The carriage stopped steadily.
Lan Yuyan was the first to get out of the carriage. Then, Lan Yanwen jumped out of the carriage and held Mo Xuetong who had just come out of the carriage behind him. When she landed on the ground, he let go of her and walked in slowly. The smooth touch on her hand made his heart beat fast for a moment. The evening breeze blew over with a trace of coolness, and his mind became clear in an instant.
It was a large courtyard, and someone had already opened the gate. When they entered, the gate was closed.
In the dark, there were two people standing on a big tree beside the gate. The shorter one asked in a low voice, “Master, how is it? Do you want to follow them in?”
“Let’s go in.” The cold, elegant voice was a little lazy and intoxicating. His figure flashed first and disappeared inside the wall. The other person couldn’t help shaking his head and secretly scolded himself for being an idiot. His master had been tracking for thousands of miles and rushed here day and night. How could he not follow them in? His questions were superfluous. Then, with a flash, his figure disappeared from the tree.
Mo Xuetong was received in the study. A middle-aged man, who looked like in his 30s or 40s, sat at the head of the table timidly. Even though he was dressed luxuriously, he did not seem suitable for this environment. Behind him stood a man who looked like a butler, and there were two other maidservants serving him.
He was like a real master of the Lan Manor.
As he saw Mo Xuetong and the others entering, he stood up uneasily. At the sight of Lan Yanwen, he moved his feet subconsciously as if he wanted to go up to him. The butler standing behind him looked up coldly and reached out to pull him. Then, he seemed to suddenly think of something and stopped.
The he gave a cough and his gaze landed on Mo Xuetong, who was following Lan Yanwen. Immediately, he could not help but open his mouth wide in shock. He knew that his niece was a beautiful girl. Back then, his sister-in-law was a beautiful woman. Otherwise, she would not have gotten into trouble and angered the main branch of the Lan family. Then, their branch was chased out of the family by the main branch. Without the main branch’s care, their lives grew worse and worse.
Thinking of this, he didn’t like his elder brother’s daughter, so he had been ignoring her for so many years.
But he didn’t expect her to be so beautiful. No wonder the main branch had specially found him, took their branch into the Lan family, and asked him to persuade his niece.
“Luo’er, are you Luo’er? Come on, let Uncle have a look at you.” Thinking of the order of the main branch, he hurried to calm down and stepped forward excitedly, ignoring to return a salute to Lan Yanwen. He was just like an uncle who loved his niece. He couldn’t help but come over, and there was even a streak of tears in his eyes.
He had been out for a long time. Without money and support, he had to rely on himself for everything. He had already learned to flatter people and acted according to people’s expression. At this time, he was acting with great facility. He was full of confidence, thinking that it was not a big deal to persuade an ignorant niece.
At the thought of the terms that the main branch of the family had agreed to, his heart was beating heavily!
He said in a tearful voice and it was so heartwarming. His outstretched hands were tremulous; his eyes tearful and his lips slightly trembling. All these told of his excitement.
It was perfect and well-acted!
Mo Xuetong took a few steps back. Her eyes were filled with coldness. Qing Zhu stepped forward to block the way of the man who was rushing to Mo Xuetong. She reached out to stop him and yelled angrily, “Who are you? How dare you offend my miss?”
A girl from a poor family thought that she was a lady of the direct descent of the family’s main branch and dared to put on airs in front of him. Lan Qing snorted unhappily. If he had known that this girl was so beautiful, he would have decided to adopt her. At this time, no matter if he married her off or gave her to someone else, he would get a lot of money.
How could Lan Qing be happy when he thought that he had lost the money for nothing?
But he had to continue acting.
“Little Luo, I am your uncle! I held you when you were a child. When your mother gave birth to you, I applied for residence for you. Why have you forgotten all about it now?”
When Lan Luo’s family got into trouble, she was still small. As a three or four-year-old child, she knew nothing. Lan Qing was a playboy, so how could he be close to a child? The only thing that he had done something for Lan Luo was that his eldest brother was ill, and he registered her residence. It was obviously not appropriate to talk about it at this time.
Yet, he couldn’t think of anything else.
Lan Yanwen frowned. It was obvious that he was a little unhappy. Lan Yuyan wore a smile on her face, but the disdain on her face was obviously revealed. She took two steps to the side and watched the fun.
The butler behind Lan Qing took several steps forward and said to Mo Xuetong with a smile, “Miss, you’re here. Old Sir is too excited, so he spoke incoherently. Elder Young Master Lan, Miss Lan, please sit down. I’ll get someone to serve tea immediately.”
“Yes, yes, yes, you sit down first and have a chat.” Lan Qing also came to his senses at this time and said with a hollow smile.
The sad atmosphere that he had deliberately created just now had been swept away!
Lan Yanwen’s face became more and more depressed. With a gloomy face, he returned to the seat of honor and sat down. He deeply felt that it was extremely unwise to find Lan Qing. He had no feelings for Lan Luo, so how could he persuade Lan Luo to listen to him? Lan Yanwen couldn’t help but land his eyes on the jade-white and indifferent face.
Her elegant face looked even more distant!
“Little Luo, your father is gone now, but I can’t let you be alone outside. No matter how good your uncle’s family is, he is still an outsider. Although I may not be able to guarantee your wealth and glory, it’s not a problem for you to eat well and wear warm clothes.” After sitting down, Lan Qing said in a tearful voice again.
If it weren’t for the wretched expression on his face, he would really look like an elder!
Lan Yanwen really couldn’t stand it anymore. He turned his head, took the cup of tea brought by a maidservant and took a sip of the tea. Then he lowered his head and remained silent.
The mocking smile on Lan Yuyan’s lips grew clearer and clearer. She turned her head to look at Mo Xuetong, who had a calm expression on her face. She was in a good mood and felt pleased. With such an uncle, Lan Luo would not be very decent. If the Crown Prince of the East Palace knew that she had such an unreasonable uncle, would he want her to enter the palace?
Lan Yuyan could guess what the Lan family was thinking this time—they wanted Lan Luo to enter the East Palace and give her up. Thinking of the handsome appearance of the Crown Prince, Lan Yuyan only felt jealous. If the little girl entered the East Palace, she would be a useless pawn. The Lan family never showed mercy to useless people. If she was casually sent to an old man as his wife or concubine in the future, she was more willing to be by the noble and handsome Crown Prince’s side.
Therefore, Lan Luo must not win recognition from the Lan family!
“Uncle?” Mo Xuetong sat down by the side. She looked up coldly and her dark eyes landed on Lan Qing. The smile on her lips was cold. “Uncle?”
“Yes, I am your uncle!” Lan Qing stated excitedly.
“If I remember correctly, my mother has been taken away partly because of my uncle! If not for you, my mother would not have been taken away.” Mo Xuetong’s smile suddenly disappeared and she said coldly. Her face darkened and her jade-like face looked naturally dignified.
Lan Yanwen’s eyes spontaneously landed on her face.
Lan Qing was stunned by her words. He didn’t expect his niece to be so fierce that she gave him a hard slap in the face in front of everyone. At that moment, he was ashamed and angry. He was embarrassed and snapped angrily, “You little girl, what do you know? If your mother hadn’t been unruly and exposed herself outside, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble and my elder brother wouldn’t have been dead with her. You’d better not to recognize her as your mother.”
“It has nothing to do with you whether I recognize my mother or not. You are just an outsider. I didn’t grow up in the Lan family and do not have any kinship with the Lan family. I have wasted everyone’s hospitality. I really do not dare to acknowledge such an uncle. I am afraid that my mother would not close her eyes in the netherworld if I recognize him as my uncle,” Mo Xuetong said coldly.
She said these words without any burden. The Lan family had nothing to do with her. If she was Lan Luo, she felt that she would never recognize Lan Qing as her uncle. Just looking at his wandering eyes, she knew that there was something wrong with this person—he was definitely not a good person!
It was obvious that the Lan family had made a mistake to use cardinal principles of righteousness to suppress her.
Before the tongue-tied Lan Qing could react, she suddenly stood up and said to Lan Yanwen, “Minister of Public Works, if you want me to see this person today, then I’ve seen him now. I wonder if I can go back. No matter how powerful you are, it’s a great sin for me to go back to the palace so late.”
It was inappropriate for a girl who joined the Beauty Contest to leave the palace without permission. If she returned late, it would be hard to explain. Even though the Empress was there and no one would care about it, if Bai Yihao really wanted to make a fuss about it, it would become an obstacle for her to enter the East Palace. The Lan family had spent so much effort to draw Mo Xuetong over to their side not to make her a useless pawn.
“With that kind of air, is she really just an orphan girl who has lost her parents?”
Not only did she mercilessly hit Lan Qing, but she also pointed out what the Lan family cared about. Lan Yanwen looked up, and a trace of appreciation unconsciously appeared in his eyes. The corners of his mouth slightly curved into a smile, and it reached the bottom of his eyes.
Such a girl must be a bigger headache for the elders in the family. It seemed that it was not feasible to deal with her with family affection and filial piety. He actually looked forward to her next performance and hoped that she would not let him down.
Lan Yuyan opened her eyes and couldn’t come back to her senses. When a cool wind blew in through the gap of the door, she shivered. Was this really the weak girl who had been separated from the Lan family? Strong, she was really too strong. She dared to say that the Lan family was an outsider in front of the future head of the main branch and that she had no family affection with the Lan family.
She mentioned her mother in order to tell the Lan family that she had a grudge against them and would not accept the invitation from the Lan family. In the end, she even confronted Lan Yanwen directly, hinting that even though the Lan family was powerful, they could not hide it from everyone. Today, the Lan family took her out, and if something happened to her, the Lan family would not be able to escape the blame.
The beautiful woman’s words were gentle and her expression was light. She looked as if she was otherworldly, harmless and pure. However, from her words made people feel that the Lan family had evil intentions. The Crown Prince of the East Palace would be the future Emperor of the Yan Kingdom.
The woman chose for him would be the imperial concubine in the future. If an outstanding girl was picked out, she might be granted the position of imperial consort in the future or even enter the central palace. If such a woman was really controlled by the Lan family, how ambitious would the Lan family be? Judging from the look of the butler standing behind Lan Qing, he was a little tempted.
He watched as Mo Xuetong was about to walk out of the door, but he did not say anything.
Lan Yuyan suspected that this man was the chief butler of the Lan family, who had been hiding behind the scenes.
“Little Luo, relax. Let’s talk about it after you see this person.” Before Mo Xuetong reached the door of the hall, the door was suddenly opened. Someone laughed out loud and walked in with a clap.
At the sight of the person coming, the expression of Qing Zhu, who was standing behind Mo Xuetong, changed greatly. She moved forwards and protected Mo Xuetong behind her, looking at the person with vigilance.