Chapter 456 - On the Trip to the Temple Hit a Pedestrian (1/2)

Based on the convention in the harem, the childless consorts would go to the Ganye Palace after the Emperor’s death to live a life of spiritual practice and submit to the Buddhist discipline. Life for them was totally different from the flamboyant life before, but equivalent to a nun’s. If the consort had a son, she could live with her son in the King’s manor; if she had a daughter, she could still stay in the palace and be ent.i.tled as a “Consort Dowager”.

And what the Empress meant was that Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen was allowed to come out of the palace and live with her daughter. Such preferential treatment had never been granted before. So the Empress believed that it appealed to Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen most. Because the Sixth Princess was Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s only daughter. If she could live with her daughter to spend the rest of her life, it would be more appealing to Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen that she had to live alone in the palace.

Although Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen was lukewarm about the fights among consorts in the harem, the Emperor liked her character so that he would come to her palace now and then. At present, the Empress had to guard against the Empress Dowager while trying to deal with Imperial n.o.ble Consort Su. So the Empress hoped to have more people on her side, and that’s why she would make that promise.

Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen appreciated the Empress’ intention immediately and replied with a smile, “Thank you so much. Your Majesty. I will listen to you from now on.”

The Empress felt contented inwardly, and the expression on Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s face fit in exactly with the Empress’ guess. Then, the Empress’ serious look softened, and she said, “Yansha, go to take the flower cloud silk goods that Duke Ding gave me. The Fifth Princess’ marriage has been settled, and the next should be the Sixth Princess’. How can the royal daughter not dress well?”

“Yes, I am going to take them.” Yansha came out behind the Empress, bowed respectfully and answered. Then, she took the palace maidservants to fetch a few gorgeous silk goods soon.

“Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, I have nothing good to give the Sixth Princess. Since the Fifth Princess got married, I will definitely treat the Sixth Princess as well as my own daughter.” The Empress looked at Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen and said smilingly.

The Empress was a mother of the nation, setting as a motherly model for all the people. Therefore, no matter the marriage for any prince or princess, she was able to have a say, even arrange the marriage directly. As long as she was still the Empress of the Qin Kingdom, the Emperor could not reject her. So she was the best to speak on the marriage for princes and princesses.

Of course, due to various reasons, the Empress could not interfere too much in the previous three princes’ marriage. But as for princess’ marriage, the Emperor did not care about it so much. Therefore, whether a princess could have a good marriage was mainly dependent on the Empress’ arrangement or simply a word. Even if the Emperor’s daughters did not have to worry about the marriage, it was not easy to marry a satisfying husband.

Seemingly, the Empress’ words sounded the concern about the Sixth Princess, but in fact, she was trying to warn Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen that if she dared to betray her, her daughter could not have a good marriage.

“Thank you so much. Your Majesty. I send my grat.i.tude to Your Majesty here first, and when I come back, I will ask the Sixth Princess to express her thanks in person.” Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen seemed to be totally unaware of the threat in the Empress’ words, and just said gently and happily. She stood up and gave a deep salute to the Empress without any ill feelings.

With Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s expression and att.i.tude, the Empress became more satisfied. The two chatted for a while, and then Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen left with the silk goods.

Mo Xuetong only took three carriages, all of which were the very ordinary official style. Mo Xuetong took Mo Ye and Mo Lan to sit in the first car; the second car took a few nannies and maidservants, and the last one took some incenses and other goods to wors.h.i.+p the buddha. It was of little use, so the third carriage was closed and waited there.

Mo Ye and Mo Lan helped Mo Xuetong get on the carriage. Then, the coachman cracked the whip skillfully into a flowery shape and shouted, and the carriage began to move slowly.

Although the carriage looked inconspicuous from outside, it was much more comfortable to sit in than a normal carriage. A bamboo mat was laid inside, with a soft couch under it. There was some food in the dark grids beside. The curtain was hooked, with a light-colored gauze hanging. It was not only cool and well ventilated, but also convenient to enjoy the scenery outside.

The way to hang two layers of curtains only prevailed among the influential families.

Mo Lan got on the carriage and put on the curtain well, and lowered her head to speak to Mo Xuetong in a soft voice, “My Lady, Mo Feng has taken people to the Puguang Temple to deal with the things. Could you have Feng Yue to arrange more people for you?” Usually, Mo Feng guarded Mo Xuetong secretly. But this time, he was sent out, so Mo Lan felt kind of uneasy.

Those people appointed by Feng Yue followed Mo Feng to the Puguang Temple first, because they needed to monitor Mo Xueqiong’s movement, while starting to arrange the next matters.

Mo Xuetong put on a slight smile on the corner of her lips, and nodded with satisfaction. “Don’t bother so much. The way to the Puguang Temple were all main roads. How could anything terrible happen in this way? Besides, even though it happens, I have Mo Ye to protect me.”

Hearing Mo Xuetong mentioning her, Mo Ye put down the curtain on the other side and answered with certainty, “Yes, I will try my best to protect My Lady.”

She and Mo Feng had scouted the road last night. It was not likely to have anything terrible happen. In the early morning today, the two checked the carriages again. The coachman looked ordinary, but in fact, was a martial arts master.

Seeing Mo Ye reply so firmly, Mo Lan felt less worried. The two had been serving Mo Xuetong for a long time, so Mo Lan knew clearly Mo Ye was cautious and reliable.

The carriage slowly moved forward. Mo Xuetong leaned against the couch with her eyes closed to refresh her spirit. It was not so hot to start off in the morning. So the moment Feng Yuran left, Mo Xuetong got up. It was much earlier than her usual time, so she felt a bit drowsy. Mo Ye and Mo Lan were both so well-behaved that they did not speak again when knowing Mo Xuetong was sleepy.

The carriage was running smoothly and everything was quiet. Suddenly, the carriage brought to a halt, and the people in the carriage rushed forward involuntarily.

With sharp eyes and agile hands, Mo Ye held Mo Xuetong instantly so as to avoid Mo Xuetong hit the teapot on the table in front.

Mo Lan grabbed the brocade that she sat on to keep herself steady.

Mo Lan raised the curtain and asked with a frown, “What’s the matter?”