“I… I…” Concubine Yun, who had been eloquent, stammered.
To enter the palace was like living in the sea as they could not go back at will. Some palace maids would not leave for the rest of their lives once they walked into the palace. There was nothing to discuss about family affection. Not to mention a little palace maid, even the consorts in the palace were unable to go back home as they wanted.
Many high-ranking consorts couldn’t leave the palace in their whole lives. Who could say that this order was unreasonable? Who dared to say that…?
“Concubine Yun, are you blaming me for not taking care of your family? So you came here together and asked me to allow you to go home so that you can reunite with your family? Do you need me to personally send gifts to your family to perform filial duty in your place?”
Mo Xuetong looked at Concubine Yun and the others and asked indifferently. Her words made the few of them deeply ashamed and resentful.
In the capital, no matter which manor it was, no one treated a concubine’s family as their relatives, not to mention a prince’s manor. A concubine’s status was not as useful as that of a competent first maidservant here. Furthermore, they were not an official concubine in King Xuan’s Manor. Their status was similar to that of a servant in the manor.
How could they want to go home at every festival?
If this kind of thing got out, it would only be a joke. What was more, it would be a slap in the face to ask the noble Consort Xuan to prepare gifts for them.
This time, Concubine Yun blushed, and the arrogant Concubine Qin was ashamed and hateful. Originally, she did not expect to get permission. However, Concubine Yun persuaded them again and again. As Concubine Yun was bestowed by the palace, the other two thought that maybe Mo Xuetong would accede to their request. Unexpectedly, Mo Xuetong’s words were like a direct slap in their faces. Worse, they could not think of anything to say.
They only felt that they had come today to humiliate themselves!
“My Lady, we, we just wanted to ask… We, we don’t mean anything else. I don’t dare to trouble you,” Concubine Yun stuttered with a hollow smile as she could finish her words.
“My Lady, sorry. Sister Yun was just asking. She… she didn’t mean anything. Please don’t be angry, My Lady. Please forgive us,” Concubine Wen also said in a trembling voice. She had been timid, and when she saw that Mo Xuetong’s face was stiff, she couldn’t even speak clearly and kept apologizing.
Mo Xuetong did not say anything, but the sharpness in her eyes faded a little. However, there was still no smile on her face. Her gaze fell on Concubine Qin, which made the latter a little uneasy. Helpless, Concubine Qin said, “My Lady, please forgive us. We just miss our family too much. We thought that you might understand us, so…”
“Concubine Qin, do you mean that I am not benevolent at all and do not understand how much you miss your family?” Mo Xuetong interrupted Concubine Qin impolitely, with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes. This was the first time she had spoken so sharply in front of the other concubines.
Originally, she did not care about the people in the back courtyard. But now, it seemed that these people knew how to test her. It could be seen that some things had already been done. Not wanting to beat around the bush with them at this point, Mo Xuetong went straight to the point.
“I… I’m not…” Concubine Qin almost lost control because of Mo Xuetong’s question. If Concubine Yun had not reached out to grab her, she would have lost her temper at that time. She was the legitimate daughter of a duke’s manor and devoted herself to Feng Yuran. She even went back to her home to find her father for help. She did not expect to be embarrassed by Mo Xuetong.
“Concubine Qin, you mean that you didn’t mean it. Then what do you mean? Did you take the relatives of the concubines in the duke’s manor as decent relatives? You came here together to force me to allow you to visit your family. If I don’t agree, it means that I am not understanding or kind! It’s really funny.”
Mo Xuetong did not intend to let Concubine Qin off the hook. A mocking smile appeared on her lip corners when she saw the raging anger in Concubine Qin’s eyes.
Her words completely angered Concubine Qin. The latter stood up suddenly and pushed Concubine Yun away. She walked up to Mo Xuetong straightly and her eyes were almost burning with anger. “What… what do you mean? How did Duke Wanping’s Manor offend you to make you mock our manor like that?”
“Concubine Qin, I’m not mocking your manor. I’m just sighing. I heard that you used to be the legitimate daughter of Duke Wanping’s manor. How did you get to this point? Although our manor’s servants have a status when they go out, the concubine of the manor is much worse than the legitimate daughter of a duke’s manor. I wonder why Concubine Qin was so unreasonable back then.”
The look in Mo Xuetong’s eyes did not change, but the expression on her face grew gentle. It was just that her words were still sharp. She was completely different from how she used to be as gentle as water in front of others.
Concubine Qin was so shocked that she could not even speak. Concubine Yun was so anxious that she also stood up and tried to pull Concubine Qin. At the same time, she begged Mo Xuetong for forgiveness.
“My Lady, please forgive her. Concubine Qin is so reckless because she misses her family too much. Please forgive her, My Lady.”
“Don’t worry, Concubine Yun. She’s just a concubine. At the most, I’ll have to add a pair of chopsticks in the manor. I won’t take it to heart.” Mo Xuetong smiled gently and raised her head slightly. Her disdain was obvious.
After Concubine Qin heard Mo Xuetong’s words and saw Mo Xuetong’s expression, her face turned blanched and livid. She had always been arrogant and felt that she had won Feng Yuran’s heart. She was different from the others. As the legitimate daughter of Duke Wanping’s Manor made her think highly of herself. Although she was now a concubine, in her heart, she always thought that it was only a matter of time before she became Consort Xuan.
Now that she had been repeatedly humiliated by Mo Xuetong, she was already on the verge of an explosion. She pushed away Concubine Yun’s hand forcefully. She did not care about what Concubine Yun had repeatedly told her on the way. She had always looked down on Mo Xuetong. She came here because Concubine Yun had tried to persuade her several times.
Furthermore, Concubine Yun promised that she did not need to say anything and that she just needed to listen by the side. Then, the three of them would be able to return to their own homes. The seemingly weak little Consort Xuan would be nothing without King Xuan’s protection. They had only spoken to Mo Xuetong a few times and had not truly known how capable Mo Xuetong was.
Concubine Qin had come here after she got Concubine Yun’s promise. Now that she was angry, she could not care less about Concubine Yun and rushed to Mo Xuetong angrily.
Mo Yu, who stood behind Mo Xuetong, stepped forward and blocked Concubine Qin’s way. She said coldly, “Concubine Qin, please take note of your identity!”
Standing behind Mo Xuetong, she had had long since been disgusted with Concubine Qin. She was just a concubine, but she dared to rush in front of Consort Xuan. Mo Ye had heard about what happened in the back courtyard and learned that Concubine Qin thought that she was the legitimate daughter of a duke’s manor and thus she had been proud and looked down on others. She was also very picky about the servants in King Xuan’s Manor, as if she was the mistress, Consort Xuan. It was very annoying.
At this time, seeing that she dared to rush over and confront Mo Xuetong, Mo Yu couldn’t stand it.
Concubine Qin wanted to rush up and argue with Mo Xuetong. Now that she was stopped by a lowly maidservant, she only felt mad. All her anger, which was caused by Mo Xuetong, rushed up now. Regardless of the identity of Mo Yu as Mo Xuetong’s close maidservant, she only felt that as she, a lowly maidservant, dared to humiliate her, she really wished to die.
She raised her hand and slapped on Mo Yu’s face viciously while scolding angrily, “Get out of my way, you lowly maidservant. I am talking to Mo Xuetong. You lowly maidservant, how dare you stop me!”
However, before her hand landed on Mo Yu’s face, someone had already caught her. Before she could see who it was, she had already been slapped on the face. “Concubine Qin, please figure out your identity. The one standing in front of you is Her Lady, but you are just a lowly concubine. How dare you, a lowly concubine, directly offend Her Lady? You really act recklessly and blindly.”
Her words were sharp and vicious. Coupled with the slap on her right cheek and the pain she felt, Concubine Qin stumbled and turned around to see the angry Mo Lan. This was Mo Xuetong’s personal maidservant, so she knew her. There was a sharp look on the maidservant’s gentle face and a deep warning in her voice.
“Concubine Qin, this is Her Lady. No matter who you used to be, you are a member of King Xuan’s Manor once you enter the manor. If Her Lady wants you to do something, you can only do it. Even if she wants to kill you, Duke Wanping can’t say anything about it.”
Her words were like a basin of ice water, which made Concubine Qin feel cold almost from her heart to the soles of her feet!
A concubine, she was a concubine now! Just a concubine!
Once she went out of the manor and met her father, the latter had repeatedly warned her. Now her father’s words came back to her eerily. Her lips trembled subconsciously. She was stunned and stood where she was, supported by Concubine Wen. She did not know what to do next.
“Concubine Qin, believe it or not. Even if I kill you now, no one dares to say anything.” When Mo Xuetong said this, she looked sharply at the three concubines present. The three of them were immediately frightened by the powerful aura she exuded. For a moment, no one dared to step forward and argue.
Concubine Yun was the first to react when she saw the cold expression on Mo Xuetong’s face. She released Concubine Qin and kept apologizing, “My Lady, sorry, I’m sorry. Concubine Qin only misses her family too much. That’s why she said those words… My Lady, please forgive her on account that it’s her first offense.”
Mo Xuetong looked at Concubine Qin, who appeared defiant but had to endure it, as a faint smile appeared on her lip corners. She had to endure it. It was really hard to endure, especially for a young lady like Concubine Qin, who had grown up as a legitimate daughter. She had never really been bullied like this.
It seemed that she would vent her anger on Concubine Yun, who had dragged her here by force. Without Concubine Qin as a shield, how could Concubine Yun use the arrogant lady of Duke Wanping’s Manor?
However, given Concubine Yun was in such a hurry to take Concubine Qin here today, were they going to take action? Coincidentally, Auntie Qing was going to see the old maidservant of King Ning’s Manor tomorrow, wasn’t she? Then, Mo Xuetong would deal with them together.
Anyway, it made no difference to see one or two people. The Empress Dowager behind King Ning’s Manor was going to make a move, and Imperial Noble Consort Wen behind the Sixth Princess was also a vicious person. If the two were to confront each other, who knew who was more powerful…
