After reading Mo Huawen’s letter, Mo Xuetong already knew what was going on. She put down the letter in her hand and asked Mo Ye, “When does Auntie Qing usually go to see the old maidservant of King Ning’s Manor?”
“I’ve asked about it. Madam said that Auntie Qing had gone out every few days. Sometimes, she would be out for the entire morning or the entire afternoon. She only said that she was in a bad mood when she thought of Fourth Miss, so she went out to have a walk and relax. But every time she went out, she would talk to the old maidservant for a while. But these days, Madam did not take her excuse.”
This was what Mo Xuetong had told Mo Huawen the last time. They could not allow Auntie Qing to go out when she wanted to. It was safe when the matters of the Mo Manor leaked selectively.
Now that Auntie Qing had not gone out for so many days, she would go out to deliver messages if she had the chance. As Feng Yuzhen hadn’t gotten any news for a few days, he must be restless. However, it was good. She could make use of it. Originally, the Sixth Princess hadn’t harbored any good intentions, and had secretly sent a letter to Mo Xuetong. How could she be kind?
The Sixth Princess was probably like a mad dog that would bite anyone who caught her. Of course, Mo Xuetong would not allow her to catch her. However, since she was targeting her, Mo Xuetong would not let her off the hook. Well, she could break through Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s seemingly unbreakable defense line from the Sixth Princess. Mo Xuetong had seen it clearly in the hall that day.
When Ling Mingyan knelt down to ask for punishment, the Sixth Princess almost lost control. It was Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen who pressed her and whispered something in her ear, so the Sixth Princess did not speak. Looking at the Sixth Princess’s tightly clenched fists, Mo Xuetong could tell that the Sixth Princess really wanted to cut Ling Mingyan into pieces. If Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen had not suppressed her, this matter would not have ended well!
Mo Xuetong really looked forward to see the Sixth Princess who was out of control…
The smile on Mo Xuetong’s lip corners grew even gentler and bigger when she thought of that. She waved her hand and told Mo Yu a few more things. Then, she asked her to leave.
Since all these people wanted to hurt her, she might as well let them fight each other first. As for who would win, it depended on the fighting of the people behind them!
“My Lady, Concubine Qin, Concubine Yun, and Concubine Wen have sent someone over to ask if they can pay respects to you.” Seeing that Mo Ye had left, Mo Yu came in to report. Those who seemed to be well-behaved in the backyard did not seem to have made any big moves recently. Concubine Qin had gone back to her parents’ home from time to time before. Later, she had been staying in the backyard after Feng Yuran forbade her to go home. It seemed that there was nothing out of the ordinary.
The backyard of King Xuan’s Manor was very clean now. There were only three concubines and they came from a good family. The three of them lived in the same courtyard. Feng Yuran ordered that as Mo Xuetong was not in good health, they did not have to pay respects to her. He only said that Consort Xuan would send someone to call them if she needed to see them.
However, since then, Mo Xuetong had never called them. Of course, they had not seen Feng Yuran after that.
Fortunately, something like that had happened in King Xuan’s Manor. Mo Xuetong, the legal wife, had been framed again and again. The people in the backyard had all been warned. As such, they would never ask to see Mo Xuetong for no reason.
She didn’t expect the three of them to come together today.
“Let them come over!” Mo Xuetong thought for a while and nodded. Then, she asked Mo Yu to bring them in.
After a while, the three concubines entered Mo Xuetong’s main courtyard together. They took their maidservants with them, and leaving them in the pa.s.sage to await orders, the three of them came into the room and curtsied to Mo Xuetong.
Concubine Qin was the first to come in. She curtsied to Mo Xuetong with the other two. However, she could not hide the arrogance between her brows. She cast a cold glance at Mo Xuetong and sat down on the stool beside her. Then she wrung the handkerchief in her hands and looked at the ground dazedly, speechless for the moment.
“My Lady, we’re here to pay our respects to you. I heard that you’ve been feeling much better recently and we feel relieved.” It was Concubine Yun who spoke. She was promoted a long while ago. She had even confronted Mo Xuetong when the latter had just entered the manor in order to scare her on purpose. However, she was all smiles now and one could not see any dissatisfaction on her face.
“Many thanks for your concern. It is just that I’m not in good health. Otherwise, I can talk to you especially.” Mo Xuetong coughed softly and pressed her chest. Mo Yu hurried to serve the tea. Mo Xuetong took two sips and then put on a weak smile on her face. With a glance, one could tell that she was not in good health.
Concubine Qin looked at Mo Xuetong calmly for a while, but then she still lowered her head and said nothing.
“My Lady, I seem to have seen someone suffering from the same illness as you before. When I was still at home, one of my aunts had suffered from such a disease. Later, a traveling doctor gave her a prescription. It wasn’t sure that the prescription could cure he. At that time, my grandmother loved this aunt very much and was afraid that it would be bad for her health. Later, she had no choice but to use it. Unexpectedly, it’s a miraculous prescription. My aunt recovered after taking the medicine.”
Concubine Yun said with a smile.
“A miraculous prescription?” Mo Xuetong narrowed her eyes slightly and leaned back tiredly. A maidservant hurriedly took a cushion to put it behind her back.
“Yes, the prescription is amazing. It has treated many similar symptoms. My Lady, do you want me to go home and bring the prescription back?”
Concubine Yun held a sincere look on her face while sitting there, smiled like a flower.
“Go home?” Mo Xuetong’s lip corners curled into a mocking smile. This was her original goal. It seemed that King Xuan’s Manor had been heavily guarded recently, and some people could not move even though they wanted to. Therefore, they thought of her.
She did not answer Concubine Yun’s question. Instead, she turned to the smiling Concubine Wen and asked faintly, “Does Concubine Wen also want to go home?”
She did not hide anything and pointed out Concubine Yun’s intentions. Concubine Yun’s gentle smile froze for a moment. She looked at Mo Xuetong carefully and did not dare to look down on her as before, and instead there was a hint of fear in her eyes.
“I, I…” Concubine Wen looked timid. She did not expect Mo Xuetong to suddenly ask her. She looked at Concubine Yun and Concubine Qin beside her and awkwardly said in a low voice. However, she nodded hurriedly under Concubine Yun’s repeated hints. “Yes, we all want to go home to see our family. I wonder if you will agree, My Lady.”
“As far as I know, Concubine Wen’s parents’ home doesn’t seem to be in the capital. Where are you going to go when you return to your parents’ home?”
Concubine Wen was the younger sister of a seventh-grade officer. Mo Xuetong did not care about the details and only knew that her elder brother was not in the capital. If she wanted to go home and take a look, she had to have a home first.
“I…” Concubine Wen didn’t expect that Consort Xuan would know about her family background. She was so embarra.s.sed that she couldn’t say anything for the moment.
“My Lady, the family that Concubine Wen wants to go is not her own family. She has an aunt here and has sent people to see her many times. She can be considered a relative of her family. They haven’t seen each other for many years. I heard from Concubine Wen that she was brought up by this aunt when she was young. So she has a different relationship with her from others. When she heard that we wanted to go home to visit our family during Mid-Autumn Festival, she also wants to see her aunt.”
Concubine Yun helped Concubine Wen out with a smile.
Mo Xuetong turned to look at Concubine Yun with a faint smile. As expected, she saw the stunned expression on Concubine Yun’s face. But then, Concubine Yun immediately put on a pleasing smile. “Concubine Yun really knows Concubine Wen’s parents’ home very well. You even clearly know such a thing about her childhood.”
“I didn’t know that at first. But recently, I had nothing to do and talked about some family affairs with Concubine Wen. Then I knew that Concubine Wen has a relative in the capital. In a few days, it will be Mid-Autumn Festival. We don’t dare to go out on Mid-Autumn Festival, but as the festival is coming, we miss our relatives very much. If we can send out some of our embroideries to our family, it will be a token of our yearning for them.”
Since Mo Xuetong had seen through their intentions, Concubine Yun cut to the chase. She carefully explained their intentions. She knew that if she continued to beat around the bush, she would only annoy Mo Xuetong. She had thought that the reason why the young Consort Xuan was like a fish in water in King Xuan’s Manor was all because of Feng Yuran’s protection. However, after a few words, Concubine Yun felt that she had underestimated the young consort.
Although there was a smile on Mo Xuetong’s face, the sharpness of her was no less than that of the old madam of an aristocratic family.
In the beginning, she wanted to use the excuse to make Mo Xuetong dizzy so that they could get out of the manor. Now that she found that Mo Xuetong was very smart and not easy to fool, she immediately changed her strategy and pretended to miss her family sincerely.
“How long has Concubine Yun been in the manor?” Mo Xuetong did not answer Concubine Yun. Instead, she changed the topic calmly.
Concubine Yun could not catch up with Mo Xuetong’s thoughts at the moment. She paused for a moment, but immediately came to her senses and answered quickly, “I, I… I have been in the manor for a year.”
“I heard that Concubine Yun was bestowed by the palace. You were given to His Highness by the palace as soon as he arrived in the capital?” Mo Xuetong asked with a smile, her face full of curiosity.
This was what Concubine Yun was most proud of. She sat up straighter as soon as she heard that.
Although she was the daughter of a fifth-grade officer in the capital, she was also selected into the palace. But later, she was not chosen by the Emperor and only became a little palace maid. She had heard that the current little Consort Xuan used to be just the daughter of a fifth-grade officer in the capital, and was as old as her. Now that she could become Consort Xuan, she was just lucky and beautiful.
“I was indeed given by the palace. When the imperial consort in the palace heard that His Highness came back, but there was no one in the manor to take care of him, so she gave me and some other girls to His Highness. At first, there were not many people in the manor, but later, there were more and more. At that time, His Highness was still like a child and often brought people to the manor.”
Concubine Yun said, grinning. There was a hint of arrogance in her words and it sounded that she looked down on Mo Xuetong. She meant that she had come to the manor before Mo Xuetong did. In fact, she was one of King Xuan’s first concubines and had a strong background. Before Consort Xuan married into King Xuan’s Manor, she sort of had a say in the manor. If so many things had not happened later, with her background, that person had promised her to make her the second consort.
“How long had you been in the palace before you came to King Xuan’s Manor, Concubine Yun? Where did you work before?” Mo Xuetong seemed as if she did not see the sharp arrogance that Concubine Yun had displayed just now. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
“I had been in the palace for three years. I worked in the Empress Dowager’s Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager pitied His Highness, so she gave me to him.” Concubine Yun once again told Mo Xuetong where she came from in order to arouse Mo Xuetong’s fear.
Of course, Concubine Yun had a grudge. She did not come to King Xuan’s Manor to be a concubine. At the very least, she had to be a member of the royal family and got the position of the second consort. But she did not expect that she was still a concubine until now. How could Concubine Yun be willing to accept it?
As such, she spontaneously expressed that she had been King Xuan’s Manor longer than others and was also someone Feng Yuran trusted. Of course, her relationship with Feng Yuran was not ordinary as well. She could not help but reveal a look of disdain and satisfaction on her face. Since she was a woman bestowed by the palace, coupled with the fact that she was one of King Xuan’s first batch of women, her status in his heart must be irreplaceable.
There were a total of four women who had been sent to King Xuan’s Manor then. However, she was the only one left. It was evident that King Xuan treated her differently.
However, Mo Xuetong’s next remark made her proud look freeze on her face.
“Oh, then when you were still in the palace, did you tell the Empress Dowager that you wanted to go out of the palace to meet your family, Concubine Yun?” Mo Xuetong’s voice was still gentle and sweet. She tilted her head and asked casually.
Looking at Mo Xuetong’s deep eyes, Concubine Yun immediately felt cold all over. Mo Xuetong’s beautiful eyes were sharp as she waited for her answer, and there was not a hint of smile on her face…
