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Chapter 239 Beating the Opponent with his own Game

Just as she was about to rip the letter into pieces, it was abruptly snatched from her hand.

“I have to thank you, because if it had not been for you, how would I ever find this letter? The Lins provided for you over the years, and you have indeed been true and loyal to the family.”

As Lin Mengya’s voice rang out, the face of the wet nurse fell. She struggled to retrieve the letter from Lin Mengya’s hand, but was pinned down by Lin Zhongyu and Lin Muzhu.

Lin Mengya opened the letter and went through its contents, and realized that it was full of outrageous accusations against her father and her. There was no mention about all the despicable things that she and Lin Mengwu had done, in the letter.

“Men, seize her and detain her, so she will not be able to leave the house.”

Lin Muzhi took the letter from his sister’s hand, fuming with rage.

“What a case of thief crying thief! I never imagined Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu to be so shameless as to think that they could seek help from the Shangguan Family. Did they think they could trifle with the Lins?” said Lin Muzhi coldly.

By now, Lin Muzhi was burning with rage.

“Reality lies before our eyes now, and there is no way they can deny what they did. Rest assured I will keep this letter well. Do a thorough interrogation of the wet nurse, and I’m sure you’ll be able to get a thing or two out of her, which I will eventually use to confront the Shangguan Family, and demand that they discipline their daughter.”

Compared to the crafty and cunning Queen, Shangguan Qing was not even close to being a formidable character.

To be honest, even Lin Mengya could not understand how Shangguan Qing ended up in this pathetic state.

As Father’s second wife, Shangguan Qing surely had the opportunity to win his heart. Given Father’s personality, why was he being so hard-hearted toward her?

She had reaped what she sowed, and ended up in such a miserable state, today.

Lin Mengya returned from the Lins, sitting dazedly, in a horse carriage.

Although Shangguan had been locked away by her father, this was not something he would usually do. Moreover, he could not possibly keep this from the Shangguan Family for long. It became critical as to who among the two families, would be better at seizing the opportunity.

If she wanted to gain the upper hand in this, she had to think of a way to get proof of Shangguan Qing’s evil deeds.

Without any evidence, it was easy to be defeated.

“Elder Sister, are you worrying about the matter regarding Mrs. Lin?”

Xiaoyu could almost always read Lin Mengya’s mind. He quickly understood her concerns.

“Hum, it’s not a big deal really. Everyone is busy preparing for the Winter Solstice now. Who would notice what is happening with the Lins?”

What Lin Mengya said made sense.

There were lanterns, buntings and other decorations hanging everywhere in the streets, which livened up the whole atmosphere. Looking out of the window, she could see the jubilation on all the people’s faces.

Lin Mengya’s mood seemed to be influenced by the festive atmosphere. In an agricultural society, the Winter Solstice was held in high esteem by the people, when they prayed for good weather for planting their crops.

“Xiaoyu, go and tell the people walking ahead of us to stop at Restaurant Rui. I’ve not visited Sanjue Hall for some time. Will you accompany me there?”

The sky was getting darker, yet Lin Mengya appeared to suddenly have the urge to take a look at her little vault. She wondered how the construction was coming along.

“Alright, I’ll come with you.” Lin Zhongyu said.

He was willing to follow her even into extreme danger, as long as he was able to stay by Elder’s Sister side.

Xiaoyu went to give instructions to the coachman, as Lin Mengya remained in the horse carriage, admiring the lights and flowers along the streets.

From behind Restaurant Ruiji, Lin Mengya finally returned to her little courtyard. Old Uncle Bai and his wife were busying themselves in the front hall when she arrived, and were not aware of her arrival.

All the snow in the little courtyard had been swept away. Baiji and her younger siblings came out of the house.

The moment they saw Princess Yu, whom they adored, their faces broke into brilliant smiles, as they surrounded her.

“Why did you not visit us for the last few days, Elder Sister princess?”

The oldest of Baiji’s younger sisters was more bold. She had naturally changed her surname to ‘Bai’ after she came to Sanjue Hall, and when Baiji’s parents acknowledged that they were servants bought by Lin Mengya.

Her name was Baiting. At the moment, her large eyes were blinking, as she lifted her face to smile at Lin Mengya.

“I have been preoccupied with some other matters, and was not able to come to see you. Have you been good? Or naughty?”

The children had new clothes to wear and their food no longer consisted merely of coarse grains and wild herbs. With more nutrition in their diet, they had apparently put on some weight.

All the siblings had the same delicate features as Baiji, and were more adorable than the children of large, affluent families.

Lin Mengya stroked one and hugged the other. The children treated Lin Mengya as their own elder sister.

“I did not expect you to adore children so much.”

Yunzhu’s voice came from behind Lin Mengya. Lin Mengya turned around ,and indeed it was Yunzhu, who was standing behind her.

However, the lady who used to cloth herself entirely in black, had changed into a pale purple embroidered dress. Her once hideous face had also been restored to a shade of her former appearance.

“Congratulations! You’ve changed back to your old self.”

Other than some parts of her skin which was slack, as a result of aging, her delicate eyes held a glimpse of her former glory, as the most beautiful woman in the entire capital city.

Compared to Lin Mengya’s pure and innocent beauty, Yunzhu, who had led a life of hardship, was beautiful in a mature way.

A dark purple rose drawn on her lower right cheek, further enhanced her attractiveness.

Although the Yunzhu of today, no longer had her youthful glamor, she still had the charm to draw the eyes of people to her.

“My former self is long dead. Even now, I’m merely a walking dead. How is Baili Rui?”

Yunzhu’s hatred towards Lin Mengya’s teacher seemed to have lessened, because her looks had been restored.

After all, why would her hatred towards him be so intense if she did not love him deeply in the first place? Lin Mengya nodded and said,

“Teacher is doing well, but it is his ultimate wish to see you again.”

He had been deceived by his own nephew, whom he treated like his own son, and as a result he was imprisoned in the stone room for many years. Nevertheless, the fact that Teacher continued in his research, testified that he was the not one to give up easily.

However, after he met Yunzhu once again, Lin Mengya could see that he had become inattentive to his work. In addition, he had been trying ways and means to inquire about Yunzhu, from Lin Mengya.

In reality, these two lovers were unable to let go of their emotions for each other. Unfortunately, it seemed unlikely that they would ever revive their former relationship, after all that had happened.

“Things had come to this state, it’s no longer important if we ever meet again or not. Oh, I suppose you haven’t forgotten what you promised me you would do? I’ve set up everything there, so we’re just waiting for you to go over to treat the patients.”

Surely Lin Mengya did not forget what she promised Yunzhu, which was to help someone neutralize the poison in his body. After thinking over it, the two of them made an appointment for two days later, when Yunzhu would bring Lin Mengya over to meet the patient.

“Oh yes, you should go over and have a look at the situation, being the overall in-charge of Sanjue Hall. Many who gathered there are people who wish to put behind their former vagrant life. I am afraid it won’t be easy for them to completely disengage themselves from their past concerns.”

Lin Mengya nodded. Indeed Qinghu had been talking about this matter to her.

However, she had been preoccupied by other matters, so much so she was unable to attend to this matter.

“Alright, I get it.”

Based on her financial situation, as well as her proprietorship of Restaurant Ruyi, she did not have to worry about finances. The only trouble now was that they had not settled on the candidate for the position of master of Sanjue Hall.

She was hoping to set up an organization that had a strong network. As the mastermind behind the scenes, naturally she would want to remain anonymous, and somewhat untraceable.

She knocked her head lightly with her knuckles, as she realized to her dismay that she could longer enjoy the good times when she could just be a shopkeeper, who lived at ease.

She bade farewell the two warm-hearted oldies of the Bais in a hurry to go back the prince’s mansion. By the time she arrived, the sky was completely dark.

Before she entered the gates, Steward Deng ran up to her to receive her, looking as if he had found his savior.

“You’re finally back, Mistress. If you’ve delayed any further in coming back, the prince would be sending someone to the Lins to get you back.”

Lin Mengya raised her brows a little. She had only been away from the mansion for a day. Did Concubine De create trouble out of nothing again?

She walked through the courtyard and arrived at Long Tianyu’s Qinwu Courtyard. It was then she realized that the study was filled with a group of dejected-looking men.

“Your Highness the prince, Princess Yu is here.”

As Steward Deng raised his voice to announce the arrival of the princess, all eyes in the study turned to look at Lin Mengya fervently.

“What’s... what’s happened?”

Lin Mengya asked, with some hesitation. She had just set foot in the study, and she could sense the solemn atmosphere that filled the air.

Long Tianyu was standing by the window at the moment, with his brows tightly knitted. She wondered what he was thinking about.

“You may excuse yourself for now. I’ll handle the rest of the matter.”

Something did not feel quite right in the silence that ensued. Surely Long Tianyu would not have gathered all his men here, if he had not met with some major problems.

Lin Mengya walked up to Long Tianyu quietly, reached out her hand to smooth out the creases on his clothes, and in a gentle voice, said,

“Didn’t you go into the palace? Did the Crown Prince try to make things difficult for you?”

At the mention of the Crown Prince, a look of impatience flashed across his deep set eyes.

“The Crown Prince wants to me prepare the feast for the prayer for blessings after the Winter Solstice celebrations, but he did not mention this to me before today. Now I’m left with only a few days to prepare. Obviously his purpose is to embarrass me in front of all our elders and relatives!”

So this was the reason! Immediately, Lin Mengya understood why Long Tianyu was enraged.

The feast for the prayer for blessings was a banquet meant to entertain the elders and relatives in the family. If there was even anything that was not properly prepared, Long Tianyu would become a laughing stock.

However, Lin Mengya supposed Long Tianyu would not be confounded by the mere task of organizing a banquet?

“Then, what are you so anxious over, Your Highness?” Lin Mengya asked.

Long Tianyu gave her a glance and said coldly, “The yearly banquet for the prayer for blessings is a great day of entertainment for the elders and relatives in the family. According to the rules, the organizer is expected come out with an original idea for the program, but Father has been bedridden, due to his illness. If we overdo it, we will be accused of being unfilial. On the other hand, if we are too solemn about it, people would complain that we are dampening the festive spirit.”

Lin Mengya understood Long Tianyu’s concerns, after pondering over it. However, she believed that Long Tianyu was totally capable of solving the problem.

Looking at his facial expression, which was filled with anger, she had the feeling that Long Tianyu was merely acting like a child in front of her.

“What’s so difficult about this? Let me handle it. Just help me look for some of the best dancers in the capital city. As for the rest, just leave it to me.”