“Stay here and keep watch. Don’t let anyone in. Inform me if the personnel of the Ministry of Rites comes,” Lin Mengya said, turned around and looked around.
The death of the Empress was no longer a secret. Naturally, there were plenty of people intending to come to check out the situation.
As soon as Lin Mengya gently knocked on the door, a palace maid popped out her head and looked out vigilantly.
She did not breathe a sigh of relief until she found the woman in front of the door was Madame Jingrou’s trusted palace maid.
“Young Lady, are you sent by Madame?” The palace maid asked.
Lin Mengya nodded. The palace maid opened the door and let Lin Mengya in, but maintained a vigilant look in her eyes.
The door was closed immediately after Lin Mengya came in.
The Linqiu Pavilion was still the same as before, but it looked a little bleak and cheerless.
From now on, this place would probably be desolate for a long time.
Nevertheless, it would probably become as bustling as before a few years or decades later.
There were always a multitude of secrets hidden in the imperial palace.
It would be difficult for future generations to find any clues of what she had experienced recently in historical records.
What she had experienced recently was just a memory that would fade with the passage of time.
“I didn’t expect you to be sent here.” Just when Lin Mengya was sighing with emotion, she suddenly heard a slightly tired voice from behind.
Lin Mengya turned around, only to see that Empress, who had been incomparably noble, was only dressed in a plain but elegant dress without any hairpins or make-up.
Despite her slightly haggard look, she looked much more amiable than the ferocious and mean woman she had been.
It seemed that Yao Lu had really straightened out her thinking.
“Greetings, Your Grace,” Lin Mengya said.
Yao Lu waved her hand. The past was gone.
After seeing through many things and straightening out her thinking, she was eventually able to get over the past.
Giving up the obsession that had dominated her over the past more than 20 years was more of a relief for her.
“I’ve forgotten what happened before. Don’t address me as ‘Your Grace’ anymore. Since she sent you here, you must be trustworthy. I’ll have to trouble you to handle all this,” Yao Lu said politely.
Lin Mengya did not expect this.
But thinking about it carefully, she recalled that Yao Lu, who was actually born into an aristocratic family, must have received an excellent education.
As a well-bred lady, she was unlikely to cast what her upbringing had taught her behind her back in a short time.
In fact, during her stay in the imperial palace, Lin Mengya had ascertained what the Empress had done.
Although the Empress deliberately picked on Madame Jingrou again and again, she rarely played dirty and contemptible tricks.
Thinking about it now, Lin Mengya assumed most of the schemes were offered by Madame Hui.
“Your Grace, don’t mention it. It’s my duty to handle all this. What else do you want me to do? I’ll do as you say,” Lin Mengya said.
In fact, most people might think it miserable to get out of the imperial palace and live alone for the rest of her life.
However, it might be the best end of Yao Lu’s story.
Yao Lu looked up at the azure sky with a peaceful and lifeless look in her eyes.
After pondering for a moment, she gently shook her head and said, “I don’t want you to do anything. I… I’m just reluctant to part with my son. As his mother, I should be blamed for putting him in this situation. Helan, I know you are not an ordinary palace maid. If there’s a chance, please seek justice for my poor son.”
Her words aroused Lin Mengya’s suspicion.
Wasn’t the Eldest Prince safe and sound outside the imperial palace? Why did Yao Lu say these words?
Could it be that she was so heartbroken that she had a lapse of memory?
“Please don’t be overly sad, Your Grace. You’ll certainly be safe and sound for the rest of your life even after leaving the imperial palace. The matter concerning the Eldest Prince is out of my reach.” Lin Mengya tried to comfort Yao Lu tactfully, only to see her shake her head with a bitter smile.
“Even you think I’m crazy, don’t you? Although I had never raised Jing’er personally since he was a child, how could I, as a mother, mistake my son for someone else? Jing’er had been merciful and generous since childhood. Even I, as his mother, often thought him too weak. But since his 15th birthday, his disposition has changed drastically and he has become increasingly indifferent. Even I, as his mother, can’t see through him,” Yao Lu said with sorrow.
Lin Mengya’s initial reaction was, of course, to suspect if the current Eldest Prince was an impostor.
However, she instantly found it impossible. In fact, she had experienced all kinds of means of the Candle Dragon Cult before.
But they could not work on the royals of the Lieyun Empire.
She had heard from Xiaoyu that before every royal was born, a kind of venomous insect would be implanted in his/her mother’s womb.
This kind of venomous insect was harmless to the baby’s health and even good for it.
Nevertheless, without this kind of venomous insect, the baby would have a special reaction as soon as he/she took the first silk of breast milk.
Furthermore, as the princes and princesses grew up, a multitude of measures would be adopted to verify if they were of royal blood.
Of course, the royal family did this to ensure the princes and princesses were pure royals in the past.
Now, it was more of a ceremony to proclaim their blue blood.
Wanyan Jing had been chosen as the successor to the throne secretly, so he must have undergone a more rigorous and complicated ceremony.
Hence, Yao Lu’s speculation was basically impossible.
“Okay, I’ll pay attention to it,” Lin Mengya lowered her eyes and said.
She did not want to continue arguing with a sad person.
Perhaps Yao Lu considered the innocent and charitable Eldest Prince as her beloved son.
However, people could change.
“Alas, what’s the point of talking about this now. Just do as you wish. Anyway, he won’t be able to inherit the throne. But before I leave, I want to meet my family whom I’ve troubled over the years,” Yao Lu said with a distressed look, presumably knowing that she probably couldn’t reunite with her family any more after leaving.
Lin Mengya was aware that it would be cruel to turn down Yao Lu’s request.
Nevertheless, they had better keep Yao Lu’s fake death a secret among very few people.
“I’ll report it to His Majesty and Madame, but I think you’d better not meet them. After all, if you want to spend the rest of your life peacefully, you should keep this a secret among as few people as possible,” Lin Mengya said.
She knew that the Emperor and Madame Jingrou would probably disagree with it.
After all, this was of grave importance. More people learning this meant a greater possibility of giving the secret away.
Nevertheless, at the sight of Yao Lu’s expression, Lin Mengya could not bear to be straight with her.
Yao Lu was presumably aware of this as well.
“Thank you. I’m tired. Yunmo, help me to have a rest. His Majesty told me to stay here and no one will discover me. Just tell Yunmo in advance when you are ready to send me out,” Yao Lu said.
Then she rubbed the spot between her brows, turned around, and headed for her chamber.
The vigilant palace maid, who had opened the door for Lin Mengya, immediately went up to support Yao Lu. She must be carefully selected by the Emperor and Madame Jingrou to take care of Yao Lu and watch over her.
Lin Mengya did not stay in the Linqiu Pavilion for long, as she still had a lot of business to handle.
“How is it going? Did anyone suspicious pass by?” Lin Mengya asked.
Outside the door, Baisu was standing with an indifferent look like a stone statue, which made her a deterrent to those who intended to come over to check out the situation.
“Rest assured, Miss. No one dared to come over. His Majesty has sent a lot of guards here. No one will find out about anything happening inside. But Miss, you’ve stayed inside for a long time. Was there anything wrong?” Baisu said.
Naturally, she did not hide the fact that Yao Lu was still alive from Baisu.
After a short conversation, Baisu realized the importance of this matter.
“Send someone to the Ministry of Rites immediately, and find someone to collect the body. Make sure to find a careful and reliable person. The person will be a great help,” Lin Mengya said.
“Got it,” Baisu said.
Yao Lu was a guilty person and a Shaoshi of the lowest rank.
However, no ritual of her funeral could be skipped. In order to avoid the trouble brought by undue delay, Lin Mengya decided to shorten the duration of the funeral as much as possible.
The personnel of the Ministry of Rites soon came to Lin Mengya and invited her to talk over the details of the funeral.
Taking the special customs of the Lieyun Empire into consideration, they settled all the details of the funeral.
They decided to hold the funeral procession two days later. Before that, Shaoshi Yao’s coffin would be placed in the Linqiu Pavilion so that the imperial concubines could pay respects to her remains.
Regarding the funeral procession, the Emperor and Madame Jingrou meant to keep things simple and keep a low profile.
Therefore, there was not going to be a big occasion, and even the Yao Family probably would not learn this.
That was good, as things would not go wrong.
Everything went as planned. Although the mourning hall was arranged in the Linqiu Pavilion, apart from Lin Mengya, Ningqiu and a few trustworthy people who could get in and out of here, few people came here.
Even when some imperial concubines and palace maids came to mourn Yao Lu, they were accompanied.
Yao Lu lived in her chamber, but no one could discover her.
On top of that, the door was sealed with guards outside all day long, so Yao Lu’s secret wouldn’t be discovered.
Speaking of this, Lin Mengya involuntarily sighed over the inconstancy of human relationships.
During the two days when the coffin was placed in the Linqiu Pavilion, apart from a few inconspicuous imperial concubines coming to pay their respects, none of those who had followed Yao Lu and put on airs came.
Now the game was set.
Madame Jingrou became the mistress of the harem in name and in fact, while Yao Lu was Shaoshi Yao, a has-been. No one would openly go against Madame Jingrou at this time.
Although it was a little despicable, it saved Lin Mengya a lot of trouble.
“Miss, this is the news sent by Young Master,” Baisu said.
In the Fengyu Court, Lin Mengya was sitting in her room, checking the process of the funeral procession and the burial held in the cemetery tomorrow.
She raised her head and saw Baisu’s gloomy face.
“What’s wrong?” As she asked, she took the envelope from Baisu and opened it skillfully.
After reading the letter, Lin Mengya also frowned slightly.
