As long as someone shouted first, others would follow. And he spoke everyone’s mind. They reached the acme of dissatisfaction with You Yue’e, only thinking that it was all because of this vicious bitch that murder happened at the King Yan’s Manor from time to time. And those who died were all second consorts and pregnant women. Such a hateful, jealous woman deserved to be punished.
Others complained about King Yan’s cowardice. Seeing that he was still protecting Consort Yan, people thought he must be afraid of Consort Yan. Consort Yan was the legitimate daughter of the Mingguo Manor. She had a noble status. No wonder King Yan was afraid of her. But he couldn’t even protect his own women and children. He was so incompetent.
How could such a useless prince bear such a great responsibility? Several of Feng Yulei’s former supporters also changed their positions at this time. If King Yan got the throne, the Mingguo Manor had the most say. This… this was really a small deficit with collusion. Such a thing must never happen.
“Your Highness!” You Yue’e was so scared that she almost cried. She’d lost her pride long ago and was just pulling Feng Yulei tightly, afraid the crowd would actually rush in and rip her apart. Those people were crazy, really crazy. How dared they do this to her?
She was Consort Yan.
But she was clear that she couldn’t put on airs. Listening to the voice of the people gradually increased and looking at the angry expression on their faces, You Yue’e now just wanted to hurry into the house. She did not want to see the crowd who had gone crazy. She was really scared.
She was so nervous that she didn’t notice Feng Yulei barely standing when she pulled him. He did not shake off her with a few flings of his sleeve, but was dragged back by her, and immediately set off a wave of rage.
There was a big space behind the King Yan’s Manor, where the small carriage of Mo Manor was parked alone.
Auntie Qing looked at the scene in horror and rubbed her swollen eyes in disbelief. This was King Yan’s Manor. These people were so bold to force King Yan through the gate and throw some rotten vegetables on Consort Yan’s head.
The female servant, crying hoarsely beside her, nudged Auntie Qing to remind her, “Auntie Qing, that’s enough. Let’s go back.”
“Okay.” Auntie Qing immediately understood and cried out, “My girl, you did die for a wrong cause!”
Then she closed her eyes, fell back, and directly fainted.
The young and old maidservants who had come with her cried out, and some of the people who were standing at the back of the crowd came to their aid and advised them to go home first.
Since Auntie Qing fainted, several old and young maidservants all lost their backbone, and immediately listened to the advice. Together they lifted Auntie Qing into the carriage. The female servant, who was also weeping, was persuaded into the carriage. Then the Mo Manor’s carriage left the King Yan’s Manor slowly.
Like the way they came, they slowly went to the Mo Manor, with women’s crying voices coming out of the car from time to time.
The carriage entered through the side door of the Mo Manor. After getting out of the carriage, the maidservants and the old maids helped Auntie Qing to rest in her yard. The last to alight was the maid who had cried most. Seeing that there was no one around, she turned and went to another direction, where Mo Xuetong lived before she got married.
Although she was not Mo Yan’s blood mother, at least she was her aunt. It was her duty to speak up for her niece. At this time, Third Miss’s people were still waiting for her to respond.
In the Mingguo Manor, You Yuecheng’s face was almost dripping with gloom.
He stormed into his study and sat motionless in front of the large desk, his eyes almost full of melancholy. Suddenly, he raised his hand and flung all the stationery on the table to the ground. His brows were almost screwed together, and he was more frightening than he had ever been.
“Your Excellency…” The manservant at the door timidly put out his head and looked at You Yuecheng. He had never seen You Yuecheng so angry as he had always been calm. The manservant was frightened.
You Yuecheng’s handsome face had a sullen smile and seemed to be able to scrape a layer of ice off it. He clenched his teeth as if about to lose his temper, but then he took a breath and calmed down. “Go and fetch that person.”
“Who… who do you mean, Your Excellency…” asked the manservant who was frightened out of his wits, looking at him anxiously.
You Yuecheng did not answer, but looked at him coldly. The manservant shuddered, then came to himself, and said, “I will bring her now, Your Excellency.” Then he ran out at once. You Yuecheng’s expression was too scary now, so he’d better stay away from him.
In the study, You Yuecheng composed himself. He looked up at the empty space in front of him, his face darkening.
If he was not mistaken, yesterday that woman returned to the Mo Manor from King Xuan’s Manor, and today the Mo Manor took action, which attacked in his unprepared point. The sudden attack left King Yan powerless to respond. Ostensibly for Mo Xueqiong, they actually set a trap and took advantage of the matter about Mo Yan, the maidservant.
She seized on another small mistake. How could You Yuecheng not be angry?
What a cunning woman she was!
She not only restored Mo Xueqiong’s reputation, but also framed his sister. You Yuecheng had a feeling that if he didn’t act, his sister You Yue’e would be in big trouble tomorrow. With such a bad reputation, how could she keep her place as Consort Yan.
“Mo Xuetong, since you make me unhappy, don’t expect to be satisfied.”
The manservant returned in a moment, followed by a timid old maid. When she entered the study, she fell to her knees, her face white with fear. “Greetings, Your Excellency.”
You Yuecheng looked down from above, his cold eyes making the old maid tremble on her knees. She knelt on all fours, not daring to say anything. After a long time, she heard the man ask, “You are Maid Li, Consort Jin’s personal maid; is that right?”
“Yes… yes, I am…” You Yuecheng’s aura was so strong that the old maid shivered and could not speak smoothly.
“Do you know what the penalty is… for imposter? An imposter will be hacked to death,” You Yuecheng said coldly. The air cooled instantly, almost crushing people.
“Yes… yes, I know… I was really Consort Jin’s maid.” Maid Li didn’t dare to mention “personal” because she was an ordinary third-class maid in Consort Jin’s yard, and it was very difficult for her to see Consort Jin. If Consort Jin had not been weak on the run, and needed support, she would have been abandoned.
You Yuecheng got up from beside the desk, walked over to the old maid, and looked down at her. “Was Consort Jin pregnant with a child?” he asked, as he watched her tremble more violently.
“Yes, yes, the consort had a baby in her belly,” replied Maid Li, like a yes man. In order to prove the truth of her words, she hastily added, “At that time, Consort Jin could not hold on for several times. Her personal nanny told her to hold on for the sake of the little princess in her belly, otherwise, the little princess could not come to the world. So she fled as hard as she could.”
You Yuecheng frowned, catching the gist of what she was saying. “Did Consort Jin know she was carrying a little princess but not a little prince?”
“Yes… yes, she knew… she had said several times that the little princess was suffering from a bad life and had not enjoyed a day’s happiness, for she had to follow others to flee for her life,” Maid Li said urgently, nodding her head.
“And then?” You Yuecheng’s voice was so flat that Maid Li could not tell any emotion from it. But she trembled even more.
She dared not conceal the story. She would have liked to embellish the story, but she dared only to tell the truth, for fear of offending You Yuecheng the man in front of her. If he sent her to the government, she was the remnant of King Jin’s Manor.
“Later, Consort Jin really could not walk any further, and the pursuers behind gradually approached. At that moment, Consort Jin seemed to be giving birth. There were several nannies and maids around her, and I could not get close to her. The situation was chaotic. Later, someone said that the pursuers were coming, and some of them scattered. That’s when they took me out. Then somehow I stepped on empty, fell, hit, and… fainted…”
The old maid was completely frightened by You Yuecheng. She answered all his questions, daring not to talk nonsense.
“When I woke up, I found no one with me. I was so scared. Just then I heard some carriages approaching. I was afraid that the pursuers were coming, so I hid immediately. Then I saw a couple of carriages pass by, and they bore the sign of the Fu General Manor, but as they came up to me, the carriages stopped suddenly, and a nanny came down and took off the sign.”
“So you didn’t see Fu General’s wife save Consort Jin, did you?” You Yuecheng said coldly after a while’s silence.
“No, I… I didn’t see… I just saw the Fu General Manor’s carriages pass by and then I secretly ran away. After that, I worked for large families.” Maid Li was frightened into a cold sweat. She wanted to please You Yuecheng with speculation and some suspicion, but he was so powerful. She regretted her covetousness for the money.
“Do you dare to say that the eldest daughter of the Fu General Manor is King Jin’s daughter?” You Yuecheng asked faintly, his eyes calming down.
The eldest daughter of the Fu General Manor was King Jin’s daughter? Maid Li did not expect that she just wanted some money but she had to be against the Fu General Manor. How dared she do such a thing? In her eyes, the Four Great Manors were high above, and inviolable. If she said that without proof, she probably wouldn’t even know how she died.
Suddenly she collapsed on the ground, crying and begging. “Your Excellency, please forgive me. I am really not clear if the First Miss of the Fu General Manor is King Jin’s daughter. I don’t want any money. Please, please let me go.”
Of course, she did not dare to be greedy for money now. She only wanted to get out of here quickly.
“You can leave now,” You Yuecheng said in an icy voice, staring at her. “Somebody, pull her down and beat her to death. She will be accused of stealing from the manor.”
After that, he turned and went behind the desk.
The manservant, who was waiting at the door, rushed in fiercely, and took the old maid by the hand to drag her out.
“Forgive me, Your Excellency, forgive me, Your Excellency. I will say that, I will!” cried the old maid sadly, holding fast to one of the doorposts. If she refused to say that, she would die a moment later; if she agreed, she might survive.
You Yuecheng waved, and the two manservants magically disappeared. Sitting down behind his desk, he asked, “What will you say?”
Maid Li was too scared to settle down. At that moment, she was afraid that You Yuecheng would not be satisfied, and she suddenly thought of something and, her eyes lighting up. She answered, “I will say that I was Consort Jin’s personal maid, and that I went to the Fu General Manor with Consort Jin. We were saved by the madam of the Fu General Manor. And Consort Jin gave birth to a daughter, who has become the daughter of the Fu General Manor, First Miss.”
Then she looked at You Yuecheng fawningly. She just wanted to live at the moment, so she would do whatever You Yuecheng wanted.
