Chapter 452 - Life Analogous to a Chess Game
Chapter 452 Life Analogous to a Chess Game
Was she up already? Lin Mengya could not help but admire Sumei. After all, she had taught her a lesson last night.
Moreover, she had displayed her passionate love with Long Tianyu in front of Sumei. She was quite certain that if she added fuel to fire today, Sumei would not be able to endure and would act.
She waved Baishao to her and gave her instructions before Baishao left with a smile on her face.
“What antics are you up to now, my little cousin? Sumei is merely a commoner. She won’t be able to survive your treachery.”
It was easy for him to criticize from the sidelines. He had witnessed Lin Mengya’s ruthlessness and he supposed Sumei had no way of escape.
“That’s not necessary. She already had a taste of it last night. Basically, before we leave, she will be dealt with completely.”
Lin Mengya was not at all worried. If it were Hongyu who was trying to make trouble, perhaps Hongyu would be able to see through her.
Sumei might appear to be witty, but she was actually rather a dimwit.
After she had been through a few of Lin Mengya’s moves, Sumei had lost all strength to get back at her.
If Sumei was still able to hold it in, it would mean that Lin Mengya had underestimated her.
Not long after they finished eating breakfast, Lin Mengya and the other two continued to chit chat in her room.
It was then that Baishao rushed in and whispered into Lin Mengya’s ears for quite some time.
“Are you sure she did that?”
The expression on Lin Mengya’s did not change as she asked Baishao the question.
“It is very true. I saw it with my own eyes. I suppose they are talking about it in the room now.”
There was anxiety written on Baishao’s face, but Lin Mengya remained composed. As the saying went that the person concerned was not perturbed while the people around her were already on fire.
“What happened? Why are you so anxious?”
Zuo Qiuyu asked out of curiosity. In the last few days, he had witnessed for himself how shrewish yet charming Baishao was, but she was certainly absolutely loyal to Lin Mengya.
The relationship between the two ladies was more intimate than his relationship with Lin Mengya who was his kin.
After all, it was rare to see masters like Lin Mengya, who cared little about the master-servant relationship.
Compared to those frail-looking rich ladies in the old capital city, who beat up their servants for every little mistake, Lin Mengya was a much better master.
“What urgent matter could it be? It was just because Sumei had intercepted Cousin Chen while he was on the way here.”
Lin Mengya replied indifferently as she lifted the teacup in her hand and took a sip.
“What? She was looking for my elder brother, the emperor? What does she want?”
Zuo Qiuyu may be very intelligent, but his intelligence was mostly confined to the area of his medical knowledge.
In terms of recognizing people’s schemes and ploys, he was not far from being an expert.
He supposed this was the reason Zuo Qiuchen had delegated the responsibility of looking for their aunt to Zuo Qiuyu.
After all, he would survive well in the Imperial Hospital, where he was a skillful physician, yet an unambitious youth from a reputable family.
However, the situation in the Nation of Lintian was so complicated that Zuo Qiuyu had fallen behind the people’s rhythm on the day he returned.
“Could she not endure any longer?”
Long Tianyu immediately understood Sumei’s intention and he gave Lin Mengya a somber look.
Seeing that Lin Mengya nodded to his question, Long Tianyu did not appear anxious though.
Zuo Qiuchen was not stupid. Even he could not deny that the sometimes hateful cunningness in him ran in the Zuo Family.
This time, Sumei had taken the bait.
“Please just say that I’ve caught a cold last night and I don’t want to see anyone. If Cousin Chen insists on coming in, can you stop him, Long Tianyu?”
Long Tianyu nodded silently and sent out into the courtyard to guard the entrance.
The door to the room was opened slightly so that they could see clearly from the inside while whoever was outside could not look in.
Long Tianyu stood in the corridor wearing a cool expression on his face, so much so that no one in the courtyard dared come close to him, lest they offend him.
After a while, Zuo Qiuchen strode into the courtyard, looking glum, with Sumei trailing behind him.
It had not taken long for her to cry her eyes out. With swollen eyes, Sumei looked so pathetic as if she had been badly bullied.
The servants in the courtyard could hardly grasp the situation.
While the emperor did not smile brilliantly whenever he visited, he had never looked as furious as today.
It was even more puzzling to them to see Prince Yu’s little concubine trailing behind the emperor. Did they not just get into a fight yesterday when Prince Yu wanted to take in a concubine?
How was it that the little concubine seemed to be on the emperor’s side now?
What was happening? Everyone was confused.
“Where’s Lin Mengya? I want to see her!” said the emperor.
Just when Zuo Qiuchen was about to enter her room, Long Tianyu put up his arm to block Zuo Qiuchen’s way.
Keeping his eyes looking straight, Zuo Qiuchen stopped by the door to Lin Mengya and did not force his way through.
“She’s fallen ill. She can’t entertain any guest.”
The serious expression on Long Tianyu’s face and the tone of his voice seemed to say that there was no room discussion.
It appeared that there was an invisible furnace burning between them. Neither was willing to give in an inch.
“This is my territory. Within the boundaries of my land, no one can say no to me!”
There was hostility in both Zuo Qiuchen’s expression and tone of voice as he refused to back off.
However, neither was Long Tianyu ready to give in. He was also fuming.
“She is my wife. Without my permission, no one will get to see her!”
The two men were diametrically opposed to each other. It seemed that a battle would break out any minute.
The people in the surrounding put down what they were doing and dispersed.
They were not going to stand by to watch this. If something went wrong for them, they could be executed.
At this moment, Sumei, who had been looking down all these while, seemed to be smiling from the corner of her mouth.
A presumptuous Sumei wanted to tell Lin Mengya that these two men were her assets.
She thought that once she acted, these two men would try to kill each other because of Lin Mengya.
By then, she would love to see who else this woman could rely on!
Nevertheless, the commotion in the courtyard did not affect the relaxed atmosphere in the room.
Lin Mengya, who had nothing much to do lately, had learned to play chess. One would be most addicted to playing chess when she first picked it up.
Long Tianyu had been encouraging her by purposely letting her win eight out of ten games.
Whenever she could not find someone to play chess with her, the rather silly Zuo Qiuyu should appear and present himself.
“What do you guys have up your sleeves?”
Although Zuo Qiuyu could tell that the two people were acting, he was still not able to make out what they were up to.
“It’s nothing really. I just want to know what Sumei is holding in her hand. Rest assured that they know the limits. It wouldn’t lead to a fight.”
Lin Mengya quietly put down a chess piece and the surrounding white chess pieces were taken by her instantly.
Lin Mengya discovered by playing chess was as good as fighting a battle. One had to try to figure out what the opponent’s mind, and then think of a strategy to counter it. More importantly, he had to lure the opponent into his trap.
Basically, she would have won half the game if she was the active party taking the initiative in this chess game.
Playing chess was like living a person’s life. Something was fleeting while others had a lasting effect. A true expert would never allow his opponent to see through his intentions.
However, at this moment, Lin Mengya had not reached that level of competency yet.
“How are you so sure that what Sumei is holding in her hand isn’t something that will bring you harm?”
Given how the event unfolded, Zuo Qiuyu could tell that the thing Sumei was holding in her hand was meant to attack Lin Mengya.
Otherwise, why did Sumei end up having her eyes on Long Tianyu alone back in Square Town?
That had to be the reason. In terms of looks, Long Tianyu was indeed more good-looking than him. However, he was only a tiny little bit more handsome than him.
The cold and cruel Long Tianyu did not even know how to behave tenderly towards women. How could Long Tianyu compare with him, who was such an elegant gentleman?
Sumei must have an ulterior motive!
Surely Lin Mengya was not aware of Zuo Qiuyu’s narcissistic thought. However, Xiu was not around because Lin Mengya had sent her away to investigate on some matters.
From the information gathered by Xiu, Sumei was merely a tool used by her master against Lin Mengya.
In other words, Sumei was simply a resource to be depleted.
If she guessed correctly, Sumei would, by all means, follow them to the old capital city to attend the medical conference when they set out on the day after tomorrow.
Lin Mengya had wanted to keep this chess piece for use later during the medical conference.
However…
Although Lin Mengya refused to admit, she could not deny the fact that she could feel anger rising in her whenever Sumei threw herself at Long Tianyu.
This reaction was what everyone would call jealousy.
However, Lin Mengya refused to admit it no matter what. She just felt that it would be wise to get rid of this malignant tumor as soon as possible.
Lest she would continue following Lin Mengya and disgust her.
The quarrel outside soon ended.
It was needless to say that Zuo Qiuchen had eventual left in a rage.
Lin Mengya drew her attention back to the chess game.
Although she seemed to have the upper hand at this moment, being a novice at the game and inexperienced, there were flaws in her moves.
Zuo Qiuyu would be able to defeat her if he were a little bit more intelligent.
At this moment, there were two choices right in front of her.
On one hand, she could patch up at the loopholes and take one step at a time. On the other hand, she could go for a checkmate and attack her opponent and catch him unprepared.
In reality, this was not merely a choice to be made in the chess game, but all the more the situation she was facing now.
Lifting a chess piece, Lin Mengya hesitated and stared intently at the chessboard.
What should she do in order to emerge victorious in the end?
After pondering for a long time, Lin Mengya finally chose to put down her black chess piece.
Zuo Qiuyu looked at her and frowned. He did not understand the intention of this move of Lin Mengya.