Chapter 10 Defeating the Hypocrite

Mo Xuemin was nervous when she saw the suspicious stares around her. She wrung her handkerchief and her heart skipped a beat. She could only watch as the maids moved to pull the curtains open. The two maids moved quickly, tugging hard at the curtains. The blue cloth curtains were pulled down and floated onto the ground. Everyone stared at the carriage with wide eyes. They could not help but gasp. There were no knickknacks inside. In fact, there was nothing in the empty carriage. Mo Xuetong had been waiting for this moment. "I came from Cloud City, which is weeks away, but I would rather let the maids all squeeze in one carriage and leave the last carriage empty? Do you think I'm stupid?" she said angrily. "Or does my elder sister think that I came to the capital just to knock over an old man? Is that why you claimed that I knocked someone down without even consulting with me?" There was no doubt anymore. The driver was obviously framing Third Miss Mo. The actions of the eldest miss of the Mo family now seemed very odd. The ladies in the other horse carriages all listened intently and started, deep in thought. Slowly, the crowd began to truly turn their anger at Mo Xuetong on Mo Xuemine, looking at her with suspicion. Mo Xuemin was also looking at the empty carriage incredulously. How could her mother have been so stupid? She could have put a few trunks or random trash in. How could she leave the carriage empty? Wouldn't this make it obvious that they were plotting against Mo Xuetong? "Third sister..." Mo Xuemin's expression was awkward. She was not going to be able to frame Mo Xuetong, but she had to at least salvage her own image. "Nanny Shen, what are the laws in the capital? In Cloud City, if somebody tried to ruin the daughter of an official, they would have their possessions taken away and be whipped 50 times," Mo Lan said to Nanny Shen with a wink. The old man who had been knocked down suddenly grew anxious. His gaze shifted from side to side. Nanny Shen immediately understood what Mo Lan was up to. "The laws in the capital are of course stricter than Cloud City,” she replied loudly. “We are right under the eyes of the emperor, and yet someone has dared to commit such a crime so blatantly. In cases of cheating, 50 whippings are not enough. They would also be marked, and their family would become slaves. They would never be able to raise their heads up high again." In Great Qin a criminal was marked by carving words on their face. Once this was done, they would be considered criminals for life. Even their descendants would become lower class citizens. The driver's face paled. On the other side, the old man who had been knocked down looked pale as well. His injured leg was standing on the ground. If one looked closely, it was trembling slightly. "Third Sister must be joking. I was wrong. I thought it looked like our carriage. But I have wronged Third Sister." Mo Xuemin's face twitched slightly, but she had calmed down enough to handle this. She walked over, holding Mo Xuetong's hand with warm concern. She said gently, "Third Sister has just returned to the capital and you ended up in such an unlucky situation. It's not good to make a fuss of the matter. If you go to court, others might call you a trouble starter. It would cause a lot of trouble for Father." The driver and the old man relaxed slightly and secretly traded glances of secret relief. Mo Xuemin was certain that Mo Xuetong would not dare take this to court. In the hundred years of Great Qin administration, there was not a single noble lady took something to court without being completely certain it would not hurt their status. Mo Xuetong laughed coldly to herself. Mo Xuemin guessed wrong. From the crowd of stopped carriages, somebody there was a burst of crisp laughter. "You knocked into someone and still want to deny responsibility. Does Great Qin have no laws? Or does the capital have no punishment?” Rather than staring at Mo Xuetong, You Yuecheng's had been watching the carriage since he first spotted it, trying to remember where he’d seen that horse and carriage before. When he heard the voice, his expression changed, and his mind began to spin. He knew who that was. "Men, take them to court. I have seen the whole thing and will be a witness for Third Young Miss Mo. It is not difficult for us to go to court," he said with a laugh, not waiting for Mo Xuetong to reply. Two armed guards immediately appeared from behind his carriage. They moved quickly toward the driver and the old man. The old man and driver, who had been hiding by the side and watching, saw there was no longer a chance the whole event would blow over. They rushed into the crowd, bolting in separate directions. The two guards gave chase, but there were too many people, and the old man and driver were quickly lost in the crowd. That was enough to confirm any lingering doubts that this had been a set-up. They were furious when they thought of how Mo Xuemin had conspired to frame her frail sister and their gossip became harsher and uglier. Mo Xuemin could only grit her teeth and bear the criticism. She had always been cunning, and she knew that she had lost today. She could not get angry now. Instead, she pretended as if she had not heard the crowd, going to her sister’s side. "So, it is really true that someone has framed you. I was wrong today and caused you to suffer,” she said warmly, looking pained. “If you're still angry, then be angry at me. I won't complain about it or tell father. I deserve it. We must not let this incident cause a rift between us. We have to get along well." Her words hit just the right spot. She not only humbly admitted her mistake and took responsibility, she showed she still wanted to be a good sister. It put her in good light. Mo Xuemin's eyes shone with warmth and regret. No matter how closely one looked, she felt like an older sister who had hurt her sister by mistake. Some of the people who were whispering that Mo Xuemin had plotted against her own sister quieted. Mo Xuemin was indeed a formidable opponent. However, Mo Xuetong had put in so much effort to create such a scene. How could she let her go so easily? "Elder sister, your words have made me feel ashamed. I am the one who made a mistake. I don't know who I've offended so much that they would try to humiliate me the moment I enter the capital. I even ruined your kind intentions and made you worry," Mo Xuetong said, looking ashamed. She would not lose. She placed herself in an even lower position than Mo Xuemin. Coupled with her weak and gentle look and the incident earlier, people watching had a rush of compassion. Even though the people in the crowd did not say anything, the noble sons and daughters thought the same thing. She was just a weak girl. How could she have offended someone? The person had found a Mo family style carriage and waited for her to enter the capital. Then they thought about how her elder sister had said she’d settle the manor but had never tried to defend her sister. It was obviously intentional. Every family had problems, but they had never thought Mo Xuemin, a beautiful and talented girl, could also be so two-faced. She had shown a conniving side that was completely different from the gentle, generous side she usually showed. A few of the ladies who associated with Mo Xuemin decided to be more careful around her in the future. "We’re sisters, we don't have to be so formal with each other. Third Sister, return to the manor with me. There are many people here and there is no convenient place to talk. Since I met you here, I shall cancel my plans to go out. Let me bid the other young masters and misses goodbye and I'll return with you. Father has been waiting for you." She had said this to excuse herself and had said it so sincerely. Every move she made felt genuine and some of the people around started to waver. They felt that the gentle eldest miss must have not been aware of the plot either. There were some in the crowd who were also gossiping about Mo Xuemin, and the number of people speaking up for her grew as well. Mo Xuemin heaved a sigh of relief. Even though she had lost today, it was not too bad. She would deal with the little slut when they returned to the manor. Mo Xuemin turned around to bid the others a gracious and gentle goodbye. As compared to their friendliness earlier, the ladies and sirs treated her a bit more cooly. They were abrupt and distant. Some of the other ladies even pulled down their curtains and shuttered their windows. Mo Xuemin knew it was because Mo Xuetong had made them suspicious. She gritted her teeth but still managed a polite smile. Seeing that there was nothing to watch anymore, the crowd dispersed, and the path became clear again. The driver of the luxurious horse carriage raised his horse whip as if he wanted to move off, but You Yuecheng suddenly walked up and put his hands together to greet the luxurious horse carriage. "Is the Crown Prince in the carriage?" "It is me. You are the son of Duke Ming? Did you stop me for something?" The person in the carriage laughed softly. He was elegant and gentle. "I don't dare to stop you. But is your highness here for the empress' birthday? I have some ideas and I hoped we could discuss them," You Yuecheng said. "It is getting late. I will make sure to invite you to my manor in the next few days, after I have rested. I will take my leave for now." The person in the horse carriage gave a tinkling laugh that was smooth and clear. You Yuecheng did not insist. He took two steps back and put his hands together in a greeting. "Then I will definitely visit Your Highness another day." "Sir, please be at ease. You may just address me as sir here." The horse carriage started. The clear and warm voice was accompanied by a relaxed tune. The tune reverberated, sounding like the flowing springs in the mountains, or like the moving clouds. It sounded like something from another world, and those who heard it looked at the horse carriage driving away respectfully... Mo Xuetong took Mo Lan's hand and got onto the horse carriage while Mo Xuemin walked away. She took out a book from the mini bookshelf at the back of the carriage and gave it to Mo Lan who placed it in her sleeves. She got off the carriage and, while the horse carriages were passing, passed the book into another carriage. A slender hand belonging to a woman took the book and flipped through it casually before putting it on a beautifully crafted box beside her. In the spacious carriage, was a handsome young man. He looked to be around seventeen. He leaned against a clean couch and his voice was smooth and elegant as ice sliding across jade. He was a handsome youth with eyes like dark ink. He flipped through the book on the table with a smile, a look of ease on his face. His disposition was like the white clouds in the sky that remained the same over the years shielding the rising sun. He was like the water in an ancient pool, calm and warm. His luxurious white robes were elegant, and his skin was pale and clear like the moon. The music stopped suddenly. A beautiful maid knelt on the ground, raising the book up to him. He took it with a faint smile on his face.