“Your Highness, don’t be angry with her.”
Yun Ruo looked emotionless, while Concubine De was utterly discomfited.
“Don’t be angry with her? She is already starting to make decisions for me. If I don’t remove her, the whole Prince Yu’s Mansion would not respect me!”
Concubine De appeared to quieten down, but in fact, she hated Lin Mengya immensely.
“Your Highness, I heard that lots of officials have submitted a written petition that Princess Yu should enter the Palace to treat His Majesty. Her Highness wanted to refuse, but those officials are stubborn. Lin Mengya is really ingenious to be able to persuade those officials to let her enter the Palace. However, she can’t know her future will be when she enters the Palace.”
Yun Ruo said this in a soft, gentle manner. But actually, there were vicious words hidden in what she said.
“Oh? I did not know that. I really thought too lowly of her. If she really enters the Palace, I should show my appreciation as the Empress.”
“Yes, Your Highness. ”
Lin Mengya walked out of Art Courtyard, and turned to look at the small house in the twilight.
She did not believe that Concubine De would give up that easily. She believed that a bigger scheme would be brewing. A little coldness was hidden in her eyes.
For Long Tianyu’s sake, Lin Mengya had spared Concubine De many times. If Concubine De sought death next time, she would not spare her any more.
She circled back to Liuxin Courtyard. Upon entering the yard, she saw two men standing outside.
“Sister, you’ve come back!”
The slim one turned around. Xiaoyu. He ran over excitedly to her, and a subtle smile could be seen in his narrowed eyes.
“Why did you not wait in the room. It’s cold outside. Be careful.”
It was midwinter outside Liuxin Courtyard. But in fact, inside was pretty much like spring. Lin Mengya tilted her head, and saw the man standing in the yard, far away.
He, at forty, looked very reliable and his eyes were gleaming like cold stars.
He was dressed simply, but still looked overwhelming. Lin Mengya could see that he, like her father, had experienced lots of battles.
He should have been the general, leading a large number of mounted and foot soldiers in the battlefield. But he wasted his talent on teaching Xiaoyu kung fu.
“Your Highness, I’m Wanyan Lie.”
The man cupped his hands and made a greeting, which was neither overbearing nor pushy. Lin Mengya nodded with a faint smile on her face.
“Mr. Wanyan, please come in.”
It was the first time for Wanyan Lie to see the legendary Princess Yu at such a close distance.
She was such a beauty. Wanyan Lie had seen many pretty ladies. Although Princess Yu was pretty, it was not that kind of unrivaled beauty.
However, he witnessed how she fought with her enemies. “If young master had such a powerful woman to assist him, he would have already ascended the throne. But unfortunately, she is already Princess Yu.”
“One day, young master would stand on the opposite side of Long Tianyu. She would be big trouble then. I should remove her now.”
The killing intent flashed in his eyes. Lin Zhongyu saw that, and gave him an angry look.
Wanyan Lie stopped his thoughts and silently shook his head. Lin Zhongyu would never forgive him if he hurt Lin Mengya even a little, let alone kill her.
Master had ordered him to take the young master back.
“Fine. No matter what, Lin Mengya did save young master.”
Lin Mengya, who was walking ahead, sensed Xiaoyu’s eyes brimming with coldness just now.
She knew instantly that Wanyan Lie must have been harboring malicious intentions.
Lin Mengya smiled faintly. She was not sure of her safety in other places, but in Liuxin Courtyard, no one could hurt her. After Xin Li’s arrival, there were all kinds of capable people, hiding, either in public or on the sly.
She paused for a second, suddenly reached her hand and pointed at a spider web at the northwest corner of the yard.
“The spider is so annoying. I show my kindness by giving it a room, but how could it spin a web, which might harm me.”
A sound piercing through the air could be heard, followed by a fine needle, as thin as a piece of cowhair which pierced through the body of that black spider, in a minute.
Wanyan Lie’s expression changed. He originally thought that only his people were guarding Liuxin Courtyard. To his surprise, there were many other capable people in Princess Yu’s house.
In a moment, his palms were covered in cold sweat. He knew that Lin Mengya’s words were meant for him.
But Lin Mengya was still talking with Lin Zhongyu as usual, without giving anything away. She was much more cunning and cruel, than he expected.
“Take a seat, Mr. Wanyan. Baiji, get a cup of tea.”
Lin Mengya sat on the main seat, and gave her order, smilingly.
“Thanks, Your Highness. I should have come earlier to pay you a visit here. But I could not find a good time. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
Wanyan Lie said this in a more polite manner than before.
No matter what, Lin Mengya was powerful. If they wanted to take Lin Zhongyu back to Lie Yun, they had to get her permission.
“I know. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Xiaoyu is safe. Then, I won’t feel worried.”
Then, there was a period of silence in the room.
No one wanted to break the silence first. Lin Mengya or Wanyan Lie were all masters in reading minds. Besides, Lin Mengya was always a patient person.
Wanyan Lie was tasting the tea, but in fact, he came to realize that the woman sitting in front of him, was steadier than those at her age.
But when he thought of the fact that she was Lin Muzhi’s daughter, Wanyan Lie silently shook his head. “Everyone in the Lin family, no matter how old they are, seems to be our enemy.”
Without Lin Muzhi and Lin Nansheng at the frontier, Lie Yun would have conquered Jin State.
Wanyan Lie sighed slightly. “Young master only listens to her. In her place, I have to show my respect.”
“Actually, I am here for one thing. I hope you will agree, Your Highness.”
Lin Mengya eyed Wanyan Lie steadily. He finally ran out of patience.
“Xiaoyu, stay outside for a moment. I will have a word with Mr. Wanyan.”
Xiaoyu immediately stood up and went outside. Wanyan Lie felt jealous again. He spent half a year trying to get Lin Zhongyu to be on familiar terms with him.
But Lin Mengya’s one sentence was obeyed instantly by Lin Zhongyu. Whether it was good or bad for Lie Yun, that was not certain.
After Xiaoyu left, Lin Mengya’s expression changed instantly.
She was looking at Wanyan Lie intently, and her eyes seemed a little cold.
“Let’s come to the point. I took Xiaoyu back and his name is already written in the Lin’s genealogy. If you really want him back to look for his origin, I won’t refuse. But if you just want to take advantage of him, I have to say, give it up. Anyone from the Lin family is not afraid of anyone. No matter how powerful you are, I will not allow you to make use of Xiaoyu.”
Wanyan Lie had never imagined that such a thin woman could be so overwhelming!
But her words also made him irritated.
“Hum! How arrogant you are, Your Highness. You have no idea what the young master means to Lie Yun. If you try to stop us, we will try our best to take young master back to Lie Yun, even at the expense of the whole country!”
The atmosphere became icy immediately. A pin against an awl, no one would give way at this time.
Suddenly, Lin Mengya sneered, and she was watching Wanyan Lie in contempt.
“Lieyun is such a big empire, does it need a little boy to shoulder its responsibility? Or do you just want a puppet to fight with the Xin family! If I guess correctly, it’s better for Lie Yun to be destroyed!”
“How dare you!”
Wanyan Lie opened his eyes wide and stared at Lin Mengya. Lin Mengya did the same back.
Wanyan Lie never imagined that the so-called Princess Yu would say such sarcastic words, with total disregard for his feelings.
All of his masks had been torn off, and her words like a knife, stabbed at his heart.
He could not deny the fact that the most serious difficulty for Lie Yun was their fight with the Xin family.
He had to treat Lin Mengya as his enemy, again. She directly pointed out their problems and even knew very clearly, what those people were planning.
She deserved to be his enemy.
“I thought lowly of the Lin family. I never think highly of any woman. But Your Highness, you’re brilliant. I respect you.”
Lin Mengya also stopped being aggressive. They already tested each other. It was time to be open.
“Thanks, Mr. Wanyan. Actually, I’m not interested in your internal power struggle. But solve your civil affairs before invading other countries. Since you’re still having trouble with your internal fights, of course, you have no time to invade other countries. What I want to know is how you will deal with my young brother.”
Lin Mengya declared what she was after, first. She had no interest in the annoying affairs in Lieyun Empire.
She agreed to meet this man called Wanyan Lie, just because of Xiaoyu. It would be a threat for her to know more about their secrets.
Lin Mengya was too clever to get herself involved in that kind of trouble.
Wanyan Lie glanced at Lin Mengya, and was considering if he should give her the excuse they had prepared early.
“In fact, we want young master back because we want him to inherit the mantle of Master.”
