Chapter 444 - Juicy News in the Prince’s Mansion
Chapter 444 Juicy News in the Prince’s Mansion
This was the reason she had agreed to the condition set down by Zuo Qiuchen.
Needless to say, once they agreed on the terms of the transaction, those who were eyeing on the music score for the green stringed instrument would focus their attention on Zuo Qiuchen.
Between the two of them, one was a princess, while the other was an emperor. It was clear from whose hand it would easier to get hold of the music score.
Nevertheless, she would face greater danger during this former period of time.
Since this was the case, it would be better for her to remain within the Nation of Lintian for the time being.
Anyways, Zuo Qiuchen was obliged to protect her as long as she stayed in the Nation of Lintian.
Not to mention all the delicacies she got to enjoy, she would be entertained by Zuo Qiuchen every single day.
It was not easy to give up the taste of being able to tease and make fun of an emperor.
She would also be able to boast about this when she returned to Dajin.
She was probably the only person in the world who had the honor of having an emperor of a nation at her service!
This was a feeling of exceeding happiness and contentment.Lin Mengya chatted a little bit more with Baishao before her stamina finally ran out and she fell asleep.
Tonight, she had a rare dream about her sentiments as a young girl.
Outside the room, there was a gentle breeze blowing and flower petals had fallen onto the ground, forming a patch of pink and white…
“You may leave them here. The princess has not woken up yet. Please keep it down, lest you wake her.”
Early the next morning, Baishao had got out of bed as quietly as possible. She stood by the door as she busied herself preparing Lin Mengya’s clothes and accessories for the day.
Back in the Prince Yu’s Mansion, the princess had never been fussy of what to eat or wear.
Nevertheless, none of her master’s food or clothes were something any other noblewomen in the Capital City possessed.
The accessories for today was a pair of dangling jade ornaments held together by golden wires in the shape of peony flower. The pure gold tassel pendants were made from finely polished pearls.
Apart from these, there was a pair of red coral dangling earrings made into the shape of plum flowers. There were some delicately made velvet flowers ornaments.
Every piece of ornament was elegant, but at the same time giving off the brightness and liveliness fitting for young girls.
The clothes were made of green silk, which was a specialty of the Nation of Lintian. The inner layer was a dress in the color of green beans. She had also prepared a pair of matching light green shoes each decorated with a pearl double the size of the digit of a finger.
The entire set of apparel had been tailored by Royal Tailor of Lintian, which worked round the clock for it.
Although this was done in a hurry, the workmanship was not at all haphazard.
The dress was embroidered with patterns of plum flowers. If someone else were to adorn it, she would look like a countrywoman.
However, when Lin Mengya put it on her, it complemented her snow-white complexion and gave her a look of pure elegance.
On top of that, her recent poor health had resulted in her looking frail. This added an air of immortal to her as she sat down in the corridor.
At a glance, she really appeared to be an immortal in paintings.
Baishao had checked through every piece of clothing and accessory to make sure they were fit for use before she ordered the servants to leave them on the table in the room.
She would wait for Lin Mengya to get up when she could help dress her up.
“What have you gathered so far?”
“Yes, I heard that he is indeed an amorous, affectionate man. The laundry lady said that the girl had dashed out from his room improperly dressed.”
“Really? The girls of Dajin are so bold.”
A few maidservants gathered along the corridor as they gossiped but Baishao did not know who they were referring to.
Until that moment, Lin Mengya had not woken up. Frowning, Baishao trailed behind those maidservants.
However, when the group of animated maidservants saw Baishao approaching, they quietened down instantly.
Baishao was aware that her features looked rather fierce for a woman.
She calmed herself down and greeted the maidservants amiably.
“I see that everyone’s gathered here. Too bad my master loves to sleep and she’s not gotten out of bed yet. If you’re free, may I invite you to have some tea with me? It must have been working so hard serving my master for the last few days.”
Baishao had naturally picked up some tricks from Lin Mengya. She knew how to use both the stick and the carrot to make people useful to her.
Smiles quickly appeared on the faces of the maidservants once they heard that the princess’s trusted maid was inviting them for tea.
“You’re too kind, Miss. We’re merely lowly maidservants. We’re not fit to have tea with you.”
They knew better to speak pleasantries.
Baishao, however, smiled and insisted, saying, “I’m only a servant too, just that my master is more used to me serve her. On the other hand, I see that all of you are witty and smart. You will definitely do well in the future. We’re like sisters, so stop standing on ceremony. Come on, this is the best weather for drinking tea.”
The girl’s face broke into wide grins as they followed Baishao into the west-facing room in the courtyard.
This room had been originally prepared for Baishao’s use, but she had insisted to stay with Lin Mengya in her room to wait on her.
Since the place had been set up for Baishao, it was of course equipped with a tea set.
Baishao had also spent some money to buy some snacks.
All of them had gotten out of bed early and had not eaten much for breakfast.
Therefore, the maidservants were quickly taken in by Baishao’s persuasion.
Baishao, holding on to her teacup, would deliberately leave the conversation now and then.
The maidservants let down their guards soon and began to talk about interesting happenings in the mansion.
“Just by looking at Miss Baishao’s mannerisms, we can tell that our princess is surely an extraordinary person. Surprisingly, Prince Yu of Dajin is so indiscreet in his conduct.”
The maidservant with a round face who spoke these words immediately thought her words rather inappropriate.
However, Baishao did not seem to have any reaction to her words as she continued eating the snack and drinking the tea. Occasionally, there would even be a curious look in her eyes.
The maidservants became bolder as they continued to gossip. Who would not like to hear about such juicy news concerning their masters?
“Isn’t that right? However, that girl called Sumei doesn’t look like she is the daughter of a notable family. Miss Baishao, you have journeyed with them here. Do you know her background?”
Sumei? Indeed it had to do with Sumei again!
On the way here, Xiu had told her more than once that Sumei had ulterior motives.
However, without her master’s instruction, at the critical moment, Baishao had kept her and Hongyu with them and did not throw her out.
Eventually when they learned that their master was injured, Xiu and she could not be bothered about her.
Little did they expect that they had kept an enemy for their master in their midst
“She’s a nobody. She is a girl whom my kind-hearted master saved.”
Baishao quickly changed her mind about telling them the truth regarding how Hongyu and Sumei had once been in the courtesan house.
If this was made known to them, the gossip would sound even worse.
She would rather try to tone down the gossip and act after she found out about more.
“Oh no, in that case, she has bitten the hand that fed her.”
The tea session had continued as planned, but the information Baishao gathered had roused her anger.
Lin Mengya looked at an absent-minded Baishao with puzzlement. She waved her left hand in front of Baishao’s eyes but she did not have any reaction.
This was bizarre. Baizhi was the one who was always absent-minded. When did Baishao pick up this habit?
“Why? Are you homesick?”
Lin Mengya took Baishao’s hand and shook it hard. She thought her words she spoke the night before had made Baishao worried.
Baishao stared at her master as if she had just woken up from her dreams.
Her master’s features were as beautiful as an immortal. In addition, she was refined and elegant and had come from an exceptional family background.
Why did the prince not know how to treasure such a perfect girl?
The more Baishao thought about it, the more furious she became. She bit her lips as she contemplated whether to make this known to the princess.
“Look at how pitiful you look. Who bullied you? Tell me and I shall avenge for you. How about that?”
Lin Mengya teased. She knew that there were not many people who could really bully Baishao.
Little did Lin Mengya expect that at her words, Baishao would burst out in tears. At that moment, Lin Mengya was at a loss of what to do.
“Master, hum, hum… it’s all my fault. I’ve brought all this harm upon you.”
At that moment, Lin Mengya was totally clueless about what happened.
What was this girl saying? It did not make sense to her at all.
Lin Mengya touched Baishao’s forehead with her left hand to check if she was running a temperature, but strangely she was not.
Could she have contracted some secret disease?
“What happened to you? Stop crying and tell me what happened?”
Lin Mengya was truly at a loss of what to do. Back at home, Baizhi was the one who cried most often.
Usually, Baiji and Baishao were the ones who would laugh at her.
Never would she expect the tough and sassy Baishao to break down in tears.
A number of possibilities flashed across Lin Mengya’s mind at that moment. However, she had eventually eliminated them one by one.
After soiling both of their handkerchiefs with her tears, Baishao finally stopped weeping.
Eventually, Lin Mengya found out the reason for Baishao’s crying episode.
“I thought it was something much more serious than this. The prince is after all still a man. He naturally needed the comfort of a woman. Why did you weep over this so badly?”
Baishao had imagined all kinds of reactions from her master. However, her master’s reaction was surprisingly straight forward.
She blinked her watery eyes as she looked at her master with a look of disbelief in her eyes.
Had she damaged her brain when she fell off the horse?
Good heavens, this was serious.
Lin Mengya burst out laughing.
Finally Baishao had stopped weeping. Lin Mengya held on to Baishao’s hand. Lin Mengya seemed totally unperturbed.
“Think about it. How would it be possible for Long Tianyu to have his eyes on her? Back in the Capital City, there were countless women who threw themselves at him. How did the mansion manage to remain so quiet and peaceful if he had wanted to be funny?”
Lin Mengya did not believe Long Tianyu to be a man without discretion.
Although there was no shortage of men who tried to hide their amorality and irresponsibility under the signboard of novelty, Long Tianyu was after all among the top three most-sought men in Dajin.
Even if he fancied a country girl, she had to be someone beautiful, talented and exceptional.
At one glance, it was obvious that Sumei was a brazen hypocrite. Long Tianyu would never allow her to defile his bed.
“But, but all those girls had witnessed Sumei dashed out of the prince’s room, looking disheveled.”
Baishao agreed that Lin Mengya’s argument made sense, but she could not shake off the feeling that there was something fishy going on between Sumei and the prince.