In the end, the matter in the Cining Palace was picked up high and gently put down. Not only did they not investigate it deeply, but they also took a generous attitude to Second Miss He who acted disrespectfully in the court. The Emperor also took it lightly. He only asked the He family to take her back to reflect on herself and paid for Empress Dowager’s missing head accessories.
The He family was originally a rich family in Jiangnan, so they could still afford the money. They immediately went to the palace to thank Consort Zhao and Consort Yu and directly made up for the money.
Although He Yuxiu got such a bad reputation, it at least made the He family save face. However, many people could see that the Emperor not only made the He family save face, but also made Consort Zhao and Consort Yu save face. Some people had learned about it in private that this Second Miss He was not only Consort Zhao’s niece, but also would soon become Consort Yu’s sister-in-law.
If the rumors of what happened that day were to spread, both Consort Zhao and Consort Yu would lose face.
Some well-informed people even said that the Empress Dowager had fallen ill because of what happened that day. She had been lying in bed again in the past few days. It was said that Consort Yu and Consort Zhao had both gone to ask for pardon. Even the Emperor had gone there several times in person. It was not known whether it was for Consort Yu’s sake or for Consort Zhao’s sake. Anyway, the Empress Dowager had not investigated it further in the end.
How could she be fine after such a big thing happened? All of a sudden, the high-ranking people in the capital city paid attention to the unknown He family. Some people even came to propose marriage to the first miss of the He family.
Yu Mingyong and He Yuxiu’s marriage went as planned, and the date of the marriage was set on the day a month later.
These matters had nothing to do with Mo Xuetong. Early in the morning, she had received Luo Mingzhu’s letter that said the Old Madam of the Fu General was ill. Luo Mingzhu asked Mo Xuetong to visit the Fu General Manor together.
“Grandmother is ill? Why didn’t the Fu General Manor send me a message?”
Mo Xuetong thought for a moment and sent someone to reply Luo Mingzhu’s message. She said that she would be there in a while.
Mo Yu went to prepare gifts and Mo Lan dressed her up. Then, she hurried out in light-colored clothes.
The carriage had already stopped outside the manor. She got on the horse carriage and hurried to the Fu General Manor. Her grandmother’s health was getting worse and worse these days. She had been ill for half a month. How could she fall ill again after she just recovered? Bai Yihao had left a few prescriptions of medicinal herbs for the Old Madam in the past.
However, since Bai Yihao left, the following prescriptions were all general prescriptions. Although they were not bad, they were not very good.
Mo Xuetong frowned in the carriage. She was thinking about where she could find a famous doctor to treat the Old Madam. Even though she could do a few simple treatments herself, her focus was on defending against poison and discerning poison. The Old Madam was really ill and she was at a loss now. She should have learned some treatment methods from Bai Yihao.
Mo Xuetong should at least help the Old Madam to take care of her health with the medicine dishes. In her past life, the Old Madam always had not been in good health. She was gone after she could not take it anymore. In this life, Sima Lingyun’s Duke Zhenguo’s Manor had fallen. The Fu General Manor would not be defeated by Sima Lingyun again. However, the Old Madam’s health had always been poor and it kept worrying Mo Xuetong.
When they arrived at the Fu General Manor, Nanny Shen, who was by the Old Madam’s side, had already been waiting by the door. When she saw Mo Xuetong getting out of the carriage, she hurried to greet her and said with a smile, “Second Miss just that My Lady would be here soon. Old Madam heard My Lady was coming, so she asked me to wait here. I just arrived and My Lady came immediately. If you go in now, how happy will the Old Madam be?”
Mo Xuetong asked with a smile as she held Mo Ye’s arm and walked in. “Second Cousin is already here?”
“Yes, she is. Old Madam said that she didn’t have a serious disease. She just had a slight headache and had a little fever. It’s not a serious illness. However, it made My Lady and Second Miss visit her again. It’s too troublesome. But I think the Old Madam is still happy though she said that. She was much more energetic than before when she saw Second Miss.”
Mo Xuetong keenly grasped the point in Nanny Shen’s words and asked, “How could grandma get a fever?”
At this time, the weather was still hot and the Old Madam was being served by so many people. How could she get a headache and fever for no reason?
Nanny Shen thought about it and answered in detail, “It’s not a big deal… The Old Madam went around the back courtyard for a while and said that she missed Miss and stayed in Miss’ original room for a long time. Maybe she had caught a cold at that time. After she came back… she felt a little uncomfortable.”
Mo Xuetong did not miss the hesitation and sadness in Nanny Shen’s eyes. Of course, she knew that the so-called miss was referring to her mother.
The Old Madam of the Fu General was truly kind to her mother. Even her biological daughter was no more than that. As such, in Mo Xuetong’s heart, the Old Madam had always been her real grandmother.
Thinking that her grandmother caught a cold in her mother’s room, Mo Xuetong felt a little suspicious. She heard that her mother used to be poor in health, so she lived in a sunny place. The place was full of sunshine and the light was also good. Moreover, it was hot at this time, so it was not easy to catch a cold. How could her grandmother feel uncomfortable after staying in the room for a while!
However, judging from Nanny Shen’s intentions, she would not make it clear to Mo Xuetong. As such, Mo Xuetong decided not to ask.
When they arrived in the inner room, the maidservant picked up the curtains. When Mo Xuetong entered, she saw Old Madam leaning against the couch, her head wrapped in a headband. Her expression looked rather good. She was smiling as she talked to Luo Mingzhu. When she saw Mo Xuetong entering, she was so happy that she grinned from ear to ear. She kept calling Mo Xuetong to come over.
When she held Mo Xuetong’s hand and looked at the eyes similar to Luo Xia’s, the Old Madam could not help but think of her daughter who had suffered a lot. She started to feel sad again.
“Grandmother, what’s wrong? Cousin Tong is here, but you’re crying. If I had known it earlier, I wouldn’t have asked Cousin Tong to come, and I wouldn’t have made you sad.” Luo Mingzhu’s expression looked good. She reached out and tugged on the Old Madam’s hand and shook it in a flattering manner. She smiled and persuaded the Old Madam. “If you continue like this, I will get jealous. As soon as you see Cousin Tong, you throw me aside. You don’t dote on me at all.”
Her angry but cute look made the Old Madam happy. She wiped her tears and reached out to pat Luo Mingzhu with a smile. “You little girl, you’re married and you’re still making fun of me. You know that your aunt passed away very early. Your Cousin Tong usually doesn’t even have anyone to care for her. I feel uncomfortable whenever I think of how your Cousin Tong endures all the pain in her heart.”
Tears began to well up in the Old Madam’s eyes as she spoke.
Mo Huawen had married Xu Yan and was also very good to Xu Yan. The Old Madam could not say anything about it. However, she had always hated Mo Huawen for leaving his legitimate daughter in Cloud City. She felt that Mo Huawen had a unshirkable responsibility for Luo Xia’s death. She could not help but bring it up now and felt that Mo Xuetong was pitiful even more.
Mo Xuetong smiled sweetly. She held the Old Madam’s hand and looked at her with filial affection. “Grandmother, Tong’er is fine now. Why would anything happen to me? Look, Grandmother, you’re so careless and caught a cold. You’re so old and you have to be more careful. Second Cousin and I are really worried about you.” The Old Madam felt sad again and started to wipe away her tears.
Luo Mingzhu hurriedly changed the topic when she saw that the Old Madam became sad again. She excitedly suggested. “That’s right. Grandmother, look at you. You feel sad about Aunt and hurt your body. She will feel bad if she sees you from up there. And there are still Cousin Tong and me. Are we two so useless that you have to think of these useless things again and again? Grandmother, I think that you shouldn’t stay at home all the time. In a few days, you should go to the temple outside the city to burn incense and have a few vegetarian meals to relax with Cousin Tong and me.”
Mo Xuetong agreed readily. Even though her nose was sore, she still pretended to be happy. “Alright. Grandmother, it just so happens that we can go together.”
The Old Madam’s interest was lifted when she saw the two of them were extremely interested. She kept saying yes and said that she would go tomorrow. She looked as if she wanted to get there right away.
Luo Mingzhu and Mo Xuetong tried everything they could to managed to persuade the Old Madam to stop talking about setting off tomorrow. At least, they had to wait until she was fully recovered before they could leave. Otherwise, no one was allowed to go.
Mo Xuetong and Luo Mingzhu only walked around the garden at noon after they had lunch with the Old Madam and served her medicine.
The two of them walked in front, and the maidservants were all sent to follow them from afar.
Mo Xuetong knew that Luo Mingzhu had something to tell her, so she also asked Mo Ye and the others to stood at a place away from her.
She secretly sized Luo Mingzhu up and felt the latter looked much better than she had seen that day. Even though she was smiling that day, Luo Mingzhu’s smile did not reach the bottom of her eyes. Now, Luo Mingzhu’s eyes were so charming that she looked very happy. Mo Xuetong could not help but sigh in relief. It seemed that Li Youmo and Luo Mingzhu had made it clear.
Luo Mingzhu took a few steps and suddenly stood under the tree. She looked at Mo Xuetong and smiled gratefully. “Cousin Tong, thank you.”
Mo Xuetong knew that she was talking about how she had gone to try to persuade Luo Mingzhu that day. She smiled and turned to look at Luo Mingzhu. She teased coyly, “It looks like you’ve made up with Cousin-in-law. It turns out that he didn’t fight for the most popular courtesan for himself that day!”
Luo Mingzhu’s face flushed when Mo Xuetong mentioned the courtesan. She felt a little guilty when she thought of how she had shut Li Youmo outside without even asking. However, she immediately felt that it was sweet. He had been locked outside the door by her. He had not told anyone anything because he was afraid that she would be reprimanded by Old Madam Li and had even ordered the people around him to shut their mouths. Only then would she be able to avoid the Old Madam’s blame.
Luo Mingzhu smiled and continued walking forward. “Your cousin-in-law told me.”
Even though she did not say it very clearly, Mo Xuetong knew that Li Youmo must have said it all. Mo Xuetong could not help but smile. It was important for a husband and wife to be honest with each other. She hoped that Li Youmo and Second Cousin could really support and get along well with each other after this incident.
An idea came to Mo Xuetong’s mind and she asked suddenly, “Did my cousin-in-law ask you to come today?”
Luo Mingzhu flushed and said awkwardly, “It’s not all about him. Grandmother is ill… We should come and see her together.”
Mo Xuetong smiled oddly. She glanced at Luo Mingzhu from the corners of her eyes and teased the latter. “I know, I know. It’s not about my cousin-in-law. It’s all because Second Cousin missed Grandmother that you called me over.”
Luo Mingzhu’s face flushed when she heard that. She said a little angrily, “Alright, then I won’t say anything. I’m just here today to visit Grandmother and I don’t have anything else to say.”
After that, she turned around and was about to leave.
Mo Xuetong hurried to reach out to hold her hand and flatteringly shook it with a sweet smile. “Cousin, I was just joking. Alright, I apologize. Will my apology do!”
Luo Mingzhu said with a serious face, “No, you don’t have a good attitude.” She just smiled with her eyes curved.
Mo Xuetong blinked her bright eyes and let go of Luo Mingzhu’s hand. She backed away for two steps, looking as if she was going to salute Luo Mingzhu in the most respectful manner. “Alright. Second Cousin, you’re so generous and you should forgive me this time. I’ll bow in respect before you here.”
It immediately startled Luo Mingzhu. Mo Xuetong was an officially special-grade consort. How could a consort bow to her? She tugged on Mo Xuetong’s hand and said hurriedly, “You want to kill me? Alright, alright, you’re a smart girl. I’ll tell you what it is!”
In the past few days, Feng Yuran and Li Youmo both had been very busy. It was not easy for them to get to meet each other. As such, when it so happened that it was not a big deal, Li Youmo had only asked Luo Mingzhu to tell Feng Yuran that he’d settled the matter.
