However, Mo Qianxue walked over steadily and calm, without a ghost of panic.
These people knew that she was here already but still created such a scene only to scare her. If she panicked, was scared or irritated, she would fall right into the trap.
"Master Mo, elders, and brothers." She displayed a small smile, bowed slightly to everybody and then looked up to screen over the group of people.
Although with a gauze on her forehead and blood stains on her white clothes, her beauty wasn't at all injured by it. Instead, somehow an air of chill and nobility was formed around her, which dominated over the front hall that had been set up by those people.
Master Mo had believed that this time by catching her unprepared, she would be thrown into a fluster and mess. Then under his severe reprimand, she would listen to him obediently and promise to voluntarily apply to the Emperor for giving up the duke title.
He had planned to firstly get back his position as the master and then get back his losses.
But to his surprise, she walked in courteously without any fault that he could pick. Yet, an old ginger is spicier than a new one! Master Mo, furious, put on a fake smile, "Qianxue, since you're back, why didn't you visit me, your uncle, and or send people to greet?"
Mo Qianxue cursed him secretly but still replied respectfully, "I just returned yesterday and was summoned to the imperial palace by her majesty. On the way back, I was attacked. I guess, master Mo knew this already. After I slaughtered all those rioters and escaped, it was too late, so I didn't go to visit you because on the one hand, my visit would delay your rest, and on the other hand, the Mo clan might get involved in it."
She wouldn't call him uncle.
Master Mo and uncle were two entirely different addressing terms, containing different emotions.
The master was only the boss of the clan, but an uncle had the right to interfere in her domestic affairs. Seeing that Mo Qianxue didn't call him uncle, a glitter of viciousness flashed by in master Mo's eyes.
She knew that her act would get him involved? Then she shouldn't have returned. She shouldn't haven lived in this world.
Vicious thoughts hidden in his heart, his tongue was as sweet as honey, "Don't say that. We're families. Uncle isn't that kind of man. If you have told me about yesterday, I would send people to help…"
Help? She was afraid he would send people to help kill her.
Mo Qianxue replied politely, "Thanks for caring. But it's a matter of the Founder mansion. I shouldn't drag the Mo family into this and get blamed."
He hated her but still maintained the face work. Master Mo quickly shifted to another topic and asked concernedly, "Is your injure alright? As a girl, you just stay at home. The Mo girls should enjoy a comfortable life at home. I can help you in everything. In the future, just let your three brothers manage the troublesome things of the Founder mansion."
So this was the opening statement of forcing her to hand over the power. The first elder of the Mo clan continued pretentiously, "I agree. You're a girl. You don't know those things. Just let boys manage those."
The second elder nodded too, "Yes. A girl should stay at home and do embroider and the sort. To be a graceful and filial lady is what you should do to become a female role model." The voice sounded commanding and threatening.
Before they came in, they had already held despise and regarded her as a spoiled girl, younger than fifteen, who had little knowledge. Hence, their plan was to say some sweet words first to make her happy and then coax her into the trap. But things didn't go as planned, so they started to act tough.
Master Mo had kicked it off, and the shameless elders said seemingly nice words.
Mo Zihua and Mo Ziye also stepped in from time to time, one claiming that if sister Mo needed, he would try his best to help her, the other saying that he was ready to help her at any moment.
Only Mo Zitang stood there silent. His mild countenance contained a trace of contempt towards his two brothers. Mo Qianxue wasn't one of those ignorant girls, so she saw his expressions and kept them in mind.
In the last life, she had experienced all kinds of shameless people in the business world. What she had learnt wasn't a bit less than those old guys.
From the first word of master Mo, she knew the rest of his speech would be trash.
Once she acknowledged him as uncle, it meant he was family.
Then, if she disobeyed him, they would accuse her of disrespecting a senior.
Although she was a member of the Mo clan, she was more the lady of the Founder mansion. As long as she didn't recognize him as uncle, they couldn't blackmail her with blood ties. Besides, nanny Mo had told her that her father never called him brother but only master Mo.
Her father didn't recognize him either!
Let the three brothers help her? The actual subtext was to make her to voluntarily alienate the privileges and duke title of the Founder mansion to them.
Did she look that stupid and easy to cheat?
It seemed she should give them a taste of her fist and let them know whose place this was.
Anyway, she had already displayed enough courtesy to the master and elders. Now it was time to throw out tough words.
Suddenly, Mo Qianxue put on a cold face, "The matters of the Founder mansion are my business, which have nothing to do with the Mo clan. Please don't regard them as one thing." What she meant was obvious. She not only turned him down regarding his proposal to let the three brothers help her, but also took back his rights to step in the matters of the Founder mansion.
Master Mo was irritated from humiliation, "Mo Qianxue! Even your father didn't dare to treat me like this. You…you disrespected me." Mo Qianxue sneered at his irritation, "I didn't say a single word of disrespect. Why are you accusing me?"
Their attempt to use this accusation to control her would be futile. If the soft methods didn't work, then they should use tough ones. This girl had been timid since she was little. Probably, the reason why she was able to get out of the imperial palace alive was because the Emperor showed mercy due to the military power and her father's military feats to the country.
"It's ridiculous for you, a girl, to inherit the duke title."
Master Mo lost his patience, "Seven days later, you present application to the Emperor, saying that you as a girl aren't able to manage the affairs of the Founder mansion and transfer the duke title to the Mo family. Then, I'll find you a good husband and give you enough dowry. You can just live your comfortable life."
"The title was left by father and granted by the Emperor. I don't have the right to transfer it to others. Master, do you want me to become infilial or disrespectful to the Emperor?" She was also a master of accusation.
"Furthermore, although my Founder mansion is surnamed Mo, it has little to do with you. Why should you prepare dowry for me?"
"How dare you!" Hearing these, the first elder thumped the table and stood up, scolding, "You little girl should talk back to master. Do you really respect the clan rules?!"
"You're the one disrespect rules. The imperial power goes before a clan. Here is the Founder mansion, a place under imperial power, instead of your Mo mansion where you abuse illegal punishment at your will."
Mo Qianxue sneered, the gauze around her forehead seeming to forming a layer of ice, emitting endless cold air.
Just because her father had passed away, they thought she became a pushover that they could bully easily? No way! Mo Qianxue never had a soft bone!
When others did her a favor, she paid back ten times.
She wanted to be a kind person. As long as other didn't go too far, she could forgive them with a laughter the first time they bullied her. The second time, she fought back. The third time, she wouldn't show any mercy even if that was the Emperor.
"You…" Not having expected Mo Qianxue could be so direct, the first elder pissed off and was speechless.
When it came to the imperial authority, he, a mere elder of a clan without official rank, couldn't or didn't dare to say anything.
As the negotiation went into an impasse, master Mo patted the table and scolded, "Mo Qianxue, don't you dare to be expelled out of the Mo clan?"
"Expel?" Was it a honorary clan? Even if he didn't, she herself wished to announce to the world that she had nothing to do with the Mo family.
Yet, the hell world and clan rules didn't allow her to do so.
"Master Mo, you don't think I'm too stupid to know that the assassinations in August and a few days ago were all arranged by you, do you? I didn't mention this only because of father. But don't ruin it."
Master Mo stared numbly at the girl before him. She was merely a childish young girl less than fifteen years old, but the air and eloquence was simply incredible.
Mo Qianxue's bare gaze and sharp words made him speechless. How could she know it after he had done it so secretly?
How on earth did she know it?
A chill rose up from the bottom of his heart. Instantly the site sunk into complete silence. Although everybody knew the two assassinations, it was still embarrassing when taken out onto the table.
Besides the chill and shock shared by all the others, master Mo also suffered a sense of loss of something right before his eyes. She must have known by guessing. If there were hard proofs, she would have long reported to the Emperor instead of arguing with him right now. He shouldn't let this girl stay anymore!
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"I believe you and everybody else know crystal clear whether I'm talking nonsense or not."
At once, the elders coughed uneasily, which dragged the master back from his thought. Indeed, it was unnecessary to argue over this matter. Too much argument over this, even without hard proofs from Mo Qianxue, would cause public discussion if known by others.
"It's understandable you little girl suspects a lot after losing your parents. I forgive you about this." Master Mo quickly changed his attitude.
"Let's put aside other staff first. I'd like to ask you: based on what did you apply for a three-year halt of allowance as a punishment? It's your fault to have killed the beggars. You should pay for that. But why did you use the allowance of the Mo clan? From now on, every month, I'll send people to take the allowance from the Founder mansion, in the exact amount. In a word, the Mo clan doesn't pay for your fault."
Shameless! To the extreme!
This was sheer robbery! Mo Qianxue flew into a complete fury.
The allowance of the Mo clan? It was the Founder mansion's allowance!
"That's the allowance of the Founder mansion, not property of your Mo clan. I, as the heir of the Founder mansion, have the right to dispose it. Don't bother to care."
"You…you say it again…" Master Mo hit the ceiling while the several elders were dumbfounded too. They had always regarded the Founder mansion's allowance as the public property of the Mo clan.
"It's the same if to say it again! Since when did the Founder mansion's allowance become your Mo clan's property? Do you regard the imperial edict as a meaningless paper? What about you and I go to the imperial palace to ask his majesty?"
Mo Qianxue became increasingly aggressive and every of her words stabbed into his heart like a dagger. Master Mo jumped up from the chair. When the Emperor and the imperial edict was involved, no matter how bold he was, he didn't dare to say more.
Their opponent definitely wasn't a lamb as imagined. She was a battle wolf.
"If you dared to come again for it, I'll invite my butler to make a good calculation of the Mo clan's property and take back every land, silver, stores and other properties you got from the Founder mansion one by one."
The master and elders couldn't at all cope with Mo Qianxue's fierce attitude.
Master Mo turned silent. By careful calculation, most of the Mo clan's property came from the Founder mansion and madam Mo's betrothal presents. If these were taken back, without source of income, the Mo clan would be demoted to the third level again. This girl shouldn't be alive anymore. He must work out a new plan!
Master Mo stared at Mo Qianxue for a long while, snorted without saying anything, and turned away to leave. Since he left, it was pointless for the elders to stay anymore, so they also stood up and left. The group of people coming with their head holding high left like fleeing rats.
Before they got out of the door, the second elder still struggled to throw out threatening words, "Let's wait and see. Nobody shall take away the Mo's property." Mo Zitang, Mo Zihua and Mo Zitang, with no more drama to watch, also followed and got out of the front hall, but they didn't leave but only went back to their own courtyards.
When passing by Mo Qianxue, Mo Zihua and Mo Ziye exchanged a look to embarrass Mo Qianxue by bumping against her from both sides. Unexpectedly, they were caught up by the butler in advance and thrown out.
Previously, the butler bore with them because the Founder and madam had deceased while lady was nowhere to be found. Now with this purpose, he would try his best to help lady protect her belongings.
He had smiled at the Mos only because he feared that lady couldn't handle it and would suffer in the future, so he stood in between to create a space for friendliness.
Now that faces had been torn, he didn't need to care anymore. His plan now became to try every means to let them leave on their own. He wouldn't drive them away so as not to generate discussion about lady's unkindness.
When Mo Zitang passed by Mo Qianxue, he didn't stir up a trouble but whispered an apology in a low voice and then paced out unhurriedly.
The other two lying on the ground jumped up and were about to argue with the butler but were dragged away by Mo Zitang.
Mo Qianxue's face was somber. Although she won this battle, she was still so mad. Wanting to take a seat and rest, she remembered that these chairs had been touched by those assholes.
Blood rushing to her head, she scolded, "Smash all the chairs in this hall, and buy new ones!" The butler certainly understood the reason and replied, "The tables and chairs are too old. It's time to purchase new ones." This reply satisfied Mo Qianxue very much. The reason shouldn't be articulated to arouse unnecessary gossips.
Being reminded by the butler, Mo Qianxue was less mad, waving her sleeve, and walked out of the hall too.
Yet, it was an eventful day!
Mo Qianxue hadn't gone far, when the butler followed up and reported that the door guard said people from the Jing mansion came to visit. Jing mansion? Prince Jing?
He had just helped her this morning, so it wouldn't be impolite to refuse. Hence, she asked the butler to take the visitor to the flower hall and wait for a moment.
There wasn't only one receiving hall in the Founder mansion, of course.
When Mo Qianxue arrived at the flower hall, she saw a nanny sat there and drank tea. Seeing Mo Qianxue coming in, she stood up at once and bowed at her respectfully.
The nanny wore a hairstyle similar to ordinary nannies but looked dignified. The clothes weren't luxurious but her temperament suggested that she wasn't a normal nanny. Mo Qianxue reached out to hold her and invited her to sit down.
The nanny also regarded at her.
The girl wore a single hairpin and gauze around her forehead. There were still blood stains on her mourning suit, but her countenance wasn't pretentious and calm. Nor did she display flattery because of this nanny from the prince's mansion.
Afterwards, the nanny nodded inconspicuously and looked away. She didn't sit down but only refused, slightly stepping aside and taking out an invitation from her sleeve pocket.