Early the next morning, Lin Mengya and Long Tianhao went to the Art Courtyard and paid respect to Concubine De.
Concubine De may think that in-laws should frequently visit each other. She readily agreed that Mrs. Lin could stay with them for some time.
Long Tianhao still had important work to do, so he left early and Lin Mengya was chatting with Concubine De.
“Ya’er, I know that you’ve been wronged these days.”
After living in Prince Yu’s Mansion for some time, Concubine De looked more marvelous than she was in the imperial palace.
She didn’t look so pale. Instead, she had a ruddy complexion and looked healthier.
She didn’t wear any precious jewelry in her hair except for a gold and jade peony step shake. But she looked more dignified and graceful.
It seemed that the time also favored the real beauty.
“Mother, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lin Mengya was gentle and graceful. She was wearing a turquoise dress with many butterflies on it. She looked prettier and cuter.
Lin Mengya was sweet and her face was delicate. Concubine De liked her better now.
“I’m talking about Qin’er. This girl has been spoiled by your great uncle. You’re her sister-in-law. Please pardon her for her mistakes and bad behavior.”
Concubine De apologized for Jiang Ruqin’s behavior.
She was a noble lady and came from an old and well-known family. She was a cultivated girl since her childhood.
She had already been dissatisfied with Jiang Ruqin who was domineering and impolite.
But she couldn’t criticize or punish this girl for the sake of her elder brother.
Besides, this girl was clever since she was a child and Concubine De really loved her despite that her mother was just a concubine. Therefore, Concubine De felt sorry for her daughter-in-law who had been wronged these days.
“Mother, please don’t worry. I can understand.”
Lin Mengya snorted and suddenly understood the reason why Concubine De granted her request so readily.
She knew that Jiang Ruqin had been spoiled since her childhood. But this was not her excuse to whip others for no reason!
But unfortunately, she was not a generous and broad-minded girl. She was Lin Mengya who had a thirst for revenge!
Concubine De still wanted her to stay longer and chat with her. But Lin Mengya said that she needed to prepare the room and articles for daily use for Mrs. Lin and left the Art Courtyard.
In fact, Lin Mengya clearly knew that Concubine De didn’t trust her daughter-in-law and would never punish Jiang Ruqin for whipping Xiaoyu who was unrelated to her in blood.
Compared with them, Concubine De was closer to her niece, wasn’t she?
Lin Mengya wanted to return to her Qinglan Courtyard with Baishao. But they came across Jiang Ruqin in the winding corridor of the garden.
She was wearing a pink dress and looked pretty. There were also four servant girls who were wearing bright clothes around her. She looked down her nose at everybody.
As the saying goes, ‘One can’t avoid one’s enemy.’ After seeing Lin Mengya, Jiang Ruqin was not guilty at all and came up to her arrogantly.
“What bad luck! I come across a damned unlucky woman early in the morning! I heard that your mother died because you cursed her. Hey! I have to alert my aunt and cousin to stay away from you!”
Jiang Ruqin raised her head and glanced at Lin Mengya scornfully. There was an expression of triumph on her white face.
Jiang Ruqin was complacent after whipping Xiaoyu. But she forgot that Jiang Sheng had told her to stay away from Lin Mengya.
The servant girls standing behind Jiang Ruqin were also looking at Lin Mengya with disdain.
But suddenly they were stunned by the sound of clapping.
“How dare you slap me!”
Jiang Ruqin had never expected that Lin Mengya would slap her in her face so neatly.
“It serves you right! If you talk rubbish anymore, I’ll cut your pretty face.”
Lin Mengya dropped her left hand, gave a cold smile to Jiang Ruqin, and said peacefully and slowly.
“You… Don’t be too complacent! Aunt will not allow you to bully others in this mansion!”
Jiang Ruqin was boiling with rage and she completely forgot that she was just a guest while Lin Mengya was the hostess of this mansion.
The four servant girls suddenly found that their master had been bullied. They also forgot that this was Prince Yu’s Mansion and surrounded Lin Mengya and Baishao.
“What are you doing? How dare you attack me in Prince Yu’s Mansion!”
Lin Mengya hissed at them coldly and the four servant girls were scared by her irresistible prestige.
Lin Mengya hissed at them and the four servant girls immediately backed up a few steps. But Jiang Ruqin had already been crazy. She covered her red face with hands and became furious from shame.
“Chunhua, Qiuyue, Dongxue, and Lamei! Beat her up!”
But the four servant girls were confident that Miss Jiang would become the hostess of this mansion one day. Therefore, they followed Jiang Ruqin’s order without any fear.
They were about to come forward and catch Lin Mengya when eight or nine strong guards suddenly appeared behind them.
“How dare you offend Princess Yu!”
The strong man shouted coldly and there were desires of killing in his voice. Jiang Ruqin and her servant girls who only knew how to fight for a man’s favor suddenly became scared and timid.
They looked domineering and fierce when arguing with Lin Mengya. But now they became docile sheep and looked at these guards who suddenly appeared with fear.
“Princess, my name is Qiu Ming. Pay respect to you.”
Lin Mengya had been ready to fight with these servants but these guards suddenly appeared and upset her plan.
Looking at this square black-skinned face, Lin Mengya suddenly felt that she had seen him before.
“Nobel people had short memories. I once had the privilege of working for you in the teahouse.”
Qiu Ming said with a shy grin. But then he looked at the petite and pretty Princess standing in front of him in awed silence.
He could still remember the four good-for-nothings who had been tortured by the Princess.
He was afraid that the Princess would become a synonym for evil for the four men for a long time.
“Oh! I see!. It’s you.”
Lin Mengya finally remembered that she once met this guard called Qiu Ming when she was blackmailed on the street.
Lin Mengya was not afraid of them despite that they had numerical superiority over her. In fact, she and Baishao who was high-spirited and daring had a strong fighting capacity. She believed that they would be matched in strength with the four servant girls. And the fight would be fierce.
But the guards suddenly appeared and she’d love to ask them to deal with Jiang Ruqin and the servant girls.
“Who are you? How dare you intrude into the internal courtyard!”
Jiang Ruqin’s face had turned purple with rage. She thought that her victory was guaranteed but she didn’t expect that this rude guard suddenly appeared and upset her plan.
She yelled at the top of her voice. But she forgot that Lin Mengya was the true hostess of Prince Yu’s Mansion.
“This is our family affairs. It’s none of your business! Qiu Ming! These four servant girls tried to offend the Princess. Please tie them up and the Princess will deal with them later!”
Baishao seized the opportunity and asked the guards to tie the four servant girls up. She stared at them with her hands on her hip. Baishao was bold and vigorous and looked like a pretty servant girl called Qingwen in A Dream in Red Mansions.
Lin Mengya looked cold and stood aside. They were just guests and how dare they hit the master! She had to give these shameless and impolite servant girls a hard lesson.
Qiu Ming also followed her orders quickly. He waved his hand and the four delicate servant girls were tied up by the guards.
“Lin Mengya, they are the servants of our Jiang family! You have no right to punish them!”
Jiang Ruqin was furious and nearly wanted to bit Lin Mengya. The fine make-up on her face was in a mess and she looked hideous as if she wanted to skin Lin Mengya alive.
“Servants of the Jiang family? What do you think you are? Come on! Throw these four servant girls into the pond.”
Jiang Ruqin didn’t expect that Lin Mengya was so merciless and vicious.
The guards followed her order and the four girls were thrown into the water with a splash.
Their arms and legs were tied up and these four girls sank to the bottom without any struggle.
The bubbles and ripples in the pond gradually disappeared and Jiang Ruqin’s face was ghostly pale with fright.
“According to the law of the Jin state, a man can only have one legal wife and all the others who get married to him are concubines. Concubines are at the mercy of the legal wife. The highest-ranking concubines are still concubines. Miss Jiang, you are our guest, so I help you to get rid of several ungrateful and shameless servant girls. You’d better find a way to protect yourself before becoming the vice Princess of Prince Yu.”
Lin Mengya’s voice was soft but what she said was horrible.
The title of Princess Yu was conferred on her by the Empress. Even the Empress didn’t have the right to depose her, let alone Jiang Ruqin whose mother was just a concubine.
Jiang Ruqin’s face was ghostly pale and she stared at Lin Mengya with fear and anger. But she dared not offend or contradict her.
She looked at Lin Mengya with resentment as if she was her arch enemy. She stamped her foot, turned her head, and disappeared.
“Master! You’re amazing! Miss Jiang must be afraid of you! Even if she gets married to the Prince one day, she would be thrown out by you sooner or later.”
Baishao looked at Lin Mengya with a smile and her eyes were full of admiration.
“I’m just threatening her. The vice Princesses of the prince all have seal patents and the legal wife can’t kill them for no reason. We are different from ordinary people.”
Lin Mengya shook her head. The royal family was different from ordinary families.
If the imperial concubines were at the mercy of the Empress, Concubine De might have already been killed by the Empress and the current situation would be completely different.
“What? I’m also deceived by you! Master, you’re good at telling lies!”
Lin Mengya smiled and could understand why Baishao and Jiang Ruqin were deceived by her.
They were trapped in their homes and knew little about the law.
But the real Lin Mengya always read various historical records and ancient books in her father’s study room. She was a dull-witted girl but she was gifted with an extraordinary retentive memory.
She was well-read and others could always gain enlightenment from her words.
“Princess, is there anything else I can do for you? I need to leave now.”
Qiu Ming made a bow with hands folded in front and said to Lin Mengya respectfully.
The master could punish the servants at will if the servants offended them. These four servant girls made a mistake and should be punished.
“Alright. You can leave now. Thank you. I’ll tell the truth to the Prince some other day.”
The guards left the covered corridor in an orderly row.
Looking at the guards who were wearing neat clothes, Lin Mengya was absorbed in thought. It seemed that there were more guards in the mansion now.
