“My Lady, the little maidservant went to ask about the owner of the shop in the back, but she didn’t get any information. The shop a.s.sistant’s lips were sealed, and all he said was that the owner has never changed. It’s still the original owner.” After hearing the little maidservant’s report, Mo Ye came in and told Mo Xuetong.
They did not leave immediately. You Yuecheng was a suspicious person, and their leaving at this moment would arouse his suspicion.
“The original owner?” Mo Xuetong frowned slightly as her white fingers tapped lightly on the table. “How could that be possible! The d.u.c.h.ess is dead. Is it Sima Lingyun? But he’s infamous and it’s been said that he does not even have a place to stay. How could he still have such a shop?”
“My Lady, the little maidservant didn’t come back at first because she didn’t get the information you had asked for. She waited outside the pharmacy for a while and saw a maidservant holding a lady-like person leaving from the side door of the shop. Before she left, the shopkeeper even specially sent them to the side door. He looked very respectful, as if she were his mistress. However, the young lady was wearing a curtained hat, so the little maidservant couldn’t see who she was. The carriage the young lady took was also ordinary, and thus she didn’t know which manor she came from.”
Since Mo Xuetong had no clue at the moment, Mo Ye told her what the maidservant had seen and her speculations. As she didn’t know if the maidservant’s speculations were useful to Mo Xuetong, she stopped for a second before continuing.
Mo Xuetong’s bent fingers stopped in the air as a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes. “A young lady, the Duke’s manor, and the original owner. The only person that lines up with this situation is Sima Heyan. When the Sima Manor got into trouble, Sima Heyan was missing. Even the authorities have reported that she had been lost. I did not expect her to be well in the capital.”
Who was powerful enough to hide her?
Mo Xuetong’s thoughts gradually became clear. That lady could very well be the missing Sima Heyan. Only she could take over the d.u.c.h.ess’s property rightfully. Maybe before the d.u.c.h.ess died, she had already given the pharmacy to Sima Heyan.
That was the dowry of the d.u.c.h.ess, and it was normal for her to give it to her daughter as a dowry.
Sima Heyan’s pharmacy became the place where the Sixth Princess and You Yuecheng met privately. Besides, Sima Heyan was also there. What’s more, even the Sixth Princess could sneak out from the back door, and You Yuecheng was very free in the pharmacy and could even dispatch his men there conveniently. In this way, it seemed that one of them had to be the reason that Sima Heyan was still in the capital.
Mo Xuetong thought about it and was more inclined to think that the person was the Sixth Princess!
Sima Heyan seemed to be one of the Sixth Princess’s people!
If the Sixth Princess had been really a gentle and elegant princess, Mo Xuetong would not have such a speculation. After all, a princess who had always been in the imperial palace would not arrange people outside for herself for no reason. She could not become the Emperor and was just a princess. No matter who the Emperor was, he would show special kindness to those powerless princesses.
However, ever since she learned that the Sixth Princess’s palace was tightly guarded, Mo Xuetong had felt that the Sixth Princess was unusual. There were many signs that indicated that the Sixth Princess knew medical skills. It was not a shameful thing to know medical skills, but the fact that the Sixth Princess knew medical skills was strictly shrouded in secrecy, which was very suspicious.
If the Sixth Princess really knew medical skills, she would definitely need some medicinal materials. Although there was the Imperial Inst.i.tute of Medicine in the palace, the number of medicinal materials was recorded. Thus, it was impossible for the Sixth Princess to often get medicinal materials from there. Otherwise, it would attract too much attention. The Sima family had something to do with the Sixth Princess…
“Mo Lan, how is the situation over there?” Mo Xuetong knitted her brows slightly. She looked out of the window and saw that it had been a long time since she had come there. With one suspicion, You Yuecheng would not guard this place all the time. The people he took there were all imperial guards and they all dressed in that kind of clothes. As they went straight into the jade shop, they were disturbing people!
Of course, Mo Xuetong did not think that this matter could affect You Yuecheng!
“My Lady, the shopkeeper just said that those people were investigating a fugitive. Someone saw the fugitive coming into our shop, so a few imperial guards came in to have a look. They didn’t do anything rude and just looked around. They didn’t rummage through the things in the room.” Mo Lan had sneaked down once and found that there was no one below.
“Then let’s go back!” Mo Xuetong nodded and stood up. She took the curtained hat that Mo Ye handed her and put it on her head. Then, she walked out.
It was almost time for her to leave. She did not go to say goodbye to Qin Yufeng. She did not know why she had a feeling that Qin Yufeng had not left yet. It was an indistinct feeling. The vague enmity she had towards him in the past had dissipated a lot. However, she did not think that it was possible for her to bear no grudge against him. He was a man she could not see through…
The horse carriage was parked outside the door. Since it was too crowded outside the jade shop before, their carriage had stopped closer to the teahouse. At this time, it was convenient for them to go out. They got in the horse carriage calmly and headed straight to King Xuan’s Manor.
Mo Xuetong had already picked out the gifts along the way and asked the shop owner to send them to Princess Caifeng’s place later. Her relationship with Princess Caifeng was just so-so, so there was no need for Mo Xuetong to be particularly close to the princess.
As soon as they arrived at the gate of the manor, Mo Xuetong saw Feng Yuran’s carriage, which was so gorgeous that it almost became his trademark, parked ahead of theirs. It seemed that he was about to go out to do something.
“Tong’er, get out.” Feng Yuran, who had just gotten in the horse carriage, saw Mo Xuetong as well. His pretty eyes narrowed and his red lips curled slightly. He jumped out of the carriage and walked up to Mo Xuetong’s before reaching out to carry her down, and then turned to leave for his horse carriage.
Mo Xuetong did not expect him to dare to hold her closely in front of so many people outside the door. She was so embarra.s.sed that she blushed. She had wanted to ask him what he was going to do, but she could not say anything. She bit her lips and buried her head in his embrace with a flushed face, remaining motionless.
Feng Yuran smiled even more happily when he saw the blush on her pink cheeks and how she leaned obediently into his embrace. Of course, he knew that the kitten-like woman was very obedient but could not stand being teased. He wrapped the purple sleeves more securely around her in his arms. Then he leaped up lightly and got into his horse carriage. Placing Mo Xuetong on the soft couch, he lazily commanded to the man outside, “Let’s go!”
Someone lowered a light muslin curtain that had been rolled up high. They could vaguely see what was happening outside through the curtain, but the people outside couldn’t see clearly who was inside the carriage.
Only then did Mo Xuetong come to her senses. She pushed away Feng Yuran’s hand that reached out to wrap around her slender waist. She glared at him angrily. “How about my maidservants?”
He just took her to his carriage, regardless of everything, and didn’t give her time to talk to her people.
“Don’t worry, you won’t lose them. Mo Lan and Mo Ye are in the carriage behind us, and the others have gone back to the manor. The two maidservants are enough. I will serve you at other times.” As his lazy voice stopped, he stretched out his slender hand again and pinched Mo Xuetong’s shoulder several times. A smile appeared on his handsome and charming face. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, looking so romantic and charming.
“Tong’er, are you satisfied with it?”
Being pinched neither lightly nor heavily several times and seeing the faint smile on his extremely handsome face, Mo Xuetong felt that he was positively glowing, and he had caught her full attention. When she realized that she was staring at him dazedly and did not even manage to answer him, her heart started to beat wildly and her cheeks were so red that one could even cook eggs on them.
“Tong’er, are you satisfied with me?”
Feng Yuran raised his brows and blinked his right eye at her jokingly. His intentions had gone beyond pinching her and asking her if she was satisfied with what he was doing. The two half-cuddled and half-hugged each other. As Feng Yuran spoke, his warm breath blew into Mo Xuetong’s face and lifted a few strands of beautiful hair by her ear. At the same time, his bulky body leaned against her on purpose…
“You… stay away from me. It’s so stuffy.” Mo Xuetong pushed him away with a red face and took a few deep breaths. It wasn’t that it was stuffy, but it was that her heart was beating too fast. The affectionate look in Feng Yuran’s eyes made her heart almost jump out of her chest. However, the man deliberately leaned closer to her.
“Is it stuffy? No. Why don’t I feel it? Tong’er, to be honest, you look really hot. Do you have a fever?” Feng Yuran blinked his bright eyes with a blank look on his face. He deliberately reached out and touched Mo Xuetong’s delicate face, pretending to be in confusion.
His look, coupled with his extremely handsome face, made Mo Xuetong feel that he was evil for no reason. Seeing that she was blushing, he still kept teasing her.
Slapping his hand away, Mo Xuetong pretended to be serious and asked, “Where are you going at this time? Is there something urgent? Won’t I hinder your work if I go with you?”
Feng Yuran usually stayed in Jinwei Pavilion to deal with things at this time and rarely went out. And she did not hear him mention it when she went out today. It had to be an urgent matter or his people had found out something, and he needed to go out personally to deal with it.
“You won’t hinder my work. How is it possible that you will hinder my work? Remember, you won’t hinder my work at any time.” Feng Yuran gave a leisurely smile and his expression softened. He stopped teasing her intentionally and reached out to hold her hand as if he was answering her or promising her.
Mo Xuetong felt warm in her heart. For some reason, she felt touched and her heart softened. Even the noisy street outside sounded a little different from before.
“What… are you going to do?” Her watery eyes blinked, and her face was slightly hot. She looked out of the window in a slight panic and no longer stubbornly asked why he would take her with him. There was already an answer in her heart, but sometimes she would ask unconsciously. When she realized it, she felt a little shy. Just now, she looked more like she was flirting with him and had no momentum at all.
Feng Yuran leaned back lazily and said meaningfully, “Nothing big. I just want you to watch a good show.”
Mo Xuetong rolled her eyes and his words interested her. She quickly asked curiously, “Where is it?” Of course, she knew that what Feng Yuran was talking about had to be directed at something. However, she could not figure out what it was. He did not send someone to keep an eye on it, but instead, he could not sit still and went straight out of the manor to watch.
“Just now, the secret guard came to report that Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, dressed simply, left the palace and went to Puguang Temple to burn incense. She only brought two personal palace maids and a nanny with her. She claimed that her heart was aching these days, and thinking of the child she lost in the past, she couldn’t sleep at night and heard the cries of the child every day. So Father acceded to her request and allowed her to secretly go out of the palace to worship.”
Feng Yuran raised his handsome brows. There seemed to be a layer of laziness in his eyes, but there was also a hint of coldness in them.
Mo Xuetong had heard of this matter. Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen had lost the child in her belly because another consort had b.u.mped into her, but she did not complain about it to Emperor Zongwen. Instead, she pleaded with Emperor Zongwen and wanted him to let go of the consort who had caused her to miscarry. These things were told from mouth to mouth with general manor approval in the court at that time. People only said that Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen was the most virtuous and gracious person. Even though she did not give birth to a son, she still became an imperial n.o.ble consort.
Of course, Mo Xuetong knew that it would not be so simple. Otherwise, Feng Yuran would not show such an expression. Since even Feng Yuran could not sit still in the manor and wanted to see it, she became more curious.
What did Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen want to do…
