"You naughty boy!" Concubine De pointed at Lin Mengya"s forehead with love and her tone was gentle and doting.
In her view, Lin Mengya"s petty tricks and caprices were nothing but good and harmless jokes.
Moreover, Shangguan Qing colluded with her sister. There were deep rivalries between Concubine De and them over the past years. Lin Mengya"s behavior also showed that she had nothing to do with her stepmother.
"By the way, mother, I don"t think we should ground Ruqin. She"s just a kid who made a small mistake. We should let her out after scolding her. If great uncle knows this, he may get angry and thinks that we treat his daughter too harshly."
Lin Mengya comforted Concubine De softly and her points were also reasonable.
Concubine De immediately thought that Lin Mengya was generous and considerate.
"I"ll think about this later. You"re a good girl. I didn"t expect that you would intercede for Ruqin. If Ruqin stirs up trouble in the future, you can just tell me and I"ll help you."
Lin Mengya nodded. After chatting with Concubine De for a while, she returned to the Qinglan Courtyard and went to bed.
Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu were hiding in their small yard to plot against Lin Mengya for three days.
During this period, they also wanted to go to the Art Courtyard and pay respect to Concubine De. But they were all stopped by Aunt Jinyue.
Jinyue claimed that Concubine De was not feeling well and she couldn"t meet the guests now.
Lin Mengya was also not busy these days, which was rare. She was bored and started to feed the koi fish in the pool of the garden.
"Did Mrs. Lin and Miss Jiang come across each other in the past few days?"
There were three servant girls. Baiji was doing needlework. Baishao was free of worry and was eating the snacks of the kitchen. Baishao, who was active and outgoing, was responsible for collecting information and news for the Qinglan Courtyard.
"Concubine De stopped grounding her, but Miss Jiang always stayed in the Art Courtyard. Mrs. Lin sent someone to give Miss Jiang a gift. These two troublemakers are very quiet now."
Baishao softly pounded Lin Mengya"s shins. She became famous and all the servants in the mansion knew her since she had staged the farce at the front door.
Now she was very popular among the servants in Prince Yu"s Mansion and she had more friends. She clearly knew all the serious and simple things that happened in the mansion.
"Mrs. Lin is more experienced and cunning than the two young girls. It will be easier for them to deal with me if they can collude and work together."
She turned over and looked at the fishes who were s.n.a.t.c.hing the fish feed in the water. There was a soft smile on her beautiful face and it seemed that she didn"t care about these tricks and schemes at all.
The four girls were enjoying the cool air in the pavilion and they didn"t notice that a man was looking at Lin Mengya indecently. He was standing in the study room of Long Tianhao and Lin Mengya didn"t notice him at all.
The man was wearing a lavender gown, embroidered with emerald bamboo on the edge of her blouse. The collar and cuffs are decorated with white patterns.
He was tall and slim. He and Long Tianhao looked alike. But this man looked softer and was not as cold as Long Tianhao.
"Brother, your Princess is unique."
Long Qinghan was the sixth Prince of the Jin Dynasty. He was on good terms with Long Tianhao. His mother died when he was young, so he was brought up by Concubine De.
He was naughty and lively from childhood. He had already been excluded from the successor candidates of the throne, so he was free and got along well with all the other brothers.
"She"s your sister-in-law. You"d better respect her."
Long Tianhao was sitting in a chair and reading a book and he immediately saw through Long Qinghan"s mind.
This was his younger brother. He was well-read and was also a master in martial arts. But he loved to select beautiful women. There were countless beauties in his mansion but he still tried to pick up more girls.
However, Lin Mengya was a poisonous rose. Qinghan might be poisoned before getting close to her.
"Sister-in-law?" Long Qinghan gave a mocking smile and pressed Long Tianhao"s book with his folding fan whose ribs were made of red jade. He pretended to be scared by Long Tianhao"s words.
"What are you talking about? Brother, she"s a p.a.w.n of the Empress. Have you fallen in love with her?"
Fallen in love with her? No, it was ridiculous. Long Tianhao instantly brushed this absurd idea aside.
His handsome face became cold and he looked at Long Qinghan threateningly.
"I"ll never fall in love with a woman. But she is my p.a.w.n now."
That"s right. He allowed Lin Mengya to turn Prince Yu"s Mansion upside down and let her use his power and do whatever she wanted. Besides, he also acquiesced in all her plans and decisions. But he didn"t love her. He just wanted her to become a great helper and to help him to win the victory.
He had never cared for a woman and he also didn"t fall in love with her now.
"She"s just a girl who pleases a man with her beauty. All she can do is to fight with other concubines for your favor. She must be vulgar and shallow. Brother, could you please give this girl to me if you don"t like her?"
Long Tianhao"s answer was to be expected. Long Qinghan kept his eyes fixed on Lin Mengya.
The girl in green was smiling and he was attracted to her for no reason as if she was a magnet.
"You"d better stay away from her, otherwise even I cannot save your life."
Long Tianhao said coldly. What Qinghan had said made him unpleasant.
Long Qinghan was his favorite younger brother, but Long Tianhao was still irritated by this younger brother who coveted his wife in front of him.
"Brother, I"m just kidding... Why does Crown Prince come here?"
His flirtatious voice suddenly changed and he stared at Crown Prince coldly and indifferently.
Long Qinghan seemed to be a frivolous prince. But he was brought up by Concubine De and had always been secretly marginalized by the Crown Prince.
There were eleven princes in Dajin but seven of them died when they were underage.
It seemed that they died accidentally but everyone clearly knew the truth behind their death.
"Why does he come here?"
Long Tianhao put down the book in his hand and walked to the window. A handsome man wearing a bright yellow python robe and wearing a purple crown was slowly walking towards the garden pavilion.
"The Crown Prince is here!"
Looking at the fishes in the pool, Lin Mengya was absorbed in thought. But she was suddenly woken up by the eunuch"s sharp voice. She turned back and saw the Crown Prince"s smiling face.
Lin Mengya dropped her eyes to hide her heartfelt disgust. With the help of Baishao, she curtsied to the Crown Prince.
"Pay respect to the Crown Prince."
Lin Mengya said softly. There was no deliberate tenderness in her voice, but her voice was like a clear spring, flowing into the heart of the Crown Prince.
He had just met her once at the birthday party of Concubine De. But he dreamed about her every night.
Such a beautiful and pure girl shouldn"t be soiled by this numb and silly b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
Crown Prince was determined to have Lin Mengya.
Long Tianhao was just a coward. This b.a.s.t.a.r.d dared not compete with him since childhood.
"Please get up. It"s windy outside. Miss Lin, be careful and don"t catch cold."
The Crown Prince looked handsome. He was domineering and bossy at the birthday party of Concubine De. But now he changed completely and smiled at her gently.
Lin Mengya suddenly knew his intention. She silently took one step backward and stood behind Baishao.
"We"re greatly honored by your gracious presence. Please forgive us for not welcoming you. Crown Prince, please wait for a moment, I"ll ask the Prince to come over. Baiji, serve tea to the Crown Prince."
Lin Mengya mentioned the Prince to secretly remind the Crown Prince that she was his sister-in-law and the legal wife of Prince Yu.
But it seemed that the Crown Prince didn"t care about her ident.i.ty. He walked closer to her without considering his reputation.
"In fact, we"re close relatives and I"m your cousin. Why do you refuse me and stay away from me?"
This cousin was so shameless! There was nowhere to hide and Lin Mengya looked down at the ground and didn"t say anything.
As the Crown Prince, he should take a lead and be a gentleman. But he flirted with the wife of his younger brother and had no sense of shame. Lin Mengya got fed up with the Crown Prince who had a rotten interior beneath a fine exterior.
"You..."
"Crown Prince, what business have you come here for?"
Lin Mengya tried to find a way to leave. But a man in black suddenly appeared and stood in front of her.
Lin Mengya went blank and looked up at the familiar figure. It was Long Tianhao. Why did he appear so quickly?
"I have something important to tell you. Bright King of Xifan will come to the capital city to pay respect to our father. But our father is ill now and I think we should work together to handle the affairs."
The Crown Prince looked at his younger brother with obvious disdain.
His mother gave him a piece of advice and forced him to meet Long Tianhao, otherwise, he would not condescend to walk into this b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s house.
"We have to show our hospitality to the Bright King. Brother, if I can be of service, I am at your disposal."
Lin Mengya suddenly heard another clear voice. She looked around and found that a handsome and gentle youth suddenly showed up.
He blinked at her mischievously after noticing that Lin Mengya was looking at him.
Based on what he had said, Lin Mengya thought that this young man might also be the brother of Long Tianhao.
"Oh! Younger Brother Qinghan, I thought that you were on good terms with other prices. Do you want to find beautiful girls in elder brother Tianhao"s mansion?"
The Crown Prince secretly drove a wedge between them and there was a flash of loathing in his eyes.
Long Qinghan was dissipated but his father always spoiled him.
As the son of a servant, he was humble and stupid as his mother.
"I dare not act up in elder brother Tianhao"s mansion. You must be Princess Yu. The daughter of Marquis Zhennan is cultivated. I"m Long Qinghan, nice to meet you."
Long Qinghan made a bow with hands folded in front and Lin Mengya immediately curtsied to him.
Long Qinghan seemed to be an elegant and polite young man, but Lin Mengya believed that this prince was not so simple and friendly as he looked.
"Prince and Crown Prince must have important things to discuss. Excuse me, I should leave now."
Lin Mengya lowered her head and left the pavilion with her servant girls.
Three men looked at her slender figure at the same time, but they had different ideas and purposes.
"Master, the Crown Prince is shameless! You"re his sister-in-law!"
Baiji was more prudent than all the other servant girls and she attached great importance to courtesy.
The Prince and Princess always respected each other and had never gone off the rails.
But the Crown Prince was too dissipated and impolite. Shame on him!
"It"s intentional. The Crown Prince wants to humiliate the Prince."
Lin Mengya clenched her fists in the sleeves and tried to stay calm. But she vowed to punish him one day.