Chapter 772 Groundless Rumors
Although it was unknown whether Mengya was alive or dead now, Long Tianyu was in a better situation than she was, because at least he and Mengya were in love with each other.
But now was not the time to think about this.
Now she had pinned all her hopes on Long Tianyu. If he was finished, so was she.
Long Tianyu seemed to be inspired by Shangguan Hui’s words. With a flicker of hope, his eyes finally lit up and was at least not as dull and lifeless as before.
She let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the servants of Prince Yu’s Mansion were smart enough to invite her over in time.
Otherwise, if Long Tianyu really died of overwork, Mengya would probably be torn with grief and lose the hope of living after coming back.
“There is one more thing. When I went to pay my respects to the Empress these days, I heard that His Majesty seemed to have mentioned your marriage again. This time, I’m afraid that I can’t help you delay it for long. The Crown Prince is declining, while the Empress does not have an important position in front of His Majesty as before. Despite our connection, His Majesty probably will not drop his idea easily,” Shangguan Hui said.
Everyone thought that Prince Yu enjoyed enormous popularity now, but only she knew that even if the Emperor issued an edict to order Long Tianyu to marry another n.o.ble lady, Prince Yu, who was obsessed with Lin Mengya, would just treat her as nothing and leave her out.
“I see. Thank you for your concern,” Long Tianyu said.
At the sight of the flicker of coldness in his eyes, even Shangguan Hui did not dare to act rashly.
Given her relationship with Mengya, she, who was bold, dared to say those words to him.
However, Long Tianyu, who had returned to normal at the moment, was still the cold fiend that no one dared to approach. She bowed slightly and left Prince Yu’s Mansion quietly.
The study was still clouded by a busy and desolate aura.
Nevertheless, the man sitting behind the desk regained his vitality.
He picked up the bowl and ate up all the noddles in it elegantly and quickly.
Shangguan Hui enlightened him that Ya’er was still waiting for him. If his health collapsed, who else could save her?
“Your Highness…” Lin Kui said.
As a man, he almost burst into tears with joy when he saw that his master finally regained his vitality.
Long Tianyu put down the bowl, stood up, walked up to the window.
At the sight that the green bamboos Lin Mengya had transplanted here last year had grown up vigorously, he said, “Send some men to bring Lin Lang back from Prefecture Bing. From now on, she will be in charge of all affairs in the mansion. Also, send some men to seek the former servants of the Princess, but remember to just protect them in secret and not to alarm them.”
With no one taking good care of the flowers in the Liuxin Courtyard, they had long grown wildly and no longer looked as neat as when she was around.
She adored that courtyard.
Therefore, he must take care of everything she cared about when she was not around.
“Okay, I’ll go to handle these right away,” Lin Kui said, unable to hide the joy in his eyes.
Everything was going on in an orderly manner.
After standing there for a while, Long Tianyu went back to his desk where there was a notebook he had read carefully.
The Candle Dragon Cult was nothing more than this!
He sneered with a.s.surance, thinking he was going to get the dragon bone soon!
Lin Mengya, who was in the imperial palace of the Lieyun Empire, also got into a bit of trouble at this moment.
It was unknown who spread the gossip, but during the morning exercise in the next few days, she became the protagonist of most of the gossip.
Moreover, the gossip became more and more ridiculous. It was said that she was actually Xiaoyu’s beloved outside the imperial palace and taken to Madame Jingrou’s courtyard as a personal maid because she was too humble to match Xiaoyu.
This kind of rumor was not quite ridiculous. Besides, she, who had sharp ears, also heard some groundless rumors, such as she was the beauty Xiaoyu intended to recommend to the Emperor. She believed that if she did not take any measures to stop it, there might be more stupid and wild rumors about her one day.
Lin Mengya intended to collect the gossip of others during the morning exercise, but ended up getting involved in the gossip. Now she really wanted to know who had the audacity to spread this kind of stupid rumors about her.
Not to mention the other palace maids, even Ningqiu looked at her with an obviously teasing and confused look.
Lin Mengya rolled her eyes, thinking that she couldn’t give a reasonable explanation today.
“Sister Helan, Sister Helan, tell me, what’s the relationship between you and His Highness?” Ningqiu asked.
After spending these days with Miss Helan, she got to know Miss Helan’s disposition.
Although Miss Helan usually looked aloof, she actually showed special consideration for the young palace maids like her.
Furthermore, with Helan around, Madame’s health and mood seemed to have improved greatly over the past few days.
As a loyal servant, Ningqiu naturally treated Helan as her savior.
Meanwhile, Lin Mengya was easy-going in front of Ningqiu, so the two of them got along very well.
But now, Lin Mengya regretted it a little, as Ningqiu was pestering her about her relationship with Xiaoyu.
“Xiaoyu and I… are just acquaintances rather than a couple as the rumor says. I just consider Xiaoyu as my younger brother. I really have no idea why there is such a rumor. Well, I’ll go to fetch the rosa multiflora porridge prepared for Madame. You’d better stop pestering me,” Lin Mengya said and gave Ningqiu a hard look.
However, Ningqiu just shrank her neck mischievously with no fear in her eyes.
She could not be bothered to care about what other people said about her behind her back. She had heard from Madame that the High Priest from the Xin Family was going to enter the imperial palace with the priests from different tribes tomorrow.
When the time came, their attention on the gossip about her would be quickly attracted by this major event.
After all, she was just the most insignificant person in the imperial palace, while the Empress, who was in the Linqiu Pavilion, was going to play a leading role.
In the sleeping chamber, the scent of sandalwood that was rolling up was soothing.
This was the incense Lin Mengya specially prepared for Madame Jingrou. In the imperial palace where there were enemies on all sides, one could fall into a trap at any time.
As such, she had to be careful at all times so as to give no one the opportunity to trap Madame Jingrou.
Although Madame Jingrou was surprised at Lin Mengya’s thoughtfulness, at the urging of Xiaoyu, Madame Jingrou let her do as she pleased.
Fortunately, Lin Mengya, who had lots of tricks up her sleeve, made subtle changes in imperceptible ways so that no one could tell the differences.
Moreover, she was proficient in medical knowledge, so it was just a piece of cake for her to nurse Madame Jingrou’s health.
Within days, Madame Jingrou had a much more favorable impression of her.
Now, Lin Mengya and Ningqiu were the only two palace maids allowed to get in and out of Madame Jingrou’s sleeping chamber freely no matter the Emperor was present or not.
“A few days ago, I picked some rosa multiflora and made some rosa multiflora porridge. Madame, do you have an appet.i.te after smelling it?” Lin Mengya came over with a bowl of porridge and said.
Madame Jingrou was leaning against the crouch, doing some light reading.
After hearing her gentle voice, Madame Jingrou put down the book in her hand tiredly, pinched the part between her eyebrows and said, “You are indeed thoughtful. Has Ningqiu prepared properly for the priests’ visit to the imperial palace tomorrow?”
Ningqiu was not a selfish girl. Besides, she was loyal to Madame and quite capable. Thus, in Madame’s palace, now Lin Mengya was in charge of the internal affairs, while Ningqiu was in charge of the external affairs.
Lin Mengya nodded and put down the tray in her hands.
After dismissing the palace maids around Madame, she asked, “Madame, may I ask if the High Priest is Xin Li?”
In the Lieyun Empire, few people knew her real ident.i.ty. But she still had a lingering fear for Xin Li from the Xin Family.
Back in the Jin State, he was able to break through the tight encirclement of guards and almost killed her.
If she met him here, not only would he hurt her, but Xiaoyu would also be implicated.
“Li’er is not coming. Although he has succeeded the High Priest, he is still young. According to the Xin Family’s rules, he must stay home for cultivation for several years. It’s very likely that Xin Luan, his uncle as well as my brother, is coming tomorrow.” Madame Jingrou gracefully took a sip of porridge before replying lightly.
Since Xin Luan was Madame’s brother, wasn’t Xin Li Xiaoyu’s cousin?
Nevertheless, although Madame came from the Xin Family, she seemed to have a strong aversion to her parents’ home and had never mentioned it.
She even appointed Ningqiu and the servants of the Linqiu Pavilion to prepare for Xin Luan’s visit to the imperial palace tomorrow, and she just claimed to be ill and was not going to show up.
Nevertheless, given the Xin Family’s intention to usurp her husband’s throne, she would inevitably hold some grudges against them no matter how generous she was.
“What’s wrong? Do you know Li’er?” Madame Jingrou asked.
Lin Mengya shook her head immediately. It would be best to hide things related to her as much as possible.
She hurriedly put on a curious and ignorant look and said, “I’m just curious. Since Xin Li is Xiaoyu’s cousin, why does he still try to compete with Xiaoyu for the throne? Besides, once Xiaoyu succeeds the throne, it will definitely bring glory to the Xin Family, your parents’ family as well as his grandparents’ family. Why bother to bear the name of a usurper?”
Hearing this, Madame Jingrou just glanced deeply at Lin Mengya with a bitter look.
Then she said, “Although I am from the Xin Family, I am not a member of the Xin Family. You know the Pool of Various Venomous Insects, but you may not know that the priests of those tribes are not in charge of the Pool of Various Venomous Insects. There is a rule pa.s.sed down from our ancestors that the Pool of Various Venomous Insects should be in the charge of the King of Various Venomous Insects who is the real master of the Lieyun Empire at the same time. The King of Various Venomous Insects has long disappeared in history, but as the only descendants of the King of Various Venomous Insects, the Xin Family survives. Every 15 years, there is a chosen witch from the Xin Family, and the chosen witch no longer belongs to her family, her parents, and even herself. I am the last chosen witch. According to our family tradition, I should marry the head of our clan, who is also my eldest brother, and give birth to the next chosen witch. You know the following story. Without the chosen witch, the Pool of Various Venomous Insects is no longer the sacred place for practicing witchcraft. Thus, my family as well as all wizards and witches consider me as a sinner.”