Good at seducing men

As for Mo Geyi, whom Gu Fei mentioned in front of Mo Yan:

Having traversed thousands of mountains and rivers through countless hardships, he finally stood before the gates of the Grand Capital.

The desolate sunset cast its remaining glow, releasing its last shred of warmth before sinking behind the western mountains, vanishing completely. The sky was filled with blazing clouds, crimson as fire, layered and undulating like soft cotton.

His hand, half-hidden within his sleeve, clenched tightly. His originally imposing and dignified features were marred by a whip scar the width of a little finger running across his left cheek. The wound was red and swollen, with raw, peeling skin, lending a fierce and ruthless air to his brows and eyes.

He took a few deep breaths and strode through the city gates. The storm deep within his eyes was terrifyingly dark, so much so that even passing pedestrians hurried to avoid him.

Yet, just as he entered the city, merely a dozen paces away, he was blocked by someone.

The person blocking his path was a middle-aged man dressed in silk, with the air of a head steward. He bowed slightly to Mo Geyi and said, "Young Master, the Eldest Miss has given word: please go to the Red Leaf Estate in the southern suburbs outside the city to recuperate."

Mo Geyi looked at the man with a livid expression, the wild, unbridled malice in his eyes nearly hardening into physical blades. "Say that again?"

The steward kept his gaze lowered and respectfully repeated, "Please forgive me, Young Master. The Eldest Miss said to ask you to recuperate at the Red Leaf Estate in the southern suburbs outside the city. As for the other matters in the manor, she will deal with them first before welcoming you back."

Instead of flying into an explosive rage, Mo Geyi raised his hand and slapped the steward across the face, cursing, "You dog of a servant, just who is your master?!"

Unmoved, the steward silently took the blow and instructed the two bodyguards standing behind him, "Escort the Eldest Young Master to the carriage."

"Eldest Young Master, please," the two guards chorused, extending a hand in gesture.

With his chest heaving irregularly, Mo Geyi cast a resentful and deeply aggrieved glance at them. Weighing the pros and cons, he let out a cold snort and climbed into the carriage waiting at the side on his own accord.

The carriage leisurely left the city, heading straight for the southern suburbs of the Grand Capital. Inside, the swaying light and shadows fell across Mo Geyi's face, masking the crimson in his eyes. After a long while, he finally reined in his emotions and spoke in a low voice toward the outside of the carriage, "Go back and tell Mo Qingge, if not for me, Mo Geyi, does she think she could sit so securely in her position as the legitimate eldest daughter? Not to mention that sooner or later, that cheap girl will return to the Grand Capital..."

With a dark expression, the steward held the reins and occasionally flicked the whip. The corners of his mouth curled into a sneer inside the carriage, a flash of contempt leaking from his eyes, yet he replied respectfully, "This subordinate will remember your words."

The Red Leaf Estate was an outer property belonging to Mo Qingge. Every year during the golden autumn season, she would stay there for a short while. At that time, as far as the eye could see, everything was a vivid, blood-like red, breathtakingly intoxicating.

Yet when Mo Geyi stepped down from the carriage, he had not the slightest inclination to admire the scenery.

As soon as he entered the estate's gates, he noticed that there were very few servants inside, and all of them were Mo Qingge's trusted confidants. The malice churning in his chest deepened by a fraction.

"Go, bring my personal valet, Jia Yi, here. I am not accustomed to being served by others," he said, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the estate's spirit screen with an uncertain expression.

To his surprise, the steward lowered his head and replied, "Reporting to Young Master, Jia Yi was discovered a few days ago to have illicit relations with a maid in the inner courtyard, and has already been put to death by Madam Rou, who manages the household affairs."

Mo Geyi's breathing hitched. Jia Yi was a trusted companion he had kept by his side since childhood to serve as his study attendant, a person he deeply valued and trusted. This time, when he went to Yizhou, figuring he would be back in a few days and knowing the Grand Capital needed someone reliable to keep watch, he had deliberately left Jia Yi behind.

Yet he never expected that the man would be executed under such an excuse.

He knew Jia Yi's temperament better than anyone. Furthermore, the valet had never cared for women, so how could he possibly have illicit relations with a maid? He had long promised to find Jia Yi a proper wife from an ordinary, respectable family, and would never match him with a servant girl from the manor.

He continuously told himself to stay calm, to remain calm.

"Very well, illicit relations with a maid of the inner courtyard—he certainly deserved to die!" Mo Geyi forced these words out, grinding them through his teeth syllable by syllable. Afterward, he flicked the hem of his robe and strode into the estate.

Current circumstances forced compliance; even Mo Qingge, who had once needed to rely on his status just to find her footing, now dared to treat him this way.

He had always believed that the two of them shared the same mother, and in many matters, he was willing to scheme and plan for her. Much of his actions against Gu Fei this time had been largely for Mo Qingge's sake. Yet he never imagined that the younger sister, whom he had always viewed as frail and vulnerable, would turn around and plunge a knife straight into his heart the moment he fell into his most wretched plight.

He had cherished their blood ties, but that did not mean Mo Qingge cared for them at all.

It was only today that he saw things with absolute clarity.

Watching Mo Geyi disappear from view, the steward tilted his chin and instructed the two bodyguards behind him, "Keep watch. Close the front gates unless necessary, and make sure the Eldest Young Master never appears in public."

"Understood." The two bodyguards, specifically chosen for their exceptional martial arts and equally devoted as Mo Qingge's lackeys, naturally obeyed every single command without question.

The middle-aged steward hurried back to the Mo residence. Entering through a side gate and avoiding most people, he headed straight for a pavilion situated by the manor's artificial lake.

The pavilion stood in the center of the lake, resembling a massive pearl embedded in a platter of freshly washed green jade. Surrounding the pavilion were lush lotus leaves stretching as far as the sky, occasionally revealing white or pink lotus tips upon which dragonflies rested. When there was no wind, it looked breathtakingly like a cinnabar-and-ink landscape painting.

With his head bowed and moving in hurried steps, the steward walked down the narrow path leading straight to the pavilion, obscured by towering lotus leaves. To an onlooker, walking there gave the illusion of treading directly upon the lotus leaves—truly creating an ethereal sense of gentle ripples on green water and steps skimming across waves.

"Eldest Miss, everything has been handled properly." Not getting too close, the steward stopped two zhang away from the pavilion. Even when the breeze stirred the white gauze curtains hanging around the pavilion, he dared not raise his eyes to peek.

Absolute silence filled the pavilion, causing the steward to lower his head even further.

"How is my brother's health holding up?" Her voice drifted out—reminiscent of fragrant magnolia, releasing a hidden, lingering fragrance. It was a voice so soft and gentle it could make one's bones melt, sweet as cotton candy, capable of melting anyone's heart upon hearing it.

Yet the steward's sleeves shuddered, his hands already trembling. "Eldest Young Master's spirits are quite good, except for a whip scar on his face. If it is not properly cared for, I am afraid it will leave a scar in the future."

"Hah," a light laugh drifted from within the pavilion, followed immediately by the soft, scratching sound of a fine brush moving across paper. "The injury on his face is merely superficial. For a man, a scar or two matters little. What is truly terrifying are the invisible wounds; they cannot be shown to others, nor are they easy to heal."

Just as these words fell, the middle-aged steward gave a start, his complexion suddenly turning pale as if struck by a sudden realization.

After a brief pause, the person inside the pavilion continued, "Have all those who shouldn't have known certain things been cleaned up?"

"Yes, they have all been cleared away without a trace. No one else will ever know of the Eldest Young Master's affairs," the steward said cautiously, recalling the ruthless methods Mo Qingge had displayed earlier in the pavilion. A chilling draft swept down his spine, making him feel as though he were being dragged alive into a cold, freezing hell beneath the blazing sun.

"No," a faint, alluring silhouette materialized in the gaps where the white gauze fluttered, revealing just a glimpse of a vibrant red gown sweeping the floor. "There is still someone in this world who knows."

Hearing this, a sense of ominous foreboding washed over the steward, and sure enough, he heard that calm voice utter—

"Teacher Gu, surely you know as well."

The steward known as Teacher Gu felt his legs turn to jelly and his vision blur. Recovering his senses, his body reacted faster than his mind, and he dropped heavily to his knees in panic, trembling as he pleaded, "Eldest Miss, spare my life! This subordinate knows nothing..."

Silence descended once more upon the pavilion. Just as Teacher Gu felt his heart turn to ashes and despair began to take root, Mo Qingge spoke softly again, carrying a sorrow so deep and unresolvable that hearing her voice alone stirred pity and forbearance in one's heart:

"What is Teacher Gu doing? You saved my life, and you were brought over from my maternal grandfather's side when my mother married into the Mo family. Even if Qingge could mistrust anyone else in this world, I would never doubt Teacher Gu."

"So, Teacher Gu, please get up quickly. If Mother were to find out, she would think Qingge was making things difficult for you again, and she would certainly scold me."

Such light, breeze-like words swept across his heart like soft, boneless hands, yet Teacher Gu only felt a deeper chill sweep through his body. He vaguely sensed that a blade was suspended directly above his head, ready to fall and take his life at any moment.

He naturally understood the warning hidden in Mo Qingge's words. If Madam were to discover what had happened to Mo Geyi, her maternal heartache would surely drive her to bring the Eldest Young Master back to the manor. Yet at this juncture, Mo Qingge would never allow a tarnished Mo Geyi to return and ruin her plans.

The disgrace borne by Mo Geyi was, to his twin sister Mo Qingge, her greatest failure.

"Teacher Gu, is my humble-born younger sister, Ah Fei, truly so capable now? Capable enough to make my brother stumble?" After a long while, the voice from the pavilion inquired again, laced with unmistakable bewilderment.

Weighing his words for a moment, Teacher Gu replied cautiously, "This subordinate believes that this time, the Eldest Young Master lowered his guard, and since it happened in an unfamiliar place like Yizhou, he fell into their trap."

"Oh?" The elongated ending curled upward slightly, carrying a lingering, sweet coquetting tone, as if acting spoiled. "No, Teacher not understand my sister. She..."

"She is most adept at putting on a facade and scheming against people's hearts. Within just ten years, she tricked grandmother into letting her examine all the medicinal pill formulas in the manor, and furthermore..."

She was skilled at seducing men, making that person of equally noble status fall utterly devoted to her!

Mo Qingge did not voice the final sentence. She turned it over in her mind before swallowing it back down. "Even her brother, Mo Xuan, is also..."

The sorrowful, plaintive whisper made one yearn to know what remained unsaid, while simultaneously making one feel that anyone who caused such a melodious voice to sound so aggrieved deserved a thousand deaths.

Teacher Gu was one of the few who could catch a glimpse of the truth. Although he similarly found that voice soft and pleasing, his heart remained constantly on guard.

*Ah...*

A sigh like the wind stirred a ripple across the emerald water, sending endless shimmering waves dancing outward.

"Teacher, you may withdraw."

Upon finally hearing these words, Teacher Gu felt as though he had received a grand amnesty. He slowly rose, bowed deeply toward the pavilion, and retreated step by step while backing away.

Only when the vibrant green completely faded from view did he straighten up and use his sleeve to wipe away the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead.

Inside the pavilion, devoid of any human warmth, a square sheet of white paper drifted down from behind the white gauze. Painted upon it in cinnabar, red as blood, were bewitching female figures.

Dozens of maidens in a row—some singing, some dancing, some smiling faintly, others weeping softly—were all rendered with lifelike precision. Yet the most bizarre thing was that every single one of the maidens possessed a completely blank face, devoid of features or expressions, resembling faceless evil ghosts.

The painting drifted lazily down into the lake, soaked by the water. The cinnabar red bled and diffused in varying shades of intensity, resembling fresh blood flowing freely from a severed wrist. As the painting finally sank halfway, that patch of jade-green lake water was stained a pale, hazy red by the cinnabar, flashing vividly like the bloody waters of the Yellow Springs.