Chapter 11 Goodbye, Mo Huawen

Inside the carriage, a beautiful woman in pink had been making tea, movements practiced and graceful. As they pulled away, she stopped and looked up curiously. "Sir, why didn’t we hurry back like you’d planned? Instead you... the general’s household doesn’t have any particular connection to you." "The general’s household? Of course, we have to deal with them. I’ve heard that the son, Young Master Luo, is quite the character...Besides, we can work with this music sheet,” the man said lazily. He was about seventeen and as beautiful as a piece of jade. His aura was secretive, like ice that had been frozen for millennia. He shone with beauty, but it was calm, distant beauty, ancient and cold. The woman looked up, delicate fingers working deftly over the boiling water. "But, some of your plans will have to be changed now... Isn't the price a little too high..." "Plans always have to change to succeed, so there’s no need to worry about the cost. Isn't this music sheet worth it? It is said that my royal grandmother likes these the most. If I give it to her, wouldn't I seem more filial..." The man laughed gayly, leaning back against the couch. "But, sir..." He cut her off. "There's no need to say anything else. Send an invitation to Young Master Luo. The day after tomorrow, I’d like him to come over and discuss poetry with me." "Yes." Seeing his faraway look, the woman did not dare to say anything else. - Mo Huawen had already returned to the manor when Mo Xuetong arrived. When he heard that the third miss had returned, his only response was a frown. He waved his hand, got the servants to pack up her things, and went back to work in his office. Mo Xuetong didn’t have much luggage. The people from the General’s staff left. After all, this was the Mo's home and Mo Xuetong was a family member. She had been sent for, so there must be things to talk about between family members. Nanny Shen was perceptive and led away the traveling servants as well, bidding Mo Xuetong goodbye. As she stepped from the carriage, Mo Xuetong was met by a well-dressed woman and a crowd of servants brought to welcome her. The woman wore a high bun and red satin shirt. It was so close to a brilliant, undiluted red, accented with gold embroidery. One had to look carefully to see the color was a shade off from a true, vivid red. She paired it with gold pants embroidered with hundreds of birds. Even though she was over thirty, she looked like she was still in her twenties. This was the woman who had killed her mother, the same Auntie Fang who had assured her last life was filled with despair. Mo Xuetong's eyes hardened and she balled her hands into fists. Briefly, true fury showed in her eyes. When Auntie Fang noticed Mo Xuetong getting off the carriage, she hurriedly released her maid's hands. She went up to Mo Xuetong and held her hand warmly. "Third Miss, you're back. How was your journey? You've traveled for so many days. How do you feel? I told your father not to rush you, but he insisted that you to hurry back to the capital. I have been worried about you for the past few days. It's great that you're finally back, but you're still weak. I've already asked the servants to make soup. Drink a bit and then go rest." Auntie Fang was an excellent actress. In her past life, when Mo Xuetong had been shamed at the entrance of the city, she’d cried and acknowledged the woman's identity as the first wife. Looking back on that memory, she knew the woman who had gently comforted her had probably been laughing at her inside. Mo Xuetong had to be a bit in awe of such a convincing actress. She withdrew her hand from Auntie Fang's grasp. Hiding the emotion in her eyes, she looked up with a gentle smile. "Auntie, it's been hard on you. Father rushed me home so I can do the family’s ancestral rites. It is coming soon, and as the legal daughter of this family, I can’t let myself be sick in bed again. It’s so disrespectful. I won’t force my big sister to take my place again. That’s too much of a burden,” she said, head lowered in shame. As she predicted, a trace of hate appeared on Auntie Fang's face. The Mo family ancestral rites would take place in a few days. Usually, only children of the first wife could enter and pay their respects. Children of concubines had to stay outside. Last year, Mo Xuetong had been forced to stay in Cloud City, and Mo Xuemin had entered to do the rite on behalf of Mo Xuetong. This had allowed Mo Xuemin to become friends with the other noble ladies. Otherwise, how could a daughter of a concubine hang out with the young ladies and men of the duke's manor? The legitimacy came from being treated as the legitimate daughter during the ancestral rites. In her last life, she had taken two years to return, and Mo Xuemin had taken her place in the rites. After that, Auntie Fang had used the influence to become the Madam of the Mo household. No one even remembered that there was a true daughter of the first wife. Mo Xuemin had long become the only legal daughter of the Mo family. This time, she would not let Mo Xuemin take her place. Her eyes grew slightly cold when she recalled the horrible memories, but the next moment it had passed, and she looked innocent and frail. "Third Young Miss, you've grown up and become more responsible. Your father is in the study, but no one has come to take you to him. Why don't you go and rest first?” Auntie Fang didn’t see anything odd and kept up her kindly facade, but there was something intentional feeling about the way she implied Mo Huawen didn’t want to his daughter. Mo Xuemin stepped down from her own carriage, looking reproachful. "Mother, why would you say that? Sister has just returned, and she isn’t feeling well. Father will understand." "Yes, yes, I phrased that badly. I shouldn't be talking about things like that at this time... I shouldn't upset you. Your father is busy. Otherwise, he would have come to fetch you. He will ask for you when he's done. Third Miss, go in and rest. I've already got the servants to clean it up. If there's anything you're dissatisfied with, just tell the servants and I’ll have it fixed," Auntie Fang said with a smile, eye filled with satisfaction. The wayward daughter had returned from the country, but her father had not even asked about her. In fact, he did not seem to care at all. Those watching understood what that meant. Third Miss might be the legal daughter, but she was not well regarded by the general. The servants were smart. They knew if her father didn’t recognize her status, they shouldn't either. None of them would take her side or offer to help her. Even though she’d returned to the manor, Mo Xuetong was still her pawn. Auntie Fang savored the victory. "Thank you, Auntie Fang. Elder sister, I'll go to the study to greet father, then go and rest," Mo Xuetong said. She wore a friendly smile, but when she looked up at Auntie Fang, the woman couldn’t help but shudder. There was no emotion in the depths of those eyes. The deadly quite behind the smile frightened her. "Third Miss, are you going now? You haven't had lunch yet. Do you want to have lunch in your courtyard before going to see your father?" Auntie Fang asked with a smile. "It's alright. I’ve just gotten back after living so far away. How could I not go see my father?” Even though Mo Xuetong kept a faint smile on her lips, her expression was determined. If she came back from a long journey and went to rest without seeing her father, she’d be seen as an unfilial daughter and news would spread. Auntie Fang really was constantly trying to ruin her reputation. Mo Xuemin grew impatient. Without outsiders watching her, she did not want to pretend to be a gentle noble lady. She said she had something else to do and returned to her own courtyard. Auntie Fang saw that Mo Xuetong was determined see Mo Huawen and took her hand with a smile. "Then Auntie will go with you, so your father isn’t too hard on you!". If they went together, she could make sure that brat didn’t do anything that would impress her father. "Auntie, are you worried that I'll get lost, or are you worried about something else? Even if I offend father, he's always doted on me. I’m sure he won’t be too harsh. Auntie Fang, I’m sure you have better things to do, and, if you try to stop me again, people will start to think that you're worried because the legal daughter has returned home. They might think that's why you're trying to follow me." Mo Xuetong was still smiling, but her eyes had become distant and cold. She turned away from Auntie Fang and began to walk towards the study with Mo Lan. Auntie Fang’s smile froze in rage. She looked at Mo Xuetong's retreating back with cold eyes, then sniffed and hurried back to her room with Nanny Li. She had to ask what happened to change that cowardly little bitch so much. Where had she found the audacity to confront her? Mo Xuetong hesitated at the entrance of the study, not entering. The door was open, but it was silent inside. A servant boy rang out, bowing to her respectfully. "Miss! Sir Mo is asking for you to enter!" Mo Xuetong nodded and followed him into the study. The study was very tidy. There was a large desk in front of a few rows of tall shelves. Behind the innermost shelf was another room to rest in if business in the study became too exhausting. The nanmu wood furniture made the large study look elegant and solemn. Mo Huawen sat behind the desk, watching his daughter enter with a serious expression. Sunlight shone in through the windows and onto him. Something about his large figure looked lonely. He looked her over, sizing her up, and she found her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. She stepped forward to speak, but her voice came out choked with tears. "Father!" Her body shuddered, trying to push down the sadness. She knelt, tears rolling down her face before she managed to say anything else. Mo Huawen was very quiet. After a few moments of standing, looking at her sternly, he finally spoke. "Tong'er, stand up! How have you been?" His voice as calm as ever, but Mo Xuetong could hear a slight tremor in his voice. Mo Xuetong tried to swallow her sadness. She wiped away her tears and looked up, but she did not stand. "Yes father, I have been very well!" Mo Xuetong looked at Mo Huawen with red eyes. She had once hated this man. When her mother died, he was in Auntie Fang's courtyard. He hadn’t even managed to visit her mother before she died. How could she not be angry about that? After that, the relationship between them had grown estranged. In her heart, she had never seen him as a good father or someone who would treat her kindly. Now she saw excitement and sadness behind his calm façade. Shame and sorrow took her over, and she began to cry again. This was not the stoic and unfaithful man she’d pictured.