Chapter 148

Four Great Manors Were All In Trouble

They almost claimed to the outsiders that Mo Xueqiong would be the same as the main wife. But they couldn’t because Sima Lingyun’s wife was not chosen and it might have a bad influence on his choice of wife. Only Mo Huawen knew that.

They had reached an agreement in secret and had a close connection, which was known to many people in the capital. The thing happened in the plum blossom forest was hidden on purpose, and many people only knew about the sudden fire that day. Thus, many people were envious of Sima Lingyun, who was so lucky to marry Capital Official’s daughter as a respected concubine.

This thing had been officially recognized. Once Mo Xueqiong refused the marriage, Duke’s manor would be most disgraced!

Duke’s manor wouldn’t be able to marry a main wife if they couldn’t fix a concubine!

This message was sent by a maid from Mo Manor.

The d.u.c.h.ess didn’t want to be in the trouble at first, but then she felt something wrong with it and called Sima Lingyun back hurriedly. There was no main wife in Mo Manor, so, the d.u.c.h.ess had no good reason to lower her status to visit those concubines. And the only man in Duke’s manor was Sima Lingyun, so he would be the one to look up what had happened in Mo Manor and why such words got out.

“You’re supposed to get changed in a while and have a few rests. It won’t be easy for Mo Manor to deny the marriage now that the whole capital knew about it. The fourth young miss in Mo Manor couldn’t change the result.” Seeing her son in such a hurry, the d.u.c.h.ess was unsatisfied with Mo Xueqiong already who was yet to meet her and didn’t let them off even in the New Year. If it’s not for Mo Xueqiong’s father, the d.u.c.h.ess would call off the marriage herself.

“It’s okay, mom. I’ll get changed first and then go to Mo Manor. Official Mo told me to visit him more often when I was free.” Sima Lingyun set down his anger and comforted his mother.

Mo Xueqiong was the most ordinary daughter in Mo Manor, so Sima Lingyun had never thought of marrying her. But now, he would have to marry her in the end, which was quite surprising. Besides, his mother wanted to give her the same position of the main wife, so Sima Lingyun agreed with Yun Yiqiu’s advice to go to the south of the Yangtze River full of anger. He thought it might save him some trouble and distress.

But he didn’t expect more trouble from her. Maybe she really wanted to be his main wife, which was impossible! If he could, he’d rather marry Mo Xuemin, who was smarter, gentler and more attractive. Thus, Mo Xueqiong, the plain concubine’s daughter would have no chance.

“That’s all right. When you’re done telling Official Mo the whole thing, come home early. I prepared Baihe chicken that you liked most for you, and it has been baked for six hours.” Seeing his son mature and well-behaved, the d.u.c.h.ess felt comforted and even more unsatisfied with Mo Xueqiong at the same time. Mo Xueqiong made her son suffer like this and hurry back, which was really annoying!

Sima Lingyun replied his mother obediently and went into his own room. There was hot water prepared for him already. He got bathed and changed, and then he went to Mo Manor hurriedly with presents. Now that such words came out from Mo Manor, he had to treat it seriously.

But the minute he entered Mo Manor, Mo Xiu took him along.

The elegant sound of a qin came out from a pavilion on a rockery. Sometimes it sounded like a smooth stream, which was caught in the rain and whispered. Other times, it sounded superb like pearls falling in the jade plate and then a flood spreading away, which was rich and untouchable like the clouds on the sky.

“Ding!” The sound of the qin suddenly stopped!

White clean fingers were quietly placed on the black strings.

“How was it?” Her gentle elegant voice sounded attractive like qin.

“Sir, it was neither in Mingguo Manor nor in Pingguo Manor. I searched the studies and even the female’s studies in the two manors and didn’t find it.” A man knelt down with only one side in front of Bai Yihao and replied.

After a while, Bai Yihao’s gentle voice sounded. “You’re supposed to check their married daughters’ residence. I heard that the stuff was quite pretty, and might get mixed in their daughters’ dowry.”

“Yes, and should I search General Manor and Ding General Manor too?”

“Wait and don’t rush. If something happens at Four Great Manors, we won’t be the only one to worry about it!” A bright smile appeared on Bai Yihao’s handsome face. Then his fingers s.h.i.+fted the strings with much strength and made a loud noise. His pure eyes which looked like ice and snow blinked.

He was not the only one who knew it, but others didn’t take actions because they were closely connected. But now that he took action, all the others would be frightened. Besides, even the people of the Four Great Manors didn’t know where it was. There were so many daughters getting married in each manor. Therefore, no one could tell where the thing exactly was.

Everyone was just doing what they could!

He didn’t mean to take action first, but there was no time! Some people didn’t want to wait! So he just blended in them. They were all looking for it, so if he didn’t, he might be suspected.

A slight smile appeared by his lips like the suns.h.i.+ne in March which made people felt comfortable and refres.h.i.+ng. The first suns.h.i.+ne in the morning shone above him, and his dark eyes looked pure and warm. His face was so handsome and pretty like a fairy that it seemed he could take one’s life in a breath.

He was such a quiet and handsome young man, but when one took a clear look at him, he would find the cold loneliness hidden in his gentle eyes. Although there was an elegant smile filled in his eyes, his smile looked so distant and vague like the mountain covered by clouds that ordinary people couldn’t approach it.

“On this side, I just mess up with them. On the other side, I don’t want to be involved in and let them grow freely. Now that I’m in Qin Kingdom, they can do it bravely. It’s nice to do some exercise in such fine weather.” Bai Yihao put his fingers on the strings and said slowly.

“Yes, sir!” The secret bodyguard understood his meaning.

The things happened at Yan Kingdom recently couldn’t be simply described as small moves. They fought against each other all the time, but Bai Yihao was so calm as if he knew nothing about it, and he observed these all with interests. It really surprised the bodyguard! However, he had accompanied the sir for quite a long time and had a deep admiration towards him. He knew that the sir had his arrangements and he just had to take his orders obediently.

Behind him was the pure elegant sound of the qin.

Aside from Bai Yihao, Mo Xuetong was also playing the stringed instrument. But she was quite annoyed when she was playing and her skills couldn’t be compared to that of Bai Yihao. It didn’t mean her skills were poor. In her last life, Mo Xuetong was locked alone at home and had only got her qin. Then when she got married to Sima Lingyun, she was alone most of the time, and checked on the music score her mother had left behind. Therefore, she was quite skilled.

But she just couldn’t clear her mind today.

Her fingers moved irregularly on the qin, and it sounded disturbed!

“Miss, miss Lan sent some fresh fruit here. I just washed it, and do you want to have some?” Mo Ye walked in holding a tray of fresh fruit. It’s pretty hard to see such fresh fruit in such a season in the cold and distant northern area of the capital.

Mo Xuetong didn’t even lift her hands. She just removed the strings and said lightly, “I don’t like it, and you should share it!”

“Miss, this was Miss Lan’s special treat for you, and we don’t dare to share it. I heard that there wasn’t much of it, and we got a plate of it. Among the rest, Old Madam, first miss, and forth miss each got a plate. Even two concubines didn’t get any.” Mo Ye smiled and put the plate in front of Mo Xuetong.

Mo Xuetong frowned a bit and didn’t even glance at the plate. But she didn’t want to fix the strings either. She just felt annoyed and didn’t care about the strings. Playing qin had always been the best way to cultivate one’s temperament. Mo Xuetong used to play the qin to calm herself, but today she just couldn’t stay calm.

She put her hand heavily on the strings and pushed, and her eyes were fixed on the fresh fruit. Then she said coldly, “Take these fruits away. You can either eat it or throw it away!”

“Mo Ye, put it away. Miss has a weak stomach and the fruits are too cold for her stomach.” Mo Lan looked at Mo Xuetong’s distressed expression and hurriedly told Mo Feng.

Mo Ye understood what Mo Lan meant and put the fruit plate away instantly. She had only been here for a short time and knew nothing about Mo Xuetong’s health conditions. When considering Mo Xuetong’s poor health, she understood she might really feel uncomfortable.

Mo Yu came in with a big food box and complained about the coldness and her freezing hands before she entered. Mo Lan took the food box from her hand smilingly and said, “Is there something more in it? Why it is such a big box today? It used to be loaded in a nanmu wood basket, but this one today is different with cute knitting. Besides, it is not only big but also convenient and light. But why you feel cold and heavy like this!”

“Miss Lan is quite smart. She changed our food box when she saw the old one which not only was heavy but also only had a small capacity. What’s more, we have to take two boxes when we need extra dishes, which is deed inconvenient. And the new one she gave us all is nice and convenient.” Mo Yu took over the oven offered by Mo Feng, feeling warmer and smiling.

Another stuff came from Lan Xinru. Mo Xuetong frowned slightly. Since Miss Lan moved in, she had been busy keeping a close relations.h.i.+p with everyone in the manor. She could tell its nice effects from Mo Yu’s reaction. A girl who didn’t get married acted like a married woman. Mo Xuetong suddenly felt that she worried too much.

That was the difference between a girl from a rich family and a girl from an ordinary family. Girls from ordinary families got in touch with people more and were more warm-hearted than generous and calm. What’s more, girls from rich families were not allowed to show their faces in front of others, while girls from ordinary families had no such rule.

Lan Xinru was not married and actually had no relations.h.i.+p with Mo Manor, so she should have behaved as a young miss and didn’t go out unless someone invited her. However, she seemed to be kind and warm-hearted but lack of decency. Mo Xuetong couldn’t defeat Lan Xinru in the last life. She had been the main wife while could do nothing to her. Mo Xuetong couldn’t imagine how stupid she had been to be defeated by such a woman.

Maybe Lan Xinru gave her too much pressure in the last life, so when she thought about Lan Xinru, she felt distressed. Therefore, she hated to see the fruit and food box offered by Lan Xinru. Lan Xinru’s existence was a big problem for her.

That girl who could have lived so well between Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun must be hard to deal with. Mo Xuetong didn’t care about Lan Xinru’s improper connection with Sima Lingyun, but with her father. Now that Lan Xinru moved in, she would see her father a lot. In the past, Mo Xuemin’s mother was ill and her father didn’t care for Lan Xinru at that time. But now?