When Mo Xuetong and Feng Yuran returned to King Xuan’s Manor, Crown Prince Xieyue and Princess Caifeng had not returned yet. Feng Yuran sent someone to ask about it and heard that King Yan had invited them over. He could not help but sneer and brought Mo Xuetong to the main courtyard. It would be better if Princess Caifeng was willing to get involved with Feng Yulei.
Feng Yulei’s sudden release had already caught Feng Yuxuan and Feng Yuzhen off guard. The two of them had not done anything to Feng Yulei earlier because they thought that Feng Yulei would not have a chance to rise again. However, they did not expect that Feng Yulei would be released at this national banquet. Furthermore, Princess Caifeng was obviously very interested in him. It would be strange if the two of them could sit still.
Feng Yuran sent Mo Xuetong to the main courtyard and told her to leave the Crown Prince and Princess of the Southern Barbarian Lands alone. Anyway, their courtyards were close to the second door; Aunt Xianglan was in charge of Princess Caifeng’s courtyard and she would arrange everything. He told Mo Xuetong not to pay any attention to them before he returned to his Jinwei Pavilion.
King Xuan’s Manor was no longer the one full of women looking for trouble. Other than the few concubines who needed to be there, Feng Yuran had already prepared his men to guard it closely.
Mo Xuetong knew that he still had something to do, so she did not ask him to stay. Since she had just woken up, she did not want to sleep any longer. As such, she asked Mo Lan to stay in the room and had a chat with her. While they were talking, Aunt Xianglan who was in charge of the Princess’ courtyard came to say that Miss Hu, who had come to the Qin Kingdom with Princess Caifeng, heard that Consort Xuan had come back and wanted to come and visit.
Mo Xuetong did not expect that there was another guest to entartain. She thought for a moment and said, “Invite Miss Hu here.” Anyway, they were guests from afar, so she had to meet them. Given that she had been claiming to be sick before, Mo Xuetong asked Mo Lan to put a big screen in front of the bed. Then, she used ginger water to dye her face yellow, loosened her hair, and lay on the bed. Now half of her face was covered, and the muslin bed curtains were draping around the bed.
As soon as they finished doing it, Hu Qianyue and her maidservant followed Aunt Xianglan into the main courtyard where Mo Xuetong lived.
A national banquet was held today. Hu Qianyue had her own purpose for coming here with Princess Caifeng, but it could not be told to others. To outsiders, she only said that Princess Caifeng needed her company, so she came here all the way and would go back later. On their way here, she was very solicitous to Princess Caifeng, and the latter was also very pleased with her.
Today, she had been considering who she should send to kill Mo Xuetong in the yard out the city while keeping an eye on the front yard to see if the Crown Prince and Princess had come back. She didn’t expect that the Crown Prince and Princess didn’t come back but she learned the news about Consort Xuan’s return. It was said that she came back with King Xuan. However, the Crown Prince and Princess, who came to the banquet with the King Xuan, didn’t come back with him.
It was not that Hu Qianyue was worried that something would happen to the two of them. However, she could not understand why King Xuan, as the host, did not accompany them but came back first. An idea flashed through her mind. Could it be that Consort Xuan was seriously ill? She was delighted but still had doubts. Then she came to visit Mo Xuetong to find out the truth.
She followed the maidservant to the main courtyard of the manor. The scenery was so beautiful that Hu Qianyue, who often admired the Southern Barbarian Lands’ palace, could not help but sigh in admiration. Trees shaded the roads; flowers and grass swayed; there were also rockeries and streams. From time to time, she could see red tiles among the green trees. It was a serene view. A few red leaves fell from the trees and danced with the wind above the road paved with oval stones, making her feel peaceful and at ease. It seemed that King Xuan’s little wife did have a fine taste.
Hu Qianyue speculated what kind of person Mo Xuetong was as she walked. Was she gentle, proud and weak? Judging from both the news she got from others and what she felt, Hu Qianyue reckoned that Consort Xuan was easy to get along with. So she entered Mo Xuetong’s courtyard confidently.
Standing at the door was maidservant who was so beautiful that others almost thought that she was a noble lady. If she had not seen the maidservant dressed in ordinary maidservant’ clothes, she would have made a mistake. Consort Xuan was in poor health, but she had such a beautiful maidservant beside her. Wasn’t she afraid that the maidservant would climb into King Xuan’s bed?
In this way, this maidservant would have already slept with King Xuan long ago. In other words, she was a maidservant who served in bed.
“Greetings, Miss Hu.” Mo Lan gave a respectful bow.
Hu Qianyue made a gesture to help her up and asked politely, “Don’t be so polite. Is Her Lady inside?” If she was the maidservant serving King Xuan in bed, she could not offend her rashly.
“Her Lady is inside. But she is not feeling well and can only lying in bed. I hope you don’t mind it, Miss Hu,” Mo Lan said, apologizing on behalf of Mo Xuetong. She meant that Mo Xuetong was gravely ill and did not want to be disturbed.
“It is me who is disturupting Her Lady’s rest. I’ll leave after greeting Her Lady.” However, this girl did not leave. Instead, she was smiling and speaking politely, which made it difficult for Mo Lan to drive her away. Seeing that she insisted on going in, Mo Lan had no choice but to lead her into the room.
As they walked into the room, there was a tall screen in the middle, in front of which was a table and a chair.
“Miss Hu, please have a seat. I will make tea.” Mo Lan backed out of the room respectfully.
“Miss Hu, please… I’m really in poor health, and afraid that you’ll be infected… I’m sorry.” A woman’s intermittent words came from behind the screen. At the sound of it, Hu Qianyue knew that the person inside was short of vigor. It was obvious that she was really sick. She exchanged glances with the maidservant beside her, and their eyes flashed with bright light. Then they both looked away.
“My Lady, you don’t have to be so polite. I just came in a hurry. As soon as I heard that you were back, I rushed over to see you and forgot that it would disturb you.” Hu Qianyue sat down with composure, picked up a cup of tea that Mo Lan had made, and took a sip before she answered the question from behind the screen with a smile. It seemed that Consort Xuan was seriously ill. It was better for her to have a look at her. If she was really going to die of illness, she didn’t need to bother so much and just needed to do something to her medicine, and the sick woman would die soon.
“Miss Hu, you’re too polite. Princess Caifeng and you will live in our manor. If there’s anything you need, just tell Aunt Xianglan. I might not be able to entertain you in person. If there’s anything I oversight… please pardon me,” the person inside wheezed, her words punctured by faint coughs.
“The woman inside is really going to die, isn’t she?”
Hu Qianyue was overjoyed, but she was a thoughtful person, so she was still a little unconvinced. After thinking for a while, she stood up and walked towards the screen, saying, “My Lady, you cough so severely. Let me see if I can cure your disease. Besides, I’ve brought some medicinal materials that are unique to the Southern Barbarian Lands to stop coughing. If you need some, just tell me.”
She moved so quickly that no one expected her to walk over as soon as she said. By the time Mo Lan realized what was going on, Hu Qianyue had already crossed the screen and got to Mo Xuetong’s bed. Fortunately, Mo Ye also guarded in front of Mo Xuetong’s bed. She stretched out her hand to block Hu Qianyue’s way.
“Miss Hu, please halt. The imperial physician said that Her Lady cannot withstand the cold. You rushed in like this and brought the wind to Her Lady. Her Lady’s illness will worsen.” Mo Ye stopped Hu Qianyue and looked at her with an unfriendly expression.
Through the muslin bed curtains hanging before the bed, Hu Qianyue had actually had a clear sight of the woman in bed. Her hair was messy, and half of it was loose. Her face looked sallow and green, and a small half of her face was exposed, which appeared to be yellowish and unremarkable.
It was said that Consort Xuan was almost as beautiful as Second Miss Ling of Ding General Manor, who was the most beautiful woman in the Great Qin in the past. Now, it seemed that she was a far cry from the latter. Second Miss Ling was a great beauty, who could make people’s heart ache for her. As for Consort Xuan, even the maidservants in the manor were more attractive than her.
Could it be that she was really gravely ill? And so she had taken the initiative to select maidservants to serve King Xuan in bed and concubines for her husband, hadn’t? Hu Qianyue had heard that Consort Xuan had begged the Emperor to promote the concubines who did not have any status in King Xuan’s Manor. Thus, this was likely to be Consort Xuan’s idea as well.
It was a good idea. Even if she were to die, she was doing her best to make King Xuan miss her. Even if someone were to marry King Xuan and be taken into this manor in the future, King Xuan would still save a place for her. How could a living person ever compete with a dead one?
“My Lady, I’m sorry. I was too rude. I just wanted to take a look at you. I didn’t expect it to make your condition even worse,” Hu Qianyue said apologetically, yet she did not retreat. Instead, she continued to size up Mo Xuetong who was behind the muslin bed curtains. Even though there were the curtains, she still took another look at her before feeling relieved. Consort Xuan did not have much time left.
“Thank you, Miss Hu… I’m already so ill. It makes no difference whether you treat it or not…” Mo Xuetong coughed again in a low voice. She was quite comfortable lying in the bed, and she could clearly see Hu Qianyue’s expression through the curtains. There was something wrong with her.
Hu Qianyue rolled her eyes and looked around. She seemed to have seen everything. Mo Xuetong did not expect that Hu Qianyue, who was brought by Princess Caifeng, was probably a person hard to deal with. She even barged into her room without her permission. Fortunately, she had been wary of Princess Caifeng and was prepared for this. She had long disguised as a sick person and was just waiting for Hu Qianyue to come over to check her out.
If she didn’t come, she would be really anxious.
“My Lady, don’t worry. You are still young, and it’s quick for you to recover even when you are ill. It’s not a big deal. I hope you can get better as soon as possible and continue to be the lovely couple with His Highness. Princess Caifeng and I have to disturb you for about a month. My Lady, you must get well and accompany us to go out for a walk.”
Hu Qianyue had already seen all the furniture in the room. She could see that the decorations in the room were luxious. King Xuan must have treated Consort Xuan well. Fortunately, Consort Xuan did not have many days to live. As long as Princess Caifeng spent a lot of time with King Xuan, she was sure that the promiscuous King Xuan would not be able to resist the princess’ seduction.
Since there was nothing else to see, Hu Qianyue obediently backed away from the bed and sat in front of the screen again. She drank tea and chatted with Mo Xuetong for a while. Just as she put down her teacup and was about to stand up to bid Mo Xuetong goodbye, she suddenly heard a maidservant running toward the room. “My Lady, come on. Princess, Princess Caifeng was injured by a carriage,” she shouted before she could reach the door.
