“That’d work. I can be a companion to Consort Xuan.” Li Youmo said with a smile. He continued, without hiding anything from Mo Xuetong. He pulled out a file and handed it to Feng Yuran with a mocking laugh. “Your Highness, King Chu is indeed in contact with the First Prince of Yan. King Ning is also in contact with the First Prince. It seems that the First Prince of Yan has a big appetite. He would be able to get help from Qin no matter who gets the throne. He won’t be losing out at all.”
Feng Yuran took the file and looked at it. A devilish smile appeared on the corners of his lips. Then, he scoffed coldly, “The First Prince of Yan indeed has a big appetite. However, he is interfering with too much. We’ll deal him with a strong blow and see if he still has time to meddle in the affairs of Qin Kingdom.”
Feng Yuran had never liked the First Prince of Yan. He was ambitious but did not have talent. He was no match for Bai Yihao. He did not settle the matters of his own country first but instead meddled with the internal affairs of Qin. Was the First Prince too arrogant or did he not know what dying was? No one could save him once the trouble started just based on what he was doing now in the back of the palace.
Li Youmo suddenly changed the topic. “Alright. Then what shall we do with the southern barbarians?”
Mo Xuetong, who had been looking down, was shocked!
The Southern Barbarian Lands?
The Southern Barbarian Lands!
In her past life, Feng Yuran had gone to the Southern Barbarian Lands and then went missing. Mo Xuetong felt afraid of the Southern Barbarian Lands for an unknown reason.
She clenched her fists under her sleeves and listened to the conversation, afraid that she would miss something.
Li Youmo tapped his fingers on the table and said with a meaningful smile. “I heard the crown prince of the Southern Barbarians is coming here. I heard that he even brought the Southern Barbarian Princess. The two countries will be connected by marriage. However, I don’t know who will marry the Princess. I heard that she is the most beautiful woman of the Southern Barbarian Lands.”
The Southern Barbarian Princess was coming to get married to someone from Qin?
Mo Xuetong cleverly caught Li Youmo’s point. Her eyebrows scrunched up slightly where the men could not see. In her past life, she had heard about this incident as well. However, a major accident happened afterward. She had been in the back courtyard of the Duke Zhenguo’s Manor then and could not even take care of herself, much less care about others. She only recalled vaguely that it was quite a big matter.
Then, the most beautiful woman of the Southern Barbarian Lands did not marry anyone. She returned to the Southern Barbarian Lands.
However, not long after that, a war started between the Qin Kingdom and the Southern Barbarian Lands. After what happened to Feng Yuran, he immediately went to war as general and never returned. Didn’t that mean that the most beautiful woman of the Southern Barbarian Lands had something to do with Feng Yuran? Or perhaps something happened then and the two nations parted on bad terms?
Otherwise, Feng Yuran was unmarried then and the Southern Barbarian Lands had been interested in cementing the relationship between two countries by marriage. The marriage was a done deal. Why else would so many things happen after that?
Feng Yuran might have sensed Mo Xuetong’s unease. He reached out to hold her cold hands under the table. Then, he held her hands in his large warm ones and patted them comfortingly.
The immense uneasiness abated with his comforting. Mo Xuetong looked up slightly at his gentle smile. He wore an ostentatious purple robe and was always charming and dazzling! He was looking at her from the corner of his eyes lazily but also gently and soothingly.
He was a visual blow. He was like the emperor in the dark night who controlled everything!
Mo Xuetong pulled her back slightly and then stayed still in his large palms obediently. At that moment, he made her feel safe!
No matter what happened in her past life, and no matter who married him in her past life, he was hers in this life! Everything had changed. The Southern Barbarian Princess’ marriage had nothing to do with him because he already had her!
Feng Yuran said after he picked up his teacup and took a sip from it. “The Southern Barbarians will only come after some time. Gather more information, especially about the Southern Barbarian Crown Prince.”
Li Youmo said confusedly. “He is a sickly and dying crown prince. There’s no need to pay that much attention to him, is there!”
The Crown Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands was born a sickly child. He could become the crown prince only because his mother had saved the Southern Barbarian Emperor while she was pregnant with him. The Emperor was fine and the Empress was said to have gone into early labor. She died after having the baby, and that baby naturally became the crown prince.
The crown prince had been startled as an unborn child and had also suffered some injuries. That was why he was ill after being born. He consumed large quantities of medication and was very poorly. It was said that the new Empress had a son who was very powerful. That boy was the favorite of the new Empress.
“The Crown Prince is sickly and dying. He does not have the support of the back of the palace. Back then, all that his mother had done for the Emperor has already been forgotten with time. You only ever hear of the new victors laughing. Have you heard of the losers crying? The old Emperor has the new Empress now and also a healthy and strong son. The Crown Prince has only one path, and that is to die. However, he is doing fine. That is enough to prove that he is not a simple man.”
A devilish smile appeared on Feng Yuran’s handsome face. His almond-shaped eyes narrowed as he spoke meaningfully.
Li Youmo thought about it. He had to acknowledge that Feng Yuran did make sense. He nodded and replied, “Your Highness, you are right. It seems that the Crown Prince is not as weak and useless as the rumors say about him. We ought to gather more information lest he dies in Qin and gets us into trouble.”
“Dies in Qin?”
Mo Xuetong’s heart skipped a beat and she tightened her hold on Feng Yuran subconsciously. It felt as if the clouds in her mind were rolling up into a gigantic wave. It seemed… It seemed… In her past life, something did really happen to the Crown Prince. And this had something to do with the Princes. However, her mind was really muddled. She could not remember what exactly happened.
She had been stuck in the back courtyard and had been humiliated by others. Even her closest maids were trapped in there with her. All the news that she received from the outside world came from Sima Lingyun intentionally. Otherwise, she would not have known anything. She remembered that this was something a concubine of Sima Lingyun told her in a bid to flaunt about how much she was doted upon by Sima Lingyun. Mo Xuetong did not know anything else.
She truly regretted it now. If she had heard anything else about it, she would have been able to have more information now.
Feng Yuran said lazily, “I will trouble you then. Check if the Southern Barbarians have made any suspicious moves as well. For example, the most powerful prince and his mother.” He squeezed Mo Xuetong’s hand and even took the time to glance at her with his almond-shaped eyes. He winked at her playfully and his lips curled up. He seemed to be very laid back.
Li Youmo glanced at the buns in front of Mo Xuetong and teased Feng Yuran having gotten through their business. “Your Highness, what trouble could that be. You did not come just for this today, did you? I heard that you ordered the staff very early on to get fresh crab roe to make these buns. It can’t just be these ones in front of us!”
Mo Xuetong flushed and could not raise her head. Her frenzied heart felt sweet because of those words. So he had already thought of taking her out. He knew that she would not be able to eat her fill at the banquet and this was not a spur of the moment idea. She felt as if she was being taken care of and a rosy hue appeared on her pale cheeks.
Feng Yuran turned to look at Mo Xuetong. A spark of laughter flashed in his eyes as he explained the situation to Li Youmo in a rare good mood. “There is too much mingling to do at a banquet and you can never eat your fill. I thought that the buns here were not bad the last time, so we came to satiate our hunger.”
A crafty look flashed in Li Youmo’s eyes. He still brought up the matter even though he could see the buns placed in front of Mo Xuetong. “Your Highness, do you like eating buns? You said you didn’t like how it tasted the last time you came. Why did you especially order the staff to make it today? Do you like it now?”
Mo Xuetong was surprised. She knew that Li Youmo had brought up the matter intentionally. However, she anticipated Li Youmo teasing Feng Yuran. She glanced at Feng Yuran with a flush on her face, wanting to see how he would react.
Feng Yuran laughed loudly and did not feel awkward at all. Instead, he looked at Mo Xuetong, looking straight into her beautiful eyes that were stealing glances at him. Her eyes were crystal clear and charming. There was also a hint of shyness in them. However, he could also see that she was waiting to watch how he would react. She was extremely adorable.
The devilishness in his handsome eyes abated and there was an additional gentleness in his eyes.
Mo Xuetong felt as if she were lost in his deep and dark eyes.
Li Youmo said with a smile. He did not want to play gooseberry and stood up. “Alright, alright, don’t show off how lovey-dovey you are in front of me. I shall go home and be lovey-dovey with my wife now.”
Feng Yuran raised his eyebrows as he looked at Li Youmo with a vague and devilish smile. “I heard that you fought with Yu Mingyong a few days ago. Does your wife not mind?”
Mo Xuetong looked up at that and stared at Li Youmo.
“Oh, Your Highness knows me well!” Feng Yuran mentioned what was troubling Li Youmo and Li Youmo’s expression turned into one of bitterness. He sat down again and gulped down his tea. Then, he turned to look pitifully at Mo Xuetong and said, “My Lady, you have to help me. Your cousin still refuses to let me in. I didn’t mean to do it, but that stupid Yu Mingyong did something wrong and implicated me.”
Mo Xuetong did not know what happened and she looked at Feng Yuran with dissatisfaction in her glowing eyes. She turned to Li Youmo and asked, “What happened? Why did you fight with Yu Mingyong? Did you really… fight with him for the most popular courtesan?”
The first time she met Li Youmo, she thought that he was not as annoying as the regular playboys from wealthy families. His gaze was also bright and clear. Then, he had appeared while Mo Xuemin met You Yuecheng in secret and revealed how Mo Xuemin had been meeting a man at night. After that, he almost married Mo Xuemin.
Mo Xuetong remembered how he had slapped Mo Xuemin the first time he visited the Mo Manor. Mo Xuetong had been secretly pleased then.
After that, when Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun plotted against her in the palace, Li Youmo had also appeared. He had plucked Sima Lingyun from the crowd then and it could be said that he again helped Mo Xuetong.
After that, it was the Fifth Princess’s birthday banquet. Consort Yu and Ling Fengyan had plotted against her. Li Youmo had spoken up for her against them with cold and sharp words. Even though he did not say much, his words had managed to hit the point every time. He managed to say what she could not. Mo Xuetong was very grateful to him. However, she frowned now and was a little uncertain.
She felt uneasy for Luo Mingzhu!
Was Li Youmo really a playboy?
“My Lady, you have wronged me. How could I be like Yu Mingyong?” Li Youmo complained when he saw the suspicious look Mo Xuetong gave him. He turned to say to Feng Yuran, “Your Highness, you have to speak up for me. Be my witness. I really didn’t do anything to Yu Mingyong. But that rascal just doesn’t like that I am doing well. He saw me inviting the girl home and he came to cause trouble. It was a mess.”
“Oh, you know about it too?” Mo Xuetong looked at Feng Yuran with displeasure. Did he make Li Youmo fight for the courtesan!
