Shanhe Festival 266. Teahouse Talk, Refusal to Cooperate

Going up to the second floor of the teahouse, there was no one there. This was not a high-end teahouse, and the furnishings and arrangements inside naturally did not suit the preferences of Concubine Liu, who had lived in the palace for a long time, so she chose this place purely to wait for Mo Xiuyao and the others. Concubine Liu naturally could not stay in the same room with so many ordinary people, so the teahouse had already been cleared out.

The empty upstairs was quiet. As soon as I stepped onto the stairs, I saw Concubine Liu standing facing the window, with only her white back left. The maids and eunuchs waiting around her all stood with their heads bowed, and no one dared to make the slightest sound.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, carried Mo Xiaobao to an empty table and put the bun on the table. Mo Xiaobao pouted. He was not a child, so he did not want to sit on the table. He stretched out his little hand for Ye Li to hold him. Ye Li smiled faintly and held him to sit on the chair next to him. Mo Xiaobao sat happily in the big chair and twisted his little butt. He blinked and looked at Ye Li and said, "Mom, didn't that aunt invite us to have tea? Why did she ignore us?"

Aunt? Ye Li's mouth twitched. Don't think that Mo Xiaobao doesn't know how to speak and offends people as soon as he opens his mouth. For a little elf who knows how to call Qin Zheng "sister" and his aunt "aunt" when he just started to learn to speak, whether he wants to make people happy depends on his mood. Ye Li sometimes worries whether this son will grow up to be a dissolute playboy, so she rarely agrees to Mo Xiuyao's suggestion to try to stop Mo Xiaobao from interacting with Han Mingxi. So, at this moment, it must be something about Concubine Liu that makes Mo Xiaobao unhappy.

Concubine Liu turned around and was stunned when she saw the black-clothed child sitting between Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao. Concubine Liu prided herself on her beauty. Although she looked down on Mo Jingqi, she had to admit that he was also a handsome man. However, the two boys and one girl born to them were not as pretty as the black-clothed boy in front of her. Concubine Liu looked at the black-clothed boy in front of her who was looking at her eagerly, and even the anger in her heart just now dissipated a lot. She just felt a little more unwilling. The child of her and Prince Ding... must be more beautiful than this child...

Ye Li, who was standing next to him, looked up at the sky in silence. Just by looking at Concubine Liu's absent-minded look, she knew that someone was daydreaming again. Maybe there were some unrealistic fantasies in her mind.

"Aunt? Beautiful aunt?" Mo Xiaobao thinks he is a very aesthetic person, so even if he doesn't like the aunt in front of him, he has to admit that this is a very beautiful aunt. It's a pity... this aunt seems to have some problems with her brain. She was staring at him angrily just now, and he thought she was going to get angry, but who knew she was staring at him in a trance again. I know I am good-looking, but the aunt is too old, so please stop drooling at me. Mo Xiaoye thought narcissistically.

"Aunt, do you want to treat us to tea?" Mo Xiaobao asked impatiently.

Being called "Auntie" by a child one after another, Concubine Liu knew that the child was doing it on purpose, even if she was slow to react. Even if the child was ignorant, someone must have instructed her to do so. Concubine Liu walked up to him and frowned, saying, "Young Master, I am not your aunt." Mo Xiaobao frowned and stared at her for a long time before he said silently, "My father said that anyone who is ten years older than my mother should be called "Auntie."

Although his mother is over 20 years old, many people say that she looks like a young girl who is not even 20 years old. The aunt in front of him looks like she is already over 30 years old, as old as his father. "It doesn't matter if you don't take good care of yourself. I will introduce my mother's skin care products to you later." Mo Xiaobao said sympathetically. It's so pitiful that such a beautiful person has become an aunt because of not knowing how to take care of herself. Therefore, Mo Xiaobao determined that Concubine Liu was the aunt.

"Ahem." Ye Li, who was drinking tea next to him, was accidentally choked. Mo Xiuyao raised one eyebrow and looked at his serious son with a half-smile. Why didn't he remember that he taught him to call someone ten years older than Ah Li "Auntie"?

"Young Master is really smart!" Concubine Liu gritted her teeth and said coldly, "Miss Ye taught you well." Ye Li looked calm and said with a smile, "You are too kind, Concubine."

Who complimented you?! Concubine Liu was secretly resentful, and her heart couldn't help but twitch when she saw Ye Li's beautiful smile. She always thought that Ye Li's appearance was far less beautiful than hers, but now that she looked so closely and carefully, she found that Ye Li was not as ordinary as she remembered. Her eyebrows were delicate and graceful, and her smile was gentle, making people feel like they were bathed in spring breeze at first sight. There was a hint of elegance and nobility under the gentle and gentle eyebrows. These two extremely contradictory temperaments were blended in the woman in front of her, creating a kind of confidence and majesty that had never been seen before. It made people remember that the woman was not only a daughter of a famous family, but also a female hero who could ride a horse to fight. Such a temperament does not need any external decoration or concealment of facial expressions. Even though she smiles so gently as if she were any ordinary lady, people still dare not offend her easily.

Of course, this was not what Concubine Liu was most concerned about. What made Concubine Liu hate Ye Li the most was her age. Compared to the 14-15 year old girl, Ye Li was old. But compared to Concubine Liu who was over 30 years old, Ye Li who was 21-2 years old and looked like 18 years old was young enough to make people hate her. No matter how much Concubine Liu was reluctant to admit it, she had to admit that compared to Ye Li, she was old.

Thinking of this, Concubine Liu looked at Mo Xiuyao sitting on the side in a panic. However, she saw that Mo Xiuyao was holding a cup of tea in one hand but he didn't drink it, nor did he look at her. Instead, he kept his eyes on the woman in green who was one seat away. Seeing the faint smile on Ye Li's lips, the handsome face under the white hair also showed a trace of joyful smile. In the middle of such a handsome man and woman sat a child who seemed to combine all the advantages of the two. This picture was so beautiful that it made people addicted, but it made Concubine Liu suddenly feel cold.

"Xiu...Prince Ding." After hesitating for a moment, seeing that Mo Xiu Yao had no intention of speaking, Concubine Liu Gui had to speak herself.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and looked at her in silence with a questioning look. Concubine Liu gritted her teeth and said, "I have something to discuss with Prince Ding alone. Can Miss Ye and the Crown Prince avoid it?"

Before Ye Li could say anything, Mo Xiaobao spoke first, "No!"

No matter how angry Concubine Liu was, she couldn't get angry at her son in front of Mo Xiuyao. She could only force out a stiff smile and said, "Young Master, I have something important to discuss with your father. Why don't you let your mother take you out to play?" Mo Xiaobao pouted and looked up at Mo Xiuyao eagerly. Tears instantly filled his big black and white eyes and were about to drip out. Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and looked at his son: What do you want to do now?

Mo Xiaobao looked at his father pitifully, choking with sobs, "Father... don't you want Xiaobao and mother anymore? Xiaobao loves mother and father the most, father doesn't want Xiaobao anymore. Wuwu..." So, with the help of Concubine Liu Gui, Mo Xiuyao heard his son say that he loved him for the first time in his life. This kid usually just wanted to kick his father as far away as possible, and of course he thought so too.

"Father will not abandon your mother." Mo Xiuyao promised, he will only abandon you.

Mo Xiaobao said with tears in his eyes: "But just now this auntie asked my mother to take Xiaobao away, wuwu... My uncle said that the women who want to talk to father alone all want to be Xiaobao's stepmother. Xiaobao doesn't want a stepmother..." Mo Xiuyao was very upset. He felt that it was a wrong decision to separate only Han Mingxi from Mo Xiaobao. He should have separated the five brothers of the Xu family as well. Look at what Xu Wu taught his son? And he learned a lot of tricks from Xu Qingchen, calling him uncle all the time. If Mo Xiaobao hadn't been pestering A'li, he would have suspected that Mo Xiaobao would have followed Xu Qingchen to live in the Xu family. Of course, he has now dismissed Mo Xiaobao and thrown him to the Xu family, but it is different for him as a father to throw him there and for his son to run there by himself.

"Your uncle is right, so father will not talk to other women alone." I only want to talk to A-Li alone, so you kid should stop pestering A-Li so often. Then father will love you.

"Xiaobao knew that father was not a bad man who would abandon his wife." Mo Xiaobao said with relief.

This time, both Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li smoked. The couple looked at each other. Who failed to educate their five-year-old son to become like this?

Mo Xiaobao didn't care that his action also shocked his parents. He climbed over the chair and climbed into Mo Xiuyao's arms, with a happy and sweet smile on his tearful face. He said to Concubine Liu, whose face was blue with anger, "Auntie, men and women should not be intimate. My father will never be alone with you. A man's reputation is also very important. Auntie, please don't hurt my father."

Ye Li helplessly raised her hand and rubbed her son's head, then turned her head to Concubine Liu and said, "The child is ignorant, please don't blame me, Concubine." Mo Xiaobao smiled and rubbed his mother's palm. Although he hated his father the most, his father belonged to his mother. If his mother wanted his father again, he would accept it magnanimously even if he hated it. Another woman wanted to snatch him away? Humph!

Concubine Liu had a cold face, knowing that it was impossible to talk to Mo Xiuyao alone today. She could only suppress her anger and said in a deep voice: "In that case, it's okay for Miss Ye to listen."

Ye Li nodded with a smile, indicating that she was all ears.

Liu Guifei didn't speak until Mo Xiaobao quietly lay in Mo Xiuyao's arms and fell asleep. Although the confrontation was only a short while, she was really a little scared of this little boy. He had an innocent and naive face, but every word he said was embarrassing for her, and she couldn't let people think that he was unintentional.

"What does Prince Ding think of the current situation in the capital?" Concubine Liu looked at Mo Xiu Yao steadily and asked in a low voice.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said, "I came back only to worship my ancestors, and I have no intention of getting involved in the affairs of the capital. Besides, the Mo family army has no connection with the Great Chu anymore, and it would be illogical for me to intervene. Concubine Liu Gui does not need to ask this anymore, and besides, this is not something Concubine Liu Gui should ask."

You shouldn't ask. These three words were undoubtedly a huge blow to Concubine Liu Guifei. Because it meant that Mo Xiuyao still regarded her as an ordinary harem woman. Even if Mo Xiuyao was stunningly beautiful, he was still a prince in the ancient imperial era, and he would never have the idea of ​​natural equality between men and women. But he was different from ordinary men. He believed that some women were as capable as men, so he could accept them learning literature and martial arts, and being a politician and a general. For example, Ye Li and Princess Anxi.

But at the same time, he still believed that most women were ordinary ladies in the imperial court, and all they needed to do was stay in the imperial court peacefully. The former represented equal status and respect with him, while the latter represented the vassal of men.

Therefore, in Mo Xiuyao's eyes, it was natural for Ye Li to ask about everything, and Concubine Liu should not be involved in the affairs of the court. It was not because she was a concubine in the harem, but because she was not qualified. Concubine Liu obviously understood Mo Xiuyao's thoughts, and that was why she was even more angry.

After a while, Concubine Liu gritted her teeth and said, "Your Highness should know that my son has been named the Crown Prince. Once the Emperor dies, he will become the Emperor of Da Chu, and I will be the Empress Dowager of Da Chu." Mo Xiuyao nodded. Of course he knew, but so what? "There are many Empress Dowagers. Da Chu alone has had seven or eight Empress Dowagers. So, so what?"

So what? Great Chu has never had an empress dowager who could control the young master and stir up trouble in the previous dynasty. It's not that they don't want to. After working hard all their lives and finally sitting on the throne of the empress dowager, there are few women who don't want to rule the country from behind the curtain. But... Great Chu has the Dingwang Mansion. As long as the Dingwang Mansion exists, it will not be the turn of the women in the deep palace to point fingers in the court. Therefore, since the founding of Great Chu, the most powerful empress dowager is the current empress dowager, Mo Jingqi's biological mother. Even so, she has not reached the level of power in the harem in previous dynasties. First, because Mo Jingqi was already quite old when he ascended the throne, and Mo Jingqi could not tolerate the power falling into someone else's hands. Second, because the ministers of Great Chu are no longer used to letting the harem be in power.

Concubine Liu lowered her eyes. She couldn't argue with Mo Xiuyao. Not only because she loved him, but also because she didn't have the chips to compete with him. She had to change her way of speaking: "Prince Ding should know the current situation in the court. Mo Jingli not only poisoned the emperor but also forced the emperor to appoint him as the regent. Once the emperor dies, Mo Jingli, as the regent, will definitely control the emperor to rule the world. By then, Da Chu will probably become the world of Mo Jingli alone. In this way, I'm afraid it won't be good for Prince Ding, right?"

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and looked at Concubine Liu without saying anything. Concubine Liu continued, "Prince Ding should know that Prince Li and you have been at odds since childhood, because Miss Ye now has the hatred of stealing his wife. Once he holds power over Prince Li, and then he uses the power of the country to make things difficult for the northwest, Prince Ding will probably have a headache." Mo Xiuyao picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. The slightly bitter taste of the not-so-good tea made him frown, and he said lightly, "I'm afraid Concubine Liu didn't discuss this with Prime Minister Liu before saying this?" The smile on Concubine Liu's face froze, and she asked with some doubt, "What does Prince Ding mean?"

Mo Xiuyao said, "I have said that if nothing happens to Concubine Liu, she should just stay in the palace and not interfere in matters that you do not understand. If you had talked to Prime Minister Liu beforehand, he would have told you that no matter whether it was your son or Mo Jingli who ascended the throne, they would not have the ability to make things difficult for me!"

Concubine Liu Gui's face changed slightly, she clenched her fingers tightly, and said to herself: "Prince Ding is too confident." She really didn't believe it. The northwest was just a small place. In Concubine Liu Gui's view, the people of Da Chu could drown the small place of the northwest with a mouthful of spit. But she forgot how many people in Da Chu were willing to spit on Prince Ding's mansion for her.

"However, what you said is also true. The little prince ascending the throne is more beneficial to me than Mo Jingli ascending the throne." Mo Xiuyao lowered his eyes and stared at the tea in his hand, and said lightly.

Hearing this, Concubine Liu Gui was delighted and said with a smile, "So, Prince Ding agrees to help me?"

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyes, glanced at Ye Li who was drinking tea silently beside him, and asked: "A Li, did the king agree?" Ye Li raised her head and said lightly: "I didn't hear it."

"What does Prince Ding mean by this?" She felt as if she was being played a trick on someone. Even though the person playing tricks on her was Mo Xiuyao, Concubine Liu still found it unbearable. But in fact, Mo Xiuyao had no intention of playing tricks on her. He looked at her calmly and said, "This prince has already promised Mo Jingli not to interfere in the affairs of the court."

"Why?" Concubine Liu Gui asked, and she was also deeply disappointed. She hoped to cooperate with Mo Xiuyao, at least to let Mo Xiuyao see her differences. Mo Xiuyao would definitely find that she was a better choice than Ye Li. "Why? What can you get from cooperating with me? Don't you really care? As long as you help me, Prince Ding's Mansion will still be the Prince Ding's Mansion of Da Chu, and you can become the next generation of regent prince, or even..." Even if he wanted to become the emperor, she would help him. Compared with the empress dowager, she wanted to be his queen more.

Ye Li's eyes twitched as she spoke calmly, "I don't know what I can gain by cooperating with Concubine Liu Gui, but... at least I can piss off Mo Jingqi to death. Your Highness, right?" His most beloved concubine, the prince's biological mother, is cooperating with his most hated enemy, his most feared foe. If Mo Jingqi doesn't die of illness or poison, he will be pissed off to death, right?

"Miss Ye! I'm talking to Prince Ding." Concubine Liu said coldly, staring at Ye Li with anger in her eyes. Ye Li was calm and composed, saying, "Ah, I'm also talking to Prince. I'm just giving you my opinion on Concubine Liu's suggestion. Prince, right?" Mo Xiuyao smiled dotingly and said softly, "Ali is thoughtful. My business is my business, and there is nothing that cannot be said. Besides, even if I don't cooperate with the Liu family, I can still piss Mo Jingqi off to death. Ali, you have to believe in your husband's strength."

"Your Highness, are you refusing?!" Concubine Liu said to Mo Xiuyao, but her eyes were fixed on Ye Li fiercely.

Mo Xiuyao said nonchalantly, "It's not that I refuse. It's that I have never considered such a boring and time-wasting proposal from the beginning to the end."