Chapter 219 The Princess Royal Favors
Mo Xuetong warmly comforted Luo Mingzhu. “Don’t worry, cousin. I don’t have anything that Her Highness can pry into. Before, she might make things difficult for my elder sister. Now, Her Majesty issued the decreed. My elder sister has to marry into Duke Zhenguo’s manor no matter how unwilling she is. Father won’t let her attend gatherings either. How can she get in trouble again? Don’t worry.”
Luo Mingzhu hesitated and had to remind Mo Xuetong in case the latter was framed while unaware of it. “I always thought the elder sister of yours, that concubine’s daughter, wasn’t nice. When you’re out of the capital, she acted like a legal daughter in Mo Manor. She looks decent, but she’s really good at putting on shows. People also say that she’s connected to Ming General’s heir, You Yuecheng.”
Before, Mo Xuemin had been close with Mingguo Manor’s You Yue’e. Mo Xuemin almost spent time with You Yue’e in every banquet. She was also close to Ming General’s heir, You Yuecheng. Though the two didn’t act intimately on the surface, some observant misses could still notice their interactions.
Therefore, rumor had it that You Yuecheng turned down the proposal from Ding General Manor partly because of Mo Xuemin.
Mo Xuetong knew that Luo Mingzhu worried about her. Indeed, You Yuecheng and Mo Xuemin’s relation had been ambiguous. However, Mo Xuetong would rather think that because of Mo Xuemin, You Yuecheng had been holding grudge against herself. Luckily, Mo Xuetong didn’t ask for anything from You Yuecheng, thus, it didn’t matter to her anymore.
Hence, Mo Xuetong just smiled. “Mingguo Manor’s hair is a virgin. Even if he had a fling with my elder sister, he won’t engage with Mo Manor in the future.”
Luo Mingzhu giggled and covered her mouth with her handkerchief. “That’s good. There’s still one year of Aunt’s mourning. We should just keep Mo Xuemin in the manor during this time. When she marries into Duke Zhenguo’s manor, she can do whatever she wants. I heard Sima Lingyun just openly took a concubine. That woman could actually marry him at such a time. She must be resourceful. When Mo Xuemin marries into that manor too, it’ll be fun.”
Sima Lingyun just got into trouble. The Empress issued a decreed to marry Mo Xuemin to Sima Lingyun, then he immediately took a concubine. It was like a slap in the face for Mo Xuemin. With her personality, if Mo Xuemin really married into Duke Zhenguo’s manor, how would she let that woman off? Mo Xuemin involuntarily pursed her lips to smile. She was almost sure that this “remarkable” and “resourceful” concubine was Yun Yiqiu.
She must “help” make Mo Xuetong suffer in the last life!
For some unknown reason, looking at Luo Mingzhu’s bright smile, Mo Xuetong sighed. “Second Cousin, I heard grandmother wanted you to marry into the royal family. Do you really want to?”
After these words, the smile started to fade from her face. Then, she blinked and forced a smile. Leaning on the rail of the pavilion, she pouted. “Grandmother intends to. They said they got the wind of the news from the Empress. Father and the First Uncle weren’t that satisfied with this marriage.”
Mo Xuetong asked in a low voice, “Who did they select…?”
Luo Mingzhu didn’t continue and looked pale. “The third one. They said he was well-educated and thus well-mannered. But who didn’t know he and Ding General Manor’s…?”
The third one meant King Yan, Feng Yulei. The third prince, Feng Yulei, fancied Ding General Manor’s Ling Fengyan. They grew up together. Last time, on New Year’s eve, something like that happened. In the end, King Yan almost got physical with King Chu, Feng Yuxuan. All of this showed that Feng Yulei and Ling Fengyan more than just knew each other.
Who wanted to marry a man with a secret lover? Moreover, before the marriage, a detailed rumor of their affair had been flying. The gloomy look on Luo Mingzhu’s face revealed her reluctance. Mo Xuetong knew that Luo Mingzhu would like to marry a man who loved her for who she was. She would marry him and grow old with him, instead of His Royal Highness King Yan, who was already taken by another woman.
Additionally, that woman happened to be Ling Fengyan, who had never gotten along well with Luo Mingzhu. How could Luo Mingzhu not mind?
Mo Xuetong held Luo Mingzhu’s hand and said, “Since Her Majesty just sent some signal, she might haven’t decided yet. We might cancel the marriage too. It’s the best that First Uncle opposed it. Next time, I’ll tell Grandmother that King Yan will never be a good husband and he just wants to marry you for First Uncle’s military power.”
Since the Empress considered marrying Ling Fengyan to King Chu, she must have thought about pushing First Uncle with military power to King Yan’s side. In this way, a balance was formed on the surface. King Chu married Ding General Manor’s daughter, while King Yan married Fu General Manor’s. Both families possessed military power and they were equal.
However, in fact, Ding General Manor supported the Empress. With the Empress backing King Yan, even if Ling Fengyan married into King Chu, she couldn’t make Ding General Manor loyal to King Chu. Instead, it was like sending a spy beside King Chu. Should King Chu conduct anything in the future, King Yan must know it at once.
On the contrary, King Yan had not only Ding General Manor’s support, but also Fu General Manor’s. With the help of the two manors, the military power they possessed, and Empress in the harem, King Yan’s chance of taking the throne would tremendously increase. This was the Empress’s real plan!
Nevertheless, when King Yan, Feng Yulei, became the emperor, would Luo Mingzhu really feel happy?
Most of the previous empresses were deposed by the emperors. The out-going, direct, and lovely Luo Mingzhu could never match the pretentious Ling Fengyan in a war. In the end, she might end up in a plight in the harem and even couldn’t protect Fu General Manor.
Mo Xuetong lowered her eyelashes, hiding the coldness in her eyes. King Yan was never meant for Second Cousin. If he was loyal, he would be thinking about Ling Fengyan all the time; if he was unfaithful, entering the harem for Second Cousin would be like being exiled. The harem never lacked beauties and time only drove women mad. Plus, when everything settled down, you couldn’t tell if King Yan would dispose of her after using her.
With all the women in the harem, all the wolves surrounding her, how could Second Cousin survive…
If she knew this was going to fail, how could she watch Second Cousin fall?
Luo Mingzhu was always carefree. After a moment of sadness, she pulled herself up. She directly stroked Mo Xuetong’s cheek and cheekily said, “Alright, let’s forget about the bad news. Anyway, there’s still time until the selection begins. Plus, Her Majesty won’t necessarily pick me. But you, Cousin Tong, you have to watch for yourself. Look at your pretty face. Be careful.”
Mo Xuetong pushed her hand away. Before the Empress issued a decree, they could still change that. They could find a solution. After all, with Fu General Manor’s status, the Empress couldn’t force them. “Second Cousin is teasing me. Look at that young miss who came today. She is beautiful. I’m just a plain girl. How can you call me pretty?”
Luo Mingzhu smiled. “Cousin Tong is too modest. I heard when you first came in, you swept those young masters off their feet. And they’re all asking which family you came from.”
Mo Xuetong looked into Luo Mingzhu’s eyes and saw no jealousy, only sincerity. She couldn’t help smiling as well. “How were they asking about me? I’m afraid they were using me as an excuse to chat up those pretty ladies.” …
“You’re full of it.
Returning the parlor, as expected, they saw Princess Royal was already here.
Mo Xuetong stepped forward to greet her, and the Princess Royal politely asked her to rise. After sizing Mo Xuetong up, the princess actually held the former’s hand and affectionately said to her, “Third Young Miss Mo just arrived at the capital. You can’t have met the noble misses and masters. Today, you should take this opportunity to hang out with them.”
Her words immediately made everyone in the parlor quieter. All the people strangely stared at Mo Xuetong. They didn’t understand it. Why did the cold and unapproachable Princess Royal act affectionately to Mo Manor’s third miss? This had never happened before. Princess Royal had been indifferent to even Fifth Princess and her own niece.
Some of the guests suddenly remembered that when Mo Xuemin framed her own sister in the palace, Mo Xuetong claimed to have stayed in Princess Royal’s palace. Was it true? If it was really so, it could not only prove Mo Xuemin’s scheming against her sister, but also Princess Royal’s acknowledgment for this Mo Manor’s third miss.
Immediately, some people viewed Mo Xuetong differently.
Mo Xuetong mildly smiled. “Thank Princess Royal.” While bowing, she fluttered her long eyelashes to hide her doubt. She was the interested party, but she didn’t understand why Princess Royal acted so intimately with her publicly. In their previous two meetings, Princess Royal wasn’t so close to her.
Princess Royal dropped Mo Xuetong’s hand and rose. “Let’s go to the garden. Tables are set there.”
The guests all followed the Princess Royal toward the garden.
In the garden, tents were already set up on both banks and stove were burning. The boys went to the other side. The lake was not too wide, so when they sat opposite the river, they could still see each other clearly. On one hand, it was according to the rule that men and women didn’t sat by the same table; on the other hand, it didn’t leave them too far away from the opposite group.
This was not too far nor too close, just the right distance!
Mo Xuetong glanced at the opposite side, only to see a pair of gorgeous phoenix eyes looking into her as well. The pair of bright eyes were glamorous, shining with charming light. For some unknown reason, Mo Xuetong flushed and took her watery eyes off the man. She didn’t remember what she said or how she misbehaved in front of him last night, thus, she failed to stay calm like before.
On the opposite, Feng Yuran also cocked an eyebrow, averted his eyes, and fixed them on Bai Yihao opposite. Bai Yihao was in white dress as ethereal as snow, and was as eye-catching as his purple clothing.
With a fleeting smile on his face, Feng Yuran asked Bai Yihao, “King Bai, why are you here today at my aunt’s party? Did you grow to enjoy appreciating beauties like me?”
His words left all the present noble masters upset because he made them all seem as rakish as King Xuan, which was annoying. However, King Xuan had always been unreasonable, and they didn’t dare to say anything. Hence, they all fixed their expectant eyes on Bai Yihao. If King Xuan represented a rakish aristocrat, then this King Bai stood for elegance and he could totally make this party sound tasteful again.
Bai Yihao lightly smiled and picked up the tea on the table to sip it, then, he gracefully put it down. “How could I deny it when your aunt summoned me? The plum flowers are blooming and beauties resemble jade, which enhances the beautiful scenery before our eyes. We can surely feast our eyes on them.”
Around tents on both banks, red and white plum blossoms were blooming against the snow, as clear as jade. If one could see a beautiful girl among the flowers, it would surely be splendid. Everyone secretly nodded and thought Sir Bai was truly amazing. He turned King Xuan’s coarse remarks tasteful in just a few plain words.
Feng Yuran curved the corner of his lips lightly, forming a smile. His dark pupils were shining with a beautiful iridescence. He raised his hand to pour a cup of wine for himself and another one for Bai Yihao, and toasted the latter. “King Bai is right. It turns out that I’ve been looking down on myself. I came here today to admire the flowers, the scenery, and the beauties. King Bai and I have the same hobbies. Come on, it’s hard to find someone in common with you. We need to drink to that.”
Like King Xuan, everyone had to feel disoriented again!