Chapter 152 The Collision in the Palace
After Mo Huawen left Mo Xuetong, he went to the outside courtyard. He went to the study and got the servants to block the back doors of the inside courtyard that was beside his study. Mo Huawen would usually enter the back courtyard from this door when he was tired after reading. Now that this door was blocked, he could only enter and exit from the main doors. Those doors were not too far from his study but was still a certain distance from it. He did not believe that an unmarried young lady would have the guts to leave from that door.
Mo Huawen could not accept the Old Madam’s silly ideas. Lan Xinru was not like the daughter of a good family at all. She was like a woman of the night and she wanted to enter his Mo Manor. Was she shameless!
In Qingwei Garden.
Mo Xuetong had just entered her courtyard when Auntie Mo arrived with her servants. She entered the room and smiled at Mo Xuetong, who was seated on the heated brick bed. She said, “Third Miss, you are back. I have already sent servants over several times and thought that it’d be fine if I sent the items along. But there were a few sets of clothing that Old Sir picked specifically for you, and I don’t know if you’d like them. If you don’t, I’ll get the servants to pick new ones for you. We mustn’t let you suffer for you are the only main daughter in this manor!”
Auntie Mo was in her 20s and was a beautiful woman. She was taller than the average woman and one could tell that she was smart from the way she spoke. She had spoken well of Mo Huawen and praised Mo Xuetong in just a few words. She was a decisive person and one could tell that she was someone who could do things well.
Auntie Mo joined the manor late and Mo Xuetong’s father had taken her as a concubine when her mother was ill. Mo Xuetong was angry at her father then, so when Auntie Mo saw here from afar, she would turn around and leave. Even though Mo Xuetong had changed on her return to the capital and to the Mo Manor, she rarely interacted with Auntie Mo. They would speak occasionally but were not as close as they seemed to be right now.
She had not noticed in the past, but it seemed like Auntie Mo was not a person who could be dealt with easily. From her words, she had raised Mo Xuetong up high and the others were stuck down low. If what she said spread, people would say that Mo Xuetong looked down on the other concubines’ children. They would say that she had made her Auntie serve her because she was the main daughter.
“Auntie Mo, you are too kind. I have troubled you and made you come all the way here. How can the clothes Father chose not be good? You think too much. Mo Ye, get Auntie Mo some tea. Take the Big Robe Tea that Grandmother gave me last time. I heard that such good quality tea is rare even at Grandmother’s.” Mo Xuetong turned around and smiled lightly at Mo Feng, who was making tea for her.
Mo Lan had already helped Auntie Mo sit down. Her serving maid placed a heated stove in her hands.
Mo Yu looked at the neat and tidy rows of eight maids standing behind Auntie Mo curiously. The eight maids all bore clothes in their hands. Sunlight shone on several sets of clothing and they glimmered in the light. It was evident that the material of these clothes was extremely precious. The last two maids were not holding clothes but two exquisitely carved jewelry box. The two maids opened the boxes at Auntie Mo’s instruction.
The items in the box were brilliant, colorful, and dazzling. They were all exquisite jewelry. Mo Xuetong had seen her mother’s dowry in her past life, and even though the items here were not as good as her mother’s treasures, they were also precious. Furthermore, each and every single item was new. It was obvious that her father had them made not long ago. She glanced at Auntie Mo out of the corner of her eye, and indeed, there was greed in Auntie Mo’s eyes that she could not hide. A faint smile appeared on Mo Xuetong’s lips.
“Third Miss, look, Old Sir got them made for you personally. He heard that these are the styles that young ladies like the most this year. I heard that you will be attending the palace banquet on behalf of our manor today. If you dress up, none of the other ladies in the capital can hold a candle to you.” Auntie Mo could not help but look at the accessories in the box. She tried to hide the greed in her eyes and stood up, introducing the jewelry to Mo Xuetong. Her fingers trailed on the jewelry mindlessly. If Old Sir had not arranged them personally, she would have taken one or two for herself.
“Many thanks for your kind words, Auntie Mo.” Mo Xuetong smiled and picked up her tea, looking like she was ready to send Auntie Mo off. Her smile was light and distant. Even though Auntie Mo wanted to suck up to Mo Xuetong, she knew that this was not the right time to do so. She stood up and bade Mo Xuetong farewell with a slight smile.
“Auntie brought so many things over for Third Miss, so why did Third Miss not thank Auntie?” The maid beside Auntie Mo, Qingxiang, said resentfully as she looked at Qingwei Garden which was getting further and further away from them.
“Shut up!” Auntie Mo yelled coldly. She turned around to glare at the insolent Qingxiang.
“Yes, Auntie!” Qingxiang did not dare to say anything else when she saw that Auntie Mo was angry. She hurriedly apologized and lowered her head.
“No matter her wrongdoings, Third Miss is still a mistress of this manor. She is not someone a maid like you can talk about. You’re just a little maid, what do you know?” Even though Auntie Mo felt resentful, she knew that Mo Xuetong’s position in Mo Huawen’s heart was irreplaceable. As such, she vented her anger on Qingxiang.
It was the New Year, it was alright if Old Sir gave so many jewelries to the rude chit. But he didn’t even give her any. She was in charge of the manor’s expenses, and despite having received plenty of gifts, this was the first time she had seen such quality jewelry since she entered the manor. It would be weird if she didn’t want some too!
No, she had to get her hands on a few of them!
She stopped suddenly, and Qingxiang, who was following her closely behind, almost bumped into her.
“Auntie…”Qingxiang did not know what was wrong with Auntie Mo again, and she backed away fearfully.
“We are going to Auntie Qing’s!” Auntie Mo turned to the left towards Auntie Qing’s Yuerong Garden. She waved at Qingxiang who was behind her and gestured for the other maids to return. Meanwhile, Qingxiang followed closely behind Auntie Mo.
The Empress Dowager’s grand banquet was different from the Hundred Flowers Banquet. This time, only the daughters of third-grade officials and above were allowed to attend. Since the Princes did not manage to select wives during the last Hundred Flowers Banquet, it was said that the selection might occur again this time. Of course, Mo Xuetong did not know this.
She followed Mo Huawen and Mo Yufeng to the palace. Mo Huawen and Mo Yufeng both rode horses while Mo Xuetong sat in a horse carriage that bore Mo’s emblem.
“Miss, I saw Mo Xiu. She’s at the wall near the main door and there were people with her wearing pink silk clothing. First Miss must be feeling very resentful.” The sharp-eyed Mo Ye was the first to discover Mo Xiu. She tugged on Mo Yu’s and pointed at the clothes. Mo Yu could not care that much. She secretly lifted the door curtains and looked in that direction while telling Mo Xuetong what she saw on the way.
“Mo Yu, put down the curtains. Eldest Sister has always had good eyesight. She might be looking at you right now.” Mo Xuetong flipped through a book casually, speaking without a care.
“Humph, so what if First Miss saw me? If she, a noble young miss doesn’t feel shame, why do I, a maid, have to fear?” Mo Yu wrinkled her nose and spoke with disdain. However, she still put down the curtains in her hand obediently. She was not worried that First Miss might see her, but she was worried that she might incur the wrath of First Miss. Even though, to be honest, everyone already knew that First Miss hated her mistress.
“Alright, remember to keep your mouth shut in the palace. The situation inside the palace is different.” Mo Xuetong looked up from the book in her hand and her glance swept Mo Yu slightly. “One wrong step and you might tread down on a path to no return.”
“Miss, rest assured. I will not say one word or make a sound in the palace. I will definitely not make things difficult for you.” Mo Yu could not help but cover her mouth with her hand when she heard the dangers that Mo Xuetong described. Mo Xuetong could not help but smile at her muffled reply and funny expression.
“Mo Ye, I wonder how Eldest Sister will enter the palace?” Mo Xuetong looked at Mo Ye, who was also smiling brilliantly.
Mo Ye’s expression became serious when she heard that. She placed her ear against the carriage walls. She could hear Old Sir conversing with Young Master in the distance. Then, she reported softly, “First Miss definitely knows someone in the palace. I heard that she wants to borrow a palace carriage to attend the banquet. I still don’t know all the details right now, but First Miss is determined to go to the banquet this time.”
Mo Yu saw that the two were talking about serious matters, and she readily moved to the other side of the carriage. She did not play around anymore, instead, she focused on listening to her surroundings for any odd sounds.
“Miss, I heard that First Miss failed to seduce King Chu the last time and was thrown out of the palace. Then, she put all the blame on the maid called Mo Jin, and when she was sent out of the palace, the maid was never seen again. Is First Miss not afraid of something like that happening again? If it does, things would not be as simple as sending her out of the palace.” Mo Ye asked softly in confusion. She worked for Feng Yuran and knew about some things in the palace.
The incident had happened before she started working for Mo Xuetong. When she started working for Mo Xuetong, she heard about the incident from Mo Lan and Mo Yu. When she thought about it, she could not understand what Mo Xuemin wanted to do. Why would she go to the palace to be shamed? She did not think that the sly and vicious Mo Xuemin would do something so silly.
Mo Xuetong definitely did not believe that Mo Xuemin would do something like that. She leaned against the carriage walls and considered the situation carefully. Why was Mo Xuemin so confident that something like that would not happen this time when she entered the palace? Who was the person in the palace helping Mo Xuemin? What kind of person was that, and why did that person help Mo Xuemin enter the palace again and again?
The Empress Dowager, the Empress, Concubine Su, Concubine Yu…
All the other families would shun Mo Xuemin after what happened. Her father was not being biased, so why was Mo Xuemin angry? Mo Xuemin was sometimes very rational and had self-restraint. With just one look at how she still smiled at Mo Xuetong earlier this morning outside the Old Madam’s room, one could tell how terrifying and sinister she was.
Mo Xuetong was not afraid that Mo Xuemin would explode with anger, causing her to lose control over her emotions and behavior. She was afraid that Mo Xuemin would be calm and behave stealthily! She was like a poisonous snake that was hidden in the corner and waiting to prey on someone.
Mo Xuetong frowned because she could not understand what Mo Xuemin’s goals were. She closed her eyes and rested while reflecting on Mo Xuemin’s unusual behavior.
“Crash!” The horse carriage seemed to have slammed into something and it tilted sideways before stopping. Mo Xuetong almost fell out of the carriage. Fortunately, Mo Ye acted quickly and pulled her back while holding on to Mo Yu, who was seated at the very front; and she steadied the two.
“Miss, someone’s carriage collided with others. The path is so big, so why didn’t they watch out? They knocked into us and Old Sir is about to go talk to them.” Mo Yu said angrily. She was seated nearest to the door. The door curtains flipped open when the collision happened. They could see a beautiful and luxurious horse carriage that was drawn by eight horses that charged towards them. If their driver had not reacted so quickly, they would have collided head-on.
Whose carriage was that for they drove so arrogantly in the palace?