Chapter 361 A Mysterious Seal

Lin Mengya hesitated for a moment and chose not to tear the belt open.

The villa was hard to access for other people, but Lin Mengya insisted on opening it in the silent midnight just in case. She wanted to know what was inside the belt.

Lin Mengya was picking up her mother’s legacy with Baizhi. She decided to take all these things away with her.

The bugs and ants here would destroy them sooner or later, so it was better for them to be collected by Lin Mengya. She could take a look at these things whenever she missed her mother.

It was getting dark outside. Someone stopped at the door with a lantern in her hand.

“Time for lunch, my lady!”

A familiar voice made Baizhi bounce up from the ground immediately. She smiled and went to open the door joyfully.

“Ms. Tian! It’s you! I thought you were back in the countryside with your son. I missed you so much!”

A humble woman stood at the door.

Her yellow clothes were made of coarse fabric, looking simple and clean.

She was in her 50s, but wrinkles had already spread over her face. Life must have been hard for this tough woman.

Her eyes still looked so gentle and kind.

“I missed my lady and the young master. Yue’er, I heard that you were with her in a new home. How’s it going?” Ms. Tian asked slowly, with a blotchy meal box in her hand.

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Baizhi’s eyes got wet as soon as she saw the meal box.

In the old days, Ms. Lin always put what she and Lin Mengya needed in the box, trying her best to give it to them.

Even when she was wounded, she would still bring them jujube buns, smiling.

“I’ve changed my name. It’s Baizhi now. Our lady is very respected in her new home,” Baizhi said proudly.

She took over the box from Ms. Tian just like how she used to in the old days.

Lin Mengya was standing there, hesitating.

Ms. Tian was one of the two women that took care of her the most in the past, the other being her mother. The woman had been protecting her since she was little.

She still remembered the first time she saw Mr. Tian. Back then, she was a young diligent woman. She cared for Lin Mengwu and her brother because she was their nanny.

After the two kids lost their mother, Ms. Tian took the little girl and her brother under her wings like a brave eagle.

Many times had she be punished by Shang Guanqing because of Lin Mengya and her brother’s fault.

Lin Mengya hated herself for being ungrateful. She had been married away for merely a year, but she seldom thought about the woman who had protected her and her brother like their real mother.

Lin Mengya didn’t realize that she was slowly inheriting all the old Lin Mengya’s emotions.

Ms. Tian looked at Baizhi kindly. Her loose eyes looked at Lin Mengya with worry.

The two were a few steps away from each other. Ms. Tian was checking out Lin Mengya from head to toe.

Her sweetheart finally made her way out.

She didn’t care what luxurious clothes Lin Mengya was in. She was happy that the girl no longer had that fearful face.

“My lady… how are you?”

Her voice was quivering. The calm woman’s eyes became wet.

Step by step, Lin Mengya walked out from deep inside the house.

Fair skin, bright eyes, shiny teeth, smooth hair… Her dress was extravagant. The woman had grown out of the poor little girl from the past.

Most noblewomen in Capital City would fade next to her.

“How are you, Ms. Tian? Long time no see. How’s it going?”

Ms. Tian looked at the graceful woman in front of her in amazement. She heard that Princess Yu had been scared in the sedan and had barely recovered.

She didn’t know the little girl had changed this much.

But she was sure the woman was still her little sweetheart.

“Ms. Tian, I know you’ve got a lot to ask about, but this is not the right place for us to catch up. Baizhi, let’s go outside.”

Lin Mengya spoke before Ms. Tian could explain. Then she signaled Ms. Tian with her eyes.

Ms. Tian surely understood. She wiped her eyes and picked up Ms. Lin’s old clothes. Then the three of them went toward Lin Mengya’s boudoir.

The closest people always wished they could have more time together.

Ms. Tian smiled while listening carefully at the dinner table. Baizhi couldn’t stop talking about the ups and downs she and Lin Mengya had been through.

“As clever as our lady was, she couldn’t manage to avoid those risks. There were many times I was scared out of myself.”

Baizhi patted her chest proudly. She had been through much more than that in the past decades.

Although Ms. Tian was still calm, the worry in her eyes was getting thicker and thicker.

“Don’t believe her words. I’m fine now. Baizhi, don’t make a big deal out of it. I’ll punish you if Ms. Tian gets scared!”

Lin Mengya was drinking warm water. Her eyes stopped at Ms. Tian with some assumption.

She hadn’t noticed before that this seemingly simple woman was much calmer than Baizhi. When she was told the stories, like how Madame Wang’s dead body came back to life, the old woman wasn’t surprised at all.

Lin Mengya once heard that her mother was as famous for her medical proficiency as she was for being clever.

Her mother chose Ms. Tian as the help, which meant that Ms. Tian had to be good at something.

An idea came to Lin Mengya’s mind.

“My lady, you’re in the palace, a quite different place from others. A single mistake may cost you your life. Be careful! Don’t get yourself disgraced!”

These earnest words came from the bottom of Ms. Tian’s heart, not knowing that this was the path Lin Mengya had been following.

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Lin Mengya took the opportunity and said, “You’re right, but my maids are all too young. Days ago, Concubine De sent a royal maid to serve me, but the maid died from a disease very soon after. Sometimes I did things in the wrong way because no one was there to remind me. I could really use some help. If there was someone there reminding me, it could save me a lot of trouble.”

Ms. Tian didn’t reply immediately. She was hesitating.

She loved the two kids like she was their mother.

If there was anything that made her hesitate, it would be about her own children.

“Is there anything wrong? You can tell me about it. I’m not much of a successful woman right now, but I’m powerful enough to help your son. It’s the least I can do for you.”

Ms. Tian only had a son, and to raise her son was why she served in the Lin family as a nanny.

Lin Mengya met the son when Ms. Tian brought him here. They were both young.

She remembered him as a simple and honest boy. She wondered if time had changed him.

“Nothing… It’s just I’m too old to work. I’ll have to go back to the countryside in the coming days. Please take care of yourself.”

Ms. Tian’s refusal was as tactful as Lin Mengya’s request, which Lin Mengya had expected.

However, Lin Mengya didn’t want to give up. She knew what Ms. Tian was thinking.

She whispered to Ms. Tian. Instantly, she stood up and said she had to leave.

Baizhi watched her leave then started reflecting, which she seldom did.

The villa was so quiet under the moonlight.

She loved the yard for being quiet and open. With the guards of the mansion protecting all night, she didn’t need to be worried that anyone would sneak in and bother them.

Lin Mengya tore open the belt under the faint candlelight.

After she got rid of the faded fabric on the inside, she found a tiny seal.

It might have been made from jade. It looked like ginseng.

She didn’t recognize the characters at the bottom, but she found the small seal quite exquisite.

She checked it again and again, but still, she couldn’t find anything wrong. She decided to carry it with her, just in case.

She felt that she got closer to what she wanted today, but Baizhi was still thinking about something. She was facing the window, with one hand supporting her cheek.

Lin Mengya tried not to disturb her. She felt happy that Baizhi had grown mature enough to think about things.

“Something’s off.”

Those words just slipped out of the girl’s lips. Lin Mengya smiled and didn’t reply directly. She decided to let Baizhi speak out her own thoughts.

“We didn’t tell them we were coming back, and they didn’t know. Now they’ve changed the gatekeeper; Lin Mengwu is sick; even Ms. Tian is back here. I remember when you got married, Mrs. Lin said that she wouldn’t allow Ms. Tian to come back. Everything is so weird.”

Lin Mengya’s eyebrows stretched into a smile. She was glad the girl finally knew how to think.

Lin Mengya signaled for her to go on and was ready to listen. She wondered what other opinions the young maid could have.

“And you were giving a hint that you wanted Ms. Tian to be with us. I remember she cried at your wedding and pleaded to serve you in your new home. Now you’re offering her the opportunity, so why did she refuse? You’re the princess. Your words matter more than anything else in your new home. If I were her, I would definitely agree to leave with you!”