips deliberately, and glared at him to show that she really didn’t mean it. But she had not expected a tinge of shyness in her eyes to make her more guilty and charming.
“You’re indeed jealous, Tong’er.” If there was doubt in the first sentence, then this one was a blatant affirmation. Feng Yuran dared not make too much fun of her, seeing tears well up in her eyes out of anger and shyness.
He said hurriedly with a smile, “Most of those women were given to me by my considerate eldest brother, third brother, the Empress, Imperial Noble Consort Su, and even the Empress Dowager. I just couldn’t refuse to accept so many pretty ladies. Then I also went outside to abduct a few famous courtesans back. Of course, I took some ladies back home on purpose. The more people, the merrier. It’s much easier to fish in troubled water.”
Mo Xuetong had no idea of the complicated situation in his manor. Perhaps the beauties that those people had sent him were spies under the disguise of beautiful faces!
No wonder he had been acting so flirtatiously and ostentatiously. It was all forced!
Every step he took was not that easy. Every time, he walked as if he were dancing on the edge of a knife. He couldn’t make any mistakes.
If he behaved as if he had the intention of contending for the throne, the people who had sent him the beauties would not tolerate his existence. Even if he was a man of great ability, he couldn’t deal with so many people by himself. So he tried to dodge the attacks from overt and covert means by indulging himself in sultriness.
Mo Xuetong could not help remembering his background. She remembered that he had been sent away from the imperial palace alone shortly after his mother was dead and that he had almost been poisoned to death as well. As a prince, his life would possibly not be that easy!
As she thought of this, a flicker of compassion flashed through her eyes. In an instant, it was caught by the discerning Feng Yuran.
“When you marry me, I guess that the women in my backyard will almost be dead, and you will be left alone and have a haven of peace and tranquility.” His tone was playful, but his eyes were looking at Mo Xuetong very seriously, making her panic. She could only glare at him, turn around, and push him aside, saying, “Who said I was going to marry you?”
With a slight movement of his hand, Feng Yuran drew her to him. He squinted with a smile of delight and said, “Of course it’s you, Tong’er. If you don’t help me with my inner courtyard, I don’t want anyone else.”
The more he talked, the more ambiguous the atmosphere became.
Mo Xuetong gave him a push. She was about to speak when suddenly there came a soft knock on the door.
“What’s the matter?” Feng Yuran asked coldly with a long face.
He was interrupted in the midst of their tenderness. How could he be in a good mood!
“Your Highness, some people in the manor have had an accident. The steward urges you to go and have a look.”
“Some people in the mansion have had an accident? Those women?” Mo Xuetong’s watery eyes flickered. She knew at once that it must be these people. Feng Yuran took them into the mansion without any refusal, but they would definitely compete with one another, for they all had backers. Perhaps in front of him, they were gentle and feminine, but when he left the mansion, all of them were eager to injure and even kill their competitors.
Mo Xuetong was a loser from the intrigues of the backyard. And of course, she knew all the tricks and intrigues.
“You shall go back first so that no one can notice your absence,” Mo Xuetong said as she pushed him. Since so many things had happened tonight, Feng Yuran must not be found outside the manor. At this moment, the women were creating a disturbance. Probably, they did that just to find out about him. If he was found out of the manor, some people would suspect him.
“Tong’er, you care about me, right?” Feng Yuran blinked his beautiful eyes and smiled brightly. He was clearly in a good mood again.
Seeing that, Mo Xuetong glared at him. Then he said lazily with a smile, “Rest assured, Tong’er. Those women are so tough that they won’t die for a while. Today, King Ning came into the city, and he will certainly visit the Empress Dowager. My manor is in a mess, but other manors are no exception. I pretend to be nice to those women, but most of the time, I just ignore them. If I went to them early now, I’d be suspected.”
“Even so, you should go back early.” Mo Xuetong gave him a disapproving look with her watery eyes. She looked rather dissatisfied.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go at once. Will you go back first or still hang around?” Feng Yuran immediately smiled and bowed his head.
Mo Xuetong thought for a moment and said, “I’d better go back.”
Both King Ning and the First Prince of Yan Kingdom went into the city. With so many force groups still in the city, God knew what would happen next. Even if she longed to see fireworks peacefully, it was impossible. What a pity! She had no chance to see fireworks at ordinary times.
Seeing her regretful look, Feng Yuran said with a gentle smile, “You do have to go back first. There’s no telling what might happen in the street. If you truly want to see fireworks, I’ll show you somewhere next time.”
She raised her eyes to look at him. In her watery eyes, there were mixed emotions. Her eyes glistened, like a pool of clear water, rippling slightly.
Feng Yuran involuntarily stretched out his hand, turning his laziness into the charm. He said gently, “Tong’er, I think I need to marry you soon.”
Mo Xuetong was struck down by his sudden words. She could only glare at him for a moment, but he thought she was coy.
There was no time to lose. Feng Yuran ordered someone to send Mo Xuetong back secretly, and he, too, returned to King Xuan’s Manor.
Outside Jinwei Pavilion of King Xuan’s Manor.
Everything was a mess.
A beauty sent by the Empress Dowager and another sent by King Chu—Feng Yuxuan, actually fought each other.
All the beauties created a scene outside Jinwei Pavilion and shouted, asking His Highness to do justice to them. They were beauties, but the noises they made were quite annoying.
It was actually quite simple. The beauty sent by King Chu was in his good graces these days. Therefore, she always behaved arrogantly and even dared to mock the one sent by the Empress Dowager. Thus, that beauty had been nursing a grievance against her. So today, while the latter was passing by, the former ruthlessly poured a basin of water for washing feet on her, making her a stinky, drenched chicken.
Being poured by a basin of unknown water in the harsh winter and looking at the dirty, white, dust-like stuff on the ground, the beauty sent by King Chu flared up on the spot. She stepped forward and struck the other beauty.
The battles between men were nothing more than hand-to-hand combats involving the exchange of punches.
Women, however, fought differently. The beauty sent by the Empress Dowager hadn’t expected that the one sent by King Chu could be so arrogant that she dared to beat her. Thus, she was caught off guard. And when she came to her senses, a few strands of her hair had been torn off. She was initially a troublemaker, so how could she be willing to let the other off. Then two beauties started to fight, and so did their maids. Everything was in a mess at that time.
Shrills, curses, and screams of pain all mixed together. Then they actually scuffled to Jinwei Pavilion and asked His Highness to do them justice. Neither of the two beauties would give in. They stared at each other and wanted to swallow each other. And the gentility and virtuousness they claimed before His Highness at ordinary times vanished without a trace…
Steward Wang shook his head at the sight and simply ignored them.
The door of Jinwei Pavilion was opened. Feng Yuran, who was exceptionally handsome and wearing a luxurious fur coat, walked out of it. His hair fell freely behind his head and was tied only with a ribbon. Obviously, he just got up. He blinked his attractive eyes and wore a smile on his handsome face. His eyes glistened as he looked around.
Behind him, Feng Yue took two steps back and pretended to be a stake.
He told himself secretly that at this time, whoever came forward would suffer because His Highness was in a rage!
“Who’s going to tell me what happened?” Feng Yuran smiled broadly, as if looking at something that had nothing to do with him.
“Your Highness, when I passed by, this bitch poured a basin of dirty water on me. She wetted the dress that Your Highness gave me the other day, and I’m wearing it for the first time today…” The beauty was a skillful complainer. She flung herself to Feng Yuran and tried to go further, but the guards moved forward and stopped her.
There was no beauty in her muddy and wet dress and her face with the tangled hair.
Feng Yuran stepped back in disgust and motioned to the other beauty to speak.
“Your Highness, I didn’t do it deliberately. I just washed my hands, went to the door, and poured the water, but somehow, I bumped into her. Then she swore at me. I thought Your Highness was the most reasonable man and would never let someone unreasonable into the manor, so I reasoned with her. Unexpectedly, she jumped over and beat me.” She cried bitterly, and there were a few more scratches on her face. She looked more miserable than the previous one.
She looked at Feng Yuran with a pitiful look. However, such a look, coupled with her expression, would only make Feng Yuran feel more disgusted.
Steward Wang stepped aside calmly. The two women, who had just fought and shouted at the top of their lungs, acted so effeminately that it was truly disgusting.
“Did you two fight?” Feng Yuran did not seem to see them in a sorry fashion. He looked intently at the two with his attractive eyes, and suddenly, his smile became even more devilishly charming.
Seeing the charming smile on his handsome face, the two women were suddenly infatuated with it. They all nodded their heads vigorously to show that they had been wronged the most.
“Then I’ll send you all back. I dare not keep you in my manor.” Feng Yuran turned around with a smile and waved his hand. Two guards came forward, and each dragged one of them out.
He was going to throw them out of the manor. If that were the case, they would meet their fate!
The two beauties suddenly turned sober. One held on to a pole beside her, while the other lay down and pretended to be a dead dog. They cried and begged for mercy. “Your Highness, I dare not do it again. Please forgive me. We will get along well with each other in the future. The Empress Dowager (King Chu) sent me to you to serve you well.”
Once the pawns who had been sent out were returned, they would surely die.
“They’re daunting me using their backers,” Feng Yuran thought. He turned his head, his smile fading, and his eyes cold. “Does that mean the Empress Dowager and my eldest brother want to create a disturbance in my mansion?”
How did the two beauties dare to say such a thing? They froze at once and shuddered all over.
“No… No, Your Highness…”
“Your Highness… No…”
The two muttered and looked at Feng Yuran imploringly, their faces as white as snow. They dared not say anything.
“You guys make me think the Empress Dowager and my eldest brother really want to make trouble for me.”
Feng Yuran turned and entered his room. The door of Jinwei Pavilion was closed. The guards were no longer polite to the two women. Each of them dragged one in their hands, as if they were pulling dead dogs. Behind them, Steward Wang order some people to deal with the aftermath of the matter. Some of the beauties who looked on were frightened and felt their hands and feet cold. They were secretly glad that it wasn’t them who caused the trouble today.
For the first time, they wondered if they were wrong to come to King Xuan’s Manor.
His Highness King Xuan was so capricious and moody. Was it really possible to pry into his mind?
