Mo Xuetong and her handmaid Mo Lan left through the main gates of the Qin Manor. Madam Yu had one of her best carriages prepared for them. On this surface, she’d been very kind to Mo Xuetong this visit but both girls heaved a sigh of relief as they rode into Cloud City.
They wasted no time going to the inn, afraid to miss the mail carriage. No matter what else Moe Xuetong did in this life, she needed to make sure Auntie Fang’s upcoming plan failed.
The carriage sped towards House of Treasures. It was the most popular place for young ladies to get clothing and accessories in all of Cloud City. The most discrete way to the inn involved walking right into through front doors of the shop.
Behind House of Treasures was a narrow alleyway. At the end of the alley sat an unassuming door. It was usually shut, but if a customer knew the shopkeeper, he would gladly open it for them. Mo Lan was about to ask Mo Xuetong to wait there as she got the shopkeeper when she saw her mistress was already pushing on the door. It creaked open.
The door took them right into the back of the inn. As they rushed to the front, they could see the carriage just about to leave. Face hidden behind a hat and scarf, Mo Xuetong hurried forward. She held onto Mo Lan for support and curtsied to the middle-aged man in front of the carriage.
“Hello Uncle Shi!”
The Cloud City innkeeper had worked with Mo Huawen and had been on good terms with him, so she’d played here often growing up. The coach driver had a daughter about Mo Xuetong’s age as well, so when he saw Mo Lan, he knew who was hidden under the scarf and hat.
“Third Miss Mo, where are you going?”
“Uncle Shi, please help me send a letter,” Mo Lan said, holding it out to him.
Mo Lan helped Mo Xuetong press her gold seal onto the letter. The middle-aged man took the letter curiously. The neat handwriting said it was to be sent to the manor of the old lord. It was getting late, and it was not odd for a girl to want to write her own grandfather, so he thought no more of it. He waved them farewell and rode off.
Mo Lan helped Mo Xuetong back inside. She could feel her mistress’ clammy palms and knew she could not stay upright much longer and helped her back towards the alley door.
“Miss, you wait here, and I’ll get a carriage. You rest while I fetch it, and we’ll get on right away.”
Mo Xuetong released Mo Lan’s hands and steadied herself against the wall. She removed her hat and scarf and took a deep breath. She nodded. Even staff didn’t come this way, so she didn’t have to worry about being seen. Besides, she was dressed as a maid. She could not wear the scarf and hat of a young noble lady.
Once Mo Lan was sure Mo Xuetong was steady, she let go and ran towards the main street.
The alley door was open a crack and the sunlight was too bright. Mo Xuetong narrowed her eyes and reached out to close the door. She’d overtaxed her tired body getting here and needed to close her eyes and rest.
Instead, a gust of wind pushed the door open. She reached out on instinct and heard somebody shout. Her eyes flew open and she was clutching a purple robe.
She quickly released her grip and backed away, but found she was already pressed against the wall. There was nowhere to run. She looked around in fear.
“You caught me and just let me go? You don’t regret releasing a catching like this?”
The voice was naturally pleasant, but the tone was cold and lazy. It was like a rich wine that would quickly get the listener drunk.
The door opened the rest of the way and sunlight streamed in, giving her a proper view of the man.
He looked fifteen or sixteen. His purple robe was lined with black around the collar and shone with embroidered golden clouds. The same gold trimmed his robe, a long, sweeping garment he wore a bit open, showing the black shirt underneath. The colors complimented each other and gave him a devilish, mysterious look.
He was exquisite but felt as if there was some vast power inside him. A pin of lavender jade was placed casually in his black hair. His face was gentle, but his smile was impossible to read. He had sweeping eyes that could make hearts speed up and faces glow red. Even Mo Xuetong, who was not easily moved by such things, felt herself blush and her pulse begin to race.
The stranger looked Mo Xuetong over and smiled as if he had discovered an interesting plaything.
“They’ve sent a beautiful one this time. It’s just that it’s too small. Why don’t they feed them and make them more solid?” He reached out to touch her face, grinning.
She felt this judgement was unfair. Compared to him, who would look beautiful enough?
Moe Xuetong recovered from her shock and turned her head away.
“Young sir, please have some self-respect!”
“If you wanted us to have self-respect, why did you pull on my robe? I like you. I’m giving you my time, so why are you objecting?” His face was still gentle, voice warm as nectar, but Mo Xuetong sensed danger. He was still walking towards her.
“Young Master, you are mistaken. I was resting here with my eyes closed and didn’t see you enter. I heard a sound and reached out in fright. I thought there might be something dangerous. I apologize if I offended you.”
She had not seen this man before, not in either of her lives. Even in ordinary clothes, he would have looked like a noble. He flashed that devilish smile again, and though his voice was fond and relaxed, there was something about it that could strike fear into even brave hearts.
She had hidden here while Mo Lan got the carriage to avoid making trouble, and yet she still gotten into this mess. No wonder the door had been left ajar. It had been purposely left that way for someone else. If she’d known, she would have just gone with Mo Lan.
“Something dangerous? Me? You pull my robe the second I’m through the door, and now you call me a dangerous thing. Dare I ask what you’re trying to say?” She could feel his breath against her ear. “What is it? Are you being coy?”
Mo Xuetong turned to look at him and met his passionate gaze. She could almost feel the heat off him and her own face flushed. She tried to move off to the side, but he leaned against the wall, blocking her way. He was almost embracing her now.
She bit her lip, calming her heart, and looked him square in the eyes.
“Young sir, please move your arm and let me past. Men and women don’t even sit at the same table past age seven. Will you really be this boorish?”
“If we aren’t even supposed to be at the same table, why did you grab me just now?” He showed no sign of getting out of her way.
“Young sir, I have already explained that what happened just now was an accident. Furthermore, this is a passageway. If you can pass through it, why can’t I?” Mo Xuetong told him, no longer nervous. She had found her anger again.
He seemed somewhat shocked by her rebuttal, then laughed.
“You seem like such an innocent and pretty girl. Why do you have such a nasty temper?”
“My temper is not your business, young sir. Please let go. My young miss will come soon. If she sees you blocking me, she’ll wonder if I did something to you,” Mo Xuetong said coldly. “If she thinks I upset you, she’ll make things difficult for me back at the manor.”
She was dressed like a maid, so it was easiest to go along with it. She just wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
“You’re a maid?” he asked teasingly, looking her over again.
“Would I be here, being tormented by you, if I were not a maid?”
“What a pity! Would you like to work for me then? Nobody would make things difficult for you. I’d even dote on you. How about that?”
He said it gently, like a whisper to a lover, and Mo Xuetong flushed again.
His breath brushed her ear like a warm breeze across the heartstrings, but that would no longer work on her. She was starting to overflow with anger.
“Young sir, how can you be so disrespectful?”
“Am I disrespectful? Here I am, deigning to compromise with you. Do you not find me even the slightest bit attractive?”
His eyes flashed and a smile played across his lips.
“You are so-”
Mo Xuetong didn’t know how to finish tthat, so she gave up on speaking. Instead, without hesitating, she grabbed the hand in her way and yanked it downwards. Mo Lan would return soon, and if she called her ‘miss’, her identity would be revealed. This was near the House of Treasures, and somebody might recognize her. When her mother was still alive, she’d made friends with the other young noble ladies here. Cloud City was small, so it was easy to run into familiar faces.
The man clearly did not expect her to be bold enough to grab him. He looked at the slender hand on his arm. Next to the butterflies on her sleeve, his own embroidery came alive. Instead of clouds, it became flowers drifting in the butterflies’ wake.
A warm and elegant voice suddenly called form the alley behind them.
“Eighth brother, what are you doing? Hurry up!”
Someone else was here? Mo Xuetong withdrew her hand as if she’d been burnt and looked out into the alleyway. The door was mostly closed, so she couldn’t see anything clearly. She could just make out somebody in a leather robe. It looked like a young man.“You go first, big brother. I’ll come soon,” the man next to her replied lazily, stepping to hide Mo Xuetong from sight. He gave her a wicked smile and dropped the hand that had been blocking her. Then he turned around, smoothed his robe, and walked cheerfully outside.She could hear them speaking through the door.“Eighth Brother, I can tell you were off with a girl again. The old man is going to be angry if you don’t stop this.” His voice was warm and gentle.“Brother, if I see a beautiful girl, I can’t just leave and let her down! I have to stay and entertain her. He may not like it, but I don’t have any choice in the matter!” the other voice replied carelessly.As the young men moved out of hearing
They could all tell Mo Xuetong was in a bad mood and left without arguement.The room was silent. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she bit her lip, trying to control the swell of sadness. How many things had she been blind to before? She’d never found her mother’s death suspicious. By the time she realized Auntie Fang was responsible, it had been far too late. She could almost see Mo Xuemin’s cruel smile in front of her right now.This life, she could investigate what had happened and avenge her mother.Mo Xuemin hadn’t revealed many details when she’d given Mo Xuetong the poisoned wine. She’d only said that Auntie Fang had been responsible for her mother’s death. In this life, every evil act that mother and daughter had committed would come to light.Her mother, in a letter she wrote Mo Xuetong before she died, said she had left a jade bangle in her father’s study. She’d wanted Mo Xuetong to have it to remember her by. That felt more important now. She had n
Mo Xuetong sat in the horse carriage, leaning against the seat deep in thought. Mother Xu and the other maids assumed she was ill and did not dare to startle her. The carriage was silent, leaving only the clopping of horse hooves.She had intentionally revealed the incident with Lord Qin’s concubine. It was impossible to hide it from Madam Yu after Mo Yunshu had been beaten to death.The two incidents had happened one after another. Old Madam Qin would definitely start to be suspicious Madam Yu! This time there was concrete evidence that someone wanted to harm Auntie Li's child. Madam Qin would surely see that Madam Yu was a vicious person! If Madam Qin started suspecting Madam Yu, it would be far easier to deal with Madam Yu in the future. Lord Qin was said to be a filial son who obeys his mother, so he would be swayed as well.Before she returned to the capital, she had to calm down and think about how to deal with that deceptive pair!Just as Mo Xuetong ex
Nanny Li dealt with, Mo Xuetong turned to Madam Qin."Grand-Aunt, I am going to the capital. How can I leave you behind? How about you come with me? I will be loyal to you," she said, playing up her cuteness as much as possible. She pulled on Madam Qin’s sleeves as if she could not bear to let go. Looking at her, Madam Qin began to forget how impolite she’d found her earlier."What a good girl. I will go to the capital too, after some time. Come and visit me then." Madam Qin laughed happily."Grand-aunt, you have to come quicker! I’ll miss you so much. If not for you taking care of me while I was here...I might have long been dead..." A thoughtful look appeared on Mo Xuetong's face and tears appeared in her beautiful eyes. She looked at the woman longingly, pulling on the corner of Madam Qin's shirt with her pale and tiny hands, refusing to let go."Alright, I will go to the capital faster... Tong'er is so obedient, how can my heart be set at ease with
Mo Xuetong set off early the next morning.The carriage was waiting outside when she woke. Old Madam Luo from the general manor had sent her own carriage to pick Mo Xuetong up. She was worried that Mo Xuetong might feel uncomfortable. There was a soft seat in the carriage piled with thick leather blankets. There were a few cushions on the side as well along with a small desk. There was a little bookshelf with a few leisurely reads by the window.Cloud City was not too far from the capital, but it was not considered near either. Mo Xuetong and the group of people accompanying her took two weeks to arrive at the capital. Nanny Li, having been taught a lesson by Mo Xuetong in Cloud City, became more obedient. She did not dare to create trouble and treated Mo Xuetong very respectfully on the surface. She asked Mo Xuetong for instructions on all matters and never disobeyed her, seeming to have surrendered.As such, the journey was considered smooth.That day they
All the horse carriages were stopped. Maids and other bystanders watched out the windows of their carriages. As the commotion grew, they started to hear shouts from the city gates."Who is it blocking the road? Make way, make way!"Everyone turned to look at another procession of horse carriages approaching. There were a few young and proud noble young men sitting atop their horses. The servants walking by their sides yelled for people to clear a path. The crowd quickly parted for them.A few beautiful horse carriages arrived at the scene under the escort of the noblemen."What happened here?" the handsome but cold young man at the front asked. He looked annoyed at the inconvenience. "The carriage hit and killed someone! They killed someone!" The elderly man on the ground began to scream louder. He rolled around on the ground hugging his leg looking as if he were in so much pain he could not stand up. Everyone's attention was on the ground and the hors
Mo Xuemin was nervous when she saw the suspicious stares around her. She wrung her handkerchief and her heart skipped a beat. She could only watch as the maids moved to pull the curtains open.The two maids moved quickly, tugging hard at the curtains. The blue cloth curtains were pulled down and floated onto the ground.Everyone stared at the carriage with wide eyes. They could not help but gasp. There were no knickknacks inside. In fact, there was nothing in the empty carriage.Mo Xuetong had been waiting for this moment."I came from Cloud City, which is weeks away, but I would rather let the maids all squeeze in one carriage and leave the last carriage empty? Do you think I'm stupid?" she said angrily. "Or does my elder sister think that I came to the capital just to knock over an old man? Is that why you claimed that I knocked someone down without even consulting with me?"There was no doubt anymore. The driver was obviously framing Third Miss Mo.
Inside the carriage, a beautiful woman in pink had been making tea, movements practiced and graceful. As they pulled away, she stopped and looked up curiously."Sir, why didn’t we hurry back like you’d planned? Instead you... the general’s household doesn’t have any particular connection to you." "The general’s household? Of course, we have to deal with them. I’ve heard that the son, Young Master Luo, is quite the character...Besides, we can work with this music sheet,” the man said lazily.He was about seventeen and as beautiful as a piece of jade. His aura was secretive, like ice that had been frozen for millennia. He shone with beauty, but it was calm, distant beauty, ancient and cold.The woman looked up, delicate fingers working deftly over the boiling water."But, some of your plans will have to be changed now... Isn't the price a little too high..." "Plans always have to change to succeed, so there’s no need to worry about the cost. Isn't