Mo Xuetong put the teacup she was holding onto the table heavily. He Yuxiu, who was fake crying, was startled. She could not help but look up at Mo Xuetong. Mo Xuetong’s expression was dark and sharp. Her clear and beautiful eyes were as cold as ice.
“Second Miss He, keep your cleverness to yourself. I do not care if I am called a jealous woman and I don’t care if people think that I am selfish. Don’t waste your efforts acting in front of me and telling me tales. I will have someone escort you out of the manor later. If that does not work, I will ask His Highness to inform His Majesty to let you out lest you come up with something and implicate the King’s Manor.”
Mo Xuetong sounded cold and vicious. Her attitude toward He Yuxiu had taken a complete turn. She did not try to save face for He Yuxiu at all. Mo Xuetong did not think it was necessary to save face for this shameless woman who wanted to steal Feng Yuran from her.
The satisfied look that was appearing in He Yuxiu’s eyes froze!
She paused for a moment. Why were all the topics used in fights between women that she was familiar with being stopped by Mo Xuetong so decisively? Instead, Mo Xuetong changed the topic to facts that she found difficult to accept.
“Have Feng Yuran bring up the matter to His Majesty and ask His Majesty to let her leave the manor?”
If this matter were really revealed, not only would the Her brothers take her life, even Consort Zhao would not let her off. Her Yuxiu’s heart turned cold when she recalled what Consort Zhao and the He brothers could do. Sweat ran down her back and soaked her clothes. She yelled urgently for real this time. “My Lady, My Lady, I really did not mean to plot this. The He family will definitely kill me.”
He Yuxiu spoke urgently. Her face was pale and she did not dare to address Mo Xuetong as her cousin-in-law.
Mo Xuetong smirked coldly. “I will only give you one chance. Will you tell the truth?”
Sweat started to bead on He Yuxiu’s forehead. She kowtowed frantically, saying, “My Lady, this is the truth. I am not lying to you. If you do not believe me, you can send someone to check on He Yufen…”
Mo Xuetong suddenly stood up and walked into the room. She said, “Mo Lan, send Second Miss He to the door later and have His Highness deal with her once he is done with his business. Second Miss He needs not to enter the manor in the future.”
“My Lady… My Lady… I, I’ll tell you…” He Yuxiu caught Mo Xuetong’s leg when she saw that Mo Xuetong was really about to leave. He Yuxiu sweated profusely and the expression on her face was one of immense fear, so much that it twisted her face. Images of the ferocious smiling faces of the He brothers ran through her mind. She would die without the protection of King Xuan’s Manor.
She felt truly regretful at this moment that she had been too heartless. Mo Xuetong was such a difficult person to understand.
She had gone to eavesdrop on the He brothers in her pursuit for the truth. She had even deliberately made noise to startle the He brothers. The He brothers had sent men out and she had left tracks leading to King Xuan’s Manor. The guards outside King Xuan’s Manor had seen her pursuers when she reached the manor earlier.
If she were to be chased out of King Xuan’s Manor, she would die for sure.
She had originally thought that Mo Xuetong would surely be grateful to her for bringing her the news. She thought that Mo Xuetong would definitely pity her and allow her to stay. Then, she would be able to make use of the tea leaves she had gotten from He Yufen and seduce Feng Yuran. However, she did not expect Mo Xuetong to chase her away so heartlessly. As such, He Yuxiu was extremely frightened. No matter how much she had plotted, she was at her wits’ end now.
“Second Miss He, do not force yourself if you do not wish to say.” Mo Xuetong pretended not to care and made a move to leave. Mo Ye, who was standing next to her immediately squatted down and twisted He Yuxiu’s wrist. He Yuxiu felt an immense pain rushing up her hand and cried out painfully. She could not help but loosen her grip on Mo Xuetong’s leg.
“My Lady, I really did not plot against you all. It was the He brothers. They wanted to plot against His Highness.” He Yuxiu lifted her head and spoke urgently. She did not hesitate any longer this time for if she did not speak up, she would have to die!
Mo Xuetong paused and asked somewhat interestedly, “Hmm, explain yourself.”
“My Lady.” He Yuxiu gritted her teeth, desperation flashing through her eyes. “Both He Yufen and I are not biological daughters of the He family. The daughters of the He family are all not good-looking and a prince will not be interested in them. The He family wanted their daughters to become consorts of the princes and found outstanding girls elsewhere many years ago. They took the girls back to their manor and raised them. He Yufen and I were picked from that batch of girls.”
He Yuxiu did not dare to withhold anything. She was covered in sweat and felt that the beautiful pair of eyes in front of her could see through her as if they could see everything. It was obvious that the woman was intelligent and was not someone she could lie to. As such, He Yuxiu could only look at Mo Xuetong woefully.
She was frightened and afraid and her mind was empty. She could only think of how she was going to get herself out of this cesspool of trouble. All that wealth and glory were not as important as her life.
He Yufen and He Yuxiu were not biological daughters of the He family. The He family had tried to plot against Feng Yuran and they still did not know what the He family had planned. No wonder Feng Yuran would treat the He family like how he did in Mo Xuetong’s past life. The He family had done their best to plot against Feng Yuran and did not care at all that they were distantly related.
A flash of coldness appeared in Mo Xuetong’s eyes. She sat down once more in front of the table and said with an icy glare, “He Yuxiu, have you thought carefully whether you want to live or die?”
“My Lady, I… I want to live. I will do everything that you ask.” He Yuxiu stuttered.
“Do you think you can still return to the He family at a time like this?” The corners of Mo Xuetong’s lips lifted into a faint smile. However, in He Yuxiu’s eyes, Mo Xuetong’s smile was as cold as ice.
“No… I, I will not go to the He’s… I can’t return. My Lady, they will kill me. They’ll really kill me.” He Yuxiu shook, withdrawing into herself while shaking her head and crying messily. Mo Xuetong had seen through her and she would do everything Mo Xuetong told her to do.
“The King’s Manor cannot save you.” Mo Xuetong said distantly.
“No… No, My Lady, please save me!” He Yuxiu had continued doing everything because she had placed all her eggs in one basket, and it was also to seek revenge on the He family for how they treated her. However, she only realized that she had been backed into a corner at this point. If King Xuan’s Manor did not take her in, she would truly be at her wits’ end.
If she left the manor, she would have to endure the endless fury of the He family.
There was once a “Miss He” who had been unwilling to be manipulated by the He family. She had escaped but had been captured and was beaten to death in front of them. The gory scene reminded them that they would be killed if they betrayed those from the He family.
“Actually, there is someone else who can save you. But I don’t know…” Mo Xuetong trailed off, looking at He Yuxiu with a smile in her eyes.
“My Lady, please speak, quick, tell me who it is…” He Yuxiu was so excited that her hands and legs shook, tears running down her face. It was as if she had found a lifebuoy in an ocean.
“Doesn’t Minister Lian’s wife like you a lot? Have you met Minister Lian before?” Mo Xuetong asked sincerely.
“Yes, Minister Lian. Yes, there is still Minister Lian.” Now that Mo Xuetong mentioned him, He Yuxiu’s eyes brightened and she grew excited.
How could she forget? Minister Lian was especially caring every time he saw her. No matter how busy he was, he would stop and talk to her. He was colder to He Yufen and she could feel that Minister Lian treated her differently. She did not care about this in the past as she had been interested in going after Feng Yuran wholeheartedly.
Almost without having Mo Xuetong to remind her again, He Yuxiu immediately understood and said, “My Lady, I, how can I leave the King’s Manor. I can’t leave at all.”
How dared she go after King Xuan with such a consort around? She could sense that even if she managed to marry into King Xuan’s Manor, she would just die.
The guard at the door had told her earlier that one could only enter but not leave the main doors of the King’s Manor. She had been secretly pleased then. She now realized that this was not a place that she could go after. Both she and the He brothers had been too simple-minded to think that they could plot against King Xuan. Even the seemingly weak and gentle Consort Xuan was not someone they could easily deal with. As such, she only wanted to leave right now.
“Have you truly decided?” Mo Xuetong asked coldly, looking at the joy on He Yuxiu’s face. Then, she continued, “You will have to depend on yourself in the future once you leave the door.”
“I have thought it through, My Lady. I was instructed to do everything I did in the past by those from the He Manor. He Yufen really has those tea leaves. The He family wishes that He Yufen can enter the King’s Manor. My Lady, you have to be careful of the He family. It’d be best if you can chase them all away.” He Yuxiu said angrily. Now that He Yuxiu had a backup plan, she was much calmer.
“You be careful as well. The He family will not let you off.” Mo Xuetong said with a light smile. She did not react to what He Yuxiu said at all. She did not say anything to He Yuxiu again after that. Instead, she had her servant lead He Yuxiu to a room by the side and asked another maid to send a message to Feng Yuran.
He Yuxiu was sent away secretly through the back door in the evening.
That night, Lian An took his horse carriage back to his manor after finishing his work in the palace.
There were many matters that had to be fixed recently and King Xuan, who had originally been in charge of these things had been locked up. They did not have enough manpower, so Lian An was very busy. That was why he could only return home so late at night every day.
His horse carriage came to a sudden stop and he heard the driver cursing angrily. Lian An had been resting with his eyes closed inside and almost fell off the carriage because of the sudden stop.
“What’s the matter?”
“My Lord, a woman suddenly ran out…” The driver looked at the beautiful woman who had run out all of a sudden and yelled angrily. “Are you tired of living? Move away quickly.”
“Make her move away.” Lian An said lightly and closed his eyes, continuing to rest. It had been a long day and he was truly tired.
“Lord Lian, My Lord, it’s me…” The sweet voice of a woman could be heard from outside before the driver could continue scolding the woman. Lian An frowned for he could not recall whose voice it was. He lifted his curtains and saw a beautiful face with a terrified expression. The pair of eyes on that face was very familiar.
“Second Miss He?” Lian An was shocked.
“My Lord, save me.” He Yuxiu saw Lian An coming out from the horse carriage and called out urgently. Her clothes were slightly messy, and her belt was loose, almost imperceptibly. She looked rather pathetic. Her beautiful face was pale, and there were tear tracks on her face. She looked fragile, weak, and pitiful.
