Chapter 32
Chapter 32 Boudoir Game
“Princess, you…” Jinyue was hesitant as if she had something to say.
But her master and the servants in the room were immersed in the joy of becoming a nouveau riche.
Jinyue smiled and shook her head, then stepped back and gently closed the door of the room. Her behavior was indecorous. The prince was very good to her, despite that he did not show his love.
These were the private affair between this couple.
She thought that it would not be long before Concubine De became a grandmother!
Although Lin Mengya just became the princess, she was the real master of the mansion.
Deng Yun, the majordomo of Prince Yu’s Mansion, took 300 taels of silver and sent them to Qinglan Courtyard in person.
“Respects to Princess. Princess, healthy and happy all the years round.” Deng Yun was in his fifties. He was of medium height and always serious.
This man was the confidant of Long Tianhao. He used to be a military cadre in the army. Therefore, he was a bit of a martinet.
He spoke with dignity and etiquette even if he was facing his real master.
“Please stand up quickly. We are family and you don’t need to stand on ceremony. Come on, prepare a seat for him.”
In the warm room, Lin Mengya sat on the soft couch and she was only wearing a white suit. Jinyue and Ruyue stood on her left while Lin Zhongyu sat on her right.
“Thank you, Princess. I was busy with the prince’s wedding ceremony, so your monthly payment was delayed. I hope you can forgive me.”
Ruyue brought a square stool and Steward Deng sat down. He found that the lady of the house was still weak, but it was clear that she possessed great beauty.
She had a warm smile on her beautiful face. It seemed that she was just an ordinary lady.
“Never mind. But I’m newly married, so can you please tell me something about the conditions of our mansion?”
Lin Mengya was not stupid. If she wanted to make Prince Yu’s Mansion as the headquarter, she must get all the information.
Steward Deng thought for a while and then told her the details of Prince Yu’s Mansion.
There were three housekeepers in the mansion while Deng Yun was the head of them. He was in charge of all the affairs, both of the inner court and the outer court.
There was also an inner court housekeeper Wang Ming, an outer court housekeeper Cheng Nan. Prince Yu was not attracted by women’s charm, so there was no concubine in the mansion and the number of servant girls was also small.
Didn’t like women? It was a pity that he wasted his handsome look.
But it was also good. She didn’t need to focus on the endless schemes of other concubines of him.
It was time for dinner after Steward Deng left. Jinyue returned to Art Courtyard to serve Concubine De for the meal while Lin Mengya asked the cook to prepare for a superb meal to welcome Ruyue and Lin Zhongyu.
Ruyue was a servant girl, but she was influenced by Lin Mengya from an early age, so she was disciplined.
What surprised Lin Mengya most was Lin Zhongyu’s table manners. He was serious and disciplined. This little guy was really a lady-killer after being washed clean.
After a few years, a lot of girls must be attracted to him.
“Sister Princess, do I have rice on my face?” From the beginning, Lin Zhongyu felt that the beautiful Princess was looking at him with enthusiasm.
His little face turned red immediately. Did he eat too much? Did Sister Princess hate him?
Reluctantly, he put the bowl on the table. Sister Princess was a good person, she saved him and brought him here. He would rather eat less than being hated by her.
“No, I think you are a handsome boy. But you are too thin. Come on, have a chicken leg.” She smiled and looked at Lin Zhongyu, who was overcautious, and she thought that ancient boys were too innocent.
He was just being watched for a while and his face turned red.
“Princess, Prince said that he wanted to sleep in the study room tonight and you could go to bed earlier,” the woman in charge of the Qinglan Courtyard returned and said outside the door, and the three people in the room were stunned.
She had to sleep alone after getting married for three days.
A mysterious smile appeared on her face. She put a chopstick of vegetables into her mouth. Great! She didn’t need to shake the bed tonight!
“Miss, don’t be sad! I believe that the prince must have official duties to deal with.” Ruyue blinked her round eyes and comforted her lady. But she still blamed the prince in her heart. Her master had just got married, but she needed to sleep alone. It turned out that it was difficult to be a princess.
“Sad? Why should I be sad?” Lin Mengya looked at Ruyue and instantly understood her meaning.
Her identity as Long Tianhao’s wife existed in name only. Moreover, the only thing she wanted to do now was to settle down in this strange place.
“Don’t leave tonight and I can teach you how to play cards!” Lin Mengya suddenly became excited. When she was in college, she was busy with the medical school’s homework and had no time to enjoy the ordinary college life.
She devoted herself to the research and she also did not participate in the activities organized by the other three girls in the dormitory.
At the end of her life, she realized that she could do more.
“Play cards?” Ruyue and Lin Zhongyu looked at her at the same time. They had to swallow their doubts after seeing her excitement and interests.
She asked Ruyue to find the paste and cardboard from the women servants. Then she painted and made a deck of cards.
“Sister Princess, what kind of card is it?” Looking at the thick pile of cards on the table, Lin Zhongyu didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh.
But Lin Mengya waved her hands and carefully fiddled with the cards on the table.
She couldn’t play difficult games. And after thinking carefully, she thought that the national game Fight the Landlord was the best for three of them to play.
She simply explained the rules. Steward Deng had just given her 300 taels of silver, so Lin Mengya generously gave the other two people ten taels as the gambling money. Then three of them played in the room.
After a while, Lin Zhongyu became skilled and could be the landlord and play with the other two people. But Ruyue was still confused about the rules.
Lin Mengya’s room was bustling while the study room was very quiet.
At the age of twelve, Long Tianhao was sent to the army by his father. After so many years, he had formed a calm personality.
He held a book of war arts in his hand and lay on the small bed in the study room. He spent countless nights alone like this.
A woman was synonymous with trouble for him. Except for his biological mother and Aunt Jinyue, he didn’t care about any women in the past years.
But the woman in Qinglan Courtyard was very weird. He must find out who she was and make sure that everyone in the mansion had no sinister motive.
“Master.” There was a black figure in the study room after a gust of wind. Night knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“How about the people living in Qinglan Courtyard?” His wedding ceremony had come to an end and there was no one in the mansion who would eavesdrop them at night. So he didn’t need to pretend anymore.
He was not at ease with that woman.
“Princess was playing cards with her servant girl and the boy.” There was a trace of hesitation in his voice.
Long Tianhao rolled his cold eyes and threw the book on the small tea table in front of him.
“Oh? Playing cards? Pai Gow or Ma Diao?” Long Tianhao did not expect that the girl was still undisciplined. However, usually, ladies just played Ma Diao.
“Master, I don’t know, the cards are weird and I’ve never seen it.” Night hid in the dark to watch for a long time and found that they were talking about straight and bomb, which made him confused.
However, according to the information of the spy in her family, she grew up in her house and didn’t go out. Why did Night don’t know the cards she was playing with?
He must find out the truth about her.
“I want to see, follow me.” Long Tianhao’s face darkened and he flew out of the window. After a while, he stood on the roof of the Qinglan Courtyard.
Night followed him and they could clearly see what the three people in the room were doing.
“Three cards of number three and two cards of number five.” Ruyue was complacent and took out five cards from her hands.
In the room, three people sat around the table. The room was brightly lit and they were also very happy.
“Pass.” Lin Zhongyu looked at the cards in his hands and shook his head. But he smiled like a cunning fox.
“Three cards of number four and two cards of number six!” Lin Mengya calmly took out five cards and put them on the table.
But Ruyue pouted and pestered Lin Mengya endlessly.
Long Tianhao looked at the crude cards on the table carefully. There were scrawly handwritings on them and he could not recognize the pattern. But the three people were playing excitedly.
“Miss, I don’t want to be the landlord anymore! How annoying! I nearly lost all of my money! I still want to buy sesame snacks in the west of the city!” Ruyue pouted and took out several mung beans and put them on the table reluctantly.
“It’s just mung bean, don’t be sad! You miser!” Lin Mengya clicked on the forehead of Ruyue and said. She would not get the 10 taels of silver back.
“Miss, do you really give the money to me?” Ruyue’s big eyes were round and she asked. Her monthly payment was only a denarius.
But she got ten taels of silver this time. Wow! She could buy enough sesame snacks and sugar-coated haws!
“Sister Princess, I can’t receive this.” Lin Zhongyu silently returned the money to Lin Mengya.
“Why? Don’t worry, I have a lot of money. You can use it to buy some snacks and toys.” Lin Mengya gave the money back to Lin Zhongyu. She thought that this little guy didn’t want to make trouble for her.
Lin Mengya looked warmly at the little guy in front of her. Since she had saved him on the street, he was as obedient as a cat.
But she still remembered his stubbornness and indifference when she first met him on the street.
If possible, she would protect Lin Zhongyu in her whole life.
The night wind raised the corner of Long Tianhao’s clothes.
He could not deny that the girl in front of him was cute, clever, warmhearted and cunning. She was as shining as the luminous pearl.
In front of the Queen, she could pretend to be a beautiful and generous lady. When facing her stepmother, she could be arrogant. But at this moment, she was playing with her servants and the young boy who she had picked up.
Then which one was the real Lin Mengya?