Du Yan didn't dare to voice any objections. He shrank his neck and knelt silently to one side.
But Mo Yao crawled to the queen's feet and grabbed the corner of her skirt.
"No, Your Majesty the Queen. I don't want to marry!"
The queen frowned. The nanny beside her quickly bent down and pulled the skirt out of Mo Yao's hand. "Your Majesty the Queen is doing this for your own good. If this gets out, people can at least say that it was a moment of passion between you two, rather than some sordid affair! So this old servant advises you not to be ungrateful."
In the end, the matter came to an end. Mo Qinghuan walked quickly along the long palace corridor, deliberately increasing the distance between herself and Mo Yao.
When she reached the palace gate, she was surprised to see Mu Yanming.
She stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings to His Highness the Regent."
"Let's go together." With that, he got into the carriage.
Mo Qinghuan looked back at Mo Yao. After what had happened, she was even less willing to share the carriage with her, so she agreed.
When she returned to the General's Mansion, Mo Yao hadn't come back yet.
Thanks to her ennoblement as a princess, no one dared to treat her with disrespect anymore. Everyone along the way bowed respectfully to her.
She returned to her room. Not long after, the gatekeeper came to report and presented the gifts sent by the Duke's Mansion.
"What are these?"
The gatekeeper stood outside the door, bowing. "My lady, these are gifts from Miss Zhao of the Duke's Mansion. She said she hopes you will visit the mansion."
Mo Qinghuan glanced casually at the stacked gift boxes.
"Send them back."
The gatekeeper looked at her hesitantly.
Mo Qinghuan glared at him coldly. "Don't you understand?"
"Yes, yes, yes. I'll return them right away."
With that, he grabbed the gifts and scurried away.
...
Zhao Yiyi of the Duke's Mansion craned her neck, waiting for Mo Qinghuan, but only received the returned gifts.
She stamped her feet in anger. But thinking about her illness, she had no choice but to go and beg for help in person.
The gatekeeper came to report again. "My lady, Miss Zhao of the Duke's Mansion is here in person. Do you... want to see her?"
"No."
The gatekeeper nodded and withdrew.
Zhao Yiyi was blocked outside the gate. She glared angrily at the gatekeeper and returned to the Duke's Mansion.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. In a fit of rage, she fainted.
After lunch, the gatekeeper came to report again. "Your Highness, the Duchess of the Duke's Mansion is here in person and wants to see you."
Mo Qinghuan paused in the middle of pouring tea. She murmured, "The Duchess is a first-rank imperial concubine, isn't she..."
She stood up and followed the gatekeeper to the front gate.
The Duchess was pacing anxiously in front of the gate. When she saw Mo Qinghuan, she stepped forward and grabbed her hand.
"Yiyi is seriously ill and in a coma. Please, Princess Siyue, come to the Duke's Mansion and take a look at my daughter."
Her attitude was sincere. She didn't have the overbearing air that Zhao Yiyi had. Due to her daughter's illness, her eyes were red from crying. Mo Qinghuan somehow found herself agreeing.
When she arrived at the Duke's Mansion, she saw Zhao Yiyi lying pale on the bed. On the way there, she had suspected that she might have been deceived.
Mo Qinghuan sat down beside the bed to examine Zhao Yiyi. "How long has she been like this?"
The Duchess looked at her daughter lying on the bed and wiped away her tears. "It's all my fault for being so negligent. It's been over a year, and I never noticed. If it weren't for the maid's report today..." She was sobbing by the end.
"Don't cry, Your Grace. This illness can still be cured. I'll write a prescription for her. Just take the medicine on time."
The Duchess nodded and turned to the maid. "Hurry, go and prepare the writing brush and ink."
Mo Qinghuan wrote the prescription and handed it to the Duchess.
"This illness is sensitive to cold. Besides taking the medicine on time, I've also written down all the foods to avoid. Please follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise, I won't be responsible if anything goes wrong."
The Duchess nodded. But Zhao Yiyi's maid gave Mo Qinghuan a disdainful look.
She said snidely, "How arrogant! Just because she's been made a princess."
The Duchess glared at the maid, who immediately shut up and lowered her head.
Mo Qinghuan shook her head. The maid really took after her mistress. The tone was exactly the same as Zhao Yiyi's.
"Then I'll take my leave."
The Duchess quickly grabbed her. "Princess, wait a moment!"
The maid beside her brought a tray. The Duchess lifted the cloth on it.
"This is just a small token of our appreciation. We hope you'll accept it. If Yiyi recovers, there will be more rewards."
Mo Qinghuan picked up a gold ingot on the tray, weighed it, and looked at the Duchess with a smile. "In that case, I'll accept it. As for your daughter's illness, as long as you follow my instructions, she will surely recover."
The Duchess wrapped the gold ingot and handed it to Mo Qinghuan.
"I'll arrange a carriage to take you back."
Mo Qinghuan rubbed the wrapped ingot with her fingers. "No need. I'll go back by myself."
She picked up the package and left the Duke's Mansion. She stopped in front of an inn. Since she wouldn't be able to eat well at home anyway, she might as well have a meal first. Just as she was thinking...
"What? Hungry?" A familiar voice suddenly came from behind.
She turned around and saw Mu Yanming.
He had changed his clothes, but it was still the dull ink-black color. The clothes and the fluttering hem of his robe somehow gave a sense of oppression.
"Just in time. I'll introduce you to someone."
He walked in and went up to the second floor of the inn. Mo Qinghuan followed behind and saw Bai Ke standing in front of a room.
Mu Yanming pushed open the door. The old man sitting inside stood up and bowed. "Your humble servant greets His Highness the Regent."
Mo Qinghuan looked over and was surprised to find that it was the old man she had saved on the street last time.
"Teacher, there's no need for such formalities." Mu Yanming reached out to support the old man.
The young man beside the old man was full of excitement. "Master, you've always been wondering who saved you on the street last time. It's this young lady."
Mu Yanming looked at the old man. "This is Princess Siyue, personally ennobled by the Emperor. I entered the palace with her last time. But since I didn't see you then, I didn't go up to greet you."
"Thank you, young lady, for saving my life." The old man bowed.
Mo Qinghuan quickly supported the old man. "It was just a small thing. Please don't take it to heart."
Mu Yanming looked at Mo Qinghuan. "This is Mr. Situ Ji, who once taught two crown princes. He used to be the Grand Tutor."
Mo Qinghuan smiled politely. The former Mo Qinghuan didn't know anything about the Grand Tutor or Mr. Situ.
But hearing what Mu Yanming said, she echoed, "Of course I know. By the way, you must have something to discuss. I won't disturb you."
With that, she stepped back. Mu Yanming glanced at her back, then at Situ Ji, but didn't chase after her.
On her way back to the General's Mansion after leaving the inn, Mo Qinghuan passed by a bank.
She looked at it. It was quite large, so she walked in.
The manager inside saw that Mo Qinghuan was wearing clothes from Hualing Pavilion and came up obsequiously, showing his yellow teeth. "Are you here to withdraw money or make a deposit, miss?"
"Exchange for silver notes."
She put the package in her hand on the counter. When the manager saw that it was all gold, his eyes lit up. He quickly took out a small weighing scale and weighed it. "Five hundred taels, right?"
Mo Qinghuan nodded.
The manager gave her fifty one-hundred-tael silver notes. Mo Qinghuan put the silver notes in her pocket and left the bank.
She walked towards the General's Mansion.
But she didn't know that she had already been targeted.