“If you don’t want to give the South Pearl head accessory to others, just go to the Empress Dowager’s palace and beg her to return it to you. I heard that the Empress Dowager has been doting on Consort Chu,” someone mocked.
Then there was a great gust of laughter.
Ling Rui’er was both angry and hateful when she saw that someone was on Mo Xuetong’s side. She had wanted to embarra.s.s Mo Xuetong because she could not come up with a way to deny it. She did not expect Mo Xuetong to ask King Xuan to send the South Pearl head accessory to the Empress Dowager’s palace. Ling Rui’er was so angry that she almost wanted to vomit blood.
“You… when did King Xuan give it to the Empress Dowager?” She knew that she could not make any more trouble when she saw the reactions of the crowd around her. Her father and uncle had warned her that if she did something indecent again, they would have another girl of the Ling family marry King Chu.
At the thought of this, she held back the anger in her heart and put on a blank look, but her eyes were full of viciousness.
“It was sent to the Empress Dowager’s palace last night. Oh, I heard that he met the palace servant who took the Empress’ gift to Consort Chu. Don’t you know, Consort Chu?” Mo Xuetong said with a smile as if she did not mind Ling Rui’er’s nonsense. She looked like a n.o.ble lady, while Ling Rui’er was immature. She was more elegant, like a spring breeze that caressed others’ faces, and her aura was like an orchid. It made one think she was impeccable and had a good impression of her.
Some madams and young ladies all smiled at her with a friendly att.i.tude when they saw how dignified and elegant she was. It turned out that it was not Consort Xuan who tried to seduce another man, but was Consort Chu was so petty that she made such a fuss.
King Xuan had entered the palace last night. Furthermore, he even met the palace servant who took gifts the Empress rewarded her with. That meant that the Empress had already known about it yesterday, but she had even sent someone to inform her that Feng Yuxuan had given the South Pearl head accessory to Mo Xuetong as a gift. Obviously she had intentionally tried to sow discord. Ling Rui’er did not doubt Mo Xuetong’s words. If she was lying, how would Mo Xuetong have known that the Empress had rewarded her?
She was clear-headed then and remembered that Feng Yuxuan had told her to watch out for the Empress last time. She was angry and hateful. She was angry that her aunt, the Empress, had tried to frame her up time and time again, and did not respect her, Consort Chu at all; she hated that b.i.t.c.h, Mo Xuetong, and she failed to get hold of her again and instead, made others laugh at her.
She had listened to the Empress today, and she would definitely be reprimanded by Feng Yuxuan when she returned to the manor. Only then did she realize that if the affair between Mo Xuetong and Feng Yuxuan had been affirmed, Mo Xuetong and Feng Yuxuan would not be the only ones who would be shamed. If the Emperor found out that Feng Yuxuan had a problem in personal morals, not only would her uncle not forgive her, but even Feng Yuxuan would not.
She was afraid and hated the Empress. She had plotted against her own niece for King Yan. When she returned, she would definitely reveal the matter in front of her uncle and father. She would show them that the Empress had been using the Ding General Manor while they believed that she had been thinking about the interests of the Ding General Manor.
“I made a mistake. Please forgive me, Consort Xuan.” Ling Rui’er could only force a smile and apologize to Mo Xuetong. Then, she took the watermelon juice offered by the maid and handed it to Mo Xuetong. Her expression softened and she said, “Consort Xuan, it is muggy, and please take the bowl of iced watermelon juice as my apology.”
As a n.o.ble lady, she knew that she had to drop her pride. If she went against Mo Xuetong, others would think that she was not only a petty woman, but she also did not act like a n.o.ble princess. She would have another chance to deal with Mo Xuetong and throw her into the pits of h.e.l.l with her status, but now, it was not the right time.
Mo Xuetong’s gaze landed on the bowl of watermelon juice that she had pa.s.sed to her. A cold glint came into her beautiful eyes. Now that Ling Rui’er had dropped her pride, she had to take the bowl. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips, with hiding sharpness. She glanced at the maid standing by Ling Rui’er’s side from the corner of her eye. Then, she reached out as if she was about to take the bowl of watermelon juice.
Mo Ye, who was standing by Mo Xuetong’s side, followed Mo Xuetong’s gaze and quietly paid attention to the maid’s actions.
She noticed that when Mo Xuetong’s hand was about to reach the watermelon juice in Ling Rui’er’s hand, the maid pretended and hit Ling Rui’er carelessly. Ling Rui’er could not hold the jade bowl filled with watermelon juice in her hand before pouring it onto Mo Xuetong. Mo Xuetong pushed the bowl lightly subconsciously.
The bowl turned to Ling Rui’er herself and she heard a loud thump. The jade bowl filled with ice-cold watermelon juice fell to the ground and more than half of the watermelon juice landed on Ling Rui’er. Her usually green, soft muslin gauze embroidered with red plum blossoms was full of bright red watermelon juice.
Mo Ye quietly retracted her hand and stood by Mo Xuetong’s side quietly.
Ling Rui’er almost leaped away subconsciously, but her clothes were still wet. When she saw her carefully-prepared clothes were in this state, she was so angry that her face darkened.
“Mo Xuetong, you’re…”
“Consort Chu, you don’t have to give me the watermelon juice if you don’t want to. I didn’t insist on having it. I saw that the palace maid had carried this bowl for a while. Why was she fine but when you sent it to me, you poured it on me? Is it because the watermelon juice is too cold to take?”
Mo Xuetong’s expression grew cold. She stood back and looked at the broken jade bowl on the ground. She said with a sarcastic look. After Ling Rui’er had framed Mo Xuetong for taking Feng Yuxuan’s South Pearl head accessory, everyone could not help but suspect that Ling Rui’er had done it intentionally. After all, she had been very unwilling to do so earlier.
“You s.l.u.t, how dare you try to frame me?” Ling Rui’er, who could not even speak after being satirized by Mo Xuetong, suddenly had a brainwave when she saw the disdainful gazes of the crowd. She slapped the palace maid beside her viciously and scolded, “b.i.t.c.h, you deliberately knocked into me and caused me to knock over the watermelon juice. What are you trying to do? Somebody, take her out and give her 30 beatings.”
Now she couldn’t explain anything, and could only take the opportunity to make it clear to everyone. She vented her anger on the palace maid by her side. As the maid was beaten to the ground, she gave her a kick.
The palace maid didn’t expect that Ling Rui’er would slap her without saying anything. Falling on the ground, she looked up and begged fearfully, “My Lady, I didn’t hit you.”
Ling Rui’er was so angry that her lips trembled. Suddenly, she pointed at the palace maid and scolded, “If you didn’t hit me, why couldn’t I hold the bowl? How dare you argue? Well, well, I don’t dare to command you now. Anyway, I know you. You are from the Empress’ palace. I am going to the Empress in the wet dress now. Let her see who is right.”
She was a palace maid of the Empress?! Coupled with Ling Rui’er’s words earlier, the Empress had intentionally made her misunderstand that Feng Yuxuan had sent Mo Xuetong a head accessory. Everyone’s expression changed as they all looked at the palace maid with suspicion. Could it be that the Empress really did not like Consort Xuan and picked on her?
When she heard that Ling Rui’er was going to the Empress, the palace maid was so frightened that she ran up to Ling Rui’er and hugged her leg, pleading, “Please spare my life, Consort Chu. I really did not notice it. I really don’t know if I have knocked into you. Please spare me, My Lady.”
If she was pulled to the Empress, she would definitely die. If the Empress knew that she not only failed but also screwed things up, she would not spare her. The maid was really afraid and did not notice the statement she had made. She was begging for forgiveness, and she was not even so panicked when Ling Rui’er said that she would be beaten 30 times.
It could be seen that she was really scared at this time, and even spoke without thinking.
“You will die if you see the Empress, so you beg for Consort Chu to spare your life?” Mo Xuetong pretended not to understand and asked casually with a frown. Her statement immediately made the madams and ladies, who were watching, darken their gazes. Everyone had experienced fights in the back yard, so they all understood what she meant.
“Third Sister, forget it. Change your clothes first. Let the Empress settle it. It is not good for us to take a person of the Tianfeng Palace there,” Ling Yu persuaded her gently. She reached out to tug at Ling Rui’er’s sleeve and gestured for her to look at her wet dress.
Ling Rui’er would not do something like pulling the palace maid to the Empress, especially when she was in the current pathetic situation where she could not meet anyone at all. How could she go to the Tianfeng Palace to embarra.s.s herself? As such, hearing Ling Yu’s words, she gave up the idea, but she kicked the palace maid viciously and brought her servants to look for a room to change clothes.
Mo Xuetong curled her lips into a smile. She continued to walk through the imperial garden boringly. After what happened earlier, nothing happened to Consort Xuan. The madams and ladies, who looked down on her, could not help but look at her in a different att.i.tude. Mo Ye left her for a while and reappeared behind her.
This was an evening banquet, and it was already evening. The sun had disappeared and it was no longer so hot. Some lanterns in the palace were already on. The banquet would begin soon.
Many young masters and ladies, who had already taken a fancy on each other, were standing together and talking shyly. Some older madams looked at them, smiled, and nodded from time to time. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the garden and someone shouted in the distance, “Hurry up, someone. There is a dead person.”
“A dead person? Who is it?”
“Where is it? Where is it?”…
The entire garden was in chaos. The Empress brought a few n.o.ble consorts to the imperial garden. She stood there with a cold expression. A palace maid ran over to her and knelt in front of her. She trembled so violently that she could not even speak. “Your Majesty, someone has died. Someone has died in the lake there.”
Although the palace maid was scared, she had a clear mind and spoke in an organized way.
“Your Majesty, do you want to have a look together? What if an a.s.sa.s.sin infiltrates the guests? It’s a big deal,” Consort Zhao said to the Empress smilingly. The Emperor was the target of the a.s.sa.s.sination in the imperial banquet. It was a big crime and the a.s.sa.s.sin’s family would be destroyed wholly. How could the Empress afford it?
“Did you see it clearly?” the Empress asked coldly.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I saw it clearly. It should be a palace maid according to the clothes. I didn’t dare to look at it carefully, and I came here to report to Your Majesty.”
“An a.s.sa.s.sin entered the palace just to kill a palace maid!” The Empress sneered at Consort Zhao. She didn’t expect that Consort Zhao would appear in front of her again in such a short time, which really dissatisfied her. When she saw her face that was extremely similar to that of that b.i.t.c.h, the Empress really wanted to scratch her face.
And she was not nice to her when she talked.
