The High Priest’s another visit made differences both inside and outside the imperial palace.

Xiaoyu went out early and returned late every day, said to be assisting the Emperor to track down the “murder” who hunted down the priests.

Lin Mengya knew better than anyone that they were unlikely to track down the “murder” in this life.

She turned to look at the so-called information report containing numerous words on the desk.

Showing a weird smile, she thought the wealth and power turned out to be built on a series of lies.

When lies were related to the country, they became tactics.

The best politicians were also the best liars.

After seeing through the truth, she found politics was nothing more than this.

“You’re here, Sister Helan! Madame wants to meet you!” There came Ningqiu’s voice.

She was in awe of Helan despite their close relationship.

But she had to keep her identity in mind all the time. Apart from being loyal to Madame, she had no other choice.

It was not that no one had tried to draw her over to their sides, but she was clear-minded despite her young age.

If she betrayed Madame now, she would betray her new master for the same reason in the future.

This kind of person generally would die the most miserably.

“Okay, I’ll go right away,” Lin Mengya said in a soft voice, while her complicated smile was replaced by an expression as gentle and agreeable as the spring breeze.

She casually put away the fake information report on the desk and followed Ningqiu to the chamber of the Fengyu Court.

Glancing inadvertently at a corner, she found an unfamiliar figure came into her sight, so she asked, “Ningqiu, is there any newcomer in our place?”

The Shen Nung system enabled her to identify everyone in the Fengyu Court immediately.

Although the figure was inconspicuous, she identified it at once.

Ningqiu stared at Helan, who suddenly came to a halt, with a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Looking in the direction of her line of sight, Ningqiu pondered for a moment and came to a sudden realization.

Ningqiu said, “She is not exactly a member of our courtyard, but a palace maid who works in the greenhouse and delivers some new flowers and plants here every half a month. These flowers and plants are supposed to be changed every other day, but Madame thought it troublesome, so she asked them to come here every half a month. What’s wrong? Is there anything wrong?”

Lin Mengya turned around and shook her head gently. The palace maid, who was holding flowers and plants, did look like a person working in the greenhouse.

However, her keen sense of hearing enabled her to identify the faint tinkle of the bell a moment ago.

If she did not mishear, the bell should be the one the dual-pupiled man gave the Eldest Prince a few days ago.

As she expected, the visit of the High Priest made him lose his cool.

“Let’s go, don’t make Madame wait too long,” Lin Mengya said.

It seemed that she was going on another adventure tonight.

Hopefully, the two abnormal men would not do anything hideous as last time.

The chamber was as elegant and luxurious as ever, but the scent of sandalwood in the chamber seemed to be stronger than yesterday.

The palace maids, who served Madame Jingrou in the chamber, left automatically as soon as they came.

Everyone knew that Ningqiu and Helan were Madame’s trusted maids, and the other palace maids didn’t have to get in and serve Madame with their presence.

What was more, Madame, who had frowned since this morning, seemed to be bothered by something.

“You’re here,” Madame Jingrou said.

After turning to glance at Lin Mengya with her pretty eyes, she turned back to focus on the Buddhist sutra in her hands.

Lin Mengya nodded. She and Ningqiu stood quietly beside this gentle and beautiful madame to serve her.

It was not until Madame Jingrou finished chanting the Buddhist scriptures silently that she put down the sutra and sighed softly.

Then she asked, “Have you heard about what happened to Xin Luan?”

She was aware of the plan to hunt down the priests, so she was presumably worried about the High Priest’s another visit.

“Yes, the High Priest has returned to the imperial palace, and His Majesty has specially sent many people to protect him. I believe that no one will dare to hurt him again,” Lin Mengya said.

No matter what the result of the assassination was, they would not take any follow-up action.

In fact, from Lin Mengya’s perspective, she hoped that the High Priest could come back alive.

After all, compared with the perverted Xin Li, this ambitious and tactical High Priest was at least a normal person.

With him around, Xin Li would have a hard time.

“Follow me to meet him,” Madame Jingrou said.

Today, she was reticent with complicated emotions in her beautiful eyes.

Lin Mengya could somewhat empathize with her sentiment. After all, she escaped from the Xin Family back then.

Others might not be able to understand her uneasiness when she was about to meet her relative.

The imperial palace was as extraordinarily bustling as usual, but Madame Jingrou had adopted an even lower profile recently, so she didn’t run into any open provocation.

On the contrary, given the conflict between the Empress and the priests and those rumors later, the palace servants had changed subtly.

In order to survive in the imperial palace, they required keen observation.

Since the trend in the imperial palace had changed, they must suit their actions to the current situation.

Along the way, almost everyone treated Madame Jingrou with great respect.

Moreover, a few palace maids, who had relied on their masters to disdain Madame Jingrou, showed flattering looks in their eyes.

Lin Mengya knew very well that they were not fools and were aware that the Empress would gradually lose her power and influence in the imperial palace.

Even if her son ascended the throne in the future, those tribe leaders, who held grudges, would never forget the tragic deaths of these priests.

Although it was difficult to manipulate people’s hearts, it was easy to fan the flames.

By now, the men she sent had spread the news from the imperial palace to those tribes.

She would give the Empress no chance to turn things around.

They halted on the way from time to time, and before long, they arrived at the Xiannan Hall where the High Priest resided.

Madame Jingrou was overwhelmed by emotions with tears welling up in her eyes.

Lin Mengya was a little curious. Weren’t the members of the Xin Family supposed to be painful memories for Madame Jingrou? Why did she…

“Sis! I finally get to see you!” There suddenly came a somewhat tired and low voice from inside the Xiannan Hall.

Then, a middle-aged man in white clothes strode up to them and put his arms around Madame Jingrou’s slender waist openly.

“Sis, we haven’t met each other over the years. You’re still so ravishing,” he said intimately, which surprised Lin Mengya.

Judging from Madame Jingrou’s tone when she talked about him, wasn’t she estranged from him?

Why did the two of them act like siblings now?

“As a grown man, you still act so frivolously. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by others?” Madame Jingrou said in a softened tone, staring gently at her cousin who was only a few years younger than her.

She, who had frowned all this morning, finally showed a softened expression at this moment.

Lin Mengya could clearly see that they seemed to have exchanged some information when making eye contact just now.

When she tried to find out what it was, their eyes returned to normal.

That was strange!

“I was too excited. Sis, please come in. I heard that my nephew is back. I haven’t seen him earlier. Have you brought him here?” Xin Luan said.

Although he had loosened his grip of Madame Jingrou’s waist, he still dragged her sleeve intimately.

Lin Mengya finally had the chance to size up the man said to have won the position of the High Priest as the head of a branch of the Xin Family.

His facial features could only be considered ordinary.

To be honest, the members of the Xin Family she had seen, including Xin Li, Madame Jingrou or Xiaoyu, all looked astoundingly fascinating.

But this High Priest, whose appearance could only be described as above, or even a tad below, was far from a charming man.

Lin Mengya was aware that men could not be judged by their looks.

Although the High Priest couldn’t be considered as a handsome man, his ordinary facial features made him look reliable.

He suppressed the sparkle in his eyes, which made it impossible to see through his mind. If you tried to know more about him, you would discover he was invulnerable as if surrounded by unbreakable walls.

Moreover, when talking with Madame Jingrou, he didn’t act like a powerful and influential person but gave out an air that could not be neglected.

Xiaoyu’s uncle was quite a formidable man.

Lin Mengya followed the two of them into Xiannan Hall that was neat and tidy without any unnecessary decorations.

Nevertheless, there were a few voluminous books on the desk. Xin Luan seemed to have been reading before they came.

Lin Mengya looked around without attracting attention and found no decoration other than the books.

Furthermore, there was no palace maid other than a child dressed in blue clothes serving him in the hall.

Presumably, this High Priest was quite a simple person.

“I didn’t bring Yu’er with me. Every day he went to assist his father to track down those who attacked you. By the way, are you hurt?” Madame Jingrou, who felt guilty, asked with concern.

Xin Luan shook his head brightly at once and did not seem to take the assassination seriously.

Then he said, “Of course not. I’m just an insignificant person and not their target. But I have to stay in the imperial palace for a period. Sis, I hope you don’t mind my short stay.”

He seemed to say that inadvertently, but Lin Mengya secretly raised her eyebrows.

Although she had just met Xin Luan, the High Priest, she gained a general understanding of him.

His plain room indicated that he was not interested in seeking a life of pleasure and comfort.

Meanwhile, it also indicated one thing: he was extremely cautious.

However, his words obviously meant more than he said.

Madame Jingrou was stunned for a moment, but she realized what he meant quickly.

She maintained a gentle look in her beautiful eyes and showed no flaw.

She stopped talking about the assassination with Xin Luan, and the two of them started to talk about the old days enthusiastically.

Only Lin Mengya, Ningqiu and the child dressed in blue were allowed to stay in the hall to serve the siblings of the Xin Family while listening to their stories.

Lin Mengya thought it a pity that the two of them seemed to have a tacit understanding and deliberately avoided mentioning anything crucial.

It might have been a good opportunity to get to know Madame Jingrou’s past.

Unexpectedly, the two of them did a perfect job in keeping their secrets. They were indeed the members of the Xin Family who were difficult to deal with.

“I heard that Li’er has been chosen as the next High Priest?” Madame Jingrou asked.