No one could guess what was on Sumei’s mind, but on the surface, to Lin Mengya and Baishao’s surprise, Sumei was wearing a humble expression.
She had kept her eyes low in submission and was a totally different person from her usual self.
They had expected to face a Sumei who would harass and pester them shamelessly. At this moment, however, it seemed that Sumei had taken a step back in order to gain an edge.
Sumei had grown smarter indeed. Lin Mengya was even more curious about the mastermind behind Sumei.
Lifting her brows, Lin Mengya glanced at Sumei and said with an indifferent tone, saying, “I’m not really a meticulous person, and having Baishao serve me is more than sufficient. Moreover, you will become a burden if I bring you along with me.”
Lin Mengya was about to turn to leave after she had finished speaking.
A vicious look flashed in Sumei’s eyes, but she managed to suppress it.
Sumei hurried over to Lin Mengya and fell down at her feet, looking very pathetic. Reaching out both her hands, she caught the hem of Lin Mengya’s skirt and started pretending to weep.
“You’ve misunderstood me, Your Highness. Actually, what I did in the past was all incited by my heartless elder sister. At that time, she was not happy that she alone was in the mire and threatened me with my modesty. If I refused to submit to her, she was going to send me to the brothel. Given no choice, I cowered. If you don’t believe me, I can swear that what I say is true. If I lie, I’ll… I’ll die a tragic death!”
Sumei wept and begged earnestly, sounding pathetic and touching.
If Lin Mengya had come from a fairly common family, she might well be mostly taken in by what Sumei said, though not entirely.
“Is that so? I see.”
Lin Mengya tried to sound she half-believed Sumei, giving her a dubious look.
Compared to Sumei, Lin Mengya’s acting skill was a whole new level higher than that of Sumei.
Being very sharp, Lin Mengya quickly captured that look of satisfaction in Sumei’s eyes. It appeared that Lin Mengya had hit the nail on the head.
“What I say is the absolute truth. If you don’t believe me, Your Highness, you may check with the courtesan house my elder sister used to work in.”
There was no hint of guilt in Sumei’s voice.
The person had after all told Sumei that all the necessary arrangements had been made with the courtesan house which her elder sister used to work in.
“In this case, do allow time to check with them when I have time. Now that your sister had left, it would be better for you to remain here and not worry. No one would be making things difficult for you here. Let’s leave this matter be until my return.”
Seeing Lin Mengya was not intending to let her follow, Sumei was losing her cool.
She flashed out a little wooden box from her sleeve and presented it to Lin Mengya.
“Your Highness, my sister gave this to me. She wanted me to seize the opportunity to present this to the emperor of Lintian so I could falsely claim your status as mine! But now, I no longer wish to work with her to bring harm upon you, which is why I’m giving this piece of evidence to you.”
Sumei’s words sounded so earnest that she was beginning to look like she was sincere.
A light flashed across Lin Mengya’s eyes. She did not expect her enemy to present her the very evidence she prepared just to win her trust.
However, this also made sense since Sumei was still unaware that she had become an abandoned chess piece.
This was the reason why Sumei had offered Lin Mengya this item as a pledge of her loyalty towards her.
Baishao took over the box from Sumei and handed it over to Lin Mengya. Opening the box, Lin Mengya saw that sitting in the box was an emerald jade pendant.
The item looks old. Lin Mengya might not be an expert, but she could tell that it was not a common object.
“What’s this?”
Lin Mengya picked up the jade pendant and flipped it around. A plum flower pattern at the back of it attracted her attention.
As she took a closer look at it, she realized that the pattern was rather normal-looking compared to hers which was tied to her waist which looked different.
Sumei thought Lin Mengya was somehow taken in by her, so adhering to her plan, she said, “This was left behind by your mother. It’s believed to be some keepsake token. This pendant can be used as proof to your identity.”
A relic from mother? Lin Mengya fiddled with it and thought otherwise.
This jade pendant may look like something commonly worn by women, but given how much she was doted upon, this pendant appeared way too shabby for a token.
At the same time, Lin Mengya had also guessed the enemy’s another intention.
It seemed that Lin Mengya had to guard against their series of strategies. She might lose everything if she was not cautious.
“Ba, what wild imagination to think to use this cheap jade pendant to falsely claim my identity with! However, it does appear to be some idea thought up by that sister of yours. Aren’t you afraid that she would be after you for seeking refuge with me?”
After acting for a while, Lin Mengya did not wish to continue going along with Sumei.
At present, she would pretend to believe Sumei’s words so she could make Sumei useful for a while more.
“Which is why I’m asking Your Highness to wait on you. I have no idea where my sisters found her backing. What if she comes after my life when you’re away? By then, you would’ve lost me as your witness!”
The lass was indeed very good at taking advantage of the situation to help her achieve her goal.
Lin Mengya threw her glance and instructed Baishao, saying, “Get her to be changed into something similar to what you’re wearing. We’re going out, so unlike staying at home, we have to be very careful.”
“Baishao, make arrangements for Sumei to travel with our servants in the same carriage who are following us on the trip,” Lin Mengya continued.
After she was done instructing Baishao, Lin Mengya walked out of the back door without even looking back.
Sumei’s eyes sparkled, but she was unaware that Lin Mengya had completely seen through her evil plans.
Their horse carriages turned out from the back alley behind Prince Shen’s Mansion. Given that this was a newly developed residential area for the rich, small horse carriages like the ones they were riding in were common sights. There would be at least twenty to thirsty such horse carriages passing the area in a single day.
For this reason, they did not attract any attention from the people residing there.
After they exited the city gates safely, they quickly caught up with the larger company which was waiting for the over five kilometers away. Lin Mengya, accompanied by Baishao, boarded another plain-looking but spacious horse carriage from then on.
As Lin Mengya gazed at the softly padded interior of the horse carriage, she could not help but shake her head and shot a glance at the two men riding on the horses, who were looking at her simultaneously.
Long Tianyu and Zuo Qiuyu were rather in sync with one another in terms of the way they tried to protect her.
Of course she did not forget the involvement of Zuo Qiuchen, who was in the palace.
This was not a good sign and wondered if they had behaved foolishly. She did not feel that being overly protected like a little girl living in the depth of a mansion suited her.
Perhaps she would put all these to an end once her right shoulder recovered fully.
Leaning on the walls of the horse carriage, Lin Mengya took out the jade pendant Sumei gave her and scrutinized it.
Although the plum flower pattern may not be exactly the same as the one her mother left for her, she supposed no one would be able to tell the difference until it was someone who knew the truth.
This acted as a reminder to her that apart from Cousin Chen, there were no many others who could attest her identity.
If her opponent were to make use of her identity to corner her, it was not going to be easy on her too.
“Master, are you still studying that item she had given to you? To me, I don’t think it’s that big a deal. Even if the people of Lintian were muddleheaded, they would never deny your identity just because of a jade pendant, would they?”
Baishao had made a pot of tea for Lin Mengya and spoke those words to cheer Lin Mengya up.
Having been staying by her master’s side all these while, she seemed to have become smarter, and the way she handled matter had improved a great deal.
“What you said made sense, but there are still doubts about my identity. Think about it, my mother was merely a teenager when she left the Nation of Lintian. Moreover, her marriage union with my father was not made known to many. Without much evidence, it would be easy for people to make up stories.”
Zuo Qiuyu and Quo Qiuchen both claimed that they had made the necessary preparations. Moreover, Lin Mengya bore a great resemblance to her mother. The elders would most likely accept her easily.
However, Lin Mengya had the feeling that this was not going to turn out so smooth sailing.
“Master, do you mean someone wants to take over your position? What good is it to them? Even if someone were to take over your status as Princess Anle in the Nation of Lintian, your status as Princess Yu will never be shaken. If that someone were to offend you, wouldn’t she have offended the entire Dajin?”
Lin Mengya gave Baishao a look of approval. She had grown smarter indeed.
She took a sip of tea from the cup. The journey was rather monotonous so she could surely make time to answer Baishao’s queries and doubts.
“What is critical is the status of being Princess Yu. Although Dajin and Lintian’s relationship had been friendlier over the last few years, wars were ongoing until the time before I was born. Cousin Chen had said that the older generation court officials and nobles are still residing in the old capital. In nicer terms, they are guarding the old capital as a way of watching over the souls of the past emperors. In fact, they are acting defiantly towards Cousin Chen in an attempt to display their power and past glory. If I was proven to be not the Princess Anle, while I’m still Dajin’s princess as well as General Lin’s daughter, what would be their perception of me?”
Lin Mengya had spoken plainly and Baishao seemed to have found a direction to her confusion.
She could not help but take in a breath of cold air as she gazed at her master.
“Alas, those people would hate Master Lin. Are you saying that they, they would bring harm upon you and the prince?”
This was a tricky move. Cousin Chen had meant to let her regain the status of Princess Anle. That way, he could settle those scheming people in the Pavilion of Herbs.
Secondly, her special status would coincidentally become the bridge between the two nations.
Cousin Chen was definitely not a cowardly, self-indulgent ruler who was content to exercise sovereignty over only part of the country.
On the contrary, he was bold and ambitious. Given the opportunity, he would definitely become an outstanding hero who would give his all to fight for the throne.
However, it was truly not time to wage a civil war within the Nation of Lintian.
For the sake of the nation’s stability, he was willing to suppress and even sacrifice his ambition.
Cousin Chen’s magnanimity was sufficiently displayed in this aspect.
Unfortunately, the old generation court officials, especially those of noble birth, only knew to work towards their own good and satisfy their selfish ambitions.
They had failed to understand and empathize with the innocent common citizens.
