Behind the rockery, a man looked at the woman at the corner in a daze. She walked casually under the tree with light steps. As the breeze blew gently, the hem of her dress fluttered loosely like fine sand, and the belt also danced in the wind, looking quite charming. There was only a delicate jade hairpin on her head. As the pearls on the hairpin swayed, her eyes appeared crystal clear and looked like water. Her dark pupils were like bright pearls.
Her eyelashes were curved. As she slightly looked up, her thick and long eyelashes fluttered, making her as beautiful as a fairy.
Was she like the woman who was so beautiful as to cause cities and kingdoms to fall?
While he was staring blankly, someone suddenly pulled his sleeve. He turned around in a hurry and saw the manservant who took him in. The manservant stood behind him, sweating and said, “Sir Hong, why are you here? I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Didn’t I tell you not to go away? Hurry up, the Second Consort is there and she asked you to come to her quickly!”
When the manservant hurriedly led Hong Ming into the manor, he suddenly said that he had something urgent to do and asked him to wait there alone. Hong Ming did wait there, but unexpectedly, several young ladies came to the place where he was while chatting. It would be very inappropriate if they found out that he was in the inner yard.
Then he tried to hide, but he did not expect that he finally came to the rockery. He thought that it was a quiet place, but was afraid that the manservant would not find him for a while, so he hid behind the rockery and looked around. Unexpectedly, the manservant did not come, but a beautiful girl came. Although Hong Ming thought that he was not a lecher, who didn’t want to take a second look at such a beautiful girl?
Looking at her, he poked her head out and forgot about the manservant for a while.
If the manservant hadn’t run over and pulled his sleeve, he might have offended the beautiful lady. Thinking of this, he felt ashamed. He was a sensible intellectual, and how could he do such a thing? He turned back to look at her reluctantly and followed the manservant to the path of the back yard.
It was said that something big had happened in the back yard, and his cousin was anxiously asking him to help her, so she secretly called him over from the front yard. It was not in line with etiquette, but his uncle had asked him to help his cousin. How could he not help her when he heard that she was in trouble?
In fact, this matter was a little serious. No wonder Mo Yarui was afraid and anxious. She was too careless and had broken a part of the red coral given to King Chu by the palace. Fortunately, no one had found it. Hong Ming had to take a look before he found a way to buy one outside. No matter how much money it would take, this matter must be hushed up.
Having this in mind, Hong Ming did not ask any more questions. He followed the manservant on a lonely road which snaked inward.
They really couldn’t let anyone find out about this!
Walking to a small yard, the manservant pointed to the room in front and said, “Sir Hong, our Second Consort asked you to wait here first. She had asked someone to move the coral here so that you can have a look.”
It was very quiet here, but it was not the yard where he went to yesterday. Hong Ming frowned and stopped. “Isn’t this the yard of your Second Consort?”
“Sir Hong, what are you talking about? Now that our Second Consort has ruined the Emperor’s gift, she doesn’t dare to see you in her own yard. She has to eschew people and find a place with fewer people so as not to be discovered by others. Therefore, our Second Consort has decided to meet you here. Besides, it’s not far from the front yard. You can leave as soon as possible after you see it. There are many noble females in the back yard today. Second Consort is afraid that there will be something wrong.”
The manservant explained with a smile.
What he said was very reasonable, so Hong Ming did not think much and walked into the room. Since his cousin was afraid of being seen, he’d better wait in the room. It was in the inner yard, and he had to avoid arousing suspicion.
The manservant waited for him to enter the room respectfully. He listened and smiled proudly. When he heard someone’s voice outside, he turned around and hurried to the wing room.
Outside the entrance of the yard, Mo Yarui hurried over with a little maidservant. She had just been informed that Consort Xuan was looking for her, so she dropped what she was doing and hurried over here. Mo Yarui did not have a good time in King Chu’s Manor. If she could always have Consort Xuan’s support, King Chu would definitely pay more attention to her. Therefore, when she heard that Mo Xuetong was looking for her, she put down all the things and came with the maidservant leading the way.
“Second Consort, Consort Xuan is inside.” The maidservant stood at the entrance of the yard and pointed at the half-open door, grinning.
Mo Yarui did not suspect anything and walked into the room. She did not see the strange smile on the face of the maidservant standing behind her, nor did she notice that the wing room was slightly opened and a pair of eyes were looking from inside.
“Consort Xuan!” Mo Yarui called out. As no one answered, she thought that no one had heard her. As such, she pushed the door open lightly and walked in. The room was very quiet and Mo Yarui did not see anyone. A fragrance slowly floated from inside and was very strong. Mo Yarui looked up, but she could not see what was inside. There was only a large screen in front of her and the lady in palace dress painted on it was coquettish and charming.
“Is Consort Xuan resting inside? Why does she not even have a personal maidservant with her?” Mo Yarui could not help but criticize in her heart. “What if someone else barges in? If something were to happen to her in our manor, His Highness would definitely kill me. I have to remind Consort Xuan so that she would not make such a mistake again.”
Thinking to herself, Mo Yarui lifted her dress slightly and walked inside. She turned around the screen and saw a man on the bed in shock. Mo Yarui shuddered and immediately felt that something was wrong. Having no time to think about it, she turned around to walk out hurriedly. However, she felt a wave of dizziness and could not even remain stable. Her body softened and she fell to the ground.
The maidservant and the manservant guarding outside looked at each other and nodded proudly. The manservant held his breath and went in first to put out the incense in the room. Then he opened the window to dispel the smell, wrapped the incense carefully, and put it in his arms before waving outside.
Seeing that he had finished dealing with it, the maidservant came in as well. The two of them carried Mo Yarui to the bed, one by her hands and the other by her feet. Then they put away Hong Ming, who had fainted there, and then put Mo Yarui into his arms. When they were all done, they looked around. As they found nothing wrong, they left quietly…
Then the two did not talk much. One went to the front yard, and the other went to work in the back yard as if nothing had happened.
When Mo Lan returned to the rockery, she only saw Mo Xuetong resting alone on a stone chair. She looked around and did not see Mo Ye.
“My Lady, where is Mo Ye?” Mo Lan asked worriedly.
“It’s alright. I’m a little thirsty here, so she went to get me some water.” Mo Xuetong smiled lightly and looked lazily at the ladies who were coming from a little distance away.
The rockery was large, and it was cool to sit nearby. It was indeed a good place to cool off and enjoy the scenery.
At the sight of Mo Xuetong, those madams and ladies came over and greeted her politely. Mo Xuetong even saw a familiar face amongst the crowd—it was Lian An’s wife. This was the first time that Mo Xuetong had seen her since Madam Lian hurried up the mountain to pray for blessings for her. She wore light clothes and looked very plain. Even though there was still a hint of a smile in the corners of her eyes, the smile seemed to be forced.
The two maids beside her were no longer the two enchanting ones and they looked like servants of her family. Maybe it was because it was the first time they had attended this kind of banquet, they looked a little restrained!
Lian An had been demoted again and again. He was now an ordinary fourth-grade official and no longer the minister of the Ministry of Works. The reason why Madam Lian could attend such a banquet was that she had a good relationship with those noble people in the past. However, when she saw Mo Xuetong’s half-smiling eyes, she looked obviously embarrassed.
Lian An’s affair seemed to be immoral on the surface, but in fact, Madam Lian was well aware that the Emperor would never put him in an important position again in this life. He was not beheaded because the Emperor could not find a proper reason. After all, the Emperor could not tell others that Lian An liked his beloved concubine and found a woman similar to her.
The Emperor would be shameless if such words were to spread!
As such, he used the fact that Lian An had taken He Yuxiu as his mistress and the He family’s maidservant caused trouble in the palace as his excuses. Even though they were a little contrived, they were related. The Emperor’s intention was unpredictable. Who knew if this matter had angered the Emperor? Lian An would definitely be demoted. However, he was still in charge of the Ministry of Works because no one could take over his job now.
As such, even though Lian An had been demoted, those who had no idea what had happened thought that Lian An was only hated by the Emperor for a while and would rise again in a few days. In this case, they treated Madam Lian politely and took her to attend the banquet in King Chu’s Manor.
The few of them sat there and chatted for a while. Then, two maidservants came to invite them to take their seats, and then pointed to the meandering path behind the rockery. “My Lady, it is faster to get to the inner yard. There are trees on the way, so it is much cooler.”
One of the maidservants suggested. It was noon, and was indeed a little hot. Although it was not as hot as the summer, it was still a hot autumn day. Now that it was hot, no one was willing to walk under the sun. Besides, they had enjoyed the view on the way here. This time, of course, they would choose this road.
It was cool and they could also enjoy the scenery. Everyone was willing to take it.
Mo Xuetong nodded and said to one of the maidservants of King Chu’s Manor, “I asked one of my maidservants to get some water for me. You wait here first. When you see her, tell her to come to me directly.”
“Yes, I’ll lead the way for you, My Lady.” the tall maidservant answered cleverly. She smiled and led the way for everyone. The other maidservant stayed behind and waited for Mo Ye and intended to come over with her when she brought tea back.
They had just walked a short way when a few more people came up the side road. The first person was the Sixth Princess. Ling Rui’er was by her side. It was obvious that they were also wandering back, and they took the same way as Mo Xuetong did.
The two groups merged into one and nodded at each other. The Sixth Princess walked side by side with Mo Xuetong and asked with a smile, “Eighth Sister-in-law, how is Eldest Brother’s garden scenery compared to your manor’s?”
“King Chu’s garden is very beautiful. There are some details that I have never seen before. It can be seen that it is unique,” Mo Xuetong praised, beaming. It was not too much of a compliment. King Chu’s garden was indeed beautiful and one could tell that he had put a lot of thought into it.
Ling Rui’er enjoyed the praise and was all smiles. She covered her lips with a handkerchief and chuckled. “Consort Xuan, when will you invite us to visit your garden? I heard that the garden of King Xuan’s Manor is very large, and there is a big lake in it.”
The lake in King Xuan’s Manor reminded people of what had happened on Mo Xuetong’s birthday. Didn’t it happen by the lake? Ling Rui’er was mocking Mo Xuetong for making such a big scandal at the birthday banquet, which was really a joke.
Mo Xuetong’s lips curled up into a charming smile. She glanced at Ling Rui’er from the corner of her eyes and replied indifferently, “Consort Chu, you are welcome whenever you are free.”
