CH 5

“Ling Xiao, someone bullied me!”

Ling Xiao looked at her in disdain. Contrary to expectations, Mo Qi with her face smeared with tears, was still unaware of Ling Xiao’s expression of disdain.

“That He girl is relying on her family’s wealth and political power to look down on me, wu……”

“Ling Xiao, how could she do this! We are a lot better than them, right? Coming from the 21 century, could it be that we have to be pushed down by some ancient people?!”

Ling Xiao lowered his head and looked at her. Mo Qi’s beautiful eyes were moist as she looked at him, saying, “Why aren’t you saying something? Ling Xiao, she’s bullying me like this……”

Ling Xiao sneered at her, “What does her bullying you have to do with me?”

“Ling Xiao, how come you’re talking to me like that?” Mo Qi’s expression was full of grievances and accusation, “Are you still angry? How long are you going to be angry for!”

Saying this, Mo Qi lowered her voice, “Now that Elder Lin also helped you arrange an identity, you can just stay in the palace to accompany me! Isn’t that wonderful!”

“We came from the same place, so naturally we must stick together!” Mo Qi said as if it was inevitable and the way it should be, but Ling Xiao only felt unwell.

Back when he liked this girl, he hadn’t realized it, but these days, he was finally aware of just how manipulative and hateful she was. Such a nice way of saying people from the same place should stick together, but why didn’t he see her accompanying him to the ends of the earth?

Ling Xiao roasted her in his heart while his face remained completely expressionless. With Li Yuan dead now, as long as Elder Lin, who obeyed the Prime Minister, didn’t interfere, crushing Mo Qi to death would be very simple. In the rare chance that after she died, everything started to happen, Ling Xiao temporary could not be impulsive and needed to find a perfectly legitimate reason……

Otherwise, it would be easy to bring trouble down on himself! He didn’t want to suffer.

Thinking this and that, Ling Xiao controlled himself, hiding the hatred in his eyes so that there wasn’t even a trace of it.

“Ling Xiao~” Mo Qi, acting like a spoiled child, went forward slightly and tugged on his sleeve.

Ling Xiao took a step back, shaking her off. She stared blankly for a moment before clenching her teeth and tugging at her own hand as she said, “Ling Xiao, don’t be angry anymore, ok?”

She coyly vocalized, “You were always the one who loved me the most, and I even protected you when Lan Wei wanted you to undergo purification! I rejected it all……”

Ling Xiao stood stock still, as he looked at her with a frown. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Mo Qi gazed at Ling Xiao expectantly, “How could I bear to let you undergo purification! Do you still not understand me?”

The meaning of her final sentence was provocative and ambiguous.

Wasn’t this just a seductive hidden suggestion?!

Ling Xiao trembled, goose bumps appearing all over his body.

Already, he could hear Mo Qi continuing to pretend to feel wronged, “I only wanted you to accompany me in the palace. Here, I have no one I can count on and would become very lonely. With you by me, I feel much better. Didn’t you always feel unwilling to let me feel wronged……”

Saying this, Mo Qi blinked her eyes on purpose to let a few tears drop, her pearly white teeth biting her pink lower lip, “You see, I’m already being bullied by that Surnamed He person, after I had just come in. If I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t even have anybody to go lament to. Wu~”

Mo Qi wiped her tears, peeking at Ling Xiao. Seeing Ling Xiao was not saying anything, she frowned and clenched her teeth, blunting saying, “But I’m not afraid now, I have you. If I were bullied by someone, you would definitely take the initiative for me…… You would definitely help me ruthlessly take revenge on that girl……”

“Where did you get that kind of face to speak this way?” Ling Xiao coldly interrupted her.

In his previous life, he certainly had taken the initiative to help this woman settle the dispute with Maid He, forcing a gap between  Elder Lin and Maid He. Additionally, Maid He was unable to conduct herself properly, so with his slight calculations, he was able to remove Maid He from Chu Xiu Palace. In this way, he had helped rid Mo Qi of her resentment.

But that was in his previous life. This life, how could he still help this woman again?

In his past life, as soon as Mo Qi tearfully complained, he would go help her. However, Mo Qi had never hinted at him suggestively before. This time, because he was unwilling to help her, Mo Qi had tried this trick instead, making Ling Xiao thoroughly disgusted with her……

He was starting to doubt his sight at the time. Back then, how could he have fancied this woman?!

He had even thrown himself away for her!

The more he thought, the more unfavorably he viewed Mo Qi. The loathing in the depths of his eyes had already leaked out enough that it was finally sensed by the egotistical Mo Qi. She slightly frowned, controlling the feigned grievances on her face, as she looked at Ling Xiao.

“Ling Xiao, you’ve changed. You’ve became petty and narrow-minded.”

Her voice lowered as she said: “Such a trivial matter when we entered the palace, how long are you going to bear the grudge?! Moreover, you didn’t even become an eunuch!”

Wanting to cut off a man’s lifeblood was a trivial matter? Wanting to exploit him until he died was a trivial matter?

“He he.” Ling Xiao coldly laughed twice.

Mo Qi clenched her teeth, seeing that Ling Xiao indeed didn’t intend to help, she couldn’t help but stomp her feet in anger. Turning around, she ran away, her heart filled with strong resentment directed at Ling Xiao!

What was the use in having this person enter the palace with her?! Wasn’t it because he was smart and she wanted him to enter the palace to follow after and help her?!

However, the result was that he unexpectedly wouldn’t help her.

If he won’t help, then he won’t help! If he won’t help, it’s still all right! Doesn’t she also have Lan Wei?! Then she’d go find Lan Wei’s messenger small plum, have him take a letter to Lan Wei, and have Lan Wei help her!  

Mo Qi’s way of thinking made Ling Xiao snort disdainfully.

When she went to the small kitchen where Li Yuan was placed, she didn’t expect that she wouldn’t be able to find him.

She was even more ignorant about it when she asked other people.

At that time, Mo Qi thought that maybe Li Yuan had gone out and didn’t take it to heart, but after several successive days where she couldn’t find Li Yuan at all, Mo Qi finally realized something was wrong. When she asked other people again, they were reluctant to answer. Furthermore, Li Yuan’s post was given to someone else.

Mo Qi was stunned. In her heart, she had a faint guess, which made it so she couldn’t help but feel a chill.

At that moment, Elder Lin directly walked out, saw her, and sneered. Even so, she didn’t ignore Mo Qi as she foolishly continued, calling her to her room, and told Mo Qi the news of Li Yuan’s death.

Mo Qi couldn’t help herself and asked in shock, “He’s dead?”

“It wasn’t because of helping me and Lan Wei sending letters, right?! Do they know that we’ve been exchanging letters?”

Elder Lin looked at her, “No, no one knows why he died. What the Head Eunuch said was merely that he had collided with the Emperor and was ordered to commit suicide. This matter about his death, Ling Xiao knows, I know, Young Master Lan Wei, and even the Prime Minister all know. Only you, who got other people implicated, are the last to know. Shouldn’t you reflect on yourself a bit?”

“Don’t create troubles for the Prime Minister’s house!” Elder Lin sternly said.

Mo Qi was in a bad mood, “I didn’t even do anything……”

Elder Lin covered her anger with a smile, “The things you have done are enough for the Prime Minister’s household to be executed all the way up to the third generation. The things you have done are enough to involve all the people who are associated with the Prime Minister family, from me to Ling Xiao.

“Ha!” Elder Lin was angered to the point her body was shaking uncontrollably, “I really don’t understand, why did the Prime Minister allow such an insensible girl like you to enter the Emperor’s Palace!”

Mo Qi only rolled her eyes, what other reason? That Prime Minister old man wouldn’t let her become involved with Lan Wei, so she just raised a condition of wanting to enter the palace. In addition, she had come into an agreement with him, to hereafter, never forget the Prime Minister’s household if she flourished. The Prime Minister saw that she was very pretty, so she was likely to flourish after entering the palace. With her heart under greed’s attack, she promised at once!

“The Prime Minister felt that the way Li Yuan had died was strange. As a result, he would not allow Young Master Lan Wei to place more people to help take care of you. You best behave.” Saying this, Elder Lin glared at her once, turned around to open the door and kicked her out.

Mo Qi left the room with her heart filled with unhappiness, her heart sullened to an extreme point.

“Isn’t she just an Elder[1]

! What kind of airs is she putting on!”

“Wait until I become the Empress in the future, watch how I deal with you people who’s always looking down on me! Humph!” Mo Qi said resentfully.

A light laugh could suddenly be heard.

Mo Qi was started, and grimly said in a stern voice: “Who! Come out!”

Footnotes:

[1]I’ve been translating 嬷嬷 (momo) as Elder, because that is another meaning of it, but it refers to a wet nurse or an old maid or even the Head maid, which there isn’t another way to call properly, so Elder it is.