Chapter 567 - Concubine Xians Request
By the time they reached the palace gate, there was already a squadron of guards waiting for them.
They entered the palace with the guards, and the officials were meeting the emperor in the court at this time.
When the officials, including civil and military officials, walked out of the court, they all bowed to Long Tianyu and Lin Mengya.
This was an unprecedented glory even in that dynasty.
Lin Mengya walked a half step behind Long Tianyu, with her head high and chest out. Her eyes were firm without any trace of cowardice.
She followed behind Long Tianyu in silence. For the first time in her life, she entered the gold hall where the emperor met his courtiers.
“The meeting begins—”
The voice of the minister of the Servants Administration reverberated throughout the Hall of Heaven and Earth. The civil and military officials walked into the hall quietly in an orderly manner. In an instant, Lin Mengya could feel some unfriendly gazes on her.
She didn’t need to look back to know where these gazes were from.
She knew that she had become a thorn in some people’s flesh.
“Here comes His Majesty—”
The emperor was dressed in a bright yellow imperial robe, giving off an air of grandeur.
Lin Mengya immediately lowered her head, afraid of offending the emperor.
After the emperor sat down on the throne, the officials immediately knelt on the ground and shouted “Long Live Your Majesty!”.
“Long live Your Majesty—”
Lin Mengya knelt down along with Long Tianyu in a well-mannered way, which showed how well she was trained in the past year.
Those who wanted to see her lose face had to put away their contempt for her now.
Lin Mengya, who had been regarded as a laughingstock by all the people in Dajin, finally cleared her name this time.
“You may rise up. Yu’er and Ya’er, come over here.”
As the emperor’s authoritative voice sounded, Lin Mengya stood up elegantly.
She walked up to the emperor of Dajin step by step, following behind Long Tianyu.
“My greetings to Your Majesty and Long live Your Majesty.”
This was the first time that Lin Mengya had met her father-in-law face to face.
“You may rise.”
At this moment, there was a hint of affection in the emperor’s majestic voice.
For some reason, Lin Mengya no longer felt nervous and managed to calm down.
She got up and stood beside Long Tianyu. When she looked up, she saw a serious yet loving smile on the emperor’s face.
“Your father has taught you well. He should be rewarded.”
It seemed that the emperor was in a good mood.
As a woman, Lin Mengya should not be involved in court affairs. Therefore, after she paid her respects to the emperor, she was led out of the hall by a servant from the Servants Administration.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Just now, she only got a chance to see her brother, who was wearing a court dress, and didn’t have any chance to talk to him before she left.
She heard from Long Tianyu that her brother had been promoted to General of Fast Cavalry, who was responsible for guarding the capital city. As a result, they would have fewer chances to meet in the future.
“Your Highness, please wait in this side hall. I will be at your service outside,” the servant said humbly.
Lin Mengya nodded slightly as she sat down on the chair in the side hall.
She was the only one left there.
Long Tianyu had told her that the emperor, who had just regained his health, wanted to see her.
However, she still didn’t know why the emperor wanted to see her, a woman, in the court and in front of so many officials. The whole thing appeared interesting to her.
No noble lady, regardless of their status, was allowed to enter the Hall of Heaven and Earth.
Yet, the emperor asked Lin Mengya to meet him in the hall. He must have other intentions except for showing his love toward her and Long Tianyu.
However, the emperor was a deep-minded man, so Lin Mengya couldn’t tell what his other intentions were.
“Her Highness, Concubine Xian, and His Highness, the 10th prince, have arrived—”
The voice of the servant outside pulled Lin Mengya out of her thoughts.
She stood up and tidied up her clothes though they had no folds at all. She had a gentle smile on her face.
“Forgive me for delaying coming forward to welcome you, my distinguished guest.”
As the soft voice sounded, a well-dressed beauty walked elegantly toward the side hall, surrounded by many palace servants.
Before the beauty, who was none other than Concubine Xian, and Lin Mengya could greet each other, a little boy dressed in a red dress ran out from behind the concubine and threw himself into Lin Mengya’s arms.
“Third Sister-in-law, I haven’t seen you for a long time.”
His childish voice brought a smile to Lin Mengya’s lips.
Lin Mengya held this child, who looked like Long Tianyu very much, in her arms. Looking at his raised snow-white face, Lin Mengya wore a bright smile on her face. It seemed that all the sorrow in her heart dissipated at the moment.
“My greetings to Your Highness. I was too busy to visit you and the 10th prince, please forgive me. How are you doing these days?”
Concubine Xian and Lin Mengya were old acquaintances, and because Long Yinghua liked Lin Mengya very much, the concubine was very warm to her.
“All of you may leave now. I want to have a chat with Princess Yu.”
The servants all left quietly. Concubine Xian held Lin Mengya’s hands as they sat together on the chair in the side hall.
“I know, if it weren’t for the medicine that you personally brought back from the Nation of Lintian, His Majesty wouldn’t have recovered so quickly. You helped us a lot, and I will never forget your kindness.”
Concubine Xian seemed to be affectionate as she spoke, and her beautiful eyes were filled with sincerity.
Lin Mengya shook her head slightly and put Long Yinghua, who had been leaning on her, onto her lap.
Looking at his round and lovely little face, she couldn’t help but kiss him.
“Oh, not at all. In fact, I saved His Majesty just to save myself. It’s just that the 10th prince is still young, so I’d like to suggest you make a plan as soon as possible, Your Highness.”
Lin Mengya didn’t have to say these words.
She said so simply because Long Yinghua was so cute and she liked him very much.
She didn’t want to see him suffer anymore.
“Alas, how could I not know that?”
Concubine Xian sighed with a worried look on her beautiful face.
“In fact, I came here to ask for a favor. Now, although His Majesty has recovered, the palace is in a very critical situation. To tell you the truth, half a month ago, if my son’s wet nurse hadn’t been vigilant enough, he would have died now. His Majesty might be able to protect me, but my son would have to suffer.”
There was a ghastly cold look on her face as she spoke.
She suddenly knelt on the ground, and her pretty face was streaked with tears.
“Your Highness, please get up quickly. I... I can’t bear this.”
Lin Mengya immediately went over, trying to help her up, but the concubine shook off her hands with a determined expression on her face.
historical
“Please let me finish my words first. Since I married His Majesty, he has been very kind to me, and I knew for the rest of my life, I would give my everything to him. However, now, it’s not peaceful in and outside the palace, and I’m in the imperial harem, unable to share His Majesty’s worries. I want to help His Majesty pull through all this even at the risk of losing my reputation. I don’t care if I die, but my son is innocent. So I hope you will take care of Yinghua for me from today on, Princess Yu. If destiny wants my son and me to meet again, I believe we’ll meet again. But if... if unfortunately, I die, you are the only person that can protect him.”
Lin Mengya felt pain in her heart after hearing those heart-wrenching words.
She knew that no mother in the world would like to leave their children and let others take care of them.
However, Concubine Xian couldn’t control even her own life after she married into the royal family. Her son now was her only concern.
However, this was not a small matter after all. Lin Mengya was afraid that many people would be involved. She didn’t want to bring Long Tianyu into trouble.
What was more, judging from Concubine Xian’s words, she seemed to be planning to do something very dangerous.
Lin Mengya furrowed her brows. For a moment, she was at a loss as to how to respond to the concubine’s request.
“Your Highness, please get up first. I do want to help you, but I have to discuss it with my husband first. How about you bring the 10th prince back first? I’ll try my best to persuade my husband. He always values brotherhood, so he will take care of the 10th prince, I believe.”
Concubine Xian nodded in dismay. However, she was aware that Lin Mengya was speaking the truth.
After tidying herself up, she went back to her palace with Long Yinghua, who looked a little upset.
Looking at the concubine’s back, Lin Mengya could not help but let out a sigh.
Even the concubine and the prince, whom the people outside the palace were envious of, were living such a life. What the life of ordinary people could be?
A while later, Long Tianyu appeared in the side hall.
Lin Mengya walked up to him, only to see a trace of anger on his handsome face.
She thought that he might have quarreled with someone in the court.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Lin Mengya, Long Tianyu took a deep breath to calm himself down.
“Let’s talk about it later. His Majesty has gone to change clothes, and he will come over soon.”
Lin Mengya nodded. Since Long Tianyu was so angry, this matter must be very important.
After thinking for a while, Lin Mengya told Long Tianyu in detail that Concubine Xian had just come over and asked her to take care of the 10th prince.
Unexpectedly, Long Tianyu didn’t look surprised at all. Instead, he just nodded and agreed to Concubine Xian’s request.
This made Lin Mengya feel relieved secretly. She had thought that it wouldn’t be easy for her to persuade him.
“Yinghua is innocent, and Her Highness, Concubine Xian—Well, we should take care of Yinghua in our mansion. I’ll have someone bring him to our mansion. I’m just worrying that it will disturb you if we keep him in your courtyard.”
Lin Mengya immediately shook her head and said with a smile, “No, not at all. Ms. Tian has brought up the three children in our family, and Baiji and Baishao had experience in taking care of younger brothers and sisters. Besides, you can feel relieved only if he stays with me, right?”