"Eldest Sister, what happened to Fourth Sister?" She looked up with her lively eyes, blinking in confusion as she spoke softly. She seemed as if she did not know anything. She was still young, so how could she take care of Mo Xueqiong? Furthermore, Mo Xueqiong did not seem like a younger sister and more like an elder sister. She did not need Mo Xuetong to take care of her.

The old madam frowned as she looked at Mo Xuemin.

"You did not care about what happened on the carriage after you left, leaving behind your fourth sister and His Excellency. They were seen by others and were caught doing things. The rumors outside are saying that your fourth sister and His Excellency have something going on between them. The d.u.c.h.ess even sent someone to rebuke Fourth Sister. She is now crying her eyes out in her room and wanted to commit suicide. Third Sister, sigh...why didn"t you take care of Fourth Sister!" Mo Xuemin took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes, looking sad and disappointed.

She did not know if Mo Xueqiong had anything going on with Sima Lingyun. But she knew that Mo Xueqiong had seduced Sima Lingyun with drugs. Trying to commit suicide was just an act she had put on for others. Once there was a conclusion to the matter, she would no longer need to pretend to want to commit suicide.

"Eldest Sister. I am sorry. I did not know that things would become like this, how did it become like this...?" Mo Xuetong seemed to have been shocked and she trembled, falling onto Mo Ye. Her eyes exuded fear and shock and her lips turned pale. She looked as if she had been shocked by the news.

"Third Sister, things have already become like this. What else can we do? We need to find a way to salvage the matter. Father"s position in court is not high and the Duke"s Manor is a n.o.ble family. If the matter blows up, it will be an embarra.s.sment to our house. I thought that you are a smart one so it would be alright to let Fourth Sister go with us. But now...this matter, sigh. The Duke"s manor wants an answer from us, but Father is not around. What should we do?" Mo Xuemin frowned and pretended to be in a dilemma as she sighed. She turned to the old lady and said, "Grandmother, what do you think we should do?"

The old madam had been frowning deeply through it all. As Mo Xuemin vaguely revealed that Mo Xuetong was the reason for the entire situation, her expression grew graver and graver. Mo Huawen had sent word this morning to say that he had a matter to settle urgently and would be away for a few days. Now that something like this had happened, she was the only one in the manor who could make decisions. The others in the manor were all either concubines or unmarried young ladies. The only male heir, Mo Yufeng, had not appeared at all.

The old madam was both anxious and angry. She would not treat Mo Xuetong nicely now.

When she heard Mo Xuemin"s question and then turned to see how useless Mo Xuetong seemed, she felt annoyed. If Mo Xuetong was incapable, then she should not have brought her younger sister out with another man. She had brought her younger sister out and then went out to play without her. She didn"t even care that her younger sister was alone with a man in the carriage or consider that something might happen.

She only seemed afraid and anxious now that something like that had happened. Yet, she did not have any idea how to deal with the matter. Mo Xuetong seemed very irritating right now. And when she thought of what happened to Mo Xueqiong, the old madam felt that she had implicated the reputation of all the girls of the Mo Manor. Mo Xueyan was her most doted granddaughter. She had intended to find her a good partner on their visit to the capital this time. If the Mo manor had a bad reputation due to this incident, Mo Xueyan would not be able to find a good match.

This was all Mo Xuetong"s fault!

"Tell me, what you will do regarding this matter. You were the one who caused this trouble, so you solve it yourself. Don"t implicate the reputations of the other young ladies of the Mo Manor." The old madam was unhappy and spoke to Mo Xuetong coldly with a dark expression.

She was the one who had caused the trouble? The old madam had thought that she was the one who had caused trouble just because Mo Xuemin had intentionally brought her into the situation. The old madam and Mo Xuemin probably had the same idea since she wanted Mo Xuetong to solve it herself! Otherwise, why would she bring her into the matter? What surprised her the most was that Mo Huawen was not around. She glanced at Mo Xuemin from the corner of her eyes. When she heard the old madam say that her father was not around, a look of satisfaction had flashed across Mo Xuemin"s face. Then, she had appeared to look anxious and concerned.

Mo Xuemin had known that their father was not around. No wonder she had invited Sima Lingyun over to the manor. According to Mo Xuemin"s plot, her father would definitely not be able to return today. Mo Xuemin was indeed sinister, and she had plans after plans. If it was rumored that she had something on with Sima Lingyun, the old madam would definitely make the decision to marry her to Sima Lingyun.

This was how she had died without knowing anything in Mo Xuemin"s hand in her past life. Pain surged up from her heart, the pain twisting within her. Even though she was still smiling, there was no hint of joy in her eyes. In this life, she would not make the same mistake as she did. The hatred that was stained with blood could only be soothed by blood.

"Old Madam, Miss didn"t want to go out but First Miss had insisted that she did. Then, First Miss left Third Miss and Fourth Miss behind when she left. If one were to find someone to bear responsibility, First Miss should be the one who should be held most responsible!" Mo Yu spoke from beside Mo Xuetong.

She was not a true servant of the Mo Manor and naturally did not like how the old madam and Mo Xuemin were working together to push all the blame to Mo Xuetong. That was why she had spoken so impolitely.

"Kneel down!" The old madam glared at her and spoke coldly. "Your masters are speaking, there is no place for a little maid like you to speak."

Mo Ye still remembered that she was a maid in the eyes of others. She did not want to make things difficult for Mo Xuetong and she knelt with a thud.

"Grandmother, it is all Tong"er"s fault for not teaching them. We usually do not care about rank amongst ourselves which is why Mo Ye talked back to you. Please punish Tong"er." Mo Xuetong knelt down as well, frowning with an expression of self-reproach.

If this had happened at any other time, the old madam would not be so angry. However, right now, she was angry just looking at Mo Xuetong. She would not be able to listen to her explanation. She had just been thinking about how to punish her and now she had the opportunity to.

"Men, come and take this rude maid and slap her mouth twenty times. You don"t see her helping her mistress usually, but she seems quite smart this time. She even dared to talk back to her masters. It is true that birds of the same feather flock together. n.o.body taught her manners usually, so she will learn them well today. Don"t think that maids from the Mo Manor are all like that or people will look down on us." The old madam said coldly with a frown. Her expression was grave and she looked as if she was taking out her anger on Mo Ye. Everything she said implied that it was because of Mo Xuetong"s impropriety that had resulted in her maid being so audacious.

She was just taking her anger out on Mo Xuetong!

There were biased people, but none as biased as her!

"Grandmother, please reconsider. Mo Ye was only too concerned about Tong"er which was why she talked back to you. I wanted to make things clear about this situation. It truly began with Eldest Sister. Of course, Tong"er is at fault too and I should not have left Fourth Sister on the carriage. However, Fourth Sister said that Eldest Sister told her to wait on the carriage. Tong"er wanted to go and find Eldest Sister first and did not expect His Excellency to stay on the carriage for some reason. Grandmother, can you please help Tong"er ask why Eldest Sister did not allow Fourth Sister to get off the carriage?"

Mo Xuetong looked up and took a deep breath. Her long lashes fluttered and her eyes were cold. She did not seem weak anymore. Since her father was not around, no one would care no matter how weak she was. Judging by how the old madam and Mo Xuemin were behaving, they wanted to push her down.

Her statement was logical and she had evidence. Furthermore, she no longer seemed weak. Mo Xuetong knelt where she was looking sincere and composed. Her gaze swept at the two maids who wanted to hit Mo Yu and her eyes turned sharp and cold. The sudden flash of sharpness made the two maids hesitate and they backed away, cowed, and did not dare to approach.

Mo Xuemin told Mo Xueqiong not to get off the horse carriage?

The old madam"s angry expression suddenly stilled. Mo Xuemin had insisted on taking her two younger sisters out but had gotten onto someone else"s carriage. Then, their carriage had broken down and Sima Lingyun appeared. In the end, Mo Xuetong got off the carriage but Mo Xueqiong stayed. In the end, Mo Xuemin had caught the adulterous pair herself...

When she thought about it, Mo Xuemin"s hand in the matter could be clearly seen. Could the matter have something to do with her?

The old madam felt suspicious. Her glare, which had been fixed on Mo Xuetong, turned to Mo Xuemin. She ignored the fact that the two maids did not really hit Mo Yu and said gravely, "You said that Min"er told Qiong"er to wait in the carriage. Why didn"t Qiong"er say that earlier?"

This was what had made the old madam most suspicious. Earlier, when Sima Lingyun and Mo Xueqiong came in, she had only cried and did not say anything. Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun were the ones to tell her the matter. They said that Mo xuetong and Mo Xueqiong went with Sima Lingyun to admire the plum blossoms. One of them got off the carriage while the other stayed. However, they did not expect that that the horse carriage had jolted rather seriously while it was parking. Mo Xueqiong fell into Sima Lingyun"s embrace and hurt her foot. Then, Mo Xuemin had pa.s.sed by and saw the two of them hugging each other when she opened the carriage door.

That was how the rumors of the two of them hugging with their clothes in disarray started.

The Mo family was responsible for the entire matter. The d.u.c.h.ess had sent a missive saying that their family would not take a concubine"s daughter as their son"s wife. They would make the matter public unless the Mo family married their main daughter to their family. The Mo family"s daughter had not taken care of her own reputation and still wanted someone to take responsibility for it. How could this be?

The Duke"s Manor would not acknowledge Sima Lingyun"s role in the rumors.

Sima Lingyun was only being helpful and had held Mo Xueqiong when she fell. How could it be counted as the two of them hugging with their clothes in disarray!

The old madam was furious when she heard the message the d.u.c.h.ess sent.

She was going to blow up the matter and tell the public that the Mo daughters did not observe etiquette or protect their own reputations. The Mo daughter had tried to cozy up to someone who was helping her. This would not only damage Mo Xueqiong"s reputation. That was what the old madam could not bear the most. She had thought that since Mo Xuetong was the one who had caused the trouble, then she should be the one to deal with it. She would marry Mo Xuetong into the Duke"s Manor.

As long as Mo Xuetong was married into the Duke"s family, they would not make a fuss. The matter would then settle and eventually be forgotten. These were the old madam"s thoughts. That was why she had issued an ultimatum the moment Mo Xuetong arrived to make her realize how powerful she was in the family. Since Mo Huawen was not at home, the matter would be set even if he objected to it in the future!

As such, she only watched on coldly as Mo Xuemin dealt with Mo Xuetong!

However, what if this was a plot of Mo Xuemin? The old madam suddenly felt that this was a possibility when she saw Mo Xuemin"s scheming expression. Mo Xuemin was using the old madam and if something were to really happen, the General Manor would not take it lying down! She would be the one in trouble then...

The old madam turned to look at Mo Xuemin darkly. She pounded her cane into the ground and said coldly, "Min, what do you have to say?"

No matter who it was who had implicated her biological granddaughter, Mo Xueyan, the old madam would send her out to face the calamity!

Mo Xuemin did not expect Mo Xuetong to say that. This was especially since she had lied. After a slight pause, she knelt down immediately and cried. "Grandmother, no matter how silly Min"er is, I still know that men and women should keep their distance from each other. Why would I ask Qiong"er to stay on the carriage and stay there with His Excellency."

Then, she turned to look at Mo Xuetong sadly and said, "Third Sister, why would you say that? I was being considerate to us three sisters and did not expect you to push me into taking the blame. So what if I take the blame? It would only be another Mo daughter with a ruined reputation? I have thought of you first whenever I have good food, drinks and accessories ever since you returned to the capital. I suggested that we go to admire the plum blossoms today because I was worried that you would be bored and do not know many people. However, I did not expect you to have such a grave misunderstanding. How can I live knowing what you just said!"

Then, she turned to lean on Mo Xiu, who was kneeling behind her, and cried sadly.

"Third Miss, First Miss is truly sincere in how she treats you. Even when you were staying in the Luo Manor, she sent things to you all the time. From food to jewelry and accessories, they all belonged to her, but she thought of you first. Look at what you are saying now, how can you frame First Miss? What will she do now? Her deep sisterly love for you is reciprocated with this. How could she not feel hurt and despair?" Mo Xiu reached out to hug Mo Xuemin and started crying as well as she spoke.

Tears streamed down Mo Xuemin"s face. She covered her face with a handkerchief, sobbing so hard she could not speak. Everyone who saw would feel that she had truly been wronged!

Everyone who heard it turned to look at Mo Xuetong. They all felt that she was an ingrate. The old madam"s expression grew ugly. Not many in the inner courtyard of the Mo Manor knew about the matter, but with Mo Xuemin making a fuss about it, she doubted that the people who knew would be able to keep mum about it.

"Enough. Why are you crying. Can"t you just speak?" The old madam said angrily.

"Yes, Grandmother. Min"er is insensible. I won"t cry." Mo Xuemin said, chocking down her sobs and said while biting her lips. She looked as if she just wanted the matter to pa.s.s. She only added, "Grandmother, please help Min"er to uncover the truth."