All Mo Huawen could think about was how to get Mo Xuetong out of the banquet. After he left, Mo Xuetong was also lost in thought.
Feng Yuran must have known the inside story, so he asked Mo Xuetong not to go out these days. But unexpectedly, the Emperor gave such an order.
What the First Prince of the Yan Kingdom did was somewhat abnormal. Based on Mo Xuetong’s experiences in her previous life, the First Prince was an ambitious person, even related to Bai Yihao’s mother. This was what confused Mo Xuetong the most. What did the Empress of the Yan Kingdom, Bai Yihao’s mother, think? How did she get involved in the First Prince’s scheme?
Mo Xuetong certainly didn’t believe that Bai Yihao was wrong or that the Empress only had a little to do with the rebellion. Since he kept the Empress in the imperial palace, it was no small matter. What could have caused the supposedly intelligent Princess to do such a silly thing—he didn’t help her own son but joined the First Prince’s scheme?
Was it because the Empress was partial to others that Bai Yihao went to the Qin Kingdom specially instead of being the Crown Prince?
If this was the case, Mo Xuetong needed to know more about the First Prince of the Yan Kingdom.
“Miss, the first miss and the fourth miss rejoice when they get the news. They are both preparing their clothes and ornaments, planning to make a splash at the banquet.” Mo Ye silently came in from the outside, whispering in Mo Xuetong’s ear. She had just deliberately taken some servants to Auntie Mo to order clothes.
Sure enough, Mo Xuemin and Mo Xueqiong soon got the message.
Mo Xuetong took a white jade blue-and-white porcelain cup from Mo Lan, lifted the lid, skimmed off the foam, and took a sip. Then she asked dryly, “How is the progress of the ancestral temple in the backyard?”
“The ancestral temple has been built and is being painted. As not many workers are needed, most of them were dismissed. Only a few workmen are painting, with the help of servants from the outer yard. On the present course, it will be finished soon.”
“Did the second miss know about it?”
“Mo Yu has just sent some old servants to the small warehouse to pick out your ornaments for the banquet in three days. They met a few batches of people along the way. The second miss’s maid just now inquired again and again. My people have seen it clearly. The maid ran back with a look of surprise on her face.”
Mo Xueyan would be surprised indeed!
But after the surprise, she would be angry!
Mo Xueyan rushed into the Old Madam’s yard with her maid, though it was late at night.
The Old Madam had a relatively quiet life lately. Harboring a helpless attitude towards Mo Huawen’s marriage, she did not even want to see Mo Xuetong. If it had not been for the marriage of her own granddaughter, she would not have wanted to stay here. She really could not like the ladies of the Mo Manor.
She was lying in bed, chatting with the nanny.
Their topic, of course, was Mo Xueyan. The nanny had come with the Old Madam when she married, so she knew what was on the Old Madam’s mind. She ingratiated herself with the Old Madam and said with a smile, “The second miss is so pretty and lovely that it will be a blessing to the man whoever marries her. The main problem now is that there is no chance for the second miss to attend the banquet. If the second miss had come into those well-known families as the first miss, her reputation would certainly have surpassed that of the first miss.”
The Old Madam sighed in the candlelight and said with annoyance, “There is no chance for Yan’er to appear in front of those young men from well-known families. Some time ago, banquets would be held from time to time, but the schedule has been canceled because my eldest son is in a bad mood these days.”
Mo Xuemin’s affair had turned the atmosphere in the Mo Manor sour. Then something happened to Auntie Fang. As one bad thing after another happened to the Mo Manor, who was in the mood for a banquet? The nanny knew its reason, but to please the Old Madam, she immediately smiled and said, “The first miss is so… and her mother is very vicious, but she can marry into the Duke’s Manor. I do not know what Sir Sima sees in her.”
As a maid of the merchant family, the nanny had ordinary experiences. She thought that the Duke’s Manor was wealthy. What she didn’t know was that the minister’s home was not at all what it sounded like—a lord’s family might be more powerful and wealthy than a duke’s family.
Her words reminded the Old Madam. The Old Madam sneered, “God knows what my eldest son thinks. Look at all the concubines he picked. They all had wicked hearts and even killed his wife. How could their daughters be good? But Luo Xia wasn’t a good person either. If she had agreed to let Xinru marry into our family, how could she leave her daughter in the Cloud City with no one caring?”
“She was too young to be thoughtful. Unlike you, you’re thoughtful. She was dying, but she was still trying to control the eldest sir. As a result, her daughter got her comeuppance. In fact, it all boils down to her.” The nanny was eloquent. Her flattery cheered the Old Madam up.
What happened to Lan Xinru was the knot in the Old Madam’s heart, and it finally became a dead knot. So the Old Madam was not happy with anyone in Mo Huawen’s house.
“If my eldest son had taken my advice and married my niece of my parents’ home, I would have caught the evil Auntie Fang. A wicked woman could not escape my notice. I’ve seen more backyard things than he has, even though my sight has grown dim,” the Old Madam said triumphantly as she took the hand warmer that the nanny handed her and put it in her arms.
“Yeah, because the eldest sir has broken your heart, you went to the second old sir to live a comfortable life. No matter how good the eldest sir is to you, he is not dear to you as the second old sir, your own son. The same goes for your granddaughters. Look at his daughters, what kind of people they are? They, alas… they have completely broken the rules of being a girl.”
The nanny was eloquent, looking at the Old Madam from time to time. When she found the Old Madam pleased, she made an effort to belittle the three in the Mo Manor and praised Mo Xueyan as a unique, fairy-like person.
While they were talking happily, a maid came in and announced that the second miss was coming crying.
The Old Madam didn’t know what had happened, but upon hearing that Mo Xueyan was crying, she quickly had her ushered in.
As Mo Xueyan entered, she threw herself into the Old Madam’s arms and cried before she could speak. As a result, she cried so hard that she could not stop or explain what she cried for. The Old Madam was so anxious that she hugged her and called her “darling”, feeling sorry for her. Finally, the maid who came with Mo Xueyan told her why Mo Xueyan was crying—all the three girls of the Mo Manor were going to the palace banquet.
“Grandma, grandma, I want to go to the palace banquet too. I want to go to the palace banquet. It is said that not only the First Prince from the Yan Kingdom but also King Chu, King Yan, and King Xuan will attend the banquet. Many young noblemen and royalty will also be there. Grandma, as long as an official is at grade five and above, his children can be there. Uncle now is at grade three, why can’t he take me to the banquet?”
Mo Xueyan’s face was tearful and pathetic. She tugged at the Old Madam’s sleeve and kept crying.
It almost killed the Old Madam. The Old Madam patted her chest and assured Mo Xueyan that she would ask Mo Huawen to take Mo Xueyan to the party. This promise delighted Mo Xueyan. She dried her eyes and went back to her yard.
When she returned, satisfied, the Old Madam immediately sent a maid to Mo Huawen to talk about it. She thought it was a shoo-in. In her opinion, it was the same thing for Mo Huawen to take three children and four children to the palace banquet. With Mo Huawen’s current position, it was not a big deal.
But to her disappointment, the old maid she had sent came back very soon in dismay, saying that the eldest sir had said that he had only three places and that he must not take one more.
It had a point. Everyone knew that he had three daughters, so he had only three invitations from the palace, though, in fact, he did not want to accept any of them. But invitations had been sent from the palace, and he could only bring them back. It was not a good thing, and he was upset about it now.
The thought that Tong’er might be selected by the First Prince of the Yan Kingdom at the banquet made him feel like he was on fire.
Mo Huawen was sitting in his study, worried and unable to sleep. When he learned that her troublesome and insolent niece wanted to go to the palace banquet from the maid sent by the Old Madam, he immediately refused in anger. The imperial palace was not the same as outside. If she did anything disrespectful, her life might be in danger.
He was upset with the Old Madam now, but Mo Xueyan was still his niece. He would not trifle with such a matter of life.
The longer he was an official in the capital, the more thoroughly he saw things. He had thought about what Mo Xuetong had thought. Although he did not understand the twists and turns, he knew there was more to it than what he saw. Mo Xueyan was a skittish girl. If she lost her life, the whole Mo family might be dragged down.
It was never a good idea to take Mo Xueyan to the palace banquet.
He had no idea that his refusal would nearly kill one of his daughters.
When the Old Madam heard that Mo Huawen had rejected her offer without considering it, she almost went off the deep end. She took her dress by the bed and wanted to go to Mo Huawen. She was going to do what she had promised her granddaughter today.
But her old nanny took hold of her, and after much persuasion, she ceased.
“How could I be reconciled to this? His own daughters are going to marry into respectable families. Look at his eldest daughter. She has as bad a reputation as a woman who runs off with a man. But she could marry into the Duke’s Manor. How much incense sticks did her wicked mother burn? It was because of the good reputation she had left at parties.”
“After what she had done, she was still on the banquet list. This is unreasonable.” The Old Madam’s face was livid with anger. The thought of her granddaughter being as pure as a white swan made her feel more and more indignant. Mo Huawen was so biased! Did he really think of her as someone who knew nothing about anything?
“Old Madam, don’t get angry yet. We still have a chance. Calm yourself first. There are still three days to go. We only need to let one of the three ladies of the Mo Manor to give up a place.” The nanny smiled and soothed the Old Madam.
“Those girls are ill-bred. How could they be willing to do such a thing? They are probably beside themselves with joy. If I ask them for a place, God knows how they would insult Yan’er,” the Old Madam uttered with a sneer. Of course, she had thought about the idea, but she knew it wouldn’t work.
Besides, Mo Huawen would not agree if they were unwilling to give up their place to Mo Xueyan.
As a result, it would be a waste of effort.
“What if one of them was willing to give up the place? Then the second miss can go,” whispered the nanny. Her coarse voice was cold in the darkness and strangely frightening.
The Old Madam froze for a moment, not understanding what she meant. She rolled her eyes and thought for a moment, but still did not figure it out.
The old nanny got up, went to the door of the inner room, and listened before she opened it. The outer room was quiet, and most of the young and old maids were asleep. The yard sounded quiet, too. Even the gate was locked. There was the beating of watchman’s clapper in the distance.
“Bang, bang, boom!!” It was already nine o’clock at night.
