“Daddy, Third Sister had been sending letters to someone, but yet she refuses to admit it. I showed you the letter just now, but she blames me instead!” Hearing Mo Huawen’s voice coming from the doorstep, tears wailed up in Mo Xueqiong’s eyes immediately. As if she had been wronged, she pointed at Mo Xuetong with teary eyes. “Third Sister scolded me for merely wanting to know who the man is.”
She decided to frame Mo Xuetong completely.
“Fourth Sister, I wanted to ask you about the man, but you asked me instead. Didn’t you receive the letter?” Mo Xuetong retorted coldly. Mo Xueqiong was a fool in daring to receive such a random letter so carelessly from the dangerous palace.
If she was not careful, she could easily make trouble that results in her execution. Thus, Mo Xuetong did not want to linger further in this pointless argument with Mo Xueqiong. Hence, she turned and looked at Mo Huawen, asking. “Father, what is the letter about?”
Having been ignored by Mo Xuetong made the prideful Mo Xueqiong extremely dissatisfied. Her face turned green with hatred and embarrassment. Just when she was about to vent her anger, she was shut down by the cold stare of Mo Huawen. Hence, she merely stomped and stared at Mo Xuetong angrily before leaving quietly, grinding her teeth.
Mo Huawen passed the letter over, saying, “Fourth Sister said that the man was dressed elegantly, about twenty years of age. He wanted me to pass the letter over.”
The envelope was open, and Mo Xuetong knew that Mo Huawen had seen the letter already. Receiving it, she pulled out the letter.
Only a few words were written on it: I wish to meet you at Qin gathering.
“Is the Qin gathering the one organized by Sir Bai?” Mo Huawen frowned.
“It should be the Qin gathering organized by Sir Bai. However, that should a gathering for ladies to discuss Qin playing skills, and no man should be present.” Mo Xuetong was confused too. However, since the letter did mention Qin gathering, the gathering should be different from what she imagined it to be.
She neither participated in it in her previous life nor heard anyone talk about it, making her more confused.
Bai Yihao is a creative and unpredictable man. The purpose of this Qin gathering should be different from the previous one, with a specific motive in mind.
“There are two types of Qin gatherings organized by Bai Yihao, the female Qin and the elegant Qin. Female Qin gatherings are restricted to female participants only, with him as the mentor. Ladies talk to each other casually, and no outsiders will be present. The other type is the elegant Qin gatherings, where he will invite famous young men over to watch the ladies compete over their Qin skills. Many important figures will be present, making the event much more prestigious. Many are honored to be invited to Bai Yihao’s elegant Qin gatherings.”
Mo Huawen is a refined man and knew many significant figures. Thus, he was aware of this situation.
“Did Bai Yihao invite you to participate in the Qin gathering?” Seeing that Mo Xuetong was deep in thought, Mo Huawen asked.
“Father, how do you find Bai Yihao?” Mo Xuetong suddenly asked, looking at Mo Huawen with bubbly eyes that were full of questions and doubts.
Mo Huawen was stunned before understanding the hidden meaning behind Mo Xuetong’s words. “Bai Yihao is a dragon amongst man, and he will not stay unknown for long.”
“Since he will not stay unknown for long, he will make it out. The Yan Kingdom sent his brother to the Qin Kingdom in hopes of marrying the Fifth Princess of Qin Kingdom. If the First Prince did manage to marry Fifth Princess, it would be detrimental for him.” Mo Xuetong analyzed as she drew circles on the table with her jade white fingers.
Mo Huawen was stunned as such words should not be coming from the words of his daughter. He turned around immediately and noticed that the door had already been closed, with the servants all outside. He was then satisfied by the servants in Qingwei Garden.
“Father, Mo Lan is outside the door. No one will come in.” Noticing Mo Huawen’s worry, Mo Xuetong explained. The appearance of Yan Kingdom’s First Prince, the return of King Ning Feng Yuzhen, and he hidden conflicts within the Four Great Manors made her worried about her father. Thus, she must remind him to take care of himself.
The situation was not yet clear, and vouching support for anyone could evoke the Emperor’s jealousy and worry!
Seeing that his daughter is knowledgeable and cautious, Mo Huawen was extremely gratified. Tong’er was indeed a smart child for having the same thoughts as him in the face of such a dangerous situation. Looking at the childlike face of her daughter, he was somewhat nervous and heaved a quiet sigh.
“Thus, as the future Emperor of Yan Kingdom, Sir Bai will make sure First Prince fails, like now. The Emperor did not want to marry Fifth Princess, or any other Princess, allowing Yan Kingdom’s First Prince to choose only from aristocrats.” Mo Huawen touched his head, visibly tired.
It was an annoying imperial edict, more so because he has a beautiful daughter.
“Rest assured, father, I shall not meet Yan Kingdom’s First Prince then.” Mo Xuetong knew that Mo Huawen was worried and thus smiled gently and a little sheepishly. “The palace feast had ended, and perhaps the First Prince of Yan Kingdom had already found his wife.”
“Not yet. In this palace feast, the Empress ordered for the first miss of Mingguo Manor to marry King Yan as the head concubine and married the second miss of Ding General Manor to King Chu. A few peasants entered the Emperor’s harem as well.” When he saw his daughter’s innocent smile, Mo Huawen’s heart tightened as he lamented with worry.
“You Yue’e is engaged to King Yan, Ling Fengyan is engaged to King Chu, and a few peasants entered the harem? The Empress acted? Isn’t this feast organized such that Yan Kingdom’s First Prince can choose his concubines? Why did the Empress decide on what to do?” If she did not remember wrongly, the few that entered the harem must be those that the Empress had chosen personally in the Baihua festival.
Remembering that she had almost entered the palace as a concubine, Mo Xuetong couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine. The Empress is not as kind as she appeared to be.
“What do you think, father?” Mo Xuetong lifted her head and asked. Anyways, her father had more information concerning the matters within the imperial palace. She wanted to see if she could find some clues from her father’s information.
“If Mingguo Manor supports King Yan too, King Yan will be more favored compared to King Chu. However, the Emperor is a strong and non-disabled man, and the acts of the Empress is inappropriate.” Mo Huawen had a headache as he was the lord mayor, in charge of order within the imperial city. He naturally understood what the actions of the Empress meant.
This matter had nothing to do with him as he only needed to be an assistant to the Emperor, someone with no cliques.
However, General Manor had to be involved in it. And judging by the relationship of General Manor and Tong’er, he had to be included as well. Furthermore, Tong’er is now the foster daughter of Princess Royal. That was meant to protect her, but it accentuated her identity as a princess currently, making Mo Huawen felt that he was trapped in a crisis.
Tong’er’s identity is too sensitive.
If Yan Kingdom’s First Princess could not marry a princess, Qin Kingdom would undoubtedly prepare a suitable aristocrat for him. The aristocrat will at least be the daughter of top officials in the country. Tong’er’s status was initially been not ideal for this marriage, but her identity as the foster daughter of a princess made her meet the criteria, becoming the most suitable candidate.
It was most appropriate for the foster daughter of the royal family to marry in the replacement of the actual daughters. When the King of Yan Kingdom asked to marry someone from the Qin Kingdom, Princess Royal Yunruo was still a foster daughter. She had been the best candidate together with Shuanglan. However, Shuanglan was afflicted with King Jin and disappeared, making Yunruo the only possible candidate.
Thinking of this made Mo Huawen’s head hurt out of nervousness.
“Father, if the First Prince wanted to be the next Emperor, he will naturally ask to marry the Fifth Princess. The only reason why he did not ask yet was to create suspense. Furthermore, even if I had Princess Royal as my mother, she is only a powerless royal aristocrat. It will be completely different from marrying the daughter of the Empress, who had the entire support of Ding General Manor behind.” Mo Xuetong smiled and comforted Mo Huawen.
“Think about it, if the First Prince does not care about that position, why will he send someone here before himself. And why did he spread rumors about marrying Fifth Princess. Naturally, it was because he was afraid of Bai Yihao interfering.”
Mo Huawen was slightly stunned, but he thought that it did make sense.
“What does this mean?” After a slight pause, he pointed at the letter on the table and asked.
“Someone must be guiding him for him to be able to find Fourth Sister in the crowd. He appeared in front of her directly, not afraid of rumors, making him unlikely someone from the Qin Kingdom. Thus, he should be from Yan Kingdom, perhaps even the First Prince himself.” Mo Xuetong analyzed.
As she spoke, the room became silent as the two were deep in thought.
The daffodil on the table spits out light smoke, which made the air more fragrant.
“Tong’er, do not go to the Qin gathering. You should not act since someone wanted to manipulate you using Bai Yihao’s Qin gathering. Anyways, you are injured, providing a sufficient reason not to go.” Mo Huawen lifted his head, determined.
“Sure, Tong’er will listen to you.” Mo Xuetong smiled and took a sachet from beside her, passing it to Mo Huawen. “Father, aunt specially sent this over for you. She said that the previous one was old, and you can replace it with this.”
After a few days, Xu Yan will be married. He had prepared the gifts and everything, waiting just to be married over. The girl was reminding himself.
“My girl…” Mo Huawen smiled involuntarily. Naturally, he did not believe that Xu Yan asked Tong’er to give it to him. The girl must have begged Xu Yan for it.
“Father, aunt Xu Yan spent two nights doing it after hearing that you are in dire need of the sachet. You must treasure it.” Mo Xuetong smiled.
Looking at the cute demeanor of Mo Xuetong, Mo Huawen’s heart softens as he rubbed Mo Xuetong’s head, smiling. “Stupid girl.”
Mo Xuetong did not want to participate, in Bai Yihao’s Qin gatherings anyways as she was not curious about the man inviting her. However, she was sure of his malicious intent of passing the letter over to Mo Xueqiong in the palace.
When Mo Huawen left, Mo Yu hurried in before closing the door. Mo Lan was still doing needlework outside when Mo Yu hurried before the bed of Mo Xuetong, explaining nervously, “Miss, He Xia said that she remembered something, and I asked Nanny Ming about it. At first, Nanny Ming initially refused to tell the truth. I had to force her for her to tell me one sentence.”
Remembering Nanny ming’s nervous and horrified expression, Mo Yu swallowed her saliva and continued, “He Xia said that she remembered that your mother had arranged a marriage for you. Nanny Ming also verified that and confirmed that the two families exchanged gifts.”
Such a piece of important news made Mo Yu’s face turn pale due to shock. She rushed back to inform Mo Xuetong without asking any more questions.
Despite being with her for a long time, she had never heard of this matter, which made her horrified.
