Chapter 142 Rumors Were Sometimes Extremely Unreliable
Mo Xuemin and the Old Madam returned together!
The Old Madam said only one thing to Mo Huawen. “The reputations of the Mo daughters must not be tarnished!”
Everyone understood what she meant. This was not just a matter that affected Mo Xuemin alone. If the eldest Mo daughter was a wanton, unfilial girl who might have had a dalliance with someone, others would doubt the breeding of the entire Mo family. No matter Mo Xuetong or Mo Xueyan, and even Mo Xueqiong, who was already promised to Sima Lingyun, their marriages would be cast with the same suspicion and they would not be able to marry into a good family.
This incident was not the same as Mo Xueqiong’s. At least, Sima Lingyun had truly saved her. He had pulled her out of the fire in public and what happened after had only been the result of the rush in saving someone. It was at the Mo family’s ancestral hall and was not really against anything. The incident between the two could not really be treated as a dalliance between the two. The incident had blown up because the Duke’s manor had been dissatisfied with Mo Xueqiong’s status as a concubine’s daughter. They had saved someone but had to marry the concubine’s daughter. No family would want that.
After that, the Mo family had promised Mo Xueqiong to Sima Lingyun as a concubine. That was considered as repayment for their kindness. While not dignified, they had to be flexible, and the matter passed.
However, the situation Mo Xuemin was in right now was different. She appeared in Fragrance House and was on a bustling street. There were many different types of people there and it was not something that could be hidden. It had happened at night, and most importantly, Mo Xuemin had snuck out. Something so serious had happened to her mother in the day but she was still in the mood to sneak out at night.
This was a disgrace to a girl’s upbringing and had already implicated the reputations of the Mo daughters. This was something both the Old Madam and Mo Huawen did not want to see.
This was also what troubled Mo Huawen and he could not think of a solution.
He had considered Mo Xuemin’s suggestion, but it would not work. Since You Yuecheng was the one to inform Li Youmo of Mo Xuemin’s identity, then he could not change that. How could he change his mind and say that the person that day was not Mo Xuemin? While the Four Great Manors of the court were all noble families, some of the newer factions were rising without them knowing.
Minister Li of the military department was a person like this. He was in charge of the military and while the Mingguo Manor might not be actively trying to pursue him, they did not dare to offend him either. Mo Huawen had been in the court for a long while, and Mo Xuemin, a girl raised in seclusion who was more emotional than rational, could not compare to him. You Yuecheng was a man with a good reputation. But he had grown up together with Li Youmo, who had a bad reputation, and they were friends. Even though the two do not interact much because of their reputations, they were still friends in private.
Since the upright You Yuecheng and Li Youmo had little common ground, why did they maintain such a close relationship then? Mo Xuemin did not understand, but Mo Huawen, who was politically sensitive, understood. He not only knew, but also analyzed this, and as such, felt even more disappointed by Mo Xuemin, who wanted to bribe You Yuecheng.
What right did the Mo Manor have to ask You Yuecheng to abandon the Li Minister Manor, whom he had always stood with?
In the past, he felt that his eldest daughter was wise and had a good character. He thought that she was sensible and that her status as a concubine’s daughter was holding her back. As such, he had been considering marrying Auntie Fang so that Mo Xuemin could be the main daughter. However, now that he looked at it, a concubine’s daughter was still a concubine’s daughter. She was still lacking in knowledge.
“Father, are you going to meet that Sir Li?” The study grew silent after the Old Madam left with Mo Xuemin. Mo Huawen frowned and Mo Xuetong finally moved from where she was standing and stood behind Mo Huawen. She reached out to help massage his temples.
“Li Youmo?” Mo Huawen paused slightly and felt his headache intensifying.
“Father, don’t you think that Sir Li is the key figure in this? If he says that the girl wasn’t Eldest Sister that day, would His Excellency still say that it was Eldest Sister who was present that day?” Mo Xuetong’s eyes twinkled and she smiled. She was not familiar with You Yuecheng, but rumors said that he was a reputable man. However, she did not agree and looked down on him.
Mo Xuetong knew exactly what happened. A prominent figure like him had agreed to meet Mo Xuemin in private in Fragrance House. Even though they both seemed to be adhering to etiquette, Mo Xuetong despised them. Mo Xuetong knew what sort of person Mo Xuemin was. The pain of her past life and all the steps she had taken in this life showed that she was not kind at all. However, her reputation was still stellar in public.
What about You Yuecheng, who also had a good reputation? Why would he work together with Mo Xuemin and plot to use Li Youmo to destroy her? A person like this could not be considered to be righteous and reputable at all. Mo Xuetong even felt that You Yuecheng was even more despicable than Li Youmo, and that he was more hypocritical.
She believed that as long as Li Youmo changed his statement, the hypocritical You Yuecheng would not disagree with him or offend the Minister’s Manor. As such, the key personnel of this incident would be Li Youmo, whose bad reputation preceded him, and not the Ming Duke’s son, who was rumored to be reputable and responsible.
Rumors, were sometimes extremely unreliable!
And she would not trust these so-called rumors.
“Li Youmo…”Mo Huawen’s frown was deep as he fell silent. He smiled bitterly and pulled Mo Xuetong to him. He patted her head and said, “This person, it’s difficult!”
“Father, since he wants to marry Eldest Sister, it would not be difficult for you to get him to come over!” Mo Xuetong looked at him with clear eyes that were filled with confusion. “Or do they intend to force Eldest Sister to marry him? That’s not a marriage, they are trying to make enemies!”
If this marriage were really to go through, the reputations of Mo daughters would really take a beating. It would not be a marriage and they would really be making enemies. It felt as if the entire incident was engineered to destroy the reputation of the Mo daughters.
Mo Huawen’s eyes brightened when he heard Mo Xuetong’s soft voice. He slapped the table suddenly and a smile appeared on his face. He had an idea! He was a court official and was a close subordinate of the Emperor. He naturally knew of ways around certain matters. However, he was currently involved in this matter and could not find another way out for the moment. He immediately found a solution with Mo Xuetong’s reminder and started a new plan.
He told Mo Xuetong to return to Qingwei Garden while he settled things. Then, he asked his servant to go to the Li Minister Manor to invite Minister Li and his son over to the manor for a small gathering!
Mo Xuetong did not return to Qingwei Garden. She first went to the Old Madam and saw the Old Madam sitting in front of the table angrily. Her dark brown robes that had longevity characters embroidered in them made her seem even more stern. Mo Xueyan stood behind her, helping to massage her back. One could not see her expression clearly, but when she looked up occasionally, she could not hide the satisfaction in her expression. Mo Xuemin knelt in front with her head hanging low, a shattered porcelain teacup by her foot.
“Grandmother, your granddaughter is here to greet you!” Mo Xuetong looked straight in front of her. She held Mo Yu’s hand and approached the old madam, kneeling down and kowtowing respectfully as if she had not seen Mo Xueyan’s mocking expression.
“Get up! I’m not dead yet. You don’t need to come and greet me every day. All of you are troublesome.” The Old Madam only spoke moments later. There was a hint of anger in her sternness that could not be hidden. She knew that the Old Madam was angry at her.
“Grandmother, are you well? “I was worried about your health and copied scriptures last night to pray for your health.” Mo Xuetong smiled sweetly as if she did not know the Old Madam was angry. She took a roll of scriptures from Mo Yu and handed it over respectfully.
The maid beside the Old Madam took the scriptures and put it on the desk in front of the Old Madam. The Old Madam could not help but look down at the neat and beautiful script. It was evident that Mo Xuetong had put effort into it. She muttered to herself softly for a moment and her expression softened.
“Keep these. Tong’er that lass is filial and knows to dote on her grandmother. Some people really cannot be presented to the public. They are really afraid that people do not know that they don’t have good breeding. This manor does not have someone who is in charge. Look at the kids here. Your father really needs to welcome a new madam.” The Old Madam’s face was so dark that she looked like the clouds in the night sky. She glanced at Mo Xuemin, who was kneeling on the ground, and said meaningfully.
She intended for Mo Xuetong’s father to remarry. But it was really inappropriate to say this in front of his daughters. In her past life, Mo Xuetong had not had interacted much with the Old Madam. She had seen her on a few occasions and did not know what the Old Madam was like. She had been filial, and even though the Old Madam did not like her, she had not gone overboard.
However, she had not expected the Old Madam to be the one who had gone overboard. Mo Xuetong could not help but smile bitterly. How could she reply to what the Old Madam said! Was she supposed to say yes or no? It was not something she could question as a daughter. Furthermore, she was still an unmarried daughter.
She could only lower her head silently. Fortunately, the Old Madam was not waiting for her reply and only vented to herself.
“Min’er, get up. Your father has to remarry after this incident. You all are old enough, especially Min’er, you’re at a marriageable age. It’d be best to find a woman who is connected to our family and is of a certain age. You all would be familiar with her and an older woman would be more mature, unlike those beautiful but flighty young women. Right, Min’er?” The Old Madam frowned at Mo Xuemin who had just been helped off the floor and spoke to her coldly.
The nanny beside her waved her hand and all the maids and servant left. The private matters of their masters were not things that they could hear.
Had connections to their family and had to be of a certain age. This meant that the Old Madam already had her own picks! Furthermore, she wanted to force Mo Xuemin to agree. Mo Xuemin and Mo Yufeng were the eldest daughter and son of the family and were children of Auntie Fang. Of course, they would want to help Auntie Fang become the main wife. But looking at the current situation, they did not dare to say anything. If Mo Xuemin did not have any objections, why would Mo Yufeng, another man talk about his father remarrying?
However, would Mo Xuemin dare to object in this situation? The Old Madam had plotted this well! She had made full use of this opportunity.
“Grandmother, you have been very considerate towards Father. Min’er thanks you on behalf of Father. However, Mother has only passed for less than three years and Father loved Mother deeply. He had once said that he would be a widow for three years. If you ask Father to marry someone right now, I fear that it would put him in a bad light. What do you think, Third Sister?”
Mo Xuemin naturally understood the Old Madam’s intentions. She hated the Old Madam for kicking her when she was down. However, she knew she was in the wrong and did not dare to object openly. She could only speak about Luo Xia and looked at Mo Xuetong pleadingly. Tears welled up in her eyes, about to fall, and she looked especially pitiful, looking as if she felt sorrow at Luo Xia’s passing.
How would she be agreeable to be a concubine’s daughter forever?