Mo Xuetong did not expect that she happened to run into it even though she did not want to care about their performance.
That scene happened in an alley. The two people, who should not have appeared here, happened to be here and even b.u.mped into each other coincidentally. Mo Xuetong, who happened to be in a room beside, witnessed all this. The window was opened, and the gauze had been drawn. Since the window was not big, and it was a little high, other people could not see the people inside if they paid no attention to it.
This was a jade shop owned by Mo Xuetong. She was checking the account books in the accounting room at that time.
Every month, when things in King Xuan’s Manor were almost done, she would come out and see how her shops were doing. In addition to Xiuning Workshop, Mo Xuetong did not find anything unusual in the other shops. She had already taken charge of all the shops after firing several ineffective shopkeepers.
Some of the shops had once been controlled by Auntie Fang. Fortunately, it didn’t last long. In addition, the Fu General Manor had been a deterrent behind Mo Xuetong, so Auntie Fang didn’t dare to make a big move. She couldn’t change all the staff, and only secretly switched a few people. When Mo Xuetong came back to take charge of the shops, she dealt with all of them.
Without Auntie Fang’s control behind the scene, these shops quickly returned to Mo Xuetong’s hands completely. After the money Auntie Fang had embezzled when she was managing the shops was deducted, the loss was not big overall. Mo Xuetong had intended to buy some things today and see if there were any good gifts for Princess Caifeng by the way. Then, she could ask someone to send them directly to the manor where Princess Caifeng lived.
It was not that there were no precious gifts in King Xuan’s Manor; it was just that she didn’t dare to take Princess Caifeng of the Southern Barbarian Lands lightly. No one knew what would happen. So she went out to buy gifts and asked the shop to directly send them to the princess’s manor later. In this way, she could avoid touching them. If there was anything wrong with them, she could explain it clearly.
Mo Xuetong did not want to become others’ tool and be used at this time!
When she reached here, she remembered that she had a shop here, so she casually came in. When the shopkeeper heard that his boss had come, he hurriedly came out and invited her to enter the accounting room behind the shop. Then he took out the receipts and sales records for this month. Mo Xuetong asked the shopkeeper to go out before she sat quietly in the account room to check the account, with Mo Lan and Mo Ye accompanying her.
It was very quiet in the room except for the sound of the pages turning. Mo Lan softly poured some hot water into Mo Xuetong’s teacup, and Mo Ye stood outside the door.
“Sixth Princess, why did you come to such a place? Is it because good wine needs no bush, and its sweet smell alone attracts guests? Is there any good place?” A gentle voice outside the window broke the silence of the room. Mo Xuetong looked up at the window thoughtfully with her jet-black eyes. From her position, nothing could be seen.
Mo Ye also heard the sound at the door and quickly entered the room. Seeing a chair by the window, she lightly landed on it. Then, she peered out through the gauze.
Mo Lan was anxious as she was afraid that Mo Ye would startle the people outside. She wanted to pull Mo Ye down. Mo Xuetong smiled and waved her hand, pointing at the window gauze to indicate that it was fine. The window was high and it was hard to see through the gauze at a distance. Mo Ye was standing close and should be able to vaguely see who it was.
She didn’t expect that there would be such a coincidence—the two girls met each other, and she was here to listen!
Mo Lan heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Mo Xuetong’s gesture. She had known how capable Consort Xuan was. Since her mistress had hinted that it was fine, it would definitely be fine. She did not dare to make a sound at this point. She strained her ears and listened carefully, wondering that the voice with a different charm should be Miss Hu’s!
Since she came from the Southern Barbarian Lands, the way Hu Qianyue spoke the Qin Kingdom’s language was somewhat different from that of natives. Furthermore, she had lived in King Xuan’s Manor for a period of time, so Mo Lan could tell who was outside.
Hu Qianyue and the Sixth Princess b.u.mped into each other. It was very interesting! Mo Xuetong wondered if the two people really just ran into each other, or one of them had deliberately come here to meet the other. The meaning behind this was very intriguing.
A faint smile appeared on Mo Xuetong’s fair and tender face. She picked up the teacup and leisurely took a sip, quietly overhearing the two girls’ conversation.
“Miss Hu, you’ve recovered? Wasn’t it said that you were too ill to get out of bed because you were unaccustomed to the climate here?” The Sixth Princess looked at Hu Qianyue in front of her and smiled. She changed the topic and then looked up and down at the other girl. Her smile was gentle and soft. There were only two palace maids beside her, and she was dressed like ordinary young ladies.
She even wore a curtained hat, but even so, Hu Qianyue still recognized her at once. How could she not be shocked? But she did not show it on her face. The two palace maids behind her looked at Hu Qianyue warily. The Sixth Princess had secretly gone out of the palace. Unexpectedly, they met Hu Qianyue here. In such a place, it did not seem like a chance encounter.
Hu Qianyue also brought two maidservants. She did not wear a curtained hat and stood in front of the Sixth Princess, beaming. She happened to block the way of the Sixth Princess. She had been ill recently, so her face was very thin, but she was in good spirits.
“Thank you for your concern, Sixth Princess. I’m not seriously ill. However, Sixth Princess, you will soon go to the Southern Barbarian Lands to get married to our Third Prince. I heard that my cousin will come to welcome you in a few days. Sixth Princess, why did you not wait at the palace to get married, but walk through the streets at this point, and go to dark alleys?”
Hu Qianyue smiled with her sleeve covering her mouth, looking as gentle as jade.
She was hinting that the Sixth Princess, who was about to get married and was the princess of the Qin Kingdom, was behaving in a sneaky manner. It was obvious that she did not do anything good, and her behavior even made people feel that her reputation was ruined. Otherwise, why would a princess go to such a deserted back alley instead of walking on the street openly?
Usually, the itinerant peddler would walk in the streets and alleys. But if a woman did it, her reputation would be affected!
The Sixth Princess’s face turned pale when she heard what Hu Qianyue said. If she had not been good at hiding herself and imitating Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen to do everything perfectly, she would have exposed herself at this time. She wasn’t here to do something proper today. Hu Qianyue had guessed this, but how could she allow Hu Qianyue to find out what she was doing!
The alley was small, and the two of them stood there and each brought two maidservants, almost blocking the alley. Fortunately, there were few people coming and going in this area, and there was no one else. There were two high walls on both sides, and no one came over. Even if they said something, no one would hear them.
“I’m just wandering around. Miss Hu will be my Third brother’s second consort. Since you’ve just recovered from your illness, you should have a good rest. I heard that Third brother will come to take you home in a few days. I thought that you were in poor health, but now it seems that you’re almost recovered. I’ll tell Third brother later and ask him to take you into his manor as soon as possible.” The Sixth Princess’s face was gradually serene again.
With a slight smile, she countered.
Compared to the fact that the Sixth Princess was about to marry the Third Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands and that the Third Prince would welcome her in person, Hu Qianyue was almost considered humble. Even though her marriage partly concerned the two countries, she had accepted the betrothal gift from You Yue’e, which meant that she had an affair with Feng Yulei.
Since the two of them had an affair, and she was not going to be his legal wife, all it took was a small sedan chair to carry her to King Yan’s Manor through the side entrance.
Hu Qianyue was even n.o.bler than a princess in the Southern Barbarian Lands. However, she was going to be a concubine who would be casually brought into King Yan’s Manor. How could she not be angry? Her calm heart was filled with hatred because of what the other girl said. The smile on her lips grew cold. The matter concerning Feng Yulei was now a thorn in her heart.
No matter what, she would not go to King Yan’s Manor!
When she thought that her cousin had been her childhood sweetheart, but now he was going to marry the woman in front of her because of this accident, and that she had fallen into such an unbearable situation, her anger suddenly rushed up like a raging fire. She tried hard to suppress it. At this time, she should not be furious and lose her sense of propriety.
“Sixth Princess, what would my cousin think if he knew that his future wife didn’t stay in the palace to wait for the marriage, but came to this kind of alley instead? Does the Emperor of the Qin Kingdom know that you are here? Ah, now that you happen to be here, I’ll go to ask our Crown Prince to come and ask you why you are here. I can’t let my cousin suffer a loss.”
It sounded like Hu Qianyue didn’t say anything useful, but if one thought over her words, they could find that she was accusing the Sixth Princess of being unwomanly!
At first, the Sixth Princess pretended to be gentle and generous, trying to tell herself that Hu Qianyue in front of her was just guessing in the dark, and that there was no actual evidence. However, when she heard that Hu Qianyue repeatedly claimed that she was unwomanly and had a secret date with someone else in the alley, she could not keep the smile on her face.
She left the palace secretly today, and didn’t even tell Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen. If Crown Prince Xieyue knew and stopped her here, she couldn’t cover up some things. Looking at Hu Qianyue’s seemingly gentle but mocking eyes, the Sixth Princess couldn’t bear it anymore. She suddenly raised her head and her eyes were full of anger.
In the past, the Sixth Princess would never be irritated. However, after the marriage bestowed by the Emperor, which asked her to marry into the Southern Barbarian Lands in a month, she had really lost her sense of propriety. Being provoked by Hu Qianyue, she could not suppress her anger. How to get rid of the marriage had been all she had been thinking about lately.
Although Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen had told her that she still had a chance that day, the more that the Sixth Princess had seen on Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s face was a perfunctory expression. She was very clear about what was most important in her mother’s heart. For this most important thing, her mother could completely abandon her. If it was good for that man when she married into the Southern Barbarian Lands, her mother would not object to her marriage.
Therefore, she repeatedly warned herself that she had to rely on herself on this matter, and that she couldn’t even rely on her mother. There were some things that she even hid from her mother; otherwise, her mother would comfort her with the same words. When the time came, she would be pushed into the bridal sedan chair. Thus, the Sixth Princess was so anxious and annoyed that she lost her usual tenacity!
She couldn’t take it anymore after being provoked by Hu Qianyue!
She suddenly raised her head, and her eyes were burning, but at the same time, they were cold. “Hu Qianyue, that’s enough. What do you want to say?”
