Chapter 266 Drama in the Art Courtyard

Before Lin Mengya entered the courtyard, she could hear the riotous noises echoing from within the courtyard.

It appeared that the Art Courtyard was very busy today.

There were two heavy set women standing at the entrance of the courtyard. Despite many people outside trying to take a peep into the courtyard and wanting to enter it, they were stopped by the two women.

“Why are you blocking the way. Back away.”

Lin Mengya said casually and the onlookers reluctantly retreated at her command.

They knew clearly that the commotion would not easily die down wherever Lin Mengya was.

Inside, the Art Courtyard was bustling with people and their activities. Some were waiting on Concubine De but there were also some unfamiliar faces. Lin Mengya was adorned with dazzling pieces of jewelry, looking exceptionally classy. The people quickly recognized that she was none other than the much talked about Princess Yu.

Their breath was taken away when they saw Lin Mengya’s beautiful face. They instantly understood the reason Prince Yu did not fancy Jiang Ruqin.

What a great contrast between the two ladies! Only an idiot would allow a beautiful like Princess Yu to stay home alone!

“Sob sob— I did not do it, Aunt. I have been framed. I really didn’t do it.”

In the main building, Jiang Ruqin could be heard weeping bitterly. Her miserable crying would have made many feel sympathetic if she had not been caught in the act of an immoral act.

Unfortunately, she would not be able to emancipate herself this time.

“Shut up! Concubine De, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Those people whom I brought along with me from Spring Breeze Pavilion are eyewitnesses. The Cui Family may not be as prominent as the Jiang Family, but we will not tolerate the slut who brought shame upon the family.”

It was the voice of a man who spoke. He sounded a little breathless from the rage, but Lin Mengya could hear the determination in his voice.

It would be strange if people were forbearing towards such things.

No one had tried to stop Lin Mengya as she made her into the house. Upon arrival, she could see that Jiang Ruqin, whose clothes were in disarray, was on her knees, weeping.

If she had not dreamed of getting her hands on Long TianhaoLong Tianyu, she would not have been so foolish to be used by others and ended up in this pathetic state.

She had brought this upon herself and she had only herself to blame.

Concubine De was sitting on the main seat and looking solemn, but no one was able to tell what was in her heart. Her eyes were cold, as if she was utterly disappointed in Jiang Ruqin.

“The Jiang Family is accountable to you. However, we don’t want to wash our dirty linen in public. If we continue in this manner, I suppose the reputation of the Cui Family would be affected too. Please go home, Master Cui. You have my word that I will not show any partiality towards Ruqin.”

Since Concubine De had spoken, the infuriated Master Cui did not push further but backed off.

After careful pondering, he thought Concubine De’s words made sense. The Cuis were a scholarly family. He had not formally married Jiang Ruqin after all. Cui Family did not have to bear the Jiang Ruqin’s shame.

“Alright, I rest assured by what Concubine De said. The Cui Family may not be prominent, my father is after all the imperial censor of the nation. Family honor is even more highly esteemed than our lives. You must uphold justice, Your Highness, and resume the Cui Family its due honor.”

His words were neither supercilious nor obsequious. This made Lin Mengya take a second look at Master Cui. He was not exceptionally handsome, but there was an air of scholarly elegance.

Compared to the traditional scholars, however, he did not appear as pedantic. He was indeed a fine young man but sadly, he had Jiang Ruqin as his fiancé.

“Alright, I promise to be accountable. Yun Ruo, please help our guest out.”

Concubine De was not going to stand on ceremony. Jiang Ruqin had utterly shamed her anyway. Moreover, the Cuis were known for their stubbornness. She could foresee that she would have a hard time trying to solve this problem.

“Thank you for fulfilling my wishes, Your Highness. I shall excuse myself now.”

The Cuis were straightforward people. Concubine De was going to have a tough time.

She had to punish Jiang Ruqin given that she was her niece. If not, it would be difficult to deal with the Cui Family once they decided to look into the matter on their own.

With a solemn expression on her face, Concubine De looked at Jiang Ruqin with disappointment in her eyes. Sadly, there was no turning back for this matter.

Coincidentally, Concubine De spotted Lin Mengya standing by the door, and her heart sank. Being Jiang Ruqin’s aunt, Concubine De knew her character too well. Although Jiang Ruqin was usually presumptuous and daring in her ways and had overstepped the bounds of what was proper, she would never be so audacious to behave improperly with another man in public places.

Was it Lin Mengya’s doing?

However, from the way Lin Mengya was frowning deeply, she was obviously not rejoicing over this disaster. Moreover, apart from Baizhi, who was a straightforward person, the other three of Lin Mengya’s maid were all looking down.

Either they were too cunning and were able to hide it well, or that Lin Mengya was truly unaware.

“Mother, your daughter-in-law, I have come to pay my respects and wish you peace. The year has almost come to an end. Is there anything you would like me to get for you?”

Lin Mengya was indeed smart and she sounded very sensible in her reason for paying Concubine De a visit.

If she deliberately tried to show concern over Jiang Ruqin’s matter, it would give the impression that she had some ulterior motives. She claimed that the purpose of her visit was to check if Concubine De was in need of anything which she could help prepare. On the one hand, she had come likely because she had heard about Jiang Ruxin. On the other hand, she also did not deliberately avoid the situation. If would not be so straight forward even if Concubine De had wanted to put her under suspicion.

As expected, Concubine De merely shot Lin Mengya a glance, and then picked up the teacup to take a sip.

“Men, escort this lass into the firewood hut. Send someone to bring my family here to discuss what to do with this lass!”

It was obvious that Concubine De did not want Lin Mengya to witness this real-life drama for free.

However, it was also not a bad idea. Anyway, Jiang Ruqin would have to face the music no matter what. There was no way she could keep this a secret from Lin Mengya when they were living under the same roof.

“No! No! Aunt, I’m innocent, I’m innocent! I really didn’t do it, I really didn’t do it!”

By this time, Jiang Ruqin was crying her eyes out. Her cheeks were streaked with tears.

Never would she imagine that after sleeping through the night, she would wake up on the bed of a money boy.

Even more shocking to her was that the Cui Family would appear at the scene and caught her in the act. Someone ought to have tried to set her up for this.

She turned to shoot Lin Mengya a look of hatred and anger. That was right, it ought to be her! She was the only person in the entire mansion who was capable of such an utterly heartless act. She would also be the only person who hated her to such an extent!

“It’s you! Lin Mengya, it must be because you want to set me up! You hated me for lashing out at your brother. You hate me, right? It must be you who had done this to me! Out with it!”

Jiang Ruqin’s shrieking, accusing voice came as waves to Lin Mengya. Lin Mengya could only shake her head with pity in her eyes.

“Indeed, I’ve to admit that I dislike you, Jiang Ruqin. However, do you think I’ll be that foolish? First, you tried to seduce Prince Yu. Then you humiliated my brother. These were reasons enough for me to get back at you. However, do you really think that I would choose to act at this time? Mother, you’re a person of reason. Jiang Ruqin and I just had a conflict yesterday and this happened with her today. Obviously all the people would suspect it was me, and now here I am. Do you really think I would be such an idiot?”

Concubine De seemed to be snapped out of her folly by Lin Mengya’s words. Lin Mengya had won over 80% of Concubine De’s trust.

In her previous confrontations with Lin Mengya, it was clear to Concubine De that Lin Mengya was an exceptionally intelligent girl. It did seem that everything was pointed to Lin Mengya.

This was way too obvious. If Lin Mengya had wanted to do this, she would not have waited until today. Could it really be someone trying to get her in trouble intentionally?

Lin Mengya paused for a while and continued, “Mother, you know very well that I have very high regard on the prince’s mansion. Why then was everyone happily talking about the incident involving Jiang Ruqin and the prince? I would be stupid to have tried to frame her. Moreover, why was it so coincidental that Master Cui was the one who caught them in the act? Mother, who do you think was most against the idea of the marriage between the Jiang Family and the Cui Family? I’m certainly not the one.”

While Lin Mengya did not expose the answer with a word, Concubine De knew what Lin Mengya was trying to say.

The marriage arrangement between the Jiang and the Cui Family was a marriage of convenience. It was similar to the marriage between Lin Mengya and Long TianhaoLong Tianyu earlier.

Could it be them? No, that was impossible!

“Lin Mengya, you are good at arguing! I’m very sure you were behind all this! You want to destroy me! You were afraid that if I remain in the mansion, Elder Cousin would not fully belong to you! It’s you, you’re the one who had done it!” .

With a hideous expression on her face, Jiang Ruqin pointed her slender finger at Lin Mengya.

Now that her reputation had been ruined, not to mention her aunt, even her father might not be able to help her get out of this trouble.

She almost wanted to lunge forward towards Lin Mengya with all her might.

“Enough! When will you stop all this nonsense!”

With a ‘bang!”, Concubine Down set down the teapot heavily onto the table.

Jiang Ruqin turned her eyes to her aunt. No, she would not allow herself to submit to the punishment. She still had the hope of a bright future for herself. She was not going to let it be ruined!

“Aunt, Qin’er is your niece. Won’t you be heartbroken if I’m ruined? This woman must be the one who set this all up. I’m sure she would admit to it if you seize her and torture her into a confession. By then, Aunt, my reputation would be cleared!”

Lin Mengya laughed grimly in her heart as she said in her heart, “Jiang Ruqin, Jiang Ruqin, the saddest part of your life is not the fact that you argued with me, rather, you are such a hopeless idiot that there is no cure for your stupidity.”

So what if someone stepped forward at this moment and tried to clarify what had happened? Other people would think that it was just a guise the Jiang Family used to protect their daughter.

Rumors pertaining to Jiang Ruqin would spread like wildfire. They would likely turn her into an immoral slut.

Concubine De shook her head in pity when she thought of the likelihood of how things would turn out for Jiang Ruqin. It seemed that they could not do anything to save the situation.

“Why are you still in a daze, men? Seize her and bring her away.”

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