“How are you going, Cousin Feng.” Mo Xuetong was invisibly suspicious. She turned around calmly with a smile on the corners of her mouth.
“Cousin Tong, did you come for that painting today?” Qin Yufeng gazed at Mo Xuetong’s eyes that were slightly narrowing, and then his eyes involuntary became a little deeper.
This was the first time that Qin Yufeng had openly talked about that painting. He had never mentioned it other than giving it to her. Mo Xuetong did not know what he meant, so she just didn’t ask anything.
But now, since he had mentioned it, she wanted to make some things clear.
“Cousin Feng, when you gave the painting to me, you told me that it was Grandmother who asked you to give it to me. Why is it not like this now?” Mo Xuetong looked up and squeezed her palm, trying to calmly look back at him. Fortunately, she had been reborn; otherwise, she would never be able to look back at Qin Yufeng so calmly.
She was facing a person who was full of schemes, a person whom no one could understand, and a person who was closely related to her.
No matter whether she wanted to escape or not, she could not. Then she should face him directly!
Qin Yufeng did not get her blame. He smiled slightly and took a few steps under the willow tree with his hands behind his back. He turned his back on Mo Xuetong and asked, “Cousin Tong, do you like that painting?”
He did not answer her question, but asked back. This made Mo Xuetong have a feeling that if she said yes, then there was no need to ask him how he got the painting. Could it be that he deliberately sent the painting to her because she wanted it?
Then Mo Xuetong frowned slightly and put aside the inappropriate thoughts. Who was he? He was Qin Yufeng, a talented and resourceful person. In her past life and this life, she had little to do with him. As for what happened in her dream, Mo Xuetong felt that it was not true. However, she had to hide her doubt.
“Cousin Feng, one of the girls in that painting is my mother. I am naturally interested in it. But even so, I still feel guilty to take the painting away from Grandaunt,” Mo Xuetong responded gently as a smile broke on her lips. However, her words were not so pleasant to listen to.
Of course, her relationship with Old Madam Qin could not be compared with Qin Yufeng’s. She felt guilty, but why did Qin Yufeng not feel guilty at all when he had stolen her grandmother’s beloved painting? It sounded like she was blaming himself, but in fact, she was blaming him.
“Cousin Tong, you’re thinking too much. Grandmother doesn’t like that painting and kept it at the bottom of the box. As it was put there for too long, and she was afraid that it would be broken, she put it in the sun. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have seen it. Since your mother was painted in it and you like it so much, just take it. Grandmother will forget about it after some time. It’s not something she loved.”
Qin Yufeng gave a faint smile and turned around.
The sun shone on his face from the side, making his tall nose wings a little softer. He seemed more easygoing than usual.
At this point, Qin Yufeng was gentle without a mysterious aura that made it difficult for others to get close to him. Mo Xuetong even had a feeling that Qin Yufeng was very sincere at this moment.
Mo Xuetong bit her lips and suppressed the awkwardness in her heart. Her expression subconsciously softened. In the face of his repeated acts of kindness, she somehow believed him; she believed that the mysterious and unfathomable Qin Yufeng would not harm her; she believed that he really didn’t deliberately sent the painting to her for some purpose.
“Cousin Feng, where did Grandaunt get this painting?” Mo Xuetong asked after a moment of hesitation. She looked calm with one hand clutching her handkerchief tightly in her sleeve.
“I heard that the painting was drawn by a close friend of Grandaunt’s when she was young.” Qin Yufeng’s gaze quietly landed on the side of Mo Xuetong’s face as her eyelids were lowered. They stood under trees and a few rays of sunlight shone on her long black hair. The light was jumping and full of vitality, just like her who was standing beside him brightly.
“It’s great that she’s still alive!
“I don’t dare to ask for anything else. I will just take things as they come…”
“I didn’t know about this at first, but when I was a little child, I saw that person visit Grandmother.”
Qin Yufeng’s words made Mo Xuetong’s eyes widen. She suddenly looked up at Qin Yufeng, and regardless of thinking, asked hurriedly, “When did that happen? Did you see that person clearly?”
“I didn’t see her clearly. I just saw her back. At that time, I was very young. I just felt very strange as someone came to visit Grandmother from the back door. So I followed her out secretly. I saw that person get in a small sedan chair. Grandmother sent her out in person. I hid aside and vaguely heard they mention a painting.”
Qin Yufeng smiled slightly. His tone was calm as if it was just a small matter that he had seen when he was a naughty child. He did not seem to have noticed the tempestuous emotions in Mo Xuetong’s eyes.
Mo Xuetong held back the trembling in her heart, but the handkerchief in her hand had already been crumpled into a ball. “That person… that person, do you know where she is now?” she asked subconsciously. She had an intuition that the truth was not far from her, as if it was right in front of her. She only needed to work harder and then she would be able to see everything clearly.
However, with just a little bit of information, which seemed to be guiding her ahead, she just couldn’t find the way out.
“I haven’t seen her again after that. Perhaps she left or was hidden in the mountain forests. Grandmother didn’t mention it. However, Cousin Tong, since you took out the painting today, maybe Grandmother thought of that close friend again. Then, you can ask Grandmother about it yourself. I may leave the capital in the future. Cousin Tong, take care of yourself.”
Without saying anything else, Qin Yufeng turned around leisurely as if he had just come across her. He walked along the river. Under the weeping willows, his figure was tall and straight, but looked lonely, and even a little vicissitudinous and isolated.
How was that possible? How could the brilliant Qin Yufeng have such a bitter time?
Mo Xuetong stood behind him, frowning. She did not look away until his figure disappeared from her sight. Was he telling her that Old Madam Qin would take action next? Mo Xuetong would not think that his words were meaningless. Actually, Mo Xuetong felt that what Qin Yufeng said since he appeared was worth thinking about.
She vaguely felt that Qin Yufeng was exhorting her.
If it was really as she had guessed, the relationship between the Qin family and the former King Jin’s Manor was not simple. No one had mentioned this matter, which meant that it was a secret. Why did Qin Yufeng believe that she would not tell others after finding it out? The people and things related to King Jin’s manor had all suffered.
The exposure of the relationship between the Qin family and King Jin’s Manor would definitely not benefit the Qin family. This was especially so when he, the new Number One Scholar, was popular. The Qin family was bound to be prosperous. Did he trusted her wholeheartedly or believe something else? Mo Xuetong thought about it a few times. Then she gritted her teeth and decided to trust Qin Yufeng.
After her rebirth, Qin Yufeng had not harmed her, except at the very beginning, and had even saved her. He had not even sought refuge with Feng Yuxuan, his former master. If he had something else on his mind, Mo Xuetong could not figure out why he had even revealed to her the matter concerning the Qin family’s lives.
Coupled with his straightforward kindness that she could tell, Mo Xuetong inexplicably believed in him! Moreover, he seemed to say goodbye to her. Did he say that he… was going to leave the capital? Did he mean about his transfer to a local job that Old Madam Qin and Mdm Yu had mentioned?
He was a noble young master, yet, he was really going to another place. Mo Xuetong did not expect that!
Qin Yufeng walked forward with a calm expression on his face. As he turned around a corner, he saw Mdm Yu hurrying over. Hurriedly, he stood by the side and curtsied.
Mdm Yu had finished serving Old Madam Qin and was here to accompany Mo Xuetong, Consort Xuan. At the sight of her son whom she seldom saw in the manor, she could not be bothered about anything else. She stood there and asked unhappily, “Feng’er, is it true that you’re going to be an official at the border?”
She had been wanting to have a talk with Qin Yufeng for the past few days, but she could not find him. Either he didn’t come back or he said it was late at night. Now that she had the chance to catch him today, she would not let him go. She had been in a nervous state for a few days, so she asked him directly. In that kind of place, he might die if he was not careful.
“Mother, I will be fine. Although that kind of place is of poor conditions, it is easy to make achievements. I’ll come back after three to five years. You don’t have to worry about me,” Qin Yufeng said with a smile. His eyes were gentle and elegant, and he was as unperturbed as usual.
“You are really going to that kind of place? No, I don’t agree! You are just a civil official. What are you going to do in that kind of place? You won’t make any achievements there!” Mdm Yu had asked with uncertainty. But when she heard Qin Yufeng’s admission, her face immediately darkened and she said angrily. She only had one son, so how could she bear to let him go to such a dangerous place?
Qin Yufeng looked up at her and said seriously, “Mother, the transfer order is about to come. I can’t disobey His Majesty’s order.”
The transfer order had been given, and he couldn’t disobey His Majesty’s order. These words made Mdm Yu so vexed that she could not help but shed tears. “Feng’er, how… how can you do this to your mother?”
Her son didn’t tell her this matter until now. Since the Emperor had given him the order, there was nothing she could do. Thinking that her son might die in that place, Mdm Yu could not calm down and was filled with worries. She grabbed Qin Yufeng’s hand and pleaded, “Feng’er, since His Majesty has given the order, I can’t say anything more. But before you leave, you should get married first. If, if, if you…”
A lump came into Mdm Yu’s throat. She could not continue speaking. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief as her tears fell. If something were to happen to Qin Yufeng, he could leave a son and a daughter in the world if he got married.
Qin Yufeng sighed and asked gently, “Mother, do you want me to marry a daughter of the Yu family?”
He had always known of Mdm Yu’s thoughts. He did not like the daughter of the Yu family at all. In fact, he did not like anyone from the Yu family.
“I…” Having her thought exposed, Mdm Yu felt guilty and lowered her head.
“Mother, can you listen to me for a second?” Qin Yufeng sighed again. “Mother, you should not contact too much with the people of the Yu Manor. Mo Yufeng and the Yu Manor cannot even protect themselves, but they still want to plot against others. Mother, do you know what crime it is to frame the royal family? The criminal will be exterminated together with his entire family of nine generations.”
“The criminal will be exterminated together with his entire family?” Mdm Yu repeated in a shaking voice and her face turned deathly pale. Her whole body trembled like a willow in hard wind. Not able to continue crying, she looked at Qin Yufeng in a daze, flustered and uneasy.
“Yes, Mother. If you still treat me as your son, don’t get involved in this kind of thing! The Qin family is also within their nine generations.” Qin Yufeng patted Mdm Yu’s hand leisurely and turned to leave.
