At this thought, Concubine De was suddenly overcome with a sense of guilt.

If she was not so easily taken in by some persuasion, she would not have allowed Yue Ting to be taken away.

In that case, Ya'er would not have fallen seriously ill.

"After Princess Yu made sure you've fallen asleep, she went into the kitchen to personally prepare some food for you."

Being her maidservant for many years, Jinyue could guess what was on Concubine De's mind.

In fact, it was Concubine De's intention to protect Miss Yue Ting that day.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Yue was backed by the Queen herself. In fact that day, the Yues were accompanied by one of the Queen's female officials.

Concubine De was left with no other choice but to cave.

All the people were shocked to learn about Mrs. Yue's wickedness and cruelty, which she demonstrated even on her own daughter.

Therefore, Concubine De felt a sense of guilt towards Lin Mengya with regards to Yue Ting.

"Bring the food in, but make sure to be quiet so as not to wake Concubine De."

At Lin Mengya's gentle instruction, a few maidservants entered the room one after another.

"Princess Yu, Concubine De is already awake," reminded Jinyue kindly.

Lin Mengya approached Concubine De immediately and with a gentle voice, said, "Greetings of peace, Mother. I was not feeling well in the last few days and I didn't want my illness to affect Mother, so I refrained from coming to pay you respects. Please forgive me."

Concubine De observed Lin Mengya's expression and saw that her countenance remained gentle and virtuous as before, as if nothing had happened.

There was not even a hint of estrangement from Concubine De, but was as amiable as before.

Mengya was a good girl in comparison. She must have understood and forborne Concubine De's difficult position.

"How did you lose so much weight, child? There is no need to stand on ceremony by saying those polite words, we are a family after all."

Concubine De held Lin Mengya's hand and the guilt in her turned into an endearing feeling.

Her son was such a blessed man to have married such a sensible and obedient girl.

"I've heard from Jinyue that Mother had not been eating well and sleeping well, so I specially prepared some food for you, Mother. I hope you find the food palatable."

Lin Mengya quickly instructed the servants to fetch the medicinal herbs, which appeared to be out of everyone's expectation.

Dish after dish of the so-called medicine looked enticingly delicious and there was absolutely no smell of medicine.

Concubine De's appetite was immediately restored. She took up the chopsticks and tasted some.

Although a little bland, the food was not oily at all.

Pleased, Concubine De did not stop until more than half of the food was eaten.

"Mother, the chrysanthemum flowers in my garden are in full bloom. Would you like me to bring you there to have a look?"

Concubine De was feeling a little sleepy after she finished eating.

However, Lin Mengya's suggestion resonated well with her heart.

Enjoying the full bloom chrysanthemum flowers in autumn and walking in the snow in winter were the most delightful things.

Only in those days before Concubine De was married, she could go out in a carefree manner to do these things with her girlfriends, without being concerned about her status.

Lin Mengya's suggestion had brought back the memories of those carefree days.

Concubine De nodded with pleasure and Jinyue immediately got Concubine De ready by dressing her up and a group of them were ready to go to the Liuxin Courtyard to see the chrysanthemum flowers.

The procession of people emerged from the Art Courtyard and headed towards Lin Mengya's Liuxin Courtyard.

Lin Mengya and Jinyue purposely lagged behind so they were the last two people in the procession.

Scanning the surrounding, Lin Mengya quietly asked Jinyue, "Has Concubine De been suffering from frequent headache and lack of appetite, as well as the lack of quality sleep, recently?"

Jinyue nodded, and a look of worry flashed across her eyes.

"Do you know what illness Concubine De is suffering from, Princess Yu?"

Lin Mengya moaned for a moment and shook her head.

She was trained in western medicine and her knowledge of Chinese Medicine was limited.

When she first arrived in Concubine De's room, she had, through her observation, narrowed down her problem to a few poisonous substances in small amounts.

However, these few kinds of poison which she identified would not cause much harm even if given in large doses, not to mention damaging a person's health.

She was puzzled as to where these things had come from.

"What are some of Concubine De's long-term habits over the decades?"

Although these tiny doses of poison were not life-threatening, it could result in chronic illnesses from accumulation over a long period of time.

Jinyue took a moment to ponder over it and replied, "Concubine De's daily routine is strict with a regular pattern. She has persisted for many years in this manner, but I can't really put a finger to any of them right now. Why? Is there a problem?"

They were habits of many years, and the effects were just emerging.

From here, one could see how cautious the person who poisoned her was.

There was some poison when ingested over a long period of time, caused the gradual deterioration of the body

Apparently, Concubine De had been subjected to this condition.

As a person entered into middle age, her immune system would have weakened, leading to such a condition.

"I can't really pinpoint what's wrong now. How about you secretly send the things that Concubine De uses every day to me tomorrow, I'll see what I can do. As for these coming days, continue feeding her those medicines and make sure she drinks lots of warm water. As for the rest, we'll have to play by ear."

Although Lin Mengya's radar was a sensitive one, she knew that she needed antidotes to neutralize whatever poison that was in Concubine De's body.

If she wished to cure Concubine De's illness in secret, she would have to think of a better solution.

Suddenly, she had a brainwave. Baili Rui!

Yes! Bailin Rui, who was imprisoned in the dungeon, was an expert in poison.

He might be able to provide a good solution.

Lin Mengya made up her mind as she separated from Jinyue.

When she turned around randomly, she accidentally caught sight of a grey hem of someone's coat at a corner of the Moon Gate.

As she was about to find out who that was, Baishao had approached her at that moment.

"Master, Concubine De has asked for you to join her in front to enjoy the chrysanthemum flowers!"

The excited Baishao had not noticed that grey hem of a coat at all.

In the twinkling of an eye, that grey hem of a coat disappeared.

Lin Mengya recovered from her daze and nodded.

Could she have seen wrongly?

"Oh, I'll be right there."

It would not be presumptuous to claim that the chrysanthemum flowers of the Liuxin Courtyard were the most beautiful in the Capital City.

In the carefully designed little courtyard, everything was at its rightful place.

Pebbles of three colors were laid into a neat little path.

On both sides of the paths were lined with chrysanthemum flowers in order of colors, species and different stages of bloom.

"Oh, look at Ya'er's attentive creation. None of the chrysanthemum flowers is withering. Who is the one who tends to these flowers?"

With light steps, Lin Mengya followed Concubine De onto the pavilion in the Liuxin Courtyard.

Despite having seen beautiful gardens in the palace, Concubine De could not help but marvel at the beauty of Liuxin Courtyard.

"Oh, this—"

"Your servant, I am the one tending to this garden. I am so honored that Concubine De finds my work pleasant to your eyes."

Just when Lin Mengya was about to say that it was the mansion's gardener who tended to them, a hoarse voice echoed through the air.

Turning to the direction of the source of the voice, Lin Mengya's jaws almost dropped.

The person speaking was clad in a wine-colored dress. Looking to be taller than most women, she was by no means sturdy-looking.

She had delicate eyes and brows accentuated by make-up. Compared to the pretty and innocent Baishao, this lady was beautiful but a little too garish.

"Your servant, Huagu, pay my respect to Your Highness, Concubine De, and Princess Yu, my master."

Although she behaved a little wantonly, at least she knew how to abide by the rules.

Concubine De shot her a cold glare, apparently displeased.

"Who is she?"

Concubine De turned to look at Lin Mengya expectantly.

Lin Mengya's thoughts turned quickly and she decided to tell a lie.

"This— she is my second uncle's concubine. She was good at gardening, so I brought her into the mansion after my uncle passed away. Tending to the flower bed is her specialty."

Lin Mengya had mastered the skill over not blushing when she told a lie. She could only hope that Concubine De would believe her words.

"Oh? So she's a kinsman. In that case, you may go. Do bear in mind to abide by the protocols in the mansion, get it?"

Although Concubine De was obviously displeased with Huagu, she could not deny that she had taken care of the garden and its flowers remarkably well.

She supposed this fox was not capable of creating waves given Ya'er's formidable character.

"I'm— I'm going to pick some chrysanthemum flowers with Huagu to make tea. Please bear with me, Mother."

With that, Lin Mengya grabbed Huagu's arm and dragged her into a side room in the backyard.

The instant the door closed behind them, Lin Mengya began her vicious rebuke, saying, "Have you lived long enough that you've dressed up as a woman, damned fox?"

Huagu, no, Qinghu disguised as a woman, burst out laughing as he looked at Lin Mengya's flushed face.

"Oh, it's so fun to disguise as a woman. Look, I'm more beautiful than you as a woman, right?"

Qinghu gave Lin Mengya a coquettish glance and gesticulated flirtatiously, which caused Lin Mengya to feel disgusted.

A deep frown appeared on Lin Mengya's forehead instantly.

Good heavens! Why was her courtyard filled with these queer creatures?

Before she could give Qinghu a proper admonition, exclamations and screaming could be heard from outside.

What happened again?

Ignoring Qinghu for now, Lin Mengya dashed out into the courtyard.

What came into sight was a few maidservants running and chasing something all over the courtyard.

"Oops—"

"Ouch—"

Two young voices sounded, and the noises subsided.

At this moment, two white beasts had come to hide below Lin Mengya's skirt.

Snow and the baby tiger were fearless when they were surrounded by the maidservants. In fact, they were gritting their teeth in a display of their creature instinct.

"Stop, what's happening?"

Lin Mengya asked, frowning.

All the maidservants stopped in their tracks. However, many of the valuable chrysanthemum flowers had been trampled upon and were falling to the floor.

"Oops! Who was it who destroyed all the flowers? I've spent so much effort cultivating and taking care of the plants. Sob sob, how would I continue to live?"

Lin Mengya was startled by a high-pitched voice.

Qinghu keeled over and started wailing as if someone had passed away.

Lin Mengya thought Qinghu was going overboard with his acting.

Ignoring him, she turned to question the head maid.

"What happened? How did it turn out like this?"

The maidservants realized that they had committed a grave error. Those chrysanthemum flowers could cost more than their lives.

In fact, some of the maids were so terrified that they had knelt down directly in front of Lin Mengya.