Chapter 353 Insistence by Jerk and Bitch
Outside the garden, Mo Huawen stood there peacefully, sadness in his eyes.
She was an elder that he had respected for years, one that he was willing to forget the fact that it was not his birth mother. Even though she had planned to hurt Tong’er before, he did nothing to her due to the fact that he owed her for raising him up. He merely sent her to his brother’s house to prevent her from causing trouble and hurting herself.
He didn’t expect that everything was just a facade due to her father’s threat to this woman. If not for his father’s plans, he might have been long dead!
Everything that he saw was merely a facade. The peaceful and kind nature of the woman was merely for she dared not provoke him!
A slight cold smile on his face hid the sadness within. He had proper matters to attend to. Turning to look at You Yuecheng, he asked casually, “Why are you here, Second Young Master You?”
Old Madam didn’t expect Mo Huawen to be here. After the initial shock, a tinge of hatred flashed across her eyes as she remembered that the whole household was going to be beheaded. Mo Huawen’s crime had nothing to do with her as he was the son of the other woman and not her own. In the end, her husband did make the wrong decision!
A wave of hatred swept in her heart at that thought. Her husband must be tumbling in his grave to see his beloved son commit such a great sin.
You Yuelian’s eyes flickered and avoided Mo Huawen’s glance but he still came forth smiling. Even though Mo Huawen’s arrival was unexpected, the small booklet was great evidence and the scene was ideally set. Mo Huawen’s last struggles would mean nothing. He mustered his courage and answered, “Sir Mo, I came here to move Second Miss’ dowry but did not expect to find this little booklet. I shall bring this to His Majesty, Sir Mo, beware!”
He was proud and could not help but vocalize his joy.
Mo Xuetong snickered and walked forth slowly, holding Xu Yan’s hand.
Seeing Mo Huawen and Mo Xuetong’s calm demeanor, Xu Yan relaxed inadvertently too. She stared coldly at Old Madam with fury in her eyes. Even though Old Madam was long gone when she entered the house, those from the manor were still around. Even though no one was entirely clear of what had happened before, the bright Xu Yan was able to deduce from her servant’s words about the devious nature of the old lady.
However, she did not expect the old woman to be so malicious as to wish to eliminate the entire household.
“It seems that Second Young Master has great concern on Mo Xueyan’s dowry.” Mo Huawen explained coldly as he glanced at Mo Xueyan, disdain in his eyes. “However, why are you coming to my manor to move her dowries, instead of that of my second brother. I believe that my second brother is the one marrying her daughter to you, not me.”
His words turned from disdain to sharpness as he stared sternly at You Yuelian. He hurried over just now and was told the approximate circumstances of the matter. When he entered the main door, he didn’t appear instantly but took the time to listen to their conversation for a complete understanding of the situation. His pupils darkened. Even though he was gentle inside his house, he was sharp and fierce outside. As the lord mayor, he had seen many criminals and was not a friendly individual who could be easily dealt with.
He suppressed You Yuelian using his aura!
You Yuelian was a little uncomfortable as he tried to evade the stare of Mo Huawen. He found it difficult to answer the question as he did seem a little desperate to come over as a fiancé in obtaining the female dowry in her uncle’s house.
It’s not that Mingguo Manor wanted Mo Xueyan’s dowries as that was just an excuse for obtaining the small booklet in Mo Xueyan’s hand. The plan was to charge Sir Mo for bribery after having found the little booklet in the empty room of Old Madam, involving Mo Xuetong in the process.
Only with her death could Mo Xuetong’s marriage with King Xuan come to an end, stopping King Xuan from relying on Fu General Manor, Princess Royal, and Mo Huawen, who all had Mo Xuetong’s back. That would be like removing a limb from King Xuan, and was the precise reason for You Yuecheng and King Yan to set this plan.
However, it would be difficult for the two women to settle this matter. Even if they did obtain the booklet, Mo Manor could have kept its doors shut, preventing anyone from coming out. What could Mo Xueyan and Old Madam do if a random crime was just assigned onto them?
Therefore, You Yuelian’s appearance was especially important. To prevent Mo Manor from acting desperately, You Yuecheng purposely arranged a few martial artists inside the servants to snatch for the booklet if Mo Manor attacked. If they obtained the booklet, the entire Mo Manor would be gone as the booklet he gave You Yuelian contained information linking to the missing silver in lianghu.
You Yuelian believed that the Emperor was mad now that the silver was still missing, and was waiting for more evidence to surface. If a related booklet was found in Mo Huawen’s manor, he would be more and less gone.
However, You Yuelian did not know that You Yuecheng only ordered his men to protect the booklet, even at the expense of the lives of others.
If something really did happen in Mo Manor, Mo Xueyan and he would die first!
“Uncle, Grandma gifted everything that she bought to me. Thus, I am here to move these objects as my dowries.” Mo Xueyan swayed the booklet in her hand as if protesting. She was afraid of Mo Huawen before this but the thought of Mo Manor’s execution made her less afraid.
“Grandma’s stuff? Second sister, surely you are spouting nonsense. Which one of the objects is grandma’s stuff? Second sister purposefully came here to frame Father. Do you know that framing a court official is punishable by death.” Mo Xuetong sniggered and raised her voice, speaking like a wind chime swaying in cold wind, her words sharp and sultry.
“You are the one spouting nonsense. All these objects belonged to Grandma. She paid for them and did not tell anyone to save her face.” Of course, Mo Xueyan refused to admit her crime and insisted. She did not believe that Mo Xuetong could provide a single piece of evidence as nobody would be able to prove if Grandma did give Mo Huawen silver privately or not.
So what if Mo Xuetong refused to admit it?
“How does second sister prove if these objects belong to Old Madam? If you cannot prove it, does it mean that you are framing Father by having an alliance with Mingguo Manor.” Mo Xuetong smiled as her eyes turned even more eerie and cold, bringing a chilly atmosphere that suffocated everyone.
She was teasing and taunting her!
That expression angered Mo Xueyan immensely. Without even thinking about her words, she lashed out, “I can’t prove it, but can you prove what you said? Mo Xuetong, even if Uncle did not admit that Grandma gave him the money, we would not know who was speaking the truth. We cannot just assume that Uncle was telling the truth but Grandma was lying. Just based on the evidence of bribery, I know that Uncle must not be an honest man, and could very much lie about such stuff.”
A bloodthirsty murderous intent appeared on his face. He had originally wanted to let Mo Xueyan off because of her blood relations with him but he did not expect her to be so rude and unforgiving.
“Second Miss Mo, there is so need to be so angry. Give me the booklet and I shall send it into the palace, and Sir Mo will know whether your accusation is true.” You Yuelian had no patience for such nonsense. His goal today was to obtain the booklet. Under the uncomfortable stare of Mo Huawen, he merely wanted to complete his task and leave.
Even though he was the son of a concubine, he was born in Mingguo Manor and was doted on by Duke Mingguo, living a rich life since his birth. He had seen many places before and even though he acknowledged the precious nature of the objects, he knew that it was not the time to be concerned about that, as his primary task was to frame Mo Manor.
“Stop, Second Young Master You!” Mo Huawen shouted to stop him.
“Do you not think that it’s messy to just have this conversation between us two families! Come, bring those officials from the Ministry of Justice in.” Mo Huawen sniggered as he stopped You Yuelian with his hands.
The servants outside sent those officials from the Ministry of Justice, who had been invited by Mo Huawen, into the garden.
After Mo Huawen greeted them, he prepared chairs for them to sit down.
Seeing his composed demeanor, You Yuelian thought that something was amiss as he looked around, frowning. The matter was totally different from what he imagined it would be like.
Mo Xueyan, however, was completely unaware of the difference as she laughed at their demise. “Mo Xuetong, looks like your death will come sooner with so many people proving your crime. I shall await your execution when all your belongings shall be mine.”
Her state of arrogant drew disdainful looks from the few officials. They looked at You Yuelian and sighed, thinking that it was a pity for him to marry such a woman. However, this state showed that this famous and prestigious son of Mingguo Manor was not so legitimate too, proving the rumors wrong.
Old Madam felt embarrassed too and tugged Mo Xueyan’s sleeves, signaling for her to shut her mouth.
“Since everyone is here already, I shall let Second Sister see my evidence.” Mo Xuetong smirked and received a piece of paper from Mo Lan’s hands before passing it to Mo Huawen. Mo Huawen looked at it before passing it to the nearest official.
The official looked at the paper before frowning and turning to look at the antiques and furniture outside the house. He didn’t speak, but instead, he smiled mysteriously before passing the paper to the next official. The next official seemingly smiled out of mockery before passing the paper to the next person. The paper was circled around before it was passed back to Mo Huawen, and everyone roughly understood the situation.
Assistant Minister Qian of the Ministry of Justice sat in the middle. He raised his head to look at You Yuelian before asking gently, “Second Young Master You, are these the reason why you are here? Is Mingguo Manor really that interested in the miss’ dowries? Or is there another reason?”
Interested in Mo Xueyan’s dowries, thus he ran over excitedly to move them after hearing the existence of his dowries here. Those were the meanings implied behind the official’s words. You Yuelian always had a good reputation other than what happened with Mo Xuemin a few days ago, and many believed that he was being framed then as well. After returning to his house, Duke Mingguo didn’t say much as well.
He was unable to endure the insult after being asked directly if he came here just for the dowries, especially when Official Qian implied that he was working with Mo Xueyan to frame Mo Huawen, a crime that he could not admit anyway.
He mustered his courage and rebutted, “Officials, Second Miss Mo told me that she could not move the objects herself as she was afraid that Mo Manor would stop here. Thus, she asked me to come and help. Is that unacceptable?”
Of course, they were not breaking the law. However, this was an abnormality to the norms and customs of marriage, especially for a young aristocrat. His actions make others wonder if he was really a nobleman.
“How could Second Young Master You just believe that these items belonged to you just based on Second Young Miss Mo’s words, and hence decided to snatch it from Sir Mo’s manor?” Official Qian was an interrogation master and lured him gently on with his question.
“I naturally believed in what Second Miss Mo said.” You Yuelian was sly even though he did not believe that they could prove that Mo Xueyan was lying. As long as Old Madam insisted on her claim, Mo Huawen’s words would prove nothing. Even though the paper that they passed around made him uncomfortable, he decided that it was a lure for him to deliberately expose himself!