Chapter 73 The Biased Old Madam (1/2)

Nanny Ming visited Mo Xuetong early the next morning. When she looked into Mo Xuetong's eyes, which were very similar to her mistress', Nanny Ming knelt down and cried.

Mo Xuetong had long ordered Mo Lan to hold the old woman and did not allow her to kneel. Mo Xuetong made a deep curtsy to her and lifted her head, greeting her, ”Nanny Ming!” Then, she swallowed and could not speak anymore.

”Miss, don't cry. If madam can see how beautiful, adorable and sensible you are, she will definitely be very happy.” Nanny Ming wiped her tears and said happily through her tears.

”Nanny Ming, please sit.” Mo Xuetong pursed her lips when she heard Nanny Ming mentioning her mother. She suppressed the pain she felt in her heart and pulled Nanny Ming to sit with her on the bed-stove. Nanny Ming refused profusely, but Mo Lan thought of a way to make it work in the end. She moved a stool over and Nanny Ming sat on it.

”Nanny Ming, do you remember what happened that night Mother pa.s.sed away?” Mo Xuetong asked. This was something she wanted to know the most. Everything seemed to have started to change from that night on.

Mo Yu and Mo Lan left then. One of them sat outside while the other went out to supervise the other maids sweeping up the snow. She could occasionally hear Mo Yu talking to the maids. But the courtyard was very quiet otherwise. Only the sound of Mo Yu's voice and brooms sweeping up snow could be heard.

”Miss, have you heard something?” Nanny Ming's expression changed and she lowered her volume when she heard Mo Xuetong's question.

”I didn't hear anything. But after that day, Father left me behind in Cloud City and brought Eldest Sister and Fourth Sister to the capital. Then, he ignored me. Even though I wasn't very likable in the past, but Father still doted on me a lot. Why did he start to treat me coldly after that night and even abandoned me in the end?” This was something that Mo Xuetong had never spoken about, and it was something that she felt much aggrieved about in both lives.

She had never told anyone about this, not even her two personal maids.

What happened that day was too odd. So what if she had drenched Auntie Fang with water that day? Her father and Auntie Fang had never been close, so why did everything change in just one day? She, who had been doted on by her mother, had fallen into an abyss from the clouds. Was this truly because of the rumors Auntie Fang spread?

”Miss, I do not know what happened then. I have always stayed beside Madam's side. In the end, Madam wanted to see Old Sir and sent me to get someone to fetch him. Auntie Fang's servants would not allow the servants to enter and said that Old Sir had ordered them to do it. He said that he did not want to see anyone then. That was why Madam died with hatred in her heart.

”It was all my fault. I was sad and angry at Old Sir's heartlessness and said something like that to miss. That was why you hated Auntie Fang and drenched her in water. Auntie Fang had always been a sly one, and she must have said something to Old Sir.” Nanny Ming frowned as she recounted what happened and her deductions.

Her deductions were similar to Mo Xuetong's. But there was something that did not make sense.

If it were true, her father would definitely make it up to her mother when he found out what happened later. Judging from the interactions she had with her father lately, her father still remembered her mother. There was a picture hidden surrept.i.tiously in the corner of his desk in the study. It was a portrait of her mother. The portrait had been kept really well and there was no trace of dust on it. It was evident that someone had taken it out to look at especially. That corner had always been the spot her father left important official doc.u.ments. Mo Xuetong had once seen her father caressing the edges of the painting while he was stowing away official doc.u.ments. How could her father be heartless and cold?

It meant that it was her father who had stopped the maids from entering. Or one could say that her father had taken Auntie Fang's suggestion to stop the maids from entering.

That was possible, but something was wrong about that too. Her father had loved her mother deeply, so how could he bear to let her leave the world alone? He was willing to bear the rumors saying that he was heartless and be misunderstood by his in-laws. So what was the reason for him to leave her alone with the Qin's without even asking about her?

This was something that Mo Xuetong could not get over. It was something that had been on her heart that could not be explained all this while.

Since he loved her mother so deeply, why had he behaved like this? She could see her father's obvious love for her, so why had he treated her like so?

She picked up a small pouch that was hanging on a wicker case beside her. She wrapped her fingers around it, and then loosened it, and then wrapped it around again, and loosened it...

”Nanny Ming, did Father behave oddly after that?” Mo Xuetong asked with a frown. ”That night after mother pa.s.sed away?”

That night was the key!

”That night, Old Sir chased all the maids away and stayed by Madam's side quietly. I was worried and waited outside. Then, I was tired and dozed off. Then, I was startled awake by the sound of someone rifling through something. Because the sound came from inside the room, I did not dare to say anything. The sound only stopped about ten minutes later. After that, I heard the sound of Old Sir crying.” Nanny Ming recounted.

She had hated Old Sir then, which was why she was worried about leaving Old Sir inside the room. She had waited outside especially since she had served her mistress all her life. Then, she had leaned against the wall and fell asleep. She did not know what Old Sir was looking for in the room, and she did not expect to hear his bitter cries after a while.

When did the calm Old Sir look like he would sob like a child? Nanny Ming was stunned. She could hear the pained and bitter cries of Mo Huawen in the quiet night. Nanny Ming cried together with him outside. Old Sir only left the room with red eyes at dawn the next day.

Other than this, nothing odd had happened!

What was her father looking for in her mother's room after she had died? Mo Xuetong sat up straight and her eyes glowed. What was it that made her father ignore her mother's death, and to search through her material possessions? And what was it that made him cry so bitterly? Was it because of her mother's pa.s.sing?

”Nanny Ming, where did all of Mother's other maids go? Why do I not see a single one of them now?” Something flashed through Mo Xuetong's eyes, and they grew grave.

”After what happened to the four senior maids, someone said that there was something bad in Madam's courtyard. The maids and servants all asked to be sent to other courtyards. Furthermore, Auntie Fang was in charge of the inner courtyard after that. The servants all left for other places and no one knows where they went.” Nanny Ming sighed, unable to make heads or tails of the situation either.

Everything she said had fit with Mo Xuetong's own deductions. Other than that trace of suspicion regarding her father's actions, there was no progress in anything else.

After Nanny Ming left, Mo Xuetong sat on the stove-bed quietly. She remained deep in thought, her brows furrow. She felt as if she was forgetting something. Everything was linked and when one thought about it carefully there was something very wrong. Why had her father not sensed anything? Or could it be that he was aware of it but chose not to do anything?