Feng Jinyu immediately shook her head and said, “Huaiqing doesn’t have one. Don’t let her know, Yunzhu. This jade is very important. You must not lose it. You have to promise Mother.”
Mo Yunzhu looked at her nervous mother and felt something was off.
“Alright, I promise.” Mo Yunzhu’s obedience made Feng Jinyu breathe a sigh of relief, and she personally put the jade on her.
After putting it on, she held the Xueyu in her hand, her eyes misty.
“Mother, what does this Xueyu mean?” Mo Yunzhu couldn’t help but ask curiously.
Feng Jinyu immediately smiled and said, “This jade keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer. It’s good for your health and can bless you with a safe life. Just promise Mother you won’t take it off.”
“Alright, I understand.” Mo Yunzhu felt even more puzzled but didn’t ask further. If her mother really wanted to tell her, she would say it when the time was right.
What she found amazing was that after wearing this Xueyu, she actually felt a bit of warmth.
The temperature in October had already dropped, and the wind felt cold on her face, but this jade truly made her feel warm and comfortable.
It really was a good piece of jade.
Soon, Mo Yunzhu returned to Yaoguangyuan with ten thousand taels of silver notes.
“Miss Mo!” Someone entered the courtyard.
Mo Yunzhu immediately walked out and saw that it was Steward Qin who had brought people.
“Miss Mo, these are some promising candidates we found from the slave market. See if there are any you’d like to keep.”
Previously, because of Shaoyao’s incident, Mo Yunzhu had dismissed all the servants in her courtyard and was now replacing them with a new batch.
Mo Yunzhu nodded and walked from under the eaves into the courtyard, taking a closer look at the ten men and ten women before her.
Suddenly, she noticed a face that looked familiar, though she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.
“Miss Mo, this servant is Yuan Qing. I was originally a servant of the Dali Si Assistant Minister.” Seeing Mo Yunzhu staring at him, Yuan Qing quickly knelt on one knee and introduced himself.
Mo Yunzhu immediately remembered—Dali Si Assistant Minister Zhang Fengyi, a lazy and incompetent drunkard. On the day she was framed by Mo Huaiqing, such an obvious conspiracy, that guy couldn’t even see through it and even jumped out to criticize her.
“Yes, I have some impression. How did you…”
“Replying to Miss Mo, I was also at Taizifu that day. Later, Young Master Zhang continuously insulted Miss Mo along the way. I muttered something, and when the young master heard it, he beat me up and sold me to the slave market.” Yuan Qing’s eyes also held a trace of sorrow.
“Oh? What did you say?” Mo Yunzhu asked curiously.
“I just muttered that the incident that day was clearly a conspiracy to frame Miss Mo and Lan Wang. The young master flew into a rage…”
Yuan Qing pulled up his sleeve, revealing whip marks all over, which had only recently scabbed over. It looked painful.
“Thank you for speaking up for us. You can stay.” Mo Yunzhu smiled.
Yuan Qing was stunned for a moment, then immediately knelt on the ground with a thud. “Thank you, Miss Mo.” He then stood up and quickly moved to stand on the right side behind Mo Yunzhu.
“Steward Qin, keep those who signed lifelong contracts. Take the others away.”
Steward Qin acknowledged the order, and in the end, five people remained.
“I have only two requirements for you: loyalty. Once I find out anyone is disloyal, there will be no mercy. They will be beaten to death with a staff. Do you understand?”
Mo Yunzhu looked at the two men and three women who remained and spoke sternly and sharply.
The five immediately knelt and agreed.
“Yuan Qing, arrange tasks for them first.” Mo Yunzhu said to Yuan Qing. “I’ll make further arrangements later.”
“Yes, Miss Mo.” Yuan Qing was very excited and immediately acknowledged the order.
Half an hour later, Mo Yunzhu saw that Yuan Qing had arranged everything properly for the few people.
The personal maid assigned to her appeared clever and quick with her hands and feet.
“Yuan Qing, first go and do something for me,” Mo Yunzhu called Yuan Qing over after expressing satisfaction. “Take this ten-thousand-tael banknote to Lan Wangfu. Can you handle it?”
Yuan Qing was taken aback, not expecting to be entrusted with such an important task so soon after arriving.
“This servant will definitely deliver it,” Yuan Qing replied earnestly.
“How are your martial arts skills?” Mo Yunzhu asked another question.
“Replying to Miss, this servant has learned some martial arts. Dealing with a few ordinary people is no problem. If it’s guards, I can probably handle two,” Yuan Qing scratched his head.
“Good. Remember, from now on, you are only my person, Mo Yunzhu’s person. Understand?” Mo Yunzhu said meaningfully.
Yuan Qing was stunned again, then firmly replied, “Yes, Miss! This servant has only Miss as his master!”
“Mm, go ahead,” Mo Yunzhu waved her hand.
At Lan Wangfu, when Haojiang received the ten thousand taels of silver, he was truly both excited and moved. He hadn’t expected Mo Yunzhu to actually send it, and so quickly at that!
“Return it immediately!” Jun Huolan, after hearing what Haojiang said, looked at the banknote on the table, his handsome face dark with anger, as if he might burst a blood vessel at any moment.
“Master, the Princess Consort said it’s considered a loan from you first,” Haojiang hurriedly explained.
“Haojiang, have your wings hardened? Can you make decisions on your own now?” Jun Huolan exuded a powerful and sinister aura of hostility.
Haojiang knelt on the ground with a thud, his eyes reddening. “This subordinate wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t dare? I think you dare quite a lot. Is she your master now, or am I? Return it immediately, or get out of Lan Wangfu!”
“This subordinate will return it immediately,” Haojiang stood up, took the banknote, and turned to leave, though his retreating figure looked somewhat desolate, which made Jun Huolan feel a bit uncomfortable.
As Haojiang walked out from under the eaves, a voice reached his ears: “This prince is a man. How could I let her support me? There will be silver tonight.”
When Mo Yunzhu received the ten-thousand-tael banknote returned from Lan Wangfu, she just smiled without saying much.
It seemed the sickly beauty had quite a sense of pride.
Over the next three days, Mo Yunzhu took Yuan Qing around various places in the capital, and the two began to develop a master-servant rapport.
Yuan Qing felt that Miss was clever, lively, and had a good personality. She treated him extremely well, which made him even more determined to follow Miss for a lifetime.
They visited medicine shops, weapon stores, and general stores, purchasing quite a few things.
Among them were many strange and unusual items that Yuan Qing didn’t understand what Miss bought them for.
But he knew that Miss tinkered with things in her room every night, often until late.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Mo Yunzhu, carrying a slightly larger waist pouch than before, and Yuan Qing, holding several bags of medicinal herbs, got off the carriage and arrived at Lan Wangfu.
The chief steward of Lan Wangfu was Eunuch Zhao, sent from the palace. The servants and maids in the residence were also gradually sent over by the palace’s Internal Affairs Office over the past month, along with eighteen Yulinjun temporarily assigned to protect Lan Wang.
Eunuch Zhao, along with several servants, had been waiting at the entrance. Seeing Mo Yunzhu arrive, he immediately greeted her with a beaming smile.
“Miss Mo, please come in quickly.”
“Thank you, Eunuch. Here are some medicinal herbs that are good for the Prince’s health. Brew them into soup for the Prince daily. There are also some small trinkets; distribute them among everyone,” Mo Yunzhu instructed.
Eunuch Zhao’s eyes lit up as he accepted the items from Yuan Qing. He hadn’t expected the future Princess Consort to start winning people over even before entering the residence.
Haojiang soon appeared, and Eunuch Zhao withdrew. He glanced at Yuan Qing, finding him somewhat familiar, and slightly furrowed his brows.
After all, Haojiang had been present that day as well. Mo Yunzhu immediately smiled and explained.
“Zhang Fengyi, the Deputy Minister of Dali Si. Hmph,” Haojiang sneered.
Yuan Qing promptly said to Mo Yunzhu with embarrassment, “Miss, Young Master Zhang was jealous of Lan Wang’s appearance and kept mocking him that day.”
Mo Yunzhu nodded and said, “Believe me, those who bring about their own downfall will soon face retribution.”
As they reached the entrance of Xuanji Yuan, Mo Yunzhu heard a series of coughs, and her expression changed.