Hu Qianyue had come because she wanted to drag Mo Xuetong to see Princess Caifeng and humiliate her. They had been living in King Xuan’s Manor for so many days, but Consort Xuan had been ill and they had never seen her face. Mo Xuetong gave them the impression of being so weak that the wind almost blew her over.
As for the last time they met, even if she went into her room and had a look, Consort Xuan didn’t say anything. It could be seen that Consort Xuan was a coward.
When the maidservant had come to report that Consort Xuan was going to enter the palace, she had especially volunteered to come. She had no good intentions in the beginning.
As long as Consort Xuan talked to her, she was confident that she could bring her to Princess Caifeng. Princess Caifeng had lost face because of Consort Xuan, so she would think of a way to deal with her. She could take this opportunity to humiliate Consort Xuan and spread the news that Princess Caifeng did not know how to behave properly. At the thought of this, Hu Qianyue felt excited.
She had come to the Qin Kingdom with Princess Caifeng with malicious intentions. Of course, the marriage between the two countries was arranged by her cousin, but they didn’t want Princess Caifeng who was related to the Crown Prince to be the one marrying into the Qin Kingdom. So Hu Qianyue would do everything she could to ruin Princess Caifeng’s reputation. She would not allow her to marry a good man.
She had witnessed that Princess Caifeng was flirting with these princes, and she felt pleased. So she did not say anything about it. The worse Princess Caifeng’s reputation was, the less useful she became in the marriage. Of course, it would be even better if there were rumors that Princess Caifeng was arrogant and was trying to humiliate Consort Xuan.
Standing outside the main courtyard and waving her fan, Hu Qianyue looked dignified and elegant, with a smile on her face. She was waiting for Mo Xuetong to meet her. A weak and useless Consort Xuan was indeed fun.
“Miss Hu, Her Lady invites you in.” A maidservant came over to politely invite her. Everything was within Hu Qianyue’s expectation.
As she entered the courtyard and reached the front door of the main room, two maidservants came over and stopped the four maidservants behind her from each side.
“You, what do you mean?” Hu Qianyue’s face darkened.
“They have to stay here,” Mo Yu said politely, with smiles.
“I brought them with me when I entered the Southern Barbarian Lands’ imperial palace. Can’t I now?” Hu Qianyue raised her head and uttered proudly.
This was true. Hu Qianyue was also arrogant in the Southern Barbarian Lands, so she could get close to Princess Caifeng. As the Empress and her cousin, the Third Prince could back her, and her father was a general in the Southern Barbarian Lands, Hu Qianyue had a high status in the Southern Barbarian Lands. She really could go in and out of the imperial palace at will.
“But this is not the Southern Barbarian Lands.” Mo Yu did not give in, and there was a hint of ridicule in the smile at the corners of her mouth. She was here to threaten Hu Qianyue, so this time, she did not hold back her temper.
Hu Qianyue was stunned when she heard that. However, the next second, she snapped, “I’m just here to see Consort Xuan. Is this how Her Lady of the Qin Kingdom treats her guests?”
She especially said it to Mo Xuetong who was inside. She brought this matter up to the relationship between the two countries. She thought that the weak Consort Xuan did not dare to welcome her. She wanted her to obediently allow her people in. If Consort Xuan wanted to intimidate her, she had to see if she had the ability to do so!
“Miss Hu, is this how you asked to see the prince’s wife of your country in the Southern Barbarian Lands? Even if Princess Caifeng will… at most, she has the same status as Her Lady. Miss Hu, do you think you’re n.o.bler than the princess in the Southern Barbarian Land?” Although Mo Yu still kept smiling, she didn’t show any retreat.
A high-ranking consort like Mo Xuetong, who was also the legal wife of a prince, only needed to bow to the Empress Dowager and the Empress in the palace. Among the princesses, only the Fifth Princess, who was born by the Empress, could be compared with her. The daughter of an official like Hu Qianyue could not be compared with her at all.
Although Hu Qianyue was no inferior to Princess Caifeng in the Southern Barbarian Lands, she did not dare to compare herself to Princess Caifeng no matter what on the surface. Furthermore, Princess Caifeng was only an ordinary princess in the Southern Barbarian Lands. She had put on airs in the Qin Kingdom these days, making it difficult for her and Hu Qianyue to see her true status clearly.
Mo Yu’s words were like a sharp warning. Hu Qianyue immediately opened her mouth but did not know what to say.
The smile on her face faded away slowly, and there was a trace of gloomy anger in her eyes. She turned around and was about to go out. “Since it’s so difficult to see Her Lady, I don’t dare to disturb you!”
“Miss Hu, please wait!” A woman’s soft voice came from behind.
A smug smile appeared on Hu Qianyue’s face. As she had expected, Consort Xuan was indeed timid. After being frightened by her, she no longer dared to talk nonsense about status.
When she turned around, she was stunned. There was only a maidservant who lifted the curtains in front of her, instead of Consort Xuan who she had imagined was nervous.
“Miss Hu, Her Lady invites you in!” Mo Lan stretched out her hand slightly to welcome the guest.
“What does Her Lady’s mean?” Hu Qianyue’s expression grew cold. The opponent did not give in and did not show any sincerity to ask her to stay. Consort Xuan was different from what she had imagined; she seemed to be very difficult to deal with.
“Miss Hu, this is King Xuan’s Manor. Since you are here, please come in and have a seat. Otherwise, if His Highness finds out about it, he will think that you are intentionally here to cause trouble. That would not be good,” Mo Lan stated with a faint smile.
She came and went as she wanted. Mo Lan really didn’t know whether Miss Hu, who seemed to be smart, really thought highly of herself or looked down on Mo Xuetong. There was no such person in the Qin Kingdom, who wanted to run amok in King Xuan’s Manor. Only her master was rampant in the palace. Unexpectedly, there would be someone who dared to come and humiliate him.
These words made Hu Qianyue unable to continue for a moment, and she showed annoyance and embarra.s.sment on her face.
As for King Xuan’s character, Hu Qianyue had already asked about it before she moved in. King Xuan was the Qin Kingdom’s Emperor’s favorite son and it was said that even the Emperor himself could not control him. He was a willful man. It was said that no one dared to offend him in the Qin Kingdom. Ever since she moved in, Hu Qianyue had reminded her people to be careful and not to mess with the extremely arrogant King Xuan.
Fortunately, King Xuan had disappeared recently. It was said that his wife was about to die and he did not have time to receive the guests. Thus, he just allowed others to do it. However, no one in the Qin Kingdom felt that something was wrong, and those princes came to receive. Judging from this, one could see how much King Xuan was favored by the Emperor!
Faced with King Xuan, Hu Qianyue knew herself, and she could not deal with him head-on!
But now, Consort Xuan in a weak situation tried to take advantage of King Xuan to suppress her. Hu Qianyue felt embarra.s.sed, but she also sobered up because of it. She realized that the person inside was not the weak and incompetent person of rumors. Then she thought of the news that she had ignored—she heard that King Xuan liked Consort Xuan very much. Otherwise, he would not have stayed in front of her bed for so many days and did not even receive the envoys.
Hu Qianyue turned around and gestured to the maidservants behind her to wait there. Then, she followed Mo Lan into the room.
It seemed that she did not know Consort Xuan well enough. Then she might as well take a good look at the weak and sickly Consort Xuan.
As for that idiot Princess Caifeng, all she had to do was to add fuel to the story. That way, she would be able to irk her.
The curtains had been lifted high up. Hu Qianyue then realized that no matter whether it was the ones who stopped her maidservants, the one who invited her in, or the one who lifted the curtains, they were all beautiful. No wonder people said that King Xuan’s Manor was full of beauties. King Xuan was extremely handsome, and of course, all the people in his manor were beauties.
Among these princes, it was said that there were the most women in King Xuan’s back courtyard, and he was a romantic man.
Among all the beauties, Consort Xuan had gained King Xuan’s attention, which meant that she would definitely not be an ordinary person. Then, the maidservants she had seen earlier all served King Xuan in bed. This kind of person seemed to have a low status. However, since they could get close to King Xuan, they could not be taken lightly.
Hu Qianyue had completely restrained herself from prying. After thinking about it for a while, she did not know what to do with Consort Xuan as she followed Mo Lan into the main room.
When she saw the woman on the wide back chair in front of her, a trace of surprise flashed across her face, but then she was stunned!
Even though her face was still pale, she had delicate beauty in her appearance, making one feel pity for her while stunned. One would feel that the woman in front of them should be held in the hands. Hu Qianyue had long thought that Consort Xuan must be exceptionally beautiful, but she did not expect her to be so stunning.
Although Princess Caifeng was the most beautiful woman of the Southern Barbarian Lands, compared to the woman in front of her, the princess failed not only because of her features but also because of her aura. But why did the person in front of her give her a sense of familiarity as well as amazement?
“Miss Hu, we meet again.” Mo Xuetong sized Hu Qianyue up as a faint and elegant smile tugged at her lips.
The smile reminded Hu Qianyue, and she immediately remembered that she did have met the woman in front of her. At that time, she sneaked into the capital and said that she was looking for the missing Crown Prince. On the other hand, her cousin asked her to do something. Later, she met two women and had a dispute. Between them, the calm one was Consort Xuan in front of her.
At that time, because the main object of the argument was not Consort Xuan, she looked at her a few times, only feeling that the woman was very beautiful and had a sense of elegance. She had long felt that she was not an ordinary person. Furthermore, they were talking about King Chu at that time. Since they used King Chu as a shield, Hu Qianyue subconsciously thought that she was King Chu, Feng Yulei’s woman, and did not expect one of them to be Consort Xuan.
“You’re Consort Xuan. Greetings, My Lady!” Even though Hu Qianyue was shocked, as a smart person, she immediately adjusted her mood, moved forward and curtsied respectfully.
“Miss Hu, you don’t have to be so polite. Please take a seat.” Mo Xuetong smiled slightly and ordered someone to serve tea.
Mo Lan then brought tea and snacks and stood behind Mo Xuetong.
Mo Xuetong took a sip of the tea and wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. Then, she looked up and asked, “Miss Hu, why are you in such a hurry to see me before I enter the palace?”
Why? Hu Qianyue was speechless by Mo Xuetong’s straightforward question. Originally, she wanted to drag Mo Xuetong in front of Princess Caifeng so that the angry princess could humiliate her. However, this time, she realized that Consort Xuan was not as weak as she had imagined. So she did not dare to speak so unscrupulously as before.
She had deliberately stopped Consort Xuan, but she could not bear the charge!
