Chapter 167 The Interesting Show at Qingfang Pavilion
Yu Mingyong saw that Mo Xuemin was weeping quietly. He figured that she must be the noble lady of a man who was at least a third-grade official. Meanwhile, his only backing was his elder sister, a consort who had the favor of the Emperor. It would be best if he did not offend anyone. Right now, there were beautiful women everywhere. It would be unwise to fight with a woman. As such, he would let her off the hook. Since he was not the one who had been injured and had not lost in their verbal spar, he needed to appear to be more gracious.
However, if his opponent were Li Youmo, it would be different!
Li Youmo was his biggest nemesis. One could say that the slightest provocation by Li Youmo would spur Yu Mingyong into action.
Li Youmo was treating the woman differently. He was helping her! This was a threat in Yu Mingyong’s mind.. At first, he was going to let the matter go and accept having lost the verbal spar. Now, however, his cleared this out of his mind.
There was something going on between Li Youmo and the woman who had framed him. They tried to charge him with having an affair with someone in the palace.
Even though his elder sister was favored by the Emperor, she would not be able to save him now. Yu Mingyong could not help but grit his teeth bitterly when he thought of that.
He saw how Li Youmo pretended not to care but gave secretive glances at the woman whose face was smeared with blood. There was a hint of concern in Li Youmo’s eyes that was well hidden. Who was Yu Mingyong? He was Li Youmo’s enemy. They had fought several hundred times. One could say that he knew Li Youmo’s better than himself. And he could see that Li Youmo was hiding his concern for that woman.
Yu Mingyong was overjoyed. He had been frustrated about not being able to deal with Li Youmo in the past, but now he had finally found one of Li Youmo’s weaknesses. If he attacked the woman today, it would be like attacking Li Youmo. He would be able to get back at him for all those grudges he bore.
Yu Mingyong would not let Mo Xuemin off easily, even if Mo Xuemin wanted to. He had not done anything wrong today, and usually, he would argue even if he was wrong. His eyes gleamed as he plotted. Since Li Youmo cared about this woman, he would ruin her reputation. He wanted to see if Li Youmo would marry a woman whose reputation had been besmirched.
“I want to silence her? Li Youmo, are you mistaken? I had too much to drink and fell asleep. This woman barged in and lay beside me shamelessly. So how is this my fault? She only got up hurriedly when she heard that someone was coming. She got angry when she saw my face clearly and even smashed the vase against her head so that she would bleed all over her face. Why has the story suddenly become me meeting someone in private? It might be this lady mistook me for someone she wanted to meet in private. She did something like this out of desperation!” Yu Mingyong glanced at Mo Xuemin with disdain and then shifted to look at Li Youmo.
Mo Xuemin was frightened when she heard that and her face grew paler.
Unexpectedly, Li Youmo did not get angry. Instead, he suddenly smiled brilliantly as he spread out his fan.
Mo Xuemin began to cry. She trembled and almost fell. Fortunately, the two maids held onto her tightly. “I didn’t. I came on the invite of my third sister to rest here together. We were almost here when Third Sister’s maid said there was something for Mo Xiu to do, which was why she left. When I entered, I saw Third Sister’s dress flash by and then I saw this gentleman. Then, he did not say anything and smashed the vase on the table. I was so frightened that I ran out of the door…”
Yu Mingyong pointed at Mo Xuemin and mocked her mercilessly. “You say you saw your third sister coming, but why didn’t I see her? Is this a lie? The only person I saw where I was sleeping was you. So where did this third sister come from? Are you saying that your third sister asked to meet you here just to frame you? Or are you the shameless one who was meeting someone in private here?”
Mo Xuemin looked as pitiful as a bunny at Yu Mingyong’s scolding. She was extremely agitated and the maids held her as she shook like a flower in the wind. “Third Sister really did ask me to meet her here. It’s alright if you don’t believe me. I will find my Third sister… She is still here… She has to be here… I saw her dress…”
The blood on her face had been wiped off carefully by Mo Xiu, revealing her beautiful face. Furthermore, she had practiced her expression and behavior in front of the mirror more than a thousand times. Each and every action of hers had been carefully designed to make her seem beautiful and delicate.
There were many noble young masters present and it was natural for men to pity the weak. She had behaved like this in the past to win the affections of men in the capital, and she would definitely succeed this time.
Mo Xuetong could not help but watch Mo Xuemin’s acting carefully. There was a cold smile on her lips. Indeed, Mo Xuemin was trying her very best to pull her down with her. She sighed to herself and shook her head secretly. There was indeed no mistake that she had lost to her and died in her hands in her past life. Any man would probably find it hard to escape from Mo Xuemin’s plots. Of course, Feng Yuran, the devil himself, was the exception.
Feng Yuran was standing beside her. His handsome face was filled with a playful expression as he watched the scene with a smile. He wanted the matter to blow up, the bigger the better.
The crowd could not bear to watch any longer. The beauty was crying, and her head was bleeding, making her look very pitiful. Furthermore, Yu Mingyong’s reputation was bad, so who would listen to him? Most people were sure that Yu Mingyong was speaking nonsense. They all spoke up.
“Young Master Yu, have you been mistaken? How could First Miss Mo do something like this? She is a delicate young lady who rarely comes to the palace. She is not familiar with the palace routes even if she wants to do something in private. Maybe the two sisters really planned to meet here and she was mistaken.”
“Young Master Yu, did you dream of this and thought it was real? First Miss Mo is both beautiful and talented and would not do something like this. Lord Mo is a close subordinate of the Emperor and their family upbringing is very strict. How would he allow his daughter to do something like that?”
“Could it be Third Miss Mo…?”
Someone could not bear to watch any longer. The beauty was crying and her head was bleeding, making her look very pitiful. Furthermore, Yu Mingyong’s reputation was bad, so who would listen to his nonsense? Most people were sure that Yu Mingyong was speaking nonsense. They all spoke up. Even though they did not come right out and say that Yu Mingyong was speaking nonsense to besmirch Mo Xuemin’s reputation, everyone could understand the underlying meaning.
Some people even brought up Mo Huawen! There were those who were suspicious of Mo Xuetong. But because the focus right now was on Yu Mingyong, those who were suspicious of her spoke softly, not feeling very confident.
Mo Xuemin was secretly angry because of this. She wanted them to speak out loud. If she could frame Mo Xuetong, she would be able to extricate herself cleanly. However, she could not make it too obvious. She pinched Mo Xiu’s hand in a secret gesture. The two had been mistress and servant for a long while and some things did not have to be said out loud to be understood. Mo Xiu nodded towards Mo Xuemin imperceptibly.
She quickly stuffed a note into Mo Xuemin’s sleeve while she was holding her up. She did not put it in too deep. It hung in the sleeve, which was why few saw it. Only Mo Xuetong, who was standing at the top and was watching them, noticed the movement.
Mo Xuemin had a backup plan! But who was the one who had set up the backup for her? Mo Xuetong’s eyes flashed and she searched through the crowd. Indeed, she discovered Sima Lingyun, who was hidden in the crowd.
It was him! Mo Xuetong bit down tightly on her lips and her eyes grew cold. They had plotted together again. Her fingers shook imperceptibly. This scene reminded her of the scene in which the two of them plotted together to poison her to death. She hated them – how could she not?
“Don’t worry. There will be a good show later!” Feng Yuran seemed not to have sensed her odd behavior. He leaned against the fake mountain and smiled roguishly. His handsome eyes glowed in the moonlight. His gleaming eyes and the way he was looking at what was happening below made it seem as if he were hunting. Mo Xuetong glanced at him. When had Mo Xuemin offended him? Otherwise, why would he go to such a distance to get her into trouble?
The smile on her lips was cold as she turned away. There was a hint of joy deep in her eyes. For some reason, she liked watching Feng Yuran dealing with Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun very much!
Mo Huawen was a close subordinate of the Emperor, and almost everyone knew that. When Yu Mingyong heard that, he realized that the woman in front of him was Mo Huawen’s daughter. His heart skipped a beat. He recalled his sister telling him to butter up to Mo Huawen when he visited her in the palace a few days ago.
Mo Huawen was now the governor of the capital. He was in charge of the lands of the capital and even though the capital was full of powerful people and nobility, he was in charge of all of them. While the governor of the capital was just a third-grade position, it was true power. Furthermore, it was a power that the Emperor supported. Everyone had to bow to him.
Yu Mingyong had always been one raring for a fight. He would make trouble in the capital from time to time. Small matters could be forgotten, but larger issues happened frequently as well. He could not enter the palace to look for Consort Yu all the time. There were rules for that and the Emperor had already been merciful in allowing him to see Consort Yu. It was impossible for him to visit more frequently.
If they were on good terms with the Mos, Mo Huawen could turn a blind eye to such things. Grave matters could be resolved then! This was why Consort Yu told Yu Mingyong to butter up to Mo Huawen. He had intended to visit the Mo Manor tomorrow morning and send gifts, befriending the Mos. When he heard that this woman in front of him was Mo Huawen’s daughter, he could not help but feel upset.
His sister’s reminder rang in his ears. Yu Mingyong did not dare to go against his sister. No matter how foolish he was, he could still tell who the breadwinner was in his family.
Li Youmo spoke at the crucial moment, looking as if he were trying to settle the dispute. “Yu Mingyong, forget it. Everyone knows you are bullshitting. Do you want to drag First Miss Mo down with you? Look at how her beautiful face has been smashed by you. Even if you weren’t awake, you wouldn’t have hit the person beside you, would you? Forget it, forget it. Apologize to the young lady and we will call it quits.”
If he had not spoken, Yu Mingyong would not have done anything. However, Yu Mingyong was no longer willing to concede after Li Youmo spoke. He immediately forgot his sister’s orders and felt that he must not let Li Youmo win. He sniffed loudly and pointed at Mo Xuemin, saying, “since you said that your third sister asked to meet you here, get her here so we can ask her about it. Why has the story turned into me hitting you and framing you? You were right beside me. Pfft!”
Yu Mingyong was determined that since the matter had already blown up, he would not just let it go like this. He would just apologize to his sister after this. At most, he would go to the Mos and ask to be punished. Yu Mingyong had never considered that a woman’s reputation could not be salvaged with an apology! Still this foolish idea came to his mind and he would not listen to any others.