Chapter 438 Poor Work

When finally Long Tianyu and Zuo Qiuchen put down their bowls and chopsticks simultaneously, they looked into each other’s eyes with tacit understanding.

Guixi finally breathed a sigh of relief. These two men were not eating but they looked more like they were fighting a battle.

He was so worried that these two noblemen would get into a fight over a piece of goose meat, but the two seemed to have mutually agreed not to pick up something from the same dish at any one time.

Unknown to him, the two men had been testing each other during the meal, so that they had come to some kind of gentlemanly agreement while eating.

“Thank you for your kind hospitality.”

Long Tianyu’s expression seemed to show that he had relaxed just a little. Regardless of Zuo Qiuchen’s motive, at least Long Tianyu had not seen anything amiss.

Moreover, Zuo Qiuchen was obviously trying his best to save Lin Mengya.

In this light, Long Tianyu could temporarily let down his guard against Zuo Qiuchen.

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. We are one family after all. Oh yes, can you tell me why you have made a trip to the Nation of Lintian this time?”

Regardless of whether Zuo Qiuchen was sincere or that he had any ulterior motives, as an emperor, his attitude towards Long Tianyu was hard to come by.

Long Tianyu hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to be honest with Zuo Qiuchen.“I see that you’re here for the purpose of looking for the Prancing Dragon Herb. My father was still alive, your quest would be fulfilled easily, but now...”

Zuo Qiuchen furrowed his brows slightly. He was surprised to learn that the first thing his little cousin wanted upon her return was to lay hold of the Prancing Dragon Herb, which was as good as the national treasure of Lintian.

“This matter is crucial to the safety of Dajin. I would be forever grateful if Your Majesty is so kind to grant the herb to us.”

It was known to all that the Prancing Dragon Herb was the national treasure of Lintian.

All Long Tianyu could do, however, was nothing other than to plead with Zuo Qiuchen sincerely.

“It’s not that I’m reluctant, it’s... Forget it, since you’re asking for it, I’m not giving it to outsiders anyway. I will try to find it as soon as possible. To play safe, I will send men to bring it to Dajin secretly. You and Mengya should stay here first. I’m certain all eyes would be on you since something this serious had happened to you.”

Long Tianyu did not expect things to proceed so smoothly.

He had expected Zuo Qiuchen to set some conditions. Never did he expect Zuo Qiuchen to agree in such a straightforward manner.

Long Tianyu could not help but waver in his opinion of Zuo Qiuchen.

Regardless of whether Zuo Qiuchen desired to do him a favor or that he was trying to build a good relationship with Dajin, his mannerism with alacrity did not warrant aversion.

As Long Tianyu watched Zuo Qiuchen leave with his guards in a hurried manner afterward, he could not help but admire Zuo Qiuchen.

If this man wished to build a good relationship with someone, it would almost always be a success. It was no wonder the hearts of the people of Lintian were tightly in his grasp.

The skillfulness by which he plotted and strategies were definitely not what a common person possessed!

The night was far spent, but the entire Prince Shen’s Mansion remained brightly lit at every corner.

The supply of medicine and tonic from the palace that continued to stream into Prince Shen’s Mansion.

However, only a small portion of them entered Prince Shen’s room. The majority of them ended up being delivered to the room of Princess Anle, whom people heard of but had not seen.

Currently, the emperor’s care and concern for Princess Anle had reached its peak.

In addition, he would send men over every four hours to check on her. In fact, the candles that lit up the way leading from the palace to Prince Shen’s mansion had all melted into inch-tall stumps of wax.

It would seem that within a night, everyone in the City of Wangtian already got to know this Princess Anle, whom the emperor adored dearly.

Within a night, Princess Anle had become the envy of the people at every corner of the city.

Long Tianyu who was confined in the walls of Prince Shen’s Mansion certainly had no idea about all this.

He cast an anxious glance at Lin Mengya. After he made sure her condition was stabilized, Long Tianyu went on to take a stroll on the grounds of Prince Shen’s Mansion.

The maids and servants who were going about their business in the mansion were aware that this handsome man was someone of high status, only that he did not like to interact with people.

They simply greeted with a bow and proceeded to carry out their duties.

Although Prince Shen’s Mansion was not extensive, it was rather quiet in the backyard because most of the people in it were gathered at the main courtyard.

The further Long Tianyu walked, the deserted the place became, and he opened his senses to the surrounding. He kept walking until he came to a tasteful little courtyard where he stopped, after making sure there was no one around.

“Your Highness, please forgive your servant for my negligence!”

Ling Ye, Long Tianyu’s secret bodyguard, whom Long Tianyu had not seen for a long time, appeared behind Long Tianyu with his head bowed as he spoke with a hoarse voice.

Suddenly, Long Tianyu gave Ling Ye a kick to his chest.

In that instant, Ling Ye flew out and landed against the wall with a bang.

Although it was a hard kick, Ling Ye was startled but did not make any noise. Only that blood started flowing out of the corner of his mouth.

Long Tianyu had been merciful to have spared his life.

“What happened? Were you not the one who recruited those people? Why were there traitors among them?”

Long Tianyu’s face hardened and the extreme coldness in his deep-set eyes seemed about to explode out of his eyes.

If not for the fact that this secret bodyguard of his was his confidante since young, what remained would have been a corpse lying on the floor by now.

“It was my negligence that resulted in the princess getting hurt. I’m ready to receive my due punishment, Your Highness.”

Indeed, Long Tianyu was the one who had organized Ghost Face and his company to appear.

So did he plan for the crossbow arrows to rain down. It was a ruse of self-injury so as to lure Lin Mengya to hand over the music score for the green stringed instrument.

Otherwise, Ghost Face would not be so obedient to agree to the conditions set by Lin Mengya, to have them released.

Never did he expect the plan to be upset by an accident.

The man in black had struck suddenly. Not only did that destroy their plan, but Lin Mengya was also severely injured because of that. This was unforgivable!

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“Surely you deserve to die, but what I want you to do now is investigate into this and find out who exactly was behind all this. Once you find the clues, you must eliminate these culprits completely.”

“Yes, I will proceed straight away.”

Ling Ye struggled to get up, and his pale face was completely expressionless. To Ling Ye, to live was to carry out all of the prince’s commands.

“You go back and tell him that I’ve fulfilled what he wanted me to do. However, from today onwards, do not do anything against Lin Mengya. I won’t even give him permission to do so!”

Long Tianyu’s voice carried gravity and authority. Ling Ye turned around and disappeared into the night.

It was only after a long time that Long Tianyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He might be able to deceive all the people in the world, but he would never want to deceive Lin Mengya.

However, he was given no choice this time. He had to do it.

He would use the rest of his life to make it up to her slowly.

For the first time, he resented being a member of the royal family. However, he would not have her if he were not Long Tianyu.

He could only hide this turmoil in his heart and suffer alone silently.

He believed that Zuo Qiuchen was not lying to him about the Prancing Dragon Herb. However, he had a feeling that Zuo Qiuchen must have his reasons for what he did.

No matter what happened, at least he could save Lin Mengya’s life.

Regardless of when Lin Mengya would wake up, he wanted to by her side when it happened. He would absolutely not leave her side.

As time passed day by day, Zuo Qiuyu seemed to recover favorably. After using the unlimited amount of miracle-working pills and medicine, Zuo Qiuyu with an excellent physique could soon get down from his bed to move around.

His condition was much better than that of Lin Mengya.

Waiting was an agonizing affair. Zuo Qiuchen always rushed over after he adjourned the court.

The moment Zuo Qiuchen arrived, Zuo Qiuyu, who was supposed the mansion’s master would become like a pitiful abandoned child.

Fortunately, since Zuo Qiuyu made known the fact that he was Lin Mengya’s cousin, it was only natural that he showed concern towards Lin Mengya.

Apart from the royal princes whom Zuo Qiuchen had blocked from entering, Zuo Qiuyu became the only royal family member who was allowed to stay by Lin Mengya’s bed.

However, after witnessing Lin Mengya’s condition which remained stagnated, he, as a physician, could not help but be anxious.

“My dear little cousin sister, you’ve been asleep for so long. Won’t you wake up and look around? Do you know that the Zuo family consists of so many male descendants and you are the only female? We’ve waited for you forever. Since you’ve come, don’t you think you should open your eyes to look at all your male cousins?”

Zuo Qiuyu had been nagging at Lin Mengya for countless times by her bed.

Although only a few days had passed, Long Tianyu had lost a great deal of weight. With stubbles all over his sharpened chin, he appeared wan and sallow.

Apart from eating and sleeping, he mostly stationed next to Lin Mengya as he continued attending to Lin Mengya’s every need without caring for himself.

He would be doing else other than sitting by her bed and holding on to her in a daze every day throughout the day.

“Cut the nonsense. If you disturb our cousin as she rests. I will make void your princely status. What did you promise me when you left? How could you be living when Mengya turned out this way?”

The tone with which Zuo Qiuchen spoke to Zuo Qiuyu, his own brother was always cold and mean.

However, Zuo Qiuyu never got upset. At most, he would talk back once when provoked. Thereafter, he would lean forward onto Lin Mengya’s bed and nag at her to wake up soon.

On the other hand, Long Tianyu did not seem perturbed by the presence of the two brothers. He simply sat there and kept his eyes on Lin Mengya.

Suddenly, he caught sight of Lin Mengya’s finger on her left-hand made a movement.

Long Tianyu rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrongly.

However, he was surprised to see Lin Mengya’s left hand, which he was holding gently, moved once again.

“Stop arguing! She’s moved!”

Long Tianyu bellowed in agitation and immediately, the room became quiet.

All eyes were turned anxiously to the girl lying on the bed.

“Mengya, Mengya, are you awake?”

Long Tianyu called out softly as he waited cautiously and expectantly.

It was at this moment that her left hand moved once again, and everyone clearly saw the movement.

Long Tianyu felt as if her hand was grasping his heart and every moment of her hand was more important than the beat of his heart.