Chapter 216 Dark Shadows in the Palace, the Empress Dowager’s Scheme
Feng Yuran lightly smiled and reached out his hand to pull her up. “Why are you so incautious and even can’t sit stably? It’s obvious that you have drunk too much.”
Being laughed at by him, Mo Xuetong instantly flushed. Somehow, she got annoyed and got rid of his hand. She gazed at him and said, “I’m not drunk. I won’t be even if I drink one kettle more.”
After her words, to prove that she was not drunk, she picked up the kettle and tried to pour the wine into her mouth.
Feng Yuran coaxed her. “Okay, you are not drunk. I’m drunk. Since I’m drunk, you should leave the wine to me.” He took over the wine kettle from her hand and poured himself half a cup. Then he lifted it up to his lips and drank it up. He enticingly pursed his red lips and some jade-like wine was still left there, which made his lips look more attractive.
Mo Xuetong felt inexplicably hot, and the hand which had been in his hand felt as if it had been burnt. She couldn’t say what the feeling was.
She cutely requested. “I want to drink too!”
Feng Yuran glanced at her. “The wine is not tasty. I have better fruit wine at my place. Do you dare to try some?” He took the kettle up to avoid her hand and didn’t let her touch the kettle.
Mo Xuetong pouted unhappily and there was a sign of anger in her watery eyes. He really looked down on her. She was just drinking some wine and it wasn’t a big deal. “Why would I not dare to drink your mine? You can take it along next time and see whether I dare to drink or not.”
Feng Yuran narrowed his eyes and smiled. But his tone was quite teasing. “It can’t prove you’re brave if you take it back here to drink. If you really have the courage, you can go to my manor to have a taste. Do you have the guts?”
Mo Xuetong couldn’t stand that kind of challenge at the moment. She wrinkled her nose and said angrily, “Why would I be afraid of that? You can set a time and I’ll definitely go to your manor and drink up your wine.” Her watery eyes had been fixed on the kettle. When she noticed that he drank the wine directly from the kettle instead of using a cup, she thought he came here to drink up all her good wine on purpose.
Anyway, she had to win her this time. She reached out her white tender fingers to his handsome face. Then, she held up her chin and pouted to show her unwillingness.
Feng Yuran’s eyes turned dark. He reached out his long fingers to touch hers and said smilingly, “Okay, then next time you can’t refuse me. You can’t break your promise now that you have accepted my invitation.” His words were truly overbearing, and his expression was quite attentive. There was a smile in his eyes which turned into affection in the end.
At the time, everything was shaking in Mo Xuetong’s eyes and she ignored his tone. She thought he was provocating her intentionally and somehow got furious. She held herself up and looked at him from a higher position. Then she said aggressively, “Don’t worry. I, Mo Xuetong, am very reliable and definitely won’t be scared back.”
Having finished her words, she went over to pull Feng Yuran up. However, she slipped and fell down.
Feng Yuran hurriedly reached over to hold her. But she closed her eyes and obediently leaned in his arms. She didn’t move a bit.
Feng Yuran reached out his hand to feel her flushing face and asked lightly, “Tong’er, Tong’er…”
Mo Xuetong felt very itchy at his touch in her sleep, so she pouted nervously, pushed him, and said, “Don’t touch… sleep… itches!”
The snow outside the windows highlit the fire in the room. The beautiful girl had a white little face which contained a sign of flushing. Her tender skin looked as if water could be squeezed out it. Her delicacy revealed a beauty like flowers and was exquisite like jade. The boy in purple who was holding her leaned on a cushion. He had a good figure and his dark hair was collected by a golden crown. His charming face revealed glamor and evilness and the glamor between his eyebrows spread out, which seemed quite majestic…
The snow kept falling down but the Empress Dowager’s Cining Palace seemed a little cold and lonely.
Although the palace was warm with the stoves on, the girl knelt in the front couldn’t feel any warmth. She knelt in the palace shivering and didn’t dare to look at the dignified woman there, who was the most respected one in Great Qin. It was the mother of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager.
Empress Dowager slowly opened her mouth, which relieved the tension in the air. “You did it well. Do you know what you’re supposed to do next?”
The girl kneeling obediently kowtowed and responded, and there was an obvious sign of trembling in her voice. “Yes, I understand.”
“Then it’s good. When that day comes, you can be the same as me, which is worthy of these efforts.” The Empress Dowager’s voice was low and quiet like the sea on a winter day. “The duke has had an affection for you since a young age and told me to treat you well. If you don’t do this, you two will have no chance to be together forever.”
She lowered her pretty face quietly and answered with appreciation, “Yes, I understand. Thank you for thinking for us.”
Empress Dowager said gently, “You can go now. By the time the truth comes out, you can see the result and the duke will come back too.”
“Yes.” The girl answered and then asked with hesitation, “If the Empress…”
The Empress Dowager answered as if she was thinking about something, “You don’t have to ask the Empress and don’t have to worry too much about it. If the Empress asks you about it, you don’t have to tell her the entire truth.” She knew what the girl was worried about. Although the Empress and her both came from Ding General Manor, they didn’t necessarily hope for the same benefit now.
The Empress Dowager’s voice suddenly turned sharp. “The Empress had another candidate in her mind and may not help the duke. If you tell anything about it to her, not only will you lose the chance to be with the duke, but also your father and your family may be affected and even eradicated.” The chilly wind seemed to roar in the palace. And the girl trembled, and lowered her head to show her obedience.
The destiny of the whole clan might be affected by her decision. Her body got totally chilled! It’s no longer an affair only between them. If not dealt with with caution, it might end up in disaster. The girl realized her fragility for the first time. If she hadn’t fallen in love with him or known him, it might be totally different…
The Empress Dowager’s face softened. “Investigate it carefully. It should be in their hands, and it is related to the destiny of Great Qin. The stuff hasn’t turned up for thirty years, and the dukes have been investigating over it. You should be more careful. It’s lucky that you’re a girl in the inner yard. It should be more convenient for you to investigate than them if you pay more attention.” She narrowed her eyes and her eyes fell on the closed gate behind the girl.
Some things had been in a distant past and even many people didn’t know its existence. But she knew plenty of people knew about it and it wasn’t forgotten though nobody mentioned it. Especially in this special period, that thing was too important to be forgotten by anyone though almost nobody brought it up.
Many things at Four Great Manors had been dealt with by many people so that it was hard to tell who did it at last. But these were not the most important. The most important thing was that it still hadn’t been found…
Such heavy snow fell on the ground, flake by flake. It looked as if the whole ground were white.
Bai Yihao was wearing a white fox-fur coat and had a kettle of wine in his hand. He sat on the roof of his manor in the Qin Kingdom. Emperor Zongwen was nice to him and granted him a large manor the minute he arrived at the Qin Kingdom. He sat on the highest roof with a Qin on his other hand.
If Mo Xuetong were there, she would definitely find that the Qin was the one placed in front of her in the Qin House.
A shadow appeared quickly and then a man in white reported to him on something. “Sir, there is a letter from the Yan Kingdom which says that First Prince has set out and if he gets the message from the assains who had escaped, he will definitely speed up to get here.” If not looking carefully, you would not notice the white clothes in this white world.
Bai Yihao’s fingers elegantly touched several strings on the Qin. The sound of the Qin was quite dulcet which sounded as if it wanted to soar. It wasn’t like the sound in usual days, which was like the free clouds in the sky, wandering in its way.
“First Prince will definitely come here quickly. Seeing that I have met a girl that I care so much about, he will definitely hurry here. I wonder whether he will still be so interested when he finds out the girl I care about is her.” Bai Yihao seemed to be talking to himself with a smile at the corner of his eyes, which looked very graceful.
The guard asked with hesitation, “You mean…”
It was the most difficult to guess his mind. Though he was his bodyguard, he never knew what he wanted. But he did know the first rule to be a guard was to be obedient. So when coming across something he couldn’t understand, he would rather ask him directly than think by himself.
If he could, the master would definitely tell all about it. If not, his master would naturally say nothing about it.
Bai Yihao smiled, carefree. “Be quick to the Yan Kingdom and tell them that the First Prince wants to go against the Empress’s order and marry another beauty. I wonder whether my mother would still help him selflessly when knowing her beloved the First Prince fall in love with another woman.” His handsome face looked elegant and charming in this world covered with snow. He stood up.
He took up the kettle by his side and casually tasted it. And then he threw it by the side and deeply stared into one direction. The wind lifted his white fox-fur coat, which looked so enchanting and ethereal. But now it seemed gloomier than before.
The guard said the confusion in his mind aloud, “Sir, what if Third Miss Mo doesn’t want to marry to the Yan Kingdom?” That miss didn’t seem to be obedient. Though she looked young and delicate, it could be seen that she wouldn’t let others determine her destiny considering how determined she had been when she pulled out the arrow for Bai Yihao.
Bai Yihao’s face suddenly turned cold. “She is just a girl who has no choice in front of the country’s benefit. If Emperor Zongwen decides to let her marry me, how can she refuse? She can’t go against the agreement of two countries with her girlie strength!” He used to be elegant and gentle and seemed to have never lost his temper.
The moment his face got chilled, it was so forceful, and coldness revealed from his body. The guard was scared to tremble and didn’t dare to say anything more. He murmured in his mind and didn’t know which sentence was so wrong as to annoy him so much. The coldness around him was even chillier than the endless snowflakes.
Bai Yihao said coldly, “Go to prepare four different colors of presents and bring along the Qianxia Clothes which was made last time. I’ll go to Mo Manor to visit Lord Mo.”
The guard opened his mouth and couldn’t help asking, “Why will you go to visit Lord Mo? He is only a lord mayor. Besides, the Qianxia Clothes…” That Qianxia Clothes was made by wild silk yarn which was found by Bai Yihao and could keep anyone warm in winter and cool in summer. There was only one of them in the entire world. He thought that it was for the Empress. But now it seemed that he would give it to that girl, which was pretty shocking for the guard.
There was a carefree smile on Bai Yihao’s face. “If not so, Fifth Princess won’t urge Third Miss Mo to marry to another country.” He quietly stepped out and directly landed on the ground. His clothes flew in the air and looked very beautiful. He slowly walked into his own room, leaving the confused guard behind.
Bai Yihao still didn’t tell him the reason why he wanted to send out that precious Qianxia Clothes. The guard believed that even if he didn’t use the clothes, he would get the same reactions from Fifth Princess as long as Bai Yihao showed a little affection for Third Miss Mo.