Chapter 309 Princess Royal’s Hidden Bamboo Building within the Peach Blossoms
Mo Xuetong did not know that someone was planning her marriage. Then, she was accompanying Xu Yan to look at the dowry for Mo Xuemin’s marriage. After all, she was the eldest daughter of Mo Manor, and she was going to be married into Duke Zhenguo’s manor. Hence, the dowry must be well-prepared and 36 full sets were prepared, with none deducted by Xu Yan.
However, none of the items bore historical significance to the manor, as all of them are normal products bought in the marketplace. The dowry was slightly better than a normal daughter, but not much better. This made Mo Xuetong remember her own dowry in her previous life. She had 108 full sets of dowry but only a few of them bore true significance, not even a fraction of the dowry.
It was because of the lack of dowry that she was looked down upon by the duchess of Duke’s Manor. She could not be compared to Mo Xuemin having extravagant dowry. The memory of the devious plan by Auntie Fang to harm her mother made her heart hurt from hatred. Regardless of what her mother’s reasons were, it was true that Auntie Fang poisoned Mother!
In her previous life, Auntie Fang poisoned her mother and Mo Xuemin poisoned her and her child. In this life, Auntie Fang still murdered her mother. Her hatred for the devilish woman remained throughout both her lives and would not be dissipated by the exile of Auntie Fang and the marriage of Mo Xuemin into Duke Zhenguo’s manor. Blood piled the way to her rebirth, and the woman from hell would naturally want to avenge her mother by destroying the lives of her enemies…
“Tong’er, this should be enough. More dowries would be a waste because even the bride was not they wanted.” Xu Yan placed down the silk on her hands and held on to Mo Xuetong’s cold hands, asking out of concern, “Are you OK? Feeling unwell?”
Mo Xuetong took a deep breath, smiling as she used Xu Yan as support. “Mum, I’m alright, just a little weak.”
“How can you be weak at such a young age! This will be problematic in the future!” Xu Yan accompanied her to her room. It already Spring and the room was well lit. Since the wedding was happening recently, the aura of love was everywhere. One can spot delicate feminine atmosphere everywhere, from a small sachet on the curtain to the embroidered flower on the muslin bed curtains. The room was filled with a gentle feminine vibe.
“Madame, you should know that my lady’s health had been deteriorating ever since Spring started. She feels tired often, from time to time.” Mo Yu replied anxiously as if she was complaining about Mo Xuetong’s current situation.
“Don’t worry, Mum. I am fine. I know medicine and I know my own body. Don’t listen to Mo Yu, it was merely Spring drowsiness.” Smiling, Mo Xuetong stared at Mo Yu as she took a cushion and placed it down for Xu Yan to sit.
She was not merely being polite in her words. She was indeed feeling increasingly fatigued recently, as her mental energy deteriorated as well. She was curious about the reason and thus checked her pulse. However, she found no abnormalities and figured that it was because of her weak body that resulted in more Spring drowsiness. Thus, she didn’t mind it too much.
“Even though it might be nothing, you should still be careful. Your body is growing now and you shouldn’t treat yourself badly. It will be good to ask a doctor to check on you. You can always condition your body even if you are not ill. If you are ill, it’s better to get treatment early or it might become untreatable in the future.” Smiling, Xu Yan sat down.
Xu Yan had an excellent life ever since she entered Mo Manor. Mo Huawen respected her and always visited her every night, treating the other two concubines as invisible. As they were not doted by Mo Huawen, the two could only treat her with respect. The daughters and sons of concubine were all disappointing and were grounded, with none of them showing disrespect in front of her.
Furthermore, she was extremely satisfied with her cousin’s daughter, Mo Xuetong, who was also the granddaughter of Fu General Manor and the foster daughter of Princess Royal, Princess Anping. In any aspect, Xu Yan would treat Mo Xuetong well. She would need to rely on Mo Xuetong for support if she gave birth to children in the future.
She understood that as Princess Anping, Mo Xuetong would definitely marry into a prestigious family. When her children grew up, Mo Xuetong would be able to have a huge influence at that time. In her time at the manor, Xu Yan could see that her stepdaughter was not weak; she was someone witty and capable, managing the manor well at just thirteen years of age.
She had defeated Auntie Fang within half a year of entering the manor, a feat impossible for any ordinary woman.
Thus, Xu Yan was clear that she had to rely on Mo Xuetong for success.
“Then I shall trouble Mother.” Mo Xuetong nodded as she accepted Xu Yan’s good intentions.
The two continued their friendly chat before Mo Xuetong returned to Qingwei Garden. Mo Lan helped her remove her make up as Mo Yu settled her bed. Mo Xuetong sipped on the water before untying her hair for her afternoon nap. She only woke up in the evening and quickly tidied up before saying goodbye to Xu Yan and advancing to Princess Royal’s manor.
Princess Royal was not feeling well. As her daughter, she should stay by her side tonight, and not return to Mo Manor.
She brought Mo Lan and Mo Ye on the carriage as they turned two corners to arrive at Princess Royal’s manor.
Nanny Qin, the wet nurse of Princess Royal, came out to welcome them.
They greeted each other before moving into the mansion. As they walked, Mo Xuetong asked out of concern, “Nanny Qin, how is my mother? Is she feeling better now?”
Nanny Qin smiled and responded, “The princess’ health had recovered. Ever since you left this morning, we asked a familiar doctor to come. He gave us some medication and the princess had just fallen asleep. I came to welcome you once I heard you are here.”
Nanny Qin seemed much more energetic compared to this morning. She looked delighted and she seemed to be feeling great.
Hearing that, Mo Xuetong smiled as she relaxed. Princess Royal’s illness should be under control. It shouldn’t be a serious illness since it was an old problem, one that often erupted during Springtime. However, what could have caused Princess Royal’s previous actions?
A thought flickered in her heart as she asked casually, “When did this problem of Mother occur?”
“A few days ago. She was fine at the start, not much worse than in past years. At first, she was still taking the medication that we had long prepared. However, after a few days, Her Highness said that she no longer wanted to have those medications, stating that the smell was disgusting. She ordered us to throw the medication away.”
Nanny Qin frowned as she remembered what happened. Ever since then, the Princess did not pay much attention to her health, taking medications only when she wished. Furthermore, her words always seemed to be dismissive, making Nanny Qin anxious to no avail. Luckily, Princess Anping came here today and convinced Princess Royal to see a doctor.
“Did anyone see Mother before she threw the medications away?” Mo Xuetong asked as she thought that it was unusual for Princess Royal to have a sudden change in behavior. Something unknown must have happened, and that must be an important factor.
“No strangers came here but the Crown Prince visited that day. He said something to Her Highness that made her turn pale as she was lost deep in thought. She threw her medications away the next day.” Nanny Qin thought about it and pondered about her choice of words. “Perhaps it’s not what the Crown Prince said, but merely memories that Her Highness had.”
“How long had Sir Bai stayed here? Did Nanny hear their conversation?” Mo Xuetong asked calmly as her instinct told her that something was amiss. She knew Bai Yihao’s character very well. If Nanny Qin was merely suspicious of Sir Bai, she was convinced of his misdeeds. Judging by Bai Yihao’s intellect, it would be difficult to say what he knew of Princess Royal. She never forgot that in her previous life, Princess Royal was imprisoned after becoming an enemy of Emperor Zongwen.
“The Crown Prince does visit the Princess from time to time and is a very filial person. He will check Princess Royal’s pulse from time to time, even leaving some medication from time to time. I did not hear anything he said as I was preparing tea then.” Nanny Qin thought for a while and decided that Bai Yihao wasn’t the problem. Everyone in Princess’ Manor knew that the Crown Prince was a filial kid.
He would send all good things to Princess’ Manor, even objects awarded by Emperor Zongwen. He was more filial to Princess Royal than the average son.
Thus, after Nanny Qin finished explaining, she shook her head. “Your Highness, it will not be because of what the Crown Prince said. It must be something else that I could not remember.”
As she spoke, Nanny Qin led Mo Xuetong to a garden at the periphery of Princess Royal’s Manor, explaining apologetically, “Your Highness, Princess Royal is still sleeping now. I shall not bring you to visit her since it was rare for her to have such a deep sleep in these few days. I will come over to invite you once she wakes up. Can you rest here for a while?”
Pushing open the garden gate, she saw an entire pasture of peach blossoms. Peach flowers covered all trees. It was precisely the season for blooming and thus the branches were colored by a seductive pink.
A small path came sprawling out from the peach flowers, and a few houses hid behind the peach trees. Entering this garden was like entering heaven. She also saw green bamboo sticking out at the far end of the garden, giving a green underlay to the peach surface, creating a refreshing aura.
The wind blew and peach flowers flew!
It was an extremely beautiful place.
Mo Xuetong did not expect such a heavenly garden within Princess Royal’s Manor and was stunned by its beauty. The peach blossoms and bamboo sticks made one feel refreshed as one entered its ethereal grounds.
“Please rest here for a while, Your Highness. There are books and paintings inside the houses inside. If you are tired, you can rest on the bed there as well.” Nanny Qin smiled.
Mo Xuetong brought her two servants into the peach forest.
She turned a corner around the path and saw green bamboo sticks shooting out of the ground, standing tall and appearing straight.
The garden was huge and they turned two more corners before finding a bamboo house.
A creek bent itself around the bamboo house and a few rocks lie on it. It only took one glance for Mo Xuetong to fall in love with the bamboo house within the peach blossoms. The elegance here was dreamlike.
Mo Lan and Mo Ye could not help but gasp at the sight in front of them, despite Mo Lan’s composure.