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nThe next morning, Mo Xuetong woke early to prepare for the banquet.

nShe wore a powder blue dress with wide sleeves and an embroidered white lotus. The blue waistband was inlaid with golden strings. A bolt of pure white cloth gently draped from her hands to the hem of dress. The pure whites against the soft blue made her look like a spirit from the heavens.

nThe guest list included members of five families, including Wang Yilan from the previous party.

nIt was the New Year, so even Mo Queqiong was out to help serve the guests. Only Xuemin was asked to remain away from the guests

nRecently, two concubines had been in charge of the affairs in the manor. Auntie Qing was had more power than Auntie Mo because she was the mother of Mo Xueqiong. Auntie Qing was dressed in a light pink dress that gave her a sweet charm. If one didn’t pay attention, they might think she was really the main wife in the manor. It seemed Auntie Fang wasn’t the only one hoping to become the official wife of the manor.

nWithout Auntie Fang pushing her down, Auntie Qing looked fresh and smart. She was busy among the misses and madams and handled them skillfully.

nMo Xueqiong’s dressing was much more eye-catching than Mo Xuetong. She was dressed in a yellow-green dress embroidered with enchanting flowers. She wore a number of valuable accessories of beads and jade in her hair. Before now, Mo Xueqiong didn’t have money to buy such valuable accessories. Though Auntie Qing was from a respected family, they were not rich and had no money to buy accessories for Mo Xueqiong. However, after being in charge for a bit, Auntie Qing had made sure her daughter was dressed finely.

nSeeing Mo Xuetong came in, Mo Xueqiong was the first to greet her. Mo Xueqiong held her hand affectionately.

n“Third Sister, why do you come so late? Grandma has mentioned you a few times,” she asked with a smile.

nMo Xueqiong, it seemed, couldn’t let go of a single chance to criticize her sister. Now she implied her lateness was a sign that Mo Xuetong wasn’t filial.

nMo Xuetong smiled.

n“I’m sorry to have aroused Fourth Sister’s concern. Dad asked me to see if everything in the kitchen was ready, so I came late.”

n“Third Sister, isn’t the kitchen in the control of Auntie Qing?” asked Mo Xueyan, forcing her way into the conversation. “Why did you have to go and deal with it? Maybe Auntie Qing can’t control it?”

nMo Xueyan looked enviously at Mo Xueqiong’s expensive clothes and accessories. Thinking her forth sister’s newfound glamor might overshadow her, she aimed to take her down a peg.

nAuntie Qing was talking with a noble lady. When she heard herself mentioned, she turned around.

n“Third Miss, I just checked the kitchen and everything was ready there,” she said casually. “How come Sir Mo asked you to check at the last minute? Was there anything wrong?”

nMo Xuetong smiled kindly.

n“Auntie Fang prepared so well that it was impossible to find fault. Father just asked me to see if everything was ready and if any help would be needed. It’s not a big deal.”

nMo Xuetong was the legitimate daughter in the manor. She didn’t have to fight over power with a concubine. She could also make sure Auntie Fang wouldn’t feel that she was about to be usurped.

nMo Xuetong turned to Lan Xinru.

n“Miss Lan, someone in the kitchen just said that you could go there and cook your dish now. What are you going to make?”

nLan Xinru didn’t expect Mo Xuetong to bring her up so quickly and took a few seconds to respond. Luckily, she was quick and managed to react before it looked too suspicious.

n“Ah… it’s nothing special… My aunt doesn’t have a good appetite, and I just got some medicine for herm, so I want to cook some porridge for her.”

nMo Xuetong smiled politely and didn’t ask more.

n“Third Sister, it’s still early. Shall we take the misses to the garden to appreciate the flowers?” Mo Xueqiong asked cheerfully. “It is warmer these days, so some flowers grow buds. They’re very cute.”

nOld Madam Mo sat towards the front watching a performance by the Chun troupe. She gave them a happy nod.

n“You three go along. Young girls don’t need to sit and watch a show.”

nTo keep the house warm and his mother happy, Mo Huawen specially invited the well-known Chun troupe to play the shows at home. The troupe was well known for their excellent singing and handsome appearances. They were quite popular in the capital, and the older women seemed happy to watch them and chat. Still, it was a bit boring for some of the young ladies. When Old Madam Mo spoke, a couple others got up to wander.

nAuntie Qing smiled.

n“That’s right, Third Miss. You can all go look. There are already refreshments and tea prepared in the garden pavilion. Please be careful and don’t get hurt.”

nOld Madam nodded.

nYou’ve considered everything thoroughly today,” she said approvingly.

nMost of the guests today were related to her. By treating them well, Auntie Qing honored her.

nAfter two requests, Mo Xuetong couldn’t refuse. She stood up and went with the other girls.

nThere were about seven other young ladies who followed. Between them, the three sisters, and all their maids, it became quite the crowd.

nMo Xuetong and Mo Ye walked at the back of the group.

n“Miss, the drug Lan Xinru prepared had no smell or color. I brought some to them. They said it was a kind of…” Mo Ye stopped and flushed. She was too shy to say it aloud.

nLooking at Mo Xuetong’s bright and pure eyes, which just turned to her with innocent curiosity, it felt as if just saying it would damage the girl’s hearing.

nMo Xuetong, however, narrowed her lips and smiled.

n“Is it the kind of drug which increases sexual desire?”

n“Ye-yes,” Mo Ye muttered awkwardly.

n“Tell Mo Feng to watch Lan Xinru closely. If she puts her plan in action, have him tell my father immediately.” Mo Xuetong smiled coldly. It was Lan Xinru’s last chance and she was going to take the best shot she could. These days, Lan Xinru had been fawning on Old Madam Mo and staying at her room all the time, hoping to see Mo Xuetong’s father. He made sure she never got a chance. Once he knew she was staying there, he would avoid his mother’s room until he knew she was gone.

nToday, in front of everyone, he couldn’t avoid her if

nBut today, in front of so many people, her father couldn’t evade her if they met.

nMo Xueqiong stopped in front of Mo Xuetong, waiting for her to catch up.

n“Third Sister, you need to hurry up. You can’t walk that slowly, or we’ll lose track of you.” She looked overheated and didn’t seem particularly curious.

n“Fourth Sister, go on without me. I want to tell Mo Ye about something my second cousin told me the day before yesterday. When I’m done, I’ll catch up with you. We won’t delay you.”

nMo Xueqiong was shocked, and a hint of envy appeared in her eyes. It reminded her of her status. She had no powerful mother to rely on. Of course she was frustrated.

nShe had never liked Mo Xuetong. Why should all the beautiful clothes and tasty food be given to her? Just because she was the legitimate daughter? Wasn’t Mo Xueqiong her father’s daughter? Why should Mo Xuetong have everything nice? Mo Xuemin was no longer a threat. If Mo Xuetong met similar misfortune, she would be the most prominent daughter. When she thought of that, she couldn’t help smiling.

nShe just needed to make sure they were there to watch the show, so she didn’t insist. She walked and chatted with another young lady.

nBefore they went far, several sharp-eyed nannies who walked at the front saw a figure at the rockery and screamed.

n“Who is it?”

nFrom the color of the clothes, it was definitely a man.

nThere were plenty of people in the manor, so it was possible that he’d slipped from the inner yard. If he was lost, that could be excused, but if he’d snuck in, that was deeply disrespectful.

nAll of the young ladies stopped. Two nannies walked to the rockery.

n“What are you doing? Are you a guest who got lost? If you don’t leave, we’ll climb up there and catch you.”

nRight after their words, a man’s voice came from the rockery.

n“Sorry, I’ve lost my way and somehow got into the inner yard. I’m sorry to have interrupted the misses.”

nHis words sounded polite, but his look was very disappointing. A thin man just a bit over twenty walked out of the rockery. He was not ugly, but he looked a bit featherbrained and giddy. He sounded polite, but he kept stealing glances at the young ladies, eyes catching a bit longer on the particularly beautiful ones.

nWhich man would be so imprudent!

n“You said you were a guest in our manor, but you can’t tell which family you are from?” Mo Xueqiong asked angrily, stepping out of the crowd. The question was just the one on everyone’s mind, and several annoyed young women spoke.

n“He isn’t from my family.”

n“He’s not from my family, either.”

n“My father is the only man who came today.”

nThere were misses from all five of the invited families, and not even one recognized him. If this man was really a guest, how could nobody recognize him?

n“Who on earth are you?” Mo Xueqiong asked angrily. “If you don’t say it clearly, I’ll send you to the officials for judgement.”

n“I, I came in from the outside… not a guest today… I got wrong… by accident…” the man said, tripping over his words in terror.

nHe said that he went in from the outside and was lost. It was possible that a guest got lost, but it was impossible that he got into the wrong manor accidentally ended up in the inner yard.

nWas this man some miscreant who’d snuck in on purpose

n“Beat him!” Mo Xueqiong ordered.

nWithout words, an older maid stepped up and slapped him. Another went over and kicked the joint of his legs to he knelt.

nThe other servant women stepped in, picking up the brooms they used to sweep leaves to beat him. They hit him until he began to scream. Instincts taking over, he caught one of the brooms.

n“Why are you beating me? Stop. If your Third Miss didn’t invite me, why would I have come?”

nEveryone hesitated and stared at Mo Xuetong. She stepped forward to look at him.

nMo Xueqiong pretended to be angry on her sister’s behalf.

n“Third Sister, how dare he frame you! Beat him.”

nThe man’s eyes followed hers and landed on Mo Xuetong. Her serious face looked like something from a painting, bright as a lotus on the water. Though she was little and looked a bit childish, the natural charm came from her pure, shining eyes took a breath away. She was the sort of beauty men gave kingdoms to win.

nSo that was the third miss.

nHe was happy. If he could get a beauty like her, he wouldn’t mind if they beat him every day.

nHe didn’t notice that her shining eyes were cold.

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