Bai Yihao lightly smiled. This time, he didn’t say anything and just picked the wine Feng Yuran handed. Bai Yihao also slightly raised the cup and gulped it down.
Music rang from both banks. A broad boat slowly sailed forward, where high and spacious platforms were set up. On the platforms, a group of dancers from the princess’s manor were dancing to the music. Maids who stood on both sides of the platforms were carrying flower baskets. From time to time, they would draw out dried flowers from the baskets and spread them to the banks. The scene looked very beautiful.
Beautiful scenery like this in winter was extremely enticing. At that time, the audience burst into cheers.
At the table where Luo Youwen sat, there were only four heirs from Four Great Manors. Now, Ding General Manor’s hair, Ling Mingfeng, sat at the right side of Luo Youwen. Suddenly, Ling Mingfeng pushed Luo Youwen’s hand and lowered his voice to ask, “Youwen, is the girl opposite your cousin?”
At that moment, Luo Youwen couldn’t understand which one he was referring to. Looking in the direction Ling Mingfeng pointed, as expected, Luo Youwen saw several young misses around Princess Royal. Because there were quite a few people there, Luo Youwen failed to recognize them at the time. “Mingfeng, which one did you point to?”
Four Great Manors had been on good terms with each other, and the four heirs were the future inheritors of the families. In their childhood, the four families had deliberately left them bonding with each other. Therefore, no matter what trouble the families were in on the surface, at least, the four heirs were close in private. They were of similar age and weren’t married, so they didn’t care so much about manners.
Ling Mingfeng smilingly asked. He was a somewhat delicate young man, dressed fancily. He was beaming as he passed a cup of wine to Luo Wenyou. “That one. The one in plain white. She’s sitting by your sister and wearing a jewel hairpin.”
Luo Wenyou blandly glanced at him and took the wine, sipping on it. “She’s indeed my cousin. Why? Is there a problem?”
Ping General Manor’s heir, Chen Yanyu, was sitting by them. Chen Yanyu cut in before Ling Mingfeng could answer. “There’s no problem. Lingfeng just wants to chat her up. Don’t you know him? He can’t move his feet before a beauty. I really don’t know what his thing is. Every time Princess Royal throws a party, he’s the first one to show up.”
Embarrassed by Chen Yanyu, Ling Mingfeng glared at him, displeased. “Yanyu, don’t talk nonsense. When… when was I so ungrateful? Today, when I arrived, you and Yuecheng were already here.”
Chen Yanyu teased and blinked at him as if saying “We all know you”. “We came early because Her Highness asked us to. We’re here to set up the tables. We didn’t know why you’re here so early. In the morning, you must’ve seen enough beauties in the garden. Don’t pretend. We’re all close. Youwen knows who you are.”
Ling Mingfeng pushed away Chen Yanyu’s cup, displeased. Then, he directly approached Luo Wenyou. “You’re talking nonsense. Am I that kind of person? Youwen, your cousin hasn’t come here, has she?”
Luo Wenyou blankly explained. “My cousin has lived in Capital City. She came to the capital only recently.” He didn’t want to tell too much about Mo Xuetong.
Though Mo Xuetong had attended the party that these two threw in the palace, she was very low-key. At that time, boys and girls were separated afar. Many didn’t see her. Later, in Fu General Manor’s banquet, she only stayed with Luo Mingzhu and other noble ladies, and never showed her faces publicly.
Instead, her elder sister, Luo Xuemin, had been on everyone’s lips. She had stirred the entire city with her incidents one after another. It was really hard for her not to “shine”.
Chen Yanyu suddenly thought of something and asked, surprised. “Is this cousin the third younger sister First Miss Mo talked about in the palace?”
Though he wasn’t present, the thing had spread widely. Then, something like that happened outside the palace, which was also an affair among the noble families. Naturally, many people spread the story in different versions. The most popular one was that First Miss Mo envied her younger sister’s pretty face and legal daughter status. Therefore, she framed her younger sister in the palace to ruin the latter’s name. They didn’t expect that the younger sister with a pretty face was in Princess Royal’s manor.
The rumor turned out to false. Moreover, after leaving the palace, unexpectedly, Mo Xuemin secretly met with Sima Lingyun and was so unlucky as to be robbed on the way. In the end, they were found together lying on the street…
Anyway, because of this First Miss Mo’s fame, the third miss, who was rumored to be very beautiful, was also mentioned in the anecdote. This left many noble young masters interested in Mo Xuetong, who they never met before.
Luo Wenyou sounded ambiguous, but everyone understood him. “My cousin has been kind. I don’t know what she did to upset First Miss Mo…”
Ling Mingfeng interrupted in a despised tone, looking at You Yuecheng opposite, who was silent and only sipping on his wine. “She’s really mean, that First Miss Mo. I’ve met her once. She looks fine but is a little annoying. She can really talk, but the thing she does is really degrading.”
“Yuecheng, I heard you’re close to that First Miss Mo. I really don’t know why you didn’t see it. Such a woman is pretty but isn’t decent. You didn’t avoid her and even testified for her. That thing involved with Minister Li’s son ended up bad, didn’t it? A woman snuck out in the middle of the night. She was definitely meeting with her secret lover. If Sima Lingyun marries her, he’ll be a cuckold instead of a decent official.”
They were talking about the incident that involved Mo Xuemin and Li Youmo last time!
At that time, Mo Xueming was meeting with You Yuecheng!
You Yuecheng’s face darkened and he clutched the wine cup in his hand. Then, he loosened his grip and smiled lightly, blandly saying, “I was being stupid. I thought she’s just a girl alone… The thing ended up like that. I’m really sorry for Youmo.”
Ling Mingfeng laughed. “Yuecheng, don’t worry. Master Li won’t blame you. Probably he might want to thank you. The thing ended up like that, and he needn’t marry that First Miss Mo in the end, right? If so, why will he blame you? That woman is too pretentious. I don’t really like her.”
Seeing You Yuecheng’s face unnaturally sullen, Luo Wenyou secretly sneered and felt satisfied. He always thought You Yuecheng bore grudges aginst his cousin, so now, he pretended to be unaware of it and asked, “Mingfeng, why do you think of First Miss Mo like that? Do you know any behind-the-scene stories about her? Or, are you just making up things?”
Hearing Luo Wenyou degrading him, Ling Mingfeng, who had always deemed himself well-informed, became furious on the spot. “How will I make up things? I only met this First Miss Mo once at the Princess Royal’s party last time. It was after the party. I was drunk and rested in the backyard. Who would have known she barged in and whined in tears, saying she was tricked into the room? She asked me what to do. What to do? What do you think I should do? I just told her to leave. I didn’t want to take the blame if she got a ruined reputation.”
“Guess what? She didn’t expect I’d tell her to leave. She must think I’m a playboy. She looked surprised at that moment. Then, her pretending to cry was not so convincing anymore. Though I like beauties, I don’t think this pretentious kind. So I just left. Do you think I need to deliberately degrade such a woman?”
Ling Mingfeng felt very angry, so his words came out very harsh, totally ignoring the forced smile You Yuecheng barely managed to put on on his face.
At this time of last year, it was also at the Princess Royal’s banquet. You Yuecheng met Mo Xuemin at that time. The masters from Four Great Manors were the noblest among all the noble masters. As an heir, how was You Yuecheng supposed to meet Mo Xuemin, a concubine’s daughter from a fifth-grade officer’s family?
However, back then, he was drunk. His servant helped him into the room to rest. Suddenly, a woman hurried in and was astounded to see him. She tried to run out in a flurry but knocked down a nearby screen. She fell but still rose despite the pain, holding the screen.
At that time, he saw the two streams of tears on her pink and white face. He couldn’t help but get off the bed to pick her up…
Thinking of it now, he remembered that Ling Mingfeng was sleeping in the room next to him on the left. Mo Xuemin must have gone to him because Ling Mingfeng rejected her. Immediately, he felt like having swallowed a fly, which made his face look more unnatural. He always thought as a military officer, he was sharp-eyed compared with the rest. He didn’t think that even the playboy, Ling Mingfeng, had been more clearheaded than him.
Ling Mingfeng was excited, unaware of You Yuecheng’s terrible face. Chen Yanyu noticed it and immediately changed the topic with a smile. “Why bring up such things? That lady won’t have anything to do with us in the future anyway. Mingfeng, why didn’t your younger sister, the top beauty in the world, come? She’s a really captivating beauty, even a few princes…”
While saying, he darted a look at the two sitting at the main table and meaningfully smiled.
Today’s tables were set according to proper manners. Princess Royal took rituals seriously. Though outside the palace, they still must act by the rules. There were two main tables. King Chu and King Yan sat by one, while King Xuan and Bai Yihao sat by another one. The four masters sat by the third table. Then, the rest guests sat respectively by their grades, the same with the rules in the palace.
Chen Yanyu was glancing at King Chu and King Yan, and of course, he was referring to the incident that night.
Ling Mingfeng also darted a look at the two princes at the main table, indifferently pursed his lips, and proudly said, “My second sister is really beautiful. Now that all the noble misses in the capital gathered here. You can see who’s better than her.”
Chen Yanyu tittered. “You were just asking about that cousin of Wenyou. You’ve seen her for yourself. Is she any inferior to your sister?” The misses Ling Mingfeng mentioned included his own sister; he couldn’t stay calm at this time.
That girl looked both innocent and charming. Young as she was, she was enchanting. Moreover, she behaved elegantly. Her clothes was plain and simple; her eyes were as bright as water, like a person in the painting. Ling Mingfeng really couldn’t call such a beautiful girl inferior to anyone.
Finally, he could only force a few words. “Only she’s young…”
Chen Yanyu scorned Ling Mingfeng and turned to face Luo Wenyou, “She’s already so charming when she’s young. In a few years, she’ll be a beauty you’ve never seen in history. Wenyou, is your cousin betrothed to anyone?”
Ling Mingfeng touched his nose and teased. “Wenyou, don’t be hard on him. Your uncle surely won’t like a man like him. Yanyu, I heard there are many beautiful girls in your manor. Don’t say I didn’t remind you. But Lord Mo is strict, and he must want to choose a perfect man for his legal daughter.”
Chen Yanyu’s face fell and snapped. “I do have many people in my manor but I can never surpass you. Of course, I won’t impress Lord Mo, and you don’t even need to ask. I heard all of your cousins are staying at your manor, waiting for your betrothal gifts.”
