Mo Xuetong saw Mo Huawen turn his head as if he was going to interfere. An innocent and bashful smile appeared on her face immediately. She twirled her handkerchief and spoke sweetly. “Father, Grandmother was worried and said that she would personally pick teaching nannies for me. I even heard that they’re from the palace and are better than those you’d find outside. Grandmother asked Tong’er to go to her place to learn etiquette in a few days.”
Her tone was casual and was even careful. The candlelight shone on her face brilliantly, and in the light, she seemed especially coy and lovely.
Qin Yufeng, who was sitting by her side could not help but look up with a smile and size her up carefully!
Sima Lingyun looked at her delicate little face almost dazedly. His heart sped up for some reason.
Auntie Fang, who was seated by the side, looked at her with a venomous glint in her eyes.
“That’d do. After you recuperate for a few days, go and visit your grandmother at the General Manor. The old madam’s choice would naturally be good…”Mo Huawen agreed on the spot. He thought of his deceased wife and felt a rush of guilt and grief. He looked at Mo Xuetong’s eyes, which were like his wife’s. The way he looked at Mo Xuetong grew even more doting.
“Father, Min’er wants to go with third sister to visit grandmother. I want to learn etiquette with grandmother too. It’d be good for your reputation when I go with you to functions in the future!” Mo Xuemin said with a smile. Her expression was gentle and elegant as she looked up with a bright smile.
She always pretended to be the sensible and gentle eldest daughter in front of Mo Huawen. She always seemed to be thinking of the Mo manor.
Mo Xuetong smirked to herself. Mo Xuemin was just using her to borrow power from the general manor.
The four nation building generals, Ming, Luo Ding and Fu were truly noble and powerful families. The failing Duke’s family could not be compared to them. If Mo Xuemin were to be acknowledged by the Fu general family, then her worth would multiply several hundred times over. Her status as the eldest daughter of the family would be cemented.
However, in her past life, Mo Xuemin had made use of her and stepped on her while at it. The general manor had fallen because of this. Mo Xuetong would not forget the deep enmity she had.
“It would be great if eldest sister can study etiquette with me! Father, Uncle’s return these few days as well. Do you want to go with me to visit him? It’s been a long while since Tong’er last saw Uncle. When I was little, he doted on Tong’er very much. I wonder if he’ll still dote on me as much.” She smiled to herself coldly. There was a lively expression on her face and she quickly changed the topic before Mo Huawen could agree. She blinked her bright eyes and looked at Mo Huawen eagerly as if she wanted him to trust her.
Mo Huawen felt a rush of love for his daughter who had a fragile and coy hopeful expression on her face. He reached out to pat her head.
“Tong’er you’re so adorable. Uncle would naturally still dote on you.” Mo Huawen said dotingly. However, he paused when he said “Uncle”. His expression changed as he recalled that Mo Xuetong’s uncle was not a person who should be trifled with! Not only that, he was a rather hateful person!
The general Luocheng was a leading character in the army of the Great Qin. He had always been decisive, but doted very much on his only younger sister. When he heard that Luo Xia had died in Cloud City and Mo Huawen had gone to the city without taking Tong’er with him, General Luo Cheng had been enraged. He sent people to guard the entrance of the city and did not allow Mo Huawen to enter. If not for the emperor sending someone to arbitrate, Mo Huawen would probably not be able to enter the capital.
When he thought of his brother-in-law’s cold expression, Mo Huawen felt a shiver run down his back. Then, he thought of Mo Xuemin’s suggestion and suddenly felt that it was not a good idea. If Luo Cheng saw how Mo Huawen had allow Mo Xuemin to visit their house, he would probably cause trouble. If that happened, Min’er might not only fail to study but also be beaten and then sent home.
He was now a close subordinate of Emperor Zongwen. If something like this happened now, he would lose face.
After considering this, he was about to stop Mo Xuemin. However, Mo Xuetong looked at Mo Huawen innocently and asked,
“Father, Uncle is really fierce. It’d be great if you go with me. I heard that Uncle’s kill lots of people. Cousin once told Tong’er that he’s killed tens and thousands of people. He said that it took days to wash off the scent of blood on Uncle’s clothes. Isn’t he terribly scary!”
This…
Mo Xuemin’s face paled and her lips trembled, growing white.
On the other side, Qin Yufeng held up the cup of wine in his hand and placed it to his lips for a sip. There was a hint of laughter in his eyes.
“Your cousin is just scaring you. Nothing like that happened. Your Uncle dotes on you the most and has sent people to ask about you many times. I think we shall visit your grandmother tomorrow morning. She’s in ill health and misses you. She’d probably send someone to ask about you again if you don’t go.” Mo Huawen said with a smile.
“That’s great. Eldest sister, come to my grandparents’ house tomorrow with me. My Uncle will be back in a few days, as will my cousins. It’d be really lively then.” Mo Xuetong’s smile grew even sweeter. Her lashes fluttered and she went to hold Mo Xuemin’s hands warmly.
“Tomorrow…”Mo Xuemin could not speak.
How would she have the mood to go to the general manor tomorrow with Mo Xuetong? When she thought of the great general that Mo Xuetong kept mentioning, Mo Xuemin started to feel regret. She glanced sideways at Sima Lingyun with a pale face but saw that he was focused on Mo Xuetong. She suddenly felt angry and turned around to see Qin Yufeng’s smile. Her heart skipped a beat and the hurried to smile gently.
“Min’er don’t go. Study at home. Tong’er’s just arrived and would have lots to talk about with her grandmother. It’s not that appropriate for you go to too.” Mo Xuemin had not yet thought of a way to get out of the situation but Mo Huawen had already thought of an excuse for her. He turned around and asked her warmly, “What do you think?”
“I’ll listen to father!” Mo Xuemin answered gently, looking very obedient.
This pleased Mo Huawen greatly. On one side, he had his sensible and gentle eldest daughter, and on the other side, was his obedient and adorable third daughter. The two girls had different mothers, but were both sensible. He laughed loudly. Even though his son was a little useless, but at least he had two adorable daughters.
The general atmosphere throughout dinner was great. The children smiled while the concubines chatted softly. The reunion dinner was well executed and ended on a high note.
Mo Lan brought a lantern out to fetch her in when she returned to Qingwei Garden. Mother Xu went up to her and helped her to undo her purple cape. “Miss, you’re not feeling well, why didn’t you tell old sir and only come back so late? You must be tired, old sir is really too much. You’re not even a real family, why eat a reunion dinner? If Madam was here, she would truly care about you and will not allow you to come back so late.”
She felt like crying as she spoke.
“Nursemaid, don’t worry. I”ve recovered long ago. How are they not a real family? It’s not that later, furthermore, I can’t sleep at this hour. I’ve just got here and everything is new to me. The bed is unfamiliar to me as well. I can’t even sleep if I wanted to. But nursemaid, you and the other servants don’t have to wait for me. Everyone’s tired after the long journey.” Mo Xuetong held Mother Xu’s hands with a smile and they walked towards the bed as she spoke.
Mo Lan helped her to lie down and went to prepare her bath!
“Miss, I dare not sleep if you are not sleeping. I could only sleep when you return. Miss, you’ve just got here and everything is unfamiliar to you. How could you deal with everything? Your servant cannot handle everything either, but I still have to keep an eye out for you. There were a few second and third ranked maids that came today and some servants. I’ve looked at them and they looked decent. But I dare not accept all of them. But you still have to be careful using them.” Mother Xu whispered.
Mo Xuetong understood what she was saying. She smiled lightly after a while and said, “Nursemaid, just accept them. We’ve just got here and everything is new. It’d be easier on us if there are more maids and servants.”
“But those people were all sent by Auntie Fang,” Mother Xu said anxiously.
“Of course, the servants that she sent us would be good. Nursemaid, you just have to care about using them.” Mo Xuetong smirked. “It has nothing to do with us if the people Auntie sent gets into trouble, right?”
“Oh, right!” Mother Xu paused and then she smiled and smacked her forehead, saying, “I wasn’t thinking. Shall I get a few more people then? There hasn’t been anyone staying in our courtyard for a long time. We have to clean it properly.”
If anything happened to the people Auntie Fang sent over, she would definitely make trouble. Mother Xu heaved a sigh of relief when she saw how capable her mistress was. Her mistress was calm and composed. She had a faint smile on her lips that made others feel as if they could trust her. Since Auntie Fang had ill intentions towards her mistress, then they shall pull her down with them.
“Nursemaid, do what you will.” Mo Xuetong nodded with a smile.
Mo Xuetong felt that the bed was unfamiliar and could not sleep until very late in the night. It was fortunate that there was no matriarch in the Mo family. Even though Auntie Fang was in charge now, she did not have the right to ask the legal daughter to go to her place to greet her in the morning. As such, Mo Xuetong only woke up very late in the day.
“Miss, are you awake?” The satin curtains were lifted and Mo Yu appeared in front of her bed with a smile.
“Oh! Why didn’t you wake me up?” Mo Xuetong accepted the cup of tea Mo He gave her and took a sip. She got up lazily. It was rather obnoxious of her to sleep until so late in the day.
“Miss did sleep rather late last night. I wanted to let you sleep in so you’d have the energy to go to the General’s manor. That’s why I didn’t wake you up.” Mo Lan said with a smile. She was outside on night duty last night, so she knew that Mo Xuetong had tossed and turned for a long while before sleeping. She cared for her mistress and did not want to wake her up.
“You mustn’t do that in the future. People might think that I’m putting up airs.” Mo Xuetong got up with the help of Mo He. She was the only true mistress in the manor. She was the legal daughter. Many would be watching her and she did not want to be an annoyance right after she got here.
