Chapter 255 - Princess Royals Private Inquiry (1/2)
It had been announced early in the morning that Princess Royal Mingzhu would accept Mo Xuetong as her adopted daughter.
Princess Royal Mingzhu had arranged the affair of entertaining guests without any explanation. Only in the morning, when the whole Princess’s Manor was busy with the matter, did it spread profusely and disorderly. The number of those who knew it immediately increased like a s...o...b..ll. Some envied, some despised, some mocked, and some people suspect…
In Prime Minister’s Manor.
w.a.n.g Xiuxiu had not gone out since returning to her boudoir last night. Given the strength of Feng Yuzhen’s shadow guard, to kill a physically weak woman in a boudoir was a piece of cake. w.a.n.g Xiuxiu was delighted to think of what Feng Yuzhen had promised her the night before. The two had indulged themselves in a deep pa.s.sion for a long time before they had parted sweetly.
w.a.n.g Xiuxiu had left cautiously by the side door, not knowing what was happening at the back door, lest she should be seen walking with him.
But early this morning, the news came when she was dressing up.
“Princess Royal is going to accept the third miss of Mo Manor as the adopted daughter.” The ornaments w.a.n.g Xiuxiu was holding fell to the ground with clattering sounds. Her face suddenly changed in shock.
The maid who combed her hair had not noticed her abnormality. She said enviably with a smile, “Exactly. Aren’t you going to Princess Royal’s Manor for dinner today, Miss? I heard that the banquet today is a display of splendor, and even some imperial concubines have given Princess Royal a lot of rare treasures. How blessed is Third Young Miss Mo! She suddenly makes herself a member of the royalty. Princess Royal is childless. Therefore, everything Princess Royal possesses will be hers.”
“Is that Third Young Miss Mo at the banquet now?” It took w.a.n.g Xiuxiu a long time to retrieve her voice. She managed to ask calmly as she clenched her hands under her sleeves.
“I heard that she got into the carriage that Princess Royal’s Manor had prepared for her early in the morning. That makes sense. Everyone will be quite happy and will go to the banquet early when this happens.” The maid smiled and asked w.a.n.g Xiuxiu in the mirror, “What bun would you like today, Miss? How about a low ponytail? You are the prettiest in that way.”
“Alright,” w.a.n.g Xiuxiu answered stiffly, utterly confused. “Mo Xuetong is still alive and sound and safe. What about what I did yesterday? Will she reveal it? If anyone finds out that I’m having an affair with King Ning, I will be beheaded.” For a moment, she was alarmed and frightened and did not care what hair she was going to wear.
On the other side, in Mo Xuemin’s yard.
Mo Xuemin had been leading a much worse life these days.
Mo Huawen found some sutras from nowhere and asked her to copy them every day, saying this conduct could cultivate her moral character. She was so angry that she almost tore the books. The two first-cla.s.s maids around her were gone. Therefore, the two second-cla.s.s maids in the yard became her first-cla.s.s maids. They were, of course, not as good as Mo Jin and Mo Xiu.
Auntie Fang lost her power and influence and was expelled from the manor by Mo Huawen. Several maids and elderly female servants in Mo Xuetong’s yard who were close to Auntie Fang were either beaten to death or sold. Thus, no one dared to be close to Mo Xuemin. Her yard was initially desolate. If it were not for the tickling sounds of making the ancestral temple coming from outside, her courtyard would be even more deserted since few people could be seen there at ordinary times.
The two elderly female servants who guarded the door also got the news. On the surface, the first miss was asked to cultivate her moral character, but in fact, she was imprisoned. Thinking that she could not create a disturbance any longer and there were no strangers except for the several maids in the yard, they made a pot of tea and sat on the corridor, chatting.
“Third miss does lead a charmed life. She actually wins the favor of Princess Royal and becomes her daughter. She really becomes the descendant of the royal family,” an elderly female servant said jealously.
“Of course. The third miss was born to Madame. As a legitimate daughter, she is surely different from those who were born to those vicious women. The one inside the yard is uncultivated. She even caused her personal maid to die. That maid was a poor b.i.t.c.h. She couldn’t meet a good master,” another elderly female servant glanced askance at Mo Xuemin’s house not far away and said mockingly.
“You’re right. A concubine’s daughter can always be a concubine’s daughter. There’s no way for her to raise her status, no matter how hard she tries. After the New Year, our master will marry a new lady, and he will be less fond of her.” The other elderly female servant pointed in Mo Xuemin’s direction. That unruly girl thought she was the master.
“The b.i.t.c.h Mo Xuetong is protected again.”
Thinking of that, Mo Xuemin gnashed her teeth in the room. She grabbed a half-copied sutra at hand and threw it at the head of a maid near her. She cursed in rage, “How come you can’t grind the ink stick? What else can you do? You’d better die.”
The paper and ink were all smashed to the maid. Regardless of the ink all over her, the maid fell to her knees in fear and cried, saying, “First miss, I haven’t ground the ink stick before. I’ll regrind it for you right away.”
Mo Xuemin was not in the mood to hear her explanation. She mercilessly kicked the maid to the ground, picked up the teacup near her, and poured the tea over her. Fortunately, the tea was made a while ago and was not hot. But the maid’s clothes got wet. Since it was in the winter, the maid immediately s.h.i.+vered.
Mo Xuemin turned and stormed into the inner room. As she gritted her teeth, she picked up the vase with the patterns of four cirrus clouds beside her and smashed it on the ground. It never occurred to her that Mo Xiu would rather commit suicide than s.h.i.+ft the blame on Mo Xuetong.
If Mo Xiu had risked her life to testify that Mo Xuetong had framed a concubine of her father on purpose, Mo Xuetong’s reputation would have been ruined, even if she could not remove Mo Xuetong from high status. And now, of course, it would be impossible for Mo Xuetong to be adopted by Princess Royal and become a royal from then on. How could Mo Xuemin not feel resentful when she had almost succeeded?
She had almost, almost succeeded…
She just couldn’t resign herself to this outcome!
The officials in the capital knew the arrival of the amba.s.sadors from the Yan Kingdom from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. They had already prepared a post house for both the First Prince of Yan Kingdom and his companions. A grand welcome banquet was prepared at the imperial palace, and most of the senior officials in the capital were present. The n.o.blewomen came here to attend Princess Royal’s daughter-adopting banquet.
Mo Xuetong knelt before Princess Royal and kowtowed respectfully, saying, “Mother.”