“Speaking of this painting, it was sent by a close friend of mine. After so many years, when I saw this painting, I thought of her. Alas, I was so anxious when Xuan’er lost it.” Old Madam Qin sighed, as if she was explaining.
Mo Xuetong did not reply, and just smiled at Old Madam Qin. Then she asked Mo Yu to hold the painting in her hand. She stood up, walked over, picked up the painting and unfolded it in front of Old Madam Qin before she asked with a smile, “Grandaunt, is this painting?”
As the painting unfolded, Luo Xia’s face openly appeared on the scroll. Set off by many flowers, she looked particularly eye-catching and bright. Mdm Yu, who was standing by the side, was stunned and frowned unconsciously.
“It’s indeed this one. Xuan’er didn’t know that he had given the painting to you. He said that he couldn’t remember where it was when I asked him. What was his mind on?” The lost painting had finally been restored and appeared in front of Old Madam Qin. Old Madam Qin couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief in her heart and scolded with a smile.
Finally, the painting wasn’t gotten out. In the future, she had to lock the painting up and prevent others from seeing it.
She was about to ask the old maidservant beside her to take it, but was stunned by what Mo Xuetong said next.
“Grandaunt, is this girl my mother?” Mo Xuetong looked up with her beautiful eyes as she pointed at Luo Xia in the painting in surprise and asked, “Grandaunt, look, this painting is too detailed. Even the tiny red mark on my mother’s left forehead is so clear. Could it be done by my grandmother?”
There was indeed a faint mark on Luo Xia’s forehead, but it was very light and was only a small mark. Mo Xuetong happened to discover it on her mother’s forehead and did not pay attention to it after that. However, the Luo Xia in the painting was still a little girl. There was no hair covering her forehead, so Mo Xuetong could see the small mark on her forehead, which was exactly the same as what she remembered.
Even though there were many people who were similar in appearance, it was impossible for them to have the exact same mark!
Old Madam Qin was stunned. She followed the direction that Mo Xuetong’s finger was pointing and saw Luo Xia’s inconspicuous forehead and the small mark on her forehead that was light but did exist.
It… it seemed that she couldn’t say that it was someone else!
“According to what you said, the girl does look a little like your mother. I didn’t notice it before. Maybe my close friend had seen your mother before and thought she was cute, so she drew her in the picture!” Old Madam Qin said, all smiles.
Mo Xuetong’s eyes flicked around Old Madam Qin’s slightly exaggerated smile. She suddenly pointed at the next person. It was a girl’s profile. Even though it was only a profile, everyone who knew Princess Royal could tell that she was Princess Royal. “Then, Grandaunt, is this Princess Royal?”
“This is Princess Royal?” Old Madam Qin’s gaze followed Mo Xuetong’s hand and landed on it. The corners of her lips twisted as if she had just discovered it. Then, she seemed to have realized something and said, “No wonder I was a little surprised when I got the painting. I felt that I had met the person in the painting before. Now I realize that this is really what Princess Royal looked like when she was a young girl?”
“Grandaunt, shall I show it to Mother? Maybe she will remember what happened when the painting was drawn at that time. My mother is gone. If I could know every detail of her childhood, maybe… I, I won’t miss her so much.” Mo Xuetong was about to cry. She stared blankly at Luo Xia in the painting. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and a sad expression appeared on her face.
She had lost her mother when she was a child. It was normal for her to miss her mother when she saw her portrait when she was very young!
“There… there’s no need. Princess Royal has been ill recently. She used to have a good relationship with your mother. Now that your mother is gone, I’m afraid it’ll be bad for her health if she remembers every detail of the past with your mother!” Old Madam Qin shook her head decisively, hinting that she was worried about Princess Royal’s health.
Princess Royal had really been in poor health recently, so she did not attend any banquet, including the previous banquet held to enhance the two countries’ relationship. Therefore, Princess Royal only sent gifts to Princess Caifeng’s banquet, and excused herself from other banquets under the pretext of ill health.
Mo Xuetong had visited Princess Royal several times. Princess Royal was very thin, and her attitude towards her was not as warm as before. Sometimes, she didn’t even meet Mo Xuetong and just said that she was resting and asked Mo Xuetong to go back by herself. Of course, Mo Xuetong wouldn’t tell Old Madam Qin about it.
The more she talked to Old Madam Qin, the more she felt that the old woman seemed to be hiding something. Was her close friend the former Consort Jin? But why did Old Madam Qin have the painting instead of the Fu General Manor? Was Consort Jin closer to her than her grandmother who had saved Consort Jin?
Her grandmother had risked everyone’s life of her manor to save Consort Jin. Furthermore, she had even adopted Consort Jin’s daughter. Was this kind of kindness not worthy of her trust? Mo Xuetong’s eyes darted from Old Madam Qin’s face. She did not see anything unusual on her face. It was as if she was truly concerned about the health of Princess Royal.
At the same time, Mdm Yu’s face darkened and she looked at Old Madam Qin with suspicious eyes as well. She had never seen this painting before. After marrying into the Qin family for so many years, she had never seen the painting that Old Madam Qin valued so much. What did this mean? What was more, it was Luo Xia and Princess Royal in the painting. Who was the other one?
Mdm Yu couldn’t figure it out for the moment, so she just listened quietly.
“Grandaunt, haven’t you looked at the painting carefully before?” Mo Xuetong asked in a casual manner.
“When my close friend put the painting here, I just cast a few casual glances at it before putting it away. I haven’t seen it for so many years. But that day, Xuan’er saw it and asked for it. I thought it was an ordinary painting, so I gave it to him. Later, I found out that it was this one.”
Old Madam Qin explained with a smile. She picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. After that, she casually asked someone to put away the painting.
The nanny standing beside her folded the painting and retreated.
Mo Xuetong’s eyes darkened when she saw Old Madam Qin’s slightly relaxed expression, but the smile on her lip corners grew even bigger. Since Old Madam Qin was unwilling to bring up this matter, she would not mention it either. She blinked her watery eyes and looked at Mdm Yu’s thoughtful face. Compared to the last time, Mdm Yu grew more and more reserved in the face of her. If Mo Xuetong had not stayed in the Qin Manor before, she would have thought Mdm Yu was a logy person.
“Aunt, how’s Cousin Feng doing in the Imperial Academy recently?”
Qin Yufeng was now in the Imperial Academy and was usually leisure. Mo Xuetong had heard from Feng Yuran that Qin Yufeng was extremely talented and was highly appreciated by Emperor Zongwen. It was likely that he would be transferred to another place recently. A young man like Qin Yufeng would not be able to stand out for three to five years. However, Emperor Zongwen really appreciated him, and had mentioned his talent in front of Feng Yuran more than once.
The Emperor remarked that it would be a waste for a talent like him to only be a civil officer! Even though he was young, he was capable of being a prime minister. No matter what he did, he would be able to point to the crux of the problem. This was an appreciation for Qin Yufeng. However, Mo Xuetong knew of an emperor’s will. Even if Qin Yufeng was talented, he would not be able to be placed in an important position immediately.
The transfer usually referred to move sideways or move down. There wouldn’t be too many obstacles for him to be promoted if he could be a local officer and make some achievements in politics!
“Many thanks for your concern, Consort Xuan. I heard that Yufeng might be transferred in a few days. I don’t know how far away he will be from the capital. He’s doing well in the Imperial Academy. Why is he transferred to another location?” Mdm Yu sighed at the mention of Qin Yufeng. She frowned slightly. She really felt unhappy with the transfer and had even forgotten about her enmity against Mo Xuetong.
Mdm Yu had only one son, Qin Yufeng. Not only had he persistently and willfully refused to marry, but he was now desirous of being transferred elsewhere, and had even taken the liberty of taking a position. However, his father had also helped him hide it from her. Mdm Yu was very dissatisfied with it. She felt bitter and sad when she thought of how she had worked hard for the Qin family and how her son had been estranged from her.
Mo Xuetong was surprised by Qin Yufeng’s quick actions. She turned her head and asked cutely, “Cousin Feng has gotten a position?”
Mdm Yu sighed and covered the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. She answered sadly, “Yes, I heard from Old Sir that Feng’er is almost getting the position. But he hasn’t told me where to go. This doesn’t seem to be… a good place!” Both father and son hid it from her. How could it be a good place?
It might not even be considered an ordinary place. Mdm hoped that he was not going to any poor place or the border. No one knew if there would be a war on the border. If a war broke out, the first person to die would be the local official guarding the border. Mdm Yu was extremely worried when she thought of that!
“Aunt, don’t worry. Cousin Feng is such a smart person. How could he not think of it? If he wants to go somewhere, he’ll find a way to get there. Aunt, you can rest assured!” Mo Xuetong comforted Mdm Yu with a smile.
Her words not only did not relieve Mdm Yu’s worries, but also made her frown deeper. She sighed heavily and said, “If he had been reassuring, he would have been married a long time ago, so that I would not be worried about him. Now, he is still alone, and doesn’t accept marriage offers from any family.”
Old Madam Qin had a headache when she heard that. Her grandson was indeed outstanding. She had thought that he would pick a suitable marriage after getting the first place in the imperial exam. However, he insisted on refusing, saying that he had to start his career before getting married. Everyone in the Qin Manor knew that Qin Yufeng was a willful man.
As such, even though Old Madam Qin and Mdm Yu had tried their best to persuade him, they were still unable to convince him. This had become a knot in their hearts! When Mdm Yu mentioned it now, Old Madam Qin’s face darkened too. Her grandson was outstanding in every aspect, but he was stupid in this aspect.
This was the first time Mo Xuetong had heard about it. She could not help but ask with a smile, “Cousin Feng doesn’t want to marry?” Qin Yufeng had not gotten married in the past life because he was deeply in love with Mo Xuemin. He had even broken off the engagement decided by Mdm Yu. In this life, Mo Xuetong had already understood that it was not Mo Xuemin who had used Qin Yufeng but the latter who had used the former.
If he used Mo Xuemin to shut others up, then why didn’t he want to get married?
“Could it be that Cousin Feng… already has someone in his heart?” she asked hesitantly. Even she did not believe it. Qin Yufeng was such a talented and arrogant person. How could he fall in love with someone so deeply but was unable to marry her? That was the situation in the past life? Was it the same in this life?
However, it really didn’t make sense. Why didn’t he want to get married all the time?
