Chapter 235 - Framing, Something Evil Has Got Me
Yu Feng arrived early the next morning, and Mo Huawen received him in the living hall. Mo Huawen looked up, only to find an old eunuch sitting beside Yu Feng, thus, he smilingly greeted them by asking, “I’m wondering which palace you come from.”
The old eunuch slightly raised his head and glanced at Mo Huawen, answering, “Consort Yu of Caiwei Palace sent me to see her long lost older sister. Will you do me that favor?”
“As expected, Consort Yu sent him.” Mo Huawen coldly smiled. Since taking office, he had been smooth in handling all kinds of affairs, therefore, he immediately saved the guest’s seat for the old eunuch and seated himself in the place of the host.
Yu Feng directly cut to the chase, ignored the manners, and rudely put his teacup on the table. “Sir Mo, you haven’t elaborated on the thing about my younger sister yet. My sister has always been nice, and how could she be so cruel to hurt her baby? A woman relies heavily on her children. How could she do such a stupid thing?”
Mo Huawen faintly smiled and a trace of fierceness flashed through his eyes. “So who do you think did it?”
With an evil intention, Yu Feng pushed the blame on Mo Xuetong. “I heard Sir Mo’s third daughter is also involved. You don’t have a legitimate son, but only this legal daughter, Third Young Miss Mo. In the eye of any sensible man, this Third Young Miss Mo must have hated her concubine mother’s child and was the most likely to do it.”
Since he couldn’t finish this nicely, Mo Huawen didn’t mind the manners anymore. He directly said coolly, “That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s real. And, how can you be so sure that Auntie Fang has always been kind? Do you know everything that happened during those years when Auntie Fang went missing?”
His words left Yu Feng dazed. Yu Feng found the question hard to answer.
Auntie Fang went separate from home since young. Yu Feng really couldn’t tell how nice she had been. Just now, he declared her kindness just to harden his tone. Right now, when Mo Huawen questioned him, he found it hard even to utter a single word. Auntie Fang grew up outside his family, which was known to everyone. Since she had gone missing since childhood, who could be sure that she was still kind when they got her back?
Moreover, Yu Feng, of course, knew his family too well. In his manor, there’s not really someone who could be called nice.
The old eunuch was quick to react and answered Mo Huawen’s question with a bad attitude. “Sir Mo, no matter how ruthless your concubine is, she couldn’t have harmed her own child, could she?”
“If she’s pregnant with my child, she certainly wouldn’t have. But what if it’s not my child? In time, the child will grow less and less like me. Her getting of the child can stop people from suspecting and also finish Tong’er’s life. It will only be beneficial for her. There’s not a single drawback.” However, he couldn’t tell these kinds of things to others. Hence, Mo Huawen could only snort and ignored him with his increasingly cold face.
Hearing the old eunuch making the conversation worse, Yu Feng immediately helped ease the atmosphere. “Sir Mo, let’s drop this topic first. Consort Yu heard that my sister is at your home and especially sent people to see her. Can you arrange for us to meet?”
He didn’t come to pick up a fight today. If he could take Mo Manor without any force via Consort Yu’s power and made his sister Mo Huawen’s wife, he would have dragged Mo Huawen into Consort Yu’s team. In the future, he would have Consort Yu in the harem and the connection of Mo Huawen at court. Although they both didn’t have high ranks right now, they were bound to achieve something extraordinary. Additionally, if Consort Yu could give birth to a child, he would definitely connect to royalty.
Therefore, he was being very polite right now!
Mo Huawen knew Yu Feng’s intention and also knew that he brought Consort Yu’s people so that he couldn’t deny it. Then, bearing a plan on his mind, he nodded and had people send for Auntie Fang.
After the time of a cup of tea, a maidservant helped Auntie Fang walk in.
Looking at the skinny Auntie Fang, Yu Feng was stunned. It was just after a few days, but his sister had lost so much weight. Her cheekbones stuck out on her face, which made her look 10 years older. She was nowhere near the charming Auntie Fang she used to be. Secretly, he couldn’t help deeming his sister miserable. Since childhood, she had been away from her family. Later, she married someone as his concubine. In the end, after going through all those years, she’s still disposable in her husband’s eye.
Now, something like this happened, and she turned so bony. She couldn’t have rested well since the abortion. Then, in his heart, he subconsciously felt sorry for his own sister. He glared at Mo Huawen and then hurried to support Auntie Fang.
“Brother!” At the sight of Yu Feng, Auntie Fang’s eyes brightened. When she turned around, she found Mo Huawen ignoring her and sipping on his tea as if she were a stranger to him. Then, her eyes became red, dragged Yu Feng’s hand to call brother, and burst into tears.
Recently, she did lead a tough life. Being out of favor, those servants in no way treated her nice. In the past, they served her with tasty dishes. Then, those dishes gradually turned into cold leftovers. Since entering the manor, Auntie Fang hadn’t suffered like this, so in the beginning, she would smash the bowls and pour the dishes to vent her anger.
Then, slowly, she found everyone was ignoring her.
When she trashed the food, she could only starve. In the midwinter, the room felt like ice, and there should not be a stove. She shouted herself hoars, but no one came to her. Old maidservants who guarded the door were eating sunflower seeds and gossiping about Mo Xuemin. During that kind of time, Auntie Fang nearly thought she couldn’t hold on anymore.
Luckily, Min’er said her brother would definitely come to rescue her.
Today, seeing Yu Feng, she immediately felt there was still hope.
Yu Feng patted her shoulder, supported her to sit up, and pointed at the proud-looking old eunuch beside him. “Don’t cry, my sister. Come meet Eunuch Wei. He’s from Consort Yu’s palace, and Consort Yu is our younger cousin. She heard you’re in Mo Manor so she especially sent people to visit you.”
“Consort Yu?” The name didn’t ring a bell with Auntie Fang, but she received Yu Feng’s signaling, and so she immediately wiped her tears with the good sense and curtsied to the old Eunuch Wei. “I bow in respect before Eunuch Wei.”
Seeing her pay such a salute to him, Eunuch Wei involuntarily grew fond of her. He made a gesture to hold her smilingly. “You’re being too polite. I came today to visit you on behalf of Her Highness. I didn’t expect you’re ill like this.”
He turned around to face Mo Huawen and said with a solemn face, “You don’t even send for a doctor when your wife is ill like this? If you can’t find a good doctor, I can request a royal doctor from Her Highness for your wife.”
“Wife? He should really call that! “To win Yu Feng over, Consort Yu really came so far as to send a royal doctor to treat a concubine who can’t even show up in public.”
Mo Huawen sneered and put his teacup on the table with a thump. “Eunuch Wei, she’s my concubine, not my wife. My wife was Fu General’s first legitimate daughter. If you call her my wife, you don’t seem to respect Fu General Manor or the Emperor in the court.”
Back then, the Emperor had personally agreed on Mo Huawen’s marriage. The old eunuch should call a concubine as his wife. He really disrespected the Fu General Manor and the Emperor.
“You…” The old eunuch was chocked with anger hearing this. He moved his throat and stretched his neck, but still, he couldn’t say a word. If someone wanted to make trouble out of this, he could even be sentenced to be captivated. Therefore, the old eunuch didn’t dare to talk back.
Before the royal family, a third-grade official didn’t matter at all. However, they mattered much in front of others. How did the old eunuch dare to directly confront Mo Huawen? The most he could do was threaten Mo Huawen in the name of Consort Yu. He wanted to make Auntie Fang a legal wife by this and then drew Mo Huawen into Consort Yu’s team.
“Old sir, I did nothing. It was not my fault that the child was gone. I didn’t know how that happened either. On that day, I first felt dizzy, and then when I woke up, the mistake had been made. Old sir, I’ve been serving you for many years and gave birth to a son and a daughter for you. How could I kill your son myself? It’s my child too.”
Auntie Fang dived into Mo Huawen’s arms, tugged at his clothes, and cried until she was out of breath. Her eyes, words, and face all carried sorrow. She clung to Mo Huawen and nearly fainted from whining.
“Old sir, show some pity on Auntie Fang. On that, Auntie Fang really knew nothing. When she got out, she looked lost. I was following her, and when I saw her not as spirited as before, I asked her to go back to the room to rest. But Auntie Fang looked blank as if she had been possessed and she insisted on going out. Then, after you punished her, she finally looked clearheaded. That night, Auntie Fang cried until late at night. I couldn’t bear to walk in, seeing her unable to support herself because of crying. Auntie Fang really liked the child. How would she not want the little master in her?”
The maidservant, standing aside, couldn’t take it anymore, knelt beside Auntie Fang while crying. At the same time, she kowtowed to Mo Huawen. “Old sir, you must look into for the sake of Auntie Fang. She’s obviously possessed that day.”
Meanwhile, Mo Huawen still coolly watched the master and her servant putting on a show, while Yu Feng was shocked, walked to them, and lifted the young maidservant from the ground, snapping. “What’s that? Auntie Fang was possessed? Was it on that day or before? What happened? Tell me!”
“Since the abortion, Auntie Fang had been feeling unwell but nothing serious because the servants in the manor served her well. But, a few days before the thing happened, she acted strangely and looked absentminded. Sometimes, she would sit there in a daze, and when she woke up, she didn’t know what she’d done.”
The little maidservant still had traces of tears and dirt on her face. Those streaks made her look very pitiful and sincere.
“She’d been absentminded. She didn’t know what was happening or sober up until the thing finished… Ah, something’s going on!” The old Eunuch Wei frowned while murmuring to himself. Suddenly, he changed his face and exclaimed.
Yu Feng hurriedly let go of the maidservant and asked, “Eunuch Wei, what’s that?”
“Obviously, Auntie Fang had been put under a spell. Someone must have affected your sister’s brain with evil things. Oh, that makes sense. Why did a mother get rid of her child? Evil things were working. In the past, a consort had been controlled and killed her son in her. The Emperor was furious and looked into it, only to find another consort had trapped her with evil things.”
After that, the old Eunuch Wei twisted around to face Mo Huawen. “Sir Mo, there were indeed evil things. I used to see some in the palace. Today, Her Highness sent me to visit the daughter of the Yu family. I couldn’t ignore it after such a thing had happened. Sir Mo, please let me look into this matter in your manor, and I might clear Auntie Fang’s name.”