He approached naturally and collapsed upon her. He reached out to hold her slender waist and breathed in deeply at the crook of her neck. When his nostrils were filled with her clean scent, he asked with satisfaction, “What are you laughing at? Why are you so happy?”
“It’s nothing. I was just wondering if you remember anything of the past after going to the brothel.” Mo Xuetong pushed him away, pouting slightly. She was rather charming.
Feng Yuran tousled Mo Xuetong’s hair. His handsome eyes were clear and charming. When he looked at how she was leaning into him softly, his heart felt soft and sweet. No matter what his Tong’er did, he would like it. He reached out to stroke her nose lazily and asked, “What’s the matter, are you jealous?”
“No way. I would have to submerge myself into a pool of jealousy if I were to be jealous. Have you found out anything about the thing I asked you to investigate?” Mo Xuetong felt a little lazy with the hot weather. She did not push him away but leaned into him and pouted her soft pink lips.
Feng Yuran felt a deep affection for her as he looked at how adorable she was. He kissed her lightly on the petal of her lips and laughed softly close to her ear. He said, “Don’t worry. How can I forget what you asked me to do? I have already investigated the matter. Tong’er, shouldn’t you reward me with something!”
Then, he pulled out a letter and placed it in Mo Xuetong’s hand. However, he did not let go and appeared to look like he wanted Mo Xuetong to praise him. His handsome eyes shone brightly and were very charming.
Mo Xuetong could not help but think that the man was incredibly handsome!
No wonder Ling Fengyan and the He sisters would want to go after him again and again. This man was a heartbreaker.
She glanced at him from the side of her eyes and then slapped his hand away. She asked confusedly, “Your Highness, do you mean that you going to the brothel was not a boon for you? Then I’ve got to think carefully. Was the beautiful woman you like not around?”
A dash of helplessness flashed in Feng Yuran’s eyes upon the mention of the brothel. He hurriedly stuffed the letter in Mo Xuetong’s hand and then hugged her. He patted her and coaxed her, saying, “I only went to the brothel for a while and did not really enter it. If you don’t believe me, you can ask around.”
“Your Highness didn’t enter? I heard that you got someone to enter and ask if the most popular courtesan was around.” Mo Xuetong glanced at him. She did not seem as if she would let him off.
“Of course I knew that she wasn’t around. I sent someone to take her away long ago. I just went to ask around. Tong’er, you wouldn’t be jealous about this too, would you?” There was a smile on Feng Yuran’s handsome face as he explained the situation. Then, he stretched out his long limbs and gathered Mo Xuetong into his arms. He bit her ears gently and said, “Why are we talking about this at this time? I am tired. Take a nap with me.”
The situation happened suddenly and Mo Xuetong could not help but yelp in shock. She hurriedly put her arms around Feng Yuran’s neck to keep her balance. Then, she said with a shy flush on her face, “I am not tired. You take a nap if you want to.”
“You have to sleep even if you’re not tired. I can’t fall asleep by myself.” Feng Yuran laughed upon seeing her embarrassed expression. He gathered her in his arms and walked into the inner chamber, not allowing Mo Xuetong to object at all.
This man was getting more and more domineering!
Mo Xuetong bit his arm and complained, “I don’t want to.”
However, all she got in return was a peal of laugher. The maids outside all backed away smartly and stood far away. They were really glad that the lady could receive the affection of the prince.
Qin Yuxuan still did not understand why his elder brother’s character seemed to have changed. He studied seriously now and did not even care about what was happening outside. He even rejected the invitation from King Chu’s Manor. Even though Qin Yufeng did prefer to be alone usually, he was not as quiet as he was now. It made them feel as if there was not a hint of liveliness in him anymore.
There were times when they did not know what Qin Yufeng was thinking. He would look out of the window dazedly. His figure looked rather lonely that even the usually brash and unaware Qin Yuxuan felt sad. It was a loneliness that seemed enduring and endless. It was utterly heart wrenching.
His elder brother was working hard to gain merit. However, why did he feel as if he was enduring an endless sadness and loneliness?
Qin Yuxuan had a feeling that his elder brother was no longer the same elder brother who did not take things to heart.
However, when he thought about what happened recently, he did not feel that anything different had happened. Qin Yuxuan had once wondered if his elder brother was in love. However, based on what he secretly observed, his elder brother did not have any other interests other than reading. It was almost the day of the exam.
It seems that his elder brother would succeed for sure this time.
However, Qin Yuxuan had a feeling that his elder brother was unhappy. It could even be said that he was sad. However, he had tried to ask about it cautiously several times and Qin Yufeng had just changed the topic. He did not have an idea of what was wrong at all. He had always been restless and after not getting any more information after a few days of observation, he forgot about it.
No matter what, his elder brother was smarter than him. Even if there was anything troubling him, his elder brother was not able to settle it. What help could he be of? As such, the only thing he could think of was to try to maximize the amount of time his brother had to study. He secretly decided that he would make sure his brother had time to study on the day of their grandmother’s birthday.
He intentionally woke up early on the day of Old Madam Qin’s birthday and waited at the door. When he saw the luxurious carriage of King Xuan’s Manor arriving, he approached with a smile.
“Cousin Tong!”
“Cousin Xuan.” Mo Xuetong turned around to see Qin Yuxuan when she got off the carriage. She could not help the happy smile that crept up on her face. The young man was kind to her when she was younger. He would always stand on her side despite everything else when she needed help the most. There were times when she even wondered if Mdm Qin would have dealt with her if Qin Yuxuan had not helped her. She might not have been able to live long enough to return to the capital.
“Cousin Tong, why are you only here now? Grandmother was talking about you earlier. She said she hasn’t seen you in a long while and wondered how you were doing.” Qin Yuxuan’s gaze was that of a young man. There was an excitement in them that he did not notice himself as he looked at Mo Xuetong almost greedily. He had not seen Mo Xuetong in a long while.
“Second Young Master Qin, you are too kind. But why are you not welcoming the guests at the front and welcoming them at the inner courtyard instead?” A lazy voice barged into the conversation. Qin Yuxuan turned around to see Feng Yuran standing by the side. His eyes could not help but darken. He looked at the beautiful Mo Xuetong standing beside Feng Yuran, who was so handsome, he seemed out of the world. His heart twisted as he looked at the handsome couple. Even though the woman in front of him was still his cousin, she was no longer that Cousin Tong he had to protect.
“Greetings, King Xuan. My grandmother came out and I saw Cousin Tong coincidentally, which was why I came to say hi.” Qin Yuxuan’s lips curled up slightly as he replied somewhat bitterly.
Cousin Tong was no longer that Cousin Tong from Cloud City. She was now Consort Xuan, the wife of the man in front of him. His heart ached.
“That is a coincidence. I will go out with Second Young Master. Tong’er, you go in first.” Feng Yuran stood in front of Mo Xuetong silently, blocking her from Qin Yuxuan. Behind him, Mo Xuetong tugged on the corner of his clothes. However, he reached out to hold her hand and did not move away.
“Please, Your Highness!” Qin Yuxuan’s smile was a little stiff when he saw how Feng Yuran’s tall and wide body completely blocked Mo Xuetong from him. However, he still raised his hand politely to gesture for Feng Yuran to step in front of him. He told himself secretly that anyway, the arrogant King Xuan did not seem like what the rumors described him to be. At least he truly cared for Cousin Tong.
The young man felt slightly comforted by this thought and the smile on his face grew slightly more sincere.
“Please!” Feng Yuran said politely. He was satisfied to see the dazzled look on Qin Yuxuan’s face abating. He squeezed Mo Xuetong’s hand before letting go and striding outside.
Mo Xuetong grumbled to herself that the man was really jealous. However, she was secretly pleased. After watching the two men leave, she brought Mo Ye and Mo Lan into the inner courtyard.
“Cousin-in-law!”
“Cousin-in-law!”
Two coquettish voices could be heard. One was gentle while the other was cute. They were different in their own ways.
He Yufen and He Yuxiu stood at the intersection in front. The two beautiful sisters immediately attracted a lot of attention. Many who did not know them were trying to guess who they were. When they heard the two of them greeting Mo Xuetong, they all turned to look at Mo Xuetong. There were already people who guessed that they were the nieces of Consort Zhao.
“Misses He.” Mo Xuetong stopped and greeted them with a gentle smile. However, her smile was cold and distant.
He Yufen and He Yuxiu paused for a moment. They did not think that Mo Xuetong would be so rude.
“Cousin-in-law, are you still angry at me for what happened that day? I did not mean it, I wasn’t really trying to…” He Yufen reacted very quickly. Her eyes grew red as if she had been very wronged as she spoke to Mo Xuetong softly.
She was certain that Mo Xuetong would be too embarrassed to speak about what happened that day. That was why she insisted on sticking to Mo Xuetong so that she would be able to take the opportunity to get her hands on Feng Yuran while Mo Xuetong and Feng Yuran were apart.
Mo Xuetong smirked to herself. She had intended to distance herself from the He family today. Why would she allow He Yufen to drag her down?
“Miss He, what are you talking about?” Mo Xuetong looked up with her beautiful eyes on He Yufen. It was as if she did not know what matter He Yufen was referring to. Her pale and soft face bore an expression of utmost innocence as if she did not know what He Yufen was talking about.
Would she say how she intentionally fell in front of Feng Yuran?
“Cousin-in-law, I…” He Yufen’s warm smile froze.
“My Lady, First Miss He was talking about how she provoked the ire of His Highness. She went to the front courtyard then, and…” Mo Lan held Mo Xuetong’s arm and reminded her softly. Even though she did not describe what happened in detail, the madams who were watching them closely all heard her talk about the outside courtyard.
He Yufen was a young lady from a prominent family. However, she did not rest in the inside courtyard when visiting someone else’s manor but went outside instead. This was inappropriate for a young woman. Everyone looked at He Yufen with disdain. This was not something a young woman from a prominent family would do.
He Yufen almost cried as she could not defend herself. She did not expect Mo Xuetong to be so crafty. Mo Xuetong allowed her maidservant to reveal some news but did not explain it clearly. He Yufen could not even defend herself even if she wanted to.
“Cousin-in-law, my elder sister was only helping Father to deliver some gifts to Cousin. She did not intend to go to the front courtyard.” He Yuxiu jumped up to defend He Yufen.
“Second Miss, what is there that First Miss has to deliver to His Highness that she cannot first give to My Lady? She had to give it straight to His Highness. Could it be that My Lady cannot take charge of matters in the inner courtyard of the King’s Manor? And she had to trouble First Miss to go to see His Highness personally before she can make decisions?” Mo Yu said coldly.
Mo Yu was much more direct than Mo Lan. She even indirectly pointed out that He Yufen had other intentions. Everyone recalled Feng Yuran’s unparalleled handsomeness then. Coupled with his enormous power, he was the prince charming of every young girl.
So He Yufen wanted to enter King Xuan’s Manor!
Everyone understood then and grew to disdain the girl even more. Would a girl from a prominent family with a good upbringing do something like this?! She went to the front courtyard to flirt with a man. If she could do something like that, it seemed that the He family upbringing was not that good.
Some of the people with quick minds recalled how Consort Zhao had praised her nieces earlier. At this moment, they thought that it was rather ludicrous that this sort of upbringing could be considered, “virtuous, modest, and vivacious.”
