Chapter 55 The Unexpected Appearance of Someone from the Palace (1/2)

An old eunuch sat in the corner of Old Madam Xu's yard. There were a few palace maids holding clothes, cloth and jewelry boxes standing behind him.

The door curtains lifted and two young ladies entered. The older girl was about 14 or 15. She wore a long pink dress with blue peac.o.c.k prints. Her skirt danced above the ground and she wore a white satin s.h.i.+rt outside her skirt, showing off the elegant peac.o.c.k print on her print s.h.i.+rt. Her skirt and sleeve cuffs were edged with silver-white clouds. Yes, she was slender and good looking. She was beautiful!

The younger girl wore a simple white dress with a light blue floral skirt. There were faint floral patterns only at the bottom of her skirt. Her black hair twisted into a skewed bun, pinned up only with a silver jade hairpin. When one looked at her, she looked gentle and weak and made one want to dote on her. She was not tall, and she had her head lowered when she entered. As such, he could not see her face clearly. He could only tell that she had not yet matured and was about 12 or 13.

”These two must be your granddaughters. They are both rare beauties. No wonder the queen boasted that you are a blessed woman when she saw them in the palace. Your granddaughters both look like beautiful flowers. I can see that they are both your granddaughters.” The old eunuch had a silver tongue and teased them with a smile. Old Madam Xu who was seated beside him smiled widely.

Mo Xuetong followed behind Luo Mingzhu and stood beside Old Madam Xu without speaking after she greeted them. She only looked at the old eunuch secretly. She could tell his grade from his robe. Usually, low level eunuchs wore grey robes with horizontal stripes. Some of the powerful eunuchs could embroider two silver stripes on their sleeves. Only lead eunuchs who served the masters of the palaces could have three gold stripes on their sleeves.

There were three stripes on the old eunuch's sleeves. He had come from the Empress' palace. How could the lead eunuch from the Empress' palace be compared to other lead eunuchs from other palaces? He did not have to flatter a t.i.tled woman outside the palace. Even if her granddaughter was a good lady, it had nothing to do with the Empress. What was the Empress up to?

”Many thanks, Eunuch Liu, for your praise.” Old Madam Xu said with a smile. Then, she pointed at Luo Mingzhu and Mo Xuetong, introducing them. ”This is my son's daughter, and that is my daughter's daughter.”

Eunuch Liu's gaze fell on the little girl who looked shy and pitiful. He paused for a moment and looked at the delicate and pitiful Mo Xuetong who stood there dazedly. He grew hesitant and sized her up and down again.

The Old Madam's other granddaughter seemed to be a smart one. She stood by the side, looking beautiful with a small smile on her face. Even though she would glance at him from time to time, she seemed delicate and smart. She looked dignified. A woman like this was better.

She stood by the side and still had not risen her head, standing dazedly beside the Old Madam, not even daring to raise her hand. Even though she looked delicate and adorable, she was so dazed and looked unsophisticated. She did not look like a n.o.ble lady. How could she be...

Was there a mistake? He came up with a new plan right there and then and no longer felt like wasting time.

”Ladies, since you are both here, please accept the Empress' gifts so that I can go to visit the other ladies.” Eunuch Liu smiled and gestured or the palace maids behind him to present two sets of ruby headdress, two sets of luxurious cloth. Each of them was gifted a peac.o.c.k hairpin made from soft gold. There were pearls and stunning precious rocks engraved into the hair pin. They were both stunning and looked expensive. It was a gift worthy of the most doted on concubine in the palace, much less two children.

The Old Madam who had been smiling all this while looked surprised. However, she politely told the girls to give thanks. The royal family gifting them such objects meant that they were not only precious, but they had been given face as well.

Mo Xuetong followed behind Luo Mingzhu carefully. She kneeled and bowed to the gifts, thanking the Empress for them. She kept her head down, looking as if she was a girl who was afraid and had never attended any grand occasions. It made Eunuch Liu who had been looking at her carefully shake his head secretly. The Empress must have made a mistake. A girl like this can't even be a palace maid, so how could she attract the attention of King Xuan? Perhaps the wild King Xuan was in a good mood then and had just poked his nose into someone else's business then.

What another thing could it be!

Eunuch Liu had been wondering if the ungracious Miss Mo had annoyed King Xuan and he had intentionally started the who mess to get her into trouble. Then, he thought of King Xuan and his wild moods and behavior. He had no cares at all. The girl in front of him looked dazed and stupid and had not even lifted her head until now. She was probably not very good looking and might have annoyed the handsome King Xuan.

He thought that was very likely. He glanced at the kneeling Mo Xuetong again and looked rather disinterested. He bade the Old Madam farewell. He did not take the servants anywhere else but hurried back to the palace.

He feared that the Empress still did not know about it. He had to inform her of the situation.

In General Manor, the Old Madam got Luo Mingzhu and Mo Xuetong's servants to take the things away but did not tell them to leave. Then, she sent others out to listen for news while she asked the girls carefully about what happened at the banquet. She especially asked what happened to both of them.

However, she did not receive much news. They only said that the wild King Xuan had helped Mo Xuetong and had found the person who had framed her for knocking into him. Mo Xuetong did not dare to mention that she and the devilish King Xuan had met before. She said that this was their first meeting and she was wondering why he would help her.

”Grandmother, Grandmother. Why did the Empress gift us with such expensive things?” Luo Mingzhu was born in a n.o.ble family and naturally knew that the items were unusual. She knew that she had not been exceptional that night. Even her performance at the Qin had been outshone by Mo Xuemin later. She did not s.h.i.+ne at all at the event. So why did the Empress especially sent gifts to her? Furthermore, she had especially given the stunning Mo Xuemin's gifts to her Mo Xuetong. Even if Luo Mingzhu had never been the careful sort, she felt that something was up.

”Tong'er, other than the matter with the princes, are you sure you didn't meet anyone unusual or that nothing unusual happened?” The Old Madam thought of this and asked with a frown.

Was there anything else that was unusual? Something to do with the Empress and the Princess? Mo Xuetong bit her lips and said slowly, ”That day at the banquet, the Empress sent for me but I met Princess Royal and she kept me behind to speak with me. Grandmother, were the Princess and my mother friends when they were young?”

”Princess Royal saw you?” Even though the Old Madam was smiling, her hands which were hidden under her sleeves shook slightly.

”Yes, Princess Royal even asked about Mother and her life in Cloud City.” Mo Xuetong keenly caught the fl.u.s.ter and shock in the Old Madam's eyes. She continued smiling sweetly.