The banquet was held within the imperial gardens. Perhaps most of the crowd had already gone over, so there was not any whispering like just now. All that was left was the autumn scenery and the blooming flowers of the maple trees. It was beautiful! The scent of the osmanthus flowers drifted in the wind, making one feel refreshed.

She stood under the osmanthus tree and raised her head, taking a deep breath. A sweet refreshing scent filled her nose. Even the air smelt fresh. The breeze blew across, casing a few flowers to fall off the tree and onto her beautiful, porcelain-like face. Her face looked clean and flawless. Her long lashes fluttered. The flowers slid off her face slowly. Her pink lips tugged upwards gently. She was in a rather good mood!

Mo Xuetong had been embarrassed today!

The First Miss Mo who had always pretended to be gentle and elegant had been utterly embarrassed today. Many would begin to doubt First Miss Mo, who was known to be gracious and kind. She did not wish to reveal the true side of Mo Xuemin today since it would make others think that she was being mean.

However, even if she did not say it outright, everyone would suspect Auntie Fang and Mo Xuemin.

A crack had already been formed. It was not that easy to fix it so that it would look the same as before. Even if Mo Xuetong used ten times the effort she had used before, it might not necessarily allow her to appear as gentle and gracious as she had before. As long as suspicion had been cast upon her, it would be much easier to tear off her fake mask in the future.

However, this was not something that could be done in a day! He would send the old man to his father. She trusted that her father would be able to make him speak.

“Third Miss Mo is indeed skillful. You’ve managed to make First Miss Mo guilty in just a few words. Is this something a younger sister should do? Third Miss Mo, do you only have that much grace and tolerance?” A cold voice full of disdain could be heard.

Mo Xuetong opened her eyes. Light glinted in them as she looked at You Yuecheng. He stood there with his hands on his back, looking at her coldly and disdainfully with his head raised proudly.

“Sir, I don’t know how I have offended you for you to ask such a question. Who are you to the Mo family?” Mo Xuetong laughed lightly. She had seen this person both earlier and in her past life. He had always sided with Mo Xuemin and looked at her ever so warmly and gently. She did not expect that he would be so cold to her when they were alone. He must have always not liked her.

She did not wish to speak with unimportant people like him. He looked as if he was interested in questioning her and looked completely like he was going to protect Mo Xuemin.

Mo Xuemin had plotted well to find someone to pick on Mo Xuetong so quickly. She must have betted that Mo Xuetong would not dare to behave too wildly since she had just entered the palace. They were all going to frame her.

Mo Xuetong was already feeling impatient, which was why she was less cautious while speaking. After all, this man was not Feng Yuran and Bai Yihao, he did not instill in her a sense of wariness. Since he did not like her, why would she have to suffer his verbal abuse?

“You…” You Yucheng did not expect a woman to argue against him. She looked smiled gently, but there was a hint of hatred in her clear eyes. This made him angry for some reason. She was just a sly woman pretending to be gentle. How dare she embarrass Mo Xuemin in front of others? You Yuecheng felt anger surge up him when he was Mo Xuemin crying softly by the fake mountain. He decided to berate Mo Xuetong since he was walking on the same path as her!

However, Mo Xuetong was so unexpectedly tough. She had overturned his statement with just a sentence. She was smiling gently and innocently but it felt tough and hard. She had even asked who he was, implying that he did not have the right to interfere with her family matter. You Yuecheng saw red.

This was the first time he was being mocked by a pure and innocent young woman.

“Third Miss Mo, don’t you think you’ve been too much? If one sees something unfair, they would speak up about it. Third Miss Mo has ruined First Miss Mo’s reputation, don’t you think you look petty? Could it be that the rumors about Third Miss Mo are all true?” You Yuecheng said coldly and angrily.

“Sir, what do you think is unfair? Have I scolded my elder sister? Or have I said that she has slandered me?” Mo Xuetong asked him with a gentle smile, her expression not changing as she looked at You Yuecheng who looked determined to continue arguing. Her voice was sweet and she looked rather adorable as she turned her head.

However, the sharpness in her voice was something You Yuecheng rarely experienced!

A gentle girl like her had such sharp words! He could not help but start to take Mo Xuetong seriously.

Had she scolded Mo Xuemin? No. Had she slandered Mo Xuemin? No. In the end, she had still pleaded for Mo Xuemin.

No matter how they looked at the matter, she had done what she could for her sister.

However, this conclusion made You Yuecheng even more annoyed and his eyes grew sharper.

If he had not heard Mo Xuemin crying to Mo Jin softly, he would not have known that the innocent looking girl was so evil. She had not only gotten her Auntie locked up, but she had also even gotten her father to scold her sister. Not only had she deliberately ruined her sister’s reputation, she even forced her before a crowd of people. So what if this woman was stunningly beautiful? She only had a beautiful face but had an evil heart.

You Yuecheng hated women like this. Ling Mingyan was one, and so was Third Miss Mo who looked gentle and fragile.

He tempered down the disgust in his heart and said coldly, “Third Miss Mo, do you think that this is meaningful?”

“Sir, do you think I have done wrong?” Even though Mo Xuetong was still smiling, her eyes had cooled down. She frowned slightly and asked in an unhurried manner.

“Do you not know that you have done wrong?” You Yuecheng laughed coldly and stared at Mo Xuetong. Patches of sunlight streamed down through the leaves and onto Mo Xuetong, making it feel as if it was hard to see her beautiful face

“Sir, do you think that everything my elder sister says is true. That everything she says about me is true, and that I would definitely be framed by her. And that it is my fault if I don’t allow her to get me into trouble?” Mo Xuetong smiled beautifully. She was coy in her innocence but her eyes grew colder and colder.

She did not like You Yuecheng, and could naturally sense the enmity that You Yuecheng was exuding. Judging by his appearance, he was definitely from a noble family. It was likely that he was powerful. However, so what? Should Mo Xuemin ruin her just because she had backing? In her past life, Mo Xuemin and Sima Lingyun had ruined her completely, making her end miserable. Should the reason for her rebirth to just be so that she could be framed by Mo Xuemin again?

So that she can make her life worse than living death…

If this was so, then why did she need to live? If it was to suffer the pain she had once felt, she would rather she had never lived.

She was not interested in knowing who the person in front of her was. When she thought of what happened to her in her past life and how the fire billowed in the wedding hall, and the pain when she drank the poison, she felt as if she could not breathe and as if her wound was being torn open. She fisted her hand tightly under her sleeves and could not maintain the smile on her face anymore.

She took two steps back and hid and hatred in her eyes. She said coldly, “Sir, if you think that I should be hurt by her, then I have nothing to say and do not wish to say anything else. You may think what you want. You are determined that I am in the wrong and have come to find me. What do you wish to do? Make me apologize? Sir, don’t you think this is unnecessary? If someone has ruined everything of yours, I don’t know if you would be so gracious to forgive that person for everything he’s done. If someone slaps one side of your face, you would offer the other side to show off your unique elegance and graciousness. If you can do that, then I can only apologize. I cannot live in peace with someone who has hurt me.”

She had spoken very impolitely, and a surge of anger had torn apart the peace she had tried very hard to fake. She only realized she had spoken so openly after she was done and it had stunned the man. However, she did not regret it. That pain that suffocated her heart was always present.

It suffocated her at every moment and had exploded now. She looked up and her clear eyes were filled with hatred and coldness. You Yuecheng backed away unnaturally and could not reply. He looked at her proud raised chin and how she was looking at him coldly. She did not wish to speak with him any longer. She brought Mo Lan with her and the two of them walked past him, not sparing him another glance.

“Third Miss Mo, you’re too rude!” You Yuecheng paused and immediately tried to shame her as he watched her slender figure walk by him.

The person in front suddenly stopped.

“And are you Sir, not being rude? You stopped a noble lady just to stand up for my elder sister. Have you never thought that such an act is also impolite to others? Or perhaps you think you were being righteous? It all depends on perspective. You may have been standing up for my sister, but have you ever considered that I was the one speaking the truth?!” Mo Xuetong did not turn around, but her expression had softened.

It was just a random passerby, so why was there a need to argue with him? No matter what Mo Xuemin said to him, she did not have to say anything. Mo Xuemin had to be guarded against, but she was no pushover either. Everyone was doing things based on their own abilities. So what if Mo Xuemin found a man to speak up for her? No other man had the right to speak up about matters within the Mo family.

With that, she ignored You Yuecheng’s darkening expression and walked off with Mo Lan. Her eyes were dark and deep, looking as if they had experienced millennia of coldness.

You Yuecheng paused behind her and watched her retreating back. He could not forget her explosion of hatred and ager. That deep dark hatred had shocked even him. How strong was that hatred for it to have made a gentle girl’s eyes so sharp and cold?

Even though it was just for a moment, he could still sense her strong hatred, anger, and resentment. What had she experienced for her to be so extreme at a young age? She was vicious and had hurt her sisters. That hatred was an all-encompassing hatred. How could so much hatred fit inside a slender body like hers?

He suddenly realized that things may not be as he thought!

As the Ming duke’s son, he had indeed behaved rashly today.

Even though he liked Mo Xuemin and felt that she was gracious and gentle, he had never had any other thoughts for her. After all, she was just a daughter of a fifth-grade officer’s concubine. The difference between them was too large. As such, even though he admired Mo Xuemin’s character, he had never done anything out of bounds. Why had he behaved so rashly today?

As the Ming duke’s son, You Yuecheng had never been one to be rash. Now that he had calmed down, he realized that he had been too careless today!

So what if they were daughters of the Mo family, they had nothing to do with him?

He had behaved too oddly today. Was it because of his grandmother’s suggestion a few days ago? His expression darkened. He waved his hand and turned in another direction. Men should not interfere with matters of the back courtyard. Furthermore, it was not even his manor. He had indeed behaved too flippantly today. His thoughts had been messed up by his grandmother’s words.

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