Shi Baoning frowned and seemed not to understand that Mo Junyang wanted to have a talk with Qingxue alone, asking on behalf of her, “What for?”
Shi Qingxue was surprised. “… Sister, you…”
She didn’t want Mo Junyang to have a conflict with Shi Baoning, but Shi Baoning was aggressive all the time, and that man was not good-tempered.
As expected, the rare gentleness on Mo Junyang’s face disappeared, and he looked at Shi Qingxue, saying casually, “I am a little hungry. Qingxue, do you have any food here?”
“Yes, yes. I am going to bring some food for you. Please have a seat,” Shi Qingxue answered instantly and smiled at Shi Baoning before running out of the room.
It was not that she was too timid to face that. Under the circumstances, if she were there, she would suffer most. Maybe after she went away, the problem would be solved easily?
Shi Baoning thought Shi Qingxue fled and would leave everything in the Luotong Boudoir to her. She was satisfied with her younger sister’s obedience and had more confidence to confront Mo Junyang. “Your Excellency, just say what you want to.”
Mo Junyang looked coldly and replied with disdain, “Infanta, I have nothing to say to you.”
“Since you have nothing to say, please go.” Perhaps Shi Baoning hadn’t realized how horrible the man in front of her was, and she directly told him to leave.
It seemed that she could make decisions for Shi Qingxue.
Mo Junyang certainly wouldn’t leave and looked at Shi Baoning expressionlessly for a while. Suddenly he smiled and got courteous. “Since you said that, I really have something to tell you, Infanta.”
Shi Baoning was impatient. “What’s the matter?”
Mo Junyang glanced at Dong Shuang who was guarding at the door obediently and concentrated on their conversation. Then he said leisurely, “For example, Qingxue’s right hand was injured when you were in the Peace Temple, or Shi Baojin’s maid Xiao Zhu worked for you…”
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” The panic on Shi Baoning’s face disappeared soon and she forced herself to calm down, but her voice was trembling inevitably, which made Dong Shuang look at her in surprise.
Shi Baoning was depressed and rebuked Mo Junyang in a harsh voice, “Don’t sling mud at me and ruin my relationship with my sister. I tell you. You won’t succeed. I am Qingxue’s sister. She trusts me and wouldn’t believe your nonsense.”
At last, she couldn’t help but feel complacent. Meanwhile she paid attention to the door, expecting that Mo Junyang spoke to her with harsh words and Qingxue walked in…
Would Mo Junyang quarrel with Shi Baoning?
Of course he wouldn’t, and he disdained to do that.
With his lips curling up, he leered at Shi Baoning. Only the coldness in his eyes was enough to make the girl who was complacent on the surface but felt guilty inside lose her imposing manner, with a chill down her spine.
Then she heard him say slowly, “I always disdain to say more. I am just a doer. Shi Baojin is a good example, right? Infanta, haven’t you seen it clearly?”
Mo Junyang really dared to take action against her.
Shi Baoning was scared by this thought and trembled. She wanted to retort Mo Junyang, but there seemed to be something in her throat, and she couldn’t make a voice. And she got more and more frightened.
“Your Excellency, what do you mean? Did you come to our mansion to threaten my daughter?” Dong Hui’s cold and dignified voice cut in all of a sudden and interrupted Shi Baoning’s horrible imagination.
Shi Baoning heaved a sigh of relief and walked quickly to Dong Hui, calling “Mother” to ask for help.
Dong Hui didn’t know the beginning and the end of the matter. Only Shi Baoning’s shout with grievance made her sad. She hugged her daughter with love and looked at Mo Junyang more unkindly.
Hearing that Mo Junyang came to the mansion alone and broke into the Luotong Boudoir without asking for permission, Dong Hui was angry with this impolite man. Even though he had helped Shi Junhe on the Qingluo Mountain, she wouldn’t forgive him. She couldn’t allow him to ruin her loved daughter’s fame. As a result, she rushed here and found Mo Junyang bullying her other daughter. How could she let him get away with it?
Mo Junyang was silent and became humble after a while. He apologized calmly, “I have said something improper. If I make you and Infanta unhappy, please forgive me, Madam.”
If King Rui or anyone who was familiar with Mo Junyang were here, he would cover his eyes and ears and say that this Mo Junyang was an impostor. Otherwise, how would that Mo Junyang who was above everybody and didn’t even take the emperor seriously apologize to someone sincerely?
Fine, it was not evident if he was sincere, but he had never been so humble.
But Dong Hui didn’t let it pass and turned away, saying coldly, “I am lowly and don’t deserve your apology, Your Excellency. If you have nothing to say, please go back home.”
She showed her dislike obviously. If in the previous life, Mo Junyang would have ignored this insignificant Duke Shi’s wife, even though she was Shi Qingxue’s mother. But it was enough that the tragedy in the previous life happened once. He was clear about how much Shi Qingxue loved her parents, and it would be a bad idea to irritate Dong Hui.
Mo Junyang looked at the door. Nobody knew whether Shi Qingxue went to bring food or hide herself. Anyway, she was not here. He looked away with disappointment and responded casually, “In that case, I am leaving now. Goodbye.”
He left directly as he said. He was sure that he couldn’t see Shi Qingxue, so he went away as soon as he finished his words.
The people left in the room looked at each other speechlessly, as if they hadn’t expected that Mo Junyang would be so easy to deal with. He couldn’t see Shi Qingxue, and he certainly wouldn’t stay. Shi Baoning was still scared and asked in a low voice, “Mother, would he get even with us later?”
Mo Junyang’s threat was deep in her heart and made her tremble with fear.
“He probably wouldn’t. Our family is not as easy to be bullied as Shi Baojin.” Dong Hui comforted Shi Baoning but frowned at her, asking in doubt, “Baoning, when did you offend this devil to make him threaten you? Logically, you are Qingxue’s sister and he…”
At the thought of Mo Junyang’s feelings for Shi Qingxue, Dong Hui felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to say that. She just looked at Shi Baoning.
Shi Baoning was frightened by Dong Hui’s words, but seeing that there was concern instead of resentment in her mother’s eyes, she guessed that Dong Hui didn’t know what had happened in the Peace Temple, so she was relieved and answered casually, “Who knows? In order to harm Baojin, he could kill the whole Zhao Family as an excuse. It can be seen that he is evil. Does he need a reason to hurt somebody else?”
Dong Hui was astonished. “Didn’t they say that Baojin was implicated? Why do you mean that the cause and effect are reversed? Do you have any evidence?”
Shi Baoning hadn’t thought that she would tell the truth by accident. She had just tried her best to hide the issue in the Peace Temple, so she certainly described Mo Junyang as abnormal as possible. Now that Dong Hui asked her, she had to bite the bullet and mention Mo Shujun. “Grandma told me that. She said King Rui’s heir is sinister and helped our family several times, so he must have some purpose. She told us not to fall into his trap.”
While speaking, Shi Baoning saw that Dong Hui looked serious and thought that her mother didn’t like her to talk about Mo Shujun, so she hurriedly tried to mediate. “We are family. Even though we have conflicts with Grandma, it is related to our family’s interest, so she wouldn’t lie to me.”
Dong Hui didn’t seem to be displeased as Shi Baoning expected, but she was deeply worried and murmured after quite a while, “Is it true? No wonder. Then he and Qingxue…”
“Mother, what are you talking about?” Shi Baoning waved her hand in front of Dong Hui.
Dong Hui came back to earth and forced a smile at Shi Baoning. “Nothing. I am just worried about your sister.”
Shi Baoning nodded to approve. “His Excellency is too horrible. Qingxue is young and simple. We’d better not let them get too close. Moreover…”
Her next words were known to all, and there was no need to say.
When they fell into silence, Shi Qingxue finally walked in with some cakes “after going through many hardships”. She was surprised to see Dong Hui and then looked at the room. Mo Junyang was not here. She asked in confusion, “Where is my brother Junyang?”
Dong Hui heard Shi Qingxue’s address and her face darkened. “What did you call him? You are so disrespectful.”
Shi Qingxue put out her tongue disapprovingly and retorted with a smile, “Mother, there are no outsiders here. Why can’t I call him like that?”
She used to call Mo Junyang’s name, but now they were closer, and she felt shy to call him by his name impolitely.
But this time, Dong Hui seriously and forcefully demanded, “Even if there are no outsiders, you are a woman and he is a man. Haven’t I told you before to keep away from him? But look at you. What have you done these days?”
Shi Qingxue was rebuked and got confused. For the first time, Dong Hui criticized her so harshly. After a long time, she wrinkled her beautiful brows and called softly, “Mother.”
Her sweet voice was full of grievance and confusion.
Dong Hui couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. However, thinking that it was Mo Junyang, she gritted her teeth and ignored Shi Qingxue’s expression, adding, “Fine, stop talking about him. I came here to tell you something important.”
“Go ahead,” Shi Qingxue responded in low spirits.
“This morning, Madam Leng came to visit and chatted with me. We talked about you. You are going to have your sixteenth birthday soon, and your sister is engaged. Now it’s your turn. And she wanted to make a match for you and the young master of the Leng Family, Leng Qinghan,”
Dong Hui said casually to throw an earthshaking bomb. She didn’t care if the news could explode Shi Qingxue and continued, “I hear that Young Master Leng was trained in the military camp with his father Leng Yuan since childhood, and now he is working as an imperial guard, a Rank-3 official, a bodyguard with a knife of His Majesty. Although he doesn’t deserve you for now, he is nice and willing to work hard. He is a young and promising man, and his future is bright. You can meet him first and try to…”
“Stop!” Shi Qingxue was confused upon hearing that and instantly stopped Dong Hui’s long speech. She frowned. “Mother, what are you going to do?”
Dong Hui replied naturally, “Of course I am going to find you a husband. You need to listen to me. I have made an appointment with Madam Leng to meet in the Juxian Restaurant tomorrow morning. You have to dress up, and I will go with you tomorrow.”
After giving the order, Dong Hui didn’t care about the grievance on Qingxue’s face and told Xia Mang something. Then she left with Shi Baoning and gave Qingxue some time to make preparations as she said.