Lin Mengya looked at him.
There was a hint of disappointment in her look.
She already knew this day would come, but did not think it would be so soon.
“Alright. But before you leave, I want to have a word with the people who came to look for you. You’re my younger brother. If they take you away, to make you a part of their plan, I will not allow them to, no matter how powerful they are.”
Lin Mengya recalled the ghastly scene. when the five men were killed.
She refused to accept the possibility of Xiaoyu going down the same road. Xin Li was a psycho, who, Lin Mengya believed, would never let Xiaoyu go, in order to maintain his status.
Upon his arrival at Lieyun Empire, Xiaoyu would be out of her protection range Therefore, she would never allow any potential danger to threaten Xiaoyu.
“Um…”
Xiaoyu looked at her and felt vexed, as if it was something difficult for him.
Letting out a light sigh, Lin Mengya said seriously.
“Those people behind you, already know that I won’t let you go so easily. Go back and tell them, and they may well say yes. Go.”
Lin Mengya helped Lin Zhongyu to lace up his mantle. Looking at the boy who would soon be taller than her, she felt a little distracted.
“Okay, I’ll tell them. Sister, I don’t want to leave.”
His face was as smooth as a piece of jade, eager anticipation showing in it, and a dim light seemed to come from his dark eyes.
Lin Zhongyu wrapped his arms around Lin Mengya, and buried his head on her shoulders, then he stammered,
“Sister, if you feel unhappy here, you can come with me. As for Lieyun…Lieyun, I can offer you the best life out there!”
Lin Mengya was stunned, and a trace of a bitter smile unconsciously emerged, at the corners of her mouth.
She thought that her feelings were hidden deep enough. “How could Xiaoyu see through me?”
“I’m not unhappy, actually. But, Xiaoyu, you know, from the day I became Miss Lin, I gave up the right to control my own life, right?”
As the real Miss Lin, and Princess Yu right now, she could not afford to act the way she wanted.
“But you’re not happy at all, sister! I can see it. Long TianhaoLong Tianyu is not treating you well, and he’s taking advantage of you!”
Xiaoyu held her more firmly and argued with her.
Lin Mengya gave him a smile. “Speaking of being used, she was also taking advantage of Long TianhaoLong Tianyu to keep herself and the Lin family safe, wasn’t she?”
Probably it was the so-called royal family.
“Alright, the Winter Solstice Festival is over already, and the New Year is fast approaching. We will be together for the first time. Tell me, what do you want? I can give you anything.”
The boy standing in front of her, was still a child, but he seemed to be carrying a heavy burden, which was weighing heavily on his shoulders.
She was almost certain of his identity, but there were some details to be confirmed.
But anyway, he would always be her younger brother, and the adopted son of Lin family, as long as he walked in Dajin.
Nobody could change that.
Xiaoyu turned to look back repeatedly at her, with every step he took, and then eventually disappeared out of her sight. Lin Mengya felt upset.
The little guy, whom she picked up by accident, had already grown up.
It was true that nothing was absolute.
Everything was going, as Lin Mengya had planned.
But for some reason, the thing about Xin Li, did not start any rumors in the Capital City.
Later on, she went specifically to the pagoda tree. The withered pagoda tree was still struggling against the cold wind, but all those terrifying things had been removed. Not even a drop of blood was visible, not to mention the corpses.
Such powers as the Imperial Guards, and the government, were astonishingly silent. It was beyond her expectation. She thought that it would stir up a storm of disturbance.
But in fact, there were always plots being carried out, in the dark.
Soon, half a month passed. The New Year was approaching, and Lin Mengya was very busy.
“Master, the formal clothes for His Highness in the state banquet. Is there anything that needs to be changed?”
“Master, those things from the Palace. You’d better check and make an arrangement.”
“Master, gifts from those countryside stores are already coming in. What should we give in return?”
…
Lin Mengya found herself caught up in the preparations. “Why must everything come at the same time, when the New Year is approaching?”
“You can decide. Oh, where’s Baishao? She will be taking charge of them, right?”
Early this morning, Lin Mengya had been busy, right after her breakfast.
“Hey, Master, by your order, Baishao has gone to prepare to return the gifts early this morning.”
Only Baizhi was there to serve Lin Mengya. Even Baisu had been roped in to help Baiji. The whole of Prince Yu’s Mansion was on the go, and resembled a marketplace.
The managers of every yard and every store, would come to her room and report, or wait for her order. All these comings and goings made Lin Mengya feel a bit muddled.
Baizhi covered her mouth and smiled discreetly. “Master is rarely that confused.”
“You little girl, stop laughing. Go to the kitchen and check on the soup for His Highness.”
Lin Mengya had an ambiguous relationship with Long TianhaoLong Tianyu. They already stayed together in a room, but Long TianhaoLong Tianyu was in the outer room, while Lin Mengya was in the inner room.
The servants thought them to be together already, and expected that there would soon be a young master, come the next spring .
Lin Mengya did not want to, and had no time to give an explanation about this. So she had to turn a blind eye, and ignored it on purpose.
“Master, His Highness has asked me to assist you. You can rest.”
Steward smiled warmly. No matter what, the one in front of him, was the real female master, in Prince Yu’s Mansion.
In the past half year, Miss Jiang or Princess Ming Yue, from a state in the west, had failed. Only Lin Mengya managed to be the real decision-maker of everything in Prince Yu’s Mansion.
“Thank you. There are too many things that are making me busy. I might die from the rush. Baishao, the little girl, is cruel enough to me to leave all of this to me.”
Steward Deng was very capable, so Lin Mengya greatly welcomed his help.
The Art Courtyard slowly fell silent, even as Jiang Ruqin was driven back to her home. Yesterday, when she went to greet Lin Mengya, she merely gave her a polite nod.
It was known that she was going to be married off soon, maybe after the New Year. Her fiancé was of a lesser noble rank than Long TianhaoLong Tianyu, but still had a high status in Capital City.
She had to be satisfied.
“Baishao is also busy. Master, you’re a good teacher. Because of you, she has already gotten everything ready. Another maid would never be able to do it.”
What he said, was true. In the past half year, the four maids had progressed rapidly.
They were fussing around recently, but in everyday life, Lin Mengya was barely involved personally. It was evident that the four maids were really lovely and capable.
“Alright, I shall not be a bother. New Year is coming. I’m supposed to look around.”
In the dungeon, Baili Rui was busy with her studies. Madame Wang, whom she had put in every effort to save,, had recovered.
Baili Rui told her that Madame Wang had recovered well, and she had always wanted to see her.
As the Master, she should meet her.
There were a lot of people, who came and went in the house, but no strangers were found at the entrance to the dungeon.
Guards in charge of patrolling, were all familiar with Lin Mengya as Princess Yu. They also knew that the stubborn old man healed their wounds, all because of Lin Mengya.
So they felt grateful to her.
Few people were in the dungeon. Lin Mengya did not go straight to the room, where Baili Rui was. She wandered around, and went into an extremely big room.
Inside the room, a man was locked up in chains, in the shape of ‘大’. Pale sunshine passed through the small skylight of the room.
The man narrowed his eyes, as if he was enjoying the rare warm sunlight.
“How are you, Mr. Wuchen.”
Lin Mengya smiled faintly, and looked at Baili Wuchen, who looked dirty and pale.
She knew that Baili Wuchen was locked here, because he betrayed Long TianhaoLong Tianyu. But, she was actually surprised, the first time when she heard it.
After all, Baili Wuchen was one of the those closest to Long TianhaoLong Tianyu, and he was really outstanding at making plots. So it was not strange for Lin Mengya to feel astonished, when she found out that a person like him, had betrayed Long TianhaoLong Tianyu.
Baili Wuchen’s eyes wandered, and locked on her face.
She wore a green cloak, and looked as elegant as a fairy. Her pretty face had a constant light smile. But in his eyes, it appeared as if she was sneering at his current situation.
“You win.”
His hoarse voice was unpleasant to hear. It sounded the way a millstone worked to make a grating sound. His face was dusty, and it was as if in a few days, he had turned into an old man, whose energy had been totally depleted.
“I’m not your competitor, so there’s no winner or loser.”
Up till now, Lin Mengya had been wondering what she had done, to offend Baili Wuchen.
