Chapter 431 - Asking for the Peony Garden (1/2)

Feng Yuran smiled lightly and spoke casually. However, Mo Xuetong understood what he meant immediately.

The Princess Royal was King Jin’s daughter and had been sent away at a young age. Other than the secret guards King Jin prepared for her secretly, she would also have some people she could command to ensure her safety. These people’s ident.i.ties should be hidden and they would move around the Princess Royal’s side doing all sorts of things. The abbot of Repayment Temple was probably one of them.

This could also explain why Mo Xuetong’s mother had asked her to ask for help. She was still asking help from the Princess Royal, but in this way, it would be easier to hide the fact that her mother and the Princess Royal were biological sisters.

Meanwhile, Feng Yuran had strong points on his own to build his faction. Things were complicated in King Xuan’s Manor so setting up a stronghold outside was the best possible idea. However, there was something Mo Xuetong could not understand. Why did the Princess Royal hand over some of her people to Feng Yuran so easily? Bai Yihao was her biological nephew.

So why did she treat Feng Yuran so well? Did she pity Feng Yuran for his mother’s death?

This did not make sense either. There were so many consorts in the palace and Emperor Zongwen had more than one consort who died. For example, the third prince, King Yan, Feng Yulei’s mother had also pa.s.sed away. Why didn’t the Princess Royal treat him better than others then? If it were really about how close of a relations.h.i.+p they had, King Ning, Feng Yuzhen, was the Empress Dowager’s grandson. The Princess Royal was raised by the Empress Dowager. She was closer to Feng Yuzhen than to Feng Yuran.

Mo Xuetong was very confused and only barely managed to stop herself from asking Feng Yuran about it directly. She felt it difficult to accept that she was King Jin’s granddaughter. She would much rather be the granddaughter of the Old Madam of the Fu General Manor. In her past life, and in this life, only the old madam had truly loved her.

Mo Xuetong touched her slightly pounding head. She felt that the Princess Royal treated Feng Yuran differently. It was not only because he was her nephew though. Otherwise, why would she help Feng Yuran despite the fact that it could possibly reveal her true ident.i.ty? She even handed over the men in her hands to Feng Yuran.

“Why are you not pretending to be Peony Master now?” Mo Xuetong felt a little confused. She could not understand what was happening at this moment. As such, she bit her lips and turned the topic back to what they were originally speaking about.

Ever since the last incident, there was no news of Peony Master ever again. It seemed that Feng Yuran did not wish to make use of that ident.i.ty right now. That gave Mo Xuetong a new idea. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Feng Yuran with antic.i.p.ation.

“I’m busy right now and most of my men are out doing other things. There’s truly no one left in the peony garden. So it was left empty.” Feng Yuran said with a smile. He could not help but reach out to pinch her nose. He could tell that she was up to something just by her cheeky expression.

Empty? Mo Xuetong’s watery eyes twinkled. She patted away his naughty hands and said sweetly, “Then why not give me that peony garden? The peonies there are so beautiful. It’d be a waste not to use them!”

Those beautiful peonies should be admired. However, the peony garden used to be under the control of the Peony Master, and not many people could enter in. There were many n.o.blewomen and young ladies who had never seen it before. If she could hold a banquet there, it would be elegant and leisurely. Furthermore, the ident.i.ty of the Peony Master was very attractive to Mo Xuetong.

She felt that there were some things that were difficult for her to do with her ident.i.ty as Consort Xuan. She had to greet many people when she left the house unlike the past when she could travel without any burdens. She could even make use of Peony Master’s reputation to get some things done.

Feng Yuran raised his eyebrows high in shock. “You want that peony garden?”

Mo Xuetong tugged on his belt cutely. “Of course, would that be alright?”

Feng Yuran said readily. He tilted his face and pointed at his thin lips. “Alright. Here!”

Mo Xuetong flushed. She did not expect him to blackmail her like that.

Feng Yuran said with an expression of pity. He glanced at Mo Xuetong with a devilish satisfaction. “Tong’er, are you unwilling? Then forget it. Anyway, that peony garden is taking up a lot of s.p.a.ce. I’ll have people tear it down tomorrow. The flowers there will be given to others. I have a few precious purple peonies there. They are extremely precious and came from far away. It is such a pity!”

Feng Yuran was not giving the garden to her but was going to tear it down and give it to others. She looked at the pleased expression on his face. He was obviously trying to blackmail her. This made Mo Xuetong feel a little embarra.s.sed and annoyed. She reached out to pinch his waist viciously and pouted her pink and soft lips with an expression of displeasure.

An expression of unbearable pain immediately appeared on his handsome face. He clutched at his waist and his cheeky expression disappeared. “Ow! That hurts. Tong’er, that hurts!”

Did she really hurt him? He could not be that fragile!

Mo Xuetong felt a little guilty. She blinked and then pretended to be angry and said, “Well, how dare you try to provoke me? I wouldn’t have pinched you if you hadn’t.”

Feng Yuran pretended to look pitiful when he saw how Mo Xuetong pretended to be strong even though she felt guilty inside. He pointed at the spot that she pinched and said sadly, “Tong’er, it’s already bruised.”

Mo Xuetong felt a little uncertain when she saw how he was holding his waist. She glanced at his waist and then at his frowned eyebrows in pain. She bit her lips and then helped him to rub the spot while complaining, “It’s all your fault. See if you dare to do this again!”

“I won’t, I won’t dare to do this again. I will do everything you say.” Even though Mo Xuetong’s lips were pouted, she could not help but sneak glances at his waist. She looked guilty and distressed. Feng Yuran’s eyes shone brilliantly at the successful prank. He reached out to pick up Mo Xuetong’s chin and kissed her lips. He was gentle and sweet and it made her heart flutter.

Her face grew hot. Before she could react though, he had already let her go.

However, he then picked up her hand and bit her gently. He said, “Your hand is so soft it’s like there are no bones. Tong’er, your slender and pale hands are beautiful.”

He sounded coy and flirtatious. Mo Xuetong felt her whole body burn. She did not know whether to be shy or annoyed. She pushed him away and pretended to be angry, saying, “Tell me, will you give me the peony garden or not?!”

She was very loud. However, she only appeared to be strong on the surface and soft inside.