After hearing of the game, Long Yinghua immediately gave her a curious look.
Games may be the most exciting thing for him at his age.
Lin Mengya tried to soften her facial expression so that the little boy could not see anything wrong.
“Well, it starts now. Show me the road to the resting palace of your mother, can you?”
Long Yinghua nodded at once and looked like he was hell-bent on winning.
“What a smart boy.” Lin Mengya looked around and cautiously headed towards the harem from an invisible corner after exchanging glances with Baisu.
Lin Mengya knew well that a child was the most valuable person for a mother. Under such a circumstance, how could it be possible for a mother to get her child’s nanny distracted? That nanny could have been keeping her child company.
A mother would feel heartache when her child got hurt, let alone when Long Yinghua was playing the ball. At that time, he needed a maid to stay with him.
However, nobody could be seen even after they had gone through three doors. Everything was extremely strange!
They finally saw people when they went through the last door.
It stood to reason for Lin Mengya to stay alert. Throughout history, lots of an emperor’s children had died for nothing. Therefore, since she stayed in the palace, she would not allow Long Yinghua to be killed at a young age.
Every now and then, people could be seen across the thoroughfare, in a hurry. It seemed that they were not looking for the missing child. Long Yinghua, while he was holding her arms, cannily pointed to the right direction for her.
Perhaps because it was getting closer to his mother’s resting palace, Long Yinghua got excited. After all, he was going to win!
Then, Long Yinghua pointed to a splendid gate with excitement.
When getting to the front of the gate, Lin Mengya and Baisu saw a grand brand with two words—Yonghe Palace.
It seemed that his mother was of a little high status.
It was night. All the gates were shut down. Baisu knocked at the door, and soon, someone opened it. A beautiful face popped out from inside. Upon seeing Long Yinghua in Lin Mengya’s arms, she seemed to be surprised.
“Oh my dear! Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you. If I failed to find you, Her Highness would kill me.”
Since he had already gotten to his mother’s resting palace in safety, Long Yinghua naturally gave a happy look because he had won the game.
Lin Mengya got relieved as well because Long Yinghua was in complete safety. Long Yinghua looked a little lordly in the presence of his maid, different from in front of her.
Long Yinghua stuffed his cane ball into Lin Mengya’s hands and began his speech seriously, with his small hands at the back.
“How useless you are! Every time we play hide-and-seek, you fail to find me! Alright, I should go to see my mother. Sister-in-law, let’s play another day!”
Then, he entered Yonghe Palace without looking back.
His maid seemed awkward and bowed to show her gratefulness while giving Lin Mengya an apologetic smile.
“Your Highness, thanks for sending His Highness back. But it’s too late now. Her Highness can’t be woken up. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
The maid’s words sounded a little impolite.
However, Lin Mengya was not a mean person. Everyone in Yonghe Palace was supposed to get anxious when Long Yinghua was missing. It was indeed not the right time to greet Long Yinghua’s mother. Otherwise, they might consider her claiming credit.
Besides, she was seen as a troubling person in the Palace. It was better for irrelevant people not to get involved with her.
“It’s okay. Go to catch up with the tenth prince. I’m leaving.”
Lin Mengya smiled humbly and after nodding at the maid, she wanted to leave.
However, when Lin Mengya lowered her eyes, she saw an emerald green bracelet in the maid’s hand. It was a quality bracelet. But in the blink of an eye, the maid closed the gate of Yonghe Palace.
Lin Mengya shook her head, and when she was about to leave with Baisu, she found Yinghua’s cane ball still in her hands.
How would he be too abrupt to take it away?
All of a sudden, something came to her mind. It’s odd. That bracelet is really special. The regulations on clothes in the Palace are stringent. If she came when Yinghua’s mother got married, it’s kind of reasonable.
But those maids following a concubine should be her closest people. They couldn’t be so rude. But she seemed to be trying to drive me away.
“Baisu, hurry up! Hit the door!”
Lin Mengya did not want to let danger befall Long Yinghua.
After hearing that, Baisu immediately pounded on the door. It was only a few minutes since Long Yinghua had been taken away. At the moment, it was silent behind the door.
Lin Mengya forgot her manner behind and pounded on the door with Baisu. After full ten minutes, a response finally came behind the door.
“Who’s outside! Don’t you know the rules? Why pound on the door. Aren’t you afraid of being punished by Her Highness!”
The voice was thin. An eunuch.
The gate was opened. Lin Mengya and Baisu tried to break into instantly.
“Hey! Where do you serve? How could you be so misbehaved?”
Lin Mengya was desperate to clutch his collar and asked, “Where’s Yinghua? Where’s the tenth prince? Where?”
The eunuch had never seen a person so anxious before and noticing Lin Mengya’s serious look, he was surprised and unconsciously answered, “His Highness got out and didn’t get back now. We’ve been searching for him. Who… who are you?”
Although the woman in front of him looked unfamiliar, the eunuch, of course, had become a discerning man after serving in the palace for long. He noticed that Lin Mengya’s look and clothes were similar to those concubines, and knew that she would be one of them.
“No, Yinghua has come back! Just now, a maid with a green bracelet took him away! I sent him back in person! Hurry to find them! Find them out! Remember, never let go of any isolated corner! Otherwise, Yinghua will be in danger!”
Lin Mengya spoke quickly and solemnly. Then, the eunuch saw his master’s favorite cane ball in her hands.
Immediately, he realized the seriousness of the event. The eunuch did not stop her anymore and shouted out.
“Come on! Young Master is in danger! Hurry up!”
The thin, hoarse voice was very loud. He made himself heard by the whole Imperial Palace.
Lin Mengya and Baisu were also searching all the rooms one by one.
But what was more worrying was that, they had heard no voice after they had searched every corner of the front yard.
The eunuch’s scream gathered lots of people together to find Long Yinghua.
It was getting dark. But it was brightly lit in Yonghe Palace.
Lin Mengya and Baisu got into the backyard. Other servants were searching here and there with lanterns.
“Ah! Young Master’s shoes!”
Suddenly, a terrified voice came. Lin Mengya immediately ran over, only to see a pool whose ice surface had already cracked.
What the maid was holding was exactly the shoes Long Yinghua had been wearing just now.
“Young Master fell into the water, didn’t he?”
Someone instantly spoke with worries. Then, some strong eunuchs and guards jumped into the pool.
They bore the piercing coldness and searched for a while, but they found nothing. Lin Mengya’s heart got cold.
No, Yinghua will be fine!
Lin Mengya rushed over to have a check on the shoes in the maid’s hands.
The shoes were still dry, even with no mud print. Instead, they, as adults, had gotten some mud on their clothes when they stood by the pool.
Thus, this pair of shoes was supposed to be placed out there deliberately to create the false impression that Long Yinghua had slipped into the water. That was why the ice surface had cracked, and even mud around the pool had been loosened.
It was a short time. Apart from the distance, no matter how weak Long Yinghua was, he was supposed to be struggling.
But there was no evidence unless Yinghua was thrown into the water after being killed first. Until now, his dead body had not been found. It showed that the maid had stopped halfway. Probably Yinghua was still in a corner around the pool!
After pondering over it, Lin Mengya looked around.
All at once, she found some small rooms in a distance, which might be used to store gardeners’ tools.
“Look around, everyone! Don’t stay in the water for too long, or you will get a cold injury. Some go to prepare some hot ginger soups for them!”
They did not know who the woman was, but they always took action by someone’s order.
Lin Mengya calmly arranged tasks. They immediately set to work.
Lin Mengya carried her skirt and ran in the headmost with Baisu.
These rooms’ locks were rusty. Obviously, they had been locked up for a few days. Lin Mengya shook the locks one by one and finally found some corrosion under a lock.
It showed that someone had opened it ever recently!
“Who has the key? Hurry up! Yinghua may be inside!”
Upon hearing that their Young Master might be found, eunuchs and maids all ran over there like a swarm of bees. But it belonged to the gardener. Nobody else had the key.
It was urgent. Lin Mengya did not care about the key right now.
Then, she stepped back and Baisu smashed the door open.
The door collapsed. Lin Mengya rushed into it at once. Those tools were dusty. Lin Mengya looked around and found no trace of Long Yinghua.
However, Lin Mengya refused to give up, so she carried a lantern and carefully searched every corner of the room with others.
Lin Mengya found nothing but messy footprints. It was not a big room. They should be able to find something.
Lin Mengya was getting disappointed. While she was thinking that a living person had disappeared out of her sight, she discovered several odd boxes in the corner.
