Chapter 165 - The Interesting Show at Qingfang Pavilion (1/2)

Mo Xuemin woke up bleary-eyed, holding her head. She did not know where she was and could hear the voices of people talking and yelling. An urgent sense of danger gripped her, and her mind quickly cleared. She turned around to find a man she did not know lying on the large couch behind hers, his clothes in disarray.

Looking down, she saw that her clothes were equally untidy…

She heaved herself into an upright position. She remembered everything. She was coming to Qingfang Pavilion with Mo Xiu earlier. They had taken a more secluded path, because it was shorter. The shortcut was much darker than the main roads, which were lit brightly. She had intended to take the main roads when she reached Qingyu Pavilion .

You Yuecheng had mentioned in his letter that Qingyu Pavilion was meant for people to rest in, especially on holidays, such as today. The emperor would be at the festival as well, which meant the empress and the other consorts would go with him. With so many members of the n.o.bility present, there had to be a place for them to rest while they kept the New Year’s vigil.

The palace had already set up an area for places similar to Qingyu Pavilion for people to rest in. The pavilions had one distinguis.h.i.+ng feature – they were all built close to the main road. It was interesting to view the lanterns in the pavilion as well. There were a few pavilions that were meant for the emperor and his consorts.

Most of the other pavilions were for the young lords and ladies to rest in. After all, the emperor said he would come, but he probably wouldn’t stay long.

Mo Xuemin’s plan had been simple.

The empress had been present when the n.o.bles were eating on the islands, so they couldn’t fully enjoy themselves. Now that they could relax, a few of the weaker young ladies would find somewhere to rest, and Qingyu Pavilion was a good spot. Should someone mention going there to rest, there would definitely be young ladies who would go.

The young ladies had all brought their brothers along, so there would be a crowd to witness Mo Xuetong and a man rolling around with their clothes in disarray, and her sister would be too embarra.s.sed to live. Causing trouble while the emperor enjoyed the festivities with his people would not only embarra.s.s her, it was also disrespectful towards the emperor.

Then, even if Mo Xuetong did not want to die, the emperor would decree that she did. Of course, even if the emperor was benevolent because of her father and let Mo Xuetong off, she would never be anything more than a concubine. Mo Xumin had asked Sima Lingyun to find a useless man who had many concubines. Mo Xuetong was the legal daughter of a third-grade official, and such a scandal would not only be an embarra.s.sment to the Mo family, but also to the General Manor.

Then, if Mo Huawen were to marry Auntie Fang, their granddaughter would be a concubine, and the General Manor would be too embarra.s.sed to interfere.

Mo Xuetong would probably die of depression after being used by the useless man, and Auntie Fang would become the legal wife without any hindrances! Mo Xuemin had planned everything with minute detail.

One thing Mo Xuemin hadn’t planned for was getting dizzy when she approached the shortcut to the pavilion. Her sight turned black, and she lost consciousness. Mo Xuemin, who had always been a plotter, knew that she had fallen into a trap.

She could make out the muted sounds of conversation outside. The doors and windows were high and there was nothing around them that was blocking them. It would be impossible for her to get out of here without being seen. Mo Xuemin pushed the man away and smoothed down and retied her dress. She saw a cup of tea on the table and her eyes brightened.

The man’s swollen face grew red. Judging by the smell of alcohol surrounding him, he had been drinking and pa.s.sed out in this room. The tea had also been there for some time, and was growing colder in the chill winter air, certainly cold enough to wake a drunk.

The cold tea splashed onto the man’s face and trickled down his neck.

The man leaped up and raised his right hand, wiping off the liquid with his wide sleeves before he even opened his eyes. “Who did that?” he shouted. “It’s freezing, and you dare to pour cold water on me? I’m going to tear your skin off!”

He did not even see who it was before he started yelling. He was, indeed, a fool.

Mo Xuemin didn’t hesitate – she picked up a white ceramic vase with a narrow neck and handed it to the man with the neck facing him. All he could make out was the liquid in his eyes, and he could not see clearly who was opposite him. He only felt someone stuffing something into his hand. It was the size of his wine bottle, and he accepted it.

The laughter and chattering of a few young ladies from outside was growing louder, interspersed with male voices.

They were getting closer and closer. They were here!

It would be too late if she did not act now!

A cold viciousness flashed in Mo Xuemin steeled herself. Guiding the man’s hands, she lifted the vase high, gritted her teeth, and smashed it down violently…

There was a dull thud, followed by a scream.

Mo Xuemin crawled to the door, opening it just as a maid dressed in yellow was reaching for the handle on the other side.

She fell on the maid, screaming “Help! Help! He tried to kill me!” She pitched her voice to sound shocked and afraid. It was something she had a lot of practice with as a n.o.blewoman, as it was the kind of reaction people expected her to have.

The young ladies behind the maid yelled in shock. A young master wearing pink long robes walked up and stood in front of them and asked the figure, “Who are you?”