Mo Xuetong did not expect that she would have to return home so quickly. The next morning, the Mo Manor sent news for her to return home, saying that they have a visitor. They did not state who had visited and only said vaguely that it was an elder. She was not too sure either and it confused her.
Since an elder was visiting the Mo family, Old Madam Xu could not keep her any longer. She could only hold on to Mo Xuetong"s hand, reluctant for her to leave as she told her to visit often in the future.
When she returned to her courtyard, there were a few maids arranging things. She only had a wicker case when she came, but had many things when she returned. She now had five or six wicker cases.
Mo Xuetong ordered Mo Lan to keep everything and told Mo Lan to bid Xu Yan goodbye. She had returned the favor to Xu Yan in Mo Huawen"s name, gifting her a few bolts of quality fabric. She was polite and said that it was because Xu Yan had gifted her with her own fabric the other day, so her father had picked out fabric to return the favor.
Everyone would feel that it was odd for a man to pick out fabric especially to return a favor done to his daughter. And the person receiving it was his own sister-in-law. However, Mo Xuetong spoke innocently about how Mo Huawen praised Xu Yan and had picked fabric that suited her disposition. She even said that she had told her father that only a beautiful person like Xu Yan would be able to show how beautiful the colors of the fabric were.
Her words were a little direct and Xu Yan flushed, not daring to say anything else to Mo Xuetong. She refused the bolts of cloth before finally accepting them. She even gifted Mo Xuetong with a jade tray to wash brushes that had flowers carved into it.
The tray was very beautiful but was not in the style that young ladies favored. There were snow plum blossoms carved into it and seemed rather masculine. From the way it looked, it was obvious that it was an antique that had been pa.s.sed down for many generations. It was definitely a Xu family heirloom. However, it did not look like the sleek and delicate style that n.o.ble ladies used.
Mo Xuetong immediately understood and thanked Xu Yan especially. She said that her father"s study was missing such a decoration and that she would accept it on behalf of her father. She would even bring Mo Huawen with her tomorrow to return the favor. Xu Yan was so shy that she did not say anything else but sat there with a flush.
When she saw Xu Yan blus.h.i.+ng furiously, Mo Xuetong knew that she could not rush things. She smiled and returned with her maids. She had originally been thinking about how to persuade Mo Huawen to thank Xu Yan for the gifts, but someone had visited the Mo family unexpectedly. She got Mo He to apologize to Xu Yan and went to bid farewell to the elders of the Luo family.
She went to her grandmothers, second aunt and Luo Mingzhu"s. She was hesitating about whether she should go to her second uncle when someone came to tell her that the Second Sir was asking for her. This was the first time her second uncle had gotten someone to get her, which shocked Old Madam Xu as well.
The servant who came said, "Second Sir is in the study and he requests for your presence."
He did not say anything else.
Mo Xuetong could count on one hands how many times she has seen her second uncle since she moved to the Fu General Manor. She only saw him from afar and even when they chatted, it was a light conversation. Her second uncle had always been so distant and composed in her memory. One could not see when he was happy or not.
However, this made Mo Xuetong somewhat afraid. She felt that Luo Bin"s deep eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.
The Second Sir of the Luo Family, Luo Bin, was considered a famous person. He was a third-grade officer in court and was a subordinate of the head of the Ministry of Justice. Even though he was not a first-grade officer, he was still a capable person n.o.body would like to be entangled with the Ministry of Justice and be looked up by them.
Some people in the Ministry of Justice were vicious characters. A large number of them were generals. Only Luo Bin entered through examinations. Who would have thought that the scholar who had once ridden his horse through the streets did not enter the cabinet but instead became an official together with other generals. The usually calm and elegant Luo Bin was unlike the loud and rowdy generals. As such, Luo Bin had a better relations.h.i.+p with others than the head of the Ministry of Justice.
Furthermore, he came from a general family like the Fu General Manor, and he had given up martial arts in the pursuit of literary arts. However, the ties that his family had made it so that he took to the Ministry of Justice like a fish to water. He was the second son of the family and would not have a n.o.ble position. A third-grade officer was not highly ranked nor lowly ranked and was suitable for a family like the Fu General Manor.
Mo Xuetong had always felt that there was more to her second uncle than meets the eye. With a family like the Luo family, it was impossible for them to have another general. It was much more suitable for an officer to come from the family, especially a government official that had an average rank. It would not push the Luo family power any further, nor would it lead them too far from the court. Furthermore, they could also take notice of the finer changes in court. Which position other than an official in the Ministry of Justice would suit Luo Bin best?
In her past life, even after the Luo family had fallen, it was her First Uncle"s family that had fallen. Luo Bin had already branched out when the Luo family fell. When Mo Xuetong died, even though Luo Bin had not been promoted, he had not been demoted as well. He had always skirted on the edge of power, not too far but also not too close to it.
In the past, Mo Xuetong felt that her second uncle had always been living under the spotlight of her first uncle. However, she did not think the same after her rebirth. The Fu General Manor had fallen because of Sima Lingyun but her second uncle had remained unfazed after he became independent of the family. No matter how one looked at it, her second uncle was a capable person.
Mo Xuetong was always respectful on the rare occasions she met Luo Bin. She usually curtsied to him from far away. Luo Bin would speak with her in a lukewarm manner. Other than that, they had no other interactions. She did not expect her second uncle to send someone to fetch her.
"Tong"er, go over first. Your second uncle must have something to tell you. I still have some things to pack up for you to bring with you." Old Madam Xu said with a smile as she got the servants to find things in her cupboards. There were a few cases laid open on the floor, squeezing Mo Xuetong to the door.
Mo Xuetong looked at the mess in the room and how happy the Old Madam seemed and did not want to bother her. She brought Mo He with her and they followed the servant to the courtyard.
Luo Bin"s study was not far away. Even though the manor would be inherited together with the t.i.tle, Luo Bin was in charge of the family for now since Luo Cheng"s family other than Luo Wenyou were by the frontiers. Luo Bin"s study was at the second entrance since it would be more convenient for him to enter and exit.
Mo Xuetong stood outside the study, held on by Mo He. She felt somewhat uneasy and felt that her usually cold Second Uncle would not call her to the outer courtyard for no rhyme or reason. If there was anything, he could have called her to Old Madam Xu and met her there. He did not have to ask his unmarried niece to go to the outside courtyard.
There must be something he intended to hide from Grandmother...
What matter was there for her second uncle to act and it was something that her grandmother must not find out about? Even Mo Xuetong, who had lived two lives, could not think of anything. She could only stand outside the study uneasily.
The servant went in and came out quickly to say that Second Sir would like her to go in.
When she entered, the servant stopped Mo He at the entrance, saying that Old Sir only asked for Miss Mo.
Mo Xuetong turned to gesture for Mo He to say. Then, she turned and followed the servant in.
The decoration in the study was similar to Mo Huawen"s study. When she entered, there was a desk under the window that had paper and ink on it. There was a gold seal on the side that had red ink on it as if it had just been used. The ink marks were still wet.
There were a few shelves that were filled not only with books but some small trinkets. There was a long calligraphy piece on one of the walls. The characters on the calligraphy were strong and sharp. The person who wrote it had used vigorous strokes. It did not look like a calligraphy work that should appear in the study of a scholar like Luo Bin. The sharpness in it was unlike Luo Bin"s quiet and gentle demeanor.
Behind the desk, sat a middle-aged man of about 30 or 50. He had a long and tall nose and looked righteous. His face was calm and he was writing something on his desk. When he saw Mo Xuetong enter, he put down the brush in his hand and smiled as Mo Xuetong curtsied. Then, he stretched out his hand and gestured for her to sit.
"Tong"er, did you like staying in the manor?" Luo Bin asked with a smile.
"Many thanks, Second Uncle. Tong"er had a good stay in the manor." Mo Xuetong looked up and smiled demurely.
"If there is anything that you are unsatisfied with, tell me. Just treat this as your own home." Luo Bin smiled at Mo Xuetong. There was a flash in his eyes that she could not understand. Furthermore, shouldn"t these words be said to her when she first moved in? Why did he say something like that just as she was leaving? This was really hard to understand.
Fortunately, she understood the faint compa.s.sion in Luo Bin"s eyes. Even though it was faint, it was warm and gentle. Luo Bin had always been a composed man and even when he met his only daughter, Luo Mingzhu, he remained distant. One could not see the love a father should have in him. However, Mo Xuetong could see the compa.s.sion in Luo Bin"s eyes clearly now and she suddenly felt especially warm. She did not have to be so careful around him. She bit her lips and hid the sadness that surged from her heart and her smile grew gentle as she looked at him in awe and respect.
"You will be going back today. If you encounter any difficulties, remember to tell me. I am not afraid of difficulties." It was not only compa.s.sion, but it was total love.
Mo Xuetong had to bite her lips forcefully to hide the sob in her throat. Her First Uncle loves her, for he had stopped her father from entering the city despite his status as the general. She had not expected that her second uncle who had always been steady and composed to treat her like this as well. What had she missed in her past life?
Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Luo Bin. She felt as if she could not say a single word and could only smile, trying to hold her tears back as she nodded vigorously. She tried to hide how touched she felt.
"When you go back, give this to your father. It will save me time from going over." Luo Bin took out a letter from a drawer on his right and handed it to Mo Xuetong. There was nothing written on the dark yellow envelope. Mo Xuetong held it in her hands. It was very thin and light.
It seemed as if there was nothing in the envelope.
She looked up at Luo Bin in confusion.
"Show the letter only to your father. It is a very important surveillance report. Tell your father to destroy it once he"s read it. He would know what to do." Luo Bin said with a slight smile. He reached out and patted her head lightly like Mo Huawen did as he explained.
A surveillance report? Mo Xuetong was shocked. She did not understand why her father, a fifth-grade officer would have anything to do with the report in Luo Bin"s hands. Luo Wen was a third-grade officer while Mo Huawen was a fifth-grade officer. Even if there was a surveillance report, Mo Huawen should be the one to present it to Luo Bin. Why was it happening the other way round?
What confused Mo Xuetong the most was that she did not know that her second uncle was close to her father. He did not seem to have the same prejudices her first uncle had against her father. Luo Bin was just distant when he met Mo Huawen. It was a coldness that exuded from his bones. It was unlike how he treated others. In her past life, when she came to the capital and before she got married, she saw Luo Bin once coming out from her father"s study. His expression was cold and he kicked Mo Huawen"s door down into smithereens. She never saw him again after that.
There was a secret between her father and second uncle!
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