Chapter 218 - History, Secret Past in Harem (1/2)

Mo Xuetong didn’t imagine the Princess Royal’s mansion to be this fancy before visiting here.

On the way, she saw ancient trees stretching to the sky. By the fake mountains, strange-looking boulders stood, surrounded by streams. Zigzagging hallways connected pavilions and houses on terraces. From time to time, she could find new scenery she had never seen. Moreover, after the snow yesterday, the branches, rooftops, and trees were all white. Several red plum blossoms stuck out from the snow at the corner of the walls.

The blossoms made the scene fresher and more romantic. A breeze blew off pieces of snowflakes, falling like raindrops on Xuetong’s shoulders. They playfully glided across her jade white face. Mo Xuetong’s cold and beautiful eyes didn’t seem to belong to the immortal world. Fluttering long eyelashes, she slowly rolled her eyes, looking indescribably attractive.

While observing the scenery, Mo Xuetong didn’t expect herself to be the scenic view in others’ eyes.

The maids led her into a parlor, where many guests had seated themselves there. They all turned out to be young girls who dressed glamorously and looked delicate. When Mo Xuetong stepped in, many of them paused. Some misses was already asking the people around them who she was. “Who is this young miss?”

“Didn’t you know? She’s the third miss from Mo Manor.”

“She’s the Third Young Miss Mo. She looks so gorgeous…”

Mo Xuetong nimbly rolled her watery eyes and saw Luo Mingzhu and some other misses who were waving at her the moment she entered. Then, Mo Xuetong walked toward them.

Luo Mingzhu grabbed her hand while smiling. Luo Mingzhu asked her to sit by the side and teased. “I knew Princess Royal invited you. So I’ve been waiting here watching the door. But you really came so late.”

A slightly surprised voice rang, carrying a trace of exaggeration. “Miss Luo, this is your cousin. She’s so beautiful. In a few years, she’ll be known as the most beautiful girl in the world.”

Mo Xuetong looked up, only to see a girl in a blue s.h.i.+rt and red dress. She was about 15 or 16 years old, sitting next to Luo Mingzhu. She had a pretty face and a pair of tender and charming eyes.

Luo Qingzhu introduced. “This is Grand Secretariat’s second daughter, w.a.n.g Yueyue. Yueyue, this is the third miss from Mo Manor.”

Grand Secretariat’s second daughter was none other than w.a.n.g Xiuxiu’s younger sister. Mo Xuetong didn’t expect that one of the siblings was elegant and calm, while the other was mild and stunning.

Mo Xuetong lightly smiled. “It’s so kind of you. But I’m afraid the most beautiful girl in the Qin Kingdom is surly Second Miss Ling. That day, when I saw Second Miss Ling’s beautiful figure from afar, I was even ashamed of myself.”

Receiving Mo Xuetong’s bland flattering, w.a.n.g Yueyue looked a little displeased. However, soon, she warmly smiled. “You’re right. I’m being impolite. When I just saw Third Young Miss Mo, I was impressed by your beauty and said something so arrogating. Is Third Young Miss Mo first time here? If so, you’d have to follow me to make yourself a name board.”

Mo Xuetong blinked, confused. “What’s a name board?”

Luo Mingzhu stood up with a smile and grabbed Mo Xuetong to lead her to the inner part of the parlor. Following them, w.a.n.g Yueyue also smilingly nodded and rose.

Out of the parlor, after taking a few turns in the hallway, did Mo Xuetong understand Luo Mingzhu’s words and couldn’t help thinking it funny and boring.

This time, the Princess Royal invited only unmarried misses and masters. Once in a while, the Princess Royal would convene a gathering of young misses and masters for some unimportant reason. It was because the princess was bored that she decided to throw these parties.

After lunch, the attending misses would put on performances. Since it was improper for men and women to rest in the same place and there was an artificial lake in the Princess Royal’s manor, boys and girls would rest on separate sides. At that time, the princess would have people prepare boards with names carved on them. Boys would pick girls’ name board while girls would pick boys’. After they drew someone’s name board, they could ask the board’s owner to sing, dance, write or play the Qin.

If they would like to, they could join the owner to perform together!

Therefore, w.a.n.g Yueyue asked Mo Xuetong to also make herself a name board.

It was really easy to make one because blank boards were already ready for use. Thus, Mo Xuetong lifted a brush and wrote her name on it in Small Seal Script. Then, it was done.

Of course, if she wanted to add a personal touch to it, she could paint some simple patterns on it or wrote a few lines of poems. However, Mo Xuetong didn’t want to stand out among the girls so she decided to go casual with it. Therefore, except her name, she decorated the board with nothing else.

The three turned around to walk out of the room. w.a.n.g Yueyue left to attend to her business, while Luo Mingzhu dragged Mo Xuetong to a nearby pavilion.

Making sure there was no one around, Luo Mingzhu lowered her voice to say, “Cousin Tong, is your elder sister really marrying Sima Lingyun of Duke Zhenguo’s manor?”

Mo Xuetong smiled back in doubt. “She might be. Where did Second Cousin hear the news?” It was kind of a secret. After all, it was a scandal and the palace had reminded people inside to keep it low-key.