“Have a little more. The cucumber is delicious. Didn’t you think it tasted good just now? Why do you lose your appetite now?” Feng Yuran asked with a smile on his face. He then reached out and picked up another piece of cucumber from the bowl for her. “Don’t worry, Once He Yufen marries into the manor, I’ll ask her to live with Mdm Qin, so we don’t have to vacate a yard. Besides, there aren’t many yards in the manor anyway. If they occupy all the yards, where will my sons and daughters live?”
“How would you have so many sons and daughters?” Mo Xuetong was very dissatisfied with his perfunctory attitude. Did he mean that his manor was small? Mo Xuetong knew that compared to the other princes’ manors, his manor was the largest. At first, since he had many women in his back yard and the Emperor doted on him, the Emperor especially found a large manor for him. Now that all his women were living in certain yards, leaving many empty ones. How many sons and daughters could fill them?
“Oh, not now, but in the future…” Feng Yuran especially drew his chair closer to her and whispered charmingly by her ear, “I shall have so many when you have our children one by one.”
What he said was extremely ambiguous and Mo Xuetong could not help blushing. As she gave the maidservants who were looking down and trying to hold back their laughter a sidelong glance, she felt even more embarrassed. She reached out to push him and uttered, “You can just talk. Why do you get closer to me?”
“So you’ve agreed, Tong’er? I know you’re the best to me.”
The man grew more and more impolite. He was so thick-skinned that Mo Xuetong could only sigh in astonishment. As such, she ignored him. She was clear that Feng Yuran would not be interested in He Yufen because he had been disliking the He family since they arrived in the capital. Besides, first, the He family decided to let their first miss marry Yu Mingyong, and then they decided to let the second miss marry him. The situation had turned into a mess right now.
Ever since He Yuxiu’s sudden disappearance, the Yu family had visited her family to ask about it. However, she had disappeared just like that, and no one could find any clues about it. Even if that was the case, it was said that the Yu family had once brought up He Yufen and Yu Mingyong’s marriage with the He family, but the Yu family had refused to agree.
That was all about their marriage for the time being!
Mo Xuetong certainly knew what the He family was considering. If a beautiful woman was sent to King Xuan’s Manor in the name of the He family and got Feng Yuran’s favor, the He family would rise again. Furthermore, there was Consort Zhao who did not like Mo Xuetong in the palace. They wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.
She had become an obstacle for the He family to gain Feng Yuran’s favor. It was likely that the fight would start when He Yufen came to the manor.
“Don’t worry. Concubine Qin is not easy to deal with. Furthermore, my back courtyard has always been in chaos. It’s up to me to decide whether she lives or not once she marries into my manor. Well, stop thinking about it. It will be your birthday a bit later on. What present do you want?” Feng Yuran knew that she was bothered by those things when he saw Mo Xuetong’s slight frown. As such, he changed the topic with a smile.
Mo Xuetong was in poor health and she had vomited blood yesterday. Too much worry is not conducive to her recovery. Feng Yuran knew that he should ask her to load off her mind now. Thus, he comforted her. He really did not need her to do anything about the matters of the back courtyard, because he had already made plans. After all, who would care about it if there was one more person or less in such a large manor?
“I’m not sure yet!”
“Well, think about it when you’re free.”
The few King’s Manors and the Four Great Manors were all attacked by assassins last night. King Yan even broke his arm. Since the happening of such a big thing, the matter about King Yan’s Manor was nothing. Even the fact that Consort Yan fell off the carriage and broke her leg on her way home passed unnoticed.
Compared with such a large-scale assassination, the contradiction between several women was really not a big deal.
King Yan was locked up in his manor and could not come out; King Chu was still in the military camp; while King Xuan was startled. Therefore, only King Ning, who had been keeping a low profile, and the people from the Four Great Manors had gone to the Emperor’s imperial study together. Sure enough, the most irritating person was the spoiled King Xuan, who had been “startled”, and thus could not sleep or eat well. It was said that he was lying in bed right now and did not even dare to leave his room. In this case, how would he come to the palace?
It made King Xuan seem more and more worthless.
However, such a worthless person was a member of the royal family. So even though everyone looked down on him, they had to inquire about the loss of King Xuan’s Manor and show concern for his “condition” at the mention of Feng Yuran. There were also some well-informed people who said that King Xuan’s back courtyard was open again.
Those beautiful concubines were becoming more and more arrogant. A while ago, it was said that a concubine was promoted. It seemed that King Xuan fell into his bad habit again. The guy was really a mess. With such a noble status and a beautiful appearance, he was really useless.
Yet, their discussion in the imperial study was fruitless. Everyone knew that someone must have done this in secret, but no one had evidence, especially now that most of the Emperor’s sons were absent. No one could explain. In the end, the only thing they could do was to ask someone to investigate urgently.
Except for Duke Ding, everyone left.
Seeing the others leave, Duke Ding suddenly knelt down toward Emperor Zongwen and cried, “I’m guilty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”
There was no sign of joy or anger on Emperor Zongwen’s face. He sat high in the throne and asked lightly, “I do not know what crimes you have committed, Duke Ding.”
“Your Majesty, I am really guilty. I…” Duke Ding seemed to be in a dilemma. He looked up at Emperor Zongwen who was sitting on the throne. Then, he made up his mind and continued, “My Second Uncle has been very close to Empress Dowager these days. I’m worried that…”
He did not finish his words, but he had fully expressed himself. Ding General Manor was the Empress Dowager’s mother’s family, so it was normal for people of the manor to be close to the Empress Dowager. However, Duke Ding mentioned it at such a subtle time; it made people have to think about it.
The Second Uncle of Duke Ding was the Empress Dowager’s biological elder brother. He was an important person in the Ding General Manor, who supported the Empress Dowager. He was also in charge of contacting with the Ding General Manor and the Empress Dowager.
“Your Second Uncle is the Empress Dowager’s biological brother. It is normal for the two of them to get closer. Ever since your father passed away, there are fewer and fewer close relatives of the Empress Dowager. Seeing that your Ding General Manor and the Empress Dowager are getting more and more estranged, I think that the Empress Dowager is pitiful.”
Emperor Zongwen slowly put on a smile, as if he was just a son who was worried about his mother’s loneliness. There was a hint of regret in his voice.
However, what he said made Duke Ding more determined—although the Empress Dowager came from Ding General Manor, they were distant relative in the bloodline. He raised his head firmly and said, “Your Majesty, my Second Uncle has been talking about treacherous words in front of me, and it’s about King Ning. On the one hand, they are my Second Uncle and aunt. On the other hand, I’m also Your Majesty’s subject. Your Majesty, please give me instructions.”
Duke Ding looked at Emperor Zongwen with a troubled expression on his face, with a hint of loyalty in his eyes. One would be easily impressed by him, feeling that this Duke Ding was indeed loyal to the Emperor. He did not mind putting all his elders aside. In the face of the interests of the country and the family, he chose to safeguard the interests of the country first. He was, so to speak, a loyal and righteous man.
This was the type of subject that was favored by an Emperor, because they could work for him wholeheartedly.
Emperor Zongwen smiled and said, “I’m really glad that you are so loyal to me. As for your Second Uncle, you should pay more attention to him. Don’t let him make trouble and affect Ding General Manor’s base of more than 100 years.”
“Many thanks for your instructions, Your Majesty.” Duke Ding broke into a cold sweat when he saw the impassive Emperor Zongwen. It seemed that what he did was right. The Emperor knew of the Empress Dowager’s actions. If he worked with the Empress Dowager, Ding General Manor’s hundred-year base might fall apart.
He admired Feng Yuxuan all the more. He had even guessed the Emperor’s reaction. He was indeed not simple.
At the same time, he was secretly shocked. If the Emperor knew that Ding General Manor had been wandering between the Empress Dowager and him, then Ding General Manor would lose its days of glory and wealth.
“You may leave now.” Emperor Zongwen made a wave of his hand.
“Yes.” Duke Ding didn’t dare to say anything else. Then he stood up, bowed, and left.
But when he retreated to the door and was about to lift his leg to cross the threshold, he heard the Emperor’s gentle voice. “Wait, is Consort Chu still living in your manor?” Duke Ding was so excited that he almost tripped. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and quickened his other foot’s pace. Then he lowered his head and reverently replied, “Yes, Rui’er has been living in Ding General Manor these days.”
“Okay, ask her to go back to King Chu’s Manor later. Since King Chu is not home, there is no one to take charge of the whole manor. Besides, ask her to help Second Consort Mo build up her health. No matter what, she is King Chu’s wife. There shouldn’t be so many contradictions between a wife and a second consort. A woman should be modest and respectful, trying to lead a better life.”
Emperor Zongwen, who was seated on high, said slowly.
After that, he waved his hand to motion Duke Ding to leave before he said anything.
Although Duke Ding had already guessed it, his face still trembled with excitement and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Things really turned out the way King Chu said they would. Duke Ding became more respectful and decent. He knelt down beside the door and said loudly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Off you go. The edict will come to you soon,” Emperor Zongwen said with a faint smile.
Duke Ding left slowly. It was not until he came out of the imperial study that he relieved a little easier and straightened up.
The matter regarding Ling Rui’er was finally over!
It had been a major incident on Duke Ding’s mind. Ling Rui’er had caused such a big fuss and even been demoted from the first consort to a concubine. This was a scandal that had never happened in Ding General Manor. At the thought of that, Duke Ding felt heartbroken. It shamed all the women of Ding General Manor. Who would dare to marry daughters of Ding General Manor in the future?
In the past, Ding General Manor said that they were descendants of righteousness and propriety, and the empress’s family and that their daughters were models for women. If Ling Rui’er could not regain her position, all the daughters of Ding General Manor would be embarrassed and no one would be able to marry into a good family. Each daughter of the Ling family represented an unbreakable power. When the daughter of the Ling family was not able to marry well, it meant that the Ling family was weak.
Whenever he thought about this, Duke Ding would felt his heart was on fire.
However, the Empress Dowager claimed that she got sick and could not interfere in the matter regarding Ling Rui’er. Otherwise, it would arouse the Emperor’s suspicion. The Empress wanted to wait for a while and said that Ling Rui’er was too arrogant and that the Emperor was extremely dissatisfied. She said that it would anger the Emperor then if she mentioned it now. However, no matter what, Duke Ding was clear that what they said was an excuse, and that they all tried to make him forget about this matter. However, they did not realize that it would ruin the reputation of Ding General Manor.
In despair, Duke Ding could only accept King Chu’s method to save Ding General Manor. If he did not save Ling Rui’er, and the Emperor was to bestow a marriage upon King Chu, Ling Rui’er would no longer be the first consort even if she gave birth to a son. Furthermore, the fact that the legitimate daughter of Ding General Manor had become a humble concubine made Duke Ding unable to live with himself.
