Chapter 22

"This tea is pretty good…" Xiao Yin took the green tea from Duan Mu Yan and lightly took a sip before placing it back to the table. He then turned around to leave.

"Mu Yan! I'll accompany you back to the Palace…" Suddenly pulling Duan Mu Yan along. Xiao Yuxuan could not understand why his normally benevolent father had become so cold. He vowed to take Duan Mu Yan away, how could he allow her to live in such an environment. She had already suffered too much!

"YuXuan! Come with me!" Xiao Yin mercilessly grabbed his son and forcefully pulled Xiao Yuxuan out of the main hall!

Hopeless... Duan Mu Yan forced herself not to cry. Her jade-like hands were clenched into fists, and her heart felt as if it was ruthlessly pierced by thousands of blades. 'Mother… Daughter is unfilial.'

"Royal Concubine! The reason why I'm calling you this is to let you know that you're not a princess here, but the Prince's secondary wife! The portrait of my Mistress is right in front of you! Yet, you chose to turn a blind eye to it! Don't you feel that you should mourn the Main Wife before her spirit? If it wasn't for you! How could my Mistress... The Healer said... that Mistress shouldn't be provoked! But you just had to marry the Prince at this time…" Tears flowed down Su Jin's face as she glared hatefully at Duan Mu Yan!

"Xiu'er! You can leave …" Xiao Jin Feng shouted coldly! Then, he turned around and walked towards the portrait of Chu Shirou!

As she sobbed softly, Su Jin Xiu staggered out of the main hall. As there was no one around, her cherry lips secretly revealed a terrifying smile.

"Your Highness…" Duan Mu Yan placed all her hopes on Xiao Jin Feng. She really wanted to see her mother!

"Didn't you hear what Xiu'er said!? As a princess, you should know the basic etiquette!" His ice-cold voice was devoid of any warmth, and Duan Mu Yan's heart seemed to be tightly clenched by someone, the more she struggled, the tighter the grip become! 'Mother… Daughter is unfilial.'

Dejected, Duan Mu Yan stood up and staggered over to Chu Shirou's coffin, unconsciously kneeling on the ground. Her tears were like beads of broken string as they sprinkled over the floor!

Sage Storage Pavilion

That handsome figure was indifferently slouching against the jade carved chair. His slender jade-like hands gently swung at the fruit plate beside him and placed a grape in his mouth. His thin lips then slightly pursed into a frown!

"Eunuch An! Wait outside…" As Duan Zitong entered the pavilion, she casted a sidelong glance at the eunuch inside the room in attention, then dismissed everyone in the room and shut the doors tightly behind them!

"We have won this battle! I didn't expect that bitch Ling Ziyan to die so early! This was letting her off easy! However, her daughter and son did not have such luck! Little brother...! Aiya… Aren't you going to say something?" Looking at the unconcerned Duan Xingyi in the jade chair, Duan Zitong couldn't help stomping her foot lightly! She was getting less and less familiar with this little brother of hers! He was becoming so mysterious she couldn't fathom anymore!

"What is there more to say…? I already let you say it!" Duan Xingyi shrugged. His sword-like brows slightly raised and his thin, water-like lips brushed against a faint smile.

"You are being easy-going! Right now, Duan Jingyang is being confined by Imperial Father in his residence. This is a good time for us to make a move!" Her gloomy eyes were as sharp as blades.

In Duan Zitong's heart, there was only hatred! She hated Ling Ziyan, hated Duan Mu Yan, hated Duan Jingyang! Because they were the ones who took away the happiness that was rightfully theirs!

"Elder sister couldn't be thinking of killing Duan Jingyang at this time, right?" The corner of Duan Xingyi's eyes slightly raised as he casted a sidelong glance at the woman beside him!

"Kill him? And let him off the hook? If they die just like that, who am I going to hate? Then how will they taste my retribution that I have so long planned?!" Duan Zitong's bright eyes flickered with a strange smile!

"Then what does elder sister mean?" Duan Xingyi hauled himself from the jade chair and walked around lazily into the room. His slender fingers subconsciously playing with the jade pendant on his waist!

"Let us take advantage of this moment! We could not wait for anyone to dig up our wasted background and used it against us. You got to become the crown prince, if only not because of that Duan Jingyang! Since we entered the palace, there are already people who professed their opposition in favour of that Duan Jingyang! We have to think of a way to pull them to our side." Duan Zitong said coldly.

"Is that necessary? Elder sister, think carefully! Who was in charge of this Mo Dynasty? Imperial father has the vast authority to set who will be the crown prince. And you sure know how he feels about Duan Jingyang. Do we really need to waste our time like this?!" A trace of contempt flashed through Duan Xingyi's icy eyes.

What Duan Zitong couldn't stand to see the most was Duan Xingyi always having such a confident look on his face!

"Watch out for that arrogance of yours! Elder sister is doing this for your own good. Before mother passed away, she asked me to take care of you! So no matter what, I will ensure that you sit into that Dragon Throne!" Duan Zitong said resentfully.

"I naturally understand elder sister's intentions! However…, are you planning to let Duan Mu Yan off like this? " Duan Xingyi suddenly changed the topic and looked at Duan Zitong!

"Let her go? Huh! Who could imagine that that Duan Mu Yan would be guarding some-other's spirit rather than her own mother? Her mother died yet she still had to guard the souls of others—the purest sorrow of all, greater than the death itself! Duan Mu Yan's days of suffering has just begun! She would always be the thorn in Xiao Jin Feng's heart that he would never be able to pull out…" Duan Zitong's beautiful eyes narrowed as her long and thick eyelashes narrowed into a crescent moon!

"Really? Elder sister seems to have missed someone!" The determination in Xiao Yuxuan's eyes suddenly surfaced in Duan Xingyi's mind! For Duan Mu Yan, he actually dared to go against the will of the heavens! He should have loved her very much.

"Xiao YuXuan? Hmm... Don't worry, elder sister has her own arrangements about him. But I won't tell you anything yet! If you have nothing to do, be at royal father's side. In the entire Mo Dynasty, only one person had the final say on who will the crown prince be! Big sister still has something to do, I will take my leave then… " In her mind, there was a man she wanted to capture, to make him submit to her. And due to Duan Mu Yan, this man was even more worth owning.

The curtain of night hung low, the crescent moon was like a blade. The dark and lonely moonlight enveloping the land. As night fell, the autumn wind blew, and the coldness seeped into everyone's bone. Inside the main hall, the door was widely opened. The white silk fluttered in the wind, making a 'whoosh' sound, floating around peacefully. Her tears were dried in the wind, and her cheeks became red and painful due to the cold air. Her black hair fluttered in the wind, and her empty eyes stared blankly at the limestone tiles on the ground, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear. Her heart ached to the point where she couldn't cry.

It was at the time of pig did Xiao Jin Feng fainted from excessive grief and fatigue. He was carried back to his room by a servant.

After midnight, Duan Mu Yan was left by herself in the entire mourning hall. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, no one called out to Duan Mu Yan. She was completely ignored, and was treated like some air no one could see!

The sound of hurried footsteps startled Duan Mu Yan from her stupor. When she looked at the approaching person, she was a little heartbroken. It was not Xiao Yuxuan. She really wanted to know what was going on in the palace, to know the details of her mother's funeral, and to know about her brother's situation. But now, other than kneeling on the cold boulder and guarding this woman she'd never met, there was nothing she could do!

"Mistress…" The sound of footsteps came from Su Jin Xiu, and in the next second after she entered, her entire body fell onto the ground. Her tearless eyes started to tear up as she looked at the coffin, and her voice sounded like she was crying.

Duan Mu Yan suddenly felt lucky that she didn't have a sister. Although not really lucky for she still had a brother. She could not give up on Duan Jingyang, not ever. She could not let him face such a cruel world alone!

Su Jin Xiu's cries became more and more miserable.

Duan Mu Yan heaved her body with difficulty against the ground, and when her knees left the ground, she felt a burst of tingling sensation. After recovering herself for half a moment, Duan Mu Yan slowly stood up and walked to Su Jin Xiu's side.

"A person cannot be revived after death, but at least the living could still mourn of their dead. I believe that your Mistress' soul in the afterlife will definitely not be willing to see you grieve like this…" Duan Mu Yan reached out her hands in wanting to support Su Jin Xiu.

"Don't... Go away! Go away!" The moment Duan Mu Yan's hand touched Su Jin Xiu's wrist, she suddenly shrank back in fear, her eyes filled with terror! Her pair of hands kept waving toward Duan Mu Yan!

"You… What's the matter with you? " Duan Mu Yan looked at Su Jin Xiu in puzzlement as she walked over worriedly. However, the further she went, the more Su Jin Xiu retreated, and her face was pale as a sheet of paper!

"What is happening here?!" A booming cold voice suddenly heard at the entire hall. Xiao Jin Feng, who suddenly appeared at the entrance of the hall, had his cold eyes sharply stared at everything. His unyielding handsome face turned dark.

"Your Highness! Princess, she…" Su Jin Xiu wailed in a wrongfully manner. Her right hand tightly held onto her left wrist as tears rolled down her face!

"Speak! I'm here! No one will dare to touch you!" His dark eyes lost some of their hostility when he looked at Su Jin Jian.

"Your Highness! This matter with the Royal Concubine is the fault of this servant! Xiu'er has been kneeling here ever since you left. Just now, the Royal Concubine walked in and advised this servant to rest. But this humble servant couldn't bear to part with Mistress, so she tactfully declined the Royal Concubine's good intentions... Afterwards, I accidentally fell down..." Su Jinxiu raised her left wrist to wipe away the tears at the corner of her eyes! Just as Su Jin Xiu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, Xiao Jin Feng noticed a bruise on her left wrist!

"Then what was this about?!" Xiao Jin Feng frowned, he pulled Su Jin Xiu to his side, and stared straight at the bruise on Su Jin Xiu's left wrist!

"This... Just now, this humble servant accidentally knocked against the ground… Your Highness… Calm down… Xiu'er will return now…" Su Jin Xiu tried to retract her wrist, but it was useless!

"I didn't do it…" Duan Mu Yan looked at Su Jin Xiu in disbelief. She looked aghast by what Su Jin Xiu said that she couldn't helped but speak. This servant was clearly trying to tell Xiao Jin Feng that she, Duan Mu Yan had something to do with that bruise of hers!

"She didn't say you did it, did she? Is the guilt too much in your conscience that you deny it so urgently?!" Xiao Jin Feng looked coldly at Duan Mu Yan, who showed no fear nor tear on her downtrodden face!

"Believe whatever you want to believe, it's up to you..." She had no plan of explaining or making excuses, because it was unnecessary, and she knew it would be useless. Duan Mu Yan turned around, and didn't speak any further.

However, in the next instant, her arm was ruthlessly grabbed by Xiao Jin Feng!

"If you have any complaints, come to me! Why did you have to make it difficult for the servant!? Beside, she's ShiRou's main servant who she almost treated as her own sister! " Xiao Jin Feng released Su Jin Xiu and glared viciously at Duan Mu Yan!

Behind him, Su Jin Xiu's eyes flashed with a cold glint. Heh! In Xiao Jin Feng's eyes, he was just a servant! No... She didn't want to be just a servant! She wanted to be his woman—his main wife!

"Your Highness… It is not the fault of Royal Concubine... This is the fault of Xiu'er... This servant should have just left when asked by the Royal Concubine... It was the fault of Xiu'er! This servant was wrong... Mistress…" Su Jin Xiu ran to the front of coffin, raising her hand to fiercely fan herself. She couldn't help but mumble under her breath as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Stop! Xiu'er, what are you doing!? Stop! " He pushed Duan Mu Yan aside and briskly walked toward Su Jin Xiu who he immediately pulled over. At this moment, Su Jin Xiu suddenly fainted!