Chapter 87 A Get-together and Exchange of Handkerchieves

“Prince Yu, I am here to remind my elder brother to not offend someone he shouldn’t offend. That’s all.”

Hu Lunan changed the sinister mannerism he displayed in the farmhouse into a gentle one as he replied.

Nevertheless Long Tianhao was not fooled by this but eyes him with vigilance.

After realizing that he had embarrassed himself, Hu Lunan snorted and turned back to King Ming.

“That younger brother of yours does not seem very decent.”

Long Tianyi commented as he watched Hu Lunan walked away.

Hu Tianbei did not seem perturbed by this assessment on his brother, as if he was used to hearing such evaluation.

“Lunan was spoilt since young. Please bear with him and excuse his rudeness.”

Lin Mengya nodded, thinking in her heart that this pair of brothers were a little odd, but she did not comment further.

“Mengya, this is the Crown Prince, the son of King Ming. He is also Qinghan’s sworn brother.”

Long Tianhao gently explained and this piece of information took Lin Mengya by surprise. She had heard Concubine Du mentioned before that Long Qinghan enjoyed making acquaintances with capable men all around the world, but she had not imagined that he had this close relationship with this crown prince.

“Please forgive me for being so abrupt in my appearance the other, Princess Yu.”

Lin Mengya had told Long Tianhao everything that had happened in Wanfo Temple the other day.

Although now she had confirmed that the second prince of King Ming was the one who kidnapped her the other day, she had no idea if there was a conspiracy behind this.

“It’s no big deal, don’t worry about it, Your Highness.”

Until now, Lin Mengya was able to see that this crown prince was one who was not particular about details but had a carefree character just like Long Qinghan. It was no wonder that the two of them had become sworn brothers.

“Please take a seat, Your Highness. The Queen and our Crown Prince will be arriving soon.”

Hu Tianbei nodded and made his way back to his father, King Ming.

Long Tianhao let go of his grip on Lin Mengya’s shoulder, as he thought that the two of them had been attracting too much attention.

The banquet was conducted as planned and all the royals, officials and powerful man with their wives were seated at their seats, chattering away softly.

“Is that really Princess Yu?”

“What’s the big deal? She had married Prince Yu only because of the power of Marquis Zhennan.”

“Look at you sounding so jealous! Don’t tell me you still can’t get Prince Yu out of your mind?”

The chatterings going on around Lin Mengya had all reached her ears.

Holding up the cup from the table, Lin Mengya took a sip of the wine. She did not intend to stir up hot conversations, but unfortunately, she was simply too conspicuous.

“The Empress is here! The Crown Prince is here!”

As the eunuch made the announcement, the entire Yuanshan Palace quietened down.

Everyone stood up and turned their eyes towards the main door and bowed in respect.

“Long live the Queen, long live the crown prince.”

Lin Mengya, together with all the princesses, the Emperor’s concubines bent their knees in a bow. Even King Ming and his sons bowed in respect.

“You may rise. As a gesture to welcome King Ming, we have arranged for this state banquet so we can all enjoy it.”

As the Crown Prince spoke, Lin Mengya could sense that there were two pairs of eyes glancing at her.

“Thank you Your Highnesses, the Crown Prince and the Queen.”

All the guests rose and as Lin Mengya lifted her head, she was taken aback to find that the Crown Prince was looking into her eyes.

A look of shock flashed across the Crown Prince’s eyes.

Lin Mengya stood out among all the ladies although she was merely dressed modestly.

She was like a pearl, which quietly exuberate its beauty and glow.

Why should that useless prince have her as his wife?

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is this Princess Yu? Can you introduce us?”

Standing next to the Crown Prince was his consort, dressed in purple. She looked adorable and without any guile.

Lin Mengya guessed that this lady had to be the Crown Prince’s favorite vice Princess.

When the Crown Prince was thirteen years old, he married his princess who was his age. However, she passed away a year and a half later.

At this moment, this vice Princess whom he doted was ut change of all household matters in the Crown Prince’s Mansion.

Her name is Dugu Wuxia and was a foreign woman. She because vice Princess at the age of fifteen and was greatly loved since then.

Lin Mengya was especially curious how this foreign lady was able to capture the Crown Prince’s love for such a long time, given that he grew tired of old love easily and was always looking for new love.

She feared that this lady was no easy character!

“Alright, you are sisters-in-law after all, and ought to get more intimate with each other anyway, but let’s pay our respects to King Ming first.”

After throwing a glance at Lin Mengya, the Crown Prince led his wife to meet King Ming.

Although Concubine De had been restricted by the Queen in many ways when she was in the palace, she had many close acquaintances outside the palace.

For this reason, Lin Mengya did not feel too lonely.

“Are you Nansheng’s younger sister? What a pretty girl you are, no wonder your brother kept talking about you all the time.”

Lin Mengya lifted her head and spotted a young lady in a pink court dress standing in front.

Although she was not stunningly beautiful, she had a cute, petite face and crystal clear eyes. Wearing a subtle smile on her face, Lin Mengya could tell that she was different from the other ladies in the palace who loved infighting.

Nevertheless, such a pure, virtuous looking girl was completely different from herself.

“I’m Lin Mengya, the younger sister of Lin Nansheng. May I know who…”

“I… I’m Yueting. We used to play together when we were young.”

A shy smile spread across Yueting’s little fair countenance. Lin Mengya immediately recalled that she was her elder brother’s fiance.

The Yues were a strict family, therefore the interactions between Yueting and her elder brother had always been proper and decent. Knowing that her family was having a hard time, Yueting had always provided for them from her own pocket.

However, she had not met up with Yueting since she was five years old.

Nevertheless, Yueting seemed to treat her as well as years ago when they played together. Moreover, her love for Lin Mengya’s brother was sincere and faithful.

“So it is Big Sister Yue! Now I’m the one who is heartless. I remember you gifted me with jade bangle when I married into Prince Yu’s family. Even the embroidered shoes I’m wearing were personally made by you. I ought to be punished for forgetting you, Big Sister!”

Lin Mengya held on to Yueting’s hand intimately and sat down.

“Of course I know you’re not trying to forget me. We haven’t seen each other for a whole ten years! I only heard about how you’re doing from Nansheng’s letters.”

Yueting gazed at Lin Mengya with a pained look. She heard quite a lot of stories regarding the Lins.

The Lin Mengya in her impression was a bright girl, how did she become the idiot in as rumored?

Even Nansheng could only sigh and take pity on her.

Later on, Madam Lin forbade visitors from visiting her, giving the reason that Lin Mengya was ill and needed rest.

All that Yueting could do was to make some small playthings out of what she had and sent them over to Lin Mengya.

Luckily, because she was engaged to Nansheng, no one questioned her when she showed her concern for Lin Mengya.

“When I kept indoors in the courtyard while I was ill, we couldn’t meet each other ever since. We have to spend more time together from now on. Lest I be accused of being the heartless one.”

Lin Mengya smiled tenderly as she conjured up some plans in her mind.

To Lin Mengya, Yueting was a sweet person who paid attention to details, was virtuous and kind. She was definitely a perfect match with her courageous, heroic brother.

She told herself that she had to take care of such a sister-in-law in the absence of her brother.

“You!” Yueting patted Lin Mengya’s forehead affectionately, as she recalled how they were playmates when they were young.

They felt an immediate closeness.

“I was wondering what kind of physician did Prince Yu engage to treat your illness. You seemed completely well now!”

The rumor about Lin Mengya’s madness had gone viral in the entire capital city.

Apart from a handful of people who had seen her personally, most others had no idea how she was.

To most people, it was a miracle that Lin Mengya became Princess Yu without much problems and hindrances.

Although Yueting was not the type to gossip, she had many unanswered questions in her mind.

“I guess I must have been stimulated by the loud music and noises, as well as all the wedding preparations on the costumes and sedans.”

Lin Mengya casually answered with an excuse which sounded more like nonsense.

If she had revealed that she went into the bridal sedan after Lin Mengwu failed to poison her to death, Shangguan Qing would never let her off but would call her a demon.

“Oh, that’s good. I was worried that you’ve been bullied.”

Yueting patted Lin Mengya on her hand and a worried look appeared on her pretty face.

“No way. In fact, Prince Yu had treated me well.”

Actually, the way Long Tianhao treated her, a mere employee, was faultless.

Apart from the fact that he was always pulling a straight face, Long Tianhao had been rather nice to her!

“That’s more assuring. I can see that Prince Yu’s feelings towards you is sincere. Now I rest assured.”

Yueting was indeed surprised to see how Long Tianhao was so protective over Lin Mengya.

After the Crown Prince greeted King Ming, the banquet officially began.

The majesty and elegances of the Queen made the rest of the consorts look like they were starts surrounding the moon.

The Crown Prince, all smiles, kept toasting King Ming with wine. He was beginning to act more like the emperor of the country.

Apart from talking to Yueting, her friend, it was a rare opportunity for Lin Mengya to meet up with the people from her family, so she quietly asked for the younger generations from her family to come to her for chats.

“Big Sister Yue, how about you introduce me to your parents?”

Since both Lin Mengya’s father and brother were not around, it was necessary for her to make arrangement to meet with Yueting’s family.

However, this seemed to put Yueting a tight spot. She shook her head and said,

“It’s alright to see my father, however, with my mother…, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to meet her since you’re now Princess Yu.”

Lin Mengya was taken aback when she saw the awkward expression on Yueting’s face as she lowered her head.

All of a sudden, she remembered that Madam Yue used to be the Queen’s good friend.

The Queen was the one who arranged the engagement between the two of them.

However, who would have expected Yueting to mature into a kind and intelligent young lady. Because of Lin Nansheng, she had argued with her mother numerous times because of their difference in opinion.

If not because of Yueting’s mother, this marriage engagement might not have carried through since the dynasty’s scholar was a principled man who adhered closely to protocols.

“Don’t say that, big sister. Even if I’m a princess now, shouldn’t I still behave like an educated person?”

Seeing that Lin Mengya was insistent, Yueting stopped trying to stop her.

Nevertheless, Lin Mengya was a princess now, while Yueting’s mother was merely a third-grade consort. She could not probably turn down her request.

“Elder Sister, Mother had asked for you! How could you mishave in this way as a daughter of the Yues?”

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