“From today onward, you are not allowed to sleep in my room!” Lin Mengya said furiously, as she couldn’t do anything to Long Tianyu at such times.
After announcing her decision, she pushed the bowl away and went back to her bedroom in rage.
However, it was obvious that her faked anger didn’t work.
Except for Long Tianyu, whose face changed, the other girls covered their mouths and burst into laughter.
“Pshaw…”
Lin Mengya murmured with the urge to bury her head in the quilt. She didn’t expect Long Tianyu to be so thick-skinned.
Nevertheless, she was not really angry. Anyway, everyone was clear about her character, knowing that she actually didn’t mind being teased by them.
No one other than those closest to her would make fun of her like this.
As such, she did not feel ashamed.
“Qinghu, have you gotten any news about the Empress these days?”
In the Liuxin Courtyard, Lin Mengya, who deliberately hid herself from the public, still did not go out.
No one other than those who she trusted knew that she had quietly returned to Prince Yu’s Mansion.
“There’s quite a stir. After all, Beauty Cheng’s disappearance is not a minor matter. Nevertheless, the Empress did not do anything. It’s said that Concubine Hui, who was on friendly terms with Beauty Cheng, reported to His Majesty that Beauty Cheng was missing in the Huguo Temple after having a quarrel with you. But it seemed that His Majesty did not get to the bottom of it.”
Although Qinghu was in Prince Yu’s Mansion, he was capable of finding out everything happening outside.
There was nothing in the vast Capital City that could be hidden from him.
Even what happened in the imperial palace was no exception.
“Concubine Hui? I haven’t heard of her before. Which palace is she from?” Lin Mengya asked.
She had expected that the Empress would frame her, but she remembered that she had never been in contact with this Concubine Hui.
Seeing the confused look in Lin Mengya’s eyes, Qinghu explained in a low voice, “She is Hui Jieyu, who had a conflict with you in the imperial palace before and seems to be promoted by the Empress. Nevertheless, she seldom visits the Empress, but is on friendly terms with Imperial Noble Consort.”
Hearing what Qinghu said, Lin Mengya understood.
Knocking on the table regularly with her hand, she had figured out what was going on.
“It seems that she’s sent by the Empress to testify against me. It doesn’t matter, as His Majesty won’t believe her. But I’m curious about why she nurses a hatred for me,” Lin Mengya said.
Although Qinghu was capable, he might not know every secret in the imperial palace.
However, even so, he still managed to find out Concubine Hui’s close relationship with Imperial Noble Consort, Lin Mengya’s mother-in-law. Of course, Lin Mengya smelled something fishy about it.
“I don’t know. I only learn that Concubine Hui’s mother and sister died in the bloody feast held in the Chongqing Palace.”
Qinghu’s words reminded Lin Mengya of what had happened a long time ago.
The assassins, who suddenly appeared at the feast, had indeed killed a lot of people, and she and Long Tianyu were almost mistaken for the manipulators behind the scene.
Did Concubine Hui consider her as the culprit?
As she thought about it, she found it was possible. Only it could explain why Concubine Hui hated her so much.
But she was wrongly accused. What had happened at that time indeed had nothing to do with her.
She knew that Concubine Hui must have been brainwashed by the Empress and now probably believed that what she had been doing was an effort to avenge her family.
Well, a stupid person like Concubine Hui shouldn’t take revenge. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even know why she got killed.
“I got it. It seems to be a tricky matter. By the way, have those who we sent arranged everything properly?” Lin Mengya asked.
After a while, she decided to stop thinking about Concubine Hui’s affairs.
The news of her survival would soon reach the Empress. The reason why she kept it a secret for the time being was that she intended to steer things to the other direction before the Empress took action.
After she succeeded in doing that, no matter how hard the Empress tried to stir up trouble, she would not be accused of murdering Beauty Cheng.
“They’ve arranged everything properly. Now someone probably has reported the case to the government office. Soon, the news that a rich childe was robbed by bandits and eventually fell off a cliff will spread all over the city. However, no trace of you will be discovered in the carriage. If the Empress knows it, will she blow a fuse?” Qinghu said gloatingly.
He had sent some people to remove all traces she had left in the carriage.
“The Empress should have a backup plan. Didn’t you say that some of my belongings were found from the man? I didn’t usually use these things, but I learned from Baizhi and the others that they were the dowry I brought here. So I think there should be at least a spy sent by the Empress around us. However, after thinking for a long time, I find that this person probably managed to infiltrate into our courtyard when the fake Concubine De took the place of the real Concubine De. Do you still remember the person named Yun Ruo?”
Although Qinghu had been absent in the mansion for a long time, he got used to having everything related to the mansion recorded.
Qinghu gently tapped his forehead with his slender finger and nodded, suggesting that he still had some impression of that person.
He said, “That person is very mysterious. I sent someone to track her for a period of time, but I didn’t expect that she would discover it. Nevertheless, I remember that she was missing later. What’s wrong? Do you think she’s a spy sent by the Empress?”
In fact, Lin Mengya had never doubted that Yun Ruo worked for the Empress.
Lin Mengya said, “She is very special. When Jingyue disguised herself as Concubine De, Jingyue almost didn’t show any slip in front of anyone but those close to Concubine De. However, Jingyue only followed her advice. Why do you think Jingyue would be so respectful to her if she was just a maid of the Empress? On the surface, Yun Ruo was just a maid, but I once saw the jade bracelet she wore. It seemed to be a tribute paid a few years ago. Even Concubine Hui may not necessarily have such a bracelet, not to mention her, who was just a maid.”
That was the reason why Lin Mengya found it strange.
She didn’t make a prompt decision at that time and was afraid that she would alert Yun Ruo, which gave Yun Ruo a chance to escape.
However, if Yun Ruo really had a special identity and was trusted by the Empress, Lin Mengya thought that Yun Ruo must have infiltrated into Prince Yu’s Mansion with an ulterior motive.
Could it be that Yun Ruo was after the Qingzheng Dispensatory in her hands?
Lin Mengya raised her voice and said, “Come in immediately, all of you!”
The four girls, who were performing their duties outside, came in in succession after hearing her voice.
“Baiji, Baizhi, check my dowry immediately, including those sent by my father and brother later. Make sure of the accuracy of the result. Hongyu, Baishao, no matter what is missing, report it to the government office immediately and tell them that our Prince Yu’s Mansion has been robbed. If anyone asks about me, tell them nothing other than my return to our mansion long before.”
The four girls looked at each other in dismay, wondering what their master was up to.
However, they knew that everything related to their master was significant, so they went to carry out their tasks at once.
Lin Mengya was sitting in the room, but her mind was spinning rapidly.
After this battle with the Empress, she realized that the Empress was different from those opponents she had met before.
If it weren’t for the Buddha’s relic Tian Ning gave her and Qinghu’s coming back to her in time, she probably would have been a cold corpse now and even brought disaster to Long Tianyu and the entire Lin Family.
Therefore, the Empress definitely had a backup plan. She believed that once the Empress used this card up her sleeve, she might not be able to resist.
Nevertheless, her countermeasures had greatly reduced the things the Empress could use as false evidence against her.
As such, she had to eliminate all the things the Empress could use as false evidence against her before the Empress took action.
“Bad news, bad news! Something terrible happened to the Lin Family!”
Lin Mengya was still thinking if she had missed anything when Baizhi suddenly ran in and shouted.
Qinghu frowned, caught Baizhi, and said reproachfully, “What’s wrong? Keep cool. Don’t shout, lest you scare others.”
But Lin Mengya only felt increasingly uneasy. Could it be that the Empress’s target was the Lin Family rather than her?
“I just heard from the Eldest Young Master’s personal guard that the Eldest Young Master attempted to kill Madam Qing, but failed. Then Madam Qing found some evidence of treason in the Eldest Young Master’s room. His Majesty is furious and has ordered Old Master to return to the Capital City as soon as possible.”
All of a sudden, Lin Mengya sat there in a daze. With her mind blown by the news, she only recovered from shock after a long while.
She said, “It’s impossible. My brother will never do this. Where did you get the news? Is it accurate?”
Lin Mengya failed to maintain her composure when it came to her brother.
Baizhi, however, said tearfully that she got it from the personal guard of the Eldest Young Master, so it couldn’t be wrong.
In other words, they might have found ironclad evidence against Lin Mengya’s brother.
However, there was no sign of it before. How could it be—
Luring the tiger away from the mountain!
All of a sudden, Lin Mengya realized that the Empress’s backup plan was actually to make her lose the decisive opportunity.
By asking her to go to the Huguo Temple to offer incense, the Empress intended to get rid of her and lure Long Tianyu and her away from the Capital City during this period of time.
When everyone’s attention was focused on the Huguo Temple, the Empress set a trap for her real target: Lin Mengya’s brother, who had always kept a low profile!
