Comparing his younger sister’s future with his own, Sima Lingyun quickly decided to put his own future first. Once he was successful, he could choose a good marriage for her and have a large dowry prepared, which would be fair compensation for what he was about to do.

He took the poem and looked at it for a while, then calmly placed it on the tray in the maid’s hand. He didn’t even glance at Sima Heyan, and replied to the empress obediently. “Although this poem is quite similar to mine, it wasn’t written by me. Please do me justice.”

“If you didn’t write it, why would your younger sister say it was yours and that First Miss Mo went to your study and stole it?” the queen said coldly as she fixed her eyes on Mo Xuemin.

Mo Xuemin knelt on the ground, not daring to show any emotion.

“Your Majesty, may I ask my younger sister about it?” He turned to Sima Heyan. “How do you know the poem written by First Miss Mo was exactly the same as mine?”

When Sima Heyan saw her brother’s expression,she thought he really knew nothing about it. “Big brother, that poem is exactly the same as yours. Several days ago, I went to your study to find books and noticed that poem in your collection, which was the same as the one written by First Miss Mo.”

Sima Lingyun seized a chance to glance at Mo Xuemin who was kneeling on the other side with watery eyes. Now he was determined and said with a smile, “Sister, there are plenty of similar people in the world, not to mention poems. But even though the poems seemed similar, they were different. You must have made a mistake. Maybe you should have a look more carefully?”

They were only similar? Impossible!

Sima Heyan blinked her eyes and took the letter again. She looked at it carefully, and her face turned pale. She pointed at the poem and her lips trembled, not saying a word.

Sima Lingyun watched closely at Sima Heyan’s expression and was afraid she would insist that Mo Xuetong copied his poem. However, he was relieved to see her shocked face. “Sis, did you misread it? You don’t feel so well these days, and I’ve told you to rest more, but you wouldn’t listen to me. Now that you have been out for only a short time, you are already having delusions. Although the poem from First Miss Mo was similar to mine, they were different. You should apologize to her and go home to have a good rest until you recover.”

This had all happened because of Sima Heyan, so Sima Lingyun blamed her for it and his voice was sharp. Though the words themselves were gentle, they made her feel cold. She lifted her head and looked at Sima Lingyun in disbelief. Did her big brother even care about her, anymore?

It was his poem , and now she had to apologize to the person who’d copied it. Indeed, there was a one word difference between the two poems, but she had been too busy to notice.

Her brother’s poem was:

Two butterflies on a splendid dress, red rouge was uneven. Standing alone in a colorful dress, waiting for the swallow to come back in the mild rain.

Mo Xuemin wrote:

Two butterflies on a splendid dress, red rouge was uneven. Standing alone in a colorful dress, waiting for the swallow to come back in the light rain.

Yes, one word was different, but it was still a blatant copy of Sima Lingyun’s poem. If Mo Xuemin had never seen it before, she couldn’t have written such a similar one. Nobody would believe Mo Xuemin didn’t copy his brother’s!

Her own brother asked her to apologize to Mo Xuemin, which was unbearable for Sima Heyan, who was always proud. She wanted to make a scene and have them look for the collection of poems in her big brother’s study. Mo Xuemin wouldn’t be able to deny it, then.

Sima Lingyun knew Sima Heyan well and knew that she was angry when she rolled her eyes. He lowered his voice and comforted her gently. “Sis, don’t you remember what Mom told you? She let you get into the palace to serve the empress and princess . You can’t be so ignorant and blame others before you see it clearly. If our mother knows this, she’ll be very angry.”

Sima Heyan opened her mouth but said nothing! She understood what Sima Lingyun meant, and her mom told her to stay calm and not get into trouble when she went into the palace. After years of effort, her elder brother’s status was rising, and she couldn’t be allowed to make him look bad.

Thinking about her mother, Sima Heyan had to take the blame, though she felt quite aggrieved. She bit her lips and concealed her anger. She couldn’t ruin her big brother’s future.

She turned to Mo Xuemin and said, “Miss Mo, I’m sorry I was too abrupt today. But these poems are too alike with only one word’s difference, so I thought it was from my brother.”

Sima Heyan was so angry that she had to tell the truth, even if she had apologized. She believed others would understand . She admitted there was a word that was different. But did it mean they were from different people?

Seeing Sima Lingyun’s appearance, Mo Xuemin was relieved and pretended to be innocent with teary eyes. It would not only win Sima Lingyun’s favor but also leave a good impression on everyone there.

Even though she was crying, she didn’t seem to be sad at all. Seeing Sima Heyan talking to her, she just wanted to reply, but her last words made her scared. She felt anxious and began to cough.

Sima Lingyun’s smile froze on his face. It was not a small thing to let others know it’s only a ‘s word’s difference, “Sis, you’re a young woman from the Zhenguo Duke’s manor and should admit your own fault. Do you want me to invite our mother here?”

The Zhenguo Duke’s manor couldn’t bear such a rumor.

The elder brother who used to speak gently to her was scolding her in public and wanted to invite her mother to crucify her. Though Sima Heyan was a proud girl, she began to worry, and tears filled her eyes. “Brother!” she cried.

Imperial Concubine Wen coughed and tried to cover it up for her. “Okay, now that the truth is clear and it is only a small mistake made by the lady from the Zhenguo Duke’s manor, we shall forget about it. You should be careful about what you say from now on.”

She wanted to let it go, but knew Imperial Concubine Su wouldn’t. She looked up at Imperial Concubine Su and began to speak, but was interrupted by the empress.

“It seems that the young miss from the Duke Zhenguo’s manor is ill. She shouldn’t have come here when she feels ill. Hold her arms and take her out in case that something happens and disturbs the emperor.”

The empress understood what they meant now. The feast would be over soon, and if it was known to all that such a thing happened, she would be disgraced. She had just appreciated Mo Xuemin’s poem in front of everyone before it was revealed the poem wasn’t really hers. Her reputation as the empress would be completely ruined. Besides, if the emperor knew it, he would think she was useless. And Imperial Concubine Su would say something to the emperor coquettishly. She just couldn’t hold her anger back and took it out on Sima Heyan.

If it hadn’t been for her, her feast wouldn’t have been such a joke.

Being scolded in public like that, Sima Heyan knew she was in in the empress’ bad books, and no other ladies of the court would be friends with her. Even worse, her marriage would be badly influenced. Sima Heyan’s face turned pale, and when she noticed her brother’s cold eyes, she felt so sad that she just knelt down and let her tears stream down her face.

There came a noise indicating the feast hosted by the emperor had ended.

The empress stood up and coldly glanced at Sima Heyan and Mo Xuemin, then headed to the lake with the nannies. The ships waiting there were different from those when they came. These were all large ships which could contain hundreds of people. The feast on the right island had also just ended, and everyone was headed to the ships.

The emperor and the officials were waiting by the river bank. They didn’t leave, because there would be a lantern show after the feast which catered to the young people of the court. Those maids by the bank all went to find their masters.

The emperor and empress left with the company of Imperial Concubines, and this place was filled with young people.

These lords and ladies didn’t have to behave themselves, because the emperor wanted them to have as much fun as normal people and would also appear in the lantern show in the palace. So they should just act like they were in the normal streets and markets, relax, and have fun. The entire palace was lit up like as though it was daytime. The beautiful clothes and sweet voices added to the atmosphere.

Those who were familiar relatives would chat and appreciate the lanterns together. There were no family members watching them, so they felt relaxed.

Mo Xuetong had just stood still by the corner of the river bank when Mo Ye came along. Before they could talk, a maid holding a lantern appeared under a tree and waved at her.

“Miss!” Mo Ye was nervous.

“Don’t worry. Let’s go have a look.” Mo Xuetong’s eyes darkened and she comforted her with a smile. Mo Ye was not Mo Yu or Mo Lan, and she was diplomatic. She could easily deal with a maid.

Mo Xuemin was watching Mo Xuetong and saw her leave with the maid. A cold, vicious smile emerged on her lips and she waved at Mo Xiu to come to her. Then she pointed to Sima Lingyun and said, “Go ahead and leave him there. Tell him that I’m already here.”

Mo Xiu obeyed her order and quietly walked in Sima Lingyun’s direction.

Mo Xuetong took Mo Ye to the maid and saw her signaling to keep up.

They walked to a small path. There were not many lanterns on the path but only a few of them which were dimly lit and appeared cold.

Mo Xuetong suddenly stopped her steps, holding Mo Ye’s hand to stand still and asked. “Do you know who that lord is?” By then she was already on the small path, and what happened inside couldn’t be seen from the outside. This secluded place was so different from the outside. Only in this place did she realize it was still winter, and her dress rustled in the wind.

Seeing that Mo Xuetong didn’t go ahead, the maid felt anxious and answered her impatiently. “Miss, you’re supposed to go along quickly. This path leads to Qingfang Pavilion. That lord asked me to get you here after he got out of the ship, and it will be too late if you don’t set out right now.”