Lin Mengya continued flipping through the pages repeatedly. Although Lin Mengya could not deny that this was an amazing book, she still had doubts about it.
Could it really be that the music score for the green stringed instrument was somehow linked to the successor of the Pavilion of herbs that it had caused a series of troubles?
But no, things did not seem so simple.
At this moment, be it Long Tianyu, Zuo Qiuyu, or Zuo Qiuchen, they certainly knew that she possessed the music score for the green stringed instrument.
She was also very grateful that as her family and friends, they were very protective of her.
However, once they arrived at the former capital, there were bound to be things she had to do as well as ploys and schemes which she would be drawn into.
When she pulled her thoughts back into reality, her eyelashes trembled slightly before she opened her eyes.
Although she was rested physically, her mind was still somewhat fatigued.
As she massaged her glabella gently, she was grateful that the journey so far had been quite smooth and uneventful.
Drawing up the curtain, Lin Mengya looked out of the window. She supposed that they had already emerged from the woods because the road was flatter and wider. The traffic on the road was also busier.
The people on the road consisted of officials, nobles as well as commoners. The traffic heading towards the former capital had increased tremendously.
In her heart, Lin Mengya could tell that generally, all the people of the Nation of Lintian highly esteemed the matters concerning the Pavilion of Herbs.
It was no wonder that Cousin Chen had been so anxious and fervent in helping her.
“We’ll be arriving at the former capital soon. Do you think the chess piece at the back carriage would be of any use?”
Long Tianyu lowered his head and asked with a low voice.
Although they had encountered some trouble along the way, they had not, for a moment, relaxed their watch over Sumei.
Sumei’s character had been exposed very early on. She had been ordering the old maid who was attending to her, acting domineeringly like she was the master.
However, the old maids were servants from Cousin Chen’s mansion and some of them were personally appointed by Cousin Chen. In this case, all of them refused to submit to her.
“That will be soon, but we have to give her a chance to flee, right? She must have a hard time holding in all her grudges the entire journey. If we let her go so easily, who knows if she will have an evil plan against us? She may be stupid, but not the people she is working for.”
There was a deeper meaning in the smile on Lin Mengya’s face. To her, Sumei was merely the brick Lin Mengya cast to attract jade.
Hongyu’s words were deeply embedded in Lin Mengya’s mind.
The only worry was that her identity would cause a great commotion once they arrive at the former capital.
Therefore, she had to consider all possible circumstances so that when the time came, she could reap benefit from confusion together with Cousin Yu and Long Tianyu.
“That’s true. Let me go ahead to make arrangements.”
Long Tianyu rode on the horse to look for Zuo Qiuyu to discuss this matter. They had been traveling for quite some time and had seen much of the local conditions and customs. Nevertheless, given Lin Mengya’s character, she was getting bored in the horse carriage.
They eventually arrived at a town close to the former capital and Lin Mengya finally found the opportunity to alight from the horse carriage to loosen her limbs.
Each man escorting her was handsome. The town, though small, was rather crowded with people.
It only took a while before the three men escorting her attracted the attention of many of the young girls in town.
Lin Mengya could only return the envious and jealous looks in the eyes of the girls with a gentle smile.
What to do? These days, the girls walking in the streets could instantly become fans of any handsome guy that they saw.
At this moment, Lin Mengya could only quietly fade into the background.
Although the town was relatively small, it was after all located along the route leading to the old capital. For this reason, there was no shortage of inns and restaurants within the town.
For the same reason, there also were many medicine shops and clinics.
When they had just entered the town, Lin Mengya, with her keen sense of smell, quickly detected the faint aroma of medicinal herbs in the air.
Moreover, many paddlers all around were selling common herbs that were good for the human body.
Lin Mengya observed that Liu Xuan was even more meticulous than Zuo Qiuyu in handling all matters.
He found an inn and reserved the entire place for their use. He even searched the entire place to make sure it was safe before he let the rest of the company enter the inn.
Lin Mengya was certain that he must be a Virgo, and one person who was plagued with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
After considering how polite Liu Xuan had treated her, she did not rake up the incident that he criticized Long Tianyu on the way here.
“Let’s take a rest here for tonight. Tomorrow we should be arriving at the old capital. The emperor had already made arrangements for someone to receive us in the old capital.”
Liu Xuan might have joined them later, but he obviously was in control of the situation better than Zuo Qiuyu.
In light of this, one could see the deep trust Cousin Chen had in Liu Xuan.
In this case, Lin Mengya found it strange that Cousin Chen was not aware of Liu Xuan’s seemingly hostile attitude towards the Long Family.
So much so that he had even arranged for Liu Xuan to come out to receive them. Was he not worried that the two men might get into some kind of disagreement and conflict?
While Lin Mengya made such a judgment in her heart, she was after all no longer a child.
Perhaps Cousin Chen had his own plans.
“Thank you for taking all the trouble.”
Lin Mengya bowed slightly, then turned around. She went up to the second floor and entered the room, which Liu Xuan had made someone prepare for her.
It was a very spacious and bright room, which neither faced the streets nor was at the end of the corridor. The decorations in the room were simple yet elegant. Lin Mengya stood by the window and took in a deep breath.
At this moment, the Shen Nung system automatically started to work and soon, over ten kinds of medicinal herbs appeared in her mind.
Even such a small town had been greatly influenced. This made Lin Mengya wonder if everyone in the old capital were qualified to be physicians.
Cousin Chen had been right. This place was a suitable place for Cousin Yu to live and settle down.
Be it the palace in Dajin or the Prince’s Mansion in the Nation of Lintain, they were more like a restriction for Cousin Yu.
It was amidst such an atmosphere that the medical skills competition was held. Even Lin Mengya’s curiosity was aroused.
The night had just fallen and an impatient Sumei had secretly pushed open her door.
With a wicked look in her eyes, she gazed towards one corner of the second floor of the inn as she cursed the evil woman in her heart!
Although she had expected Lin Mengya not to be taken in by her words, she did not expect Lin Mengya to make arrangements for someone to watch her 24 hours a day.
Not to mention meal times, even when she went to the toilet, there would be two stout women following and watching her.
The two old maids were coincidentally very stubborn. She was thankful that when they were not far from their destination, the old maids had somewhat let down their guards.
When the old maids had drunk a little too much and were a little tipsy, Sumei had seized the opportunity to escape.
She snuck out of the inn through its back gate and felt her way out into the now quiet streets.
She looked left and right and eventually found a small rock which she used to inscribe some symbols that were unlikely to attract any attention.
That person had instructed her to find any opportunity to make such symbols on conspicuous places to warn them.
Despite being closely watched by Lin Mengya, Sumei had managed to find opportunities along the way to leave these marks.
Sumei smiled smugly, curling up the sides of her lips. While the streets were still empty, Sumei managed to sneak back into the inn.
Sumei heard the old maids saying that the former capital was not far from here. She would let Lin Mengya know who the final victor was when they arrived at the former capital!
Sumei thought what she had been doing had not been discovered. In truth, everything she did had been seen by another pair of eyes.
The master of those eyes was like a dark shadow that moved quickly. He had instantly covered the symbols left by Sumei with a piece of wood, which was so thin that no one could spot it.
As to when these symbols would see the daylight, it depended on the decision of the dark figure.
When Sumei returned to her room in high spirits, Lin Mengya was in the midst of a war.
She had been battling chess with Liu Xuan but had lost three consecutive sets. Lin Mengya could only retreat and Long Tianyu, who would avenge her, quickly took her place.
A game of chess was likened to a man’s life. During the chess game with Lin Mengya, although Liu Xuan’s moves were swift and fierce, he also initiatively lost many chess pieces to Lin Mengya.
Lacking in chess playing skills, Lin Mengya felt as if she were the child who had been toyed with by an adult.
In her discontentment, she wanted Long Tianyu to vent her anger.
“Prince Yu is indeed very skillful in playing chess. I suppose you are far better at scheming and calculating than the people around you,” Liu Xuan blurted out a series of taunts as Long Tianyu sat down across from him.
“This is just a game of chess. It has nothing to do with any scheming and calculating.”
Picking up a black chess piece in between his fingers, Long Tianyu maintained his cool and composure throughout the game.
“Snort, the Longs love to scheme and calculate. I suppose they are always ungrateful and always hit a person when he’s down!”
Liu Xuan spoke sarcastically as he laid down one of the chess pieces on the board.
Long Tianyu raised his eyebrows and glanced at Liu Xuan. Long Tianyu was displeased, but he did not let it show on his face.
“Those impressions are merely the wild guesses of evil people who have nothing better to do. We, the Longs, are upright in all our ways. At least, we are open and aboveboard, unlike those wicked people who stab others in the back.”
The belligerent atmosphere between the two men intensified.
Even Zuo Qiuyu, who was generally indifferent, was beginning to break out in cold sweat on his forehead.
When he exchanged a look with Lin Mengya, he was surprised to see that Lin Mengya was completely unaffected and looked relaxed.
This was strange. Zuo Qiuyu recalled how offended she was when someone spoke against her husband just a few days ago. How was it that she seemed unaffected now?
“Are you sure the Longs are open and aboveboard? To me, you are a bunch who had completely deceived others and made them believe that you’re good. Too bad, I’m not letting you succeed in whatever you are scheming to do this time!”
“Crash!” The chessboard had been overturned and the chess pieces scattered all over the floor. Wearing a hideous expression, Liu Xuan looked as if he was going to charge at Long Tianyu and tear him into pieces.
Lin Mengya immediately stood in front of Long Tianyu and glared at Liu Xuan with a serious expression on her face.
“I don’t care what misunderstanding you have with the Longs, but please believe me for now. Long Tianyu will never do anything against Cousin Chen’s interest. You have my life as a guarantee.”
Nevertheless, the cold look in Liu Xuan’s eyes did not go away.
On the other hand, Liu Xuan turned to look at Lin Mengya with some other emotions in his eyes.
Following that, Liu Xuan had to go off with a huff so he could suppress his anger temporarily.
“Cousin Yu, lest there be any mishap, may I trouble you to check out on Liu Xuan?”
Zuo Qiuyu was about to say something but stopped himself. He turned around and ran after Liu Xuan.
Lin Mengya and Long Tianyu were left in the room, and after a long pause, Lin Mengya finally let out a sigh.
