"Looks like you all still do not have respect for me. Then leave, I don’t need followers who are unwilling to submit to me."

The young girl’s rejection had stirred up Lin Zhongyu’s dissatisfaction.

There was a hint of youthful innocence in his impassive voice.

Lin Mengya looked on coldly, but thought that Xiaoyu had done the right thing.

It was required for a master to be assertive and decisive.

If a master is overly assertive, he would lose his servants’ loyalty; however ,if he is too soft-hearted, his servants would think that he is weak.

"Qingluan wouldn’t dare! Please forgive me, Young Master. I’m at fault, Young Master, please forgive Qingluan!"

The young girl panicked. She was only trying to follow instructions. She did not expect her young master to be so adamant.

Lin Zhongyu’s expression was one of indifference. He was relentless.

"Your Highness, Princess Yu, Qingluan was at fault. Will you please put in some good words for me to my master, so he will stop being angry with me?"

She was indeed a clever girl. Knowing that her way was not going to work, she turned to Lin Mengya for help.

Lin Mengya could not bear to reject her request when she saw the desperate expression on her face.

She walked up to Lin Zhongyu quietly and stood behind him, put out her hand and tugged at his sleeves.

"Alright, stop being angry. Look at how you had scared her."

Lin Mengya’s words was like a miracle pill, which immediately relaxed Lin Zhongyu’s serious facial expression.

"I will allow you to remain here because my elder sister had pleaded on your behalf. However, do remember that from now on, you have to show more respect to my elder sister, even more than the way you respected me."

"Yes, Qingluan will adhere by your instructions."

It appeared that Xiaoyu had always pulled a straight face in front of his subordinates.

This must be the reason why the young girls seemed to breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Lin Zhongyu relaxed.

historical

Lin Mengya wondered how this young man was like when he was not in her presence.

"From now on, you will not be called Qingluan. I will call you Baisu. You will be staying by my side at all times to protect me. Do you get it?"

Lin Zhongyu was careful and meticulous, considering the name Qingluan could create some problem for Lin Mengya.

Lin Mengya was proud to see that Xiaoyu was attentive to even this small detail.

"Yes, Baiyu will submit to your instructions."

As Baisu got up, Lin Mengya realized that she was just a young girl around 15 to 16 years old.

She did not understand what the people in these old times would allow a child to become a bodyguard.

She wondered where this young girl stands in term of her skills in martial art if compared to Qinghu.

"Rest assure, Big Sister. Although she is not as skilled as Qinghu, she is still considered highly skilled compared to the other common fighters."

Lin Zhongyu added, as if he could read Lin Mengya’s the doubts in her mind.

Lin Mengya nodded, believing that was sufficient to protect her.

At least she was not as perverted at Qinghu.

"Alright, I’m keeping her with me. You should go get some rest, it’s getting late."

Lin Zhongyu nodded and returned to his room to rest.

The moon was shining bright. Lin Mengya headed to the small pavilion, thinking over the events that happened during the day.

There was not only the incident of the attack.

There was the matter about Baizhi as well as Elder Sister Yueting. She would have to think up solutions for their problems.

"Are you not going to sleep yet? Beware that your face will become wrinkled from the lack of sleep."

The voice of Qinghu echoes through the courtyard and as Lin Mengya turned her head around, she spotted his tall silhouette under the moonlight.

"Do you recognize the owner of this object?"

Lin Mengya asked, staring at the trigonous dart in his hand.

"Erm, when I was working in the past, I’ve seen this object somewhere. But I can really pinpoint whom it belonged to, just I remember this person was someone noble, maybe a subject in the royal courts."

Qinghu’s reply made Lin Mengya frown slightly.

"A subject in the royal courts? Could it be the Crown Prince?"

It seemed rather reasonable to think this way. The Crown Prince had wanted to set up a marriage for convenience with King Ming, but his plan was time and again upset by Lin Mengya.

However, something was amiss if one were to think more carefully.

If the Crown Prince and the Queen wanted to attack her, they had a lot of choices and did not need to take the risk of planning such an attack.

Although the group of men in black had appeared abruptly, they had treated as quickly as they appeared.

It appeared to be a show they put up for her to watch.

"They must have used someone else to attack me, so they could put the blame on others."

Regardless, she believed that this trigonous object would eventually be traced back to the Crown Prince."

Whoever was the mastermind behind all this would just sit back and watch the fight.

If Lin Mengya really started to fight with the Crown Prince, she would be letting whoever was behind be get what his way.

Qinghu started looking serious for once.

When he was out in society, all conflicts and problems were so solved by either fighting or killing.

However, he had observed how Lin Mengya had time and again experienced a close shave with death after he came to work for her.

The person in authority could easily annihilate an entire clan just by giving an order and no one could refute this.

Even if one were to be very powerful, he could be overturned in the twinkling of an eye.

Lin Mengya had to watch every step as if she was treading on ice.

"Lass, why would you want to stay in this mansion and be a princess? What about you follow me to travel around bohemian."

Apparently, Qinghu did not care much about status and power in society. Otherwise, he would not have spent three years of his time by Lin Mengya’s side.

"Bohemian? What is it like in there, sly fox?"

In her present life, Lin Mengya had also fallen in love with some so-called knight errant.

After knowing Qinghu, she had gradually got to know what bohemian was about.

Conflicts and fights were inevitable around people.

One would not be able to defend himself against the secret attacks even if he was highly skilled in martial arts.

"The so-called Bohemian is not much different from here."

After pondering for a moment, Qinghu suddenly smiled.

He spoke in this manner, sitting beside Lin Mengya.

"I was brought up being kept indoor in a mansion. While the other boys were learning kicks and punches, I was learning the skill of charming people."

Lin Mengya was learning bit by bit about Qinghu’s past when at this moment, he had let down his guard.

Although he had been a through a lot in life, he had this carefree look about him.

Nevertheless, his fists were held tightly by his side at this moment.

"When I was eleven, I was the most beautiful thing the nobles and wealthy people could boast about. From that year onwards, I was always by the bedside of the nobles and wealthy men who loved other men. Even up to today, many of the senior subjects in the courts were once my clients."

A hateful look momentarily flashed across his eyes, but Qinghu quickly hid it behind his careless facade. He had only allowed LIn Mengya to see the side of him which was filthy.

"Later on as I grow older, my master had a new toy and so he sent me to Peach Blossom Dock. Then I became what you see of me now."

It was rumored that Qinghu was rather temperamental and unpredictable.

However, who would have imagined what kind of inhumane abuse he had gone through since he was young.

He was not crazy, neither was he an idiot, nor was had he gone berserk. He was at the best possible state he could be now.

"You are also my friend, Qinghu. If there’s anything you dream of doing, do go ahead, because I will give you all my support."

Qinghu shook his head, smiled and said,

"I will not revenge on them since these things are of the past now. Moreover, many of them were punished because of me. It is enough for me to know that for a fact. Anyways they are all aged by now, but I’m still young and beautiful. In this light, I’m completely victorious over them!"

He was back to his cheeky disposition, however, Lin Mengya seemed to be burdened even more.

If Long Tianhao was likened to her parents who provided all her physical need and an overbearing big boss, and Lin Zhongyu was her adorable little brother, then Qinghu would be an unconventional yet trustworthy big brother.

She was a very lucky girl, who, within a period of three months, had benefitted so much from these people.

At the pavilion, Lin Mengya had also, for the first time, revealed a little bit about herself.

"Actually, I also don’t quite belong in this world."

Apart from Qinghu who heard what she said, there was another person who overheard their conversation.

Long Tianhao was standing not far from the pavilion, looking at the two of them in the pavilion.

Although Lin Mengya did not have a loud voice, he still managed to hear everything clearly.

Did not belong to this world? Did she feel that all that fighting happening in the mansion was too frightening for her?

He must have neglected this point. Although she was unique in her thinking, she was a fragile woman after all.

Every now and then, there would be people eyeing on her, wanting to bring harm upon her, so much so that she had to live in fear all day long. He felt he had failed her in this sense.

"Night, you are to always stay by the Princess’s side from now on, so that she would not meet with any harm. If anything happens to her, you’ll be punished with death."

Ye, who had never left the prince’s side since he was young, was now given to serve the Princess just like that.

The usually composed and calm Ye looked a little shaken up for a second.

In the past, his master had only instructed him to protect the princess for a few days. However, now his master was completely handing him over to the Princess.

Good heavens! Are you running a fever, Prince Yu?

"I know your martial art skills surpass that of Qinghu, so I know you two will be able to keep her safe even if she were to meet with an army. Just remember what I say, to protect her so that she would not get in harm’s way.

Ye was the most outstanding of all his shadow guards, who had saved him from danger countless times.

However, he did not know why he could so easily choose Lin Mengya’s safety above his own.

Perhaps it was because it would be too troublesome to look for another princess like her if Lin Mengya were to die.

As these thoughts run through his mind, he had the urge to stay on in Liuxin Courtyard to listen to what Lin Mengya had to say.

"I have something I’m very curious about. The rumor about you being an idiot had gone viral in the capital city. However, I had seen with my own eyes that you are indeed a very very cunning person."

In his thirty odd years wandering around in the bohemian, he had not met anyone who could outwit him.

However, he had always failed to take advantage of her in the many times they clashed.

For this reason, Qinghu was perplexed.

"That’s because you’re too dim-witted! In fact, I used to be a real idiot. However, I was subjected to too much shock that day in the bridal sedan. I only remembered that there was a bright light that flashed across my eyes. That’s when I became like this."