After a day’s journey, the horse carriage stopped. Qing Zhu held Mo Xuetong’s hand to help her get off the carriage. They arrived at a courtyard. Someone had already opened the door and the two of them walked in. Qing Zhu took Mo Xuetong straight to the garden at the back of the courtyard. When they reached the garden, Mo Xuetong discovered that there was a two-story boat on the lake.

The boat in front of them was not large and it seemed to be used for the young masters and ladies of rich families to have fun. It was neither very exquisite, nor very eye-catching. The boat was very common. Whether it was in the Yan Kingdom or the Qin Kingdom, people of aristocratic families all liked to take a boat to different places. The demeanor of famous people in the Jin dynasty was still very popular.

The two-story boat was neither too high nor too low; besides, it was neither gorgeous nor too flamboyant!

Mo Xuetong’s heart did a flip when she was brought to the boat by Qing Zhu. They were going to take her away by boat. However, at this point, she could not resist. As such, she followed Qing Zhu and boarded the boat. Then the boat sailed out against the wind. It was a passageway that led to the outer lake.

Even if someone chased them here, they would not have thought that there was once a boat parked there. When the boat arrived in the outer lake, no one could find any trace of it as there were so many boats in the lake. It would be like that the fish had entered the boundless sea and was nowhere to be found.

When they arrived at the boat, Mo Xuetong realized that everything inside was extremely luxurious. Be it the items in the room or the hanging bead curtains, they were all exquisite. It was definitely not made up overnight.

There were not many people on the boat. Other than Mo Xuetong and Qing Zhu, there were two boatmen and a cook.

Qing Zhu helped Mo Xuetong change into a woman’s dress. Mo Xuetong could not think of anything else as she saw lights twinkle on the water outside the window. Since she had been kidnapped by Bai Yihao here, she had to ask him to try to antidote the poison in her body. There was still a glimmer of hope no matter if he could cure her or not. If Bai Yihao couldn’t cure her with his excellent medical skills, she would not seek any other means.

Princess Royal definitely had other plans as she did not go with Mo Xuetong. Mo Xuetong did not want to read into Bai Yihao’s intentions, so she put aside all her worries and looked at the lake and mountains to enjoy the scenery.

Whether in her previous life or this life, she had been stuck in Cloud City and the capital. As she lifted the curtain and looked at the endless lake, a kind of carefree feeling came over her. Sometimes, she simply put down the medical book and leisurely looked at the lake scenery outside the window. She felt relaxed and happy at those moments.

The boat continued forward. It would only occasionally stop in some small towns and buy some daily necessities and vegetables. It had already been many days since they got on the boat. Mo Xuetong did not know where she was at all.

Seeing that Mo Xuetong was very cooperative along the way, Qing Zhu started to be a little kind to her. She no longer said mocking words as before. Even though there was still enmity in her words, she did not intentionally make things difficult for Mo Xuetong.

One day, the boat finally stopped.

Qing Zhu helped Mo Xuetong, who was wearing a curtained hat, get off the boat. There was already a horse carriage waiting there. The two boarded the carriage. Mo Xuetong saw the boat having already set off again out of the corner of her eye. It was indeed a perfect arrangement without leaving any flaws. It must not be difficult for Bai Yihao to do this given his character.

If someone really followed them, they would not be able to catch up with them along the way. Now, the boat was gone, which meant that even the last trace was erased. Bai Yihao actually could read the human heart in such detail. No wonder he could look down on the world and ignore the common people in his last life. He did have the ability to do so.

“Third Young Miss Mo, you can go to His Highness’ manor in a while. I am your maidservant who serves you. You will be Lan Luo, the miss of the Lan family, from now on. You’re a distant relative of the Lan family and your parents died, so you grew up in your uncle’s family. This time, the Empress has issued an edict to choose a consort for His Highness. Your uncle’s family specially sent your here. They hope that you will be doted on by His Highness one day and become the next Empress.” Qing Zhu picked up a fruit out of habit and peeled it for Mo Xuetong.

This was the new identity that Bai Yihao had found for himself!

As the Crown Prince of a country, it was impossible for a strange woman to appear by his side. Besides, given her status, he couldn’t take her away at will. However, when Mo Xuetong thought about it, she found that Bai Yihao’s action this time was not consistent with his style of planning accurately and then acting. He seemed to be reckless and did not care about the consequences. It was not like his manner.

After the two of them stayed on the boat for several days, Mo Xuetong had already gotten used to Qing Zhu’s service. She looked up and rolled her watery eyes, which looked beautiful. She was already past 14 years old on the boat and the corners of her eyes automatically revealed a hint of charm, making her even more charming. Her beautiful little face was as delicate as a piece of jade.

Mo Xuetong picked up a piece of peeled fruit and asked slowly, “Why should I mix with those ladies for the Beauty Contest?”

“Miss, don’t you want to get rid of the poison? The First Prince and the Empress have been keeping an eye on His Highness every day. Even if His Highness wants to help you get rid of the poison, he can’t do anything about it. Do you really want to die at such a young age?”

This was what Mo Xuetong cared about. If there was still a glimmer of hope, Mo Xuetong would definitely want to live. This was also the reason why she had been very cooperative ever since she knew that Bai Yihao had taken her away. When she was in the Qin Kingdom, she had thought of asking Bai Yihao for help.

However, it was just a thought. On the one hand, she did not want to have too much to do with Bai Yihao; on the other hand, Bai Yihao might not be willing to help her get rid of the poison. Furthermore, she did not want to make things difficult for Feng Yuran.

“Is your master trying to choose me to enter the palace and then help me remove the poison, isn’t he?” Mo Xuetong swallowed a mouthful of fruit and squinted at Qing Zhu.

“How could my master’s wife was from a declining family? Even though the Lan family is also a noble family in the Yan Kingdom, you’re from a poor branch. I have never heard of a prince’s wife of such a low status!” Qing Zhu was filled with pity for Bai Yihao. She could not help but retort when she heard Mo Xuetong denigrating Bai Yihao.

“That’s good!” Mo Xuetong smiled in a relaxed mood. She liked the fact that this identity could bring this benefit.

Seeing her pink lips curling into a smile which was as bright as a flower, Qing Zhu really didn’t know what to say. There was never a woman who was not shy, out of control and didn’t approach her master when they saw him. However, this woman kept pushing her master away.

After entering the imperial palace, the carriage went to the East Palace on one side. However, it moved very slowly. Gradually, Mo Xuetong heard other carriages’ sound. There was more than one carriage.

Mo Xuetong secretly lifted the curtain and looked out the window. She found that there were many horse carriages that were similar to her carriage. Her carriage was neither the last nor the first. At some point, her carriage joined the queue.

Mo Xuetong could not help but admire Bai Yihao. He did everything perfectly, without any omission. Her horse carriage was the most common one among these horse carriages.

It seemed that the Empress had put a lot of effort into choosing a consort for Bai Yihao. There was no official mistress in the East Palace, but so many girls had joined the Beauty Contest. No matter who Bai Yihao picked, it was not suitable!

Before Bai Yihao took a wife, a large number of concubines entered the East Palace. The contest was held on a grand scale. It seemed that Bai Yihao had to choose a second consort. It looked as if the Empress loved her son dearly. However, the carriages around them were ordinary; none of them were luxurious. It was obvious that the girls in the carriages were not from noble families and would not be of any help to Bai Yihao in the future.

The Empress’s thoughts were self-evident!

“Is it the carriage of the 17th branch of the Lan family?” As Mo Xuetong was thinking about it, she suddenly heard a girl’s crisp voice coming from outside.

“Yes, it’s our miss,” the coachman answered from outside.

“Our miss is from the ninth branch of the Lan family. Please ask your miss to get on our carriage and have a chat.” At this time, the carriage was moving slowly. Judging from the distance, they would not reach the destination in a short time. Some ladies would get off their carriages, get on the carriages of the other ladies who were familiar with them to have a chat.

“Our miss is in poor health. She got up early in the morning and is resting at this time.” The coachman refused tactfully.

The maidservant did not mind it and said politely, “All right, when we reach the palace, our miss will come to visit your miss.”

Mo Xuetong blinked her lively eyes and asked in confusion, “Does Lan Luo know the lady opposite?”

Bai Yihao should not choose such an identity that was full of loopholes, which caused that a random lady from the Lan family recognized her.

“Rest assured, Miss. Lan Luo is distant relative of the Lan family. The main branch of the Lan family would not care about such a remote relative. Furthermore, I heard that Lan Luo’s mother was beautiful then and a man of the main branch of the Lan family took a fancy to her and took her away. Her father chased after them and was seriously injured. Then he died a few days later. Her mother knew about it and immediately hung herself. As such, Lan Luo was taken to her uncle’s home and stayed there for 10 years.” Qing Zhu thought about it and told Mo Xuetong in detail about Mo Xuetong’s new identity. After all, they had entered the East Palace. Even if Qing Zhu stayed by her side all the time, someone might discover it.

Mo Xuetong thought for a moment and asked, “Who is Lan Luo’s uncle?” That was to say, she could completely ignore the Lan Luo’s family members.

“Lan Luo’s uncle is an unfortunate scholar, and then he turned into a businessman. His family background is not bad, but he has several daughters. Lan Luo’s aunt has a lot of objections to raising this sick and weak young lady. It was her aunt’s idea to send her to the capital to join the Beauty Contest for the East Palace this time. It’s just that this young lady was so weak that she died on the way here,” Qing Zhu explained.

She had no parents or clansmen. Even her closest uncle was just a businessman who was far away from the capital. It was impossible to find him even if one wanted to. Furthermore, she was weak and sickly. Miss Lan seemed to exist especially for her. Now no one would recognize her even if Mo Xuetong revealed her face!

It was already in the afternoon when Mo Xuetong entered the East Palace. Fortunately, there were fruits in the horse carriage, but she did not feel hungry. It started to drizzle, falling in drifts. It made her even more upset.

Since these girls hadn’t taken in by the Crown Prince of the East Palace, the Beauty Contest was held in the Beauty Gathering Palace, which was the closest to the East Palace. It was still within the range of the imperial palace, but the gate of the East Palace was opposite. This surrounding area in the imperial palace had always belonged to the East Palace. It was the Empress’ people who arranged for these ladies to live in.

The Beauty Gathering Palace was divided into five courtyards: the eastern courtyard, the western courtyard, the southern courtyard, the northern courtyard, and the center courtyard. However, those who lived in the center courtyard were all young ladies with relatively better family backgrounds.

The Beauty Contest this time would only pick up a consort for the Crown Prince of the East Palace, not the Crown Prince’s wife, so it was not large-scale, and there were only 40 to 50 ladies.

They were allocated to live in these courtyards, and thus there were seven or eight people living in each courtyard. Fortunately, each person had a room, so it was fairly spacious.

Mo Xuetong lived in the northern courtyard. It was late autumn and the courtyard facing the north was really annoying as it was even colder for no reason. Some young ladies who had connections found a way and moved to the other courtyards. For a while, the northern courtyard became the most desolate place. There were only two or three young ladies left in the entire courtyard, who had no way to move out.

Mo Xuetong was one of them.

And she was also one of the least appreciated. As soon as she came in, she had been drinking potion. The ladies began to wonder how she got in. She still wanted to serve the Crown Prince with such poor health. It was really whimsical.

Ever since Bai Yihao had passed by the entrance of the Beauty Gathering Palace, all the young ladies grew invigorated and excited!

Not to mention that the Crown Prince was in a high position and powerful enough to succeed the throne of the Emperor, his peerless, pretty face was enough to make the young ladies stare at the gate of the East Palace with excitement and affection every day.

They just hoped that they could win Bai Yihao’s favor and hit his fancy.

Mo Xuetong was now taking the medical herbs prescribed by Bai Yihao. Someone secretly sent the medical herbs to Mo Xuetong’s room. Qing Zhu carefully looked after her every day. Because of the cold weather, Mo Xuetong was too lazy to go out. Every day, she lay on the couch and read medical books. When she felt bored, she would sleep. Life was very quiet.

For some reason, the Beauty Contest had been delayed. For a while, the ladies in the Beauty Gathering Palace were very bored. The East Palace and the imperial palace did not send anyone here. Days passed by one after another!

No one disturbed her, and she didn’t have to consider too much. Someone had made arrangements for her to eat and drink. Mo Xuetong felt that this was the most comfortable days in her life. She only needed to drink some bitter herbal soup every day. Except for one thing—it was hard to accept the fact that she had been kidnapped here.

However, an emergency made her comfortable days come to an end!…