Mo Xuetong continued. She did not look at Auntie Fang again. Instead, she turned around and left. Her light ringing laugher rang behind her and grew softer as she left the courtyard.
In her past life, she had been completely destroyed. Her heart had grown bitter with hatred before her death. And now, she had finally gotten what she wanted!
Auntie Fang was at the end of her life. Even if Mo Xuetong allowed her to live, she would not be able to live for long.
“Ahh… Slut, slut… Damnable slut…” Auntie Fang forced herself to get up. She rushed at Mo Xuetong’s figure with a crazed and ferocious expression. Her hair was in a mess and she looked like a madwoman.
However, before she could finish venting, the curtains lifted again silently. Mdm Yu stood at the entrance expressionlessly. She looked at Auntie Fang sadly…
“Eldest Sister, help me. You have to help me. We have to kill the little slut. Kill her. Min’er and Yu’er will be fine. Feng’er will be fine too.” Auntie Fang muttered to herself as she looked at Mdm Yu. Her eyes were terrifyingly crazed.
“Younger Sister, I cannot help you anymore. I am now a wife of the Qin family. I still have Feng’er. I… I cannot help you to hurt others.” Mdm Yu’s face was pale and her fingers shook slightly. She heard everything clearly outside earlier. When she thought of the Qin family and Feng’er, she did not have any other thoughts of hurting Mo Xuetong.
She could only think of how to send Auntie Fang away. If Lord Qin or Old Madam Qin were to find out that she had taken Auntie Fang in, it would not end well.
A flash of determination appeared in her eyes. She must not harm her son!
Feng’er was preparing for a major exam now. She must not harm the entire Qin family because of the little guilt she felt toward Auntie Fang.
She glanced at Auntie Fang who pleaded with her eyes. Mdm Yu sighed. She must not implicate the entire Qin family.
“Eldest Sister… Eldest Sister… please, please help me.” Auntie Fang immediately noticed that something was wrong when she saw Mdm Yu’s gaze darken. She pleaded loudly with Mdm Yu.
However, the curtains lifted and Mdm Yu did not enter again. Two burly maids entered and dragged and pulled Auntie Fang to a waiting carriage at the back door. The carriage took her to a remote nunnery in the mountains. It sounded as if it were for Auntie Fang to clear her heart and mind of worldly desires but women who were sent here could only die in front of Buddha.
Knowing that Auntie Fang had been abandoned there, the nuns in the temple did not allow her to lie down for another day. They led her out to do chores. Auntie Fang did not last many days there before dying in a ditch. These were all tales for the later.
Mo Xuetong brought Mo Ye and Mo Lan out of the remote courtyard. It was sunny and the sinister, dark, and cold aura seemed to have disappeared altogether suddenly. Mo Xuetong stood there, looked up, and breathed out deeply. It was as if she were expelling all the matters that had troubled and pained her inside.
“My Lady, Mdm Yu has entered.” Mo Ye whispered in her ear.
Mo Xuetong nodded. She did not speak. She had said what she did at the end for Mdm Yu to hear. She believed that Mdm Yu would not help Auntie Fang if she had a tiny bit of rationality. Mdm Yu had not done anything after getting back from Auntie Fang’s. It seemed that she had been hesitant as well.
Mo Xuetong had not intended to let Mdm Yu off. However, Mdm Yu was different from Auntie Fang. Mdm Yu was the madam of the Qin family. If anything were to happen, it would affect the reputation of the whole Qin family. Furthermore, she had always been wary of Qin Yufeng. She had a feeling that she must not truly incur his wrath.
“Cousin Tong.” The elegant and gentle voice was right in front. It belonged to Qin Yufeng, whom she had been thinking about.
Mo Xuetong looked at Qin Yufeng. He stood under the sunlight with a warm smile. Mo Xuetong suddenly felt as if she were looking at him from afar. He felt near, yet distant. It felt for a moment as if she had traveled through time and space.
He was a sinister person. He had hurt her again and again. However, at this moment, she could not bring herself to hate him…
“Cousin Feng! Why are you here and not entertaining the guests at the front courtyard instead?” Mo Xuetong could not understand what that odd and familiar sensation was. A gentle smile appeared on her face. Even though there was a guarded look in her eyes, she quickly hid it and made herself appear courteous.
They were not far away from the courtyard Mo Xuetong went to earlier. Mo Xuetong could not determine whether Qin Yufeng had seen her entering and talking to Auntie Fang. She would not be suspicious if he had been anyone else. However, he was Qin Yufeng. Given his wits and intelligence, it was really hard to say.
“I have something on and returned to the back courtyard to get something. However, there aren’t any great sights in the back courtyard. What is Cousin Tong doing here?” Qin Yufeng smiled slightly. He wore a luxurious patterned blue robe. There was a smile on the corners of his lips. He seemed kind and gentle as he approached. There was even a hint of happiness in his eyes.
This was the first time Mo Xuetong had gotten close to him. She could not help the slightly unnatural expression that appeared on her face. She took a small step backward and a gentle smile appeared on her child-like face. She appeared young and innocent under the beautiful sunlight and was very captivating.
“I am not here to admire any great sights. It was very stuffy up in front, so I came to take a walk. This place is really similar to the old manor in Cloud City. It’s as if I’m back there again!” She looked at him with a faint smile. She blinked her lively eyes which flashed with slight happiness. The back courtyard of the Qin Manor was really familiar. Back then, she had not left it a single time for more than a year.
“Was it very tough back then?” Qin Yufeng followed the direction of her gaze and looked at a tree by the side. There was a hint of darkness in his eyes.
Mo Xuetong paused for a moment. Then, she understood that he was talking about what happened in Cloud City. She had entered the Qin Manor as a sickly person. Auntie Fang had not left behind a single cent for her and all the money she had was her savings. Even though Old Madam Qin was friendly to her because of Mo Huawen, Mdm Yu had been outright mean to her.
The servants in the manor all buttered up to the favored and dissed those who were not. Who would treat her well from their heart given that she was a penniless orphan? If Qin Yuxuan had not lent her a helping hand from time to time, she would have died a long time ago!
“It was not that tough. Cousin Xuan had always protected me and Grandaunt was very nice to me.” Mo Xuetong answered casually. However, she did not mention Mdm Yu.
Even though Mdm Yu had tried to kill her only once and usually treated her with fake benevolence, she had indeed been mean to Mo Xuetong. Mo Xuetong did not wish to butter up to Qin Yufeng and intentionally make Mdm Yu appear friendly. Given Qin Yufeng’s scheming personality, she did not have to say that for Qin Yufeng to know. As such, she did not wish to present a false appearance of goodwill between the two.
She had been lied to in her past life and died. Qin Yufeng had a hand in that. In this life, she just wanted to stay far away from him.
Qin Yufeng looked at Mo Xuetong’s face. His eyes, which were so deep and dark that one could not see anything in them suddenly flashed with laughter than Mo Xuetong understood. It was not perfunctory laughter, but a joy that came from the heart. That smile made him seem gentle, elegant, and more congenial.
For a moment, Mo Xuetong even felt that he would not hurt her!
However, she immediately cleared up these ridiculous thoughts that she had. Who was the man in front of her? It was the most mysterious Qin Yufeng. If one could see through his so easily, would he have set up that scam in her past life? Even until her death, she had thought that he had hurt her because he was in love with Mo Xuemin.
Even after everything that happened, she still did not understand what he was up to. One could tell from this how devious he was!
“Grandmother has something that she wants me to give to you in private. Since you are here, you might as well go with me to retrieve it.” Qin Yufeng said with a slight smile. It was as if he did not notice the distant coldness in her eyes. He smiled slightly and pointed to the path in front of them.
Qin Yufeng had not encountered her by chance. He had waited here especially for her!
Mo Xuetong’s eyes tightened and a flash of coldness appeared at the corners of her eyes. She looked at where Qin Yufeng had come from. After a long while, she smiled and said lightly, “What is it that Grandaunt wants to give me?”
She did not think that going with Qin Yufeng was a good idea. She wanted to get as far away from this person as possible. It could be said that Mo Xuetong’s past life had been destroyed mostly by Qin Yufeng, who hid behind Mo Xuemin. If she still did not learn from the lesson she paid for in blood, then she probably would not know how she died in this life as well.
“I heard that when Cousin Tong was in Cloud City, you liked a painting in Grandmother’s room. Grandmother brought it with her this time on her trip to the capital. However, she did not have a chance to give it to you, so she left it with me. She told me to go and give it to you when I am free. However, I have been busy with exams recently and forgot all about it. It is such a coincidence for us to meet here now!”
Qin Yufeng said softly. It was as if he knew that Mo Xuetong would not just leave with him so easily. He smiled elegantly and appeared to be a charming young man. In her past life, she had died early and did not know if he had cheated everyone with his appearance. Feng Yuxuan must have gotten the throne with his help.
Or perhaps, the high and prominent position as emperor was not difficult for him to attain!
However, the painting he mentioned made Mo Xuetong’s heart stutter.
Mo Xuetong naturally remembered that painting. She had paid attention to it because her mother was the model for the painting. The painting was of her mother as a child, playing among flowers. Her mother was not the only girl in the painting. There were two other girls. Only the side profile of a girl and the back of the other girl could be seen in the painting.
Mo Xuetong had seen the painting at Old Madam Qin’s by chance. Even though Old Madam Qin did not say anything outright, she could sense that the girl in the painting was her mother. She had looked at the painting again and again. She liked it a lot but did not ask for it in the end.
After all, she was just an orphan girl living under someone’s roof then. She had no right to ask Old Madam Qin for it!
Back then, she thought she had been very careful. She did not expect Old Madam Qin to notice that. After all, she was just a young girl at 11 years old. She did not know how to hide her emotions.
She had always wanted that painting. She was still a child when her mother passed away. There were no paintings of her mother left behind. When she thinks of her mother now, she can only remember a woman who was as pale as snow. However, the lively girl in the painting had once been her mother. She would rather see her mother like that.
After a moment of hesitation, Mo Xuetong bit her lips. It was a difficult decision to make!
If the person in front of her had been Qin Yuxuan, she would have followed him without a second word. However, he was Qin Yufeng…
“Cousin Tong, you just have to go and get it with me. My study is at the entrance of the inner courtyard. You do not have to go to the outer courtyard.” Qin Yufeng knew what she was worried about when he saw her hesitate. He smiled graciously.
Mo Xuetong looked up. Her long lashes fluttered as she looked at him. Then, she smiled slightly and said, “Alright, then I will have to trouble Cousin Feng.”
Since Old Madam Qin had given her than painting, she was determined to get it. They were in the Qin Manor. If anything were to happen to her, Feng Yuran would not let Qin Yufeng off. Even if he investigated and found out that the Qin Manor had nothing to do with it, everyone knew that Feng Yuran was unreasonable. They could not predict what he would do. As such, she was going to bet that Qin Yufeng would not do anything to her right now.
Furthermore, Qin Yufeng was more intelligent than most. He was book smart but was not a good fighter. Mo Xuetong had Mo Ye with her. If they were to fight, she might not be at a disadvantage.
Having decided that, Mo Xuetong did not hesitate any longer and nodded.
