Chapter 297 - Every Dog Has Its Day
Chapter 297 Every Dog Has Its Day
The Empress and the Crown Prince were a pair of mother and son, who had different plans.
Both of them were hiding their own thoughts on the surface.
“It’s not your fault. But I hope that something like this will no longer happen. Your father is still on his sickbed. Many people in the whole Capital City, are watching you and me.”
The Empress warned him sincerely and earnestly, like a loving mother. Her reminder surprised the Crown Prince.
“Mother, she did not scold me in the least.”
For the Crown Prince, this was something unimaginable!
“Don’t you blame me, mother?”
The Crown Prince asked a tentative question. The Empress gave him a friendly smile.
“How could I blame you, my son. Nobody is perfect. You have made up for it and now your merits will offset any wrongs. Be cautious and thoughtful in future. You’ve been busy the whole night. Go back and have a rest. There’s still an important task of catching the rest of the assassins, waiting for you.”
The Crown Prince looked at the Empress and thought it was unbelievable. Was she the same mother who had treated him in an extremely strict way, since he was a child?
“Yes, mother. Please have an early rest, too.”
Even after his goodbye greeting and departure from Yongle Palace, the Crown Prince was still overcome by his astonishment.
“Are you alright, Your Highness? Did Her Highness blame you?”
Outside the palace, a beauty in a pretty palace costume, came out to greet him and looked worried.
The beauty was the Crown Prince’s new favorite, in place of Vice Princess Dugu, and was the best coquette of Capital City, Yun Jinyi.
Vice Princess Dugu was superficially kind. But Yun Jinyi, the ever best beauty of Capital City, had not only an excellent appearance, but also had the art of winning people’s support, more than anyone else.
She just spent half or one month seducing the Crown Prince, and making him besotted with her.
“Jinyi, my mother did not blame me. Does it mean that mother has already given up on me, and does not care about me anymore?”
The Crown Prince held Yun Jinyi tightly in his arms, like a drowning man clutching at the last straw.
The Empress always banned him from visiting whorehouses, let alone allowed him to bring a whore back to his house. He had asked to bring Yun Jinyi to his house publicly. But the Empress did not chide him. Instead, she gave him a small pouch, specially blessed for sons.
Yun Jinyi reached out her hands and held his shoulders.
Both of them were embracing each other closely, as if there were no one else around them.
“No mother would not love her child. Your Highness, you have been too busy recently, so you think too much. Her Highness considers you to be an adult. The control of Dajin will be placed on your shoulders one day. The more you experience, the better it will be for Dajin, right?”
Yun Jinyi’s voice was soft and only a few comforting words from her could soothe a person.
The Crown Prince lost himself in the beauty in front of him and her gentle smile. His heart was softened by her words as well.
“She’s right. Mother must have realized that she treated me too strictly in the past.”
“I’m the only son and the real Crown Prince of Dajin. Mother has high expectations of me.”
“I think too much. Right, I think too much.”
“No hatred between mother and son, can last until the next morning, Your Highness. You don’t need to worry about Her Highness. You should consider how to deal with those people who are coveting the position as the Crown Prince.”
Yun Jinyi tried to persuade him in a gentle way. While holding her in his arms, the Crown Prince was thinking of how to scheme against Long Tianyu.
Suspicions about Long Tianyu had almost been cleared, but those members whose relatives were killed, still wanted an explanation.
The Crown Prince was considering taking advantage of their anger. No matter how powerful Long Tianyu was, he was still not powerful enough to defeat them yet.
Borrowing a knife to kill a man was the best plan.
Besides, Lin Mengya was now confined in the palace. In February, General Lin would return to the frontier to guard Dajin. Then, Lin Mengya would not be able to run away from his control!
Lin Mengya had no idea that in the Crown Prince’s eyes, she was already a sheep in a tiger’s mouth, and allowing herself to be given up for slaughter soon.
The Empress’s maid led Lin Mengya to a small dirty and isolated courtyard.
Lin Mengya watched the tangle of overgrown weeds, and just smilingly shook her head. “Every dog has its day. Today, it’s my turn to live in an abandoned house.”
“Master, why are you still laughing? Even a mouse would not like to stay here. We are servants and can bear it. But what about you?”
Baizhi complained. She never expected the Empress to be such a mean woman.
But Lin Mengya did not care about the terrible state of the house, and she looked around her.
It was dilapidated. But it was open with a low wall. When looking out from the door, everything could be seen clearly, and so anyone trying to spy on them could be spotted easily.
“Shangguan Qing was restrained by us in a dirty house before, right? The Empress is trying to let us experience the same. It’s fine. Let’s go and see.”
But in fact, the Empress did not mean to let her live in a broken down house.
The furniture in the room were old, but still functional.
The room was commodious. There was a smell of mold in the room, though.
“Master, wait a moment. You’re not in good health and can’t bear the cold. There is a heated brick bed. You just wait a minute and don’t come in until we warm up the room.”
Baiji and Baisu had already gone to check the room. Lin Mengya wanted to clean up the room, but Baisyu stopped her and made her sit down on the stone chair outside.
The stone chair was covered with an old, heavy quilt, which was neither cold nor tattered. Lin Mengya wore thick clothes and did not find it freezing.
“Is Princess Yu resting out there?”
Suddenly, a deep, low voice came from outside. Lin Mengya looked out and saw a gray figure approaching.
“Greetings, Eunuch. Princess Yu is right here. What’s the matter?”
Baisyu immediately came to greet him, as she politely replied.
Although the man in front of them wore a gray eunuch’s costume, he still looked upright and serious, different from those indifferent, cunning eunuchs.
“How sweet your maid is, Your Highness. A good master always has good followers. I was instructed by someone to send several things to you. A night in the palace is long and hard to endure, Your Highness.”
Lin Mengya took a closer look at the eunuch in front of her, and found him vigorous, but with white hair.
His clothes were clean and tidy, especially his neckline and cuffs were very smooth.
A big basket hung on his arm, but his shoulders were still held high. Lin Mengya understood that he was a man who practiced kung fu.
“Thank you. It’s so cold today. Sorry to bother you to have to come with these things. I just got here and can’t serve you a cup of warm tea, sorry.”
Lin Mengya behaved in a natural and graceful manner, and did not look awkward for being under others’ control.
A wisp of appreciation flashed over the white-haired eunuch, and he cracked a bigger smile.
“You don’t have to do that, Your Highness. My name is Yu Qiang. In the future, we may meet each other many times. You’d better sleep early, Your Highness. It’s cold at night, but the wind by day is more chilling. Come on, little girl, take it. Don’t lose it. If there’s anything you want, just send someone to Servants Administration. I’ll leave then, Your Highness.”
Yu Qiang placed the large basket on the ground.
After making an obeisance, he turned to walk away.
“Thank you.”
Lin Mengya shouted her thanks at his back.
She did not need to guess because she knew clearly that there must be daily supplies in the basket.
“He must be one of father’s old friends.”
“Ah! It’s the best silver charcoal! Look, here’s a hot water bottle and winter clothes, Master! Oh? This is weird! Master, look at this, what is it?”
Lin Mengya turned around and saw Baizhi rummaging in the basket. The silver charcoal was enough for them to use for many days.
Moreover, she found a small, green, jade pendant in Baizhi’s hands.
Lin Mengya immediately took it back from her, and looked around, out of the corner of her eyes. “Luckily, there’s no spy outside.”
“Ssh, keep it to yourself, do you know? It’s more important than my life.”
Lin Mengya straightened her face and tried to scare Baizhi. Baizhi immediately opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth, nodding very hard. Looking at how lovely Baizhi was when she was nervous, Lin Mengya burst into laughter.
Baizhi always acted impetuously, but she knew clearly what was important.
She would never give away anything, in relation with Lin Mengya’s life.
“Alright, let’s stop waiting for them. If there are only the three of them cleaning the room, I think, I can’t sleep well tonight. Come on. Let’s go and help them.”
Five women cleaned the room together, and soon it became a new room.
The yard was old, but the room was not that old. When the brick bed and charcoal were heated up, it became warm in the room.
Damp quilts could not be used, otherwise, their bodies would suffer, because women’s bodies are fragile. But Yu Qiang sent three warm, dry quilts to them, and they were protected from the coldness of the winter night.
“It would be better if there were sweet potatoes and chestnuts. Oh, I recall that Master and I stayed up late on New Year’s Eve, when we were still in our house.”
Baizhi twitched her nose and said.
The palace was full of precious things, but was not warmer than the lights outside.
“Don’t be silly. Nobody can enter the palace at will. Early tomorrow morning, the three of you can go out of the palace.”
Lin Mengya tried to speak in an even tone. But the three maids fell silent at the same time.