Chapter 197 The Odd Flower

“Elder Sister Ling, we asked you to talk about what the imperial consorts in the palace wear. Why are you talking about this instead?” Chen Ya’er flushed red. They were all unmarried young ladies. It really was a rather inappropriate topic.

Ling Rui’er, however, had already been embarrassed several times today. She felt that she had to flaunt everything she had right now to put Mo Xuetong back in her place.

“The imperial consorts have all been worrying about it for days. They are not only picking for His Majesty, they are picking for the princes as well,” she said with satisfaction. “My aunt has been so busy these past few days. She even told me to see if there is anyone suitable amongst my friends. I think everyone here is beautiful and has a high enough status. You are all good candidates. I shall tell my aunt tomorrow.”

Her statement made all the young ladies flush red.

“Younger Sister Ling, you are confused. How could we presume to be involved with matters of the palace?” You Yue’e muttered, still bright red.

“How are you not involved? My aunt said that all daughters of officials who are fifth grade and above, between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, and are beautiful and virtuous have to enter. I think most of us here are.” Ling Rui’er looked at Mo Xuetong provocatively. “There are some people who are lacking in virtue and Aunt must quickly remove her from the selection. Otherwise, she would just be an embarrassment when she enters the palace.”

She was implying that it was impossible for Mo Xuetong to be selected. She spoke as if she was going to make the final decision and select the consorts for the emperor and princes.

Mo Xuetong did not intend to argue. She honestly wanted to ignore her. She had heard many sarcastic and mocking remarks in her past life. These sorts of comments didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“It can’t be. That would mean that the selection would be extended to the whole nation.” Shen Qianxiu said, her eyes wide with confusion. “Didn’t His Majesty once say that he would not waste the effort and money of his people on this?”

“How could this be a waste of people’s effort and money? Besides, the selection won’t be that wide. The main thing is to find consorts for the three princes. My aunt said that there is no proper mistress in the princes’ manors, so they must pick well this time.”

Ling Rui’er kept mentioning her aunt. Even though she was talking to everyone, she kept glancing at Mo Xuetong. It was obvious she was showing off. The conversation turned to the consort selection of the princes and Mo Xuetong stayed quiet, only exchanging a few words with Luo Mingzhu.

It was a small gathering of girls. The conversation was not out of place. What was strange was that this group normally did not get along. The daughters of the Four Great Manors were all present with the grand secretariat’s daughter being the mediator. It was an entirely different level than the usual gathering of noble ladies.

Wang Xiuxiu had also intentionally gotten Ling Rui’er to talk about the selection. On the surface, they seemed to only be guessing who would enter each manor, but the underlying conversation was which prince His Majesty favored.

Mo Xuetong discreetly paid attention to the conversation.

The banquet ended only when the maids came to tell the young ladies that the lady of their manor wanted them home.

Mo Xuetong accompanied Luo Mingzhu and sent them off at the courtyard entrance. She did not send them off any further. They were in the General Manor and she was not considered the host.

Ling Rui’er lifted her head up high and did not even look at her. You Yue’e continued holding hands with Chen Ya’er, but Chen Ya’er seemed as if she wanted to say something else before she was pulled away by You Yue’e. Shen Qianxiu said goodbye to her politely while Wang Xiuxiu organized for them to have peach blossom wine on her birthday.

Mo Xuetong brought Mo Yu to the courtyard she’d stayed in the last time. Luo Mingzhu was sending off guests and would not return for a while, so she might as well return and rest.

She had only just settled down when Luo Wenyou hurried in. Mo Yu had not even sent in tea yet.

He was holding on to that pot of flowers, the Jade Owl!

“Cousin Tong, do you recognize this flower?” Luo Wenyou asked.

He placed the pot on the table and wiped at his forehead. He had only brought one servant with him and was afraid that the servant might damage the plant, so he’d carried it in himself.

Mo Xuetong was not surprised to see him. She’d known he’d take what Luo Mingzhu told him seriously.

“Cousin, I am not sure if it’s really the flower I think it might be.”

Mo Xuetong stood up and approached the flower. It was still a beautiful tri-colored flower. It was so beautiful it seemed unreal. The pot was filled with pieces of jade. She reached out to take a closer look. The shards of jade seemed broken intentionally, but she wasn’t sure how Sima Lingyun had used this to prove that the Fu General Manor was committing treason!

“These flowers might be a Jade Owl plant. It grows in jade and takes in the properties of the jade it grows from. It blooms in any season and is very eye-catching. Usually, each bloom has a different color. It is said that it’s difficult to find a place suitable to grow such a flower. They usually grow in the middle of jade mountains.”

“Cousin Tong, are you sure?” Luo Wenyou’s expression changed.

The cost of an entire jade mountain was unimaginable. Luo Wenyou had thought that it was expensive due to its rarity. He only realized now that no ordinary wealth could protect a jade mountain. It would be enough wealth to destroy an enemy country, and that was the wealth kind of wealth only held by a nation.

“Eldest Cousin, I think so. I once saw it on a paper detailing rare and odd objects. It takes nutrients from jade and can only grow in jade. It does not change with the seasons. I wonder what kind of friends you have to be given such a plant.” Mo Xuetong’s expression grew severe. She touched the leaves of the flowers. Even the leaves were like beautiful jade.

This type of flower could ruin a nation.

“It was given to me by a wealthy merchant who’d only just arrived in the capital. I had a chance to do him a great favor and I heard he’d saved tens of thousands of silver taels because of my help. I thought that was why he gave me this pot of flowers. He said it was just a plaything. I didn’t think too much of it then. I thought that it was just rare, so I brought it to Grandmother for her to admire. I didn’t think it would be so expensive, but actually…” Luo Wenyou completely believed what Mo Xuetong said. He hit his head in regret.

“Eldest Cousin, do you know where this merchant is now?” Mo Xuetong frowned without unconsciously. She tapped her fingers against the broken jade, looking at the flower before her coldly. This plant should not exist. Who had expended so much effort to deal with General Fu’s Manor? Or perhaps, one should say, who would benefit the most from the fall of the Fu General Manor…

“I saw him off this morning.” Luo Wenyou stomped his feet. “I sent people to look through his room but they didn’t find anything.”

That was the other reason Luo Wenyou had hurried to ask Mo Xuetong about the flower.

Mo Xuetong frowned slightly, biting her lip. She was torn. The pot of flower was going to be trouble. They couldn’t keep it, but nor could they ignore it.

After such a big show of admiring the flower, all the noble families in the capital knew that General Fu’s Manor owned it. If they destroyed it, people would talk. It would make them look as if they had something to hide. Furthermore, if the matter blew up in the future, destroying it would be a silent admission of guilt. No more evidence would be needed.

“Eldest Cousin, check the room carefully. He acted like a wealthy merchant and only left today. He must have left something behind somewhere. You can check what kind of help he wanted and why. Do you think he might have left any evidence behind from that?

Mo Xuetong had no idea who the man was. She could only give Luo Wenyou her best guesses. It was unlikely the man had acted alone, and he was probably far from his base of power. No matter how well he’d covered his tracks, there had to be something.

If they had waited for the incident that would happen in four years, General Fu’s Manor would no longer have a voice in politics and there would be no clues left to find. Thankfully, the incident had just happened. Mo Xuetong couldn’t believe there was nothing to find.

Her words reminded Luo Wenyou of something and his eyes brightened. He nodded and stood. He said,

“You are right, Cousin Tong,” he says. “I’ll go check out the jewelry he sold.”

He set down the flower and rushed out.

“Eldest Cousin, hold on. You must have interacted with this person for a while. Do you think that he had a Yan Kingdom accent?” Mo Xuetong’s instinct told her that they were from Yan Kingdom. Of the countries around Great Qin, only the Yan Kingdom had the ability to go against Qin.

Was Bai Yihao in on this? Mo Xuetong wasn’t sure. She couldn’t think of how destroying the Fu family would benefit him. General Fu’s family wasn’t related to the empress and wasn’t any threat to His Majesty. They weren’t even very powerful. If he wanted to destroy any family, he would target General Ding’s household.

She’d avoided politics in her past life and only stayed in Duke Zhenguo’s manor. She’d never considered these issues, and had only vaguely noticed Bai Yihao on the day he began to rise through the ranks. They’d never interacted. The distance between them was too great. In their few interactions in this life, Bai Yihao hadn’t seemed like an evil person. Her heart warned her to be careful, but she didn’t find him odd.

Luo Wenyou stopped, an expression of horror dawning on him.

“Cousin Tong, do you think he could be from Yan?”

“Eldest Cousin, you can try to ask Sir Bai about these flowers…” Mo Xuetong bit her lip. She had to mention it, but it was just a sudden idea.

Luo Wenyou nodded.

“Alright, I will visit Sir Bai later.” He turned around and hurried out of the courtyard.

Luo Mingzhu came over not long after Luo Wenyou left. Mo Xuetong accompanied her to bid the Old Madam farewell. The Old Madam asked about her health and told her to rest well. Mo Xuetong held on to the Old Madam’s hand and they talked for a while. Farewells finished, she brought a sulking Mo Xueyan, back to Mo Manor.

When they arrived at the door of the manor, Mo Xueyan did not say anything to Mo Xuetong. She stomped in with her maid.

“Miss, Second Miss…” Mo Yu was furious. She pointed at Mo Xueyan speechlessly.

Mo Xueyan had almost caused a disaster at General Fu’s manor. Mo Xuetong had not been unkind, yet she acted if it was somehow her fault. She would complain about Mo Xuetong to Grandmother later. The Old Madam had never liked Mo Xuetong, so hearing Mo Xueyan’s slander would only give her more excuse to be cruel.

“Mo Yu, get the cloth that Grandmother gave me and give them out. Send them to Old Madam, my sisters, and my aunties,” Mo Xuetong told Mo Yu with a smile as she stepped inside.

“Miss, you are always so considerate towards them, but look at how they treat you!” Mo Yu muttered. It felt so unfair, watching how they all treated her mistress.

“It’s alright. It’s just a small gift. It’s the new year and everyone should be happy. Take the pouches, accessories, and flowers that Grandmother gave me and give them to everyone who lives in the manor,” Mo Xuetong said with a soft smile.

That should help smooth things over nicely.