Chapter 71 – Rebirth: The Poisonous Concubine (12)
Bai Mo let out a chuckle, and the noble ladies couldn’t help but stifle their laughter, covering their upturned lips with silk handkerchiefs.
Madam Yu had truly voiced their thoughts.
Being randomly targeted by kidnappers and abducted had already left them in a foul mood. Then, to make matters worse, they discovered that the Prime Minister’s daughter had played a role in the scheme—yet she had gone unpunished.
At past gatherings of noble ladies, the daughters of officials had always been proud and competitive, frequently clashing over talent and accomplishments. Who knew if Wei Yuyan might one day hold a grudge and arrange for kidnappers to snatch them up during the lantern festival?
The authorities hadn’t publicly released the names of the abducted noblewomen, and their families, fearing for their reputations, had kept silent.
But silence didn’t mean the incident had never happened.
These noblewomen had long harbored disdain for Wei Yuyan. However, due to her status and her engagement to the Third Prince, they had no choice but to tolerate her. Offending the Prime Minister’s residence was unwise, and offending the imperial family was even worse.
But now, with Madam Yu putting Wei Yuyan in her place, the sight of her humiliation was immensely satisfying.
As the saying goes, “The law does not punish the masses.” Since everyone was laughing, even if Wei Yuyan wanted to hold a grudge, she wouldn’t be able to remember all their names. However, she could remember the main culprit—Bai Mo, the first to laugh out loud.
With fresh resentment piling onto old grudges, Wei Yuyan’s loathing for Bai Mo was practically tangible.
The Prime Minister’s wife felt the same. She was accustomed to admiration and had now suffered a significant loss at Madam Yu’s hands. Swallowing her anger was impossible, but openly confronting Madam Yu wasn’t an option either. Fortunately, Bai Mo had walked straight into the line of fire, providing her with the perfect scapegoat.
“Young Master Bai, you laughed—do you have any particular insight to share?” the Prime Minister’s wife challenged him.
The noble ladies immediately stopped laughing, tension filling the air. Was she redirecting her anger onto Bai Mo?
And to think people said the Prime Minister’s household was magnanimous. The Prime Minister’s wife seemed rather petty.
Bai Mo’s eyes sparkled mischievously as he replied with a bright smile, “I found Wangcai to be quite valiant and festive, which made me laugh without thinking. Madam, you are kind, generous, virtuous, and gracious—surely you wouldn’t hold a mistake from a junior like me against me, would you?”
Xiao Bobao’s eyes lit up. “Brilliant, my dear Mo! You just served their so-called ‘noble kindness’ right back to them. Look at the Prime Minister’s wife and Wei Yuyan—they look like they’re suffering from constipation! Mo Mo, you’re amazing!”
Bai Mo replied, “Basic skills, nothing to brag about.”
“Look, with this peace charm, Wangcai looks even more dignified and handsome. He can be promoted from guarding the back gate to guarding the front gate now—it’s all thanks to Miss Wei!” Bai Mo said, his face pure and innocent, while his words were enough to make the Prime Minister’s wife and Wei Yuyan cough up blood.
“Mo Mo is right. Our Wangcai has indeed become even more heroic…” The noble ladies didn’t dare offend the Prime Minister’s wife, but Madam Yu wasn’t afraid. Supporting her future daughter-in-law was her duty.
“You—” The usually eloquent Prime Minister’s wife found herself at a loss for words. Hearing the noble ladies showering Wangcai with praise made both mother and daughter feel like they were sitting on pins and needles. They were eager to take their leave.
Just as the Prime Minister’s wife was about to speak, a maid entered to report that Yu Chenyi had returned. However, since the flower hall was filled with noble ladies, it was inappropriate for him to enter and greet Madam Yu directly, so he had returned to his courtyard instead and sent his regards to the esteemed guests.
This was a sign of respect toward the noble ladies, and they naturally didn’t mind, waving their hands and exchanging pleasantries.
Bai Mo, on the other hand, had long grown tired of the verbal battles in the flower hall. Upon hearing that his dear husband had returned, he immediately clung to Madam Yu’s sleeve, acting coquettishly and begging to go find Yu Chenyi.
The child’s affectionate manner was utterly endearing. Since Yu Chenyi had been independent from a young age, Madam Yu had never truly experienced this kind of childlike closeness before. Now, she was getting all of it from Bai Mo, and the maternal love inside her was practically overflowing—her heart felt like it was melting.
“Alright, alright, I know you two are close, always stuck together like sticky candy. Go on, go play.” Madam Yu would grant Bai Mo anything he asked for. If he wanted the stars from the sky, she would have Yu Chenyi find a way to bring them down for him.
And why Yu Chenyi, specifically?
Well, if his own wife wanted something, was he just going to sit back and wait for another man to fulfill Bai Mo’s wishes?
If that happened, there’d be plenty of tears from her foolish son later.
“Yes! I’ll come back later with Brother Chenyi to join you for dinner~” The young man responded cheerfully, bid farewell to the Prime Minister’s wife and the noble ladies, and ran off, his joy evident in every step.
He really ran.
They had only blinked twice, and his figure had already disappeared. If not for the extra cup of tea on the table, they might have thought Bai Mo had never been there at all.
“Young Master Bai still has a child’s temperament—so reckless, running off like that…” Wei Yuyan finally felt the weight on her heart lift now that Bai Mo was gone, and she had the energy to subtly criticize him.
Hopping and skipping around in someone else’s home—if you put it nicely, it shows an unsettled nature; if you say it plainly, it’s simply lacking manners.
“Exactly. Young Master Bai is not that young anymore—he’s at the age to start a family. How is he still so unruly…” The Prime Minister’s wife shook her head, pretending to be a kind yet helpless elder.
Hypocrite!
That was the collective thought of the noble ladies. If she had an issue, why didn’t she say it when Bai Mo was still here? Instead, she waited until he was gone—wasn’t it just because she had been rendered speechless by Bai Mo’s sharp tongue? Now that he had left and couldn’t talk back, she found her courage.
“Why be so rigid? I don’t like restraining Mo Mo either. We’ll all be family in the future—he’s just getting familiar with the environment in advance.” Madam Yu responded lightly, effortlessly countering her. She enjoyed seeing Mo Mo act freely—so what?
The group continued chatting idly, but Wei Yuyan repeatedly steered the conversation toward Yu Chenyi, even bringing up the issue of future heirs. Bai Mo was a man—if Yu Chenyi married Bai Mo, wouldn’t that mean the Yu family’s bloodline would be severed?
The noble ladies collectively sucked in a breath. Wow. Wei Yuyan was vicious. Was she here to apologize or to sabotage the engagement? What did the Yu family’s heir have to do with her? She was clearly here just to stir up trouble.
Wei Yuyan kept planting seeds of doubt, trying to affect Madam Yu’s impression of Bai Mo. As long as she could provoke even the slightest dissatisfaction, her goal would be achieved. Fortunately, she wasn’t aware of what the noble ladies were thinking—if she had been, she would’ve been bombarded from all directions.
But even if she had known, she probably wouldn’t have cared. After all, she held the status of the Prime Minister’s daughter, and in her eyes, no one here—including Madam Yu—was her equal.
A single noble lady might not be able to shake Wei Yuyan, but even ants can take down an elephant. If they united, their power would be formidable.
Listening to Wei Yuyan’s veiled insults toward Bai Mo, their fury burned even brighter.
Bai Mo was their savior, and she wanted to ruin his marriage? Had she asked them if they agreed?
The young women exchanged glances and saw the same determination reflected in each other’s eyes.
“It’s getting late. We won’t intrude any longer—we’ll take our leave.” One noble lady after another excused themselves.
However, instead of returning home, their carriages and sedan chairs all converged at the largest restaurant in town. In a private room, the first noble lady to leave was already waiting for them.
“Wei Yuyan has no remorse and still wants to frame Young Master Bai. Let’s discuss how to teach her a lesson…”
Not long after the noble ladies left, Madam Yu also served tea to bid farewell to her guests. Wei Yuyan had been stubbornly waiting for Yu Chenyi to appear, convinced that as long as he saw her, he would surely be moved.
Unfortunately for her, Madam Yu gave her no such chance, and Bai Mo would never let her succeed either. No matter how noble she was as the Prime Minister’s daughter, clinging shamelessly to someone else’s home was simply unacceptable. The Prime Minister’s wife had already had enough of the cold taunts and wasted enough time trying to reason with people who refused to listen.
She forcibly dragged Wei Yuyan away. As soon as they were gone, Madam Yu immediately ordered Fu Bo to bring people to fetch water and clean the floors—she wouldn’t allow her home to be dirtied by the presence of such people.
…
Meanwhile, the authorities had received strict orders to thoroughly investigate the human trafficking case and rescue as many victims as possible. The Court of Judicial Review temporarily put aside all other cases to focus on this one, and progress was swift. Many of the women and children who had been sold nearby were successfully recovered by the officials. The people praised the emperor, calling it a great blessing for the Jin Kingdom.
Solving such a long-standing issue, especially one that directly benefited the people and the state, was a rare achievement. The emperor, accepting the empress dowager’s suggestion, decided to hold a celebratory banquet. Of course, to avoid excessive strain on the treasury, the event would be modest. Conveniently, there were several princes and princesses of marriageable age in the palace, so under the guise of the empress dowager’s flower appreciation banquet, they invited eligible young nobles into the palace—an opportunity for potential matchmaking.
Bai Mo and Yu Chenyi were among those invited. Although the two were already engaged, the emperor greatly admired Bai Mo’s cleverness and Yu Chenyi’s decisiveness, making this the perfect occasion to meet them both.
Appearing before the emperor was a solemn matter. Unlike the other invitees, who would arrive in their most extravagant attire, Bai Mo and Yu Chenyi needed to present themselves with dignity and composure.
Yu Chenyi, of course, had no issue with this. He was always composed and carried an air of refinement, well-versed in social interactions. His father, Imperial Censor Yu, had full confidence in his son’s ability to handle the imperial audience.
In contrast, the Bai family was the complete opposite. Upon hearing that the emperor wished to see Bai Mo, Madam Bai became deeply anxious.
Favor and disfavor alike were both forms of imperial grace, and the palace was no place to act recklessly. Mo Mo was playful by nature—what if he accidentally made a mistake or offended a noble?
Even with his father’s status as a Minister, there would still be dire consequences if someone powerful decided to make trouble for him.
“Mo Mo, when you enter the palace, do not look around. Walk behind the eunuch with your head lowered. If you must choose between staying silent or speaking carelessly, stay silent—do you understand?”
The empress dowager’s flower banquet and the emperor’s summons were held in different locations, meaning Madam Bai and Bai Mo would have to separate for a while. She wouldn’t be able to watch over him the entire time.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Mother.”
Although Madam Bai was nagging, it was out of genuine love for him. At this moment, whatever she said, Bai Mo would obey. Seeing him take her words to heart, Madam Bai finally relaxed a little.
When it was time to enter the palace, noble families traveled by sedan chairs and carriages to the palace gates. After passing through security checks, eunuchs sent by the Empress Dowager escorted the ladies and young masters in specially prepared sedan chairs to the location of the flower appreciation banquet.
However, the emperor, eager to meet talented individuals, intercepted the procession midway. He ordered Bai Mo’s sedan chair to be carried directly to a pavilion in the Imperial Garden.
Bai Mo, who had been passionately discussing the merits of a drama with Xiao Bobao, suddenly felt his sedan come to an abrupt stop. The unusual silence outside unsettled him—it was far too quiet, nothing like the lively atmosphere a flower banquet should have.
Just as he was debating whether to step out and see where he had been taken, a sharp and high-pitched voice from a young eunuch startled him.
“Young Master Bai, please step out of the sedan.”
Well, there was no choice now—he had to get out.
The emperor, who had been waiting with a smile, saw a fair and delicate hand lift the curtain.
Moments later, a young man adorned with a jade hairpin emerged. When he raised his gaze, his bright and flawless face was revealed—his eyes curved like a crescent moon, sparkling with light.
His thin, rosy lips pressed together slightly as he tilted his head and politely thanked the eunuchs who had carried his sedan.
“Thank you for your hard work, esteemed eunuchs~”
His soft, sweet voice blended seamlessly with the scent of osmanthus blossoms, which bloomed only during this season. It carried a natural sweetness, just enough to be pleasant without being overwhelming, leaving everyone who heard it feeling inexplicably at ease.