Chapter 197 - The Odd Flower (2/2)

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 n.o.ble 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.

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