Chapter 244 Worshipping in the Imperial Ancestral Temple

Lin Mengya laughed quietly to herself. These two ought to have been bribed by the Queen. They were merely chess pieces that would be used only once. Even if they succeeded in their false accuse, they would surely be eradicated by the Queen through all kinds of reasons.

Who would choose to openly carry around a sword that had been used?

“However, since the person who had been wrongly accused is Princess Yu, shall we hand them over to Princess Yu to deal with them?”

The Queen was indeed brilliant in that she had casually and conveniently handed the authority of punishing the sinners to Lin Mengya.

To her, Lin Mengya had been wronged and it was only natural that she be the one to deal with them.

In this way, the Queen would preserve her reputation as the upright and virtuous one. On the other hand, she would also shake off the suspicion on her. Killing two birds with one stone was so her style.

Unfortunately, she was dealing with Lin Mengya who was a tough side to beat.

The two royal uncles and relatives had plans of their own.

It was apparent that Queen had full confidence in her plan from what she did and said. Although they were dissatisfied with how the Queen was increasingly domineering, they were afraid that they would become a matter of derision if they were too rash to wait for an opportune time to rise in revolt.

Therefore, at this moment, all their eyes were focused on Lin Mengya.

Although the injustice on Princess Yu had been redressed, she remained kneeling silently on the floor with her head bowed.

“Princess Yu, what do you think of this arrangement?”

Lin Mengya finally looked up in response to the question of the King of Chongshan. Her pair of beautiful eyes were filled with tears by now, making her look so miserable and delicate. She was a complete contrast to the Queen, who was overbearing and aggressive.

“Your niece-in-law had been raised in boudoir since young and had never come into contact with Official Yun and the ceremonial official. Their false accusation was completely uncalled for. Moreover, the costume had come from the department of costumes. It would have also gone through the examination of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Order before it was delivered to the prince’s mansion. I believe it was impossible that these two were the real culprits.”

Lin Mengya was composed and steady, but it was obvious that she was not going to let the perpetrators get away.

These people were part of the plan to get her in trouble. Being merciful to them was equivalent to being cruel to herself.

“That sounds reasonable. Your Highness the Queen, you had been in charge of the harem over the years, what happened was really unexpected. If we let this pass, it might tarnish your reputation. It would be wise to investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it.” “On the one hand, you would do Princess Yu justice and clear her name. Secondly, you would purge the palace of any person with evil intention, lest such trouble happens again.”

The King of Lishan, having a good rapport with his brother, complemented his suggestion. The Queen was therefore left with no choice but to agree to look into this matter and get to the truth.

The Queen secretly hated the two senior princes.

When the Emperor was coronated, these two cunning princes, using the excuse that they were unfit physically, had claimed that they were not capable of taking up important offices and had gone out of the country to feudal fiefdom.

To the Queen’s surprise, when the Emperor fell ill, they claimed that the imperial edict had ordered them to return to take control of the state affairs. The Crown Prince and the Queen had no choice but to refrain from acting against them in fear that they destroy them.

Today, the Queen had involved them in her ploy to corner Lin Mengya.

Never had she expected that they took the opportunity to make a fool of her!

The cold look in the Queen’s eyes gradually disappeared. She pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s just do as the two senior princes suggested. Official Yun, Eunuch Huang, both of you are to cooperate with the two senior princes, understand?”

At this juncture, the attitude of the Queen was that of a bystander who watched from the sideline. She was fully aware that there were no such things as a foolproof plan. For this reason, she had prepared herself to handle the situation if her plan was exposed.

It was obvious that they were trying to track down the culprit following the clues. The question was, would anyone dare to implicate her?

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Eunuch Huang was not anxious at all. He was just a messenger and thought he had nothing to do with the false accusations.

Just when the Queen turned to leave, Lin Mengya started speaking again.

“Your Highness must be too busy to remember everything. You had promised me that you will let this royal daughter-in-law enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship.”

Lin Mengya spoke in a lighthearted that it made the Queen’s face fell.

It could be said that Lin Mengya had utterly provoked the Queen. Who did she think she was to want to worship in the Imperial Ancestral Temple alone?

In the royal family, this honor was a privilege given exclusively to the Queen or the Crown Prince’s consort.

She was but the consort of a bastard. How dare she go after such an honor! Dream on!

“This matter is inappropriate according to etiquettes, let’s forget about it. If you offend the ancestors, calamities might befall Dajin. By then, wouldn’t Princess Yu be cursed by the people of the entire nation?”

As proud as the Queen was, she was actually reneging on her words!

The two senior princes felt uncomfortable about the Queen’s behavior and through it inappropriate.

It might be inappropriate for Princess Yu to participate in the worshipping now, and if she insisted to break the rules, she would have shown herself to be of an inferior character.

“Your Highness is right, but to me, your words carried enormous weight. You have made a promise earlier, wouldn’t your reputation be tarnished if you go back on your words, Your Highness? Then my sins will be greater. I am alright if you refuse to let me worship in the ancestral temple today, but I would implore Your Highness to give me a promise. If one day, I were to have a request that will benefit the nation, its people and the world, I hope Your Highness the Queen will grant my request.”

Lin Mengya lowered her head, seemingly respectful, but in reality, no one knew the plans in her heart.

She knew long ago that the Queen would not let her have her way by worship in the Imperial Ancestral Temple so easily.

The reason she had made the request earlier was that she had made a careful calculation that the Queen would blow hot and cold.

Lin Mengya had already thought of how to make use of this to exchange for another condition. By then, it would be difficult for the Queen to turn down her request.

When the two senior princes witnessed how sensible Lin Mengya was, they were very keen to help make her request granted. After all, the Queen had wrongly accused her and broken her promise.

It would be unreasonable for the Queen not to give an answer to Lin Mengya after all that had happened.

The Queen shot a glance at Lin Mengya and she swallowed the words she was about to speak.

She realized that this was a trap set up for her all along. She had thought that Lin Mengya was the one who would fall into her trap and she would fight with the Queen as a trapped beast.

When in reality, the Queen was the one who had been tricked by Lin Mengya right from the beginning.

Do not be fooled by Lin Mengya’s respectful and meek mannerisms. It was impossible to find anyone her equal in terms of her wit and scheming.

“Alright, I shall grant your request.”

What request would be beneficial to the nation, its people and the world? The Queen did not believe that this lass would have such great aspirations or magnanimity. She was probably greedy for rewards. The Queen was not going to let Lin Mengya be pleased for long.

This matter was not going to come to an end so fast.

“I would have to trouble the senior princes and relatives to deal with this matter. I shall not delay further here because there are still other important matters I need to attend to for the sacrificial ceremony. Eunuch Huang, do cooperate with them. Don’t you disappoint me, understand?”

“Yes, your servant accepts the order.”

The Queen turned to leave abruptly. In this round, the Queen and Lin Mengya had achieved a draw.

Lin Mengya had not managed to implicate the Queen, on the other hand, the Queen did not manage to convict Lin Mengya of a crime. There was no reason for Lin Mengya to feel elated.

“Men, detain these two in custody and wait for Princess Yu to deal with them.”

Eunuch Huang ordered with a cold voice, and then Lin Mengya watched as the two people were escorted away.

Since the sacrificial ceremony was going on, it was not the best time to deal with them.

Lin Mengya was not concerned whether these two people were to die on the way. It would only make the Queen look more suspicious.

It did not matter who killed the two. The more important thing was that the Queen ought not to be implicated.

“Your niece-in-law would like to thank you, the two royal uncles, for your support and protection. If not for your help, I would have been wrongly accused today.”

As the Queen left, the two senior princes and the other relatives followed suit.

Immediately, Lin Mengya went up to meekly expressed her gratitude towards the princes.

The King of Chongshan and the King Of Lishan exchanged looks and it was obvious from the look in their eyes that they admired this niece-in-law.

How long had they not seen such a meek, obedient, intelligent and quick-witted character in the royal family?

“Alright, alright. You’re indeed much more meticulous and attentive. We were merely backing you up in the sideline. Please don’t stand on ceremony. Your father, Muzhi is our bosom buddy. As long as we are still around, we will not allow you to suffer any wrong.”

The King of Lishan said as his personal eunuch helped Lin Mengya to her feet.

“This is a surprise.”

Lin Mengya had heard her father mention about them.

It was fair to say that half of Dajin had been conquered by the Emperor with her father’s assistance.

This was precisely the reason the Emperor was able to stand his ground against the opinion of the masses to sit on the throne.

Her father had also mentioned the Emperor’s two brothers who were there supporting them. These were precisely the two brothers without a doubt.

“Indeed it was so. Unfortunately, the witnesses to what happened were either dead or retired. Therefore, our relationship with your father is not known to many people. Now helping you secretly was all we could do. Sigh, the Emperor is suffering in his illness, while a woman usurps his authority. This is going to create great chaos.”

The King of Chongshan and the King of Lishan seemed to share the same worry.

As Lin Mengya gazed at the two princes, she certainly empathized with their concerns.

Lin Mengya felt their discrimination towards the female gender when they mentioned that a woman had usurped the authority. No doubt the Queen was petty-minded and the Crown Prince obstinate and self-opinionated, the country would most certainly be ruined if they continued to be the one in control.

A smart Lin Mengya chose to remain silent in response. She could see that the two princes were concerned about the future of the nation and its people.

However, if she were to blurt out anything unbecoming, she would come across as extremely rude.

“Sigh, look, as we age, we speak useless words. Come, let’s go out to watch the ceremony. I wonder what Long Tianyu had done to deserve such an intelligent wife?”

The expression on King of Chongshan’s face was no longer one of worry and concern. The fact that his good old friend’s daughter had turned out to be a sensible child made him happy.

Lin Mengya nodded and trailed behind the two princes.