The two were interrupted by the voice of a willful child. Lin Mengya lifted her head to see a young girl dressed in a yellow dress.
She looked to be around 14 to 15 years of age and she was wearing a velvet flower in her hair.
She looked very much like Yueting, especially her eyes and brows. However, there was an air of wilfulness about her.
Yueting pulled the little girl towards her immediately and gave her look, as she said with an affectionate tone,
"This is my younger sister, Yueqi. Xiaoqi, Ya"er here is Princess Yue. Do not be rude to her."
Lin Mengya looked at this young girl to size her up. She was slim and there was still some childishness about her.
However, she was definitely more lively and energetic than Yueting. Although she did look a little wilful, she did not give people the feeling that she was detestable.
"Elder Sister， you treated her better than you treated me, but I"m your real sister!"
Apparently, the young girl was jealous. Lin Mengya could hardly smother a smile. This young must be unhappy about the fact that Yueting always talked about her.
"Nonsense. Come let me tell you something."
Yueting gave Lin Mengya an apologetic smile and dragged Yueqi to the back.
She whispered a few words into her eyes and all of a sudden, tears were welling up in Yueqi"s eyes.
Thereafter, Yueqing ran back to Lin Mengya in small steps and held on to her hand and said to her with an apologetic tone,
"I"m sorry, I didn"t know... please forgive me, Big Sister Lin."
Yueting must have explained to her what happened and her condition.
This innocent girl without any guile must have apologized to her because she was starting to sympathize her.
The Yues were an amazing family. How did they end up nurturing two daughters who were so kind and forthright? All the more, Lin Mengwu appeared to be even more despicable in comparison.
"Don"t say that. We will be relative in future, and we should meet up more often, shouldn"t we?"
Yueqi nodded her head vigorously at Lin Mengya"s suggestion.
However, Yueqi started to shake her when she saw Long Tianhao pulling a straight face. She moved closer to Lin Mengya and whispered into her ear, saying,
"Your Prince does look very handsome, but his mannerism is so indifferent. I"m afraid he might give me killer looks when I visit you."
This little girl was so adorable, so lively and exuberant. In this way, she was very much like Lin Mengya.
"Don"t worry. I"ve another little girl in my house. If you two get to meet up, you can go outside together to play."
Yueqi"s character was very similar to that of Baizhi.
In Lin Mengya"s courtyard, playful bickering could be heard every day because of Baizhi"s innocent character.
If she were to have a few girls with a similar character, she believed her life would be very interesting.
After Yueting and Yueqi continued chatting with Lin Mengya for a while, it was time they returned to their seats.
She thought in her heart that perhaps this was not the appropriate occasion to pay her respects to the rest of the Yues. She decided that she should prepare an appropriate gift for her brother"s future mother-in-law another time.
After three rounds of wines, the atmosphere had become much more settled and harmonious.
When the singers and dancers were dismissed from the stage, they had entered into the most import part of the banquet.
"Most honorable Crown Prince of Dajin, and the Queen, I, King Ming, had made this trip for a purpose. It is my hope that you will grant my request."
King Ming bowed respectfully as he spoke.
The Crown Prince and the Queen looked at each other knowingly, but pretended that they were clueless about what was about to be said.
"Please say it, King Ming. We will grant your request if it is within our power to achieve it."
"This is Tianbei, my son, who has reached marriageable age. It is my hope to find him a virtuous wife from Dajin.
After he finished the sentence, all the royal officials with daughters began to perk up.
Most of them started to regret bringing their beautiful daughters to the banquet today.
If their daughters were to be chosen, they would have to leave their family to follow King Ming to the distant western va.s.sal state. Who knew when they would get to see each other again?
Yet there were some others who were hoping for a chance that their daughters would be picked.
Hu Tianbei was a handsome crown prince after all. He was going to take over the throne of the western va.s.sal state.
It was not at all bed to one day become the queen. This sounded like a good arrangement to some.
As Lin Mengya looked around, she did not find Lin Mengwu.
It was no wonder she did not dare to make herself appear before all the guests. She had been beaten up so badly that her face was all swollen. She would definitely be mocked at if she appeared before so many people.
"Oh? Since King Ming has this intention, I think it"s a good thing. The Dajin women are all very virtuous. I wonder who King Ming has in mind? Please let me know whose daughter King Ming has his eyes on."
While it seemed that they were having this important conversation, Lin Mengya looked coldly at the mother-and-son pair, who had secretly set up everything.
This entire matter had been set up long ago. At this moment, they were just going through the motion and pretending to make considerations.
However, because Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu were both not present at this moment, people would start to talk if King Ming were to openly specify that Lin Mengwu was the candidate.
She wondered how they were going to proceed from here.
"I think the women of Dajin are good, which is why I am at a loss of how to choose. I would have to trouble to Queen to help."
The Queen smiled and said,
"If that was the case, let"s have all the daughters of our officials showcase their talents. Firstly, it is for King Ming to choose a wife for his son, and secondly, we can all enjoy the entertainment.
No one dared suggest otherwise since this was the Queen"s idea.
All the prettily adorned young ladies followed the eunuch out of Yuanshan Palace to wait for them turn to showcase their talents.
Lin Mengya lowered her eyes and she pondered about what talents Lin Mengwu possessed.
After Shangguan Qing and her father had been married for 15 years, she had only given birth to this one daughter.
For this reason, they doted on Lin Mengwu. Although she was a malicious person, she was exceptionally skillful in playing the Chinese guitar. The music she produced was enough to make people want to dance to it.
It appeared that the Queen was thinking in this line.
As expected, when all the young ladies went off to prepare their item, Shangguan Qing finally appeared.
When Shangguan Qing first entered the banquet hall, no one really noticed her.
She was wearing an impa.s.sive expression on her face and she did not look in Lin Mengya"s direction at all.
There was also anger on her face as she looked in the Queen"s and the vice Princess"s direction.
Lin Mengya lowered her eyes and laughed to her self. It looked like Lin Mengwu was pretty badly injured. From Shangguan Qing"s expression, it seemed she was also unwilling to proceed with Lin Mengwu"s marriage engagement.
However, there was no way she could triumph over the Queen"s will.
Every Dajin girl would have a private tutor to educate her at home.
Dajin girls may not have much opportunity to learn the things in the books, they were usually well-trained in the arts, be in playing a musical instrument, or singing and dancing.
The first few girls who presented their items had done well, but not they were not excellent.
Eventually, when the Eunuch announced Lin Mengwu"s name, everyone present was cranking his neck and searching intently for her.
As the sound of music started playing, a girl wearing a veil began walking from backstage.
Lin Mengwu had put on a veil on her face, covering most part of her face, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes.
With moved with grace and her long hair swayed in rhythm. Every of her dance move was elegant and graceful.
Lin Mengya nodded quietly. Regardless of her poor relationship with Lin Mengwu, she could not deny the fact that there was no one in the entire capital city who was more skilled at playing the Chinese guitar than Lin Mengwu.
As the beats progressed faster and faster, Lin Mengwu"s dance steps were picking up speed at the same time.
She was twirling like a dancing b.u.t.terfly. However, Lin Mengya was not expecting this b.u.t.terfly to be dancing towards the side of the stage.
As she moved around the circular stage, her graceful moves had attracted the most attention from the floor.
However, at some stage when Lin Mengwu might have made a small mistake when she tripped and fell.
The spectators gasped in shock as she fell down from the stage.
Lin Mengya secretly snorted and as she could see through Lin Mengwu"s schemings.
The place where she fell off was where exactly Long Tianhao"s seat was.
According to the drama script, Long Tianhao would reach out to catch the falling beauty.
It was not because of any special reason. Rather, even a normal person would have reacted by helping a stranger who had fallen down.
However, how could Long Tianhao be judged based on the standards and expectations of any other person.
He was holding on to a cup of wine and looking indifferently at Lin Mengwu as she fell onto the floor.
There was a "Thud!" as Lin Mengwu hit the floor.
In that instant, the expressions on the spectators" faces were that of astonishment.
Initially, they had thought that she was talented in both playing the musical instrument and dancing, but it seemed that it was a joke after all.
All the guests burst out in laughter and the Queen"s face fell in that instant.
"Are you alright, Miss Lin?"
The eunuch was the first to react. He dashed over and held on to Lin Mengwu.
Embarra.s.sed and enraged at the same time, Lin Mengwu shook off the eunuch"s hand and glanced at a dispa.s.sionate Long Tianhao with a pained look.
Why did he rush over to Lin Mengya when some men tried to strike a conversation with her?
While she could not even receive any pity from him even when she had a great fall?
So this was what was in her mind.
Lin Mengya finally understood what Lin Mengwu"s intention was. Lin Mengwu definitely did not understand Long Tianhao"s character.
Long Tianhao was the type of person who would be extremely dispa.s.sionate about the people and the things he did not really care about.
Moreover, Long Tianhao would not want to be implicated in such trouble in such an occasion.
Serve her right!
Lin Mengya secretly felt a sense of satisfaction, but she pretended to look concerned by shaking her head to show her disapproval towards her husband"s neglect.
At that moment, Long Tianhao lifted his eyes and coincidental they met Lin Mengya"s eyes.
"Well done!"
Long Tianhao could almost read the message in Mengya"s eyes, saying that he had done a good job.
"She deserved it."
In the same way, Lin Mengya could read what her husband was trying to say from his eyes. At this instant, she could feel her sense of satisfaction climaxed.
Lin Mengwu had always enjoyed throwing herself into people"s arms.
Unfortunately, there was zero chance she could do that with the very cold Long Tianhao.
As the atmosphere turned tense, the Crown Prince stood up and made a suggestion, saying,
"Mother, I think it would be a better idea for the Crown Prince of the western va.s.sal state to make his own decision. It there is someone whom he falls in love at first sight, wouldn"t you receive credit for facilitating a beautiful marriage?"
Since the plan for talent search had failed, he had immediately moved on to a contingency.
Lin Mengya glanced at Lin Mengya, whom the eunuch had helped over to her seat, then glanced at the free-spirited Crown Prince of the western va.s.sal state.
The Dajin Crown Prince was obviously starting to panic to have resorted to this move.
Lin Mengya tried to smother a laugh that was bubbling up from within her. It looked like their plan was not going to work.