The streets in the old capital crisscrossed and intersected with each other, and they were lined with shops with a superb collection of beautiful things. Compared to Wangtian City, it possessed much more character and charm.
Compared to the lively Wangtian City, the former capital was like an old man filled with wisdom and rich life experiences.
Lin Mengya’s mind was especially perked up by the strong scent of medicinal herbs in the air, although she could only observe the buzz of the streets outside through the window of the horse carriage.
The people whom Zuo Qiuchen arranged to receive them had been waiting at the gates for a long time by now.
With someone to lead them on their way, Lin Mengya soon spotted the place where they would rest for the night.
It was not a luxurious inn, neither was it some elegant post station, but it was an outwardly plain-looking but spacious and clean mansion belonging to some nobleman.
“We’re here. This is the mansion where my brother used to live when he was still the crown prince. We grew up here together.”
Zuo Qiuyu sounded a little emotional when making the introduction and Lin Mengya took a closer look at the place. The sturdy and heavy gates, though blocked by a screen wall, was not at all old or damaged.
The procession of people entered through the gates and it was obvious that the dark green tiles on the floor had been meticulously swept.
Upon their entrance, they entered a spacious main courtyard. Although there were signs of aging at the corners of the houses, the place was very clean and tidy and this pleased Lin Mengya.
“Your Highnesses, His Majesty had given special instructions to prepare lodgings for the various people in your company, and we have done so. All of you will lodge here during the entire stay in the old capital.”
The person whom Zuo Qiuchen had arranged to attend to them was familiar to Lin Mengya and the rest. He was a young guard named Yu An, who was both quick-witted and steady in handling affairs.
Most importantly, he was loyal and devoted to Zuo Qiuchen.
She heard from Zuo Qiuyu that Yu An had been by Zuo Qiuchen side since young. It would be much more convenient for them to have him around.
“This place is great. Please thank Cousin Chen on my behalf.”
Lin Mengya looked around the place and learned that they had prepared a room for her in a small courtyard at the south-western corner of the mansion.
It might not be as grand as the main courtyard, but the small courtyard was planted with many green bamboo plants. With the bamboo plants, the courtyard became a place with winding paths leading to quiet seclusion.
Lin Mengya followed the winding cobbled path and soon, three houses in picturesque disorder appeared in her line of vision.
“These rooms had been specially prepared by His Majesty. To be honest, he had prepared these for you since ten years ago.”
Yu An explained with a smile and Lin Mengya could not help but be a little taken aback.
In fact, she had always thought that Zuo Qiuchen was treating her so nicely because she was holding on to the music score for the green stringed instrument.
What with building a small courtyard ten years ago for a cousin whom he had never met.
How could she not understand his heart?
“Please give my thanks to Cousin Chen. I’m very satisfied.”
After expressing her gratitude, Lin Mengya walked up to push open the door to her room.
There was a unique fragrance of flowers subtly diffusing through the air.
Stepping through the entrance, she entered a reception room. To her left, there was the inner chamber where she could rest and to her right, there was a bookshelf and a study table.
Right ahead of her stood a painting of bamboos. She wondered who the artist was who had added many happy-looking sparrows among the skinny bamboo, which made the painting alive.
There was a soft mattress that was laid on the floor and it was covered with a yam-colored blanket.
Not only was the decoration of the room unconventional, it sure looked like a young woman’s room.
Seeing the satisfied smile on Lin Mengya’s face, Yu An knowingly retreated from the room.
At this moment, Lin Mengya and Long Tianyu were the only ones left in the room.
“Cousin Chen is so considerate. I guess this trip is really worth the while.”
Actually, there was nothing new to Lin Mengya. Even the rarest thing could be found in her own courtyard at home.
What really touched her heart was Zuo Qiuchen’s kind intention.
“Hm, I suppose he had really put his heart into this. You must be tired after a day’s journey. Let’s rest early.”
It was as if Long Tianyu did not notice anything at all.
He did not make any comments, neither did he look like he was unhappy about anything.
From Lin Nansheng, his brother-in-law, to these two cousins of Lin Mengya, Long Tianyu had gotten used to how Lin Mengya’s family members doted on her like she was the apple of their eyes.
Nevertheless, he was determined in his heart to dote on Lin Mengya a hundred or even a thousand times more.
If Lin Mengya were to find out about Long Tianyu’s competitive thought, she would laugh at his childishness.
However, Long Tianyu simply refused to let any other man occupy any corner of her heart.
Her own brother was no exception!
“There’s no hurry. We have arrived at the old capital. Those people whom we distracted would receive news soon. If we make a calculation, how much time do we have?”
Long Tianyu’s men had been dispersed to the surrounding to find out the traces of those people following them.
However, there were so many powers behind them that made Lin Mengya speechless.
Sumei and whoever was behind her was one of them, but having been misled by a group of empty horse carriages, they had lagged behind.
In total, there were about five to six groups of people who were following them.
Apart from one group that had been arranged by Cousin Chen to protect them in secret, the rest all had evil intentions towards them.
Perhaps it was because the time was not ripe yet that these people had kept very still and not left any traces.
Naturally, Lin Mengya had employed all means to mislead them.
If they were to start calculating from now, there would a short period of vacuum when they could utterly cut off those people following and watching them.
This would be the best time to act.
“That would be about three days. Those people may move fast, but there are too many people who want to enter the city. Based on their travel speed, they would all have entered the city in three days.”
Long Tianyu said conservatively after making a mental calculation.
The fact that they were able to enter the city without much trouble had very much to do with Long Tianyu’s vicious attack on Master Zhu.
Otherwise, the earliest they could enter the city would have been tomorrow.
“Three days would be sufficient. Let’s go to look for Cousin Yu and Liu Xuan.”
After pondering and making a mental calculation, Lin Mengya had quickly devices a plan in her mind.
These three days would be an extremely precious time for them and they should not waste any moment of it.
As for her exhausted body, she would find time to rest after three days.
By then, she would want to have a good tour around this beautiful old city.
The sky was just getting bright when many dark shadows quietly spread out from the crown prince’s Baodi.
The peddlers along the streets felt a gentle breeze as a dark shadow flew past them in front of their eyes.
By the time they rubbed their eyes and took another look, they realized that there was no one there.
They supposed they were just seeing things.
The dark figure walked on walls and roofs and no one knew when and where he was hiding. After a few hours passed and by the time the city gates were opened, the dark figure who belonged to darkness had completely vanished in the sunlight.
When night fell, the noisy crowd in the streets began to gradually disperse. When the city gates were closed, those hidden figures would return to the crown prince’s Baodi as if they had agreed to meet at the same time.
All the men in black made their way back into the study of the crown prince’s Baodi in an orderly manner.
They did not even need to say anything but just took out a letter sealed with wax and handed it over to the severe-looking Yu An. Thereafter, they would disappear in an instant.
At this moment, Lin Mengya had curled up in a wide chair in the study of the crown prince’s Baodi.
Since yesterday, she had slept a total of only four hours.
She covered her mouth with her petite hand as she yawned into it. Although she already had dark circles under her eyes, her eyes were still sparkling and there was no sign of her being sleepy.
“Your Highness the princess, here are the 178 letters, of which thirty-five are sealed with red wax, while sixty-five of them are sealed with black wax. The rest are sealed with grey wax.”
Yu An arranged the letters neatly as he reported to Lin Mengya respectfully.
Lin Mengya glanced at the letters and started to frown a little.
The letters sealed in red were from Cousin Chen’s loyal subjects, while the ones sealed in black were from the party loyal to the former authority. The grey letters were of those who stood on the fence, who were wavering and afraid of offending either party.
Although the supporters of the old power did not make up the majority, the situation was still not favorable for Cousin Chen.
The letters contained information that Lin Mengya instructed the men to find out when they sneaked into those people’s houses.
What was strange was all the information was regarding trivial matters. Regardless of how big or small the matters were, every detail was to be recorded clearly.
Eventually, there was no important secret that was found out. Even Long Tianyu and Zuo Qiuyu had no idea what Lin Mengya was up to.
“I know, but let’s continue to find information. Within two days, all the noble families would be in the old capital to be spectators to the competition. I want everything they do once they enter the city to be reported to the details. Tell them that they do not need to enter the center to spy. However, every other thing they find must be recorded carefully. Nothing should be left out!”
Immediately, Yu An went ahead to make arrangements to send out men to do the job, while Lin Mengya opened one of the letters sealed in red. After taking a look at it, she threw it into the burning stove and it was consumed by fire.
“Cousin, what is this…”
After all the hard work throughout the day, was it just for her to take a look and throw away?
Not to mention Zuo Qiuyu who could no longer remain seated, even the composed Long Tianyu could no longer bear it but cast a perplexed look at his wife.
“I am analyzing the situations in the various households. Rest assured that none of the information collected will be waste.”
Despite Lin Mengya trying to assure them with a comforting smile, she continued opening the envelops and burning the letters after glancing through them.
The other three men in the room were becoming increasingly puzzled. What on earth did this lass have in mind?
Finally, the burnt smell of the letters stopped becoming stronger when Lin Mengya read the last letter sealed with grey wax.
The Lin Mengya at this moment had gone into a daze. While sitting on the chair, her eyes seemed blank and they could not tell where she was looking.
However, if they were to observe, they would see that her fingers seemed to be doing some kind of rhythmic exercise.
