Chapter 396 King Jin Manor Was Infinitely Close to the Throne
Feng Yuran was indeed a reliable man. When Mo Xuetong woke up from her afternoon nap, the two documents were already sent to her table.
She merely read the second half of the document about Yu brothers, choosing to focus on matters recently. Indeed, the Yu brothers were close to Yu Mingyong now, helping him resolve his sexual scandals, meaning that they had already formed the alliance with Consort Yu. Mo Xuetong flipped the documents as she thought about the situation. She then closed it and engaged in deep thought before picking up the document about Princess Royal.
Her expression immediately changed once she had flipped two pages of the document! She placed the document down after reading it meticulously twice. She frowned as a chill ran into her heart, and her limbs turned cold as if they had been immersed in cold water.
No wonder her secret guard would call Mother Third Princess!
No wonder those secret guards would be plotting against their “little master”!
No wonder Princess Royal cared a lot about Mother but yet was worried that others might know about it. She broke all relations with Mother after Mother married away, as if they were just ordinary friends.
Bai Yihao was in the Yan Kingdom. Even if he wanted to hurt her and subdue those men, it would be hard for him to command them with ease. Amidst these affairs, Princess Royal had always been involved.
In her previous life, Princess Royal lived in a different world from hers. She figured that the downfall of Fu General Manor was related to Princess Royal. Initially, she wanted to avoid Princess Royal so that Fu General Manor would not evoke her jealousy and hatred.
Hence, she used the silk from Cloud city to flatter Princess Royal as she carefully removed her men.
After she entered the palace, Princess Royal had always been nice to her, acknowledging him as her daughter when she was in difficulty, giving her the title of Princess Anping for her to protect herself. She cared for Mo Xuetong deeply, sending all treasures to her as if she were her real mother. Actually, Mo Xuetong did treat her as her real mother at the bottom of her heart.
However, she did not expect such a person to collaborate with Bai Yihao to ruin her reputation!
Her hand trembled slightly. Touching the teacup on the table, she sipped on the water to swallow her pain and bitterness.
“My lady, Princess Royal sent her man here to invite you and His Highness to her banquet tomorrow.” Mo Lan came in, lifting the curtain to ask her.
“Is there any event happening tomorrow in Princess Royal’s Manor?”
“Nothing much. She said that she wanted to host a banquet for her nephews and their wives since the weather was good and Empress Dowager had recovered.” Mo Lan replied.
“Alright, I’ll be there tomorrow morning.” Mo Xuetong nodded in agreement. No matter what, she had to attend the banquet tomorrow. As for Feng Yuran, he could do whatever he wished since he was injured.
However, her heart was a mess…
“Yes, I shall reply them.”
Mo Lan retreated!
In the evening, when Feng Yuran entered, he realized that the room was empty, without a single servant. A lone lantern gave off yellow light, making the beautiful silhouette look bitter and lonely as well.
“What’s wrong?” Feng Yuran pushed the door open and asked urgently, stunned by what he saw.
Because of his anxiety, his lazy voice was unconsciously rushed.
“You’re back.” Mo Xuetong raised up her head and looked at Feng Yuran for a while in a daze before entering his warm embrace. She then turned sober, her dull eyes recovered. However, her voice was still a little hoarse.
“What’s the matter?” Feng Yuran touched her face with his hand. Her face was like a cold jade, with a cool air beneath the smoothness. His hand tightened as he hugged her.
“Was Mo Ye and Mo Feng sent by Mother as well?” Mo Xuetong allowed his hand to touch her face. His warm hand sent warmth into her body, washing away her chillness through her skin into her heart.
“When I returned to the palace, Aunt told me about the matter in private. She asked me to agree to whatever demands the person with the token make. If I was just an ordinary prince, I would not have known that it was the private token of King Jin. After all, I was not born when the matter occurred.” Feng Yuran hugged Mo Xuetong tight, his thin lips moved as his starry eyes turned bright. He chose to speak slowly after thinking for a while.
He had always wanted to tell Mo Xuetong these things but he lacked the opportunity. Given this chance, he wanted Mo Xuetong to understand what was going on.
“Actually, I saw this private token before as I found it in the secret scrolls of the imperial family. Father had always been secretly investigating this affair. When King Jin died then, he left a few important things for his children, even though he only had three daughters. Father knew about your mother first and hence I knew her identity all along. Thus, I visited your old house when I went to Cloud City.”
Mo Xuetong remembered that Feng Yuran appeared then as a man in black. Then, she remembered the man in black looking through her mother’s belongings. No wonder as a prince, Feng Yuran would appear in an old house in Cloud City dressed in all black.
“Did everyone know that Mother was the daughter of King Jin?” After a brief silence, Mo Xuetong asked.
“The others merely suspected. No one knew that Consort Jin was saved by Fu General Manor before giving birth to your mother. They only knew that Consort Kin had a child that was saved by an aristocrat, but no one was sure which family it was. Hence, they targeted the four great manors. In that year, there was no male offspring from the four great manors. Hence, Consort Jin must have given birth to a daughter.”
Feng Yuran touched her warmed face gently.
Involuntarily, Mo Xuetong rubbed her face on his long slender palm. She squinted as her long eyelashes brushed against his palm, sending warmth from within which heated her cold heart. “The reason why that incident happened in the four great manors was that the thing was hidden with a jade ornament?” She asked slowly.
Mo Xuetong turned sober now as she organized the details in her head.
Servant incident in the back garden of Fu General Manor; the missing lady of Mingguo Manor; kidnapped concubine of Ding General Manor and the theft of ancestral offerings in Ping General Manor were all related to each other and were all related to jade ornaments. With what Feng Yuran told her, Mo Xuetong had a rough idea of the whole situation.
“I heard that it was in a piece of jade ornament.” Feng Yuran replied.
“Is it important to you?” Mo Xuetong narrowed her eyes, but couldn’t help peeping at the expression of Feng Yuran, her hands tightly clenched beneath her sleeves.
Her sharp fingernails penetrated her palm as she bit her lower lip to suppress the throbbing at the bottom of the heart.
“It’s not important to me.” Feng Yuran smiled slightly as he kissed her closed eyelids. It felt like a feather brushing across her face softly, destroying the thick castle she built in her heart. Her tears fell uncontrollably due to her inexplicable grievances and impulse. She could only grab his sleeves but could barely make clear the flying butterflies on his purple robe! Her body was no longer stiff as she started shivering.
She could not stop crying!
If he was making use of her too, if he approached her for that object too, there was no one in the world she could trust anymore, no one…
“Feng Yuran, Feng Yuran…” She cried as she tried her best to look at his face and smile to him, calling out his name as if she could only feel his presence then. Just now, she felt that she was about to die. She was afraid that he would admit that it was important to him, afraid that he would say that it was his everything.
She was afraid that she was his chess piece, a piece that could be easily abandoned on his way to power.
She knew his ambition and she was willing to advance and retreat with him. However, she did not want him to approach her and marry her for that purpose.
His reply wasn’t long but it seemed like an entire life for her as blood froze in her heart. She was only revived hearing what he said, as her blood flowed again in her veins. Previously, under the light, she became more and more afraid, almost unable to face him.
If he was merely using her like everyone else, she would not have the courage to stay alive!
In her previous life, she was used by Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun. Her body burnt in the flames and was never buried. Having lived a miserable life, she vowed to not have such a desperate end in this life…
She would wish that she had never revived if she was met with the same end.
“I am here, Tong’er. I am here and I will always be here.” Feeling her uneasiness and fear, Feng Yuran hugged her tightly and whispered in her ears to calm her.
His chin was tightly pressed against her forehead. His breathing brought out a thick warm sensation that surrounded her. He could feel cold water droplets dripping on his body. As if it could penetrate his clothes, it burnt his heart, making him hurt.
“Why… not important… to you…” Finally, she stopped crying. Mo Xuetong’s fingers were twisted in his clothes as she asked, stuttering. Her bright watery eyes seemed to be just cleansed, showing a clear yet mysterious color, like misty clouds. She looked both pitiful and distressing.
“A private sale of King Jin lies inside. But most importantly, there was a blank edict stating the succession of the throne, with the imperial seal of the emperor stamped.”
Feng Yuran’s words seemed casual as he smiled gently as if it were just an ordinary business. However, it was like thunder to Mo Xuetong. Her eyes widened in shock, with tears still lingering on her eyelashes. She looked at Feng Yuran in utter disbelief, almost forgetting to breathe.
She tightened her grip on Feng Yuran’s clothes as her knuckles turned white. This was even more shocking than when she discovered in her previous life that Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun were lying to her. How was that possible! How could such a thing happen? Was the then emperor mad?
This was incredible!
An empty edict! An empty imperial edict for succession!
Even a woman like Mo Xuetong knew what that signified. No wonder King Jin had secret guards for her daughters when it was only for legitimate Princesses of the imperial family. No wonder King Jin’s manor was as prosperous as the palace. No wonder even under the siege of the late Emperor, the descendants of King Jin could still escape.
That was an answer that Mo Xuetong couldn’t believe.
King Jin used to be infinitely close to the imperial throne!
It was almost at his fingertips!