The wind blowing over the Immortal Road was as wild as ever, but Lin Mengya was no longer as scared as when she first walked on it.
Following Long Tianyu’s lead, she reached the other side of the bridge safe and sound.
“Master!”
The moment she set her foot on the ground, she heard Baishao’s cry of surprise, which filled her heart with joy.
“Baishao, you… how come you are here?”
Standing not far away, Baishao was clad in plain clothes. She seemed to have lost some weight, but her cheeks were still ruddy.
At this time, she was rushing through the crowd toward Lin Mengya with excitement.
Tears welled up in her beautiful eyes, streaked her fair face, and wetted her collar.
To Lin Mengya, Baishao was not just a maid; she was like family.
Baishao rushed up to Lin Mengya and observed her carefully. After making sure that there was no scratch on her, she held her hands tightly and refused to let them go.
“I miss you so much, Master. Seeing that you’re safe, I’m relieved. You’ve suffered a lot, and it’s all my fault. I’m a useless woman.”
Baishao couldn’t help but sobbing as she spoke.
Though she was Lin Mengya’s maid, she was older than her. Thus, she naturally took her as her younger sister.
She was a loyal maid, and when she heard about Lin Mengya’s sufferings, her heart almost broke.
“Look at me, I’m fine. When I find out who this long-tongued person is, I’ll definitely punish him hard. Alright, the wind is so strong here. Let’s get into a carriage. We can talk about old times another day.”
Lin Mengya shook her head helplessly. No matter how weak they were, her maids all wanted to protect her.
They didn’t know that in her body was the soul of a mature woman in her twenties.
Lin Mengya was not accustomed to being protected and taken care of.
The Square Town was as prosperous as it was before.
It seemed that everything had started from here. The town reminded Lin Mengya of Xiu, Zhu Yun, Hongyu, and Sumei, and what had happened in the past. She felt like she had been away for a century while actually, it was just several months.
When she first came to the town, she was just an inexperienced young girl while she regarded herself as a master who had the situation in hand. However, now, she had become cautious yet brave.
“You must haven’t had any good meal, master. Mr. Qiu didn’t take good care of you!” Baishao muttered in a low voice as she quickly took out a plate of pastries from a wooden hamper.
At this moment, on the square rosewood table in front of Lin Mengya were four plates of appetizing cookies.
Some were orange while some were light purple, looking very beautiful.
Those pastries placed on snow-white plates looked more like artworks than food.
Yet, Baishao had even prepared something more. She brought five hampers of food to Lin Mengya, afraid that the latter would be hungry. At this moment, with Long Tianyu’s tacit consent, Lin Mengya could lead an easy life again with everything provided.
Seeing Baishao’s indignant expression, Lin Mengya felt somewhat aggrieved.
She had always been thin, and when she was still in the mansion, Baishao and Baiji had discussed all day long how to help her gain some weight.
However, she didn’t live up to their expectations. Every time she just gained some weight, something disturbing would happen and cause her to lose weight quickly.
Now, she returned, much thinner than before, sure that Baishao and Baiji would try to help her gain some weight again.
“These are enough. I can’t eat that much, my good girl.”
Lin Mengya reached out her delicate hand. She had no choice but to stop Baishao from serving her more food.
In such a short time, Baishao had placed six kinds of pastries on the table, and put some clean, popular fruits in a basket within Lin Mengya’s reach.
Besides, she also made her a cup of sugar-free milk tea instead of green tea, which Lin Mengya loved to drink. The porcelain cup was in jade color, and the milk tea was at the best temperature to drink.
Just as Lin Mengya had read a few pages of a book, Baishao started nagging and urged her to eat something and have a rest.
If not for that she could read through the Shen Nung system even with her eyes closed, she would really have nothing to do along the way.
“Master, you’re in poor health, so you have to eat more. Otherwise, they would blame me after we return to the Capital City.”
Baishao lowered her delicate eyebrows, and a pitiful look replaced the shrewd look in her eyes.
Lin Mengya was well aware that Baishao was trying to stall for time.
However, she had no choice but to do as she said.
She put down the book in her hand, picked up a butterfly-shaped cake, and gently put it into her mouth.
In an instant, the rich milk flavor filled her every taste buds.
Just for the sake of Baishao’s good intentions, she had to eat more.
“Master, I noticed that you’ve brought Hongyu back with you. Are you planning to bring her to our mansion?” Baishao asked.
She broke into a smile when she saw that Lin Mengya started eating again.
However, she didn’t like Hongyu.
After all, back when they were at Prince Shen’s Mansion, Hongyu and her sister had tried to steal the prince from Lin Mengya.
Baishao always took Lin Mengya’s enemy as her biggest enemy.
Thus, she was on guard at every moment against anyone hurting her master.
“Yes, that’s what I’m thinking. But whether she can stay in our mansion is up to you and Baiji. It’s just that Sumei had died and she had helped me a lot. If you don’t like Hongyu, give her some money and tell her to go. We can’t treat her unfairly anyway.”
Lin Mengya swallowed the dessert and took another sip of the milk tea before replying slowly.
Though she and Hongyu had gone through dangerous situations together, Baishao and Baiji could die for her.
Therefore, if they could not accept Hongyu, she would not force them to do so.
“She’s dead? Oh, what a poor girl Hongyu is. I can’t make a decision on my own and I need to discuss it with Sister Baiji after we go back. But since she had saved you, we’ll definitely return the favor,” Baishao said.
To her, there was always a clear demarcation between kindness and hatred. On hearing that Sumei had died, she took pity on Hongyu more than she hated her.
Seeing that Baishao was no longer so hostile toward Hongyu, Lin Mengya couldn’t help laughing in secret.
The three maids of hers seemed to be tough but actually were very soft-hearted.
As a matter of fact, Lin Mengya wanted to bring Hongyu back to her mansion for some reason.
Baishao and Baiji might be capable, but they didn’t know as much the ways of the world as Hongyu did.
Lin Mengya thought it was good of her to keep a pure mind in this chaotic world.
She could rest assured that Hongyu would teach her three maids well.
Moreover, these four girls would be of great use to her in the future.
Lin Mengya thought that it would be a waste of her talent for Hongyu to be a mere maidservant.
After Lin Mengya finished eating and drinking, Baishao took out a small purple-gold censer.
She burned some spices that could help them concentrate. Soon, the carriage was filled with a fresh and sweet aroma, which gave them a warm feeling.
Lin Mengya stared at the shaking dark purple ceiling of the carriage wrapped up in the quilt. She started feeling sleepy.
When they arrived at the Square Town, they transferred to another carriage.
They didn’t tell anyone their identities but said they were a family out for sight-seeing.
Lin Mengya was taking the most luxurious and comfortable carriage among all.
She didn’t want to waste her energy on anything these days.
She wanted to conserve her strength because she knew there would be a lot of trouble waiting for her to handle after she went back to the Capital City.
As she neared the destination, her easy life with everything provided to her on the carriage was ended.
Not far away, the towering city walls of the Capital City became increasingly clearer.
Lin Mengya let out a sigh of relief and put those complicated feelings behind her. She knew these troubles would come to her anyway.
Long Tianyu rarely came to see her after they passed the Square Town.
Every time he came, it was about bedtime. They would exchange a few words, and then he would leave after she fell asleep.
She, of course, knew that after they arrived in Dajin, Long Tianyu would have to shoulder his responsibility as a prince.
“Master, we’re almost home!”
Baishao could barely suppress her excitement of going home. After all, she had been away for such a long time.
She helped Lin Mengya put on a spring dress in the color of the begonia flower and coral headgear, making her look extremely stunning.
The dress showed off her curves perfectly.
Lin Mengya certainly knew what Baishao was thinking. The girl didn’t want anyone to outshine her.
“Yes, we’re arriving home. Let’s pack up. We’ll be entering the city soon.”
After drawing down the curtain, Lin Mengya and Baishao started packing up the items in the carriage.
As soon as they reached the city gate, the carriages were forced to stop.
Lin Mengya overheard the people outside talking about spies, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.
However, just as they finished speaking, the door of her carriage was pushed open by someone from outside.
Then, a square-faced man with a serious look walked up to her carriage.
“How dare you! This is Princess Yu’s carriage, and you should never try to approach without permission. Get lost!” Baishao yelled at the man.
She was no longer the reserved country girl she used to be.
Having been by Lin Mengya’s side for such a long time, she naturally had an air of uniqueness about her now.
Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed, and she immediately stood in Lin Mengya’s front. She scolded the man fearlessly despite him being a soldier.
“Princess Yu?”
The square-faced man froze for a moment, and he realized that it was very inappropriate for him to enter a woman’s carriage without permission, whether it was Princess Yu’s or someone else’s.
After hesitating for a moment, he stepped back.
A moment later, Lin Mengya heard a steady male voice from outside.
“I’m sorry to have offended you, Your Highness. Please punish me.”
