“Aunt, your voice—”
Jingyue turned around immediately and answered a little hastily.
“Oh, it is because I caught a cold a few days ago. Prince, let’s move fast, or Madam will be anxious.”
Seeing her figure moving so hurriedly in front of him, Long Tianyu became a little suspicious.
In the past, Aunt Jingyue only stayed quietly by his mother’ side. Although she also took care of him, she did not treat him as cordially as Aunt Jinyue did.
Why did he have that illusion today?
It seemed that it was because his household was so quiet, that he began to notice those whom he had never paid attention to before.
“You still need to take good care of yourself. Aunt Jinyue has left. You are the only old servant staying with my mother. In the future, you will still need to take care of her.”
Long Tianyu thought that Yun Ruo was a scourge. The relationship between his mother and Lin Mengya had soured, partially because those crafty servants had instigated her.
Aunt Jingyue trembled and then nodded, and a slight complicated look appeared in her eyes.
“Thank you, Prince.”
Soon, they arrived at Concubine De’s Art Courtyard. As soon as he entered the courtyard, the servants who were scurrying in and out, came to congratulate him, one after another. Long Tianyu kept a bland face, and did not know what the happy event was.
“Congratulations, prince. Your mother has been waiting for so long. Prince, please.”
Yun Ruo was dressed in a pure brocade robe with a fashionable palace flower ornament on her head. Long Tianyu detested this woman. Without her, the Art Courtyard would not have so much trouble.
When Yun Ruo saw Long Tianyu deliberately ignoring her, her expression did not change at all. Instead, she smiled even more submissively.
“Prince, please try not to disagree with Madam. Anyway, Madam is always thinking of what is good for you. You two are the dearest mother and son in the world. Why should your relationship be soured, just because of a woman?”
Yun Ruo spoke sincerely, but Long Tianyu hated her remarks.
“Do your duty well. If you want to die, just go and die.”
Long Tianyu spoke a little coldly and the look from the corners of his eyes was also a little chilly, but Yun Ruo did not show any signs of fear on her face.
“She is truly my mother’s confidant, or else she would not have been so fearless.”
“Prince, you are just joking. I will stay alive and serve Madam. Now she is getting older, and she also needs someone suitable around her, right? Prince, are you so cruel that you don’t want Madam to be taken care of by anyone?”
It was the first time that Long Tianyu felt some fission of fear, when he saw Yun Ruo before him.
“After my mother brought this woman back to our mansion, she really relies on her services each and every moment. Normally, such an inconspicuous maid can be found everywhere, but why does my mother only trust what she says?”
Long Tianyu was suspicious, but he had to follow Yun Ruo to his mother’s main room.
As soon as the curtain was held up, an excessive amount of fragrance rushed into Long Tianyu’s nose, and he could not help frowning. He was so used to Lin Mengya’s fresh smell with a trace of medicinal scent. Thus, the strong smell of face-powder overwhelmed his nose.
“Yu’er, you’ve come. Come over here to me.”
Concubine De’s tone was full of joy that had never been heard before. Probably, it was because she knew that the most annoying person had temporarily disappeared from the courtyard.
Concubine De’s room was a little too warm and he felt fidgety. Long Tianyu was a little impatient, but he did not show it, because there were outsiders present.
As he approached, he saw that standing beside Concubine De was a line of ladies, all from renowned families. After he took a look at them, his heart sank immediately.
“Mother, you haven’t given up, have you?”
“Mother, since you are well, I am assured. If there is nothing else, I shall—”
Long Tianyu’s tone was obviously unhappy, but Concubine De seemed not to have heard him, and instantly stopped him from speaking.
“My dear child, you are always busy with national affairs, but why aren’t you busy with your own affairs? At your age, your emperor father already had you and your brothers. “But look at you. You have a princess, but you don’t have any children. That’s not good. These ladies are my old friends’ daughters. If you like any of them, I can make a decision for you today.”
Concubine De’s remark made Long Tianyu’s face turn cold, and also made the ladies lower their heads in shyness.
They were daughters of their families’ concubines. Although they were outstanding in appearance, they were not important in their families.
Even when they reached adulthood, they would be mostly married to the powerless sons of aristocratic families, or become the concubines of others. Now, they had an opportunity to be Prince Yu’s concubine, so they must compete to get the position.
The truth was that Princess Yu was of noble birth, but they did not have children, and now she had gone to the palace. If they could give birth to sons before his princess, they would have a noble position, because of their children. So, what was the value of the princess’s position?
Therefore, they were now leering silently at Prince Yu.
They clenched their hands tightly at their sides.
Long Tianyu was extremely disappointed. These days, he thought that his mother had been working at improving her character, as she did not trouble Lin Mengya. Now he began to regret what he had done before.
Unexpectedly, Concubine De was back to her tricks again, just after Lin Mengya went to the palace.
“Getting concubines? Why does my mother always want to forcibly interfere in my life? Why does my open-minded and smart mother always do such stupid things?”
“Is my mother trying to destroy our mother-son love?”
“Mother, I do not want any concubines, and I hope you can understand me. Ladies, please go back and don’t come to Prince Yu’s Mansion again. My princess is not present, and I am sorry if I have failed to entertain you.”
Long Tianyu’s tone was extremely rigid, and these ladies knew that he was impatient. No matter how they wanted the position, they had to leave, in disappointment now.
But Concubine De was not affected by what Long Tianyu said, in the slightest. She picked up the fragrant tea at hand, sipped it, and then looked at Long Tianyu.
“Yu’er, you’ve begun to make trouble again. I am doing everything for your good. Mengya will only bring you misfortune. Or do you think that she can really leave the palace without getting hurt?
Long Tianyu was struck dumb, but her bone-chilling tone was not the reason. With a stranger’s look, he eyed his mother, who had brought him up since he was young.
Since he was born, he had been raised by his wet nurse and aunt.
As his biological mother, Concubine De who taught him in person was generous and straightforward. She was a concubine who behaved with the proper etiquette and also spoke with wisdom, one that he had come to believe and admire.
But what on earth had made his mother turn into the vicious and shallow woman before him?
“My son, you and I have been struggling for more than 20 years in the complicated Imperial Palace. We are very clear about everything in it. Are you really so naive to think that your little wife can still come back from the palace, intact?”
Concubine De smiled as she said.
The smile on her dignified face was somewhat cruel.
Long Tianyu stood there, but his eyes had a strange and cold look that had never appeared before.
“Mother, you can’t decide whether she can come back or not, but I still want to tell you something. The situation these days is different from the past. Mother, don’t ‘extend your arms too far’, or you will feel the pain when they are broken.”
Since the situation had become so terrible, Long Tianyu could not take their mother-son love into account any longer.
He had long known that his mother disliked Lin Mengya slightly, but he did not expect that she hated Lin Mengya so much that she wanted to kill her.
“You are my son. Do you really want to protect the b*tch to such an extent? Yu’er, don’t you know that she is a stumbling block in your way? Without her, I can choose a better princess for you and turn the princess’s family power to your use. Even if the crown prince ascends the throne and becomes the emperor in the future, you can still keep yourself safe and be a carefree prince. Is this not good?”
“Mother is trying to persuade me, using feelings and reasoning, isn’t she?” Long Tianyu thought about this, as if it were the past.
But now, he was hard-hearted about what Concubine De said. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained calm. Instead, he pretended to be extremely scornful.
“How can the crown prince ascend the throne? Mother, why is the kingdom destined to be his?”
“Yu’er! Don’t talk nonsense! The crown prince is the heir of the kingdom, and you are his younger brother. This has long been determined. Don’t cross the line.”
Suddenly, Concubine De spoke sharply, and Long Tianyu was stunned. As his mind changed, he left with a fake, helpless look.
When he left Concubine De’s courtyard hurriedly, Long Tianyu slowed his steps and stopped.
His furious expression returned to normal. With a backward glance at the Art Courtyard, which had become more and more unfamiliar, he moved like an agile monkey and vanished behind a corner of the wall on the side.
“Night, what about the thing I asked you to investigate last time?”
A ghost-like shadow suddenly emerged behind him,
He knelt respectfully on the ground, and said,
“Many guards who don’t belong to our mansion appeared in the Concubine De’s Art Courtyard. I once fought with them, but they seem to be the secret guards of the palace. So, I could not sneak to Madam’s side, but it seems that these secret guards are not the guards Madam usually uses. After Madam returned from the palace last time, she changed her secret guards. I tried to look for the previous guards, but they seem to have disappeared into thin air.”
“Even with his excellent kung fu skills, Night was not able to approach my mother, so these guards must be very extraordinary indeed.”
“Night did not want to act rashly and alert them, but my mother’s guards had no reason to stop my bodyguard Night”
