Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 268 - 266. Tea House Conversation, Refusing to Cooperate
266. A Conversation in the Teahouse, Cooperation Refused
Walking up to the second floor of the teahouse, they found not a single customer present. This was not a particularly luxurious teahouse, and its decor and furnishings would clearly not cater to the tastes of Noble Consort Liu, who had long resided in the imperial palace. Thus, her decision to select this place was solely to wait for Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li. Naturally, Noble Consort Liu would not willingly share a room with so many common city folk, so this teahouse had already been cleared out.
The empty upper floor was tranquil. The moment they reached the top of the stairs, they saw Noble Consort Liu standing with her back to them, facing the window, leaving only a white silhouette. The surrounding palace maids and eunuchs stood with bowed heads, none daring to make the slightest sound.
Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow, carried Mo Xiaobao to an empty table, and placed the little bun on it. Mo Xiaobao pouted his small lips; He wasn’t a child anymore; he didn’t want to sit on the table. He stretched out his small hand, wanting Ye Li to hold him. Ye Li smiled faintly and lifted him into the adjacent chair. Only then did Mo Xiaobao happily settle into the large chair, wiggling his little bottom. He blinked his eyes at Ye Li and said, "Mother, isn’t that old lady the one who invited us for tea? Why is she ignoring us?"
Old lady? Ye Li’s mouth twitched. Don’t assume that just because Mo Xiaobao was usually quiet, he wouldn’t offend people the moment he opened his mouth. For a cunning little imp who, as soon as he began to speak, knew to call Qin Zheng "sister" and his maternal aunts by marriage "auntie," whether or not he chose to please someone depended entirely on his mood. Ye Li sometimes worried that this son of hers would grow up to be a dissolute, charming rogue. Thus, she very rarely agreed with Mo Xiuyao’s suggestion to minimize Mo Xiaobao’s contact with Han Mingxi. So, Noble Consort Liu must have done something to displease Mo Xiaobao.
Noble Consort Liu turned around. Seeing the child in black clothes sitting between Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao, she couldn’t help but pause. Noble Consort Liu prided herself on her beauty. Although she looked down on Mo Jingqi as a person, she had to admit he was quite handsome. However, their two sons and one daughter combined were not as beautiful as the black-clad boy before her. As Noble Consort Liu truly looked at the black-clad boy staring earnestly at her, even the anger in her heart dissipated somewhat, replaced by a greater sense of unwillingness. The children she would have with Prince Ding... would surely be more beautiful than this child...
Beside them, Ye Li looked up at the sky speechlessly. Just from Noble Consort Liu’s dazed expression, one could tell she was off in her own world again, perhaps lost in some unrealistic fantasies.
"Old lady? Beautiful old lady?" Mo Xiaobao considered himself a person of great aesthetic judgment, so even if he disliked the old lady before him, he had to admit she was a very beautiful old lady. It was just a pity... this old lady seemed to have a few screws loose. A moment ago, she was glaring at him angrily, and he thought she was about to explode. Who knew she would then start staring at him in a daze? I know I’m good-looking, but this old lady is too old, so she shouldn’t be drooling over me, Mo Xiaobao thought narcissistically.
"Old lady, are you going to invite us for tea or not?" Mo Xiaobao asked impatiently.
Being called "old lady" repeatedly by a child, even if Noble Consort Liu were slow on the uptake, she would have realized the child was doing it deliberately. Even if a child didn’t know any better, someone must have instructed him. Noble Consort Liu stepped forward, frowning, and said, "Young heir, I am not an old lady." Mo Xiaobao narrowed his small brow, scrutinizing her for a long moment before muttering, "My father said anyone ten years older than my mother is called an old lady."
His mother might be in her twenties, but many people said she looked like a young maiden not yet twenty. This old lady in front of him already looked over thirty, as old as his father. "It’s fine if you don’t know how to maintain your youth. Later, I’ll introduce you to my mother’s skincare products," Mo Xiaobao said pityingly. Such a beautiful person turning into an old lady because she doesn’t know how to take care of herself, it’s truly too pitiful. So, Mo Xiaobao was determined that Noble Consort Liu was an old lady.
"COUGH, COUGH." Ye Li, who was drinking tea beside them, accidentally choked. One of Mo Xiuyao’s eyebrows twitched as he looked at his deadly serious son with a half-smile. When did he ever teach him that anyone ten years older than Ah-Li should be called an old lady?
"The young heir is truly intelligent!" Noble Consort Liu said through gritted teeth. "Miss Ye has taught him well." Ye Li’s expression remained unchanged as she smiled and said, "Noble Consort, you flatter me."
Who’s flattering you?! Noble Consort Liu seethed internally. Watching Ye Li’s flower-like smile, her heart involuntarily clenched. She had always believed Ye Li’s appearance was far inferior to her own, but now, looking at her so closely, she found that Ye Li was not as plain as she remembered. Her features were delicate and graceful, her smile gentle, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze upon seeing her. Beneath that gentle and tender brow, there was a subtle hint of refined elegance and noble aura. These were two extremely contradictory qualities, yet on the woman before her, they merged into an unprecedented confidence and dignity. It reminded people that this woman was not only a daughter from a prestigious noble family but also a heroine capable of riding into battle. Such an aura needed no external adornments or facial expressions to be concealed. Even when she smiled as gently as any ordinary lady from the inner chambers, it still made people hesitant to offend her easily.
Of course, this was not Noble Consort Liu’s primary concern. What made Noble Consort Liu grit her teeth in silent resentment was Ye Li’s age. Compared to a girl of fourteen or fifteen who had just reached womanhood, Ye Li might be considered older. But compared to Noble Consort Liu, who was over thirty, the twenty-one or twenty-two-year-old Ye Li—who looked as if she were still in the prime of eighteen—was infuriatingly youthful. No matter how much Noble Consort Liu hated to admit it, compared to Ye Li, she indeed was older.
At this thought, Noble Consort Liu glanced somewhat frantically at Mo Xiuyao, who was seated to the side. She saw Mo Xiuyao holding a teacup but not drinking, nor was he looking at her. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the woman in green robes one seat away. Seeing the gentle dimples at the corners of Ye Li’s lips, a smile of pleasure touched his own handsome features beneath his white hair. This handsome couple, seated with a child who seemed to have inherited all their best features, formed a picturesque scene. It was a sight so beautiful it was mesmerizing, yet it sent a sudden chill through Noble Consort Liu.
"Xiu... Prince Ding." After a moment’s hesitation, seeing that Mo Xiuyao showed no intention of speaking, Noble Consort Liu had to break the silence.
Mo Xiuyao arched an eyebrow, giving her a silent, questioning look. Noble Consort Liu gritted her teeth and said, "I have some matters I wish to discuss privately with Prince Ding. Could Miss Ye and the young heir perhaps give us some privacy?"
Before Ye Li could speak, Mo Xiaobao interjected, "No!"
No matter how angry Noble Consort Liu was, she couldn’t vent her anger on his son in front of Mo Xiuyao. She could only suppress her fury and force a somewhat stiff smile. "Young heir, I have important matters to discuss with your father. How about you let your mother take you out to play?" Mo Xiaobao’s small mouth drooped. He looked up pleadingly at Mo Xiuyao, his large, clear black-and-white eyes instantly welling with tears that threatened to spill. Mo Xiuyao arched an eyebrow at his son. What is this brat up to now?
Mo Xiaobao gazed pitifully at his father and whimpered, "Father... you’re not going to abandon Xiaobao and Mother, are you? Xiaobao loves Mother and Father the most. Father doesn’t want Xiaobao anymore... WOO WOO WOO..." And so, thanks to Noble Consort Liu, Mo Xiuyao heard his son say he loved him for the very first time. This boy usually wished he could kick his father as far away as possible—a sentiment Mo Xiuyao often reciprocated.
"Father won’t abandon your mother," Mo Xiuyao pledged. He’d just abandon you.
Mo Xiaobao said tearfully, "But just now, this old lady wanted Mother to take Xiaobao away, WOO WOO WOO... Little Uncle said women who want to talk privately with Father are all aiming to be Xiaobao’s stepmother. Xiaobao doesn’t want a stepmother..." Mo Xiuyao felt a dark cloud descend over him. He deeply felt that merely keeping Mo Xiaobao away from Han Mingxi had been a grave mistake. He should have kept him away from the five Xu Family brothers as well. Look what Fifth Xu had taught his son! And all those cunning tricks he learned from Xu Qingchen, always going on about ’Great Uncle this’ and ’Great Uncle that.’ If Mo Xiaobao didn’t constantly cling to Ah-Li, he would suspect that Mo Xiaobao would have simply gone off to live with Xu Qingchen at the Xu Family’s estate. Of course, he had now sent Mo Xiaobao to the Xu Family, but it was one thing for him, the father, to send him away, and quite another for his son to eagerly run off there himself.
"Your little uncle is right, so Father won’t have private talks with other women." I only want to have private talks with Ah-Li, so you brat, stop clinging to Ah-Li all the time. Then Father will love you too.
"Xiaobao knew Father wasn’t a heartless man who would abandon his wife and child," Mo Xiaobao said with relief.
This time, both Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li’s mouths twitched. The couple exchanged a glance. Whose failure in education had led to their five-year-old son turning out this way?
Mo Xiaobao didn’t care that his actions had also startled his own parents. He climbed over the chair into Mo Xiuyao’s lap, his small face, still streaked with tears, beaming with a sweet, blissful smile. He turned to Noble Consort Liu, whose face had turned pale with anger, and said, "Old lady, men and women should maintain a proper distance. My father will never be alone with you. A man’s reputation is also very important. Old lady, don’t harm my father."
Ye Li helplessly reached out and rubbed her son’s small head, then turned to Noble Consort Liu. "The child is ignorant, Noble Consort, please don’t mind him." Mo Xiaobao nuzzled his mother’s palm, grinning. Even though he disliked Father the most, Father belonged to Mother. If Mother still wanted Father, then even though it annoyed him, he would magnanimously accept it. But other women trying to snatch him away? HMPH! HMPH! HMPH!
Noble Consort Liu’s face remained cold. She knew that trying to speak alone with Mo Xiuyao today was impossible. She could only suppress her anger and said in a low voice, "In that case, it won’t hurt for Miss Ye to listen as well."
Ye Li smiled and nodded, indicating she was all ears.
Only when Mo Xiaobao settled down and began to doze off in Mo Xiuyao’s lap did Noble Consort Liu finally speak. Although their exchange had been brief, she was genuinely a little afraid of this precocious boy. He wore an innocent, bewildered little face, yet every word, every sentence was aimed at embarrassing her, making it impossible to believe he was unintentional. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"What are Prince Ding’s thoughts on the current situation in the Capital City?" Noble Consort Liu asked in a low voice, looking intently at Mo Xiuyao.
Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said, "I returned solely to pay respects to my ancestors and do not intend to get involved in the affairs of the Capital City. Moreover, the Mo Family Army no longer has any connection to Great Chu. For me to interfere rashly would be improper and lack justification. Noble Consort Liu, you need not ask this again. Besides, this is not a matter you should be inquiring about."
The words "not a matter you should be inquiring about" were undoubtedly a huge blow to Noble Consort Liu. It meant that Mo Xiuyao still regarded her as merely an ordinary woman of the rear palace. Even if Mo Xiuyao was strikingly brilliant and talented, he was still a prince of an ancient imperial age and definitely wouldn’t have an innate idea of gender equality. However, he was different from ordinary men; he believed some women were no less capable than men, so he could accept them studying literature, practicing martial arts, engaging in politics, or becoming generals. For instance, Ye Li and Princess Anxi.
But at the same time, he still believed most women were ordinary ladies of the boudoir, whose only task was to remain quietly within their chambers. The former represented a status equal to his own and earned his respect, while the latter represented mere appendages to men.
Therefore, in Mo Xiuyao’s eyes, it was natural for Ye Li to inquire about anything, whereas Noble Consort Liu had no business meddling in court affairs. This wasn’t because she was an imperial consort from the harem, but because she simply wasn’t qualified. Noble Consort Liu clearly understood Mo Xiuyao’s thinking, and it was precisely because of this that she was even more furious.
After a good while, Noble Consort Liu gritted her teeth and said, "Prince Ding, you should know that my son has already been designated as the Crown Prince. Once His Majesty passes away, he will become the Emperor of Great Chu, and I will be the Empress Dowager." Mo Xiuyao nodded. Of course, he knew, but so what? "There have been many Empress Dowagers. Great Chu alone has had seven or eight. So what?"
So what? Great Chu has never had an Empress Dowager who could control a young emperor from the previous court and stir up trouble. It’s not that they didn’t want to; few women who had struggled their entire lives to finally sit on the throne of the Empress Dowager didn’t dream of ruling from behind a curtain. But... Great Chu had Prince Ding’s Mansion. As long as Prince Ding’s Mansion stood, it wasn’t the turn of the women from the deep palace to point fingers in court. Thus, since the founding of Great Chu, the Empress Dowager with the most authority was merely the current one, Mo Jingqi’s birth mother. Even so, she couldn’t achieve the level of power held by harem consorts in previous dynasties. One reason was that Mo Jingqi was already quite old when he ascended the throne, and he was a man who could not tolerate power falling into others’ hands. Secondly, the officials of Great Chu were no longer accustomed to the harem wielding power.
Noble Consort Liu lowered her gaze. She couldn’t argue with Mo Xiuyao. Not only because she loved him, but more so because she lacked the leverage to contend with him. She could only change her approach: "Prince Ding should be aware of the current situation in the imperial court. Mo Jingli not only poisoned His Majesty but also forced His Majesty to appoint him as Regent Prince. Once His Majesty passes away, Mo Jingli, as Regent Prince, will surely use the young Emperor to command the realm. At that point, Great Chu will likely become Mo Jingli’s personal domain. In such a case, it probably won’t be of any benefit to Prince Ding either, will it?"
Mo Xiuyao arched an eyebrow, looking at Noble Consort Liu without speaking. Noble Consort Liu continued, "Prince Ding should know that you and Prince Li have been at odds since childhood. And because of Miss Ye, there is now the added hatred of having his wife stolen. Once Prince Li holds significant power, if he then uses the entire nation’s strength to cause trouble for the Northwest, Prince Ding will likely have a headache, won’t he?" Mo Xiuyao casually picked up his teacup and took a sip. The mediocre tea had a slight bitterness that made him frown. He said faintly, "Noble Consort Liu, I presume you haven’t discussed this with Prime Minister Liu?" The smile on Noble Consort Liu’s face froze. She asked with some confusion, "What does Prince Ding mean by this?"
Mo Xiuyao said, "I have said it before, Noble Consort Liu. Stay quietly in the imperial palace and don’t interfere in matters you fundamentally don’t understand. If you had cleared this with Prime Minister Liu beforehand, he would surely have told you that whether it’s your son or Mo Jingli who ascends the throne, neither of them has the capability to cause trouble for me!"
Noble Consort Liu’s face paled slightly. She clenched her fists and forced herself to say, "Prince Ding, you are perhaps too confident." She truly didn’t believe it. How large could the Northwest be? In Noble Consort Liu’s view, if every person in Great Chu spat once, they could drown that small place called the Northwest. But she forgot how many people in Great Chu would be willing to spit at Prince Ding’s Mansion for her sake.
"However, what you said is indeed correct. The young Crown Prince ascending the throne is indeed somewhat more advantageous for me than Mo Jingli ascending," Mo Xiuyao said faintly, his gaze lowered to the tea in his hand.
Hearing this, joy sparked in Noble Consort Liu’s heart. She smiled, "Does this mean Prince Ding agrees to help me?"
Mo Xiuyao looked up, glanced at Ye Li who was silently drinking tea beside him, and asked, "Ah-Li, did I agree?" Ye Li raised her head and said faintly, "I didn’t hear anything."
"What does Prince Ding mean by this?" Noble Consort Liu felt as if she were being played with. Even though the person playing with her was Mo Xiuyao, she still found it unbearable. However, Mo Xiuyao had no intention of playing with her. He looked at her calmly and said, "I have already promised Mo Jingli not to interfere in the affairs of the imperial court."
"Why?" Noble Consort Liu asked, deep disappointment in her heart. She hoped to cooperate with Mo Xiuyao; at the very least, she wanted Mo Xiuyao to see her distinct qualities. Surely, he would discover that compared to Ye Li, she was the better choice. "Why? The potential gains from cooperating with me—are you truly indifferent to them? As long as you help me, Prince Ding’s Mansion will remain Prince Ding’s Mansion of Great Chu. You could become the Regent Prince of the next generation, or even..." Even if he wanted to become Emperor, she would help him. Compared to being Empress Dowager, she would rather be his Empress.
Beside them, Ye Li’s eyes twitched. She said lightly, "I don’t know what one might gain from cooperating with Noble Consort Liu, but... at the very least, it would infuriate Mo Jingqi to death. His most beloved consort, the mother of the Crown Prince, cooperating with his most hated enemy, his most feared adversary. If Mo Jingqi doesn’t die from illness or poison, he’ll surely die from anger, right, My Prince?"
"Miss Ye! I am speaking with Prince Ding," Noble Consort Liu said coldly, her eyes, filled with anger, warningly fixed on Ye Li.
Ye Li remained calm and composed, saying faintly, "Ah, I am also speaking with My Prince. I am merely offering my opinion on Noble Consort Liu’s earlier proposal for My Prince’s consideration. Right, My Prince?"
Mo Xiuyao smiled indulgently and said softly, "Ah-Li is always thoughtful. My affairs are Ah-Li’s affairs; there’s nothing that cannot be said. Besides, even without cooperating with the Liu Family, I can still infuriate Mo Jingqi. Ah-Li, you must believe in your husband’s abilities."
"So, Prince, you refuse?!" Noble Consort Liu said to Mo Xiuyao, her gaze, however, fiercely fixed on Ye Li.
Mo Xiuyao said nonchalantly, "It’s not a refusal. It’s that from beginning to end, I never even considered such a—boring and time-wasting proposal."
