Chapter 460 - Hearts at Two Places
Chapter 460 Hearts at Two Places
Hopefully, Lin Mengya’s groundless fears would turn out to be harmless.
Zuo Qiuchen had sent men to caution them to be vigilant on their journey.
He had intended to join Lin Mengya and the rest on the trip, but he was tied down by certain matters in the court. As the emperor, he had no choice but to remain in Wangtian City. Nevertheless, he had made many provisions for Lin Mengya so the trip would be a smoother one.
“Many thanks to my Cousin Chen. Please make my gratitude known to him, and let him know that I will try my best to not disappoint him.”
The guard was after all Zuo Qiuchen’s trust man. Not only was he witty, but he was also meticulous. Lin Mengya could not help but be envious. She had to resist the urge to recruit this man for her own use.
“Yes. Your Highness, please do not worry.”
Lin Mengya watched the guard until he disappeared from her sight. Moaning for a moment, Lin Mengya finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had thought that the trip to the Pavilion of Herb would be the final destination for her in the Nation of Lintian. Little did she expect that this would turn out to be the beginning of something else when she found that the mysterious master behind Sumei was also going to the Pavilion of Herbs.
Someone with a familiar scent approached her from her back quietly so much so she did not realize it.
Turning her head, she spotted Long Tianyu’s long, slender fingers resting on her shoulder.
The coat which he wore had fallen on her body.
She was encircled by a warm feeling of being doted upon and surprisingly, a greedy feeling rose within her.
The anxiety in her mind was gradually calmed and suppressed. The desire to always rely on someone else was indeed a bad habit. However, if that someone was Long Tianyu, it gave her a good feeling about it.
“It must have been hard on you. If not for me, you wouldn’t have to worry about what’s happening in the palace while you’re here.”
Long Tianyu was taken aback by her words. He assumed he had covered it up pretty well, but little did he expect that nothing would escape her sharp observation.
“Don’t worry. My father, the emperor is doing well on his own. Moreover, he has Qinghan who waits on him.”
Long Tianyu tried to sound casual about it, but in reality, the emperor had time and again sent secret messages to summon them back.
However, for the sake of Lin Mengya’s injured arm, he had to fob off the emperor.
In fact, they had still kept something Zuo Qiuyu said from her until now.
Once they miss this chance, Lin Mengya’s arm would never be able to recover.
As Long Tianyu gazed at the girl in his arms, he did not regret what he did even though he had disobeyed his father’s wishes.
“Oh yes, there’s one more thing that I want to confess to you,” said Lin Mengya.
She turned around, her heart beating like a drum.
She looked down, feeling restless. She did not even have the courage to look into Long Tianyu’s eyes.
“To tell you the truth, I have found out long ago that the Concubine De in our mansion wasn’t the real Concubine De. Allow me to explain. I didn’t try to keep this from you purposely, but it had happened so abruptly that I had to weigh the pros and cons of telling you the truth back then. The real Concubine De had fallen into the Queen’s hands. I was afraid that you would act rashly out of anxiety, which might end up disadvantageous for Concubine De. You may punish me in whatever way you deem fit if you can’t bring yourself to forgive me. I promise I will deliver Concubine De out of the queen’s hand once we return to the Capital City.”
Anxiety was written all over Lin Mengya’s face. She feared that Long Tianyu would refuse to listen to her explanation.
She had not done so purposely. It was just because there were simply too many matters to attend to, and she had to deal with them as they came.
With a heart filled with guilt, she gazed at Long Tianyu with those timid eyes, fearing that he would misunderstand her.
To her surprise, Long Tianyu went into a daze for a moment, then he laughed bitterly and said, “Silly you, why would I blame you. If not for your quick wit at that time, I might have committed a grave mistake. Be it in the matter of my father or my mother, they could both suffer harm. Not only did you not make any mistake, but I should also give you credit for all that you’ve done.”
Long Tianyu tapped his finger gently on her beautiful forehead. He had not wanted to forgive her so quickly.
In fact, he had wanted to tease her and enjoy looking at her acting anxious.
However, she was too adorable. He could not bear to see how anxious she was for long.
“Do you not blame me for sure? I may have my reasons for keeping you in the dark, but I had indeed deceived you.”
With wide-opened eyes, Lin Mengya could hardly believe that Long Tianyu had so easily forgiven her.
Could she be dreaming?
“How is that deception? Do you hate deception so much?”
His thoughts turned so much so that his secrets, once suppressed by him, reappeared in his mind.
Long Tianyu had taken note of how Lin Mengya treated the people working for her.
In retrospect, Baisu was the one who deceived her first. Although she did many things thereafter, Lin Mengya had totally cut off their relationship.
But he…
At this thought, Long Tianyu felt an uneasiness brooding.
“That’s right. It doesn’t matter if it concerns some strangers. If it were someone I treasure and love, it would be difficult for me to forgive such betrayal.”
Lin Mengya replied with widened eyes, but the moment she finished her sentence, she felt a little guilt rising.
Her identity was the greatest secret in her life, but this was a secret she could never reveal to anyone.
In that instant, both of them were overtaken by their own troubles and the atmosphere became awkward and things seemed to have frozen in time.
Until Baishao came in to prepare Lin Mengya for bed, Long Tianyu, who had made his bed on the floor for days, was still unable to fall asleep.
Each of these two people who harbored unspeakable secrets was separated by a thin layer of muslin as a curtain.
Both of them tossed and turned because of their anxiety about the secrets in their hearts.
When dawn broke, Baishao entered the room quietly and was about to wake her masters so they could get ready for the journey.
To her surprise, however, Prince Yu was nowhere to be found in the room.
Raising her eyebrows for a bit, Baishao dismissed any further thoughts.
She lifted the veil in front of Lin Mengya’s bed and saw that her master’s brows were tightly knitted as if she had a fitful sleep the night before.
“Master, Master, wake up. We’ve to set out on the journey in a while.”
Baishao called out to Lin Mengya gently as she reached out to shake her master’s arm.
Soon, Lin Mengya, who was a light sleeper, was totally awakened.
Her eyes looked tired probably because she did not have a good night’s sleep.
“Has the prince gone out?”
She gazed casually at the floor and realized that Long Tianyu was no longer there.
Baishao nodded. She took out the set of clothes she prepared for her master and helped with adorning her.
It was a set of plum-color dress made from fine silk. Although it did not look especially refined, its material was top-grade and very comfortable.
She put on a hair clip on her jet black hair and wore a daggling ornament in the shape of a peony flower. Lastly, she adorned herself with the most novel silk flower of the Nation of Lintian.
Compared to her usual luxurious-looking dressing, this way of dressing made her look more fresh and lively.
This was Zuo Qiuyu’s idea. After all, the three of them were of different status. They would invite more trouble if they were out swaggering around.
Anyway, their faces were not familiar to the eunuchs and court officials.
If they hid their identities, it would help hoodwink people.
Therefore, they had transformed themselves into the looks of rich young men who were touring around. Baishao was happy to stay by their side to wait on them.
“Oh yes, haven’t seen Xiu for a while. Where’s she gone?”
No one knew how long it would take them to return from this trip.
Lin Mengya was keenly aware that the day her arm was healed would be the day they set out to return to Dajin.
For this reason, she had already settled all the necessary arrangements.
Baishao smiled as she helped her master straighten her clothes.
“Have you forgotten, Master? A while ago, Xiu’s uncle had come here. They must have missed each other very much. I even heard that Xiu send someone to ask you to go fetch her.”
Perhaps, Xiu’s uncle was worried for her and did not ask her to wander around.
Indeed, Xiu may be simple and adorable, but she was too bold. She was after all still a young girl. They suppose her uncle would come for her after some time.
It was not a bad idea to stay close with a relative, which was much better than following Lin Mengya around and thereby subjecting Xiu to all kinds of frightening situations.
“Erm, it’s time we get someone to watch her. Xiu had been a great help to us. If her uncle needs any help, please let him know that he may approach the stewards of Prince Shen’s Mansion anytime.”
When Baishao was done with the preparation for the trip, she went out to look for someone to pass the message.
Lin Mengya looked into the mirror at her pretty but tired face and told herself that she had to put aside her worries for now.
It was not time yet. When the time was right for her to reveal all her secrets, she would not keep it from Long Tianyu.
However, it was not the right time at the moment.
Soon, Baishao returned with a message to say that everything had been made ready.
Prince Yu and Prince Shen had quietly slipped out and ridden off on a horse.
The emperor had also quietly headed to the northern city gate where the army guards were to insert two of his own guards there.
This was done so that Lin Mengya and her company would be able to leave the city without being discovered.
However, Lin Mengya eventually encountered a little bit of trouble.
“Step aside.”
Just when she passed the courtyard in the middle of the mansion to get to the back gate, she ‘coincidentally’ bumped into a neatly adorned Sumei.
Lin Mengya was in no mood to get into an argument with her. It was more because she had expected that the Sumei, who kept lingering around her, would try all means just to follow Lin Mengya on this trip.
“Your Highness, where are you going? Look at how Elder Sister Baishao is dressed in plain clothes. I suppose you’re going out to play. How could you just have Elder Sister Baishao accompany you? I’m after all Prince Yu’s maid. How could I be not serving the masters by their side? That would be outrageous.”
Sumei seemed different today compared to other days.
She used to doll up every day, looking like some master who demanded to be served.
Today, however, she was only wearing a greenish-grey dress. She was neither wearing any accessories on her head nor having any makeup on. She must have taken advice from some wise man.
“My master had asked you to step aside. Are you deaf?”
Baishao scolded coldly. As she became more experienced, there was no mercy in her rebuke.
“You’ve misunderstood, Elder Sister Baishao. I merely wanted to follow the princess closely to wait upon her.”