“Um… Can you refuse?”
The implication for the nine generations of Lin Mengya’s family meant that anyone who had a relationship with her, would be beheaded. Baizhi touched her slender neck. “I want to live longer.”
“If I refuse, that would be taken as a disrespect to the royal family and I did not follow the rules. The blade will be waiting for me as well.”
Lin Mengya smiled and said calmly.
“You will die whether you put it on or not. I think, the Empress is really eager to take your life.”
Baizhi, while she pouted and complained, and her eyes brimmed over with worries.
“Well, can we make another dress?”
Her sparkling eyes focused on Lin Mengya, as she gave this proposal. But before Lin Mengya could answer, Baiji shook her head, with a bitter smile.
“We can’t. The dress was made from materials that were given as tributes. Look at the thread. We cannot find threads like it from ordinary folk. So if you want a new dress, you have to go to the Palace to get the cloth and embroidery threads, otherwise, even God could not help you.”
Baiji was a master and her words proclaimed the impossibility of their plan.
Baizhi let out a sigh, while clutching her small head. She could not figure out why so many people were hankering for Lin Mengya’s life.,
“Master has a charming face. Even if she keeps it here, you will feel better after looking at it. Why do they always want to do something to Master?”
“Don’t worry. Now that the little girl is sitting so calmly, I believe, she must have a solution. Little girl, tell us, what good ideas you have, in order to calm them down?”
Qinghu knew Lin Mengya would not fold her hands and wait to be captured.
The Empress’s plan was quite beneath her dignity. But she did indeed put Lin Mengya in a dilemma, merely through a dress. It proved that the Empress’s plots would be much more skillful than that of the Crown Prince, if she tried her best to remove Lin Mengya.
This time, it was just a warning to her from the Empress.
If she failed to solve the dilemma, Lin Mengya would be killed. If she solved it, there would be more difficult situations waiting for her, in the future.
“What can I do? Clean my neck to prepare to have it chopped off, together with you guys. I’m not God. Where will I find so many custom codes?”
She fondled Snow and the baby tiger. In winter, the two would run and play in Liuxin Courtyard, in a majestic-looking manner.
Under the care of her people, both of them had already grown.
But after all, they were not like cats or dogs, raised in an ordinary home. Lin Mengya intended to release them back to nature, when they grew up.
So it was time to develop the wildness in their blood.
But when touching their pliable jaws, she could not bear the thought of letting them go.
She did not discover this before, but she was now under her cats’ paws.
“Master, stop scaring us. You won’t look so composed, if there is no solution, will you?”
Baishao was calmer by nature, and this was how she differed from Baizhi, who was going mad because of Lin Mengya,
After enduring all kinds of difficulties, she did not believe that her master would submit so easily to such a tiny problem.
“There’s no way. I mean it. Oh, Fox, don’t forget to bring them with you, when you escape, when my head gets chopped off. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease, when I go down to hell.”
Lin Mengya found it entertaining to keep making jokes, which would make Baizhi tense for a few days.
Her maids were cleverer. Only Baizhi was truly scared by her words. The other girls looked even calmer than her.
Baisu just stood out there, and looked on them, and kept her mouth closed.
Lin Mengya silently shook her head. “These girls are becoming smarter and can see through my jokes.”
It was really a dilemma. But she was not an ordinary woman.
But Lin Mengya wondered what the Empress was thinking of, when she masterminded such a public plot.
“Ah! I’m going to be beheaded. I should eat more desserts at Restaurant Ruyi. Master, I’ll go there and enjoy my feast. Don’t leave me any dinner!”
Then, Baizhi rushed out, leaving a room of people trying to hide their smiles.
“Such a little girl. Obviously, she wants to eat extra desserts. Being scared is just an excuse.”
After their kidding, Baiji, Baisu and Baishao went about doing their own work. Only Qinghu, Lin Zhongyu and Lin Mengya were left in the room.
With all its instincts as a feline animal, the baby tiger fall asleep in her arms. Snow also laid down by her feet, and fell asleep.
The two shameless tigers occupied the closest places to Lin Mengya directly and publicly. Qinghu and Lin Zhongyu suddenly wanted to hunt them.
But, it could only be a thought.
They knew Lin Mengya loved the two tigers. If they were hurt even a little, she would skin that person alive!
“What do you know about the Empress?”
Lin Mengya asked calmly. She already got used to their unreasonable jealousy of the baby tiger and Snow.
“Not much. The Empress possessed the real power behind the Shangguan family when she was unmarried. She was decisive and determined, very powerful.”
Lin Zhongyu replied calmly. He was from another state, and of course he knew little about the secrets in the Palace.
“I heard that the Empress was an affectionate lady. She fell in love with the Emperor at first sight. At that time, the Emperor had a crush on another woman. But under all kinds of coercion, he agreed to let her be the Empress. For all these years, there were no rumors about their dislike for each other. I guess, the personal enmity between herself and her mother-in-law, makes her keep an eye on you.”
By comparison, Qinghu gave more details.
Lin Mengya frowned slightly.
It was right that the Empress was a skillful operator. But she was surprised to hear that the Empress fell in love with the Emperor at first sight. She did not look like the sort to have a sentimental nature.
“Another misinformation?”
“After entering the Palace, Concubine De obtained the Emperor’s love. She almost reached the position of the Empress. So it stands to reason that the Empress has been fighting against Concubine De. After all, a kind woman would not be able to keep her own position in the Palace. I remember that the Emperor fell ill just as he was about to confer the title of Imperial Noble Consort on Concubine.”
At that time, Lin Mengya was still an innocent girl, hiding in her own room.
What she knew, were what she overheard when Shangguan Qing talked to the others.
But she had a good memory and kept them in mind, even though she heard that only once. That year, the force in the northwest gained a complete victory, while the south had an excellent harvest.
On both sides, the Jiang family made their efforts, thus, the Emperor had the idea to bestow Concubine De with the title of the Imperial Noble Consort.
The Imperial Noble Consort ranked only second to the Empress, and had the right to assist in managing the imperial harem. It was really a high status.
But the Emperor was down with an illness. So it had postponed for a long time already.
“Was there any connection between them?”
“That’s right. I heard that the edict to confer Concubine De with the title of Imperial Noble Consort had already been prepared. But unexpectedly, the Emperor fell sick suddenly. Since then, nobody has mentioned it.”
Qinghu knew more about what happened that year, than her. But it looked really like a coincidence. Even though Concubine De became the Imperial Noble Consort, she stood up to the Empress as an equal.
And how dare the Empress poison the Emperor?
“Am I thinking too much?”
“Oh, a few days later, I’ll enter the Palace. I’ll keep Baisu company. Take care of the other three girls, understand?”
“What? Enter the Palace?”
Lin Zhongyu and Qinghu asked this question at the same time. It was rare.
Lin Mengya nodded and then told them everything about entering the Palace to treat the Emperor.
“No! I don’t agree! Sister, are you insane? That old woman wants your life even before you enter the Palace! If you go there now, then you’d be the babe in the woods!”
Lin Zhongyu stood up, and his charming eyes were filled with anxiety.
“Silly, even if I stay at home, it won’t be better. And I will just go and take a look. I will come back as soon as possible, if I fail to cure the Emperor. But if I can do it, the whole Jin State will be grateful to me. Then, the Empress can’t hurt me, can she?”
Lin Mengya gently explained, as she grabbed his hands and pulled him closer to her.
The boy in front of her, had a face as fair as a piece of jade and eyebrows that were as beautiful as a picture. What a overwhelmingly charming appearance!
But his eyebrows were furrowed tightly. She reached out her jade-like fingers and tenderly smoothed away the creases between his eyebrows. She already knew that both of them would say no, when she told them about her plan.
“Little girl, I disagree too. Don’t forget that, the Imperial Palace is a ruthless, greedy hell. If you enter the Palace, Xiaoyu and I are unlikely unable to keep you safe, should you encounter any danger. You have managed to escape from danger several times. That’s your luck. Listen to me, Long Tianyu is not worth it.”
Qinghu’s narrow eyes were filled with worries about Lin Mengya.
In daily life, he always laughed and played jokes, but in the critical moment, it was Lin Mengya he cared about the most.
“Don’t rush to stand against me. It has not been settled yet. And the Imperial Palace is not a place I can enter as I wish. God will make the decision for me.”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login