There was a horse carriage parked at the back door of the Mo Manor, with the windows and door shaded with curtains. It stopped at the corner, and looked nothing unusual at first glance. It was just like the ordinary horse carriage parked in the lane. But the green cloth curtains slightly lifted from time to time, which indicated the anxious mood of the people inside.
The horse carriage had been parked at the back door for a long while. It parked here in the middle of the day and did not leave when the evening lights were lit, as if there was really no one inside. Mo Huawen had already received the message. He sat in the dark study after he heard the guard’s report…
When Xu Yan got the news and came, Mo Huawen had been sitting alone in the study for a long time. He stared blankly at the door of the study. The tea on the desk was cold without a trace of warmth. Through the light from the lanterns outside the room, one could see that the tea leaves were floating on the water. The man appeared lifeless. He looked at the tea in the cup. Mo Huawen did not know that there was another person in the study.
Xu Yan waved her hand, and all the young and old maidservants left. She asked the old maidservant to put the hamper at the door. She took a candle from a maidservant’s hand, stepped over the threshold with difficulty, and entered the study.
The swaying of the light woke up Mo Huawen, who was lost in thought. He raised his head and stared at the comer. After a while, he focused his attention and saw that it was Xu Yan, who was having a big belly in front of him. He quickly stood up, turned around the desk, took the candle from her hand, and inserted it on the candlestand.
The whole room was lit up by the candlelight!
“Old Sir, I’ve brought you food.” Xu Yan did not ask any questions when she saw Mo Huawen’s grave expression. She turned around with a smile and went to pick up the hamper that had been placed at the door.
“I’ll do it. You just sit.”
Mo Huawen stole a march on her and walked past her. He picked up the hamper and placed it on the desk.
“Old Sir, I have been waiting for you at Yanyu House for a long time, so I came with food. I was afraid that you would be too busy with your work and wouldn’t even have time to eat. It turns out that I guessed right. Old Sir, you should pay attention to your health. If you are tired and sick… What should I and the child in my belly do?”
Xu Yan said softly. She opened the hamper and carefully took out plates of food. She said in a casual manner, but after she finished her words, she seemed to be choked with sobs! However, there was still a faint gentle smile on her face, as if the moment of choking was just an illusion.
But her slightly ragged breathing and somewhat hoa.r.s.e voice showed that Xu Yan was not in a calm mood.
Mo Huawen looked at her quietly. He reached out and pulled her to sit down on a chair beside him. His gaze landed on the swell of her belly. There was a new life there. It was his child, a completely innocent child who had not been devoured by desire or blinded by greed and would not make a vicious decision for personal gain.
“Is the child okay?” There was no sound for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice was a little hoa.r.s.e.
“The child is very good. He moved for a while in the afternoon. When the doctor came to feel the pulse in the morning, he also said that the child is very good. Everything is fine, and he asked me not to worry, and to keep a good mood.” Xu Yan’s eyes also fell on her belly, and her mouth curved into a gentle smile.
The smile carried the maternal kindness!
This was her and Mo Huawen’s first child that she had been wanting for a long time. The child would be born soon, so how could Xu Yan not be happy? Mo Huawen was indeed a little old for her, but it did not prevent her from falling in love with him. He was still elegant when he was middle-aged.
Xu Yan married him because she liked him. She had already known that the situation in his family was complicated. One of his concubines became his legal wife; she heard that her cousin died in a doubtful way; later, even his first wife’s daughter was left in Cloud City; he only brought a few concubines and their sons and daughters to work in the capital.
The legal wife was dead and a concubine took that position. His only son was born by a concubine, and the two concubines’ daughters were not the kind of people who would behave themselves. Xu Yan did not want to be the second wife of such a family. However, the elegant and lonely man had unknowingly won her heart.
As such, she accepted it no matter how complicated the situation of the Mo Manor was!
“Then why did you come here at this time? You can just ask a maidservant to bring it over. Don’t tire the child.” Mo Huawen retracted his gaze from Xu Yan’s belly, turned behind the desk and sat down.
“The maidservants heard from the manservant that you were alone in the study. I was afraid that you would be too busy to stop, so I came to take a look.” There was a hint of worry in Xu Yan’s eyes as she looked at Mo Huawen with concern.
“I’m fine. You go back first. I still have some official doc.u.ments to deal with. I’ll come back when I’m done. Don’t worry.” There was a hint of gentleness in Mo Huawen’s eyes. “Your belly is getting heavier and heavier. You should pay more attention to your health. It’s already so late. You should rest early.”
Recently, as Xu Yan’s belly was getting bigger and bigger, Mo Huawen had not gone to her room to rest for a long time. Most of the time, he slept in the study. According to his words, he would come to her room tonight. Xu Yan’s heart was full of happiness. She knew that he had always been missing his late wife. He married her in order to take care of Mo Xuetong, his late wife’s daughter, better.
He was not the one who spoiled his concubines and killed his wife as people said. Xu Yan had learned from Mo Xuetong how helpless he was at that time. Outsiders only said that he was heartless, but did not know the whole story under his ruthlessness. Knowing his affection and righteousness, she was willing to wait for him. She would wait until the day came when he was completely out of the shadow of the past and could see her and her child.
“Well, I will listen to you, Old Sir. I’m going back right now. I will leave two maidservants in the corridor. After the meal, you can get the manservants to clean up and ask them to take it away. Old Sir, you should go to bed early since it is cold tonight,” Xu Yan reminded Mo Huawen and stood up obediently. She bade him farewell and walked out. The child in her belly was getting bigger and bigger. She would not risk him.
She had listened to Mo Xuetong’s words, and her mind had been conveyed. She believed that Mo Huawen was a sensible person and understood what was more important. Compared to Mo Yufeng alone, Mo Xuetong, Xu Yan and the child in her belly were more important. Xu Yan was not worried that Mo Huawen would be softhearted. As the lord mayor of the capital, he was not a person who did not know what was right and what was wrong. Military officers were often described as decisive. If he was not decisive enough, he might do things sloppily, and then there would be endless trouble in the future.
Mo Yufeng was colluding with outsiders to harm Mo Xuetong, and he would definitely implicate the Mo Manor in the end!
Apart from the fact that Mo Yufeng was so vicious that he wanted to ruin Mo Xuetong’s reputation, Mo Xuetong was the daughter-in-law of the royal family, and her husband was Emperor Zongwen’s favorite son. How could Emperor Zongwen allow his son to be cuckolded? Even though the adulterer would be his another son.
However, as he was still his son, the ones to be punished would definitely be Mo Xuetong and the Mo Manor behind her!
A monarch’s anger would cause blood to flow for a thousand miles!
There were over 100 people in the Mo Manor, and they would all be implicated and sentenced to death. Xu Yan did not know why Mo Yufeng was so sure that he would be able to escape. She heard that Auntie Fang used to be a smart woman. She did not expect that the son she gave birth to was not only vicious but also stupid. He should think that even if the Mo Manor was doomed, he would still be able to survive.
When a bird’s nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact!
With the skin gone, to what can the hair attach it?
Xu Yan had come here in order to urge Mo Huawen to make up his mind faster. Then he could come out of his hesitation and stopped hesitating for needless softness. When Mo Yufeng and Yu Feng had worked together to plot against Mo Xuetong, his path had already been decided. Compared to so many people’s lives, Mo Yufeng, who was vicious and did not care about family affection, was too light…
In the study, Mo Huawen slowly had his meal, with a calm and peaceful expression on his face. He was no longer as hesitant as before. When he put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hand, there was a hint of sharpness in his eyes. He ordered the manservant to clean up the bowls and chopsticks on the desk. Then he looked at the flickering lights at the corner of the desk with a calm face.
“Somebody!”
Hearing his call, the guard who was waiting outside the door immediately came in. “Yes, Old Sir!”
“Is Auntie Qing getting better these days?” Mo Huawen asked slowly.
“Even though Auntie Qing did not come out in the past few days, the secret guard of King Xuan’s Manor said that she has almost recovered. Someone had come to frighten her on previous nights, but no one had come in the last few days. Auntie Qing has recovered,” the guard reported.
They had communicated with a few secret guards of King Xuan’s Manor, so they had already known that the secret guard of King Xuan’s Manor had frightened Auntie Qing. Even though they did not know why they had done so, they knew that it had been peaceful these past few days. Auntie Qing had been taking medicine these few days and no one had disguised into a female ghost to hara.s.s her at night. It was not a serious illness, so she had almost recovered.
“Did she go to Eldest Young Master’s place?”
“The day before yesterday, Auntie Qing wanted to go to Eldest Young Master’s place, but was stopped by the people outside Eldest Young Master’s courtyard. After that, Auntie Qing also asked someone to send some things to Eldest Young Master. She did not go there in person, and only said that she was ill,” the guard reported truthfully. Auntie Qing had been very kind to the Eldest Young Master recently, as if she were his mother.
She had not yet recovered from her illness and was already worried about Mo Yufeng. After she went to his place but didn’t see him, she ordered people to send him something.
Mo Huawen pondered for a moment and had already made up his mind. He nodded and said, “There’s no need to guard his courtyard too tightly. If Auntie Qing’s people go to send things over, let them in.”
Auntie Qing’s people had already sent things to Mo Yufeng several times since noon, but they were all sent back by the two guards outside his room. When the guard heard Mo Huawen’s orders, he immediately understood and nodded in agreement.
Mo Yufeng was grounded and locked up in his own yard, leaving only two old maidservants to take care of his daily life. There wasn’t even a young maidservant in his courtyard. And two strong guards were sent to stay at the door, and it was obvious that they were not easy to deal with. Mo Yufeng looked out of the window with a gloomy face. It had been a while, but there was nothing he could do. He walked around in the room like an ant on a hot pan…
Today was the appointed day. However, not only could he not get out, but no message had come from Auntie Qing. Usually, he could even see someone sent by Auntie Qing to send some things over, but no one had come today. How could Mo Yufeng not be annoyed? He had to go out today.
