Chapter 277 The Cause of the Misunderstanding
“Master, it’s not what you think. Prince Yu is just concerned for your safety. Isn’t it also good for us to stay in the mansion and not go out?”
Baizhi tugged at Lin Mengya’s sleeves gently. She did not understand how just a few words from the prince had stupefied her.
“Absolutely, lass. Long Tianyu may sound severe, but it’s definitely because he’s concerned for your safety.”
Qinghu forced a smile on his face and tried to sound casual, but there was a worried look in his eyes.
He could totally empathize with how Lin Mengya was feeling. However, Long Tianyu was not his usual self today. He should know that Lin Mengya was not the type to stir up trouble for no reason.
“I know. I guess everyone’s tired by now, so go back and rest. I want some quiet for myself.”
With a few steps, Lin Mengya entered the inner chambers and locked herself inside. At the moment, her mind was preoccupied with the last statement made by Long Tianyu of her making trouble for no good reason.
She had only wanted to track down the men who were planted by Baili Wuchen. He did not have to use those hurtful words even if he did not want her meddling in that matter.
She was secretly upset. Did Long Tianyu really think that she was deliberately provocative?
Feeling troubled, Lin Mengya lay down on her big bed and could not fall asleep, which was rare for her.
The Qinwu Courtyard had been cold and cheerless lately. Once again, the study was lit up by candlelight for a long time. Long Tianyu was sitting topless on the bed in the study.
As Long Tianyu’s body tensed, the muscles on his body appeared even more well defined. Despite the fact that it was winter time and the room was not heated by fire, there was a thin layer of perspiration on his handsome face.
The blue veins on his arms and neck were bulging while his determined face was drained of its color.
“Why did you do that, Your Highness?”
Lin Kui sighed in his heart while he tried his very best to dress the wound on Long Tianyu’s body.
A hideous-looking gash could be seen running down Long Tianyu’s back. It was so deep that his skin and flesh were turned outward near the cut and it almost reached his bones. Even Lin Kui could hardly bear to look at it, but Long Tianyu was holding in the pain with gritted teeth.
“I… It’s all right, it’s just a superficial wound. She would be very anxious if she finds out about it. I was the one who wanted to release Baili Wuchen, but now, she is in danger of his attack.”
No one knew that the reason why there were no longer any guards planted by Baili Wuchen was that Long Tianyu had exchanged his life for this.
Even Long Tianyu did not anticipate that Baili Wuchen was such an influential figure.
Long Tianyu had been through countless rounds of fierce fighting in the dark corners where Lin Mengya was unaware of.
“Sigh, I’m just worried that the princess will be overly sensitive. Oh yes, the men I sent out to gather information had come back and reported that Baili Wuchen had been rescued by the Crown Prince’s men. The leaders of the Qinglong Guards and Xuanwu Guards had been killed by the rebels. To our surprise, more than half of the guards had gone over to their side,” said Lin Kui, embittered.
A cold look flashed across his mature face as Lin Kui said angrily.
Half the strength that the prince had secretly nurtured and built up over the years had been ruined by Baili Wuchen, and a small number of subjects in the courts whom he had roped in had turned against him.
Allowing Baili Wuchen to live was a disaster.
“It’s all right to lose those men. Fortunately, the White Tiger Guards are still under our control. Moreover, the Qinglong Guards and the Xuanwu Guards are not the only guards we have. Please keep this from the princess. Please also do not breathe a word about my injury to her.”
After Lin Kui dressed his wounds, Long Tianyu put on his cotton clothes, sat down at the table, and started going through the documents as normal.
He was still pasty-faced but there appeared to be billows in his usually calm eyes.
“What could that lass be doing at this moment?”
There were the mysterious and unpredictable Four-Saints Guards under his flag, unknown to the others, who were his best guards. In the past, Baili Wuchen was his advisor and was one of the founders of the Four-Saints Guards.
These guards had a special rapport with Baili Wuchen.
Behind Long Tianyu’s back, Baili Wuchen had painted Lin Mengya as a witch who was a disaster to the nation.
The Four-Saints Guards already had some unpleasant feelings about Lin Mengya. If she proceeded with the screening at this time, and someone with an evil intention were to use this opportunity to work against her, there would be a crisis.
Baili Wuchen’s words resounded in his ears. He said that a really powerful person was one who had no other desires and could cut off all emotions and ties of love. For some unknown reason, Lin Mengya had managed to melt a little of his frozen heart without him realizing it.
She was like an irresistible warm sun that made Long Tianyu want to draw near her and preserve her smiling face. He could not get enough of her cheeky smiles and her never-ending antics.
At this moment, he regretted listening to Baili Wuchen’s advice to send Lin Mengya into the palace. Unfortunately, he no longer had control over this matter.
Nevertheless, he would not allow Lin Mengya to fall into the snares of all those people.
By the time Lin Mengya got up lazily from her bed, the sun was already shining brightly.
Her head felt heavy and groggy. She did not know why she felt so exhausted all over as if she had run a three-mile cross-country route just because she did not sleep well for one night.
“Master has woken up. You can come in to wait on her while she gets up from bed.”
The maids who had been waiting to serve her entered the room in a line. Lin Mengya was like a puppet as they helped dress her up and got her ready.
She gazed at herself in the mirror. The delicate dangling ornament she wore made her pretty face look even more gorgeous. Her brows had been carefully painted and her lips were a bright alluring red. Her features were nothing like she remembered them to be.
On her body was a lapel embroidered with the pattern of a peony in different shades of purple. Together with her collars lined with raccoon fur, she was exuberating exceptional elegance.
Were these not the kind of luxurious clothes that everyone dreamed of wearing? However, when she accepted this identity, she realized that she was merely a canary that had lost its freedom.
Every little expression on the face of the beauty in the mirror appeared graceful, but she was simply an accessory to please the men. She seemed to have awoken from a dream suddenly. Where was the Lin Mengya who was so determined to set up Sanjue Hall and achieve success with her own hands?
With her delicate hands, she determinedly rubbed off the red lipstick from her lips, took out the hairpins in her hair, and took off her magnificent clothes. To the astonishment of her four maidservants, she changed into a set of male clothes, which she had carefully hidden inside a box.
She pulled her hair into the jade crown in the shape of a crane. When she reappeared in the mirror, her delicate makeup was gone and what replaced it was a handsome but mild-looking face.
When she turned around, the jaws of her four maidservants dropped and their mouths formed an “O” shape. They wondered how long it had been since their master had gotten this set of men’s clothing ready.
“You—”
Baiji looked at Lin Mengya, perplexed. Her master had instructed her to tailor this set of male clothes a few months ago. She thought it would no longer be of any use. To her surprise, her master had put it on today.
“Bear this in mind, my four dear lasses, women ought to build up our own careers. Only with a financial foundation would we be able to build on it. Don’t dream that men will support us our entire lives. We have to rely on ourselves to find true happiness!”
Holding her hands behind her back, Lin Mengya began to impress in them the idea that had been going around among her circle of friends.
The four lasses were stunned by Lin Mengya’s worked-up manners and could only nod their heads in response as they wondered what had gotten into her.
“Hey, it’s been only one night since I last saw you and my lass has turned into a teacher with great teachings. How about you teach me a thing or two?”
Qinghu’s teasing voice sounded as he appeared in Lin Mengya’s room, to no one’s surprise.
Seeing that Lin Mengya was dressed up as a man, an astonished look flashed across Qinghu’s eyes.
Qinghu had seen numerous beautiful men, but none could be compared to the Lin Mengya before his eyes, who was a combination of femininity and heroic spirit.
He had thought that Long Tianyu’s words would have made her miserable, therefore he had made a special trip out in the night to find a stalk of plum flower to cheer her up.
It seemed that it was not necessary after all.
“You’ve come at the right time. I had been engaged in unimportant things for the past few days. As a result, I had neglected the matters regarding Sanjue Hall. Thank goodness you and Yunzhu were there to make sure everything was running smoothly,” said Lin Mengya sincerely, forcing a smile.
In fact, Lin Mengya had taken note of all the good she saw in the people around her, especially this guy, who might appear to be playful and flippant. But in reality, he had done so much for her.
It was time for her to repay them by doing something for them.
“Silly girl, my life belongs to you, so I can do without those fulsome words. If you still feel bad, you may devote your life to me. I really don’t mind that you’ve been married.”
There he goes, spouting nonsense again, which quickly provoked Lin Mengya’s anger. Immediately, she stepped onto Qinghu’s foot, fast and hard.
“Ouch— I’m sorry, I’ve done wrong!”
Qinghu’s beautiful face grimaced in an instant. He looked at Lin Mengya with pleading eyes, fearing that his foot would be ruined if she stepped on him harder.
“Let’s cut the nonsense. The four of you, go change into male clothing quickly. Your duty, Qinghu, is to smuggle us in.”
Despite not knowing the reasons, the four maidservants went into the inner chambers to get changed.
“Is your mind still set on leaving Prince Yu’s mansion in the future?” asked Qinghu gently.
His eyes were looking down so Lin Mengya could not see the expression on his face.
“How did you know about this?”
Lin Mengya’s face changed. She had not mentioned her plans for her future to anyone. Her hands, which were fiddling with her clothes, stopped for a second before she regained her composure.
“You have set up Sanjue Hall so that you could support your livelihood thereafter. Just when I thought that you’ve given up on this idea, your interest has come back today. What other possible reason could it be other than the thought of leaving?”
