Chapter 734 Truth or Fake, Truth Was Fake
It was the head of the Lan family, Lan Tian!
What surprised Qing Zhu the most was another person who came in with Lan Tian—Lan Luo’s uncle, an elegant merchant. How could the Lan family find him? Wasn’t he sent far away to do business and would never come back for a while? But who did she see? He appeared surprisingly in front of her.
Qing Zhu had met the man a few times.
As she thought that Mo Xuetong was going to be exposed, she felt a twinge of regret. She did not want anything right now and just wanted to protect Mo Xuetong to leave.
Mo Xuetong sensed her nervousness. She tugged at her sleeves and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It can’t be your uncle. Your uncle is doing business in a distant place. He specifically told me that he would leave for half a year and asked me to follow and protect you for half a year.” In front of so many people, Qing Zhu certainly would not say anything else, but only vaguely transmitted the message. Although she also felt that the Lan family was very powerful, they could find the person that Bai Yihao had hidden.
At this thought, cold sweat appeared on her head!
She was the one who brought Mo Xuetong out of the palace, so she had to bring her away as well. She could not let anything happen to Mo Xuetong no matter what.
“Qing Zhu, that’s an imposter.” Seeing how nervous and wary Qing Zhu was, Mo Xuetong sharply grasped the key point. She suddenly smiled sweetly and her expression was serene and peaceful.
“But, Miss, he looks…” Qing Zhu was stunned for a moment. She couldn’t care less about the others present and spontaneously refuted.
“He looks like my uncle?” Mo Xuetong smiled slightly. Her red lips were like a cherry blossom falling down, making her look extremely charming. Her clear and watery eyes landed on that person and she looked at him with interest. Then, she smiled at Lan Tian who had entered. “You don’t think he is my uncle, do you?”
Lan Tian stood still and asked with a smile, “Isn’t he?”
Mo Xuetong suddenly smiled. She went back to her original seat and sat down. “Minister of Public Works is a brilliant man of wide learning. You must know nothing is too strange in the world. There are similar people. What’s so strange about it?” she said to Lan Yanwen, who had been quietly sipping the tea, regardless of the person standing in front of her who was the current head of the Lan family.
“She is so bold!”
Lan Yuyan said to herself, but she did not dare to be as arrogant as Mo Xuetong. She stood up and gracefully curtsied to Lan Tian. The butler on the other side hurried over and curtsied to Lan Tian respectfully.
Lan Tian nodded and walked in.
“Luo’er, I’m really your uncle. It’s only been a few days since we last met, but you… you don’t even know me.” The trembling voice came from the person behind Lan Tian. He looked at Mo Xuetong excitedly and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and then rolled down his face. Unlike Lan Qing earlier, he seemed to be revealing his true sentiments.
But when she thought about it carefully, she found that the exposed expression on his face was quite different from that of that person.
As soon as she said that, Qing Zhu’s heart was really at ease. She steadied her breath. Of course, this man was an impostor!
She didn’t show it on her face, but her heart was getting heavier and heavier. The Lan family kept showing her the impostors. What on earth were they going to do?”
Qing Zhu would never think that the Lan family had nothing to do when they felt bored, and deliberately made fun of the two of them.
“Sir, don’t mistake her for someone else. Our miss isn’t your niece. Even though you look the same as her uncle, her uncle doesn’t look like you at all. You have nothing in common in your temperament,” Qing Zhu interrupted before Mo Xuetong could speak. After all, she had seen Lan Luo’s uncle before, but Mo Xuetong had never seen him at all. How could she say the details?
“Luo’er, how could I not be your uncle? You came to my family when you were three years old. I value you above everything else. That year, you accidentally bumped your head, and I ran to the clinic with you in my arms. On the way, I fell down accidentally. After getting up, I still carried you and rushed regardless of my injury. When we arrived at the clinic, the physician wrapped up your injury, but I fainted.”
It had to be said that what Lan Luo’s uncle said was very moving. His sincere tears and cordial, warm words even made Lan Yuyan show a faint sadness in her eyes. She was also from a branch of the Lan family and her status was far different from the Lan family’s. When she was young, she was sent to the main branch because of her beautiful appearance.
But no matter what, that was not her real home. When she was bullied by other girls, she could only cry silently and did not dare to tell anyone. Otherwise, she would suffer even greater revenge.
She could not help but say, “Sister Luo, your uncle really loves you.”
“My uncle? You’re not!” Mo Xuetong stood out from beside Qing Zhu and sized up her “uncle” who revealed his sentiments. With a hint of sarcasm on her lips, she said, “Even though my uncle is a businessman, he can do hard work. How could he have such a pair of white and tender hands?”
“Minister of Public Works, let me go back. The Lan family has done so many things just to pull me to your side. I might as well tell you, I want the head of the man who caused my father and mother to die. If you can do it, we’ll talk about the cooperation.” Mo Xuetong turned around and smiled at Lan Yanwen without looking at her “uncle” who had been stunned for a while and withdrew his hand nervously.
Lan Tian’s expression was a little sullen as he sat on the first seat.
He was the one in charge of the Lan family, but Mo Xuetong had always treated him as an invisible person. Giving a cough, he said solemnly, “Little Luo, the direct descendant of the Lan family has already been punished by the family, and the branch he belongs to has also been expelled from the Lan family. The Lan family has avenged you. In the future, the Lan family will still be your parents’ home. There are many girls like you in the back courtyard. If something happens, there will be someone to back you up.”
He was hinting that Mo Xuetong should stop when things were good. If she wanted to enter the East Palace and obtain the Crown Prince’s favor, without the Lan family as her backing, it would not last long even if she got the Crown Prince’s favor. There were so many beauties in the palace, and those who could really be doted on and give birth to children all had a strong family background.
He was warning Mo Xuetong that if they worked together, they would both get benefit, and that if they came apart, they would both lose. If Mo Xuetong were smart, she should have stopped when she got a little benefit.
She could talk about the conditions appropriately, but she shouldn’t take herself seriously. There was no shortage of beauties in the backyard of the Lan family!
“Minister of Public Works, you really don’t want to negotiate with me? If that’s the case, please send us back.” Mo Xuetong rolled her watery eyes. She did not look at Lan Tian but at Lan Yanwen. She suddenly smiled sweetly and turned to ask Qing Zhu, “Did you make it clear just now?”
Qing Zhu understood what Mo Xuetong said and replied respectfully, “Yes, I’ve made it clear. The chief executive asked us to just come there and he would send someone to pick us up later.”
Before leaving the palace, Qing Zhu went to the East Palace and met with the chief executive of the East Palace. She told him that Mo Xuetong would leave with the Lan family for a while to recognize her family and was worried that there would be no horse carriage when she came back, so he asked the chief executive to send a carriage to pick her up.
Lan Yanwen, who was sitting on one side, frowned slightly. How could the girl in front of him be so calm? She was young, at most 14 or 15 years old, and had a pretty face. However, this world was so big that if someone really wanted to find one, it was impossible that he could not find a pretty woman.
But what about her expression! She was calm and intelligent, and her bright eyes were like the lake’s surface with ripples, clear and intelligent. He didn’t know where she saw it, but he knew that she really knew it. In the past, he thought that women could only be categorized by how beautiful they were, but now he found that women could be so smart and keen.
She had a beautiful and charming appearance. A few strands of her beautiful hair fluttered in front of her chest, making her look more beautiful and elegant. At first glance, she would catch people’s imagination. What was even more surprising was that she was so articulate. She had expected that the Lan family would impose her, and she had even thought of a way out.
The Lan family had informed the Empress about bringing her out of the palace. However, the Empress was the Empress and the Crown Prince was the Crown Prince. Given the Crown Prince’s character, he had never bought something about the Empress. Furthermore, the Emperor doted on the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince and the Empress were to turn against each other because of a lady who joined the Beauty Contest, it would not be worth it.
“It’s getting late. It’s time for the horse carriage from the East Palace to arrive. Then, we shall leave. Minister of Public Works, goodbye!” Mo Xuetong curtsied to Lan Tian politely.
“Sister Luo, are you sure that the East Palace’s carriage will come?” Lan Yanwen narrowed his eyes and raised his chin slightly as his lips curved into a smile.
“Don’t worry, Minister of Public Works. The horse carriage from the East Palace will come.” Mo Xuetong gave a faint smile which was like a blossoming flower, making her seem even more elegant. “A few days ago, I sent a pot of flower that my uncle got by chance to the Crown Prince. His Highness sent someone to say that he was busy and did not have time to summon me. He will summon me and ask me some questions when he’s free.”
“Oh, what’s the flower? It’s so precious that it has drawn His Highness’s attention.” Lan Yanwen did not take it seriously. He just thought that Mo Xuetong deliberately exaggerated it. Bai Yihao was very elegant and it was normal for him to like flowers and plants. However, Lan Yanwen would never believe that there were any flowers or plants that tempted him.
“Sister Luo, you must be kidding. What kind of flower is it? It’s so precious that His Highness thinks of you differently before he sees you.” Lan Yuyan didn’t believe it either.
Lan Tian, Lan Qing, and that fake uncle all looked a little curious, and only the butler, who was standing behind Lan Qing, had a strange expression on his face!
“Yuxiao Flower!” Mo Xuetong answered lightly.
“Yuxiao Flower!” Lan Yanwen was shocked. He suddenly glared at Mo Xuetong and his expression changed. There was a look of scrutiny in his eyes. He waved her hand and a few guards entered to take Lan Tian, Lan Qing, and that fake uncle away. Since Lan Luo had already seen through the fake Lan Tian, he did not have to put on an act and thus asked them to leave.
The Yuxiao Flower was the secret of the Lan family, and only the core members of the family knew it.
“Where did you get the Yuxiao Flower?”
There were only two pots of Yuxiao Flower in the Lan family. One was in his father’s hands, and as for the other one, he had ordered someone to send it to Fu General Manor of the Qin Kingdom. Later, it was said that it was sent to the palace. How could it be in Lan Luo’s hands? The existence of the Yuxiao Flower had always been a secret and others didn’t even know its name. Then how could Lan Luo know about it?
“That day, when my uncle went to the Qin Kingdom to do business, he met a tourist and had a good chat with him. After that, the tourist left in a hurry and left behind a pot of Yuxiao Flower,” Mo Xuetong replied casually with a smile.
Lan Yanwen’s eyes were filled with shock. He had never expected that the Yuxiao Flower would be among the people and sent to Bai Yihao from the palace. When he thought that the secret of the jade token in the pot of Yuxiao Flower might fall into Bai Yihao’s hands, he could not calm down at this time. He suddenly stood up and said to the outside, “Someone, send Sister Luo back to the palace.”
The jade token was obtained from the Empress. The Empress did not mention the specific situation. The Lan family’s strength could not be underestimated. They found that the jade token in the pot was closely related to the rebellion of King Jin of the Qin Kingdom. They sent the flower to Fu General Manor in order to drag the manor into the rebellion case of that year so that the balance of the Qin Kingdom’s military would be broken.
Fu General Manor occupied a quarter of the military power, on par with the power of Ding General Manor. It could be said that they were equally matched. If Fu General Manor fell, Ding General Manor would definitely be more powerful. The Empress’s maternal family in the Yan Kingdom was Ding General Manor. If she could get the support of Ding General Manor, the First Prince might even inherit the throne.
This was the vague answer from the Empress and the investigation of the Lan family. But Lan Yanwen knew that there must be something else. The Lan family had specially prohibited people from letting others know that the Yuxiao Flower was sent by them, afraid that the Empress would shift the blame to the Lan family.
Although the Lan family had sided with the First Prince, the Lan family remained neutral on the surface before the final result came out.
If Bai Yihao found out from the Yuxiao Flower that the Lan family had done something, it would be a big deal!
Lan Yanwen could not care about Mo Xuetong and hurriedly sent her away. Then, he turned around and got on the horse and headed straight for the main manor of the Lan family, with only one servant.