Lin Mengya entered the Imperial Palace early in the morning, and when her carriage carried her back to her mansion, it happened to be lunch time.
She was already starving. After Baiji and Baishao helped her take off her coat, she immediately sat down by the table and started enjoying the lunch.
Seeing their master gulp down the food, the maids smiled while covering their lips, and all they felt was pity for her.
All the young ladies from the rich families in the Capital City all believed that slim girls were more beautiful. Lin Mengya could be regarded as the slimmest girl in the city.
Many ladies wanted to have a slim waist like hers.
However, they didn’t know that Lin Mengya was wholeheartedly trying to gain some weight, just that things always went contrary to her wishes.
After she had eaten and drunk enough, Lin Mengya left the dining table with her belly bulged.
Long Tianyu, who had lunch with her, was impressed by her boorish way of eating.
It seemed to him that Lin Mengya had changed a little since she came back from the Nation of Lintian.
But Long Tianyu couldn’t tell exactly where she had changed. He just felt that this girl seemed to be more open-minded than before.
With the help of her maids, Lin Mengya changed into a common dress. She finally could take off the hair ornament that almost pulled her hair off.
At this moment, Lin Mengya felt as if she had been reborn.
Sitting in the main hall of the Liuxin Courtyard, she tilted her head slightly and blinked her eyes as she looked at the man who was smiling at her holding a teacup.
“What’s wrong? Is there anything wrong with me?”
She looked down at herself, left to right, and she didn’t think she looked any different from before. She just checked herself in the mirror and was sure she didn’t get any rice or soup stain on her face.
Seeing her adorable look, Long Tianyu suddenly cracked a big smile of admiration and affection without himself even noticing it.
“No, you’re good. I just felt that my wife was so—unusual.”
Lin Mengya pursed her lips at those seemingly joking words.
She realized that her husband, who had grown up in a noble family, was surprised by her table manners.
“I was just too hungry.” she defended herself in secret.
“Well, I’m just a country girl, so I might be a little rude sometimes and not as elegant and gentle as other ladies in the city.”
Long Tianyu certainly could tell the mockery in her tone.
But he loved it to bits when she acted like a spoiled child, and he only thought she was cute when she was being wayward.
“It’s alright. I’m okay with it.”
Long Tianyu pretended that he didn’t care about it. He raised his eyebrows dramatically, which enabled Lin Mengya to tell at one glance that he was pretending.
Lin Mengya glanced at him and snorted lightly, but she was not angry.
It was not easy for her to joke with him, and after the joke, the atmosphere between them became less tense.
Lin Mengya stole a glance at Long Tianyu and heaved a sigh of relief in secret.
No one knew Long Tianyu better than her. She understood that he was the kind of man who would keep everything to himself.
But if one kept too many things to himself, it would be a matter of time before he got sick.
She couldn’t share all his burdens, but she thought it would be good if she could make him more relaxed.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine. It’s just that the Crown Prince openly opposed my going to the Yun State to relieve the people in disaster. I argued with him, and then he accused me of being insubordinate and offending him. He wanted an apology. Father tried to help me, but it was my fault after all; I was being too impatient. However, it was just an apology. I don’t care anymore,” Long Tianyu said in a flat tone as if it were nothing serious.
However, Lin Mengya knew that he must feel very aggrieved now. He was such a proud person, but he was forced to apologize to a good-for-nothing in public.
Yet, he had to swallow the humiliation because even the emperor had to put up with the Crown Prince for the time being.
“The Crown Prince must have been pushed too far. Judging from his reaction, he must have something to do with the plague in the Yun State; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so anxious as to try to press you with his status. But since he had made you apologize, he had nothing to say when father decided to send you to the Yun State to handle the plague.”
Lin Mengya was quite right. After Long Tianyu apologized, the emperor approved his request of going to the Yun State to handle the plague.
This time, the Crown Prince had no place to stop him.
Lin Mengya guessed that the empress must want to kill the stupid Crown Prince now.
They going to the epidemic area under the emperor’s order could be a double-edged sword. They were afraid that some people wanted to take their lives there.
Yet, Lin Mengya was still happy to go there. She was depressed and furious inside because of losing to the Candle Dragon Cult so many times, and she was eager for a victory to get out of depression.
“Yes, of course, I knew that too. By the way, Yinghua will live in our mansion, and as his sister-in-law, you need to pay more attention to take care of him.”
Long Tianyu’s eyes were filled with gratitude.
It seemed that he was quite concerned about Long Yinghua.
Lin Mengya was very confused when she was in the palace because generally speaking, it was rare for an underage prince to live outside the palace.
However, Long Tianyu didn’t seem to be surprised about it, and the emperor didn’t oppose the arrangement either. It looked like they had reached an agreement before.
Long Tianyu suddenly lowered his eyes and looked hesitant.
“Since I have promised Concubine Xian, I will definitely keep my word. You don’t have to worry. Although our mansion is not as good as the Imperial Palace, at least the 10th prince will grow up safely here.”
Lin Mengya didn’t know how many secrets there were in the palace.
Even the father and son, and wife and husband would keep a secret from each other.
There were some questions that Lin Mengya would never ask. She knew that she would get to know what she should know sooner or later, and that Long Tianyu kept what she shouldn’t know from her for her good.
“Concubine Xian… Well, that’s what I should do.”
Lin Mengya only got a rough idea of Long Tianyu’s hesitating words.
Suddenly, Baizhi ran in, and her eyes glittered with surprise and joy.
“Your Highness, the prince, and princess, the 10th prince is here, and his wet nurse and teaching nanny are waiting for you outside.”
The 10th prince arrived just as Lin Mengya and Long Tianyu talked about him.
With a smile on her face, Lin Mengya stood up and followed behind Baizhi as she walked out of the courtyard.
As soon as she reached the outer courtyard, she saw many guards and people from the palace.
A boy was standing blankly in the crowd, looking expectantly into the inner courtyard with a timid expression.
When he saw Long Tianyu and Lin Mengya, his face brightened up a little, and he looked relaxed. He addressed them in a timid voice.
“Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law.”
The boy was dressed in a vermilion robe, and his hair was tied into a bun. He had a snow-white face and delicate facial features, looking very lovely.
He stood there, looking like a dumpling made of glutinous rice. Not to mention the girls in her courtyard, even those old maids all looked at the little prince with a joyful expression in the distance.
However, Long Yinghua, the little prince, was not accustomed to those fervent eyes.
The servants in the Imperial Palace all treated him either too respectfully or too coldly.
For a moment, he was at a loss as to how to respond to those people who were looking at him with curiosity and love and without any evil intentions.
Now that he saw his Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law, whom he was most familiar with, it was natural for him, a small child, to go to their side.
The smile on his face grew bigger.
Lin Mengya stretched out her arms and held this lovely little boy in her arms.
As she had lived in danger for so long, now only the innocent children could touch the softest part of her heart.
“Don’t be afraid. They’re all from your Third Brother’s mansion. Stay with me from now on, okay?”
Long Yinghua looked at the people around him and nodded obediently at Lin Mengya.
“You can leave now. This is the 10th prince, and he will live in our mansion from now on. Regard him as your master just like the prince and me. Don’t slight him, understand?”
There was a hint of fierceness in Lin Mengya’s eyes as she spoke, and all the servants immediately said yes.
Long Yinghua was still young and it wouldn’t be long before she went to the epidemic area with Long Tianyu. Therefore, she must warn the servants in advance so that she wouldn’t need to worry after she left.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lin Mengya believed that with Ms. Tian and her three maids there, no one in the mansion dared to bully Long Yinghua.
Lin Mengya went back to the Liuxin Courtyard holding the little boy in her arms. Ms. Tian, who liked children very much, had prepared a side room for him long ago.
Everything had been arranged well, even including the palace servants Long Yinghua brought with him.
Long Yinghua looked at his new room, but there was no surprise on his small face. Instead, it seemed that he had something on his mind.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like this place?” Lin Mengya asked in a soft voice. She saw through the little boy.
The boy suddenly wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face in her arms as he said in a muffled voice, “No, Third Sister-in-law. It’s just that I miss my mom so much.”
The boy sounded like he was about to cry in the next moment.
Lin Mengya suddenly sighed inwardly. “He was separated from his mother at such a young age, so it was natural that he couldn’t get used to it in a short time.”
Lin Mengya sat on the chair in the side room, holding the boy in her arms. Except for Ms. Tian and Baiji, other servants all stepped out of the room on their own.
“I understand how you feel now, but your mother only asked you to stay here for a couple of days. Maybe she has been too busy to take care of you recently. I’ll send you back after these days, okay?”
On hearing the words, the little boy finally lifted up his head from Lin Mengya’s arms with a bitter expression.
His big watery eyes were full of sparkling tears, but he didn’t let his tears fall.
It almost broke Lin Mengya’s heart when she saw how he managed to put up a front.
“My mother told me that the Crown Prince wanted to deal with her and me. She said I would be safe only when I was with you, and in this way, she would no longer worry about me. So I’ll stay in your mansion and be obedient, Third Sister-in-law.”