Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn

Chapter 174

After discussion, His Majesty sent people to investigate the Mo family. They learned that the Mo family was large and powerful, and also ambitious. They had secretly bribed members of the Mo family with ulterior motives to put contraband into the Mo family's warehouse. Before the Mo family could find out, the government sent people to raid and confiscate the goods. With the evidence right in front of them, the Mo family had no way to defend themselves and could only watch helplessly as their vast wealth flowed into the national treasury. The huge Mo mansion vanished in an instant, so quickly that it caught Prince Qing off guard.

The Mo family member who was promised benefits by His Majesty was quickly and secretly eliminated by His Majesty. Given His Majesty's nature, how could he allow someone who knew these secrets to live in the world and become a handle against him?

The Mo family was convicted, and Prince Qing tried his best to help them, but His Majesty was prepared, so Prince Qing returned empty-handed. Seeing Prince Qing's tired and heartbroken appearance, I didn't know if he was heartbroken for failing to win over the Mo family, or for failing to rescue the woman he loved.

I pulled some strings to find the imprisoned women of the Mo family. I had someone buy Mo Ru, the eldest daughter of the Mo family, who was supposed to become Princess Qing soon. Then I erased all clues so no one could find out that I had bought her. I don't quite understand why I did this. I only know that with Prince Qing's power, he will be able to take her away sooner or later. I have to get there before him. I don't want to see them end up together.

When Mo Ru was brought before me, I realized that she looked somewhat like Su Su. Compared to Su Su's delicate beauty, she had more of a youthful vivacity. However, the sudden misfortune had made her look much more haggard.

A few days later, the women of the Mo family officially went on sale. Mo Ru asked someone to pass on a message to me, asking if I could also buy her younger sister and her personal maid. She said they were very skilled, and even if they were slaves or maids, it would be good as long as everyone could be together.

I hadn't thought of it before, but after she brought it up, I realized that buying one or two was the same thing, so I sent someone out to do it. But they only brought back her maid, Jing'er, while her sister had already been bought by someone else. The buyer wasn't Prince Qing, but a mysterious stranger.

Nevertheless, she was still grateful to me. I could only sneer inwardly and then say to her, "If you hadn't been involved with Prince Qing, your family probably wouldn't have suffered this misfortune."

She was very clever; she understood after a moment's thought, then looked at me with her bright eyes and shook her head slightly.

I have bad intentions. I don't know if she loves Prince Qing, but I hope that she will hate the disaster that Prince Qing brought to her family because of this.

His Majesty kept me in the capital for the New Year. After the New Year, I returned to Pingcheng with Susu, Ting'er, and the two women from the Mo family that I had bought. After leaving the capital this time, I did not return until my daughter's wedding. There were many reasons for this: His Majesty's, mine, and those women's.

Back at the Marquis of Qiyun's residence, I had Mo Ru change her name to Mo Feiru. The Marquis's residence is a deep, secluded place; investigating someone there wouldn't be easy, especially since her maid wasn't taken away on the same day. I'd never heard any comments about the eldest daughter of the Mo family in the capital before, and I was also curious about this woman who had captured Prince Qing's heart. So I kept her in the study, and assigned the maid to serve a concubine, keeping a close eye on them and trying to prevent them from coming into contact with too many people.

The longer I spent with Mo Ru, the more interested I became in her. I discovered that she had read most of the books in my study, and she was also a very good painter. What was even more surprising was that she actually knew medicine, though not quite as good as a doctor, she could still handle common minor ailments. However, she was not good at needlework, nor was she proficient in music; she lacked many of the skills expected of a woman. What standards did the Mo family use to educate their daughter?

This young lady from a prominent family is quite different from those we usually know. I wonder what it is about her that attracts Prince Qing, or perhaps it's just her family background.

Aside from work, I've been spending more and more time in my study, often playing chess with her. Although she's not very good at chess and is no match for me, I still enjoy it very much. Sometimes I'll make an excuse that I want to paint and ask her to grind the ink. I often only manage a few strokes before giving up, then pretending to be angry and saying I'm not in the mood anymore, and ask her to paint for me. Then she'll paint seriously, and I'll watch her carefully…

Some things seem to be slowly changing.

That day, His Majesty secretly came to my residence again. We drank some wine together, and His Majesty stayed overnight in Su Su's North Courtyard. I returned to my South Courtyard, slightly drunk.

The study was lit, and I thought she must be there. I had originally planned to go straight to my room, but I stepped into the study, and sure enough, she was still there, carefully wiping the dust off each book with a cloth. She does this every day, usually after finishing other things. She says that books are like the human soul; you can not read them, but you cannot let them become dusty.

I walked up behind her very quietly, afraid of disturbing what she was doing that seemed sacred to her. But she still sensed my presence and turned around abruptly. In that instant, a faint fragrance wafted into my nostrils. In that instant, I forgot who Su Su was and just hugged her tightly.

She struggled, but I refused to let go. Why should I let go? My "wife" was in someone else's arms, and someone else's "princess" was in mine.

I held her tighter and tighter, picked her up, and carried her into the inner room of the study, where there was a bed I sometimes slept in…

When I woke up, the bedside was cold. The smooth body from last night was no longer beside me, only a messy intrusion, a few strands of hair, and a few drops of blood. I chuckled softly, sat up, dressed, and went out. It was still dark.

Back in her room, after washing up, she instructed the servants to arrange a courtyard for her to live in on the west side. The west side should suit her better; the women on the east side were fiercely competing for the emperor's favor, and she probably wouldn't enjoy being with them. Having made up her mind, she left; she had some official business to attend to, and upon returning, she would discuss matters with the emperor and then grant him a formal title.

However, she was ultimately just a concubine. She should have been a grand and glorious Princess Consort of Qing, adorned in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robes, but because of a single word from me, she silently became one of my concubines.

I named the courtyard I arranged for her "Red Sleeve Residence," after the memory of her grinding ink for me in the study every day, adding fragrance to my life. I also put her maid, Jing'er, back by her side, so that the two of them could live well in Red Sleeve Residence. This arrangement should be quite good, right?

I used to go to Hongxiuju to sit when I had nothing to do each day, but since that day she has almost stopped talking to me. If I ask her a question, she always answers simply "yes" or "no" without saying anything more. I know I was wrong that day, but I don't regret it. On the contrary, I am secretly happy. However, her indifference really makes me feel frustrated, but I can't do anything about it.

Perhaps she'll get better after a while. After that, I went to Hongxiuju less often, trying to let her adjust gradually. But every time I asked her to stay overnight, she would refuse with her eyes, and I would still insist that she stay.

Several months passed in this cold and indifferent manner, until news came from Hongxiu Residence that she was pregnant. I was overjoyed and dropped everything to go see her. Besides Ting'er, I already had my own daughter, so I was no stranger to children. However, if it was her child, I instinctively felt something was different.

When I saw her this time, she had a faint smile on her face, no longer coldly keeping me at arm's length. That alone was enough to make me look at the child in her womb in a different light. I told her to take good care of herself, and she obediently nodded. At that moment, a feeling of warmth welled up from the bottom of my heart.

From the time she was pregnant until she gave birth, I talked to her almost every day, talked about the baby, and then read books and played chess together. It seemed to be the happiest time of my life in recent years. However, not long after the baby was born, I took several names I had for my daughter to her and asked her to choose one. She smiled and said to me, "My lord, my daughter already has a name."

Although I was a little surprised, I was still very happy and asked, "I wonder what name Aru has chosen for her daughter?"

"My daughter's name is Huai'en. I'm grateful to Heaven for its benevolence in giving life, and I thank Heaven for giving me a daughter to keep me company." She smiled serenely and contentedly, but to me, it was a profound irony. She kept referring to her daughter, not our daughter; all she needed was a daughter to keep her company, not me. So, her smile wasn't for me. Then, were those months of sweetness just to appease me?

He glanced at the sleeping infant in her arms, feeling a strange sense of disgust. He didn't want to look at that smiling face any longer, so he turned and left Hongxiu Residence, not stepping inside for several months.

The next time I went to Hongxiuju was on Ting'er's sixth birthday. My ten-month-old daughter was already toddling around with Aru's help, much earlier than Ting'er. Aru was quite surprised to see me, but my daughter opened her mouth with only four little teeth and smiled at me, then insisted on pulling Aru towards me.

Aru bowed respectfully to me: "Lord Marquis!" My daughter looked at me with puzzled eyes: "Lord...Lord?" Obviously, she did not understand what I meant, but then she smiled and used her hands and legs to hold my left leg tightly, while she used one hand to grab the jade pendant hanging from my waist.

Aru looked at her daughter awkwardly, tugging at her several times, but couldn't pull her off me. I stood there, unable to move, not knowing what to do. After a long while, I squatted down, picked up my daughter, and made her call me "Daddy" like a father.

This daughter seems very intelligent. I had only mentioned it once when she grinned and called out, not quite clearly, "Daddy...Daddy...Daddy..." Hearing that "Daddy," my heart felt filled with sweetness. This isn't my first child, but the joy I feel is unparalleled. I no longer dislike this daughter as much.

In the days that followed, I started visiting Hongxiuju more often, partly because of my daughter's intelligence and cuteness, and partly because Aru's attitude towards me had improved as a result. However, good times always seem to pass too quickly for me. After my daughter turned one, I never set foot in Hongxiuju again.

That day, someone reported that a wounded man in black had escaped into the Red Sleeve Residence of the Marquis's mansion. Not knowing the man's origins and fearing he might harm Aru and her daughter, the messenger immediately went to the residence to investigate, but found nothing suspicious. That evening, another report came that the man in black was indeed in the residence, but was being cared for by Aru and her maid, Jing'er, and seemed to have no ill intentions. Remembering Aru's lifelong desire to practice medicine, and now that a wounded person had been brought to her care, the messenger decided to let her treat him, fulfilling a dream of hers, and pretended not to know anything about the incident.

The fifteenth day of the eighth month in the sixth year of Tianxuan was my daughter's first birthday, a day I will never forget. That evening, Aru sent someone to invite me to a banquet at Hongxiu Residence, saying we would celebrate my daughter's birthday together. I was overjoyed. How long had it been? This was the first time Aru had ever contacted me on her own initiative.

He had a gift carefully prepared and dressed himself up nicely, like a man going on his first date with his beloved, arriving at Hongxiu Residence with a mix of happiness and trepidation. Hongxiu Residence was also very well decorated; although there were only a few servants, the atmosphere was quite pleasant, and the dishes were exquisite.

During the meal, Aru unusually frequently toasted me, and I was delighted, naturally accepting all the toasts. By the time the banquet ended, I was already eight-tenths drunk, and looking at Aru, who was exceptionally charming and beautiful tonight, I was completely intoxicated. An even bigger surprise was yet to come. Aru ordered someone to take me, who appeared to be completely unconscious, to a room to bathe and change. Then, I lay on the bed, which carried Aru's unique fragrance—I knew it was the scent of herbs.

After waiting on the bed for a long time without seeing Aru come in, the door was finally opened and a beautiful figure flashed in. From the figure, it was clear that it was Aru. He closed his eyes and felt her stay beside him for a while, and then she quietly walked to the door. He heard her lower her voice and say, "The Marquis is already asleep. Go ahead and be careful."

I was puzzled, and soon I felt the presence of another woman approaching. I heard the rustling of clothes, and then the woman lay down far away from me.

What are they trying to do? Why are they treating me so warmly today? Are they trying to send other women to my bed?

Suppressing his anger, he spent a sleepless night until dawn.

As soon as it was light, the door creaked open. I sat up, looked at Aru and the nanny in the room, and then at the woman beside me who seemed to have just woken up, Aru's maid, Jing'er. I sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

Aru showed no embarrassment; she simply stood at the doorway, quietly watching me, as if hoping I would say something.

"From this day forward, Mo Jing will be Madam Jing, residing in Hongxiu Residence with Madam Ru. Everything else remains unchanged." Fine, if this is the design you painstakingly created, then so be it. But from now on, I will never return to Hongxiu Residence. With that, I got up and dressed. Aru came forward and helped me put on my clothes, while Mo Jing had already retreated.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis." Aru saw me to the gate of Hongxiu Residence and thanked me. At the time, I felt both amused and angry. It wasn't until later, when news spread that Mo Jing was pregnant, that I truly understood the meaning behind her thanks—I had taken the blame for someone else, just so her maid could live smoothly in the manor. Oh well, I wouldn't go there again anyway. It wasn't the first time I'd done something like this. It's just raising someone's child; the Qiyun Marquis's manor is so large, surely they can afford it. Yet, a deep sorrow filled my heart…