Feng Yuran walked back to the pavilion, lifted the curtains and walked in. He met Mo Xuetong’s bright eyes that looked at him through the thin blanket. When she saw him coming in, she immediately blocked the gap and hid inside it. Her cute and silly behavior made Feng Yuran amused.
He came over and pulled off a part of her blanket to make her head peep out. “Don’t you feel hot? Why are you so shy?” he asked with a smile.
Mo Xuetong’s face was red and she wanted to say something. However, when she thought of how she was not properly dressed under the thin blanket, she could not speak. Her mouth opened but she felt that she could not speak anything.
“Do you want me to help you put on your clothes?” Feng Yuran sat by the couch, looking as if he was going to pull her thin blanket again.
“No!” Mo Xuetong was determined. She blinked her watery eyes and her eyes were moist.
“Alright, alright. Then, get up quickly. I’ll take you to listen to the good news.” Feng Yuran stopped teasing her. He knew that she was shy and turned around.
“What news is it?” Mo Xuetong blushed when she saw him turn around. She quickly reached out to put on her clothes under the blanket. However, she was rather curious about the news.
“We have been at West Hill for a few days. Father will be angry if we don’t return now,” Feng Yuran said with a smile.
The Emperor was about to get angry with them? What did he mean? Mo Xuetong did not understand for a moment. She tidied up her clothes and lifted the thin blanket. She blinked her watery eyes, turned around, and looked at Feng Yuran to show that she did not understand.
Feng Yuran stood up and slowly pulled Mo Xuetong to her feet. He took a comb from the side and combed her long hair. There were no outsiders here for the past few days and both of them were dressed casually. They only had a single strand to tie up their hair. “I heard news just now that our manor is in chaos. I’ll go back and take a look at what’s going on!”
The manor was in a mess? Mo Xuetong understood and was pulled into his embrace. She just leaned against him and allowed him to deal with her long hair. They had been in the West Hill Yard for a few days. The beautiful scenery made her feel like in a dream. In her past life, she wanted to have this kind of life and lived beside the middle of the lake and mountains with her husband.
It was easy and peaceful!
It was just that in her past life, she had paid the price of her life and had not gotten such warmth. But now, after her rebirth, she had lived a life that she had wanted to for a long time. How could Mo Xuetong not be so happy that she almost cried? Even though it had only been a few short days, the two felt as if they had lived here for entire life.
It was a lifetime of peace!
No matter what she would face in the future, she felt that she was full of courage. They had stolen the opportunity to be idle for a few days when he was so busy every day. This really moved her. Perhaps this was God’s compensation for her tragic ending in her last life!
“Is something wrong with the manor?” Mo Xuetong leaned into his embrace quietly and closed her eyes. She could feel the comb on her head as he combed her hair gently. Mo Xuetong felt so comfortable that she almost snored.
Feng Yuran’s heart softened when he saw how carefree and comfortable Mo Xuetong was. He could not help but reach out to touch her cheeks. There was a hint of doting in his usual lazy voice and the smile on his face was extremely charming, as if it had gilt on it. “The women in the back courtyard are all happy without a mistress in the manor, so they have made some trouble.”
His pretty eyes landed on the stream not far away, and a cold smile appeared at the corners of his lips. His back yard had to be taken care of, not only for Tong’er, but also for his future children. He had wanted others thought that he was a womanizer in the past, so no matter which woman was sent to him, he would take them.
But things were different now. With Tong’er around, he had long wanted to get rid of those women. Now that the opportunity had come. Those women dared to plot against Tong’er. They really did not know what they were doing.
When Feng Yuran brought Mo Xuetong back to the yard, the sun was about to set. Feng Yuran settled Mo Xuetong in before he brought his men back to the capital that night. They did not go anywhere else when they reached the city. They rushed to the palace gates. When the guards who guarded the gates saw King Xuan, they hurriedly opened the gates and welcomed him in.
The Emperor had already ordered that King Xuan could enter the palace whenever he came.
Once entering the palace, Feng Yuran went directly to Emperor Zongwen’s Qianqing Palace. The lead eunuch Liu Xi had already received the message and waited at the entrance of the palace. When he saw Feng Yuran coming in, he hurried over to greet him, “Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting for you in his study.”
“Has Father had dinner?” Feng Yuran asked with a smile. He had not eaten anything on the way here. He was really hungry. Fortunately, he had never made things difficult for himself, so he asked for food directly.
Liu Xi’s brows scrunched up when he heard that King Xuan asked him, which meant that he had not considered him an outsider. He said hurriedly, “His Majesty has already eaten, but he has left many dishes for you, just worried that you’re in a hurry and are hungry. Go and have a chat with His Majesty. I’ll get someone to heat the dishes up for you and bring them up.”
He was Emperor Zongwen’s personal eunuch, so he knew what Emperor Zongwen was thinking. He watched Consort Xian enter the palace, be favored by the Emperor, and then give birth to the little prince. He had thought that the Emperor would be happy. However, Consort Xian was poisoned to death and the little prince almost died. Emperor Zongwen did not dare to hand Feng Yuran over to anyone because he was afraid that the little prince would be killed. As such, he ordered Liu Xi to protect him.
Therefore, Liu Xi’s feelings for Feng Yuran were unlike the feelings a servant had for his master. Instead, it was like the feeling that an elder to a junior. When he saw that Feng Yuran did not treat him like an outsider, he was so happy that he could not help but grin. He sent Feng Yuran to the door of the study and went to order the kitchen with a smile.
It was rare to see the lead eunuch, who had always been calm and collected, grinning from ear to ear. Other eunuchs and palace maids couldn’t figure it out and looked at him blankly. They didn’t know if he had taken the wrong medicine.
“Old Eight, what’s going on in your manor?” The light was still on in the imperial study. Emperor Zongwen was sitting under the light and looking at Feng Yuran with displeasure and a hint of reproach in his eyes.
“Father, it’s not clean in my manor. Look, your daughter-in-law just wanted to hold a birthday banquet and didn’t take it extravagantly. She only invited some familiar people. How did she provoke others? Her birthday banquet was ruined. She’s the dignified Consort Xuan in my manor. After this accident, I naturally had to accompany her to relax for a few days. On that day, if it weren’t for her good luck, she would have died.”
Feng Yuran knew what Emperor Zongwen meant and immediately complained. He had done so much not to make his father unhappy with Tong’er.
His words reminded Emperor Zongwen of the fact that his dearest son was dying when Mo Xuetong married him. His expression softened and he sighed, motioning Feng Yuran to sit down. There was still a hint of displeasure in his expression as he said, “No matter what those women have done, you have to take care of the child in her belly.”
Feng Yuran immediately knew what his father was most dissatisfied with today. Anger appeared on his face immediately. He put on a look of bitterness and hatred. “Father, if the child in that woman’s belly isn’t mine, and I have been cuckolded, I should not care if she lives or dies.”
Emperor Zongwen’s eyes grew sharp when he heard that. “What happened?” he asked in a low voice.
“I also feel strange. I only stayed with Concubine Xiang for the first few nights when she was sent to my manor, and then I had a new love, so I have never stayed with her after that. Then I got injured and married. I was so busy that I didn’t have the energy to care about these women. Why does she have a baby? The time doesn’t match.”
Feng Yuran’s expression did not look good. No matter which man was in such a situation, his expression would not look good.
At this time, Liu Xi had arrived at the door of the study. He listened for a few seconds and asked the little eunuch who was holding the hamper to step back. He also stood far away from the door. The pregnant woman in King Xuan’s Manor was not carrying King Xuan’s child, which made Liu Xi feel injustice for Feng Yuran and think that he should teach those women a lesson.
He was just thinking about it, but Emperor Zongwen was so angry that he felt giddy. However, he still asked in disbelief, “Why are you so sure that she wasn’t pregnant during the few nights?”
“I have sent the doctor to see her. The doctor said that she was pregnant for at least four months. But I was injured then. How would I have time to have such a thing with her?” Feng Yuran’s red lips twitched slightly. He shook his head and added, “Father, I really don’t dare to accept such a woman. Please don’t try to send women to my manor in the future. Look, what is it!”
The woman who was pregnant was said to have been awarded from the palace. Even though it was possible that the person in the palace, who involved the woman, might be the Empress Dowager or the Empress, Emperor Zongwen’s intuition told him that it had something to do with him. He flushed and grew weak. He had wanted to scold his son. Although there were not many women in the manor who were decent, the child in that woman’s belly still belonged to the royal family. King Xuan had to care about her.
He had thought that Mo Xuetong was so jealous that she took Feng Yuran away, leaving no one to care about the pregnant concubine in the manor. He was very satisfied with Mo Xuetong because of this. He had planned to say something to her so that she would understand that she could not be jealous to be a good Consort Xuan.
At this time, when he saw his son’s livid face, he also felt angry. Someone actually dared to plot against Old Eight, and even a woman in the manor dared to commit adultery. “Old Eight, are you sure it’s not your child?”
Still worried, he asked again.
“I swear that if that child really is my child, from now on I…” Feng Yuran jumped up in anger when he heard the Emperor’s suspicion and wanted to swear to God.
Of course, he knew that the child in Concubine Xiang’s belly was not his. Since he had never slept with her, how could she be carrying his child?
“Well, alright. How can I not believe you? I will not interfere in your matter. However, don’t make things too big in case that the censors would say something,” Emperor Zongwen interrupted him hurriedly when he heard that his son was about to make a vow. He rubbed his forehead, had already made up his mind, and spoke in a low voice.
No man could stand such a thing!
Not to mention it happening in the royal family!
“Yes, then I will go back to the manor to settle the matters right now.” Feng Yuran smiled charmingly. There was a cold look in his eyes. He looked furious and turned around to leave.
Liu Xi, who had been eavesdropping outside, heard the important conversation inside. He pushed the door open and came in with a smile. “Your Highness, please don’t go. I’ll serve the dishes. You’d better eat first.”
“You haven’t eaten yet?” Emperor Zongwen turned around to look at his son. Then, he realized that he was travel-worn. It was obvious that he had hurried into the palace. Looking at the tired expression on his son’s face, Emperor Zongwen got worried and said, “Then why don’t you sit down and have some food? Otherwise, you might not have the time to eat later.”
“Father, do you want to have some with me?” Feng Yuran asked, with a smile as he sat down unceremoniously and looked at the dishes that Liu Xi had asked someone to prepare.
“There’s no need. I’m full. Eat by yourself!” Emperor Zongwen’s eyes softened as he looked at Feng Yuran who looked a little like Consort Xian and himself. At the moment, he was no longer the Emperor who was high and mighty, but was just an ordinary father who loved his son.
