You Yue’e sat on the other side of the Sixth Princess. She was not interested in what the other people were talking about. She shot a glance at the Cloud Fabric and seemed to have thought of something as a bitter smile full of loneliness tugged at her lips. Then, she stared at the Cloud Fabric dazedly. In everyone’s eyes, You Yue’e was attracted by the Seven-colored Cloud Fabric.
In fact, it was not a big deal. You Yue’e was not the only one who was stunned by the beautiful Cloud Fabric, so no one felt anything unusual. After all, everyone would be envious of the one who owned such a piece of fabric. All the people present were women and could understand each other’s minds. It was normal for them to be attracted to such a gorgeous fabric at first sight.
The Sixth Princess smiled and said softly, “Third Sister-in-law, I’ll re-gift this dress to you. I happened to be ill when you held the birthday party and didn’t come out of the palace to celebrate your birthday. Now I’ll take this as a birthday gift. Please don’t mind it, Third Sister-in-law.”
When You Yue’e had held a birthday party, Feng Yulei was still grounded, so they kept a low profile and did not inform others. Even if others knew about it, it was impossible for them to come to the party. Now the Sixth Princess said that she didn’t come because she was ill, which sounded both pleasant and kind.
You Yue’e was stunned when she heard that. She could not figure out what the Sixth Princess meant. As the Sixth Princess wanted to send such beautiful Seven-colored Cloud Fabric to her with sincerity, and she spoke in such a tactful manner, she could not reject it even though she was not in a good mood. She nodded at the Sixth Princess and said, “Many thanks, Sixth Princess.”
Then, she asked her maidservant to take the tray from the palace maid.
In the blink of an eye, the Seven-colored Cloud Fabric had already been sent to another person. It was impossible for Princess Caifeng to stop her. No matter if it was the Sixth Princess or Consort Yan, they were not like the previous madam, and she could not scold them at will. Since the fabric had been given out, it belonged to the Sixth Princess. Even though she was displeased, she did not have the right to say anything when the Sixth Princess sent it to Consort Yan.
After she married King Ning, she would be Consort Ning. It was reasonable for her to have a good relationship with the other prince’s wives. Therefore, although she was unhappy, she smiled and continued to talk to the Sixth Princess.
You Yue’e’s maidservant took the tray and stood by her side. A faint fragrance wafted out from the Cloud Fabric, and it was refreshing. Everyone who smelled it could not help but nod secretly and think that it was indeed a treasure from the Southern Barbarian Lands. Wearing a dress made out of Cloud Fabric would bring forth fragrance.
“Consort Xuan, Sixth Princess and Consort Yan are really close. I thought that the Sixth Princess and King Xuan were about the same age and that they were on better terms than the average brother and sister. However, King Yan is the one closer to her. I did not expect that.” Mo Yarui turned her head and whispered in Mo Xuetong’s ear. There was a hint of a smile in her voice as if she was teasing.
Mo Xuetong turned her head and took a deep look at Mo Yarui. Then, she said softly, “Sixth Princess is close to King Yan, so it’s natural for her to give it to Consort Yan.”
Everyone had seen that the Sixth Princess and King Yan had been close recently. However, not many people cared about it. She was just a princess. In addition to her birth mother, Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, who was now in charge of the harem with Consort Su, made others feel that she was rather important. There was nothing suspicious about her.
When the Fifth Princess was still here, the other princesses all stayed in the palace and usually didn’t come out. Only the Fifth Princess had been shouting and going out in her carriage. Therefore, people outside only knew that the Fifth Princess had a n.o.ble status and had the support of her maternal family. She was also a princess, but her status was higher than that of the other princesses.
In the people’s hearts, the other princesses, like the Sixth Princess, the Seventh Princess, were only a code name…
When the Fifth Princess went to the Yan Kingdom, the Sixth Princess came into everyone’s sight. Then people found that there was such a gentle and quiet princess in the palace. Her reputation became more and more prominent. But she was just a princess and was not the legitimate princess of the harem. No matter which prince she was closer to, it was just that she, a girl, liked to go to his manor to have fun, which had nothing to do with political affairs.
This was also the reason why the Sixth Princess dared to visit King Yan’s Manor often.
Of course, Mo Xuetong also knew a deeper reason, so she thought this was not the case!
However, facing such a situation, Mo Xuetong could not tell what the Sixth Princess was up to. She glanced at the calm face of the Sixth Princess and then at Hu Qianyue, who was chatting happily with a few other young ladies. Then she looked at Ling Mingyan in the direction Hu Qianyue’s body was leaning towards as a hint of contemplation appeared in her eyes. None of these people’s behavior was simple.
Mo Xuetong stood up with the help of the table. She touched her forehead and did not say anything. Mo Lan, who was standing behind her, had already taken several steps forward. She asked softly with concern, “My Lady, are you feeling unwell? Do you want to rest or shall I go outside and tell His Highness?”
Mo Xuetong shook her hand. Her face had been a little pale and now she looked as if she was on the verge of collapsing. She held on to Mo Lan’s hand and could not say a word. Sweat appeared on her delicate face. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief and looked very uncomfortable.
Hu Qianyue hurried over and asked, “Consort Xuan, do you want to take a rest? Her Highness has prepared a guest room over there?” Mo Xuetong was not in a good state right now. Everyone knew that Consort Xuan was weak and rarely went out to attend parties because of this.
Mo Xuetong forced a smile on her face and replied politely in a low voice, “I’m fine. I just have some chest tightness. I’ll go out and get some fresh air. I’ll be fine after resting for a while.”
“No! You have to rest. Consort Xuan, I have prepared guest rooms on the left for the madams and young ladies to rest in. Consort Xuan, go and rest there first.” Princess Caifeng walked over as well. She was the hostess of this banquet and Feng Yuran doted on his wife very much. If something were to happen to Mo Xuetong, she would not be able to bear the responsibility.
After witnessing Feng Yuran’s viciousness last time and getting the warning from Crown Prince Xieyue, Princess Caifeng did not dare to do anything to Mo Xuetong anymore. Anyway, she was going to marry King Ning and had nothing to do with Mo Xuetong. If she really annoyed Feng Yuran, she would definitely suffer. Although King Ning was the Empress Dowager’s grandson, he was not the son of the Qin Kingdom’s Emperor. In the eyes of the Emperor, King Xuan must be much more important than King Ning.
Today’s banquet would not be over early, so Princess Caifeng had already sent the servants to prepare rooms for resting. Women were all arranged to rest on the left. The row of empty rooms there happened to be in the inner courtyard. The men were all arranged in the outer courtyard. Although the row of rooms in the outer courtyard and the row of rooms in the inner courtyard were back to back, it was impossible for people to b.u.mp into each other because there was a Chuihua Gate (the second gate which separates the outer court and the inner court) between them.
“That’s right. Eighth Sister-in-law, you should take a rest.” The Sixth Princess stood up and tried to persuade her with a smile.
Since they all persuaded her to rest, Mo Xuetong nodded. She really could not leave at this time. She had just come for a while and it was inappropriate for her to leave in a hurry before the banquet started. Feng Yuran was King Xuan. It was a sensitive moment between the two countries, and it was very inappropriate and impolite to leave at this time.
Holding on to Mo Lan’s hand, she followed behind Princess Caifeng’s palace maid and walked out slowly. Everyone could tell that Consort Xuan was truly uncomfortable. She had only taken a few steps and there were faint traces of sweat on her forehead. Everyone could not help but sigh that Consort Xuan was too weak.
“Cousin Tong, I’ll go with you.” Luo Mingzhu walked over from one side. She took several steps forward and helped Mo Xuetong on the other side. Then she turned around and nodded at Princess Caifeng.
Luo Mingzhu was the daughter of Fu General Manor and was now the daughter-in-law of the Minister’s Manor, as well as Consort Xuan’s cousin. Princess Caifeng knew about this important person in the Qin Kingdom. So she smiled and nodded back.
Mo Xuetong did not stop holding her breath until she reached the outside. She took in a few large gulps of fresh air and wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief. The sweat was all produced by her holding her breath. The fragrance on the Cloud Fabric was so strong that Mo Xuetong felt that she had to stay far away from it.
Of course, she would not think that Princess Caifeng had poisoned the Could Fabric because it was a bad idea and after the incident, Princess Caifeng would be involved.
In this life, Mo Xuetong had read many medical books. Even though she did not know how to treat patients, she knew a lot of strange flowers and herbs. The Colorful Silkworm was the most precious silkworm in the Southern Barbarian Lands. Its silk could be woven into the Seven-colored Cloud Dress. The annual output was only enough to make half a piece of clothing. What Princess Caifeng said about this information was right. She had even told everyone the production area—the Misty Valley.
This added to the sense that what she was saying was true!
But in fact, the Misty Valley had another meaning. It was a valley with miasma. Ordinary people could not enter it at all. The miasma with heavy poisonous gas was one of the characteristics of the Southern Barbarian Lands, and the Misty Valley was the most famous one. It was difficult for even natives to enter it.
Since the Colorful Silkworms could survive in such a place, how could they not be poisonous? As for the silk they spat out, of course, it contained this kind of poisonous gas. Originally, even if this kind of silk was woven into satin, it was impossible for people to wear it, as it was a gorgeous Cloud Dress that could kill people. A few generations ago in the Southern Barbarian Lands, the Cloud Fabric was sent for the purpose of a.s.sa.s.sinating others.
Later, a high priest had come up with an idea to use another poison to neutralize the miasma in this Misty Valley. This made the Cloud Dress made of the Colorful Silkworm’s silk no longer be a lethal weapon. Instead, it became a rare treasure that every lady from the n.o.ble families of the Southern Barbarian Lands would fight over.
Wearing such a dress would not only make people warm in winter and cool in summer, but it would also produce different patterns under different rays of light. It made people gorgeous and n.o.ble, just like a fairy dressed in the Cloud Dress from heaven, whose beauty seemed both real and imaginary. In addition to the Cloud Dress’s unique fragrance, it was faint and refreshing and could reach every corner of one’s whole body. It was really good for a woman’s body that was cold in nature.
It could be said that the Cloud Fabric that Princess Caifeng had given to the Sixth Princess was indeed a true treasure. However, the treasure’s fragrance should be in a certain range. Even though Mo Xuetong had not seen the Cloud Fabric that had been sent by the Southern Barbarian Lands, she had seen it in the records of the odd books. It smelled fragrant, faint, and leisurely. The smell was definitely not the strong fragrance that she smelled today.
Everything proved that someone had done something to this Cloud Fabric. As for whether it had been done by Princess Caifeng, Mo Xuetong was not sure yet because she could not figure out who the target was at the moment. However, no matter whether it was Princess Caifeng who had done it or not, Mo Xuetong did not want to get into trouble again, nor did she want to be tricked.
That was why she had used this method!
No matter who did it, the hall was not the most suitable place. What would happen next? Mo Xuetong became more uneasy and more cautious because she could not figure out who the opponent was.
