“Miss Su, do you want me to prove that I composed the poem?” Mo Xuetong asked, raising her brows.
“Of course, you can only say that it is yours with proof. Does the Princess have no way of proving it?” Su Mei’er looked extremely satisfied. So what if Mo Xuetong was a princess? The Princess Royal only had the affections of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. She did not have any true power. Mo Xuetong was her goddaughter and did not have any support.
Compared to her, a first miss of a noble family, Mo Xuetong was just the country-bumpkin daughter of a rich man. She did not believe that Mo Xuetong would have any way of proving that she had composed the poem. However, her face stiffened before she could even show how pleased she was when she heard what Mo Xuetong had to say.
“I said that I composed the poem, but Miss Su said you’ve seen the poem in the palace. Since Miss Su cannot say who wrote the poem, then does it mean that Miss Su is making things up? How can Miss Su prove that what you said was the truth? It can’t be that only what you said is right, can it?”
Mo Xuetong raised her brows lightly and spoke with a gentle smile. However, she did not stop there, “Miss Su, do you think that you are very trustworthy or do you think that I, the new princess acknowledged by the royal family, has a bad reputation? Is that why you can just wave your arms and just say that you feel that I have committed plagiarism? Miss Su, where do you think the royal family stands?”
Su Mei’er’s smile froze. Her face cycled between red and white and she could not speak. She was furious and ashamed. She glared at Mo Xuetong hatefully, wanting to sew her lips together.
Mo Xuetong could not be bothered with how Su Mei’er felt. She said clearly, enunciating every word, “The consort selection is decided by the Empress. When did the Empress pass on this right to the imperial noble consorts!”
That was harsh! The young ladies who had joined Su Mei’er earlier all could not help but lower their heads. Their expressions were extremely interesting.
The Empress was the one in charge of the consort selection, and she would be the one looking at the poems. Furthermore, everyone knew that the Empress and Consort Su had not been on good terms in years. They just had not torn through the veneer of civility yet. Imperial noble consort Su gave birth to the eldest royal son, King Chu, Feng Yuxuan, whom the Emperor doted on very much. However, the Empress did not have any sons and only had her title.
The two of them were like fire and water. It was impossible for the Empress to give Consort Su the power in consort selections. If the people who were all brought into the palace belonged on Consort Su’s side, how would the Empress be able to rest easy?
Everyone only recalled then that while Mo Xuetong had become a princess mostly due to luck, she was a true royalty now. In terms of the dignity of the royal family, no matter how nicely Su Mei’er put it, they should all believe in someone from the royal family. The dignity of the royal family is not one that anyone can besmirch.
Furthermore, there was no proof now. They only had a statement made by Su Mei’er. If they were to really drag in the dignity of the royal family, no one would be able to get out of this unscathed.
Earlier, the young ladies had spoken up one after another. Those who had brains would immediately understand that Su Mei’er was framing Mo Xuetong. When they thought of how they had worked together with Su Mei’er to slander Mo Xuetong, the smarter ones immediately glared at her.
Su Mei’er flushed and paled. The colors on her face changed like a palette. She gritted her teeth and said, “Princess, since you cannot prove that you wrote it, then I naturally cannot prove whether you are speaking the truth or not. This matter…”
She could not vilify Mo Xuetong anymore. However, she hoped that she would be able to extricate herself from the matter.
“If I can prove that I wrote it, what will happen to you, Miss Su? If I go to see the Empress now, I wonder what Miss Su will think? Or does Miss Su think that these poems are still in Consort Su’s palace and that it would be useless for me to see the Empress?” Mo Xuetong did not intend to let Su Mei’er off today.
They all thought that she was easily bullied, and then they could bully her whenever they wanted!
Su Mei’er did not expect Mo Xuetong to be so forceful. She was both angry and embarrassed and did not dare to accept the bet. If this matter were to be known to the palace, it would not just be a matter of plagiarism. She thought of what her aunt had told her in private a few days ago. Her aunt had told her to watch and think before doing anything and that she must not rush into doing anything.
When her cousin settled down, he would definitely make her his second consort. He would definitely allow her to bear him a son. When he ascended the throne, she would take charge of the central palace. However, this was not the right time to raise a fuss. She must not fight with anyone right now.
She did not expect that today and was forced into a corner right now. She felt both embarrassed and regretful. She hated that Mo Xuetong would not let her off and she just did not want to back down. She swayed and had a sudden epiphany. She shut her eyes and fell backward. Bai Yihao was right behind her. He was known to be gentle and elegant and would definitely catch her.
Bai Yihao had just finished writing the poem. He picked up the brush and took two steps backward as if he were going to admire his handiwork. He managed to miss Su Mei’er who fell toward him.
Su Mei’er fell to the ground just like that. Because of the forceful blow, her head smashed against the stone ground forcefully. Her head started to bleed. She screamed and did not have to act any longer, having truly fainted.
The winds were really strong and because she fell really quickly, the wind lifted her long skirt. Her long skirt flipped over her head and the pink pants that she wore beneath were immediately shown to all.
It was a really shameful and disreputable incident. If it had just been one person who saw this, it could have been hidden. However, there was more than one man present and many young masters approached when they heard the commotion. They saw Su Mei’er falling to the ground and her underpants that had been revealed in her pathetic state. This evoked a loud round of laughter immediately.
Su Mei’er’s maid hurriedly helped to pull down her long dress, but it was already too late.
Fortunately, Su Mei’er had really fainted. Otherwise, she might have fainted from the embarrassment.
It was chaotic and nobody noticed the commotion by the lake until someone screamed, “Help! Someone’s fallen into the lake!”
Everyone immediately turned to look in the direction of the lake. There was a lone boat on the surface of the lake but it was empty.
Everyone immediately ran toward the lake. A few of the faster runners jumped into the lake to save the drowning person.
When Mo Xuetong arrived at the scene, the person had already been saved. No one expected the person who had fallen into the lake to be the Fifth Princess. While the handsome man who saved her was nobility, no one had ever seen him.
“Your Highness, quick, put on some clothes.” A servant hurried over and placed a white fox leather coat over the man. Another handed him a hand stove and helped him to the tent on the shore to change. There were servants helping the Fifth Princess as well and she was carried into a tent to change.
It was early spring and while it was considered warm, it was bitterly cold in the water.
“First Prince is really strong, you noticed that there was something off with Fifth Sister so quickly. You were amongst the first to save Fifth Sister amongst the others. Many thanks, First Prince.” Feng Yuran stood up and thanked Bai Yichen on behalf of the Fifth Princess. He had been waiting for the First Prince to change and emerge from the tent.
“It was no hassle. I did not expect the Fifth Princess of your country to be so brave. She dared to go on the lake despite not knowing how to swim. She is really brave.” Bai Yihao accepted a handkerchief that his servant handed him. He wiped his wet hair and smiled carelessly.
“Fifth Sister has always been a match for men. She is also very gracious when dealing with things. She is the legal daughter of the Empress. Our parents and the Ding General Manor all like Fifth Sister.” Feng Yuran was a very charming man. His gaze landed on the First Prince, who was listening to him intently and then looked away. Then, he stopped smiling and said lightly, “Fifth Sister has always been in poor health, it is not good for her to travel too far.”
Then, she immediately looked into Bai Yichen’s deep eyes. His tone changed and he said lazily with a laugh, “First Prince, if Father and Mother find out that you saved my Fifth Sister, they will definitely thank you profusely. When I return to the palace, the palace will definitely visit with many gifts to thank you.”
He was going to use the ties between their countries to deny that anything else happened between the First Prince and the Fifth Princess!
Bai Yichen’s plot to make the Fifth Princess fall into the lake was not just for the ties between the two countries. His original intention was for him and the Fifth Princess to hug closely in their drenched clothing. The Fifth Princess would lose her reputation then. The rules of the Great Qin was even more strict than that of Yan Kingdom. Accordingly, Emperor Zongwen would definitely want him to take responsibility and marry the Fifth Princess.
However, if the matter was to escalate to be that of two countries, then the reputation of the princess would not be at stake!
After such a long time spent on his plots, the First Prince would not allow the Fifth Princess to escape from his hands just like that.
Bai Yihao felt displeased when he heard what Feng Yuran said. However, his expression remained dispassionate as he said, “King Xuan, you are too kind. It is just a small matter, you don’t have to inform the Emperor. It is more important that the Fifth Princess is alright.”
When he returned, he would immediately ruin the Fifth Princess’ reputation and pull the carpet from under Bai Yihao’s feet. He did not believe that Emperor Zongwen would not give him the Fifth Princess’ hand if rumors of him and the Fifth Princess hugging while their clothes were completely drenched, as if they were not clothed, were to spread.
If one were to say that he was interested in the Fifth Princess earlier, it was mostly because she was suitable. She was important to many parties and was the best partner for marriage. Even Feng Yuran, who was always flamboyant was hinting for him to not marry the Fifth Princess. However, this made Bai Yichen even more determined.
He would get a large boost in help if he were to marry the Fifth Princess. His chances of defeating Bai Yihao would be greater.
His plot this time seemed to be going against the Empress so he could have the beauty, and it could also be seen as him rushing to Great Qin just for the beauty. All of that was to bring Bai Yihao’s attention somewhere else. It was said that Bai Yihao was very invested in the beauty who was Princess Anping. She was indeed very beautiful. He saw her from a distance earlier and felt as if his soul had been taken by her.
Even the most beautiful woman could not compare to a country!
As long as he could take the country, it would not be difficult for him to get Princess Anping. Furthermore, Princess Anping was still young. Bai Yichen had already asked around. She was just 13! He still had time.
“First Prince saved the Fifth Princess of my country. How can this be a small matter? Father still does not know about this. If he does, he will definitely thank you profusely. I will also prepare a gift of thanks.” Feng Yuran said, his long upturned eyes glimmering and flowing with beauty. There was a hint of joy in his eyes that could not be hidden and he seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief.
Rumors were that the Fifth Princess and King Xuan were both doted upon by the Emperor. Now, it seemed that the Emperor doted more on the Fifth Princess. The Fifth Princess grew even more important to Bai Yichen then.
Bai Yichen was sure of his decision then. He indicated politely once more that it was alright. After the matter between the two was settled, the two emerged from the tent, a picture of happiness and harmony.
Because of what happened to the Fifth Princess, the little boats on the surface of the lake were scrapped. Everyone gathered by the lake in small groups. They chatted, played the Qin, recited poems or painted. They were very carefree and relaxed.
Mo Xuetong rested in a small tent with Mo Lan accompanying her. She was not tired, but she had received a letter. There were only a few characters in the letter, asking her to go to the right-most tent and that the person had something to tell her.
Those were the only few characters in the letter.
However, Mo Xuetong had come for a reason. It was because the handwriting was similar to the one on the letter Mo Xueqiong had brought her the last time.
She knew that, or perhaps one could say, was certain, that the letter had been written by the First Prince of Yan Kingdom.
Mo Xuetong did not know why someone would give her a letter like that. She had realized earlier that the target of Bai Yichen, the First Prince of Yan Kingdom, should be the Fifth Princess. Earlier, when the Fifth Princess had fallen into the lake, Bai Yichen had saved her. It was impossible that he wanted to meet her. If something were to happen again, it would not be to his advantage.
However, who else could it be if it were not the First Prince of Yan Kingdom? She was not valuable. Was it because of her father? Or her mother? Mo Xuetong did not know right now and she could only take one step at a time. Of course, she felt rather frustrated as well. She only wanted to live a low-profile life but there was always someone trying to make trouble using her. She had to take a look at who it was who kept making trouble for her.
