When Feng Yuxuan came to the Jinwei Pavilion with Mo Yarui, Feng Yuran was lying on an rattan chair, with his eyes closed, under the tree in front of the pavilion. Two little eunuchs were standing behind him, fanning him.
“Eighth brother, are you feeling alright?” That was what Feng Yuxuan saw when he entered. A smile appeared on his face and he looked around curiously. There were only a few young eunuchs who were standing by his side. He could not help but tease, “Why is there no one singing songs? You’ve changed since you married a wife.”
The last time he and Fifth Princess came here, there was a singing and dancing show. Staying here, one could see many beauties, and all of them were extraordinarily charming and attractive. Now there was only Feng Yuran. Compared to the previous scene, the change was really amazing.
“Hey, Elder Brother, you’d better stop talking about it. It’s a headache when I think about it. It’s hard for me to have a baby, but I finally lost it. Now I’m tired of seeing them. They’re all vicious. They look pretty, but they’re really evil. If this continues, I won’t have any children.”
Feng Yuran pointed to another rattan chair not far away and said lazily. He did not answer whether his body was good or not. There was evident anger in his nice eyes. It was evident that he loved the child in his concubine’s belly. After all, it was his first child. It was reasonable for him to beat concubines to death given his wild temper.
Feng Yuxuan had been watching Feng Yuran’s reaction all this while. When he saw Feng Yuran’s expression, a hidden smile crept on his lips.
A clever little eunuch had already moved a chair over and placed it in front of the pear blossom table. Then, he brought a jade cup and poured a cup of wine before he left respectfully. Two other little eunuchs came up and fanned his back. However, Mo Yarui could neither sit nor stand there. A chill rose in her heart when she heard Feng Yuran mention the child.
There used to be a child in her belly as well, but as a mother, she failed to protect it. At the moment, she felt as if she had been severely pricked and she almost cried because of the pain. She hurriedly lowered her head to hide the tears in her eyes. Although she had recovered, the pain in her heart could not be cured no matter how hard she tried.
That child was a pain in her heart that she would never be able to face.
Just like right now, she did her best not to look at these things. She sniffed forcefully and turned her head to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes, paying attention to what was going on before her eyes.
She was just a second consort and was not Feng Yuxuan’s official wife. There was no place for her between the two. She thought about it and curtsied politely, saying, “Greetings, Your Highness, King Xuan.”
“Is this Elder Brother’s second consort? She is indeed a gentle and intelligent beauty. No wonder you talked about Second Consort Mo. She is indeed a rare beauty. Elder Brother, you’re really lucky. You have the most beautiful woman in the Great Qin, and her cute and charming younger sister, as well as the gentle and elegant Second Consort Mo. Elder Brother, you have a lot of good fortune in love affairs.”
Feng Yuran’s gaze swept Mo Yarui’s face. He suddenly winked at Feng Yuxuan, looking as if everyone knew what he was doing. He lifted his foot and hooked a stool. Then, he tossed it in front of Mo Yarui and said, “Second Consort Mo, don’t be so polite. Please take a seat.”
His behavior was rather romantic, especially his beautiful and charming eyes. He kept staring at Mo Yarui and did not feel that it was impolite. His words made Mo Yarui so ashamed that she could not raise her head. Indeed, King Xuan was the loosest prince. He even flirted with her as if he had no idea that it was inappropriate for him to do it to his elder brother’s woman in front of his brother.
Mo Yarui’s timid gaze landed on Feng Yuxuan, who was seated beside her. She hoped that he would help her out of the situation.
“Since Eighth brother asked you to take a seat, then take a seat,” Feng Yuxuan said casually as if he did not see the awkwardness on Mo Yarui’s face. He smiled at Feng Yuran and said, “Eighth brother seems to be in good spirits. Consort Xuan seems to be in good spirits as well. Since everything is over, then don’t think too much about it. Why don’t you go and visit Father together tomorrow? There have been too many things happening recently and Father has been busy. Eighth brother, don’t stay idle any longer.”
“Elder brother, look, you’re going to drag me out now that you’re here. It’s too much of a fuss. Tell Father that I’m not feeling well and that it’s too hot and I’m afraid of getting dizzy,” Feng Yuran said in a lazy and casual tone. The last few words seemed to come from his nose, which sounded lazy and leisurely. With the way he was leaning against the rattan chair, one could tell that he was not too willing to do things for the Emperor.
“You’ve grown up, why are you afraid of hot weather? Well, Father already knew that you were okay and didn’t slack off. Tomorrow is the traditional Valentine’s Day and there is a banquet in the palace. If you don’t come, Father will be very angry. Don’t annoy him and be arrested directly. Otherwise, I can’t help you.”
Looking at his lazy expression, Feng Yuxuan shook his head helplessly and said with a smile.
On July 7th of the lunar calendar, the Empress would preside over the banquet every year at this time of the year. Since Mo Xuetong had already recovered, he could not say no to the Empress. Feng Yuran thought about it for a while and nodded. But a look of displeasure appeared on his face. His watery eyes lifted up and he asked with a hint of evilness, “Does Third Brother not know about this?”
“Father did not specify if Third Brother should be told. Furthermore, his hand is injured and Consort Yan’s leg is broken. The injury would take 300 days to recover. The two of them have ended up like this, but there is nothing we can do about it.” Feng Yuxuan smiled lightly. His eyes landed on a snow-white thumb ring on Feng Yuran’s finger and he asked with a smile, “Eighth brother’s ring is really different from the average ones. I can’t tell what it is, but it seems to be made of jade.”
“No, it’s not made of jade. It’s just a gift from someone from the Southern Barbarian Lands! It’s indeed interesting after I took a look at it. Even though it’s not anything precious, I think it was special. If you like it, I’ll give it to you,” Feng Yuran said casually and reached out to remove the ring on his finger.
“Eighth brother, you don’t have to. I just feel that it is a little special. I don’t really like it.” Feng Yuxuan reached out to stop Feng Yuran. He shook his head and said with a smile, “You should also pay attention to the Southern Barbarian Lands. Don’t act like you care about nothing. Be careful. Father may punish you for the Southern Barbarian Lands tomorrow.”
This was indeed what Emperor Zongwen had Feng Yuran do. Feng Yuran felt a headache and shook his head when he thought of it. He reached out and touched his forehead. His eyes narrowed and his lashes lowered. He seemed rather arrogant as he said lightly, “When it comes to this matter, I am really tired of it. The Southern Barbarian Lands is terrible. They can’t even protect the Crown Prince and even caused so many fights. They dragged us into this as well. We might as well get Father to destroy the Southern Barbarian Lands and stop many things from happening.”
Feng Yuxuan didn’t drink and asked the eunuch beside him to change the tea. Then he took a sip of tea and scolded with a smile, “You’re talking nonsense again. Be careful. Father will be angry when he sees you like this.”
The two sat there and chatted for a while, leaving Mo Yarui by the side as if she were not there. She looked at the stool that Feng Yuran had thrown to her and moved behind Feng Yuxuan silently. No matter what, she was a second consort of the royal family. How could she sit on a stool like a servant?
Furthermore, it was a stool that King Xuan had thrown at her.
Finally, she stood behind Feng Yuxuan and wiped away the sweat on her forehead. She lowered her head and did not dare to move. The brothers were talking loudly, but she felt bored. She was standing right behind Feng Yuxuan. There was still some shadow where she stood just now, but now the sun had moved slightly and half of her body was exposed to the sun.
As the hot sun shone down upon her, it only took a while for her to feel as if her head was light and feet were heavy and her forehead was drenched in sweat. After miscarry, and the delay of treatment, she almost died. Even though she had rested for a while, her foundation had been damaged after all. It was a little hard for her to stand up straight.
She felt dizzy. She tried her best to stand still and looked at Feng Yuxuan’s back. The man seemed to have no idea of the predicament she was in at all. He was still chatting and laughing with Feng Yuran, without noticing her. She would not be able to hold on any longer. Beads of sweat fell from her pale face and her face grew paler and paler.
“Elder Brother, does your second consort really not need to sit?” Feng Yuran, who was seated opposite her, suddenly raised his brows and blinked at Feng Yuxuan, teasing him.
Feng Yuxuan turned around to look at Mo Yarui, and asked gently, “Are you tired? Do you want to sit for a while?”
His gaze landed on the stool that Feng Yuran had just thrown to her. This made Mo Yarui’s pale face look shy and annoyed. She bit her lips and forced down the discomfort in her heart. She said softly, “Many thanks, Your Highness. I’m fine.”
Hearing her refuse, Feng Yuxuan turned around and said, “Don’t push yourself. You’d better sit down if you’re not feeling well.” Then he turned around and continued to focus on Feng Yuran.
Behind him, Mo Yarui’s body swayed and she felt a pain in her heart. She almost couldn’t stand still.
No matter how tired she was, she couldn’t sit on the stool that was brought over by her brother-in-law. It was inappropriate and against the rules. How could Feng Yuxuan who always followed the rules not know her difficulties?
“Second Consort Mo, are you feeling unwell? Do you want to come in with me and rest for a while?” Mo Xuetong walked in with a few maidservants with a smile. She looked at Mo Xuetong with gentle eyes. When she saw that Mo Yarui could not stand still any longer, she hurriedly got a maidservant to come over and help her.
Mo Yarui truly could not hold on any longer. She could only see Mo Xuetong’s beautiful eyes. They were so pure as if there was not a shred of impurity in them. Her jade-like face was beautiful and charming. Her lashes were long and dark and her skin was soft and tender. Mo Yarui turned her head forcefully and saw Feng Yuxuan turning around to look at the beautiful face, with an imperceptible hint of gentleness in the bottom of his eyes.
It was unlike his usual gentleness which was indifferent. It was a gentleness that came from the heart. There was a hint of pain in her heart. She could not help but feel sad. It was not that he did not have that gentleness. It was just that he had not met the person who he could place in his heart.
Even the arrogant Consort Ling did not expect King Chu to have someone in his heart. Furthermore, that person was…
No wonder he had brought Mo Yarui to King Xuan’s Manor today. It was because it was easier for him to get close to that person. Women fought with each other in the back yard of King Chu’s Manor. She had even lost her unborn child. It was only now that she realized that everyone was fighting for something empty. She wondered if Ling Rui’er would still be so pleased when she found out about it.
“Second Consort, Second Consort Mo…” The pain after the comprehension was accompanied by the blurry scenes before her eyes. Mo Yarui did not have time to think and fell into darkness. A teardrop slowly rolled down from the corner of her eyes and fell into the dust…
