Chapter 255 - Princess Royals Private Inquiry (2/2)

She had dressed herself up today. Her upper outer garment was light blue and was made of a gauzy material and gold brocade. She was wearing a lunar white pleated dress with its hem embroidered with red plum blossoms. Moreover, she wore a soft shawl made of silk gauze with gold embroidery. On her neck was a string of sapphire necklace, exuding ultimate temptation like water.

Because she was still observing mourning for her mother, she did not wear bright red clothes. The brightest color on her was the ring of red plum blossoms at the hem of her dress, which seemed to bloom in the snow. Mo Xuetong was slender. In this outfit, she looked gorgeous yet not coquettish, beautiful yet not flashy. She had an air of natural beauty.

She had a smile in her crystal clear eyes, making her as pure and sweet as an orchid. Her appearance took the breath of everyone present away.

Many n.o.ble ladies in the capital had never seen Mo Xuetong. That was why they felt shocked while seeing her. She was young, but she appeared fair and feminine. They could not help wondering how gorgeous she would be in a few years. Furthermore, as she now became the adopted daughter of Princess Royal, her status raised rapidly. Some well-informed people had said that the imperial palace would bestow a t.i.tle upon her.

Those who heard it were in an uproar.

An average royal adopted daughter could by no means get a t.i.tle from the royal family and had her name written on its genealogical record, for it represented the importance that the royal family and Princess Royal placed on her. Most of those responsive n.o.ble ladies were wondering if there was a legitimate son in their family to marry the soon-to-be princess. They looked at Mo Xuetong with burning eyes.

Emperor Zongwen’s decree was sent after the rituals of the daughter-adopting ceremony had been conducted.

And it was lead eunuch Liu Xi beside Emperor Zongwen who sent the decree. Even the concubines fawned on Eunuch Liu. It could be seen that Emperor Zongwen really attached importance to the adoptive daughter of Princess Royal. This caused the ladies to whisper to each other in their seats.

As expected, Emperor Zongwen bestowed Princess Anping upon Mo Xuetong and wrote her name on the genealogical record on the spot. Everyone present became envious.

After the banquet, Mo Xuetong followed Princess Royal into a garden. The first thing that caught her eye was a vast expanse of red plum blossoms in full bloom. Because spring was round the corner, these were the last red plum blossoms. There were quite many calyces on the ground. Anyone who stepped on them would have a feeling that they were treading on fallen flowers and would feel ineffable sorrowful.

“Tong’er, your mom used to like the forest of red plum trees outside King Jin’s Manor most, especially the plum blossoms on those branches.” Standing in front of a red plum tree, Princess Royal looked up at a thick branch that pointed straight into the sky and said in a sorrowful tone, “I was not then able to plant such a forest of red plum trees for her. Now I’m able to do that, but she’s gone…”

Her figure was somewhat bleak.

“Mother(Princess Royal), you don’t need to be sad. My mom has planted some plum trees where we lived. Every time the plum blossoms bloomed in winter, my mom always moved the couch to the window. Her maid said that she would catch a cold in that way, but she would not leave.”

They were red plum trees too. Although they were a few and could not compare to Princess Royal’s forest, they received proper care. “Both my mom and Princess Royal like plum blossoms so much. Are there some inside stories about it?”

There was a light smile on Princess Royal’s face. But Mo Xuetong thought her smile lonely. Princess Royal looked like a dying woman, and no vitality could be seen in her. She seemed to have one foot in the grave. Mo Xuetong was stunned. How could Princess Royal, who was only in her thirties, have such a look in her eyes? Mo Xuetong felt unexplainably anxious and fearful deep in her heart.

Anyhow, she felt that there was something different about Princess Royal today.

Princess Royal said nothing. She led Mo Xuetong into an octagonal pavilion, treading on the fallen flowers and walking through the forest of plum trees. There were a tea set and a stove in the pavilion, which didn’t look very old. It must be a special place to drink tea and enjoy plum blossoms at ordinary times.

It was great to warm oneself by the stove and enjoy plum blossoms at the same time. If everything outside were shrouded in snow, the scenery would be fantastic.

They entered the room after walking through the octagonal pavilion and corridor. As soon as Mo Xuetong entered, she felt cold. She pushed open the somewhat dusty doors and found that everything inside was in a mess. As a gust of cold wind blew in, the edges of the windows inside trembled, and a few pieces of scattered paper flew out.

Princess Royal reached out her hands and took the pieces of paper that were flying in the air. She motioned Mo Xuetong in and closed the door.

The sunlight fell on the ground through the window sills. In the dusty light, Mo Xuetong could only see that on the ground, there were some pieces of scattered paper, seemingly covered in graffiti from children. Princess Royal stood in the messy room and walked over the paper calmly. It was as if she could not see the scene that did not suit her status.

“Come here.” Princess Royal stood in front of a chair, smiling and waving at her.

Mo Xuetong took the path that Princess Royal had taken and avoided treading on the scattered paper. She approached her carefully.

“Take a seat.”

Mo Xuetong then discovered that the sole table and two chairs in the room were clean, as if they had been scrubbed every day. It seemed that no one had cleaned the abandoned house on the surface. Who would come here every day and wipe the table and the chairs? It was a strange room.

Princess Royal sat poised in the rough chair, as if it were a big chair made of purple nanmu wood with gorgeous brocade on it. She stared at Mo Xuetong for a long time before she said with a smile, “Tong’er, did your mom leave you any jade ornaments?”

“Jade ornaments? Is Princess Royal looking for a jade ornament?”

As Mo Xuetong heard that, she was struck by lightning inwardly. If she had not concealed her feelings well, she would have been frightened out of her wits.

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