Mo Xuemin had been the one to suggest that he married Mo Xuetong, and he had also thought of it himself. Mo Xuetong had the support of the Luo Manor, which was his greatest goal. Not only was the Luo Manor one of the four great manors that had helped in building the nation, they were also very powerful, just behind the royal family. They had a general in the family and an assistant minister in the military. One was scholarly while the other was versed in martial arts. One was trusted by the Emperor while the other controlled the military. No matter how one looked at it, they were the best people he could have chosen to get help from to help the Duke’s Manor flourish.

Sima Lingyun knew that the Duke’s Manor was on the decline. He did not have any court position and only had his title. If he wanted to become a court official, he had to have the support of a powerful backer. Mo Xuetong’s father did not have a high position, but he was a trusted official of the Emperor. He had even heard that Emperor Zongwen intended to promote him soon. With the support of the Luo Family, it could be said that Mo Xuetong was the best candidate to become his wife.

How could Sima Lingyun be willing to let go. Furthermore, as a man, her beautiful face had stunned him the first time they met.

When he thought about Mo Xuetong, Sima Lingyun really wasn’t in much of a mood to coax Yun Yiqiu.

The maid by the side was intelligent as well. When she saw the impatience in Sima Lingyun’s eyes, she knew what he wanted immediately. She hurried forward to help Yun Yiqiu and counseled her, "Miss, don’t bother His Excellency. If he really wanted to marry that woman, he would have allowed you to make a fuss. If Madam finds out about it, he would have to marry her immediately. Do you not understand what His Excellency wants!"

Sima Lingyun released Yun Yiqiu and nodded at the maid with satisfaction. He continued, "Even a maid understands how much I like you, how can you not understand. I will forever only have you in my heart. Can you believe me? If you don’t, then what’s the point of us being together for many years in the future?"

Then, he did not say anything else to Yun Yiqiu. He avoided her hands which were reaching out to pull on his sleeve. He pretended to be angry and flung his sleeves out before striding out quickly.

He still had something on and did not have time to fuss with Yun Yiqiu. As such, he left angrily.

"Cousin, cousin, I’m not...cousin!" Yun Yiqiu reached out but did not manage to catch Sima Lingyun. When she saw that he seemed angry and walked out with large steps, she collapsed and fell to the ground crying. The maid moved quickly and caught her so that she did not knock into the corner of the table.

"Miss, didn’t I tell you that you shouldn’t be worried when we were outside? Look at how much His Excellency cares about you. Yet, you did this to make him angry. Who wouldn’t be angry if this happened to them. It is fortunate that His Excellency has always doted on you. He will go and look for you in a few days after he stops being angry. Just be nice to him then and everything will be fine. Don’t cry anymore. If you really fall sick, His Excellency would be worried." The maid was really glib and she cleaned up Sima Lingyun’s mistakes in just a few words.

Her words which were both reproachful and concerned made Yun Yiqiu’s tears flow even more. However, her mood was not as dark as before. She covered her face with her handkerchief and cried for a bit before saying hesitantly, "Cousin, cousin really won’t be angry with me?"

"Of course not. Look, you can’t really do this and not make him angry. His Excellency will settle things regarding that woman. He does not care about her reputation. If he really wanted that woman, he didn’t have to do it secretly. But you can see that even though he had hidden things from you, they aren’t about those things. His Excellency is a man and men have a lot of business that they don’t have to tell women. Men belong outside of the house and women inside. You just have to be in charge of the household then." The maid reached out to help Yun Yiqiu up and helped her to tidy up.

This spoke very much to Yun Yiqiu. She fell silent and stroked Sima Lingyun’s desk a few times. She decided that no matter what, she would not spread the news about what happened today. However, she would not let her guard down regarding that woman either.

Her hand which was on the desk curled up into a fist. She looked into the space with venom in her eyes. She could not do anything about Third Miss Mo, but she would definitely find a way to find out who the woman who had appeared in the middle of the night was. A woman who entered a man’s study in the middle of the night cannot be a good woman. She must have come intentionally to seduce her cousin.

Slut. With her around, she would not let the woman get what she wanted!

Mo Xuetong was kneeling in the ancestral hall.

It has been four hours since she started.

It was very quiet in the ancestral hall. She was alone. Mo Ye had already been ordered to go out to help out. Even though the futon below her legs were thick, her kneels had already swollen after such a long period of time. She felt as if there were needles on her knees and there was a dense pain on them. The heavy doors were shut and there were only a few longevity lanterns on the altar table. The light was dim in the room.

If not for the sharp pain on her knees, Mo Xuetong would have long fallen asleep under the dim lights.

Many things had happened today. Mo Xuetong cradled her knees and could not help the bitter smile that appeared on her lips.

It was not over yet. Mo Xuemin would definitely prepare something else!

She had never dared to underestimate Mo Xuemin. In her past life, she thought that her gentle eldest sister truly behaved like the eldest daughter. Everyone spoke well of her outside and she was beautiful. She was also generous to her sisters, so Mo Xuemin truly treated her like an eldest sister. However, she did not expect to die in the hands of her eldest sister in the end.

How many plots did Mo Xuemin set to make the Duke’s Manor abandon Mo Xuetong and marry her!

Furthermore, Mo Xuemin was very old then, but Sima Lingyun did not hesitate to choose her and abandoned Mo Xuetong and her child.

As such, Mo Xuetong would always be wary against Mo Xuemin! She was a poisonous snake coiled up in a deep hole. It ate people and if she could not beat this beautiful snake to death, it would emerge and bite someone again.

One had to beat the entire snake for it to die. Their previous interactions were not true battles.

How does Mo Xuemin intend to deal with her so that she would change her mind overnight and be willing to marry Sima Lingyun. It was impossible to make her truly willing in her current state unless she had no choice.

in what situation would a woman have no choice but be willing? If her reputation is ruined and if it was Sima Lingyun who had ruined her reputation. She was kneeling alone in the ancestral hall. Even if Sima Lingyun was very capable, he would not be able to enter the ancestral hall to ruin her reputation. Even if he really entered the ancestral hall and ruined her reputation, what kind of excuse did he have to appear in the Mo Manor?

Mo Xuetong truly could not think of a good reason at this moment. She drew circles on the futon under her feet subconsciously. Her mind was jumbled.

"It is so late, why are you looking for me?" A lazy and unhappy yet mesmerizing voice of a young man could be heard.

Mo Xuetong turned around and saw Feng Yuran sitting on the futon lazily. He was wearing a deep purple robe with dragon embroidery which shimmered under the light. The light shone on his handsome face, making him seem even more charming than usual. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at her, his red lips curved in a vague smile.

Mo Xuetong sighed softly. She truly did not want to trifle with this man. But she had no one else but him to call on right now. Without any evidence, her maternal family would not be able to help her. She had just arrived in the capital and was unfamiliar with things. She only knew that only this person could come and go at night without any one finding out. She really could not find anyone else but him to help her.

Even though she knew that he was very dangerous, she did not know why she trusted him more compared to Mo Xuemin. Perhaps it was because he had truly helped her before!

She sighed again and observed him carefully. She realized that there was nothing else but a teasing glint in his eyes. That was when she slowly started to relax. She did not know why, but when she saw how uncaring and lazy he was, she had a thought that since he said that he was her savior and that she had to repay him, then she might as well owe him more.

This sudden thought scared even her. Does this mean that she had become reliant on him? She could not help but blush. She turned around to her side. Fortunately, it was dark enough and he probably could not see.

"Do you want me to help you again? Since you owe me so many times anyway, just speak." Feng Yuran rapped his fingers against the futon gently with a smile that reached his eyes.

"King Xuan, I will definitely repay your kindness in the future if I have the chance to. I do indeed need your help this time..." Mo Xuetong could not help but laugh at herself since King Xuan had seen through her. However, she still had to say what she had to.

"As long as you know. Remember each and every single incident. I will definitely ask for interest." Feng Yuran said, not at all polite about it. He was in a good mood. The kitten who waved her claws around was finally willing to put down her guard against him. It did put him in a good mood. His eyes flashed to where she put her hands on her knees and his eyes darkened slightly.

"This has something to do with you." Mo Xuetong did not like how she was always in a lower position when they were together and she gritted her teeth secretly. She regretted always lowering herself before him and was always controlled by him. She had not even said anything and he had treated it as if she owed him a debt.

"Oh, why do you say that?" Feng Yuran’s eyebrows picked up. He looked charming and devilish.

"If you had not pulled me along to admire the plum blossoms, nothing like that would have happened. You even caused me to kneel in the ancestral hall. Don’t you feel sorry about that?" Mo Xuetong was rather annoyed when she saw that he did not seem to care. It was not that she had wanted to reply on him. Her original intentions were to just walk around quickly in the plum blossom forest before returning to watch the show that Mo Xuemin was going to put on. If she appeared just as Mo Xuemin was putting on her best act, the rumors would have been dispelled and Mo Xuemin would not be able to plot against her afterwards.

The old madam punishing her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall was just a branch of that incident. Feng Yuran truly could not remain unaccountable for the current situation.

"So you can just mention me. I will be your witness and say that Tong’er was with me earlier." A flash of laughter appeared in his eyes. His mouth curved up leisurely looking as if he had nothing at all to do with the current situation. It was as if he was just casually chatting with someone.

Mo Xuetong, however, was so angry she almost bit her tongue. How dare he even say that. He could be her witness, but then they would be known to be in a relationship and have been together alone. They would say that the two of them had agreed to meet to admire the plum blossoms. Should this rumor spread to the public, she really could not live anymore.

Mo Xuetong was really irritated when she saw his careless attitude. She said, "Your Highness, you are the Emperor’s flesh and blood and you are of noble blood. You are doted on by the Emperor, and are beyond the reach of the Mo Manor."

"Look at what you are saying. Don’t be afraid. It is alright as long as I reach for you. As long as you don’t let go, I will pull you along to the highest branch possible. How about that?" Feng Yuran did not seem to agree with her. He waved his hand and laughed graciously.

"Many thanks for your consideration, Your Highness. However, the higher you climb, the more it would hurt when you fall. Your Highness, your branch is too high." Mo Xuetong said irritatingly and she glared at him coldly.

"Don’t be afraid, I will pull you along! Everyone else wants to climb up but they can’t. But Tong’er you don’t have to worry. With my protection, everything will be fine."

He really liked what he was saying!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com