Chapter 369 - The Mystery Surrounding the Past Affairs of Queen Jin
Chapter 369 The Mystery Surrounding the Past Affairs of Queen Jin
This was no normal dispute between consorts and the proper wife since the main nanny of the house heard rumors from the tightly restricted back garden. It seemed that the Feng Yuran’s King Xuan’s Manor was not invulnerable even though his own Jinwei Hall did seem like to be a solid stronghold.
In dealing with these people, Mo Xuetong would not be kind and gentle for she was defeated in her previous life because of her kindness. When she let her opponents off, she was harmed in return again and again. If she used harsher methods once she entered Duke Zhenguo’s manor, and beat all those who created trouble or chased all of them out, none of the following troubles would have occurred.
At that time, her maternal family was holding a high status, and no one dared to oppose her.
Hence, this was a great opportunity to punish and beat up a group of people. She had the idea long ago but was merely finding a suitable opportunity.
Even though Mo Xuetong came to King Xuan’s Manor as his proper wife, it was not convenient for her to intervene in many matters. Fortunately, Steward Wang took care of the many matters that Feng Yuran was not interested in dealing with. She wanted to chase those annoying people out and get rid of them! This was perfect timing to do so.
Following that, she handled the matter down to Steward Wang.
Mo Xuetong relaxed as well. She continued sleeping and embroidering day after day, tending to her flowers from time to time. Life was good and medicine was still made day after day. Even though Mo Xuetong was reluctant, Feng Yuran used all the methods to send the medicine down her throat, even forcing her at times. This made her depressed every time she needed to take medication.
In the end, in order to not bother Feng Yuran, she drank the medicine with her lips pursed every time!
“My Lady, He Xia has something to report to you.” Mo Lan entered, holding a white porcelain cup containing the chicken soup just cooked for Mo Xuetong. Feng Yuran specially ordered his chefs to put herbs like wolfberry inside to help Mo Xuetong’s body recover after taking her medicine. However, the taste of the herbs was too strong, making Mo Xuetong unwilling to drink it.
However, seeing how Mo Lan handed over the medicine firmly, Mo Xuetong sighed in unwillingness. She took the cup over with her bare hands before looking at the chicken soup with eyes of disgust. It was indeed uncomfortable to even look at the soup. She pondered on Feng Yuran’s intentions in sending her both the herbal chicken and the numerous medicines as if she were really so fragile that she would collapse at the slight tinge of wind. Now, drinking the chicken soup was like drinking Chinese herbal medicine, making her vastly uninterested.
However, it would be to disregard Feng Yuran’s concern for her if she chose not to drink it. Mo Xuetong held up the porcelain cup gloomily and started gulping down on the soup. The soup smelled and tasted bad but Mo Xuetong exclaimed at the freshness of the ingredients, which gave off a thick fresh smell. However, it would be disgusting to drink the same soup every day. She made a mental note to talk to Feng Yuran about this the next day. She placed the cup aside after finishing more than half the soup. Placing the soup aside, she cleansed her lips with the handkerchief and replied.
“Let He Xia come in and report.”
“Yes, I shall bring her in now.” Seeing that Mo Xuetong finished the chicken soup in one gulp, Mo Lan smiled as she started collecting the bowls and the chopsticks. She was happy as it was rare that her miss finished the soup without making a fuss, drinking it so obediently. His Highness must be happy upon hearing that.
He Xia and Mother Xu followed Mo Xuetong into King Xuan’s Manor. Mother Xu’s son was the head of the Mo Xuetong’s village and was about to have a son after his marriage. Hence, Mother Xu went back to her hometown to tend to her grandson, leaving soon after Mo Xuetong’s marriage.
He Xia’s role in the manor was to monitor Shopkeeper Xing of the Xiuning Workshop. She should be back here to report on Xiuning Workshop’s matter. It had been a long time since Shopkeeper Xing acted. The mysterious man never appeared as if nothing had happened.
Mo Xuetong naturally did not believe that it was supernatural and hence asked He Xia to monitor the situation. He Xia was a smart girl and she had seen the man before, making her the most possible person to recognize him.
“My Lady, I saw the man.” As the pearl curtains were lifted open, He Xia came in with a pale face, kneeling in front of Mo Xuetong as she reported.
“Where is that man now?” Mo Xuetong’s eyes turned solemn as she straightened her body to ask him. Having been searching for so long, it was the first time that Mo Xuetong heard such news, and hence she placed great emphasis on the matter.
The man was not backed by normal forces for even the trained Mo Ye could not find him. He was no ordinary man!
“My Lady, I saw him right at the shop in that alley. I immediately went to where he disappeared to wait for him and saw him walking into a bodyguard shop. He went in through the backdoor and seemed familiar with both the people at the backdoor and inside the shop. I dared not ask the people inside and merely observed from a corner, but I was sure he was from that shop.” He Xia took a deep breath and reported affirmatively.
She knew that it was impossible for her to follow the person given his martial arts skills. Hence, she used the stupidest method of waiting where the man disappeared until he appeared again.
“Did he not discover you?” Mo Xuetong’s large watery eyes blinked as she asked him. Since the man was so familiar with those inside the bodyguard agency, it was not the first day that he had hidden inside there. If he was really affiliated with Mother, the time would be longer. Her mother had Xiuning Workshop in her possession for more than 10 years.
After her mother died, Xiuning Workshop did not turn chaotic. Hence, she should not alert the enemy now!
“Don’t worry, My Lady. I am merely a little servant resting there. Different people from all sorts of occupations travel in and out of the area, and many are little servants like me. Furthermore, I dared not follow him and did not even enter the bodyguard agency, merely observing outside the shop. Therefore, he wouldn’t discover me.” He Xia explained for she was concerned that Mo Xuetong would be worried.
“You did well, He Xia. There is no need to monitor the situation now. Serve me first and I will give you other instructions later.” Mo Xuetong made up her mind in an instant. In her house now, there were merely three maidservants, and it was convenient for He Xia to serve her when she was originally the head maidservant of her mother.
Even though He Xia was indeed quite old, Mo Xuetong dared not release her until her mother’s matters were fully resolved. She had to wait until things were clearer.
She said apologetically, “He Xia, you were the head maidservant beside my mother. I should have released you, but now…”
“I won’t want to go. I will follow My Lady.” Unexpectedly, He Xia’s face turned even paler as she heard the words. She pulled onto Mo Xuetong’s skirt and begged anxiously.
Ever since Mother died, He Xia lacked support and her fellow sisters either turned crazy or died, as if a wave of misfortune followed them. Hearing that Mo Xuetong wanted to release her now, she was frightened to her core. Shivering, she pulled onto Mo Xuetong’s clothes tightly, refusing to let go. Two trails of tear flowed down her eyes as she cried. “My Lady, don’t chase me away. Don’t chase me away.”
Seeing her fright, Mo Xuetong understood that she had misunderstood her words. She looked at Mo Lan who immediately understood what she meant. Mo Lan came forth to pull He Xia up, explaining, “Sister He Xia, you misunderstood. How could My Lady not want you anymore? You were the only head maidservant of her mother; how could she not care about you? What My Lady meant was that it would be inconvenient for Sister He Xia to get married now, so she had to delay your marriage. How could a smart woman like you not understand what My Lady truly meant!”
She explained with great clarity and He Xia’s pale face blushed with embarrassment. She wanted to kneel down to pay respect to Mo Xuetong but was stopped by Mo Lan. She could then only look at Mo Xuetong with excitement, “My Lady, there is no need to worry about my matters. I do not want to marry! I only want to help My Lady, to help Madam to take care of her daughter!”
As she spoke, her face turned sadder and sadder as she was choked with emotions. After she finished her speech, tears fell down from her face.
When she thought about her mother, Mo Xuetong also felt sad and was at a loss for words.
Seeing that both of them had a gloomy demeanor, Mo Lan interjected and joked around. “Since sister He Xia does not want to marry, My Lady can save the money for the dowries. Sister He Xia is indeed considerate for My Lady. She was still complaining yesterday about the lack of money for daily use, and was threatening to take some from her servants!”
This was extremely funny and even the sad Mo Xuetong was amused by her joke. She chided, “Now I can take money off your dowries for my daily use! Alright, you shall not marry in the future either and accompany me. That will save me plenty of dowries too.”
“I don’t wish to marry, to begin with.” Mo Lan blushed at Mo Xuetong’s joke. She turned around and pretended to collect things and reply casually but she could not hide the blush on her face, and that made He Xia chuckle as well.
After Mo Lan sent He Xia away, Mo Xuetong closed her eyes and entered deep thought. Now she was 100% sure that those men belonged to her mother, or rather gifted to her mother by King Jin. Thinking about the situation in Fu General Manor, she believed that what happened back then was as such.
King Jin was met with trouble and had to send King Jin’s consort away. The pregnant consort escaped to Fu General Manor for whatever reason, where her grandmother was also pregnant, or perhaps had already given birth. However, the kid died and hence she kept King Jin Manor’s child on her side, treating her as if she were her own child.
That deserted and hidden courtyard was where King Jin’s consort stayed before. However, how the consort died and what happened to her men after her death was mysterious. Did none of them remain behind? Were there any pieces of evidence left behind in Fu General Manor.
Perhaps King Jin’s consort didn’t die. But if she didn’t die, where would she be? Would she know if her mother was already dead? If she didn’t die, what would she do…
Perhaps the matter occurred like this. Even though King Jin died from his fight for the throne, his men didn’t completely die out, with a portion hidden away. That portion could belong to Xiuning Workshop, or to other places! Did Mother control these men, or did anyone else?
The numerous clues made Mo Xuetong feel a heavy weight on her heart. She did understand some issues, but others remained even more unclear.
One of the mysteries was regarding what happened before. Since the Emperor suspected King Jin’s consort had escaped, why did he not search the entire world for her? It would not be difficult to arrest a pregnant woman without any support. Why did the past emperor not act upon it? Was he not afraid of the possibility that King Jin’s consort would give birth to a son to avenge him and snatch Great Qin from his hands!
Or did the past emperor always know that King Jin’s consort gave birth to a daughter? If he knew that Fu General Manor was helping King Jin, how could he forgive Fu General Manor? During the cleansing after the snatch for the throne, how did Fu General Manor escape from it? In that case, the past emperor knew nothing about it.
If he knew nothing, then why was Mother always so anxious as if danger was right ahead of them. She was worried even in Cloud City. Also, why did Mother enter into such a hasty marriage arrangement with Bai Yihao’s mother? Her mother was definitely in a weaker position in that marriage and Mo Xuetong found that to be not simple!
Was there another layer of relationship between the two that could not be conveyed to the outsiders!
There was a layer of the relationship between Mother and Bai Yihao that made it impossible for Mother not to arrange that one-sided marriage between the two even though she was weaker.
Mo Xuetong could not think of a reason as she massaged her head to relieve herself of the headache. She breathed out and believed that the matter would not be so simple!
There was way more to the matter than she had originally imagined, involving people even in bodyguard agencies. She needed to be meticulous and patient in searching and investigating. She believed that the matter had much more to do with her, which would erupt one day, throwing her to the depths of despair…
Hence, regardless of the situation, she needed to seize the opportunity and figure everything out.
As she was touching her head and thinking, Mo Yu charged inside her room in a panic, even ignoring a few beautiful peach branches in her hand. She shouted anxiously, “My Lady, no, no, hurry, take a look, something happened… to His Highness!”
Did something happen to Feng Yuran?
Mo Xuetong was stunned as she shot up from her bed, her face extremely pale as her voice trembled. “Yes, His… Highness. What happened… to His Highness?”
Holding the corner of the table, she almost could not support herself as she felt her world engulfed by darkness as she turned dizzy. With the tense political situation, could Feng Yuran, the prominent prince now, really be hurt!
Who plotted against him again!