The banquet officially began. Although the young masters and young ladies could chat a little by the flowers and under the moon, men and women were arranged in two different rows of seats separated by a line of tall flowers and plants. However, when they stood, they could still see each other, even when seated, they could dimly see each other’s face through the flowers and grass.
Mo Xuetong was arranged to sit by Ling Rui’er’s right hand. Since King Ning did not have the legitimate consort, and Consort Yan was constrained in the manor, only Mo Xuetong and Ling Rui’er were there, so the arrangement of the seats was reasonable.
But the proper arrangement of seats did not mean that it was appropriate in the real sense.
Seeing Mo Xuetong sit beside her, Ling Rui’er’s eyes fell on Mo Xuetong with sneer and disdain, and she said, “Mo Xuetong, you still have the nerve to sit here! You are really big-hearted! Do you think the place is familiar to you? At that time, your illegitimate sister was said to seduce the King here. And your sisters did have a tacit agreement. The eldest one seduced our King while the youngest one seduced King Yan. The daughters of the Mo Manor are really low.”
Ling Rui’er remembered the South Pearl head accessory. To get the set of accessory, she had been begging Feng Yuxuan in a coy manner many times, but Feng Yuxuan always refused her. Unexpectedly, Feng Yuxuan just gave it to King Xuan so nicely. She had an intuition that the person Feng Yuxuan wanted to give to was actually Mo Xuetong. At this thought, Ling Rui’er was full of jealousy and angry.
It was as if Mo Xuetong had intentionally asked Feng Yuxuan for this set of South Pearl head accessory so as to give a slap on Ling Rui’er’s face. However, Ling Rui’er did not realize that it was Feng Yuxuan himself who insisted to give it away, which had nothing to do with Mo Xuetong. Could it be that Feng Yuxuan did not intend to present it, but Mo Xuetong asked for it? Besides, Feng Yuxuan did it with a bad intention that he tried to entice Mo Xuetong to opened the Duo La Box.
Looking at Ling Rui’er making trouble out of nothing, Mo Xuetong raised her head with a faint smile on her lips and uttered slowly, but the words were completely opposite to the gentle smile on her face, “If Consort Chu feels embarrassed, you can choose not to sit here. If Consort Chu does not like to see me, I don’t want to see you, either. As for whether others are low or not, Consort Chu can look at yourself.”
Ling Rui’er had plotted against Mo Xuetong more than once. Even though Ling Rui’er had never succeeded, it was obvious how narrow-minded and vicious she was. Mo Xuetong was unwilling to have much to do with her, so decided to strike back straightforward.
Mo Xuetong’s remarks were extremely sharp, utterly different from the gentle manner that Mo Xuetong usually behaved in. Ling Rui’er was stunned by the scolding, and she had not expected Mo Xuetong, who had always looked weak, to retaliate so sharply. Ling Rui’er collected herself gradually and glared at Mo Xuetong, as if a fire were about to erupt from her eyes and she was about to go mad.
She was the third miss of the Ding General Manor, and was the Consort Chu of high status. When had she ever been scolded low in public? “Mo Xuetong, you bitch! Did you deliberately spill the watermelon juice on me today and humiliate me? Right? You always act flirtatiously in front of His Highness, and now you tried to make me look like a fool. Are you trying to seduce His Highness? Mo Xuetong!”
The more Ling Rui’er thought, the more likely it was. She felt that even though the maidservant knocked her hand, the watermelon juice should be spilled outward, but how could it be poured on her dress, making her new dress dirty all over? At that moment, so many people were in the garden to see her embarrassed appearance. How could Ling Rui’er, who had always been proud and arrogant, not get so furious that her lungs were about to explode?
She almost squeezed out the last three words through her teeth, full of frightening chill.
“Consort Chu, you’re so strange. If you really think there’s something wrong with King Chu, why don’t you ask him face to face? Why are you biting others like a rabid dog? Does Consort Chu think that King Chu does not take you seriously at all? Or does King Chu still keep your elder sister in his mind, so you are worried about your position? Well, it’s really a pity. As for Second Miss Ling’s beautiful face, how can Consort Chu compare to her?”
Looking at Ling Rui’er like this, Mo Xuetong suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to laugh. Even then, did Ling Rui’er still think that Feng Yuxuan was loyal to her? Back then, beautiful as Ling Fengyan had been, she had died at Feng Yuxuan’s hands. Even though she had passed away, Ling Rui’er still disliked it.
That was why she was so sensitive to Feng Yuxuan’s actions.
Mo Xuetong simply leaned back and blinked her watery eyes, looking at Ling Rui’er’s clothes up and down. She said, “Consort Chu, your clothes are really beautiful. But I remember that Second Miss Ling seemed to have the same ones. Or these clothes are hers? King Chu loves your sister so much that he is still unwilling to let go of her in his heart. Consort Chu, you are more like a substitute for your second sister in King Chu’s heart!”
Her words sounded praises for Ling Fengyan seemingly, but were the innuendo that Ling Rui’er was good for nothing, and that Feng Yuxuan would marry Ling Rui’er merely because Ling Fengyan was gone and Ling Rui’er was a substitute for Ling Fengyan. Mo Xuetong didn’t say it intentionally, because she knew that Feng Yuxuan did not like Ling Fengyan, either. Otherwise, she would not have been forced to commit suicide by taking poison so as to frame Wang Yueyue.
But the words made Ling Rui’er grit her teeth in anger, but unable to refute them.
Feng Yuxuan treated Ling Rui’er well with tenderness. However, he never allowed her to enter the study room. Whether she coquetted or became angry, Feng Yuxuan never backed down. Once, when Feng Yuxuan went to the military camp, Ling Rui’er went to his study room secretly and saw a Ling Fengyan’s portrait, which he locked in his study desk. It turned out that that was why Feng Yuxuan did not allow Ling Rui’er to enter the room.
Ling Rui’er thought, the King still loved the second sister obviously. If Ling Rui’er had not married Feng Yuxuan, she would certainly be happy for Ling Fengyan. But now Ling Rui’er was infuriated by the thought. What charm did Ling Fengyan have for seizing the King’s heart, since she was dead? Could Ling Rui’er, the living Consort Chu, not even compare to a dead person?
“Consort Chu, don’t be angry. It will go to waste if you get angry with such a beautiful face. At that time, you won’t have any position in King Chu’s heart. It’s easy to contend against a living person, but it’s impossible to contend against a dead one. Not to mention King Chu, both the Empress Dowager’ and the Empress know that Second Miss Ling is the most suitable Consort Chu.”
Mo Xuetong looked leisurely with a smile on her lips, and continued to strike at Ling Rui’er with words.
“Others only say that Consort Chu enjoy a lot of glory, and that the Empress Dowager and the Empress are your backings. But in fact, look at the Empress Dowager and the Empress, who really want to protect you? I heard that due to the thing happening in the Empress Dowager’s palace last time, Duke Ding called you back and scolded you sharply. And this time, it’s not a big deal that a concubine lost the baby in her belly. But in the end, you were almost demoted into the lowest concubine. Consort Chu, it seems that your position of the legitimate wife is not stable. Even your aunt is scheming against you.”
Mo Xuetong lifted her lips slightly and lowered her voice without any intentional disdain. However, facts spoke louder than words. In the Empress had really wanted to protect Ling Rui’er last time, Ling Rui’er would not have almost created a disaster. If the Ding General Manor had not stated clearly its stand, Ling Rui’er would have been a joke of the Ding General Manor, a useless chess piece.
This was enough to drive Ling Rui’er mad in rage.
Taunted by Mo Xuetong again and again, Ling Rui’er, with little shrewdness, could not bear it any longer. She stood up abruptly and slapped toward Mo Xuetong sharply, as she scolded, “You… b*tch! You are speaking nonsense…”
Mo Xuetong held on to Mo Ye who was about to step forward. Then, Mo Xuetong moved slightly to one side to avoid the key point of Ling Rui’er’s force, and just got flipped on her face. Taking advantage of the momentum of Ling Rui’er’s palm, Mo Xuetong stumbled, as if she were unable to stand straight any longer, and she fell backward abruptly. Because Ling Rui’er stood up and assumed the slap too quickly, and Mo Xuetong seemed to be beaten away, the table shook, the cups and bowls on it shook wildly, and all the people were shocked and looked at them subconsciously.
Just now, all the people had talks in pairs, so no one notice Ling Rui’er and Mo Xuetong. Now they saw Ling Rui’er slap Mo Xuetong arrogantly, and almost flip the table upside down, so they felt disgusted with Ling Rui’er’s arrogance. They had heard that Consort Chu once blocked Consort Xuan, and now Consort Chu slapped Consort Xuan, and it happened in the palace! How arrogant would Ling Rui’er be so that she dared to do so? Or how domineering would the daughters of the Ding General Manor be so that she dared to commit that?
Anyhow, she was Consort Xuan, and King Xuan did not seem to take it lying down easily.
On the other side of the table. “Tong’er, what’s going on?” Sure enough, King Xuan’s lazy and angry voice rang from the other side of the table. Seeing an accident happen, Feng Yuran stood up immediately, his attractive eyes filled with coldness. He turned around the flower shelf in anger and walked to Mo Xuetong who fell on Mo Ye. Seeing Mo Xuetong cover her face in tears and grievance, he turned around suddenly, as if he were about to slap Ling Rui’er.
Ling Rui’er was so frightened that she took three steps back. Seeing the Emperor’s solemn face and the chilly eyes of Feng Yuxuan who followed here, Ling Rui’er hurried to explain in a loud voice, “Aunt Empress, it’s she who provoked me…”
“Your Highness, it’s my fault. Don’t blame Consort Chu. It’s because I mentioned your past consort, and Consort Chu got so angry!” Mo Xuetong’s eyes were filled with tears, and even her long lashes were soaked in tears. A trace of grievance flashed in her pure and beautiful eyes. She covered her face with one hand, but a red and swelling print was visible on her white and tender face. Evidently, Ling Rui’er slapped so heavily. But Mo Xuetong still held on Feng Yuran’s hand, which immediately won people’s favor a lot.
Consort Xuan was really sensible.
Of course, Ling Rui’er, King Chu’s consort, was losing the good graces of the people present. Since one just mentioned something about her sister, how could she invert that she was provoked to do so? Did she want to obliterate the fact that she was the King Chu’s second legitimate wife? If Ling Fengyan were still alive, how could Ling Rui’er have the chance to become Consort Chu?
Feng Yuxuan also saw them and rebuked her angrily, “Apologize to Consort Xuan!”
His eyes fell on Mo Xuetong’s face. Sad and timid as the face showed, she still pretended to be strong. Feng Yuxuan felt his heart was being torn. Although Mo Xuetong did not rest her eyes on his face from beginning to end, he could not suppress the anger in his heart at the sight of her enchanting and slightly red eyes.
“Your Highness, she said that…” Looking incredulously at the angry expression on Feng Yuxuan’s gentle face, Ling Rui’er was so worried that she was about to cry, pointed at Mo Xuetong, and hurled, “Your Highness, it was this bi*ch who brought this up. She was the one…”
“Snap!” The answer to her was a slap from Feng Yuxuan, which made her withdraw two steps and fall on the ground forcefully. She covered her right face with one hand, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of her lips. Feng Yuxuan was a man after all, a man good at martial arts. So his slap was much heavier than Ling Rui’er’s.
“Eighth Brother, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I hope that you and your Eighth Sister-in-law can forgive her once.” Feng Yuxuan did not even look at Ling Rui’er. Instead, he apologized deeply to the furious Feng Yuran.
