Mo Yuxi lowered her head in self-mockery, her expression mournful. "Can it be hidden?"
Soon, everyone would know.
A noble lady from a prestigious family?
Heh!
Merely a tool for a family alliance.
Mother said that the Mo family had raised her for over a decade, providing her with a life of luxury. It was time for her to repay the family.
Sometimes, she truly envied Sixth Lady.
She could go to her maternal grandmother's home whenever she wished, and if she didn't want to marry the Seventh Prince, she didn't have to. Her family wouldn't force her.
Crucially, Sixth Lady had a brother who doted on her.
Her own brother also doted on her and had fought for her, but ultimately, he had given up.
Compared to doting on her, her brother loved himself more, and his family more.
Before, she had always wished for Sixth Lady to marry her brother.
Now, she saw that her brother was not worthy of her.
"A'ying, after we return, I will ask Mother to return your deed of indenture to you. That place in the palace, the fewer people who enter, the better." They had grown up together, and she didn't want A'ying to suffer with her.
A'ying knelt down with a thud, the carriage floor shaking slightly. "Miss, this servant does not wish to leave you."
Once they entered the palace, Miss would only have her. She couldn't let Miss be alone. She wanted to accompany Miss for the rest of her life.
"A'ying, don't be foolish. You at least have a chance to leave." Unlike her, who had no choice.
"This servant has always been foolish, and Miss has never disliked me. Without Miss, this servant doesn't know what to do. This servant has long decided to follow Miss for a lifetime. Wherever Miss goes, this servant will serve Miss. Please don't send this servant away; this servant will not go anywhere..." A'ying cried profusely.
Mo Yuxi's eyes also reddened. She helped A'ying up. "Alright, I won't leave. We will never be separated."
A'ying then wiped her tears. "This servant thanks Miss. Although this servant is foolish, this servant will never betray Miss in this lifetime."
She knew Miss liked Young Master Yu. This was Miss's secret. Miss kept this secret, and she, kept watch over Miss.
...
Xie Jia Yan had also come to see Yu Ming Yue off today, on a small boat not far away.
Inside the cabin, he watched her bid farewell to her group of young ladies, watched her embrace them, and watched her wave excitedly yet reluctantly from the deck.
Finally, she left like a wisp of cloud in the sky, drifting towards a farther, broader place.
"Does Lord Xie like Sixth Lady?" There was another person in the cabin, Princess Qing Ping, Luo Ling Yi.
Although the poison in her body had been resolved, she was very thin and weak. She did not wish to see anyone.
She hadn't expected to encounter Xie Jia Yan by chance.
Xie Jia Yan calmly sipped his tea, neither answering Luo Ling Yi's question nor denying it.
"Sixth Lady is very good," Luo Ling Yi smiled. "You are all good people."
Xie Jia Yan remained silent, continuing to drink the tea in his cup, his gaze fixed outside through the small cabin window.
Until Luo Ling Yi spoke again. "But you are not suited for her. Perhaps I should call you... cousin."
Xie Jia Yan finally withdrew his gaze and looked at Luo Ling Yi, who was sitting opposite him. "When did you know?"
"My mother told me before she left the capital. Lord Xie, I mean no harm. We have both experienced life and death. I wish to cooperate with you."
Mother said she knew he was the child of the Empress and the Saint from the first moment she saw him.
She wouldn't be mistaken.
If, one day, this secret could save her life.
Later, driven by curiosity, she discovered a secret.
That was that Empress Wang was not dead. She was in Niujia Village.
The reason Empress Wang knew about the Wang family's affairs in a timely manner was because of the letter she had sent.