“You’re right. Then, let’s spend his money lavishly during this trip!” Lin Mengya said.
She was always a spendthrift wherever she was. Since she had made up her mind, she would treat herself generously during this trip.
“Okay, let’s go,” Qinghu said.
The carriage sped through the crowd and left quietly.
Long Tianyu, who was on the horse, seemed to have sensed something. He turned around and glanced at the carriage in confusion.
“Brother Long, is there anything wrong?” Mao Yuze, who was beside him, asked in a low voice.
After spending the past few days with Long Tianyu, he had a favorable impression of Prince Yu, who enjoyed broad support in Dajin.
Given his relationship with Lin Nansheng, Long Tianyu threw off his airs in front of him, which was quite rare.
The two of them admired each other and got along well with each other in recent days.
“Oh, nothing. Maybe I’ve been so busy these days that I had an illusion.” As Long Tianyu said, he looked away from the carriage.
He somehow had an intuition that he had seen the carriage somewhere before.
However, Long Tianyu failed to find any clues after searching through all his memories. He involuntarily shook his head, thinking it couldn’t be Lin Mengya’s carriage as she must be occupied with Lin Mengwu’s wedding at the moment.
Moreover, she couldn’t leave alone without her family members and servants.
Perhaps he had an illusion because he missed her too much.
“Thank you for bringing me to His Majesty, Brother Long. I heard that your wife is Brother Nansheng’s younger sister. You are so lucky,” Mao Yuze said.
In the last few days, he had met Lin Nansheng in private during his recuperation.
Although it had been many years since they last met, they were still on intimate terms with each other.
Mao Yuze, who was quite sharp-eyed, naturally could tell Lin Mengya was a rare intelligent woman.
He could not help envying Prince Yu, who was lucky to have such a good wife.
“I’m extremely lucky to marry her. Well, Brother Mao, come with me into the city. My father has been waiting for you for a long while. After you have the peace talk with my father, I will invite you to have a meeting with my wife,” Long Tianyu said.
Mao Yuze nodded with a smile. He, who was an upright man, naturally admired the Lins.
Long Tianyu shook his head and dispelled the strange thought out of his mind.
Although they had arrived outside the Capital City, it was still uncertain if he could bring Mao Yuze to his father safely.
The procession in charge of protecting Mao Yuze entered the Capital City in mighty formation, while the carriage carrying Lin Mengya quickly disappeared in the opposite direction.
Lin Mengya had calculated that Long Tianyu would accompany Mao Yuze to meet the Emperor in the Imperial Palace during the day.
In the evening, there would be a banquet for welcoming Mao Yuze, the peace envoy. As one of those in charge of the peace talk, Long Tianyu naturally had to accompany Mao Yuze at the banquet.
Moreover, the peace talk affected not only the interests of the Shangguan Family, but also the interests of the forces on the Shangguan Family’s side.
Therefore, Long Tianyu had to protect Mao Yuze closely until this matter was settled.
She had used all kinds of excuses to dismiss those guards Long Tianyu left to her.
Moreover, she had a backup plan. If Long Tianyu came back to find her, he would find a letter on the table in her room.
In the letter, she told a lie in a very relaxed and delighted tone that she planned to hang out during the Spring Sacrificial Rite.
She did not expect Long Tianyu to be convinced completely, but at least it could reassure him for the time being so that he could accomplish his task.
Nevertheless, when Long Tianyu was occupied with trivial matters, she could have enough time to shake him off.
In the past, she and Long Tianyu always took actions together in any case.
Now she was leaving without him and had to keep shaking him off, which was quite a fresh experience for her.
“We’ll reach a deserted dock after going further. I’ve already prepared a boat, and no one will suspect us.” There came Qinghu’s gentle voice from outside the carriage.
He proposed to travel by water. After all, no one could find the Peach Blossom Dock over the years because of its location on the water.
With him around, it would be extremely difficult for Long Tianyu to catch up with them, no matter how many soldiers Long Tianyu sent out.
What was more, Long Tianyu would never disclose her leaving easily.
If the old Emperor learned that the Lin Family had run away with their luggage, it would cause a lot of trouble.
For this reason, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to shake off Long Tianyu.
“Okay, I have seldom traveled by water before. According to the news we got, the Seven Poisons Sacred Grass can only be found in the upper reaches of the Xun River that is within the territory of the Nation of Dongxia. Can we go there by water?” Lin Mengya said.
The Nation of Dongxia was located to the south of Dajin. Although it was not as large as the Nation of Lintian and Dajin, it had a well-trained and powerful army because of its abundant resources and fertile land.
Nevertheless, the previous king of the Nation of Dongxia had been content to exercise sovereignty over a peaceful country and was unwilling to get involved in conflicts with other countries. Therefore, the Nation of Dongxia remained peaceful over the years.
“Yes, but I heard that the Nation of Dongxia has just gone through a civil war, as the last king passed away without appointing his successor. However, the current king is so capable and shrewd that he managed to pacify the civil strife and ascend to the throne in just a month. Therefore, the civil strife didn’t cause panic among the people. Nevertheless, it will probably take some trouble to enter the country,” Qinghu said.
He, who got information through various channels, seemed to have established personal connections in every industry.
Lin Mengya lifted the curtain to let some fresh air in and try to inquire Qinghu about his skills she was unaware of.
Qinghu usually shifted the topic easily.
This time, he, who failed to dodge her question, could only beg her to stop talking about this with a bitter face.
Looking at Qinghu’s bitter expression, Lin Mengya felt her mood improved a little.
It was good to have him accompanying her like her family member wherever she was.
“It seems that anyone, who is able to ascend to the throne, is formidable. Alas, I’m wondering how Xiaoyu is doing. Qinghu, you get information through various channels, don’t you? Where is Xiaoyu? Did you get any news about him?” Lin Mengya asked.
Xiaoyu had been out of contact. In fact, Lin Mengya had sent a lot of people to the Lieyun State to look for Xiaoyu.
However, those people either couldn’t even enter the Lieyun State or were expelled. They could hardly survive, let alone inquire about Xiaoyu.
Fortunately, before Xiaoyu left, she had told him that no matter what happened, he could come back and ask her for help.
Now that she got no news from him, perhaps it was the best news.
“If possible, I think that you’d better avoid contact with the people of the Lieyun State,” after pondering for a while, Qinghu said seriously.
“In fact, I don’t want to go to that country. But I’m worried about Xiaoyu. Now thinking about it, I find perhaps I shouldn’t have let those people take him away,” Lin Mengya said.
Although Xiaoyu looked indifferent to outsiders, Lin Mengya knew that he had a rare pure heart.
All the female members of her family adored this lovely child, because he still maintained the unique purity belonging to a young man in his clear eyes even after going through hardships.
She didn’t know what difficult situation this sensible child, who was outwardly hard and inwardly soft, was in at present, and she couldn’t help him at all. She involuntarily thought she must have disappointed Xiaoyu, who regarded her as his biological sister.
How could she, such an incompetent sister, protect that kind and gentle young man?
“Don’t be overanxious. Xiaoyu comes from there and belongs there. Although the Lieyun State is extremely exclusive, as far as I know, even the Candle Dragon Cult can’t easily deploy their members there. Don’t underestimate him. He is as meek as a rabbit in front of you, but in fact, he is quite tough,” Qinghu said.
His memories of Xiaoyu were still vivid in his mind. The seemingly gentle and handsome young man was actually no less tough than him.
As long as Xiaoyu remained so tough, he could earn a place wherever he was.
Perhaps a place like the Lieyun State was a suitable settlement for them, who were as tough as lone wolves.
“I hope so. If he learns of my current situation, he will probably stay by my side and protect me at all costs. Well, if I manage to survive, let’s go to the Lieyun State to visit him. After all, I have acquaintances there,” Lin Mengya said.
Recollecting her life in the past year, she found she had experienced a lot in such a short period.
Those, who had appeared in her life, were deeply rooted in her memory and would never fade.
Lin Mengya leaned against the carriage and took out a detoxifying pill made by her teacher.
Although it had little effect on her, it could at least make her feel less uncomfortable after she took it.
She tossed it into her mouth, and a slightly sweet taste spread from the tip of her tongue.
Lin Mengya could not help smiling. Her teacher always treated her as a child. Since she told him that those pills were too bitter, her teacher had come up with a way to turn those distasteful pills into delicious sweet pills.
As the Shen Nung system operated automatically, she discovered the pill indeed contained a lot of honey.
But now, it only tasted slightly sweet to her.
The loss of her senses of touch and taste was the most noticeable. Now she couldn’t even feel ordinary pain in her hands and feet.
“Qinghu, what do you think will I become in the end? Will I become a piece of hard wood and can only move my eyes?” As Lin Mengya asked, she hugged herself tightly.
It seemed that only in this way could she ease her uneasiness a little.
Qinghu grasped her small hand with his big hand with clear joints. Although she could not feel the warmth of his palm, he kept holding her hand.
He said, “No, we will reach the Nation of Dongxia soon and get the antidote for you. I promise.”
Staring at her, who was exhausted and weak, Qinghu failed to hide the distress in his eyes.
