Feng Yulei and You Yuecheng had plotted such a devious incident. Yet, now one of them was leaving and the other had not yet appeared. Mo Xuetong believed that You Yuecheng was definitely watching everything happening right here somewhere else. Only You Yue’e was left behind, and she seemed not to know what was happening. It was not that easy for King Yan’s Manor to try to leave without taking a hit.
Mo Xuetong had said what she did with the intention of angering You Yue’e. Lied to? Couldn’t survive? Was the great King Yan’s Manor unable to keep that slut alive?
You Yue’e was already in a bad mood after the series of events. She was so angry she was about to explode and when she heard what Mo Xuetong had to say, she immediately glared at her and spat angrily. “Second Consort Yan has made such a mistake. Consort Xuan, do you think this can be pardoned? If a Second Consort in King Xuan’s Manor did something like this as well, would you still think that this can be forgiven?”
“If something like this happens in King Xuan’s Manor, I will report it to His Highness and ask him to let them leave since they do not wish to say. A melon that you pluck forcefully from the stem will not be sweet. Since Fourth Sister has injured her face and has been disfigured, a woman like her would not be able to survive in the King’s Manor. Even her personal maid has…” Mo Xuetong’s porcelain white face had a hint of sadness on it. Her eyes were slightly reddened as she looked at Mo Yan, who was lying motionlessly on the ground. Then, she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped her eyes with it.
Everyone had praised this maid previously for she had been a maid who would sacrifice her life for her mistress no matter what happened. This was worthy of praise. However, with the sudden turn of events, they found out that the maid had an affair with her master and had gotten pregnant. That meant that the maid had been having an affair with King Yan since a long time ago. Since the maid’s mistress was Mo Xueqiong, it meant that King Yan would have known what Mo Xueqiong was up to.
King Yan had charged angrily toward the carriage and called out for “Consort Xuan” and Mo Xueqiong had pushed the blame to Mo Xuetong and then fell to reveal the documents in her bag. All of the evidence pointed to Mo Xuetong. Yet, what happened after that made it look as if this whole chain of events was set up and acted out by King Yan’s Manor.
And Mo Xueqiong had been tricked. And when they thought about it, it made sense. How could a disfigured woman win the affections of King Yan? It would be quite a good deal for King Yan if he could make the ugly woman a pawn and get rid of her at the same time.
Consort Xuan was even more innocent in this! Everyone stood on Mo Xuetong’s side.
“You…” You Yue’e was swept over by Mo Xuetong’s light tone. She looked at Mo Xuetong’s seemingly gentle gaze that hid a challenging glint and at the satisfaction and disdain flashing in the corners of her eyes. You Yue’e was so angry she almost fainted. She had always been noble in status and had never suffered such a grievance, much less the pity and suspicious looks from the other madams and ladies.
Mo Xuetong was too vicious and too presumption. What was most hateful was that You Yue’e could do nothing about her. Mo Xuetong had already been trapped and it seemed that it was a done deal. They could have watched Mo Xuetong die without knowing the reason for her death. However, right at the last moment, they had ended up in Mo Xuetong’s hand instead and even gave her a chance to escape. You Yue’e was furious when she thought of that.
You Yue’e clenched her teeth tightly and suppressed the anger she felt. She said sharply, “Consort Xuan is too generous. However, there have to be rules, and rules have to be followed. Our King’s reputation cannot be compared to that of King Xuan. Second Consort Mo has committed such a grave crime of embarrassing the royal family. Does Consort Xuan think that this is not a crime punishable by death? Then what about the reputation of our manor and what about the decorum of the royal family?”
You Yue’e’s words were full of fire due to her anger. Furthermore, she sounded menacing and Mo Xuetong could not say anything in reply. Mo Xuetong’s long lashes fluttered and she seemed to be a little afraid. This was a serious matter and no one would dare to bear the consequences of it. You Yue’e did not believe that Mo Xuetong would still dare to plead for Mo Xueqiong.
You Yue’e took a deep breath when she saw that Mo Xuetong had nothing to say. Then, a satisfied smirk slowly appeared on her face. Yet, the smile froze on her face the next moment.
Mo Xuetong looked at Mo Yan, who was lying on the ground, awkwardly. Then, she turned to look at You Yue’e and hesitated a little before she asked a little fearfully, “Then, what about Mo Yan? The child in her belly belongs to His Highness. This… isn’t very nice, is it?”
She said that the child in Mo Yan’s belly belonged to King Yan. It wouldn’t be very nice, would it?
The high and mighty King Yan had an affair with his consort’s maid, hiding it from his own consort. And now, the maid was pregnant. This was as good as a slap in You Yue’e’s face. You Yue’e looked up sharply, a haze of red coloring her eyes. She was so angry that she clenched her teeth tightly.
“Men, drag this slut away and have her beaten to death with her mistress.” You Yue’e suddenly yelled loudly, losing control of herself after being embarrassed by Mo Xuetong again.
No one had bothered themselves with Mo Yan, so Mo Jiao had crept over and helped her to sit up, crying all the while. Mo Jiao was a cowardly person and had been scared speechless by what happened in the morning. Then, she saw how her mistress had kicked viciously at Mo Yan’s stomach, wanting to tear Mo Yan apart. She recalled the times when the three of them spent together harmoniously and cried even more sadly.
Upon hearing You Yue’e’s orders, two maids went over to Mo Yan. They pushed Mo Jiao aside and dragged Mo Yan away as if they were dragging a dead dog, leaving behind a trail of blood. The madam and ladies who saw that all covered their noses and backed away, looking at You Yue’e oddly.
Was this still the First Miss of the Mingguo Manor who was said to be gracious and kind?
No matter what wrongs the maid had done, the child in her belly was of the royal bloodline. Yet, as King Yan’s legal wife, she did not care about that at all and had servants drag the maid away. The unborn child was definitely done for now. They did not expect Consort Yan to be such a vicious and evil woman despite her kind and gracious exterior.
A few young ladies who used to get along well with You Yue’e backed away warily. They seemed afraid that You Yue’e would approach them.
You Yue’e’s heart lurched when she saw how the bystanders looked at her. Her mind immediately cleared. However, the two servants dragged Mo Yan away quickly in order to butter up to You Yue’e. They had already been gone in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a bloody trail. The blood reminded everyone once more that Consort Yan was definitely not as kind or gracious as she appeared to be.
Mo Xuetong pretended to not see You Yue’e’s murderous look. She held her handkerchief up to her eyes and said sadly, “Consort Yan, please do not punish Fourth Sister yet. I… I will go to the palace and ask Father, His Majesty, to decide on this matter.” Then, she did not say anything else to the speechless and furious You Yue’e and curtsied to her before leading her servants into the temple. She seemed to be in a hurry to go to the palace.
Mo Xuetong was going to raise the matter to the Emperor?
You Yue’e shuddered forcefully. She no longer saw red and instead, her lips immediately paled. She stomped her feet and then said angrily, “Let’s go.”
She knew that if a fuss was made about what happened, it would not be beneficial to King Yan. She had to discuss this with her elder brother. You Yue’e could not be bothered to deal with the aftermath and led her servants into the temple hurriedly as well.
Upon seeing the two Consorts leaving, the madams present glanced at each other. Even though they did not say anything, they all moved away as one. They led their daughters back into the temple slowly. What happened today had been sudden and the chain of events had come one after another. However, in the end, they were all scandals belonging to King Yan’s Manor. The madams and ladies present could not help but think ill of King Yan’s Manor.
The monks of the temples hurriedly dealt with the blood outside.
Nobody noticed that the driver got onto the carriage and led it down the mountain through a tiny path leading from the back door. It went all the way to the capital and stopped outside someone’s back door. The driver looked around him and saw that there was no one around. He knocked on the door forcefully before hiding somewhere.
A burly maid came out from the back door. She saw that there was no one at the door and started cursing while turning back. She suddenly saw the horse carriage outside the door. The driver was not on the carriage. The maid approached the carriage and looked around her. When she saw that there was no one else, her eyes gleamed with joy. She dragged the carriage to the door with a rope and called for another servant. The two dragged the carriage inside together.
The back door was shut once more.
The driver left when he saw that everything had gone according to plan.
Inside a room at the back courtyard of the temple, Feng Yulei was as anxious as a cat on hot bricks. He paced around the room. You Yuecheng sat on a chair at the window. His expression was gloomy as well and his brows were tightly locked. His hands were clenched up in fists on the table. On the other side of the table sat You Yue’e. She looked at the two men and did not know how to deal with the situation.
Seeing that the two men did not speak, You Yue’e could not bear it any longer. She said softly, “Your Highness, Elder Brother, you two…”
Feng Yulei finally stopped in front of You Yuecheng after he paced around the room a few more times. He waved his hand to stop You Yue’e from speaking. Then, he said, “Yuecheng, what should we do now? If Father finds out that I plotted this, I will be doomed.”
He had wanted to plot against Feng Yuran through Mo Xuetong. He wanted to plot against his father’s favorite son. When he thought of how angry his father was going to be when he found out about what happened, Feng Yulei’s expression turned dark and gloomy like the skies when it was about to rain. He looked at You Yuecheng unhappily. If You Yuecheng was not his most trusted confidant, he would have already yelled at him.
He stared at You Yuecheng darkly, looking like a gambler who had lost everything. His eyes glowed with despair and bloodthirstiness.
“Your Highness, do not worry.” You Yuecheng said.
“How can I not worry? If Father finds out about this, he would definitely question Mo Xueqiong. It’s not just this time. What about what happened last time? That woman is not someone who can keep secrets. She will spew once she is tortured. Yuecheng, Mingguo Manor will be in danger then too.”
Feng Yulei said hatefully, gritting his teeth.
You Yue’e did not understand and suddenly asked, “Your Highness, Elder Brother, what happened last time?”
“Younger Sister, go back to your room. I have things to discuss with His Highness.” You Yuecheng stopped You Yue’e from asking questions, his expression was cold and full of impatience. He had a splitting headache and he could not understand how Mo Xuetong had managed to escape this time. Their plan was perfect and he had already thought of all possible loopholes. However, he did not expect that they would still fail at the last juncture. How could he not be angry and annoyed?
“Elder Brother, I…”
“Go.” Feng Yulei hollered. He was in no mood to pay attention to how You Yue’e felt.
“I…” You Yue’e had never been treated like this since she got married. Her eyes reddened. She thought of all the grievances she suffered today and how those people looked at her. It was obvious they all thought her to be a viperous woman and all the good reputation that she had in the past was completely destroyed. She bit her lips and turned to leave sadly.
She walked to the door and turned to look at the two men inside. She had grown up pampered by all as the legitimate daughter of Duke Mingguo. She had never been treated so badly. One of them was her husband who treated her with love while the other was her elder brother who doted on her. She chocked up and could not stop her tears from flowing down her cheeks. She clapped her handkerchief to her mouth and ran out crying.
