Chapter 566 Going up to the Palace to Meet the Sovereign
“In the evening, when I went over to Art Courtyard to deliver the dangling ornament, I heard from the old maids there that the woman in the Art Courtyard lost her temper and flew into a rage.”
That particular dangling ornament was really personally picked by Long Tianyu. On top of that, it was very similar to the one Concubine De used to wear.
If this woman recognized that dangling ornament and lost her temper over it, the imposter had to be someone who was always by Concubine De’s side.
Not only was she familiar with Concubine De’s daily habits, but she had also taken notice of the smallest details.
In this case, the ident.i.ty of the imposter was all too clear.
“Yes, I’m well aware of the situation.”
Long Tianyu, who was holding Lin Mengya in his arms, closed his eyes and rested, but his mind was clear as a mirror.
He had hurried to the palace so soon after he returned to the capital city. Although there were undercurrents in the palace, it appeared to be calm and harmonious on the surface.
His father, the emperor, appeared to be in pink of health. Moreover, Qinghan had been guarding by the emperor’s side in his military uniform. There was nothing to worry about really.
The trouble was more with the queen. He had gone to pay his respect to her as a routine, but the queen claimed to be unwell and refused his visit. Neither did the Crown Prince show himself.
Long Tianyu supposed they were extremely wary of him by now.
If this was the situation in the Capital City, what would become of the Yun State and the other provinces?
Long Tianyu’s heart was weighed down by the situation. He felt as if there was a large, heavy rock pressing down on his heart.
“Tomorrow, father, the emperor had asked for you to go into the palace. If you don’t feel well, I will let father know.”
Long Tianyu, who was at Lin Mengya’s back, suddenly spoke with a gentle voice as he sought her opinion.
Lin Mengya had a thought. Although she had sneaked into the emperor’s bedroom to peek at him in the beginning, this was the first time she would get to meet the emperor formally.
Unlike Cousin Chen, the emperor of Dajin would take none of her willfulness. There was some hesitation in her eyes, but she eventually nodded gently in agreement.
“Alright, tomorrow we shall go together to pay respect to your father, the emperor.”
It was getting late at night. The two of them snuggled up against each other. Even if she was entering some dangerous spot, at least she had someone to keep her company.
At dawn when the sky was just getting a little brighter, Lin Mengya got up from the bed.
To enter the palace to see the sovereign was a grand affair. Moreover, if the emperor had plans for her to officially meet the emperor’s close relatives and courtiers, she should not be taking this lightly.
Early in the morning, her three maids, Ms. Tian and Hongyu, the supernumerary staff, had started preparing Lin Mengya by dolling up Lin Mengya for the occasion.
She might be the wife of a prince, she was after all still a young lady. Therefore, she needed to dress up in a fresher and more lively way than other women with a t.i.tle conferred by the emperor.
Her flowy long hair was pinned in place into a fashionable updo, with a golden hairpin in the pattern of a phoenix turning towards the sun. She looked magnificent and elegant.
Where her temple was, there was a golden hairpin made from huge pearls and there were altogether nine of such hairpins lined up along the golden phoenix. At that moment, it was as if there was a phoenix that was ready to take off in flight. All these ornaments blended well with her makeup and overall, she looked magnificent.
The two dangling ruby earrings made her complexion even fairer.
On her clean, pretty face, in between the two perfectly manicured brows was a bright red facial marking, which added to her charm and elegance.
Lin Mengya was not into make-ups so it was a rare occasion to see her so heavily made up.
Being covered with rouge, Lin Mengya who was usually gentle and beautiful had become a bewitchingly charming lady, whom people could only look at from afar. She had become an overbearing beauty whom people did not dare to get close to.
At the moment, she curled up her tempting red lips helplessly.
As she watched those people from the back rooms busied themselves around the manor, Lin Mengya was too embarra.s.sed to complain about her discomfort.
“Master, what is it? Do you think that the make-up doesn’t look good on you?”
Baizhi was first to spot the uncomfortable look on her master’s face. She opened her eyes wide as she asked in puzzlement.
Lin Mengya glanced at her. While the others were not looking, she quietly tugged on Baizhi’s sleeves.
“Go fetch me some sweet biscuits, will you? I’m famished for the entire morning.”
No one should be blamed for her not having any food up until then, after all, the princess’s clothes were very elaborate and required a lot of effort to put on.
It would take at least an hour to put on the costume.
On top of that, the putting on of make-up and updo on the hair was sufficient to keep all the servants busy for two entire hours.
Therefore, Lin Mengya was too shy to mention it.
Now that her stomach was cooing. If this were to continue, she might faint at the golden temple in the palace.
“Oh no, how could it slip my mind? Please hold on for a moment, Master!”
Baizhi patted her head. She was just thinking about it the night before and she had prepared food for her master.
She had totally forgotten about it when she was being tied up with many things since the start of the day.
She seized the chance when no one noticed to run back to her room.
She picked up a box the size of her palm and ran back to Lin Mengya.
“This was the snack box which you gave me as a gift. I collected some snacks last night so that you could have them. I hope eating them doesn’t destroy your make-up!”
Baizhi opened the box as if she was presenting a precious gift. Inside the box were small pieces of snacks made from walnuts that could be consumed in one bite. They were what Lin Mengya appreciated most at this moment.
She picked one up, popped it into her mouth, and started to chew slowly. The aroma and texture of the snack were wonderful. Lin Mengya was so touched that she could cry.
“My wonderful Baizhi. You’re one person who truly knows my thoughts.”
The two girls exchanged grins. Lin Mengya no longer needed to worry that she would suffer at the hands of those people and faint from starvation.
Anyway, when she was in the sedan, she would be able to fill up her stomach secretly.
It only puzzled the people in the house, who saw how their master started to smile sweetly all of a sudden when she was looking so miserable just a moment ago.
Their master changed her mood so quickly.
Finally, when Lin Mengya had adorned herself with the full outfit of the prince’s mansion, she breathed a sigh of relief quietly.
The full ceremonial attire was more loaded down with trivial details than she imagined.
The ceremonial attire in yellow and red was only fit for princesses in the eyes of the emperor.
There was the pattern of a phoenix about to take off at the broad hem of the skirt.
Although it was not as exquisite as that on the queen’s attire which was embroidered using golden yarns, no one else in the entire Dajin could be compared to her in terms of such standard.
Lin Mengya turned one round before the mirror and she could hardly believe that the prim and elegant-looking n.o.ble lady was none other than herself.
“Your Highness, the Prince is here.”
The old maid from the courtyard outside came in to inform Lin Mengya of the arrival of the prince and in response, Lin Mengya nodded gently. With Baizhi and Baiji helping to hold on to the hem of her skirt, Lin Mengya walked on a pair of silk shoes decorated with the pattern of a phoenix and pearls towards Long Tianyu.
At the sight of his formally dressed-up princess, Long Tianyu’s eyes were opened.
He had always known that his wife was outstanding among other women, but he did not expect her to look so charming when she was adorned in a full ceremonial attire like this.
“Your Highness, the prince.”
Lin Mengya took a bow at Long Tianyu while blushing a little.
Even if she was thick-skinned, she would feel embarra.s.sed when being gazed at so intently.
Moreover, Long Tianyu had also put on formal ceremonial attire today.
On the pure white fabric of Long Tianyu’s garment was a dragon with four claws that looked might and intimidating.
Together with the golden pattern of the beast Taotie, he looked exceptionally honorable.
Long Tianyu was a handsome man to start with, but he was made to look very solemn when he wore the crown of white jade on his head.
When he stood up, he would look like the most extraordinary soldier in the whole world.
At this moment, these deep, dark eyes were glued to Lin Mengya with adoration.
All the women in the world would not be able to resist his tender loving manner.
“Very beautiful.”
At this juncture, Long Tianyu reached out to hold on to Lin Mengya’s arm.
Like a person mesmerized, he sang the praise of Lin Mengya’s beauty from the bottom of his heart.
At his praises, Lin Mengya lowered her eyes. Her face became hot as she gave him a reproachful glance.
It seemed that ever since the two hearts were connected, Long Tianyu, who used to look indifferent all the time, had taught himself how to communicate all kinds of sweet nothings.
“Oh, everyone’s looking at us.”
The surrounding people who had heard the statement was apparently smiling.
Lin Mengya could only pretend that she did not see, but in fact, she could not help but feel the sweetness in her heart even though she was also feeling very shy about it.
What could be more intoxicating than the praises from the mouth of one’s beloved?
Nevertheless, Long Tianyu seemed to think that it was a natural thing to do.
It was as if the statement he made was the most natural thing to say.
“So what if I keep my eyes on you? You’re my wife and it’s only reasonable that you are the most beautiful woman in the world!”
Lin Mengya was speechless. She should have known that this was Long Tianyu’s character all along.
To him, all ritualistic formalities were transient like a fleeting cloud.
Therefore, Lin Mengya decided to shut up, lest this guy should blurt out some earth-shaking comments. Not only would he become a laughing stock, but she would also be very embarra.s.sed.
The sedan to be carried by eight people had been prepared and is waiting by the entrance of the mansion. It was topped with a gold roof that manifested the stateliness of the royal family.
The men carrying the sedan had lowered the sedan, waiting for their master to board, so that they could set off immediately.
On this occasion, Lin Mengya had brought only Baiji along.
Baiji was mature and steady. Moreover, she had been carefully taught by the old maid, Jinyue. It was unlikely for her to have any slip-up in the palace.
The others were aware of the severity of this event and had silently submitted to whatever Lin Mengya had arranged.
“Have a safe trip, Your Highnesses.”
Ms. Tian led the rest of the servants in bowing down to the couple, wishing them a safe journey.
Lin Mengya lifted her gaze to the palace in a distance which was like a shadow, and quietly, she took in a deep breath.
“Get the sedan up…”
The moment they settled down in the sedan, the bearers of the sedan lifted the sedan steadily.
With Baiji by the side, the group of them headed towards the palace gates.
At this moment, Lin Mengya’s eyebrows gently knitted.
For reasons unknown to her, she could feel the panic rising in her. Perhaps it was because after she and Long Tianyu returned from the trip this time, they were planning to utterly shed all pretense with the Crown Prince and the queen.
Despite knowing that this day would eventually come, she could not help but feel nervous about it. This matter would rest only when their opponents had been utterly defeated.
Now that she was right at the center of the vortex, she must not be soft-hearted.
The sedan was approaching the palace and in the blink of an eye, the familiar palace gates appeared before their eyes.
“Halt the sedan…”
The sedan was lowered gently and thereafter, Baiji, with a solemn face, appeared before Lin Mengya. “Master, we’ve arrived.”