Chapter 735 The Schemes of All Parties at Night
Mo Xuetong did not use the Lan family’s horse carriage. There was indeed a horse carriage sent from the Crown Prince’s East Palace parked at the entrance. After they got on the horse carriage, Qing Zhu asked, “Miss, how did you know that the person is not the true head of the Lan family?” There was nothing different in air, deportment, or appearance between the man and the head of the Lan family.
“I am just an orphan daughter of the Lan family. Even if the Lan family values me, there is a limit. Even if I can enter the East Palace in the future and be favored by His Highness, it will still be a matter of the future. The Lan family does not lack beauties in their back courtyard. It is already a great honor for me to send Minister of Public Works to meet me. It is said that Minister of Public Works is the best husband in the hearts of the princesses,” Mo Xuetong stated with a faint smile. She took the tea that Qing Zhu poured for her and took a sip before she leisurely relaxed.
The most important thing was that the impostor seemed to be making decisions, but when Mo Xuetong was talking to Lan Yanwen, he did not even speak without Lan Yanwen’s hints. How could the head of the Lan family, Lan Yanwen’s father, act according to his son’s hints? Since the Lan family had sent an impostor, they surely could send a second impostor, in order to test her.
They wanted to weigh her up!
Since this was the Lan family’s purpose, she naturally would not hide her strength. The better she performed, the more attention the Lan family would attach to her. At the right time, she could ask the Lan family to show more sincerity.
“Why did you mention the Yuxiao Flower?” Even though she was very pleased with Mo Xuetong’s smartness, Qing Zhu’s expression grew dark.
“The Empress must know that your master has gotten the Yuxiao Flower. But the Lan family didn’t know. If the Lan family knows that the Empress knows but doesn’t tell them, I wonder if they will have any ideas!” Mo Xuetong smiled lightly and didn’t explain. She simply leaned against the carriage and closed her eyes to rest.
It was said that the pot of Yuxiao Flower in the Qin Kingdom was given to Bai Yihao. Mo Xuetong got the news by chance.
The look on Qing Zhu’s face froze and she immediately figured it out. For a moment, the look in her eyes became more and more complicated. She inexplicably looked at the woman who leaned against the carriage beside and dozed. She did not say anything more.
“Is it really good to let this woman be by His Highness’s side?”
The night in the Beauty Gathering Palace was very quiet, especially in the southern courtyard. The ladies inside had already rested. In the corridor, several palace lanterns gave off flickering light.
In the darkness, a figure flashed and disappeared from the Beauty Gathering Palace.
In a large room of the East Palace, several people were discussing something.
“Do we really have to kill her?” The woman’s voice was a little hesitant!
“Have you forgotten who your master is after just following her for a few days? No matter what, His Highness’s cause is the most important thing. She’s just a woman!” a high-pitched voice said unhappily.
Qing Zhu secretly took a deep breath, sat down on the chair beside her, and said uneasily, “But His Highness treats her differently. If His Highness knows that, he will be angry!”
“She’s just a woman. His Highness tries to make antidote for her because she is his relative. If His Highness really cares about her, why didn’t he take out the marriage agreement when he was in the capital of the Qin Kingdom? Besides, we aren’t going to kill her. We just fail to notice it and something goes wrong. His Highness won’t punish us,” the leader of Bai Yihao’s secret guards said in a loud voice.
He was the leader of the hundred men in Princess Shuanglan’s hands. He had followed Princess Shuanglan from the Qin Kingdom to the Yan Kingdom. He was loyal and devoted to her. Now that Princess Shuanglan had pa.s.sed away, he was naturally loyal to the young master. He worked hard for his master and completely focused on Bai Yihao’s interests.
“His Highness might want to bring Third Young Miss Mo back before he brings out the marriage agreement!” Qing Zhu hesitated for a moment before explaining for Mo Xuetong.
“In what capacity does she marry His Highness? If she marries him as a girl from the Lan family, she would not deserve to be His Highness’s wife. It She could manage to be a concubine. However, it would not be enough for her to be part of the royal family unless the Lan family acknowledged her as a legitimate daughter. However, if so, the Lan family would be able to extend their influence to the East Palace. Then, what would His Highness do? If she were still Third Young Miss Mo, she should be Consort Xuan now. How could she stay by His Highness’ side with her status?” the leader of the secret guards stated unhappily as his expression grew dark and cold.
Qing Zhu was speechless when she heard that. She could not say anything to retort. Third Young Miss Mo was in no way fit to be at Bai Yihao’s side.
“What’s more, she has been married for a long time. His Highness is as pure as an immortal and it’s a great loss for him to marry her!” the leader of the secret guards snorted.
His words struck a nerve in Qing Zhu’s heart. How could she let her master suffer the loss? A hint of darkness flashed in her eyes, and she made up her mind at once. “Okay, I’ll do as you say, but you must not reveal the news.”
“Don’t worry. We just need to watch from the sidelines! There will be someone who deals with her!”
Qing Zhu felt uncomfortable and pursued, “When does His Highness’s message say he will be back?”
“His Highness meets some obstacles. It won’t be too early for him to come back. We have enough time to do what we want to do.” The leader of the secret guards knew what Qing Zhu was worried about, so he comforted her.
“Is there something wrong with Princess Royal?” Qing Zhu was still worried.
“Princess Royal is in poor health and it is difficult for her to get up now. She has no time to pay attention to this,” the leader of the secret guards uttered coldly. He did not have a good impression of Princess Royal, who was always burying her head in the sand. If she really wanted to help Bai Yihao, she could send her people to a.s.sa.s.sinate Emperor Zongwen in the Qin Kingdom to avenge King Jin.
They had reached an agreement here, but there was no way for the people in the study room of the Lan family to be on the same page.
It was because Lan Yanwen voted no!
Lan Tian narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “We can’t act rashly and blindly to the Empress, nor can we let the Empress know that we have already known that the Yuxiao Flower is in the hands of the Crown Prince, causing the Empress’s suspicion. Now, we can only get rid of Lan Luo without anyone knowing about it. Didn’t the Crown Prince ask her questions yet? As long as she’s gone, His Highness won’t doubt us if he does.”
Lan Yanwen gave a slight cough and said in a gentle voice, “Father, but His Highness has already suspected this matter. If something happens to her at this time, won’t it make us feel guilty?”
“Yan Wen, don’t worry. The Crown Prince won’t suspect us. The Empress is the most suspicious of all. The secret of King Jin’s Manor came from the Qin Kingdom, and in the imperial palace, the Empress is the only one who came from the Qin Kingdom. Although we are a large aristocratic family in the Yan Kingdom, it is not enough for us to interfere in the affairs of the imperial palace of the Qin Kingdom. Suspicion naturally fell on the Empress,” Lan Ren explained carefully while waving his fan.
“As long as the Crown Prince suspects the Empress, we can get out of it.”
“Yanwen, don’t think too much. That’s it. It’s so cold at night. Let’s leave early,” Lan Mo shouted with an impatient face. It was such a cold day. There was no stove as they were in a hurry. Besides, they even closed the door to discuss something. A human being couldn’t stand it.
Lan Yanwen frowned and said uneasily, “For so many years, the Crown Prince had been in the Qin Kingdom, but he has never been at a disadvantage. Do you really think that the Crown Prince is so easy to fool and doesn’t know that we did it? I suspect that the Crown Prince may have known that we took out the Yuxiao Flower, but he doesn’t show it now because he doesn’t want to alert the enemy. Father, we still need to think about it carefully.”
He always felt that he had missed something, and he was not so optimistic. The Crown Prince might want to confront the Empress, but he had been against her for a long time. He had been bearing patiently for so many years, which showed that the Crown Prince was a scary person. Such a scary person would play such an obvious move and sent an important witness in broad daylight.
Was the Crown Prince too relieved or not at all concerned about it?
Lan Yanwen felt that it was more like the former. Somehow he felt very uneasy. He always felt that it was too convenient. Given the Crown Prince’s character, how could he do it so obviously?
Lan Tian waved his hand to stop Lan Yanwen. “Yanwen, although the Crown Prince is capable, it hasn’t been long since he returned to the Yan Kingdom. How can he compare with the Empress’s plans for so many years? Besides, the Empress is his mother on the surface. Filial piety will make him bow. It’s not as complicated as you think. We just need to do something clean and don’t make trouble for the Empress. She is just a lady in the Beauty Gathering Palace, so it’s not a big deal.”
“Get someone to sneak into the Beauty Gathering Palace and kill her in a clean way.”
“Okay, Elder brother, I’ll arrange it now.” The second master, Lan Ren, nodded, stood up and strode out.
“Elder brother, I’m also leaving now. It’s too cold.” Lan Mo also stood up and said goodbye to Lan Tian. When he came to Lan Yanwen who wore a bitter smile on his face, he patted him on the shoulder, suddenly turned his head and ambiguously whispered in his ear, “Did you see that little girl? It’s said that she is an extremely beautiful woman!”
“Third Uncle!” Lan Yanwen called helplessly.
“It’s just a woman. There are so many beautiful women in the world. It’s easy to find a beautiful one. We can’t lose a great deal through trying to save a little,” Lan Mo said seriously. However, he didn’t look like that.
“Third Uncle, I didn’t.” Lan Yanwen smiled bitterly. He really felt that it was inappropriate to kill Mo Xuetong. If they killed this woman now, they could certainly seal the secret of the Yuxiao Flower for a period of time. But what about the future? When the Crown Prince and the Empress really confronted each other in the future, the matter of the Yuxiao Flower might become the reason for the fight. At that time, what should the Lan family do? And what would the Empress deal with the Lan family?
Would she scheme them out to take the blame?
According to the Empress’s character, it was really possible!
However, no one listened to him. Even his father directly denied him. Especially after his father heard his third uncle’s ambiguous words, he clearly felt his father’s eyes were suspicious. Lan Yanwen felt that he was wrong no matter what he said now. So he simply stepped back, bowed his head, and stood aside respectfully.
Now he only hoped that the Empress could have an absolute advantage in the battle with the Crown Prince. Only in this way could it guarantee that the Empress would not push them to take the blame. But subconsciously, he always felt that the Crown Prince was more capable than the Empress. The Empress could only compete with the Crown Prince who was far away in the Qin Kingdom after she joined hands with the First Prince. The Crown Prince was definitely far more powerful than he appeared to be.
For the first time, Lan Yanwen wondered if the Lan family had chosen the wrong side!
The Crown Prince was an unfathomable man!
Mo Xuetong was awakened from her dream. She could not hear the slight sound of the window opening if she did not listen carefully. However, Mo Xuetong was still startled awake. As she was in a foreign country and did not have anyone she could use, she was extremely vigilant when she slept at night. She was afraid that she would fall into someone else’s trap if she was not careful. As such, she had fallen into a deep sleep in the daytime.
She suddenly sat up, pushed the quilt slightly, making it look like there was a human inside. Then she moved quickly to the edge of the bed, slipped off the bed gently, and walked behind it.
As soon as she stood still, she saw that the door had been opened. A black figure rushed in, and the s.h.i.+ning blade in the hand made the corner of Mo Xuetong’s eyes flash with coldness.
The blade quickly pierced into the quilt and then stabbed a few times, neat and decisive.
A crisp sound suddenly came from a corner of the room. In the darkness, another cold light flashed and pierced the chest of the person who had come earlier. The person groaned and before he could scream, blood spilled on the bed. The body rolled aside, making a heavy crash.
“Who is it?” Qing Zhu’s voice came from the outer room, and the door of the room was slammed open…