“What did you say? It’s a death sentence for slandering the princess!”
Jinyue’s severe look gave Lin Mengwu the shudders. Shangguan Qing had been through big storms in life, not to mention a young maid.
Even Concubine De’s face of gloomy thunder had never evoked any fear in her.
“I’m telling the truth. The people outside do not know what goes on in here, so they say that I’ve imprisoned Ya’er here because I’m jealous of the Duke’s late wife. I am the only one who knows the truth. Why should I bear this stigma alone if not for preserving the family’s reputation?”
If Lin Mengya were to witness such a dramatic act, she would applaud her for her superb showmanship.
Perhaps she would even carry a stool here and sit herself down to enjoy the show while eating a packet of sunflower seeds.
Concubine De did not want to believe what she said, but the fact was that Lin Mengya and the maids by her side had indeed disappeared.
At that juncture, there seemed to be no way for Concubine De to deny the accusation.
“This matter concerns the reputation of the princess household. Let’s wait for Ya’er to return before making any decisions.”
She was clearly not taken in by the claims of this mother-and-daughter pair.
Concubine De wore a cold look on her beautiful face.
Needless to say, Lin Mengya was not the type who would elope with a man. Even if she did, Madam Lin should not have said this out loud.
This matter concerned the integrity of the prince’s household and it should not be taken lightly.
“Sigh, forget it. Since Ya’er married into the family and started to serve Your Highness, all the servants treated her with such great kindness. I’m too ashamed to continue staying on. Once we find Ya’er, I’ll leave with Wu’er to return to my house tomorrow.”
She dabbed her teary eyes again as she secretly thought that her acting was not as effective as she had expected.
She stole a glance at Concubine Du’s severe face and called to mind what her elder sister said about her, that Concubine De was a proper lady from a respectable family and she abhorred such shameful acts.
However, it was apparent that she was trying hard to safeguard Lin Mengya’s reputation in all that she said.
Had Concubine De been taken in by this little slut?
She was exactly like her shameless birth mother who was so skilled in enticing men.
“Both Ya’er and Yu’er are currently not in the mansion. Whatever wild guesses we make would not be accurate. You’re Ya’er’s stepmother and the consort of Marquis Zhennan. Isn’t it premature to draw a conclusion to something which you can’t be certain yet?”
The expression of Concubine De’s face was ashen.
She never expected Madam Lin to use such vicious words on a family, even if Lin Mengya’s was merely her step daughter.
A disgust began welling up as she began to loathe Shangguan Qing.
“As you said, I must have been too reckless with my words. Alas, where will we be able to find Ya’er?”
Shangguan Qing was, in fact, asking a rhetorical question, because she was the one behind the entire set up.
She had actually conceived this idea from the queen’s suggestion to come to Concubine De to accuse Lin Mengya of committing a shameful act.
However, judging from the outcome, it seemed that her plan was ineffective.
However, this was not a problem for her as long as Lin Mengya stayed out the entire night. By then, Prince Yu’s wrath would not be abated no matter what Concubine De said.
She supposed Lin Mengya would not be able to stay longer in this mansion after this.
“The princess is back! The princess is back! Your Highness, the princess is back!”
The joyful cried of the servants sounded and everyone turned to look outside the house.
What they saw was an elegantly dressed, smiling Lin Mengya hurrying into the house with Baizhi, her young maid.
“Greetings to Concubine De. Please forgive my trespasses.”
A look of satisfaction appeared on Shangguan Qing’s face in that instant.
She had returned so late and even changed her clothes. Who would believe her even if she denied that she had gone to meet another man?
“Where did you go, Ya’er? Don’t you know that everyone in the mansion would be worried about you?
Concubine De’s face fell a little when she saw how Lin Mengya was dressed.
Even if she did not secretly meet up with another man, anyone could accuse her of infidelity now.
What should she do? What if Yu’er misunderstood her? That would be creating another wave of commotion.
“Third Sister-in-law had been the center of attention today, even I as your little brother is a little jealous of you. Mother, you’ve to however me with more love!”
The voice of Long Qinghan sounded right after.
He was holding a folding fan in his hand when he walked into the room, pretending to be upset.
“Oh, you! Hasn’t your third elder brother been so doting? Where have you been these days?”
The frown on Concubine De’s face eased the moment she saw Long Qinghan.
She had been the one to raise this child. He was different from Yu’er in the sense that Han’er was a more delicate child who acted coyly around her.
She naturally doted on him more than others.
“I’ve come to pay respect to you, Mother because I’ve just returned from a long trip. I’ve meant to give Third Sister-in-law a surprise as their wedding gift. Who would’ve expected that Third Elder Brother is so sweet towards his wife that I’m beginning to be jealous.”
Long Qinghan was a free-spirited, handsome young man, who always wore a cheeky face, which was why he was more well-liked by the people than Long Tianhao.
After bowing respectfully to Concubine De, he sat down next to her, still wearing a cheeky smile which made him so likable.
“Oh? What happened again?”
Concubine De looked lovingly at her little boy, which finally helped in calming her nerves.
Han’er had after all returned with Ya’er and she supposed that nothing like what was rumored had really happened.
“Isn’t it so? The visiting ambassador from the western foreign land had gifted Third Elder Brother with a golden dress made of silk. Initially, I thought I could ask him for it so I could give it to my girlfriend. Who would have expected that right after Third Elder Brother accepted the dress, he passed it straight on to Third Sister-in-law? Looks like he no longer cares about me, his little brother!”
As Long Qinghan spoke, he pouted and gave Lin Mengya a look.
At this moment, Lin Mengya played along with him and hanged her head as an indication of her shyness.
In an instant, the atmosphere was filled with a romantic feel.
Who would have imagined Long Tianhao, who was nicknamed the cold and aloof prince, would be so mindful of his wife?
“In that case, I would give the dress to you as a gift if you don’t mind.”
Lin Mengya looked up and smiled sweetly.
It looked as if she was trying to tell everyone that she was Long Tianhao’s love.
“I’m not going to take away something so precious to you. Third Elder Brother would skin me alive if he were to find out!”
Long Qinghan said, shaking his head vigorously.
Concubine De had more or less understood what happened.
Yu’er must have wanted to give the dress to Ya’er as soon as possible.
However, Ya’er had gone to the temple with Concubine De.
Perhaps Yu’er had taken Ya’er away so she missed the coming back with Concubine De.
It was all but a false alarm.
“How would your Third Elder Brother bear to skin you alive? Stop fooling around; tell us how did you end up coming back with your Third Sister-in-law?”
Concubine De could more or less guess what happened.
Nevertheless, she wanted to clarify everything lest Lin Mengya be falsely accused.
“Sigh, Third Elder Brother made me run errands to and fro. Mother, you’ve to pay me for doing this! I ran from the inn to the mountain temple, and then escorted Third Sister-in-law back to the inn. These trips to and fro had taken a toll both of my legs!”
All the people finally understood what happened after listening to Long Qinghan’s explanation.
It was all because Prince Yu doted on his wife too much, thereby resulting in all the misunderstandings.
Lin Mengya smiled quietly as she listened to Long Qinghan making up all the stories.
However, she was certain that the story of how Long Tianhao doted on his wife would go viral after this incident.
“I see, so I’ve said that Ya’er is such a lovable obedient child. I don’t believe that she would do anything to ruin the family’s reputation. Madam Lin, it’s getting late and I would like to take a rest now. Ya’er and Han’er, you may stay.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu’s faces turned ashen.
They were counting on Lin Mengya not returning home for the entire night, so her rumor would go around and be taken as truth.
Never would she expect that Prince Yu would escort Lin Mengya back here at the eleventh hour.
The mother and daughter pair was so embarrassed that they quickly excused themselves and left the Art Courtyard.
“If anything like this happens next time, please send men to inform me. Look at how much chaos this had created in the mansion and people were starting to make wild guesses and spread rumors which were ruining your reputation.”
Lin Mengya sat quietly beside Concubine De, smiling demurely.
“Ya’er, your stepmother…, in a large family like ours, although something cannot be avoided, you ought to keep reminding yourself to be more careful so that no one could find faults with you.”
Concubine De was naturally unhappy that Shangguan Qing and the Queen conspired together.
There were various rumors floating around, and Concubine De felt it was really tough for Lin Mengya to have such a stepmother.
“Ya’er understands, I must have worried you, Mother.”
She did not expect Shangguan Qing to malign her straight after she was kidnapped.
She pondered and concluded that there had to be some connection between these two.
“Alright, I’m really getting exhausted, you may leave now. Jinyue, get 1200 worth of silver for Han’er as a reward for escorting Ya’er back.”
The cunning smile which broke out immediately on Long Qinghan’s stirred up Lin Mengya’s curiosity.
Everything that was on this lad’s body, from top to bottom was top-quality stuff.
Why was he smiling so brilliantly just because of the 1200 worth of silver for a reward?
Long Qinghan and Lin Mengya then exited the Art Courtyard one after another.
It was only after Lin Mengya had finally arrived in Liuxin Courtyard, where she resided, she relaxed the smile on her face.
While it was tiring pretending to be serious, it was even more tiring pretending to be sweet and obedient!
Lin Mengya wondered how Long Qinghan managed to find Lin Mengya halfway through her return journey.
“Mistress, finally you’re home!”
The moment Lin Mengya entered through the gates to her courtyard, her maid together with Lin Zhongyu immediately lunged toward her.
A few other faithful maids standing at the patio were also smiling happily when they saw Lin Mengya.
There was a saying which goes that one would be able to see the true colors of people when they had been through difficult times. Lin Mengya had always been wary of these maids.
From their reaction today, Lin Mengya thought some of them were worthy of promotion.
“Look, don’t I look fine? Don’t you be upset and anxious any more!”
Lin Mengya, held on tightly by her maid and Lin Zhongyu on either side, entered her room.
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In the room, Baishao was seen glued to a chair. This heartless maid was only concerned about whatever delicious food she could get her hands on.
“What happened in the temple, Miss? Why did you return only now?”
From the way everyone in the courtyard asked her a series of questions, Lin Mengya knew that they were sincerely concerned about her.
However, now was not the time to answer their questions.