Chapter 125
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
The person in front was wearing a plain blue cloth gown . The hair on her head was combed together, and it was simply pulled up with a plain silver hairpin . Her face was lightly covered with powder, but it looked like she was a little thinner, and still a little haggard . This person turned out to be the Palace Maid Liu who had been invited by Mu Shi from the palace for the ladies of the Yu house .
Since the last time that she insisted on teaching Yu Linglong the rules, when she was unceremoniously beaten out by Yu Linglong, Yu Linglong had never seen this Palace Maid Liu again . Unexpectedly, there was no one in the Yu house now, and Palace Maid Liu was still here . She naturally felt a little surprised .
Hearing Yu Linglong’s words, Palace Maid Liu showed a bit of embarra.s.sment on her face, but she tried to hide it and said in a flat tone: “Please give me a few more days of grace, and when I find a place to stay, I will leave as soon as possible . “
Seeing the unconcealed sadness of Palace Maid Liu, Yu Linglong vaguely guessed the reason, she pondered for a moment, and said, “You come with me . ”
She happened to have some questions in her mind, maybe Lady Liu could tell her the answers .
This time it was Lady Liu’s turn to feel suspicious . She followed Yu Linglong confusedly, but she couldn’t figure out what Yu Linglong would do with her .
Yu Linglong took the Palace Maid Liu back to Pinlan Garden and told Ling’er to make a cup of hot tea for her, and said, “Let’s talk about it, what’s the matter?”
Lady Liu was taken aback . She didn’t expect Yu Linglong to care about her condition . After thinking about it, she told her .
It turned out that once the official maids in the palace reach a certain age, they have to be released from the palace . Usually, the official maids that are released are not young . It is not easy to find a suitable family to marry, let alone after spending a long time in the palace, ordinary people would not appreciate it . Therefore, except for some people who returned to their hometowns, most of the official maids would choose to stay in the capital and find a large family to work for .
Because the official maids in the palace are very knowledgeable and have extraordinary manners and conversations, many large families are willing to hire them at a high price to keep them in the mansion . They can teach the ladies of the family etiquette and rules, and they can also help the mistress to train the servants . It is indeed a rare talent .
It’s just that this year, the number of official maids of the right age in the palace was a lot more than in previous years, and many of them have found suitable people, but Palace Maid Liu had not settled . Therefore, Palace Maid Liu asked for her mistress’s grace and came out of the palace ahead of time . She wanted to find a good family for herself, but because of her upright temper, her position in the palace was not too high, and her tongue was not good enough, so she stayed in the Yu Mansion, which was not considered a prominent family .
Unexpectedly, within a few months of work, the Yu house would become like this . Palace Maid Liu wanted to find another home, but she could not find it on such short notice .
Seeing that she has reached the age of being released from the palace, she can’t stay for many days . Even if she goes back to the palace now, she still has no idea where she will go in the future . Lady Liu was worried, but there was no other way she could stay in the Yu house for the time being .
Because she was not a servant of the Yu house, the steward dismissed all the servants who were not needed the day before, but she didn’t know how to dispose of Lady Liu . Anyway, there were many vacant yards in the Yu house, so the steward let Lady Liu live here temporarily to make plans until she found a place to stay .
Palace Maid Liu’s eyes drooped slightly, and she said these things in a flat tone as if she was talking about irrelevant people, but Yu Linglong could perceive a trace of loneliness in her expression from the calm she tried to conceal .
Yes, the Palace Maid Liu was quite old, but she was still alone . She had lived in the palace for most of her life . It was not easy to let it go, and it was not easy to find support .
After listening to Lady Liu’s words, Yu Linglong pondered for a while, and said, “Would you like to follow me to the Royal Palace of Xu?”
Palace Maid Liu raised her eyes in surprise and looked at Yu Linglong, as if she didn’t believe her ears: “Fourth Lady, what are you talking about?”
Yu Linglong smiled faintly and said, “I am missing a person who understands the rules . If you are willing, come with me in the future . ”
Although Palace Maid Liu had a stubborn temper, she was a rigorous person . Yu Linglong faintly felt that if she went to the Xu Palace in the future, she still needed someone like this to help her .
Xu Palace was no better than the Yu house . After she is married, she will no longer be a commoner’s daughter in the Yu house, but an upright princess . In the future, she will have to deal with people in the palace . At that time, violence will not be able to solve the problem . It was good for her to have a knowledgeable person by her side .
Lady Liu’s face was both surprised and unbelievable . She quickly stood up and bowed, and said, “Fourth Lady, If…If I can serve you, that would be a great blessing . ”
Who didn’t know that Fourth Lady Yu was going to marry into the Xu Mansion in a few days? If she could serve the princess, she would not be able to ask for a better job .
Yu Linglong nodded, and said to Xuan Cao, Ling’er, and others: “From now on, you will call her Mama Liu . ”
Xuan Cao understood . She stepped forward to support her, and smiled: “Mama Liu, I would like to ask you for your advice in the future . ”
During her stay in the Yu house, Mama Liu saw many things and ran her temper a lot . Now seeing Xuan Cao being so polite, she hurriedly said, “I wouldn’t dare, the girl is too polite . ”
Yu Linglong said: “Go back and pack your things first, and move in today, so you can take care of each other . If you come back in the evening, I have something to ask you . ”
…
At night when she was holding the lantern, Mama Liu really came . At this moment, she had changed into a new green satin-breasted gown, and she was more energetic . When she entered the house, she saluted Yu Linglong: “Fourth Lady . ”
Yu Linglong dismissed all irrelevant people, and asked Ling’er to make a small tart for Mama Liu, and told her to sit down . Then she got to the point: “I won’t hide from you . I will leave after some time . The Xu Palace is here, but many things are still unclear . You are an elder in the palace . There are some things I want to ask you . ”
Mama Liu hurriedly stood up and said respectfully: “Fourth Lady, excuse me, I will be frank with you . ”
After finally finding a good mistress, she naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to show her loyalty .
Yu Linglong thought for a while and said, “Lord Xu…what kind of person is he?”
She always felt that Lord Xu was not a simple character . He had hidden himself so deeply, and there must be a very important reason why, but she could not solve her doubts, which made her feel a little uneasy . Seeing that she was about to become Princess Xu, from then on, at least on the surface, she will share a misfortune with him . It was better to inquire about his details as soon as possible .
Mama Liu misunderstood her meaning and thought she wanted to take the opportunity to get to know her future husband-in-law . Thinking about it, this is also human nature, so she said in detail: “The prince is the youngest prince of the emperor today . Ranking ninth, he was born from Concubine Ling . The emperor loved Concubine Ling very much . Later, Concubine Ling contracted the plague and was dying of illness . The emperor didn’t care about his health and had to visit her personally . In the end, it was the queen’s empress’s admonishment and death that it was stopped…”
For some reason, Yu Linglong suddenly remembered the situation when Lord Xu put a small river lantern into the water on the day of the Ghost Festival .
The dim light illuminated his dim face, and his low voice said with a little sadness: “It is for my mother . ”
At that time, she didn’t know, nor did she think about it seriously . There were so many secrets hidden in his heart, and his mother was one of them .
Mama Liu continued to talk, and brought some erratic thoughts back: “…When Concubine Ling pa.s.sed away, the prince was only seven years old . Originally, the empress wanted to take the prince to live in Cihe Palace, but then something happened—”
Mama Liu suddenly stopped and looked up at Yu Linglong .
Under the candlelight, Yu Linglong’s face resembled hibiscus, and her eyebrows were newly trimmed . A pair of black onyx-like eyes looked at her, obviously listening carefully .
Mama Liu paused for a moment and started speaking in a low voice, but she seemed to turn to another topic: “Fourth Lady, you also know that our Eastern Chu were pushing down the Mongols, and we have been oppressed by the Mongols in recent years . After being blessed for twenty-one years, the Mongols sent envoys to demand the Eastern Chu’s submission, threatening to send troops to attack the Eastern Chu if the emperor refused to agree . The emperor was furious and knew that he was defeated, but he refused to bow to them . Seeing that the situation was critical, it was the empress who came up with a way, suggesting that the emperor send a prince to go to the Mongols as a hostage, in exchange for their trust, in exchange for the Eastern Chu’s peace…”
Even though she guessed what Mama Liu was about to say, Yu Linglong’s heart sank .
Sure enough, Mama Liu continued: “The prince he sent was the current Royal Highness, Lord Xu . ”
Almost uncontrollably, Yu Linglong’s fingers tightened slightly, and they quietly squeezed into fists in her sleeves .
She couldn’t imagine that a child as young as seven would be sent to an enemy country to be taken hostage to be bullied . She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to live in a foreign country and spend a lonely and helpless childhood .
Just because his surname was Yu and because he was the prince, he had to endure the hardships that adults couldn’t bear at a young age, and use his immature shoulders to support the important task of peace in a country .
She always thought that he was a prince who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, and perhaps also the leader of a mysterious organization, but she never thought about what kind of soul and what kind of past was hidden behind his mask .
Mama Liu was still talking, describing the Lord Xu she knew to Yu Linglong .
“…The prince lived in Mongolian territory for nine years . When the Mongols put him back, he was already sixteen years old . Because he made such a great sacrifice for the Eastern Chu, the emperor named him Lord Xu, announced him to the world, gave him fiefs and thousands of hectares, countless gold, and countless rare treasures, and he was favored by the emperor . However, perhaps the prince had suffered too much in Mongolian territory . He returned to the capital and he never cared about government affairs . He spent all day drinking and playing with fine horses . They galloped in the capital and swaggered through the market . The people were miserable . The emperor pitied him for losing his mother when he was young . The Mongols have wronged him for so many years, so he never blamed him, but tried to comfort him . The emperor found what the prince wanted and what he liked and gave it to the prince . Therefore, the prince is used to being more lawless . Up and down in the capital, who didn’t know that the prince was the most beloved prince today, even if the prince was a bit inferior! So the prince was a character no one dared to provoke . If you are a bit more acquainted, you must hide from the prince—”
Mama Liu was really outspoken . While talking about Lord Xu’s misdeeds, she seemed to have never considered Yu Linglong’s feelings .
Later, Xuan Cao couldn’t listen anymore, and interrupted her: “Mama Liu!”
Mama Liu came to, smiled chastely, and said: “I know so much . A lot of it is hearsay . I can’t say…I can’t say that the prince is not that kind of person . ”
Yu Linglong nodded nonchalantly, and said, “I see . You may leave . ”
Mama Liu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quietly walked out .
Yu Linglong looked out of the dark window . Her inky eyes were a little contemplative .
She didn’t believe what Mama Liu said . According to her judgment, Lord Xu was not a person who coveted pleasure, let alone a small prince who didn’t care about government affairs . On that day, when he told her about the Gan Mansion, he unknowingly revealed a lot of information . From this point of view, Lord Xu not only paid a lot of attention to the dynamics of the government but also had rigorous a.n.a.lysis and precise judgment .
There was also his pursuit of the Blue Lotus Cult and Feng Xuanyuan . Although she didn’t know the reason, she also guessed that he must have something to do with it .
Slowly lowering her eyes, she stroked the delicately embroidered hibiscus flowers on her cuffs and took a deep breath .
Now that he had entered this vortex, she would change from pa.s.sive to active, and perhaps she could find a way out of many dangers .
Marrying Lord Xu was not only an excuse for letting herself leave the Yu house but also an important way to get deeper into this huge conspiracy .
After some time, the candles were snuffed out, interrupting her thoughts .
Ling’er walked in and blew out the candles, and asked Yu Linglong: “Miss, it’s already late, do you want the kitchen to prepare for supper?”
Yu Linglong shook her head and answered the question, “Tomorrow, you will go out with me . ”
…
In the early morning, a thin layer of frost formed on the ground, glowing coldly in the winter sun .
A green oilcloth carriage had already been parked at the gate of the Yu house . The horse snorted in the cold air, and its mouth and nose were full of steaming white mist .
Yu Linglong went out, and just as she was about to get in the car, she heard a familiar voice: “Linglong . ”
Looking back, Yu Linglong couldn’t help sighing slightly after seeing the person in front of her .
Gan Lin was dressed in a pine-green brocade robe, covered in an ink-colored peac.o.c.k gold thread embroidered with a unicorn cloak, wearing a golden halo crown, and standing alone at the gate of the Yu Mansion .
The fluffy ferret tails cl.u.s.tered around his white face, and his chin became sharper and sharper . After only a few days, he had lost a lot of weight .
A pair of big lacquer-like eyes fixedly looked at Yu Linglong, and for a long time, Gan Lin said softly: “I have been waiting for you for a long time…”