Chapter 313 Greeting Wise People
There was no lack of wise people in the palace. So for this old man who had no eunuch’s femininity, Lin Mengya still liked him. Therefore, she spoke with politeness and respect.
“You do not have to do that, Your Highness. I’m afraid that my humble abode would make you uncomfortable. Your Highness, please come with me.”
For Lin Mengya’s politeness, Yu Qiang did not show much pride.
He smiled slightly as if he were treating an ordinary guest. Lin Mengya and Baisu immediately followed him, and the three of them pa.s.sed by the collapsed ruins.
A cool fragrance came to her.
“This place is…”
Lin Mengya was amazed at the scenery behind the shabby yard, with such a beautiful plum blossom forest. Red plums were like fire, white plums were like snow, and bright yellow plums were studded among them. Despite the fact that it was in the chilly winter, this place was still full of liveliness.
“I am getting old and weak, so I am unable to continue to serve the masters in the palace. Fortunately, the masters did not give me up, so I could take care of this plum blossom forest. This may be the last thing I could do for the masters in the palace.”
Although Yu Qiang’s tone was modest, Lin Mengya could still feel that he was self-mocking.
Looking at the lean old man carrying a hoe, who did not show any weakness because of aging, she knew that this eunuch was not as simple as he seemed.
“Please don’t say that. The plants and trees in the palace seem to be n.o.ble and beautiful, but they are actually very difficult to keep alive. The winter is so chilly, so how could these flowers bloom so brilliantly without your care? It’s just the second time I’ve seen such beautiful plum blossoms. But the plum blossoms last time were too vulgar, not as proud and unyielding as the plum blossoms here.”
They seemed to be talking about plum blossoms, but in fact, they were talking about people.
The plum blossoms in the North Tower were indeed beautiful, but they were too vulgar. Of course, they could not compare with Eunuch Yu’s plum blossoms, which were proud and unyielding.
“The princess’s eyes are so sharp. You don’t have to worry about the walls having ears here. I’m not sure of this point in other places, but at least in the Servants Administration, no one could make trouble for me.”
Yu Qiang must have had good feeling for Lin Mengya. Otherwise, he would not have brought her here to talk.
Regarding this Eunuch Yu, who seemed ordinary but made Lin Mengya feel that he was unapproachable, she was full of curiosity.
“Eunuch Yu… no, this t.i.tle may be more like an insult to you… Senior Yu, I’ve just come to thank you for your timely help. You don’t have to think about it, the chaotic situation in the palace should have nothing to do with you. I will take care of myself and not bother you anymore.”
Seeing that Lin Mengya was so sincere, Yu Qiang let out a sigh.
He averted his eyes to the plum blossom forest and seemed somewhat lonely and resigned.
“I don’t deserve for you to call me senior. I’m just a disabled man in the palace. However, Your Highness, you should not get involved in the battle between the princes. I’ve heard that the 10th prince has already been sent to the princess’s yard to be raised by you. Your Highness, do you know that in this way, your situation in the palace will become even more difficult?”
Yu Qiang’s words made Lin Mengya smile smartly.
She was more certain that if this person was not one of Prince Yu’s people, he had to be her father’s side. If he had nothing to do with her, he would not sincerely console her on such things.
“Now that I’m already in the palace, how could I get out of these things? Even if I was outside the palace, I have already gotten involved. Prince Yu, the Lin family, who can really stay out of it?”
Simply put, the battle between the princes was the battle between parties and forces. In the future, it might turn into a struggle for the throne.
At present, the joint marriage between the Lin family and Prince Yu was seemingly a powerful combination and icing on the cake. In fact, this relationship was already like pouring oil on the flames. One careless move might lose the whole game.
“Well, the struggle is ultimately inescapable. Your father was right, as long as you enter the palace, you would never get rid of it. If it was…”
The latter part of what he said was hidden in Yu Qiang’s sigh.
However, Lin Mengya sensitively captured the information in his words. It seemed that this Senior Yu was really one of her father’s old friends.
In this way, it could explain why he helped her.
“Fine. Since I can’t stop you, I can only put forth my effort to help you. It must be very inconvenient for you to be alone in the palace. If something happens in the future, come here to find me. Whatever I can do, I will do it for Your Highness.”
It was not the first time that Yu Qiang had said this.
Lin Mengya knew that if she continued to refuse, she would be acting too politely.
“Just in time, I really need Senior’s help on a small matter. When I entered the palace, I only brought this maidservant with me. If I ask her to do everything, I’m afraid that she will be too busy. So I hope Senior could help me find a reliable servant.”
Baisu’s martial arts could be regarded as one of her hidden cards to save herself. Therefore, she could not live without her for a single second.
Except for Pearl and Agate, there was no one else in the yard who could do anything. Therefore, she had to ask Yu Qiang to help her find a suitable person.
Yu Qiang bowed his head and thought for a while. It seemed that he had already had this matter on his mind. After thinking for a while, he answered.
“I will take care of this matter. But there are so many people in the palace, so the princess must be careful in the future. In the current troubled times, it’s better for the princess to be careful, in case some dogs would desperately try to create any trouble.”
Lin Mengya nodded seriously but smiled in her heart.
Senior Yu was so mighty that he actually called the empress and Crown Prince’s people dogs. He must have hated them so much for what they had done.
After chatting for a while longer, Lin Mengya left a small gift for Senior Yu Qiang. After saying goodbye, they turned out of the small yard full of ruins.
When looking back at the gra.s.sy and deserted yard, who would have thought that there was a quiet and elegant plum garden behind it?
The palace was different from the world of common folk. There were capable people everywhere and everything was unfathomable. She really needed to be more cautious.
After coming back from seeing Senior Yu Qiang, Lin Mengya figured it out.
At the very least, in the palace, she no longer had to struggle so hard, and she was no longer alone.
He seemed to be a broken old eunuch, but none of those sn.o.bbish servants dared to show looks of contempt for him, which showed Yu Qiang’s superior status in the Servants Administration.
He was more aware of the situation in the palace than anyone else. With such a person to warn her, maybe she could avoid many detours and mistakes.
Going back to her own small yard from the Servants Administration, she unexpectedly b.u.mped into the people from the Imperial Hospital.
When unexpectedly seeing Princess Yu, those imperial physicians who were still dejected just now immediately seemed as if they had just seen their relative. They almost burst into tears and wanted to rush up and kowtow to her.
“Your Highness, where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Lin Mengya had heard too much flattery. Now, seeing that they had changed their faces as quick as in a Sichuan opera and came to flatter her, Lin Mengya just felt it ridiculous.
“Shall we announce where our Master goes to all the imperial physicians? Those in the Imperial Hospital should mind their own business. Master is just learning in the Imperial Hospital. It seems that she is not under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Hospital.”
Baisu already used the words that Lin Mengya taught her before to mock and condemn those imperial physicians.
Her cool expression, coupled with violent methods, turned these imperial physicians’ faces very pale.
The atmosphere suddenly fell into an awkward situation. Lin Mengya slightly turned her eyes and gave a faint smile.
“I’ve been busy these days, so I didn’t have time to go to the Imperial Hospital and disturb you. All of you imperial physicians are diligent and dedicated to work. It’s useless for me to go, so I’d better stop disturbing you. You may go. After all, the Imperial Hospital is busy, it may be very inconvenient for you to come out.”
A tactful rebuke could be used by anyone, not only by those in the Imperial Hospital.
After Lin Mengya said that, the imperial physicians stared at each other, speechless. After all, they did something wrong first. Moreover, they finally understood that the person in front of them was not insignificant.
Those little tricks in the dark could really flip the Imperial Hospital upside down.
“This… I’m afraid that we don’t know how to report back to the court. The court already scolded us heavily, and it‘s all our fault for neglecting you. Your Highness, you’re so kind and tolerant, please bear with our mistake and excuse our rudeness.”
“Listen to this, did they use the court to threaten me?”
Lin Mengya laughed grimly in her heart, but still maintained a look of indifference on her face.
The Imperial Hospital took themselves too seriously. Did they think they could abuse their authority to do whatever they wanted to do?
“I know that the court naturally has lots of experience, which I could never catch up with. So, the court is enough for the Imperial Hospital. I’m just a woman, what could I do? You may go, don’t stay long in the palace. Please leave.”
Hearing Lin Mengya’s repeated instructions to dismiss them, these people did not dare to say anything more.
They could only bow their heads and dejectedly go back to the Imperial Hospital.
Everything was as usual in the small yard. With the help of a calming incense, Yinghua slept soundly. After all, children needed a good rest to develop normally. The shock of the last few days really hurt this little fellow.
“Master, you’re really awesome! Those imperial physicians were struck dumb and could only keep silent. A few days ago, we had been treated so roughly. Now, we finally get our revenge.”
Baisu was originally a freewheeling person. If she was bullied, she would get back at them sooner or later.
Although among the four maids, she was the most obedient and silent one, Lin Mengya knew that Baisu was an important reason why people in the mansion dared not offend the other three maids.
Shaking her head, Lin Mengya sighed quietly.
“You don’t know that even though we indeed feel joyful right now, I’ll have a harder time in the Imperial Hospital. Think about it, the reason why they are so anxious is that I have put them in a difficult situation. If this problem is solved, what do you think they’ll do to me?”
She would not have done this if it were not for the emergency.
The fact that Yinghua was harmed was like a sharp warning to her. The 10th prince was at least five years old, and Concubine Xian was only awarded her t.i.tle last year.
From the day he was born, a child of a low-ranking concubine would have countless opportunities to be harmed.