Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn - Chapter 74
Sister Feng turned around and closed the door. She then walked back and squatted down beside me, reaching her hand towards my collar as if to unbutton my clothes. I was startled and barely managed to avoid her, but I heard her say softly, "Don't move, let me see." Seeing that she didn't seem to have any ill intentions, I obediently stopped dodging and let her unbutton my clothes.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 58
Chapter word count: 3522 Update time: 09-08-13 13:41
Sister Feng slowly undressed me, her movements deliberate. She seemed even more nervous and uneasy than I was, which strangely calmed me down. A smile unconsciously crept onto my face as I quietly watched her actions. Perhaps sensing my change, Sister Feng looked up at me. Seeing my smile, she frowned slightly, and her movements quickened.
It was early winter, and I was wearing quite a few layers of clothing. When Sister Feng removed my last undergarment, my shoulders were exposed to the cold air, and I felt every hair on my body stand on end. Sister Feng walked behind me, gently stroking the acupoint on my back with her fingers, murmuring, "Finally found one." Was there something there?
Sister Feng dressed me much faster than before and then released my pressure points. A courtesan who knew martial arts? I looked at her in astonishment, now free, but my body was still limp and powerless.
"Does anyone in your family have the surname Mo?" Sister Feng asked, looking into my eyes.
How should I answer? And what does she do? I hesitated and didn't speak, just quietly looking at her.
Sister Feng sighed, "You've been given the muscle-weakening powder, can you still walk?" I tried to take a few steps; although I was a little weak, I could still manage, so I nodded. Sister Feng opened the door and helped me leave the dilapidated, empty room. As we walked out, the two men waiting outside were dumbfounded. Sister Feng didn't even glance at them, and simply helped me away.
As dusk approached, most of the girls here came out to enjoy themselves. I encountered several beautiful women on the road, who all looked at me with strange eyes, but when they saw Sister Feng, they all respectfully greeted her, "Sister Feng!"
Sister Feng led me to a very luxurious room. As soon as I opened the door, a fragrant scent wafted out, the same as Sister Feng's own. This must be Sister Feng's room. But why did she bring me to her own room? Sister Feng helped me to sit on a brocade stool, and then sat down right next to me.
"My name is Mo Yun. Perhaps we are related by blood. Now, can you tell me if anyone in your family has the surname Mo?" Feng Jie's face had shed its former worldliness, and she looked at me sincerely.
I vaguely remembered my aunt saying that after the Mo family was convicted of a crime, their property was confiscated and sent to the national treasury. The men were exiled to the extremely cold northern lands, and the women were all sold into slavery. Could this Mo Yun really be a descendant of the Mo family? After thinking for a moment, I said truthfully, "My mother's name is Mo Ru." My aunt said that my mother was called Mo Ru when she was in the Mo family, but after arriving at the Marquis of Qiyun's mansion, the Marquis of Qiyun changed her name to Mo Feiru.
Upon hearing what I said, Mo Yun stood up excitedly, seemingly unable to believe what she had just heard: "You said your mother's name is Mo Ru?" I nodded gently. Even if my mother's surname is Mo, she doesn't need to be this excited, does she?
Upon receiving my confirmation, tears welled up in Mo Yun's eyes: "Sister, I finally have news from you."
Is Mo Yun my mother's younger sister?
Mo Yun grabbed my hand and asked anxiously, "Where is your mother now?" I smiled bitterly and said, "My mother has been gone for a long time."
The hands that were tightly gripping mine slowly loosened, and Mo Yun's expression was somewhat desolate: "After searching for so many years, I finally got news of my sister, but this is the result."
Caught up in her emotions, and remembering my mother's tragic death, I felt my pulse quicken. Once Mo Yun had calmed down a bit, she asked again, "And what about your father?"
"Father? Let's not talk about it anymore. Let's just pretend he's dead." I shook my head and said that there was really no need for anyone to know that Marquis Qiyun was my father.
"Where are you now?"
"I started selling myself to Prince Qing's mansion nine years ago."
"The Prince Qing's residence?" Mo Yun asked softly, as if she were asking me, or perhaps she was just thinking about something herself. After a while, she said, "I didn't expect the Prince Qing to be so affectionate towards my sister."
What's going on with Prince Qing's relationship with his mother? I looked at Mo Yun in surprise, only to hear her say, "You were still young when your mother passed away, weren't you?"
Knowing she must have something to say, I nodded and said, "I was a little over three years old then."
“No wonder your sister hasn’t told you many things.” Mo Yun sighed, a hint of suppressed resentment on her face. “If you want to understand, you’ll have to hear a very long story.”
I've always been curious about my mother's affairs, but my aunt almost never brought it up before, afraid of upsetting her, so I never asked too many questions. Now that someone is willing to tell me in detail, I'm naturally more than happy to listen. I sat quietly and became a good listener.
The Mo family had been merchants for generations. By the time it reached my maternal grandfather, while they might not have been incredibly wealthy, they were certainly quite well-off. My grandfather only had one wife, my maternal grandmother, and the two had a very good relationship. However, they didn't have many children: only my maternal uncle Mo Nan, my mother Mo Ru, and my aunt Mo Yun. Fortunately, my grandfather had many brothers, and his other uncles and other relatives all had large families, so there was no worry about the vast family business being poorly managed. The entire family was harmonious. Then, when my mother turned fifteen, Prince Qing proposed marriage to the Mo family. Disaster struck! Someone reported that the Mo family was secretly dealing in contraband. The authorities immediately searched the area and found the alleged contraband in the warehouse of one of the Mo family's branches in the capital. They were immediately convicted. My grandfather, as the head of the Mo family, was imprisoned, the other men were exiled to the northern frontier, the women were enslaved, and all the family's assets were transferred to the national treasury. Prince Qing tried everything to help, but to no avail. Later, Aunt Yun was bought by a man and then sold into a brothel, where she settled down. Over the years, Aunt Yun used the convenience of the brothel to investigate the truth behind the Mo family's crimes and search for the Mo family's descendants, hoping that one day she could restore the Mo family's honor and carry on the remaining bloodline of the Mo family.
Aunt Yun's words were full of veiled questions, such as how she had lived all these years, how she had acquired martial arts skills, and how she had the ability to do so many things. But I also knew that she had carried so much on her own all these years, which must have been extremely difficult, and she was unwilling to talk about it, so I didn't ask her anything.
After Aunt Yun finished speaking, I couldn't wait to ask, "So, Aunt Yun, do you know what really happened back then?"
This question brought out Aunt Yun's resentful expression again: "Isn't it because our good emperor was afraid that Prince Qing would marry into the Mo family and gain their financial support, so he sent people to set this trap!"
As I had guessed, it was pretty much the same. So I asked again, "I wonder if Marquis Qiyun was involved?"
"The person in charge of this case back then was Cheng Minren. Now he's the Minister of Revenue, and the Mo family's mansion belongs to him. As for Marquis Qiyun, he was inseparable from the Emperor before leaving the capital, so he's probably involved too." Aunt Yun clenched her fists. I could understand her feelings; even I felt a bit resentful. If Marquis Qiyun was also involved, then he really did justice to my mother. I really want to have a good talk with him sometime! I have an intense hatred for men like Marquis Qiyun and Emperor Youjing.
After figuring this out, I remembered what Aunt Yun had been looking for behind me earlier, and I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Aunt Yun, is there something behind me?"
Aunt Yun nodded and said, "There is a flower. As long as someone has the blood of the Mo family, if someone with the same blood drips a drop of Mo family blood onto their Xinshu acupoint within a month of their birth, a flower will grow there."
I see, that makes finding people much easier. It's a pity I never knew I had a flower on me. I searched the room, and Aunt Yun asked me what I was looking for. I honestly replied, "Looking for a mirror, to see the flower."
Hearing this, Aunt Yun's previously unpleasant expression finally brightened, even showing a hint of a smile. She got up and led me to the inner room, where there was a large dressing table with a fairly large mirror. I unbuttoned my shirt and tilted my head to look in the mirror, but I still couldn't see clearly. Aunt Yun then found another mirror and placed it diagonally beside me. Only then could I clearly see the bright red flower on my back. Rather than a flower, it was more like an exquisite totem, with very delicate and gorgeous patterns, which could be considered a beautiful tattoo.
I reached up and touched my back, asking, "Will it fade?"
Aunt Yun gently shook her head: "This is the mark of the Mo family, which will never fade. Regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, the mark will turn purple after intercourse."
Hearing this, I gave up the idea of looking at the marks on Aunt Yun's body. I figured they had turned purple, so I decided not to touch Aunt Yun's wounds any further.
Having clearly seen the so-called Mo family mark on myself, Aunt Yun and I sat back down on the stools. "If you didn't look somewhat like your mother, I'm afraid I would have done something I would regret for the rest of my life today," Aunt Yun said with a faint smile, but her voice held a ruthlessness that didn't match her smile.
I looked at her closely and only then did I vaguely notice a slight resemblance between her and my mother's features. If she hadn't said she was my mother's sister, I would never have guessed. I then said, "I owe a lot to those people today, otherwise I wouldn't have known there was such a close relative in this world." The person who brought me here probably never dreamed that not only would they not achieve their goal, but they would also inadvertently help me find a relative.
“That Indian man often sells women to us, and he’s quite familiar with him. In a few days, we should quietly find out who handed you over to him,” Aunt Yun said.
I instructed her, "Please be very careful, Aunt Yun, don't alert them, and don't expose yourself."
As night fell, the brothel opened for business, and Aunt Yun had to go out to look after the older children. The effects of the muscle-relaxing powder hadn't worn off yet, so I had to stay in Aunt Yun's room to recover my strength. She would occasionally come back to say a few words to me, then hurriedly leave again when called. I was quite happy to suddenly have such a close relative, but some things Aunt Yun was hiding made me uneasy. Those who survived such a disaster at that time were most likely seeking revenge; Aunt Yun must have some powerful backing, otherwise she couldn't have done all this alone. If Aunt Yun truly wanted revenge, I wouldn't be unaware of it, since I didn't have any goodwill towards Emperor Youjing anyway. I was just worried that they might encounter danger.
Well, before Aunt Yun confronts me, I'd better think about my own situation first. I'll try to persuade Aunt Yun more in the future and clarify things as much as possible.
After resting for about an hour, feeling much better, I stood up and walked around the room a few times, waiting for Aunt Yun to return so I could say goodbye. Before leaving, Aunt Yun escorted me out of the brothel through the secret passage and left her her contact information, telling me to contact her again later.
After saying goodbye to Aunt Yun, I hurried back to Prince Qing's mansion. Fortunately, no one in Qiufeng Garden was paying attention to me, otherwise they would have been worried.