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It turned out that Master Bamboo was the one in actual charge of North Tower while Master Plum was there only to cover her.

Few people knew that Master Plum was, in fact, just a talented geisha girl.

“It’s my fault, but rest assured, Your Highness, I’ll settle the matter properly to make amends for my mistake.”

After Master Bamboo gave it a quick thought, things appeared clearer to her. Several days ago, Lu Ning came to her in Plum’s carriage, at which Master Bamboo did not expect them to be so bold.

Cold sweats started out on her foreheads. No wonder before Ruo Bing left, she would remind her to keep an eye on Plum.

“You could start to handle it after our business is done today, and bear in mind, we must succeed today.”

Long Tianyu turned back, and with his move, his cloak fluttered in the air. Master Bamboo looked toward the emperor’s bedchamber, a serious expression on her face.

“Hear my order! All our men lying in wait should take action an hour later.”

“Yes.”

The voice echoed in the place, but as if a wind had taken everything away, the side chamber became empty the next second.

Sitting in Chongqing Palace, Lin Mengya felt restrained for it was a banquet of royal families. The empress disfavored Long Tianyu, her husband, and thus disfavored her as well.

Fortunately, Lin Mengya knew how to entertain herself. Even just sitting quietly on her seat, she attracted many eyes.

Gradually, more and more people came to her side.

She suddenly felt someone touch her feet just as she got bored.

Lifting her head, she saw Shangguan Hui’s back. What this smart girl did just now made Lin Mengya think.

She pretended to look down casually, and just as she expected, she found a paper wad under the table.

Was Shangguan Hui trying to tell her something? Lin Mengya wondered.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Lin Mengya knocked her wine cup over on purpose, and her four maids immediately stood around her.

As if they had a tacit agreement, they blocked the view of those curious people for Lin Mengya.

Lin Mengya hid the wad in her sleeves without turning a hair, and said with an apologetic smile to the female official that came to her, “I was being so careless that I knocked over my wine cup and wetted my shoes. Could you please tell me where I could have a rest?”

Lin Mengya pretended to look embarrassed for the noise she made, and she did not arouse any suspicion as it was after all common in a banquet.

The female official curtsied to Lin Mengya before replying, “There is no need to stand on ceremony, Your Highness, and don’t worry. Exit from the back door and walk through the veranda, you will see several rooms, which Her Highness the empress reserved for you distinguished guests. Please feel at ease to take a rest there.”

As her four maids helped her up, Lin Mengya nodded her thanks to the female official before heading to the back door leisurely.

They did not attract much attention as all the guests were busy exchanging greeting with each other.

Lin Mengya did not take out the paper wad until she was in one of the guests’ rooms and sure that no one was around except for her maids.

“Guard the door for me, and let me know if you see anyone approach, understand?”

The four sensible maids all nodded at the words. Hiding at the innermost corner of the room, Lin Mengya observed the wad in her hand attentively.

The longer she looked at it, the graver she looked.

On the paper, Shangguan Hui wrote: A green bird trapped in a gold cage.

Shangguan Hui must have written these words for reasons. Green bird? Could it be—

Lin Mengya frowned and shook her head. However bold the empress was, she would not do such a stupid thing unless she was fully confident she would not be caught doing it.

“Baiji, did Her Highness Concubine De look unusual when we left the mansion?”

Baiji, who had read the words as well, could not make out the meaning of the words either.

She shook her head upon hearing Lin Mengya’s words and replied, “I had someone invite Her Highness to go with us before we left, but Her Highness refused us saying she was not feeling good.”

Since Concubine De did not step out of the mansion, who it was that fell into the empress’s trap?

With this doubt, Lin Mengya returned to Chongqing Palace after burning the paper wad into ashes.

As she had learned, Shangguan Hui had been keeping a close relationship with the empress, and she believed Shangguan Hui must have found something against her; otherwise, she would not have taken a risk leaving her the message in the banquet.

Who it was that had been kept in the palace by the empress? Lin Mengya could not help but wonder.

When she hurried back to her seat, she saw the empress and Crown Prince in Chongqing Palace.

Dressed in a robe embroidered with a hundred birds paying homage to a phoenix, the empress looked elegant and graceful with a golden phoenix coronet, and every woman present seemed pale and plain in front of her.

At the sight of the empress, Lin Mengya realized why Shangguan Qing had been only able to marry a general as a concubine.

Beauties like Concubine De and Princess Ming Yue might look gorgeous, but people would only be impressed by their appearances.

However, some women, such as the empress and Yue Ting, could eclipse those beautiful women with their stately manner.

It was especially true of the empress. Wherever she went, she was always the most shining one among people.

At the moment, her ever-sharp eyes were smiling at her royal relatives possibly because it was New Year’s Eve.

“It’s been only a year since I last saw you, Your Highness, yet you look even more elegant and graceful. I feel like I’m an ugly duckling in front of a beautiful swan.”

The one who spoke was a duchess. Lin Mengya could tell with one glance that this duchess was a sycophant.

Unconsciously, Lin Mengya’s eyes fell on Long Tianyu opposite her.

He looked dignified and graceful as usual yet somehow indifferent as if nothing could provoke his interest.

This was unusual.

“Princess Yu?”

Just as Lin Mengya took her eyes off Long Tianyu, she heard the empress’s voice. She looked around and found people all look at her with surprise.

Baiji tugged her sleeves.

Lin Mengya stood up and said with an apologetic smile, “I’m so sorry, mother. I’m a little distracted.”

As the empress’s daughter-in-law, of course, she would be introduced to other royals, and as Long Tianyu’s wife, she should have been more careful before the empress.

It seemed that the empress was in a good mood that she did not blame Lin Mengya, and instead, she beckoned her to come nearer with a kindly look.

“That’s all right, lass,” the empress said, “you’re just not unaccustomed to it since it’s the first New Year’s Eve you’ve spent with us. Come closer so that everyone present could see what a beautiful girl Yu’er has married.”

Despite disliking Long Tianyu, the empress treated him as her own son superficially at least.

Head down, Lin Mengya immediately walked to the empress, and she felt everyone’s eyes fall on her.

“You’re Yu’er’s cousin, and your relationship became even closer through your marriage, but Yu’er is a stubborn man, so, I suppose you must have worked very hard to make your marriage in harmony. I have a couple of jades, and I’ll give them to you now to wish you a happy marriage, as a reward for the work you’ve done for the family.”

The empress patted Lin Mengya on the hand, which, however, made Lin Mengya increasingly uneasy.

“Thank you so much, mother.”

Lin Mengya went down on one knee and received the brocade box handed by the eunuch who stood behind the empress.

“Well, we’re all families, so, there is no need to feel nervous. You may excuse yourself now,” said the empress flatly with a smile after glancing at Lin Mengya.

Lin Mengya curtsied to expressed her gratitude again before taking her leave; however, there was terror in her eyes because she spotted a trace of blood on the jades through the Shen Nung System in her body.

What shocked her, even more, was that the blood, containing a small amount of poison, was from Concubine De.

Lin Mengya returned to her seat calmly, and luckily, as the empress started to introduce other new royal members, people’s attention was no longer on Ling Mengya.

Ling Mengya opened the box slightly and spotted a corner of a thin brocade handkerchief in the dim light.

On the corner of the handkerchief was an embroidered character “Jiang”.

Almost immediately, Lin Mengya closed the box and stuffed it into Baiji’s hands. She knew better than anyone else what the character meant.

Just as Lin Mengya had expected, Concubine De fell into the empress’s hands, but why did the empress show Lin Mengya the cards in her hand so easily?

As the banquet went on, the dancing and singing performance won applause from the guests.

North Tower? Concubine De? Paper Wad? Doubts filled Lin Mengya’s mind until she saw Long Tianyu leave the room.

“Stay here and do not step out of the room without my permission even if someone sends for you, and if anyone tries to take you away by force, fight back at once, Baisu. I need to go out for a while, and don’t worry about me, I’m just going to look for Prince Yu.”

After giving the order in a hurry, Lin Mengya left Chongqing Palace hastily while searching for Long Tianyu.

She hoped she had guessed wrong, and if she was right, Concubine De must be in danger now.

After hiding and waiting in a dark corner for a while, Lin Mengya finally saw Long Tianyu, who entered a small door.

Lin Mengya did not know if there were others around, but when she tried to follow Long Tianyu, a familiar figure stood in her way.