Her sarcastic tone of voice gave her identity away. She sounded nothing like a magnanimous royal concubine.

Lin Mengya looked up and the corners of her lips curled up slightly. She was neither supercilious nor obsequious. On the surface, she seemed to hold high regard for Concubine De.

Nevertheless, someone with sharp eyes would be able to tell that Lin Mengya could not care less about Concubine De.

“Mother, I won’t forget any of your instructions, not even for a moment. Although I was out and about, I’m always thinking about you. I’ve brought home a present for you. Please take good care of your health.”

After she finished speaking, Lin Mengya picked up a long brocade box from Baizhi’s hands.

The purplish silver pattern on the box made it look extraordinary.

“Alright, that’s more like it. You seemed to be more conscientious now.”

It was not right to Concubine De to be unkind to a smiling Lin Mengya, who at least was trying to act polite. Since Concubine De could not find fault with her, naturally she could not pick on her.

Jingyue, who had been at Concubine’s service all this while, pulled back the curtains, approached Lin Mengya slowly and took the brocade box from Lin Mengya’s hand.

As she watched Jingyue carrying the box into the room, Lin Mengya lowered her head so that she could hide the sneer on her face.

The box had just been opened but immediately, someone snapped it close with a clap.

Although Lin Mengya’s vision had been blocked by the curtain of beads, Lin Mengya managed a glance at the surprised look in Concubine De’s eyes.

From what Lin Mengya saw, Concubine almost cried out in shock.

Nevertheless, Lin Mengya continued looking down and staying very still, which helped Concubine De keep calm.

However, when she opened her mouth again to speak, she could not help but there was a little tremble in her voice.

“Where did you find this dangling ornament worn by women?”

Lin Mengya finally look up but she had put on a clueless look on her face.

“In response to your question, Mother, the prince was the one who found this personally. I heard that this dangling ornament of a phoenix and peony is your favorite and that you’ve lost this dangling ornament a while ago and you were rather upset over it. The prince had specially looked for one that’s exactly the same, only that this one was not as exquisite as the one you had.”

At Lin Mengya’s words, the dagger look in Concubine De’s eyes softened.

However, she was no fool.

She glanced suspiciously at the figure on the other side of the curtain first. It was only when she saw that there was nothing fishy that she finally believed Lin Mengya’s words.

“Alright, I understand. It’s getting dark and you should leave.”

Lin Mengya did not make attempt to pester the concubine, so she took a bow and exited the main room of the Art Courtyard with the other three girls.

When they finally exit the main entrance of the Art Courtyard and Baiji was certain that the people inside would not be able to hear them, she opened her mouth and asked with caution, saying, “Master, you didn’t have to make this trip. It was only a dangling ornament that you want to present to the concubine. You could’ve asked someone else to deliver it. Concubine De was not short of complaints about you since you left on the journey with the prince. I was so afraid that she would make things difficult for you.”

Seeing that there was no one around, they supposed no one in Prince Yu’s Mansion would have the audacity to spy on them from now on.

“This trip was absolutely necessary for me. Going forward, the three of you can take it that there’s no need to oblige to Concubine De’s demands. Remember, without my permission, you are not to go to her regardless of what reason she gives. Do you understand?”

The three girls nodded in unison. Naturally, in their eyes, Lin Mengya was their one and only master.

At this juncture, they turned back to glance at the Art Courtyard, which was now overshadowed in darkness.

What was fake would be fake forevermore. There was no way she could become the real thing.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. An entire tea set made of Enamels and cloisonne enamels had been brushed off the mahogany table.

Instantly, the tea set had been dashed to pieces, each with sharp edges.

“Out with it! Did you purposely reveal the flaws? You slut, how dare you stab me in the back!”

The hideous face of the concubine was filled with rage that she failed to suppress.

With a forceful wave of her hand, the concubine’s nails, which had been painted the color of balsamine, made deep scratches on Jingyue’s plain face.

With a “Slap”, wrinkles appeared on Jingyue’s face like water ripples on a still water surface. Eventually, her skin began peeling off from the left side of her face as if it was unable to stay on it.

Jingyue raised her hand to her face and pulled down the much resented mask she wore.

In that instant, Jinyue, the maid who had been rumored to have died suddenly, showed up before Concubine De.

At this very moment, her haggard-looking left cheek was red and swollen from the slap.

Nevertheless, her eyes were filled with stubbornness and she gazed at the crazy woman in silence.

“Snort, don’t you wish that you could save that bitch by doing so! Let me tell you, the more Long Tianyu knows, the sooner that bitch would die!”

Jinyue was on her knees, keeping very still while she stared at the woman who had gone all hysterical.

It was only after some time that she opened her mouth to speak.

“Jingyue, you and I had served the mistress together since we were young. We were about the only people she trusted. Never did I expect that you would betray the mistress for riches and vainglory. You even wanted to take her place by force! Let’s not talk about how you keep me by your side all the time so that it was impossible for me to have any chance of doing what you accused me of. Even if I had the chance, I would never put the mistress’s life in danger!”

The tall updo on her hair was coming loose from all her agitated movements and her hair was beginning to look messy.

Although Jingyue’s head was decorated with ornaments of jade and pearls, they did not fit her angry face. There was no beauty at all so to speak.

With a scrunched-up face, she looked frighteningly vicious, especially her eyes.

Despite being adorned in good grade silk apparel, she could not match up to the real Concubine De’s distinguished air of elegance.

“Snort, what a loyal servant. I knew it was right to keep you. In fact, I should thank you. If not for your constant advice, how would I manage to keep everyone in the dark? I suggest you be good and obedient, anyway that everyone thinks I’m the real Concubine De. Even if you try to tell them the truth, no one would believe you. They would think you’re spouting nonsense.”

At this moment, Jingyue was only threatening in manner but cowardly at heart. She was obviously trying hard to look composed.

Her eyes went back to the dangling ornament, which was sitting intact on the table.

In that instant, a resentful look flashed across her eyes. She reached out to pick up the dangling ornament. The cool hairpin against her palm seemed to calm the fear in her heart.

She had overreacted. Now as she took a closer look at the dangling ornament, she realized that it was indeed more exquisite than before.

In addition, it was definitely newer than before.

Given Long Tianyu’s character, he would naturally lose his calm if he learned that his own mother had been stabbed in the back.

Jinyue had also been closely watched by her so it was not possible for her to furnish others with secret information.

Once she straightened her thoughts on this, Jingyue’s expression softened.

Sitting in front of the vanity table, she carefully put the new dangling ornament on her hair.

She then used a spruce wood comb to style her hair neatly.

As she looked at the reflection of herself in the mirror, she was very satisfied with how she looked.

“That makes sense. The new wouldn’t come if the old doesn’t go. The status of the concubine is rightfully mine. Yu’er should also be my son. That bitch had taken all these from me. Now, I’m merely taking them back. It’s getting late, will you tidy up this place? I’m going to retire for the day.”

In an instant, the violent and hysterical woman had reverted back to being the fake noble lady.

At this moment, Jinyue’s mind was raging with an intense resentment.

Nevertheless, for the sake of her mistress and Prince Yu, she had to yield for the time being and continue in this falsehood.

She bowed her head and reached out her hands to pick up the broken pieces from the floor one by one.

However, she could not help feeling even more worried. The emperor appeared to have seen through Jingyue, but he was waiting for the prince and the princess to come to the realization soon.

The maids in the Liuxin Courtyard had been busy the entire day and they were tired by the evening, so earlier on, Lin Mengya had already hurried them on so that they could return to their room to retire for the day.

At this moment, only Ms. Tian was left outside with a little bed, where she could carry out the night’s guard duty.

Lin Mengya had changed into something light, let her hair down, and was reading a medical journal in her hands while sitting on the bed.

It was necessary for Long Tianyu and her to make a trip to the areas affected by the pandemic.

However, she could not be completely certain if the disease had been caused by the poison or the pestilence.

After all, some preparations had to be made.

“It’s already so late. Take care lest your eyes become sore.”

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a red peony came into sight.

The smooth and delicate petals had taken the place of the many characters in the journal.

There was a fragrance in the air that lifted Lin Mengya’s spirit.

“It’s not the season of the peony yet, so where did you find the flower?”

Lin Mengya put down the book and held the gigantic peony flower in her hands. Smiling, she brought it close to her nose and gently sniffed.

“The gardener in the palace cultivates it occasionally. However, my father had refused to give me some, so I just took one stalk of the flower to bring it as a gift to you.”

As he spoke, he was unable to hide the exhaustion which was apparent between his brows.

Nevertheless, Long Tianyu tried his best to sound relaxed so that he could cheer Lin Mengya up.

“Thank you very much then. I suppose you’re exhausted and have you eaten?”

Seeing that Lin Mengya was about to get down from the bed, Long Tianyu reached out his hands to push her down back onto the bed.

He removed his outer cloak nimbly and started drying them before the fire. Thereafter, he crawled onto the bed and pulled Lin Mengya into his embrace, while she was still wrapped up in a blanket.

“Yes, I’ve eaten in the palace. I’ve reported to my father, the emperor, everything that happened in the Nation of Lintian. He was greatly pleased. He said it was a good thing to have intermarriage with the Nation of Lintian, so he told me to treat you well.”

Naturally, Lin Mengya was aware that she was the descendent of loyal subjects. Both her father and brother were united in their mind with the emperor. Together with her status as the Princess Anle of the Nation of Lintian, the intermarriage had become an honor awarded to a loyal subject.

Moreover, she was born in the Jin State. Despite being a princess of the Nation of Lintian, she did not have much connection.

In this way, there would be no fear of having her foreign relatives trying to take over the country.

Therefore, there were only benefits but no loss in any way. The emperor was no fool. He would definitely have thought over more things than her.

“From now on, you have to be more obedient. You will have to adhere to father, the emperor’s instructions.”

Lin Mengya smiled as she joked with Long Tianyu. She was much more aware than the others regarding how Long Tianyu treated her.