Chapter 257 Xiuning Workshop, Suspicious Shopkeeper
Before Mo Xuetong answered, Bai Yihao turned around to look out of the windows. His gaze seemed to travel through the crowd and landed somewhere further way. “People say that King Jin manor’s lady used to love plum, so they planted the large plum forest outside the capital. King Jin planted them for his lovely wife, but many premium plum flowers are missing from the forest now.”
“In the inner residence of King Jin lies the most beautiful red plum forest. The lady loves to visit there the most. When it’s winter, the red plums will blossom against the white snow. When the wind blows, the snowflakes swirling in the sky are dreamlike. So, the small red plum forest and the lady’s yard are collectively called the Dream Yard.”
Bai Yihao said slowly and his handsome profile looked jade-like white and flawless in the sunlight. However, it seemed to carry something else.
Today, Bai Yihao was very different.
Mo Xuetong raised her lips in a light smile and gently said, “The red plum forest must be pretty to match its title, the Dream Yard. If I can see such a plum forest in my life, it’ll be a life worth living for.”
In King Jin’s old manor, only the small plum forest could be seen from the outside. After so many years, the rest of the house was still sealed in the old manor. She remembered that day, Feng Yuran took her into King Jin’s manor out of the blue. She saw a large number of buildings and couldn’t see the end of it. It could be seen that King Jin used to be bustling.
Thinking of King Jin manor’s old glory and seeing the ruins left today, Mo Xuetong had to exclaimed that, in the palace, as long as you were involved the fight of the throne, even your royal decedents would be sentenced to death, and it would even drag more people into the fight. If not for supremacy back then, King Jin who loved his wife and his lady might have become the perfect couple in people’s eyes.
“You will.” Bai Yihao turned around and stared at her. Suddenly, he rose up and smilingly said, “Three days later, there will be a Qin gathering. Scholars will meet and if you’re available, do meet us there.”
“Sure.” Mo Xuetong stood up and agreed straightforwardly.
This time, Bai Yihao didn’t say anything else and turned around to leave. His snow-white clothes fluttered and soon, it faded out of Mo Xuetong’s view.
Mo Xuetong sat back down and Mo Lan, who had been staying behind the curtains, passed a cup of water to her.
Mo Xuetong flicked her finger gently on the table and looked out of the windows thoughtfully. When Mo Lan was done with the errands, she suddenly smiled and said, “Mo Lan, send for Mr. Xing.”
“Yes, miss.” Mo Lan turned around to leave and soon brought back Mr. Xing.
“Please sit.” Mo Xueotng pointed to the seat opposite and mildly smiled.
“Since you’re here, there will be no place for me. I might as well stand.” Mr. Xing wouldn’t sit and stubbornly stood by the side after curtsying to Mo Xuetong.
Seeing him insist, Mo Xuetong didn’t urge him further. She slightly raised her lips and asked, “Do you know He Xia? She used to serve my mother.”
Mr. Xing thought for a moment and asked in reply, “Is she the one who’s tall and slim?”
“Yes. After her ladyship passed away, Sister He Xia went missing. Since you know He Xia and many other people out there, can you ask around about her whereabouts for us? She used to run the account book for her ladyship. If you can find her, she will help our miss figure out something about her ladyship.”
Receiving Mo Xuetong’s signal, Mo Lan smilingly said to Mr. Xing.
“If you can find Sister He Xia, our miss will thank you generously.”
“Miss is too polite. If you want to find He Xia, you can just tell me. There’s no need to thank me. I used to serve her ladyship, and now I must serve you as well.” Mr. Xing said in fright and showed his respect. He looked like a regular person who just received an important mission from his master. However, Mo Xuetong could tell that something was hiding in Mr. Xing’s eyes.
“You’re too modest. From your accent, you must be native in the capital. Your parents have been living here all the time, right?” Mo Xuetong chuckled and gently changed the topic.
“Yes, I’m from the capital. I used to work at Fu General Manor, then I went to Mo Manor with her ladyship and ran the shop for her.” Mr. Xing smiled again and answered skillfully.
Mo Xuetong mildly smiled and asked, “You’ve stayed long in Fu General Manor and must know my mother’s other shops. Father wants me to handle my mother’s dowry but I didn’t know how many shops like this my mother used to have. Can you tell me that?”
Last time, her father said that, after the New Year, her mother’s shops and lands, and the profit her mother made after marriage, along with the profitless jewelry and accessories would all be hers.
“Her ladyship has 20 shops in total and they are about the same size as mine. They sell all kinds of stuff and most of them are situated in the capital. When her ladyship left the capital back then, she asked the second uncle to run the shops for her. When Old Sir returned to the capital, the second uncle gave all of them back to Old Sir.”
“The second uncle has taken care of my mother’s account book for a while? Why didn’t he handle your shop?” Mo Xuetong was startled and asked with a frown.
Mr. Xing seemed to fail to understand as well. A trace of blankness flashed in his eyes and he murmured, “Maybe her ladyship didn’t completely trust him so she saved herself one.”
“My mother didn’t completely trust the second uncle?” Mo Xuetong’s gaze swept the overcautious shopkeeper and a light smile appeared by her lips. Her mother sent her four first servants and came all the way from Cloud City to the capital to see a man in the name of managing the accounts.
How daring that was! However, when the shopkeeper mentioned it, he said her mother was just cautious. A trace of grimness flashed through her bright, watery eyes. She might fail to figure out something, but she was sure Mr. Xing wasn’t innocent.
He Xia was just a maidservant and she hadn’t visited the capital often, yet she still found that was a man. Mr. Xing had been sophisticated and couldn’t have known nothing. He thought he made a perfect reply before her, however, the holes in his story were very obvious. From He Xia’s account, Mo Xuetong also knew that someone had been watching Xiuning Workshop back then.
If Mr. Xing was a normal person, how couldn’t he reveal the least doubt to his young master?
Furthermore, she just made it clear that she would run her mother’s shops. If he failed to catch such an obvious hint, he must be guilty.
However, in her last life, Xiuning Workshop had always stood by her side. Before she died, they didn’t do anything to hurt her. Mo Xuetong didn’t know what to do now.
Mo Xuetong beamed and rose up. “Thank Mr. Xing for explaining it for me. Then I’ll excuse myself.”
Mr. Xing respectfully escorted her to the door. “Miss is too polite. Just ask if you need anything.”
Mo Lan helped Mo Xuetong get into the carriage that had just arrived. Before boarding, she said to Mr. Xing again. “Please pay attention to Sister He Xia, thank you.”
Mr. Xing nodded repeatedly. “Yes. I’ll send people to find her. I believe we’ll find her soon.”
The carriage slowly rode on. Because of the previous accident, the driver rode exceptionally carefully. He followed behind other carriages and didn’t try to cut ahead of others, driving steadily.
“Is that Princess Anping? The girl Princess Royal recently adopted?” On a tower southeastern from them, Feng Yuzhen stood behind the windows. He asked with a frown. In his view, he could see the top of Mo Xuetong’s head. When she came out, she wore a veil, so he couldn’t really see her face.
“Yes, that’s her. She should not die that night.” Seeing Mo Xuetong alive before her own eyes, Wang Xiuxiu couldn’t help changing her face. She grabbed Feng Yuzhen’s fingers, pointed down below, and said in broken words.
Because of fear, she even skipped the lunch at Princess Royal and hurried to see King Ning.
“The shadow guard didn’t return.” Feng Yuzhen said lightly and knitted his brows tighter. The shadow guard vanished without a trace. This morning, before entering the city, he had sent people to find the guard, but in vain. The tea concession stand getting caught in a fire was just an accident from the Lantern Festival firework show.
People only heard some people get hurt but no one died. It was no big deal. The people who saw it didn’t take it seriously at all. They were telling it like a joke. They said the girl in white was as beautiful as an immortal and disappeared later. They said she might be an immortal who secretly went into the mortal’s world. Then, heaven got raged and lit up a fire. The beautiful immortal was startled and got away.
He thought the shadow guard and the girl had died in the fire and their bodies went missing because no one found out about their deaths.
Today, seeing the girl breathing and showing up here, Feng Yuzhen had a bad hunch. “Wang Xiuxiu really can’t do anything well.”
Watching the carriage leave out of his sight, Feng Yuzhen turned around and eyed the restless Wang Xiuxiu. He suppressed his displeasure and asked, “Did you tell her anything?”
“I didn’t say anything. I just said something to upset her. I want her to get mad so I can get away with that excuse.” Wang Xiuxiu instantly waved her hand. “But she was smart to have found my intention and she mocked me, so I…”
Feng Yuzhen asked stonily, “So you sent a shadow guard to kill her?”
“But, I couldn’t let her find my strangeness, my secret. I couldn’t skip the meeting with you! I hadn’t seen you in such a long time, I…” Seeing Feng Yuzhen’s angry face, Wang Xiuxiu was anxious with tears in her eyes. She approached to tug at Feng Yuzhen’s sleeves and hurriedly confessed her love.
“Now, she’ll find your secret and your strangeness.” Feng Yuzhen sized her up and the impatience in his eyes grew more intense. He thought the woman would be different. However, she still tried to kill someone for such a trivial matter. She didn’t even check the girl’s background.
Since Princess Royal had decided to adopt her, she must have guards around her. They wouldn’t allow her to get hurt at all. Now, Feng Yuzhen was sure that his shadow guard had already been killed. In the fire, someone rescued the girl and finished the shadow guard too. That man should be capable. Princess Royal should have such a good shadow guard. Feng Yuzhen’s eyes grew colder. “I don’t know if they’ve noticed me because of Wang Xiuxiu.”
Seeing Feng Yuzhen’s grim face, Wang Xiuxiu asked in a low voice, “But, now, what to do?”
Feng Yuzhen said coldly, “Hmph, you shouldn’t have acted on your own. So what if we met one day later!”
His words instantly made Wang Xiuxiu feel so wronged. Tears streamed down her face. If she wasn’t anxious about meeting him, why should she do such a dangerous thing? Once it was exposed, she would be the first to die. How couldn’t he understand her heart? Seeing Feng Yuzhen’s stern face, she thought all of the plotting and plans she made for him were in vain. She couldn’t get any reward from him.
At that moment, she was desperate and looked up at Feng Yuzhen in tears, saying emotionally, “Doesn’t Your Highness trust me? Do you doubt my faithfulness? If that’s so, I can only prove it by killing myself.”
Then, she covered her face in her sleeves and hurried to bump into the edge of a nearby table.
Now, he could still use Wang Xiuxiu. Sure enough, he couldn’t let anything happen to Wang Xiuxiu. Furthermore, this was his place, it would be troublesome if people found out about her.
Therefore, he grabbed her sleeves and then held her in his arms. He put on a mild face and gently comforted her. “Xiuxiu, how will I suspect you? Even if I don’t trust the entire world, at least I have you by my side. But, for our future, we must plan carefully. There can’t be any mistakes. Isn’t that right?”
Being gently held in Feng Yuzhen’s arms, Wang Xiuxiu instantly felt no matter how she felt wronged, it was nothing. She was immediately in tears and immersed herself in his affection. She nodded yes repeatedly to forget her previous sadness and resentment. She only wanted to cling to his warm chest. As long as he said something like this, she could forget everything else.
“Look, it was just an incident last night. At most, it was just a fight between girls. Even if she guesses it right, so what? With her status now, she can’t talk about nonsense without evidence.” Feng Yuzhen continued to lead her into the story he made up; a trace of fierceness flashed in his eyes. Anyway, as long as Wang Xiuxiu explained the matter in this way, the girl couldn’t relate it to him. At most, it was only Wang Xiuxiu’s reputation that would get tainted.
Wang Xiuxiu didn’t think further so she could lean on Feng Yuzhen’s chest to breathe in the pleasant scent of his. Thinking of last night’s passion, she found her body soften and she could only obey Feng Yuzhen’s every word. She coyly put her arms around his neck. “Your Highness, now that you’re in the capital. In the future, I’ll listen to whatever you say. You can do whatever you want.”
She looked very attractive, and a blush appeared on her delicate face, making her look more arousing than usual. Feng Yuzhen’s heart raced. He also thought of her burning body last night. He felt the heat rushing down below so he stopped preaching. He grabbed her neck through her slightly opened collar and lifted her up with another hand. He strode inside and pressed her on the bed, putting his hands on her.
While pieces of clothes were carelessly thrown on the floor, the sounds of panting rang in the room…
