Ever since He Yufen came to the capital, she was always thinking about this man, and all she wanted was to live a peaceful life with him. Perhaps she desired his handsome appearance, perhaps she craved his wealth and rank, or perhaps she just wanted to enter his heart and become the one he was willing to protect. But now, there was only despair and sadness in her eyes.
Tears dropped unconsciously. Her hands clenched the dry firewood on the ground. Actually, there was already someone in his heart where no one else was able to replace. However, she had still thought highly of herself that she could take the place of Mo Xuetong by Consort Zhao’s power and her own beauty.
It turned out that everything was a fond dream!
She clenched her hands tightly and the thorns on the firewood pierced into her palms. She almost screamed in pain, and tears rolled down her cheeks, but she still smiled. It was the He family that had given her the wishful thinking. Since she entered the He family, she had been instilled the thought that she and the other girls were bound to marry into the royal family and bring good fortune to the He family.
“My Lady, do you think it’s very strange? Why do He Yufen, Consort Zhao, Consort Xian and I share likeness? But why do the people who don’t have a blood relationship look like natural family members?” He Yufen raised her tearful eyes and looked at Mo Xuetong with dirty streaks of tear on her face.
Mo Xuetong asked indifferently, “Then why?” The answer was already obvious.
“Since Consort Xian entered the palace and was favored by the Emperor, the He family has been looking for girls who look like Consort Xian and keeping them in the family. That is the way Consort Zhao was selected. She was the one who took after Consort Xian most, and then was sent into the palace. Later, something happened to the He family, and the family was driven out of the capital. But even in a small city, the He family has never given up looking for the beautiful girls similar to Consort Xian.”
He Yufen’s eyes fell on the dirty window and a trace of pain flashed in her eyes. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and continued to say, “He Yuxiu and I were picked out in this way and given the status of the first miss and the second miss by the He family respectively. And we were cultivated in the same way as Consort Xian and Consort Zhao.”
The He family found He Yufen and He Yuxiu out of the underage prostitutes from a brothel. At that time, He Yufen was only eight years old, while He Yuxiu was seven. They were given the best education, from etiquette to lyre-playing, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and were required to master them all. Therefore, He Yufen and He Yuxiu always knew that two of them were going to enter the prince’s manor to serve the Eighth Prince, Feng Yuran. In their hearts, they had already regarded themselves as the ones who belonged to Feng Yuran.
The He family had been waiting for an opportunity to go to the capital, but the opportunity did not come till King Xuan got married, and the He family received an invitation and then had the chance to enter the capital.
Mo Xuetong frowned and asked doubtfully, “How many years have you been staying in the He family?”
“Almost nine years.” He Yufen could not help but shed tears again. During these nine years, what they heard most were the things about the Eighth Prince. Although the Eighth Prince was later sent out of the palace, the He family did not give up.
It had been nine years, during which Consort Xian had just passed away, Consort Zhao had been constrained in the Mingyue Palace, and Feng Yuran had been narrowly sent out of the palace. How did the He family predict that Feng Yuran could return to the palace safe and sound after years? And what made the He family so stubborn to spare so much time cultivating two women who looked like Consort Xian so much and sending them to Feng Yuran?
“In the past nine years, you and He Yuxiu just stayed indoors all the time?”
“Yes, He Yuxiu and I have been learning all kinds of etiquette. We usually remained within doors and never showed up in any He family’s social activities. So the outsiders did not know what He Yuxiu and I looked like, but just said that the two misses of the He family were virtuous and refined, and were the real ladies of a big family.”
He Yufen lowered her head and wiped the tear stains at the corner of her eyes. At that time, she and He Yuxiu were extremely dismissive of the young ladies of the He family, thinking that they neither were as beautiful as them nor behaved elegantly, but who would have thought that He Yufen was almost sent back to the brothel after all the twists and turns?
Mo Xuetong suddenly thought of something and asked again, “Has this never been interrupted during the nine years?”
“No, it has never been interrupted for nine years. A specially-appointed nanny came to cultivate us every day.” He Yufen turned around and knelt down at Mo Xuetong again. She lifted her tearful and dirty face and kowtowed to Mo Xuetong. “My Lady, as for what had happened that day, it was manipulated by the He family, but I don’t know who carried it out exactly. In fact, the He brothers were on guard against me, so I had to sound out some things from other people.”
“Speak something about Consort Zhao!” Mo Xuetong blinked her bright eyes, with her long lashes fluttering. She totally ignored He Yufen’s words and went straight to the point. In fact, Mo Xuetong had long suspected about the He family and felt that it would be the most possible explanation. Otherwise, since Consort Xian was not the biological daughter of the He family, how could she look so similar to He Yufen, He Yuxiu, and Consort Zhao?
If it was not because of the blood relation, then it meant that the He family found them on purpose.
He Yufen answered in a timid way, “The things about Consort Zhao, I… I know little about it. The He family’s two brothers… sometimes avoid us when they talk.”
“Since you don’t know about it, why did you bother sending someone to me?” Mo Xuetong stood up suddenly, threw a cold glance at He Yufen, and turned to leave.
He Yufen had a bad intuition. Looking at Mo Xuetong’s stern figure, she had a feeling that if she missed this chance, she might really have no chance. Every time she thought of King Xuan’s ruthless and cold eyes that day, she would feel appalled.
“My Lady, My Lady, I’ll… I’ll tell you everything I know…” At this time, she could not care about anything else. Thinking of the helplessness she felt after being dragged out that day and the despair she felt after being locked up here for a few days, she only felt that if she continued to stay here, she would go crazy. She would definitely go crazy.
She didn’t want to stay here any longer.
Mo Xuetong paused and turned her head slightly to look at He Yufen coldly. A hint of a smile appeared on the corners of Mo Xuetong’s lips, but it was a chilly smile.
“He Yufen, this is your last chance. If you can’t even grasp this chance, then don’t blame me for not giving you one.”
“Yes, yes, I will tell you everything I know. I won’t, won’t lie to My Lady.” He Yufen only wanted to live and could not care about anything else. She kowtowed profusely. She had lost her wits and did not dare to hide anything. She might have wanted to take advantage of Mo Xuetong earlier, but when she saw how determined Mo Xuetong was, she did not dare to raise any conditions.
He Yufen said, “My Lady, I… I really don’t know much. I heard it secretly that He Yuxiu disappeared a few days ago. That night, the two brothers of the He family sat in the study and discussed this matter. I didn’t know if there were too many people sent by the manor. Even the steward of the courtyard was not there. I hid under the window secretly and heard something.”
She remembered that night when He Yuxiu escaped. He Yufen was very happy because she did not get along well with He Yuxiu. Both of them knew that they would enter the Eighth Prince’s manor in the future, marry the same man, and compete for the favor. Therefore, since childhood, they seemed to be kind to each other, but in fact, both of them were eager to topple the other one.
He Yufen did not expect that He Yuxiu would really disappear after thinking about it for so many years. How could He Yufen not be happy? At that time, she wanted to take pleasure in He Yuxiu’s disappearance and have a word with the He brothers so that they would understand that only He Yufen was of great value now, and would think highly of her, and thus help her more.
Usually, when the He brothers discussed things in the study, the steward always stood at the door. As soon as he saw He Yufen, he would stop her and go in to report. It had been like this for many years. Unexpectedly, He Yufen did not see anyone all the way, which intrigued her curiosity.
She just trod lightly and turned around to the back of the study. The moment she reached the back window, she heard the Second Brother of the He family say angrily, “Eldest Brother, what should we do? Should we inform Consort Zhao in the palace and tell her that the little bitch, He Yuxiu, is missing?”
“Don’t worry. You won’t be able to see Her Highness even if you want to at this moment. Master Lian has also said that don’t worry. Let’s wait a little longer.” Senior Master He’s voice sounded very anxious as well. He Yufen could even hear the clattering of the teacups on the table. Obviously, the two inside were very upset.
Hiding there, He Yufen was more scared to make a sound.
“Lian An is not a good person either. Our He family spent so much effort helping him to the position of the Minister of War. Now, the He family has trouble, but he still asks us to wait. If we continue to wait, we will have to leave the capital, and won’t know where He Yuxiu, the little bitch, is.” Second Maser He circled around the place fretfully. He could not bear it any longer, so he even scolded Lian An.
The eldest son of the He family lowered his voice and scolded, “Shut up. Second Brother, do you want to die?”
Although Second Master He was frightened to lower his voice, he muttered defiantly, “I’m not wrong. Considering the relationship between Lian An and Consort Zhao in those years, and the two have been in the capital for so many years, it’s just a piece of cake for them to meet. Lian An is definitely unwilling to send a message for us.”
He Yufen said, “Afterwards, the butler came back to report the matter about He Yuxiu. I was afraid of being discovered, so I did not dare to listen too much and returned to the back courtyard secretly.”
The relationship between Consort Zhao and Lian An? Mo Xuetong frowned with a confused look. What was the relationship between Consort Zhao and Lian An? According to He Yufen’s words, Lian An was supported by the He family. No wonder that Lian An was so young without any background, but he could become the youngest minister in the six departments.
However, what was the relationship between him and Consort Zhao?
Suddenly, it occurred to Mo Xuetong that Ming Yu and Ming Xia also looked like Consort Zhao. Mo Xuetong had a flash of inspiration and said with a hint of darkness in her eyes, “Lian An had once been engaged to a young lady of the He family. Do you know who she is?”
He Yufen thought for a while and replied, “I have never heard of this.”
Mo Xuetong pondered for a while, nodded her head, and said to He Yufen, “He Yufen, I can give you a chance to survive, but it depends on whether you can grasp it…”
“I can. I will definitely. No matter what My Lady asks me to do, I will do it!” He Yufen only wanted to live now. She could not care about anything else. She did not want to stay in such a messy place. When she heard Mo Xuetong said that she could have a chance to live, her eyes lit up and she immediately kowtowed excitedly.
As long as she could survive and leave, she was willing to do whatever she was asked. After being locked up for these days, she knew that it would not be too much for her to be punished severely for the crimes she had committed. Nevertheless, she did not make those crimes out of her own intention. It was due to the He family and Consort Zhao who gave her the daydream. It was all because of them.
Now, she already forgot how she had been obsessed with getting rid of Mo Xuetong, but just pushed all the blame onto others and felt that she was the most innocent…