Chapter 340 - Reminding the Old Madam (1/2)

Mo Xuetong did not know why, but perhaps Feng Yuran’s words had rea.s.sured her. She slept very well that night. It was already late in the day when she woke up. Mo Lan had already prepared her clothing. Xu Yan would visit her after she got cleaned up.

What happened at the Repayment Temple yesterday had been explained by the horse carriage cras.h.i.+ng into a tree by the road and causing the carriage to fall off the cliff.

This was what happened.

The horse carriage crashed into a tree by the road. Mo Xuetong and Bai Yihao fell off the cliff together while Mo Xuemin and Mo Xueqiong were knocked unconscious.

Feng Yuran rushed to the scene despite his injuries and difficulty moving after he found out about it. He jumped down the cliff with a rope and saved Mo Xuetong and Bai Yihao. After he sent Bai Yihao away, and despite Mo Xuetong’s objections, he helped Mo Xuetong out and caused trouble. Mo Xuemin and You Yuelian met each other coincidentally and the two were taken away together. Those spying on them disappeared while Feng Yuran brought Mo Xuetong somewhere else secretly.

When Mo Xueqiong woke up and returned to the Mo Manor, Mo Huawen rushed out with his men to save Mo Xuetong. That was when Feng Yuran had his men send Mo Xuetong home and said that he saved her earlier and was about to send her home. Then, he went to the palace and complained to Emperor Zongwen angrily.

At this time, the incident that involved Duke Zhenguo’s Manor, Mo Xuemin, and You Yuelian had already been exposed. You Yuecheng was on his way to Duke Zhenguo’s Manor.

When Mo Xuetong returned to the manor, she only said that an accident happened that caused the horse carriage to fall off the cliff. Emperor Zongwen’s edict was released before Mo Xueqiong could calm herself down. Mo Xueqiong was taken away along with w.a.n.g Xiuxiu to King Yan’s Manor. Just as King Yan, Feng Yulei was angry and anxious, Feng Yuran fainted in the palace. The imperial physicians in the palace were all extremely busy.

All these matters happened and were linked. Mo Xuetong could not help but be in awe of Feng Yuran’s deviousness and careful planning. The incident had happened suddenly but he was able to adapt and change in a short period of time. This was not a simple plotting. Yet, this also made Mo Xuetong feel even more pity for Feng Yuran’s predicament.

He was just a young man who had just turned 17. Given his status, how could a child who had lost his mother be able to survive if he had not been careful with every step he took? There were so many princes in the palace, but only three survived.

King Chu had Consort Su to take care of him while King Yan had the Empress’ support. However, Feng Yuran had nothing. While Emperor Zongwen doted on him, he had almost died. If a child was truly innocent in the palace, he would just die even faster. Disregarding the palace, she herself, in her past life in the Mo Manor, had died a terrible death. The palace was a much more dangerous place than the back courtyard of a manor.

When she thought of that, Mo Xuetong’s heart hurt as if it had been torn apart. She bit her lips slightly, causing a twinge of pain. That was when she realized that she had bitten through the skin of her lips yesterday when she had tried to bear down on the pain.

“What’s the matter, Tong’er? Does it hurt badly?” Xu Yan asked, sincerely caring for Mo Xuetong. She thought that Mo Xuetong’s hands hurt. Her hands were wrapped up in bandages yesterday, having been scratched by the branches when she hung on to them on the cliff. When Xu Yan thought of how such a young girl had experienced such an ordeal, she was very frightened and pitied the girl.

She reached out to hold Mo Xuetong’s bandaged hands which were on the table and said, “Let me take a look. How are your injuries?”

“Mother, you don’t have to look at it. It doesn’t hurt as much now. I just need to recuperate for a few days and I’ll be fine.” Mo Xuetong avoided Xu Yan’s hand with a smile. Mo Lan served up tea and distracted Xu Yan.

“Your hands are so badly injured and look at what happened to your eldest sister. Even your fourth sister has been sent to King Yan’s Manor for some reason.” Xu Yan accepted the cup of tea and sighed. Then, she continued, “I don’t know why things turned out like this when you all were just going to the mountains to pay your respects to Elder Sister.”

“Where is Father now?” Mo Xuetong looked up and said delicately, changing the topic.

“Your father went to court early in the morning and has yet to return. I don’t know what happened!” How could Mo Huawen not be suspicious after all that happened to his three daughters? He had sent all his men to investigate last night and had not slept well. He only rested a little in his study when dawn broke.

Xu Yan visited him in the morning and he was already up. He told Xu Yan to take good care of Mo Xuetong and had not said anything else. He did not mention anything about Duke Zhenguo’s Manor. Xu Yan was intelligent as well and knew that there were things happening that she was unaware of. As such, she did not ask about anything and only did as Mo Huawen asked.

“Mother, rest a.s.sured. Nothing will happen to Father. Perhaps His Majesty asked Father to stay to ask him about what happened yesterday. Fourth Sister has gone to King Yan’s Manor to become a second consort before King Yan even welcomes a first consort. It is reasonable for His Majesty to do this.” Mo Xuetong comforted Xu Yan. Then, she continued, “Fourth Sister going to King Yan’s Manor is also worthy of celebration. Don’t worry, Mother.”

Even though it had not been long since Xu Yan entered the manor, she was speechless about Mo Xueqiong’s character.

Even though Mo Xueqiong usually seemed sharp and acerbic, she did not have much foresight and was a vicious person. There was once when Xu Yan visited her and saw Mo Xueqiong in the garden, stabbing a little maidservant with her hairpin. The little maidservant screamed and cried. The maidservant had only accidentally broken a goldfish tank that Mo Xueqiong liked. It wasn’t a big deal!

Mo Xueqiong was extremely narrow-minded and selfish. She also did not hide how vicious she was. A person like her entering King Yan’s Manor was not really considered a blessing and one would not know when she would implicate the Mo Manor. When Xu Yan thought of that, she felt that she had to speak with Mo Huawen about it lest Mo Xueqiong got into trouble and implicated the Mo Manor.

“Did your horse carriage crash into a tree yesterday? Why were you the only one to fall down the cliff?” Xu Yan decided not to think about Mo Xueqiong and then had new doubts again. She took a sip of tea and placed the cup on the table. Then, she looked at Mo Xuetong sincerely and said, “Tong’er, if anyone has wronged you, tell Mother. Even though I do not have much power to help you, I will definitely stand on your side.”

“Thank you, Mother. But I truly have not been wronged. Perhaps I sat on a bad spot.” Mo Xuetong’s smile froze a little before she regained calmness. Her gentle smile remained on her face, but there was an obvious flash of sadness in her eyes. Xu Yan grew more suspicious.

However, since Mo Xuetong refused to say anything, Xu Yan could not force her to.