Chapter 473 - A Fight and How Concubine Qin Thinks of Mo Xuemin (1/2)
The concubines had all regained their wits by then. They hurriedly greeted Mo Xuetong, all feeling rather wary!
Mo Xuetong did not stand on courtesy either. She smiled softly and said, “I invited everyone here today because I wished to meet you all. Even though I am young, I have to manage the back courtyard. Though His Highness has ordered for all of you to stay in the courtyards at the back and not allow you all to come out, I think it is better to release you all. Even though all of you are not official concubines, you all can be considered to be bed servants.”
Mo Xuetong’s statement had just cla.s.sed all the concubines as ordinary bed servants. There were many who were displeased with that. Even though most of them were not of high status, they were still better than a bed servant. Some of them were from families with court positions and there was a concubine, Qin, who was from a n.o.ble family.
“My Lady, my father used to be colleagues with Sir Mo. It is just that Sir Mo had better luck at work and the Emperor trusted him, which was why he was promoted to being a third-grade official. Now that I think about it, I used to hang out with your eldest sister before I married His Highness. We can be considered friends.”
Concubine Yun smiled and took a few steps forward as she spoke to Mo Xuetong. She meant to deal with Mo Xuetong with a blow and tell her that her father and Mo Xuetong’s father, Mo Huawen, used to be of the same rank. She used to hang out with the eldest daughter of the Mo Manor as well. No matter how they looked at it, she was considered to be of n.o.ble status as well. She could not be considered a bed servant and should have a proper position.
Another woman came up and tried to get in good with Mo Xuetong as well. She was a beautiful woman called Concubine Ming. The smile on her face was gentle and harmless. “That’s right, First Miss Mo is a talented woman and we used to get along very well. I wonder how she’s doing now. Did she marry a good man and has forgotten all her friends?”
It was as if she were just simply mentioning it!
Mo Xuemin was just Mo Huawen’s eldest concubine-born daughter. Even though these concubines maintained connections to the outside world, they only talked about what concerned them. They would not mention these things. Furthermore, these people kept in contact with the outside world secretly and only talked business. As such, even though what Mo Xuemin did had caused a furor, these women did not know about it.
When they saw that Mo Xuetong did not speak, they thought that they had managed to use Mo Xuetong’s elder sister to oppress her. They wanted to see what else Mo Xuetong could say.
Mo Huawen had only brought Mo Xuemin and Mo Xueqiong with him when he entered the capital. At that time, Auntie Fang had been in charge of the family matters of the Mo Manor. She and Mo Xuemin would be the ones who welcomed guests, which was why some family members of court officials thought that Auntie Fang was Mo Huawen’s legal wife. Mo Xuemin was naturally the eldest legitimate daughter. Her status was definitely higher than Mo Xuetong, the legitimate second daughter.
They were truly stupid. Mo Yu pursed her lips behind Mo Xuetong. The mockery in her eyes was evident!
They wanted to use Mo Xuemin to oppress the Lady. That was too stupid!
Mo Xuetong seemed not to have understood what Concubine Yun and Concubine Ming meant. She smiled even more sweetly and looked at the two meaningfully before ignoring them. Then, she said to the other concubines, “Yesterday, His Highness ordered me to list down your names so you will all be considered an official part of the manor. In the future, your monthly allowance will be the same as the other bed servants lest any of you feel aggrieved.”
While what Mo Xuetong said sounded like what she should do after officially taking charge of the back courtyard, the concubines were all secretly seething because she kept calling them bed servants. They had thought that they would definitely be able to become official concubines. They did not expect that they would all be cla.s.sed as bed servants. How would they take it lying down?
The first to speak up after Mo Xuetong was done, was the timid Concubine Lian.
She glanced at Mo Xuetong and seemed a little nervous. She said, a little fearfully, “My Lady, how can this be? The monthly allowance of a bed servant is not enough to keep us alive. And, we have to buy makeup and new clothes to please His Highness. My Lady, can you increase our allowance?”
Concubine Lian might have sounded like she was fighting for their monthly allowance, but she actually wanted a t.i.tle.
Concubine Lian had already decided. It was impossible for her to defeat Mo Xuetong openly. As such, she had to do it in a roundabout manner. Even though a bed servant was an una.s.suming position, she would still be the master’s woman. If she got promoted, she would become an official concubine. With that, she believed that she would be able to defeat that la.s.s who had yet to become a full woman.
Mo Xuetong’s lively eyes landed on Concubine Lian. She smiled slightly. This woman would be difficult to deal with. She had spoken tactfully, but her intentions were clear. While her eyes made her seem lovely and weak, she was not helpless at all. She was able to be the first to speak in such a situation and one could see that she was a sharp person. However, it was a pity. Concubine Lian wanted to use the many women around her to force Mo Xuetong into conceding defeat, but it would be to no avail.
“My Lady, His Highness once told me that I just had to ask the butler for anything I require. Is the manor unable to dispense with the upkeep for a few women? My Lady, if you do this, it will look like the King’s Manor is facing financial difficulty and cannot keep us, the women of His Highness, alive.”
Concubine Yun was another sort of person. She spoke directly to Mo Xuetong rudely without a hint of respect. Furthermore, she spoke loudly and did not stop at all.
“My Lady, that’s true.” Concubine Ming immediately continued. She used to be doted on by Feng Yuran and had been offended by Mo Xuetong earlier. When she saw that Mo Xuetong did not get angry at Concubine Yun, she spoke rudely as well. “When His Highness was in charge, he allowed us free reign of the back courtyard. We just have to ask for what we wanted to eat, use, and play with. Why are you forcing our hands after taking charge? Are you trying to kick us out!”