This was the most exciting part to watch. Lin Mengya continued to watch and observe without any inhibition by the window.

Initially, there were only three figures, but soon, more came that made up a total of five.

Long Tianyu furrowed his brows a little because he discovered that more people had entered the courtyard.

However, those who arrived later were like those who arrived earlier in that they too did not possess any martial art skills.

This was strange. Given that there was only one big ice cube in there, why did all these men want to gather inside?

The presence of so many men created quite a stir outside.

Under Lin Mengya’s special arrangement, the four men in the two rooms had fallen into such deep sleep as if they were dead. There was no sign of the men coming out of the rooms to interrupt them.

Those shadowy figures could no longer be bothered about the surroundings and became bolder.

Never would they imagine that every move of theirs had been watched by people.

The number of shadowy figures increased to a dozen. Eventually, with the help of those figures, they managed to transport an extra-large box out of the living room after much effort.

Lin Mengya found it amusing to watch those few people carry the wooden box out with much effort. Moreover, in order to minimize the sound they made, they were all hunched over from the labor at this moment.

A playful Lin Mengya tugged at Long Tianyu’s hem and pointed towards those figures.

When they exchanged looks, Long Tianyu immediately understood the cunning intention in Lin Mengya’s eyes.

With a flick of his finger, a small pebble shot out and hit the knee of one of the men noiselessly.

“Ouch! My foot!”

In that instant, the box crashed onto the foot of one of the men. He could not bear the pain but cried out in agony, but someone covered his mouth immediately to smother his voice.

“Quiet! Don’t raise an alarm!”

Lin Mengya almost burst out laughing and Long Tianyu shared her sentiment.

Given what had happened, someone would attend the competition with a crippled leg.

Might as well. This was the price to pay for being covetous.

Finally, the box was being transported away. Lin Mengya stood by the window and looked on as those shadowy figures disappeared into the night. Soon, the corners of her mouth curved into a sneer.

Initially, no matter why Nan Rui had given the box with an abstruse secret to Zuo Qiuyu, he merely wanted Zuo Qiuyu to be the scapegoat.

After all, Zuo Qiuyu was a member of the royal family. In fact, he was the emperor’s blood brother. Given his exceptional power and status, this matter would only be an activity for their own people and a few of their trusted aids.

For this reason, there was only a handful of people in the entire Pavilion of Herbs who knew the truth.

As for the others, they might not have the intention of becoming the Chief Elder.

Therefore, she had purposely allowed Yu An to get into an argument with the disciples guarding the entrance and then go into the cold storage and stay there a while.

Finally, she had even picked a less conspicuous route to transport that block of ice.

From all the signs, one was able to tell that everything Yu An did had been instructed by Lin Mengya.

Naturally, many people would think that Yu An was carrying something important out of the cold storage.

In this case, they would of course be many who would get close to Lin Mengya, looking for treasures.

Unfortunately, these people were not aware of Lin Mengya’s style. Otherwise, they would not be willing to come looking for bad luck.

As those men went further away, those disciples who were guarding the entrance had also been sent away with an excuse.

Actually, there was nothing in the large box. Apart from the huge block of ice, she had instructed someone to gather some rocks.

This box was what she used to carry her valuables and at that time, it was already very heavy.

During normal times, these people would never use their hands and shoulders to carry heavy things.

It had been rather tough for them to carry this burden away.

Only after making sure that there was no longer any movement outside, the two rooms quietly lit up with candle lights.

“Your Highness is like a prophet who foretells with accuracy. Those men had indeed come to steal the box. Wouldn’t they blow their top when they find out that there’s nothing inside the box?”

Yu An covered his mouth when he spoke, gloating over those men’s misfortune.

At this moment, Lin Mengya also lifted the funny-looking sack over her head. Her eyes were sparkling with chilly light.

Look, they can’t wait to get into a dogfight with each other. Do you think they will find out so quickly that the box contains only a block of ice and some rocks? Nevertheless, they would suffer total loss because I’ve put some items in the box.”

Long Tianyu and Zuo Qiuyu simultaneously turned to look at Lin Mengya with puzzlement.

This lass was truly cheeky. However, if she said she had placed something in the box, it had to be something extraordinary.

“Alright, since the spies had been led away, it’s time we begin working on serious matters.”

They had known that Lin Mengya was definitely not doing this out of grudge.

There was a doting look in Long Tianyu’s eyes. It looked like he was a parent bragging about his child.

Behold his wife, how intelligent, how witty!

In one accord, Zuo Qiuyu and Yu An chose to ignore the man’s pride.

After all, there was something more important to attend to at this moment.

The four of them changed into the night attire Lin Mengya had prepared earlier so they could be out and about in the dark.

Although the inner courts of the Pavilion of Herbs were occupied by their disciples and chemists, there were after all guards who were in charge of patrolling the premise.

This was especially so around where the elders live. Their accommodation, including Elder Chang’s, was guarded and protected during usual times.

It was not difficult for Long Tianyu and Zuo Qiuyu, with their skills in martial arts, to keep themselves invisible from those guards.

It was when Lin Mengya saw how Yu An nimbly leaped off the wall that she suddenly come to the realization that she was the only encumbrance among the four of them.

Thankfully, Long Tianyu did not mind. Instead, he held her in his arms and leaped over the wall of the courtyard.

The four of them had only one goal in their minds.

Too many things had happened in the inner courtyard today. They believed that all persons concerned had not gone to bed yet.

Regardless of whether it was Nan Rui, Duanmu brothers, or the Qians, would have gathered their accomplices to make plans for such a great matter.

For this reason, when Lin Mengya and her companions arrived at their destination, they were met with only two groups of patrolling soldiers and two guarding disciples who were so bored that they were swatting flies.

Those men merely felt a gentle breeze when the four of them nimbly leaped over the wall that was slightly taller than the height of a man.

After they landed gently on the ground, Lin Mengya finally broke free from Long Tianyu’s arms.

Turning around, they scanned the surrounding environment. Fortunately, it was very quiet and they did not see anyone around.

“What are we going to do here?”

Zuo Qiuyu, feeling perplexed, raised his eyebrows as he queried.

If he was right from his observation, this was the pharmacy in the inner courts of the Pavilion of Herbs.

More importantly, the qualifying round for the position of the Chief Elder would be held here tomorrow.

However, he had already distinguished himself to become the first candidate to qualify for this round.

Why, in the first place, did Lin Mengya stir up such a great commotion?

“Of course it’s to cause destruction!”

Thereafter, she swaggered into the pharmacy.

The fragrance of the herbs here was more intense than that in the Imperial Hospital of Dajin. The Shen Nung system was instantly activated.

Even Lin Mengya was shocked at the colossal amount of herbs stored here.

If not for the exceptional circumstance they were in, how Lin Mengya wished she could take a tour around this tip-top, legendary pharmacy in the world!

She shrugged her shoulders in disappointment, then she sneaked into the pharmacy with the other three in the dark.

“It’s so dark here, Your Highness. How would you know where to look for the herbs they will be using?”

Yu An was exceptionally excited. Perhaps it was because he had been suppressing the excitement in the past.

Since he started working for Lin Mengya, it was as if a new door had opened for him every time Lin Mengya played a mischievous prank.

His expression told of how much more than Lin Mengya he was itching to have a go.

“I suppose it’s the innermost room.”

Lin Mengya sniffed for the scent in the air, then she reached out and pointed at the dark pharmacy.

In reality, they were merely lucky.

If not for the reason of fairness, no one was allowed to enter the pharmacy these few days if there were no official reasons.

Otherwise, there would usually be some disciples taking turns staying in the pharmacy every night.

Therefore, the four of them were not surprised when they saw the large, black padlock on the door when they reached the innermost part.

“This is truly the place. Mengya, your nose is even more sensitive than that of a dog!”

Zuo Qiuyu gazed at Lin Mengya in surprise.

Although Zuo Qiuyu was aware that Lin Mengya’s sense of smell was many times more sensitive than normal people, he did not know that she was able to tell the differences between the various herbs by their scent.

“This is not the time to lick her boots. We’ve to think of a way to get this thing down. Otherwise, we would have wasted our trip.”

Lin Mengya did not think it was a big deal. With the help of the Shen Nung system, it was a matter of time before she was able to sort out even ten thousand different kinds of herbs.

Moreover, from the onset, she could already tell from the scent of those men that they were different from the rest of the people in the Pavilion of Herbs.

Based on the flow of the process, the candidates were supposed to come to this place to submit their solution once they managed to solve their questions.

Therefore, she only needed to analyze and decide which of the scents belonged to which elder exclusively. Naturally, she would be able to find the place.

She would not have resorted and carried through this tactic of luring the enemy away from his base if she did not have a surefire plan.

A crispy “Crack!” sounded in the dark.

Lin Mengya gazed at the expressionless Long Tianyu, who was holding the large black padlock in his palm, then she gave him a thumbs-up.

The education received by the royals had proven to be elitist. If they were even able to cultivate such a skill, they must be fantastic.

Long Tianyu smiled gently, turned around and pushed open the door to the pharmacy.

Instantly, the overwhelming fragrance of the herbs made Lin Mengya furrowed her brows.

Although the room was not in complete darkness, it appeared rather bizarre under the shine of the moonlight.

Long Tianyu was about to enter first when Lin Mengya reached out to stop him.

“There’s a secret mechanism here.”

Her words made the other three stop in their tracks immediately.

The four of them parted sideways by the door. Apart from Lin Mengya, the remaining three people were wearing a perplexed expression on their faces.

A secret mechanism? Where was it? None of the three men had noticed anything amiss.

What on earth did Lin Mengya find out?