Little did they people expect these words to come out of a little child’s mouth.
Lin Mengya’s heart ached for the child. She gathered him into her arms but she could not say anything to hoodwink him.
Perhaps what happened was rather cruel to him now, but which kid born of the royal family would be spared of various illnesses and suffered evil schemes?
The earlier he was exposed to these things, the more he would be able to grow up safely in these cruel struggles.
“Alright, let’s wait for the day Concubine Xian comes for you. Come, let me introduce you to Ms. Tian here. She was my wet nurse. Henceforth, she will be the one taking care of you here. What do you think?”
Ms. Tian was unable to restrain her affection for this little guy since long ago.
For this reason, a kindly smile had broken out on her face.
“Hello, Ms. Tian,” the little guy, being very witty, immediately addressed her with a sweet voice.
Concubine Xian must have urged him to follow Lin Mengya’s instructions so he decided to put his full trust in Ms. Tian.
“I’m an old woman. How flattered I am. Your Highness, the 10th prince, you will be taken care of by me, an old maid, from now on.”
When Ms. Tian finished speaking, she took over the little plump guy from Lin Mengya’s arms.
Ms. Tian’s manner towards others had always been friendly and warm, coupled with the fact that she was Lin Mengya’s wet nurse, Long Yinghua felt a special closeness to her immediately.
Neither did he feel shy. Immediately, he put his arms around Ms. Tian’s neck and began to act like a spoilt child.
This brought a smile to Ms. Tian, who had been yearning for a grandson for many years.
She had hoped to help her mistress take care of her child, but with the 10th prince, now the void had been filled temporarily.
“The 10th prince is so adorable. Master, you can rest assured that we will raise him in our courtyard from now on.”
After returning to Lin Mengya’s room, Baiji served Lin Mengya a cut of milk tea and commented with a smile on her face.
Baizhi was still like a child herself. Moreover, she had grown up with Lin Mengya since young while there were no other children in the house. Now, she would experience being a big kid.
Without Lin Mengya having to give her instructions, she had gone after Ms. Tian to take care of the 10th prince with her.
“Erm, although Ms. Tian is very experienced, she is also advanced in age, therefore we have to trouble you and Baishao to help out in certain things. Please bear in mind that you and Baishao are to make every effort in taking care of the 10th prince’s daily life, especially the food he eats and the clothes he wears. These duties must not be delegated to others.”
Lin Mengya looked solemn. She knew that once Concubine Xian sent the 10th prince over to her, she had also partly directed the other people’s eyes towards her.
If any accident befell the 10th prince while he was staying in her mansion, she would have failed Concubine Xian.
If Long Tianyu’s important business was in any way ruined, all the more, she would have to bear the blame.
“Rest assured, Master. Baishao and I will be cautious so that nothing poison can infiltrate our courtyard.”
There was conviction in Baiji’s eyes. She was no longer that same timid country girl she used to be when she first came to the prince’s mansion.
At this moment, Lin Mengya could be totally at ease handing down such matters to her personal maidservants.
As she continued instructing Baiji, someone came in to inform them that dinner was ready.
This was the first time Long Yinghua was having a meal in the prince’s mansion, so Lin Mengya had specially instructed the cooks in the kitchen to prepare something nutritious for this little guy.
Even the pieces of carrot and cucumber had been carved into the shapes of bunnies.
Long Yinghua rarely saw how food was served in such adorable shapes and his eyes were quickly attracted to them.
“Third Brother, thank you and Sister-in-law for letting me stay in your mansion.”
The little guy was very grateful to them, but he minced his words coyly as if he was reiterating something he had memorized.
“Erm, there was no need to stand on ceremony, my brother.”
Long Tianyu by their side, put on a serious countenance as he answered in dead earnest.
These two guys, one big and one small really cracked people up.
“Alright, alright, let’s all dig in.”
Lin Mengya hurried over to smooth things over, lest if they continue on, she would suffer stomachache.
For Long Tianyu and Long Yinghua, who were princes, they were well brought up in table manners.
Apart from the crispy sounds made by the contact of chopsticks, the plates, and bowls, one could not hear any other sounds.
Apparently, Long Yinghua fancied the sweet-sour shrimp ball prepared by the cook as instructed by Lin Mengya. Not only did it taste very appetizing, but the flesh of the shrimp was easy to digest.
Lin Mengya was pleased when she saw how much he loved those shrimp balls.
However, halfway through eating, Long Yinghua’s expression turned uneasy.
With a “Clank”, he toppled the bowl and fell to the ground in that instant.
“Yinghua!”
Lin Mengya cried out in shock. Putting down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, she dashed over to check him out.
The little guy’s face was flushed with his eyes wide open. He kept scratching all around his neck with his tiny hands.
Lin Mengya immediately realized that he was choking on something, which was why he exhibited the signs of breathlessness.
“Will someone quickly bring me my silver needles?”
Turning the little guy around, Lin Mengya lifted Long Yinghua’s clothes.
His snow-white back was covered with rashes by now.
Oh dear, it was most likely an allergic reaction!
The rashes spread quickly and soon, his limbs were covered with patches of rashes.
Because of the allergic reaction, Long Yinghua, who had been choked by his swollen throat, had lost consciousness.
Lin Mengya quickly carried the child into her own medicine room, then she nimbly applied a few silver needles to stop his throat from further swelling from accumulated water, lest he should suffocate to death.
Thereafter, she quickly boiled a pot of medicine with Baiji’s help and fed it to Long Yinghua as well as to apply onto him externally.
It was only after two entire hours of hard work that Long Yinghua’s breathing finally stabilized and his countenance looked much better.
However, Long Yinghua’s stamina had been spent, so Ms. Tian carried him in her arms as he fell into a deep sleep.
“Master, it’s all because of our negligence that a thing happened to the 10th prince.”
Baiji and Baishao went on their knees before Lin Mengya. They were drenched in perspiration from the panic.
Their master had just given them instruction to protect the 10th prince and keep him safe, and they had quickly made such a mistake.
In retrospect, they shuddered at what happened a moment ago.
If not for their master’s fast reaction, perhaps now…
“You are not to be blamed. Yinghua was not poisoned, rather, he had an allergic reaction. However, in my impression, he was not allergic to anything. Will you investigate carefully into this to find out if anyone had used trickery or something?”
A child’s body might not be strong enough yet. If someone was intent on bringing harm to him, they would definitely be able to find some leads.
Immediately, Baiji and Baishao went out to carry out the investigation. Meanwhile, Lin Mengya felt a chill run through her.
Someone could not wait a moment longer to lay a finger on Yinghua when he had just arrived.
She supposed that the purpose was to give her and Concubine Xian a warning.
The style through which this person worked was many times more vicious than before.
Long Tianyu had handled everything outside and soon, news had it that a female cook had gone missing.
Although Long Tianyu had already sent men to investigate this, Lin Mengya was certain that this person had already disappeared from the face of the earth.
Baiji and Baishao had also returned, looking provoked and displeased.
Nevertheless, they managed to bring back a pack of powder medicine from the female cook’s room.
Lin Mengya could identify that it was a kind of herb that could cause a very fast allergic reaction in human bodies.
However, this substance, when ingested by adults who did not usually react to allergens, would at most result in rashes on their bodies.
However, Yinghua was still a young boy. A child’s immune system was naturally weaker. If she had not discovered the cause immediately, this child would have had an allergic reaction that caused him to suffocate and die!
“Outrageous! How could they be so ruthless? The 10th prince is merely a child. How cruel of them to do this to him!”
Baizhi could not help but make noise in her rage. Both Baiji and Baishao had also started frowning in displeasure.
Little did they expect that someone had sneaked in despite the much effort they put in.
It appeared that they had to be extra careful going forward.
“You shouldn’t overly reproach yourselves over this incident. I believe that the person had chosen to act today because he thinks that we’re busy with many things since this is the first day of Yinghua’s stay. He thinks we would let down our guards in terms of guarding him. All you have to do is be careful going forward. The heart of man is indeed evil, and we have to guard against it. ”
Baiji and Baishao exchanged looks and they were able to tell that they had the same thoughts.
What the master said made sense. The heart of man was the most difficult to control.
All the servants in the mansion were faithful to their master now.
Nevertheless, it was difficult to guarantee that they would not be tempted by greater temptations.
“Ms. Tian, I’m going to hand Yinghua over to you.”
Ms. Tian nodded and let out a sigh. She must have called to mind how Ms. Tian had shielded her and her older brother under her wings.
Lin Mengya watched as Ms. Tian and Baiji carried Yinghua into his own room.
Lin Mengya sank into deep thoughts while looking at the packet of powder medicine.
Lin Mengya was aware of what was happening among the servants without investigating them. What on earth did Concubine Xian do that had spurred the Crown Prince and the queen to harm Yinghua at all expense?
She was looking solemn in her thoughts when Long Tianyu finally came into the room from outside.
How audacious for these people to carry out their ploy under her nose! How extremely contemptuous of them!
How could the Jin State tolerate such people who did evil in broad daylight?
“The culprit who tried to harm Yinghua would have been eliminated. Even if we found any evidence, what can we do but let the matter rest?”
Lin Mengya knew what Long Tianyu was thinking. She used her delicate fingers to slowly open Long Tianyu’s tightly closed fist.
She gently pushed him down to sit on a chair and tenderly massaged his palm, which had turned red from holding it so tightly.
“She is also Yinghua’s legal mother! He is also Yinghua’s elder brother! Even if Concubine Xian takes over my mother’s place and fights with the queen in the palace, she still shouldn’t have made it so obvious!”
While Long Tianyu burnt hot with anger, the tone of his voice was chilling.
His dark and deep eyes were also filled with chilling coldness.
Having witnessed how his brother almost died at the hands of these people, Long Tianyu was angrier than if he were the one they tried to harm.
So this was what it was all about.
Lin Mengya could understand everything. It was no wonder that Long Tianyu was not at all surprised when Yinghua was arranged to stay in their mansion.
He even instructed her to take good care of Long Yinghua.
All of this was because Concubine Xian had wanted to work with the father and son in their plans. She had colluded with them to put up a very good act.
