Chapter 520 The Farce Coming to a Close

Lin Mengya waved the Black Dragon Token in her hand and her intention was obvious.

Zuo Qiuchen was the one who had revealed these secrets to her.

Now the expressions of the elders’ faces kept changing. It seemed that they could hardly believe that the young emperor was already aware of all that was happening.

Was there still any other secrets in the Pavilion of Herbs that were unknown to the emperor?

Now that she managed to intimidate this group of people, what she intended to do following this would become much easier.

“My dear disciple, how you’ve been treated harshly by life! How do you expect me, your teacher, to continue living when you’ve left in this manner?!”

Seeing that Lin Mengya was going to get away with all these, Qian Yuming immediately began crying out like a woman who had gone mad.

His emotions seemed so real and his voice so grieved. Lin Mengya might have been taken in by his acting if not because she knew clearly that he was the very person who conspired the death of his own disciple.

Obviously, the people who had been living in this environment for a long time would become skillful actors.

Qian Yuming began wailing loudly when he realized that he was not getting anywhere.

Coincidentally, Lin Mengya spotted the look in Duanmu Yang’s eyes that said that he was gloating over what had happened. It appeared that there were no lack of disagreements among these elders.

Perhaps Du Zhong had also been after the key kept in the box with an abstruse secret.

Qian Yuming might well have anticipated all of these.

“Your disciple might have died a young age, but he had brought this upon himself after all. I wonder, Elder Qian, who was supposed to be in charge of guarding the key to the box with an abstruse secret?”

Although these elders wanted to gang up against Zuo Qiuyu, they only dared to do it secretly.

Firstly, they had given Cousin Yu the box with an abstruse secret. Lin Mengya supposed they had planned this together.

However, the key inside the box with an abstruse secret was only one of the authenticating objects for the successor of the Chief Elder.

Therefore, their intentions were flexible.

From the time they realized something had happened, they were able to rush over within a short time.

Apart from Elder Chang Tianhua who could be excluded, the rest ought to have come prepared.

Lin Mengya supposed they had wanted to hear that Zuo Qiuyu had been killed when he tried to open the box with an abstruse secret using the wrong method.

Unfortunately, Qian Yuming’s greed and foolishness had allowed Lin Mengya to get a sweet bargain.

Nevertheless, Du Zhong’s death had created trouble.

“This… We’ve been looking for this key in the box with an abstruse secret all along, but all to no avail. Perhaps some determined person could have hidden it. Regardless of that, Du Zhong had died right before you, Your Highness. Please do give us an account of what happened.”

Duanmu Yang, the relatively rational one, spoke up.

Ever since he had a personal encounter with Lin Mengya, when he was being put down, he seemed to have been given some advice because his attitude towards Lin Mengya was much more friendly afterward.

He made sure to address the princess in every statement he made. He was surely much more courteous than before.

“This man had died from the abstruse secret mechanism of the box. Are you going to shift the blame to us even if it was because he was covetous by nature and tried to open the box with an abstruse secret?”

Lin Mengya did not attempt to conceal the coldness and impatience in her eyes as she spoke.

Elder Duanmu Yin, who had been standing by Duanmu Yang’s side snorted and opened his mouth to speak.

“Perhaps this unlucky guy was a scapegoat. I’ve long heard about the decisiveness in attacks of the Lin Family in Dajin. You’re after all General Lin’s daughter. We’d never know if it were a ploy from you.”

Duanmu Yin’s voice sounded hoarse. Lin Mengya could not help but feel uneasiness and displeasure when he spoke.

His eyes were made up of more white parts than black. Although there was a resemblance between him and Duanmu Yang, he gave Lin Mengya a sinister feeling.

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop drastically almost immediately the moment he opened his mouth to speak.

Many of the disciples also appeared to fear him more than respect him the moment they saw Duanmu Yin.

Moreover, while he spoke little, every statement he made seemed to be a nail that nailed a sentence on Lin Mengya and her company.

The favorable situation seemed to have turned against them the moment he made those few statements.

However, Lin Mengya also realized that although Nan Rui was the most highly regarded elder in the Pavilion of Herbs, all the elders apart from Chang Tianhua surprisingly agreed with each other after he spoke.

This was very strange. Was there something usual about Duanmu Yin?

“That’s right. My disciple was a simple man by nature. He had always been very responsible and loyal in terms of serving his teachers and elders. In fact, he had never been lacking in manners. Perhaps someone had tried to make use of his good nature so he became the scapegoat!”

It was obvious that Qian Yuming was the one who coveted after the key. However, he had used his sharp tongue to point his fingers at Lin Mengya, and in a worked up way. In fact, he acted rather vehemently and appeared impassioned.

Lin Mengya was puzzled as to why the arrogant Qian Yuming seemed to yield to Duanmu Yin’s words.

Just because Duanmu Yin spoke up, he had begun to act up again as if he was holding back a moment ago.

Her hesitation had been viewed as guilt to some others. In that short time, the atmosphere seemed to have turned pressurizing to Lin Mengya and she felt cornered.

“Punish the murderer severely! We have to avenge Senior Du Zhong!”

Someone shouted from among the crowd.

The emotions were being stirred up at that instant. The fact was that Lin Mengya and her company were outsiders after all, so they were no match with Qian Yuming in gathering support from the people.

Lin Mengya furrowed her brows and was about to flare up when a figure came in front of her to block her.

“Prince Yu, although you are our honored guest, do you intend to bend the law to help your family and friends?”

Qian Yuming frowned. How dare he point his fingers at Long Tianyu. Did he not fear for his life?

Following a “Snap”, Qian Yuming’s shrieks filled the air.

“Ouch! My hand! You, you… I’ll fight you to the bitter end!”

Qian Yuming seemed to have been carried away with Duanmu Yin being his back.

To everyone’s surprise, he had actually pointed a finger at Long Tianyu.

However, no one managed to see what Long Tianyu did. It was only after the snapping sound that they saw Qian Yuming’s finger bent at a bizarre angle.

All the people present were physicians so naturally, they could tell that his finger had been broken.

“Snort!”

In a fit of anger, Qian Yuming charged towards Long Tianyu with clawed hands.

Long Tianyu merely snorted and lifted up his left hand. In the next moment, Qian Yuming, who was charging towards him was thrown into the air like a lightweight mannequin and landed outside the circle of people?

All the people, including Lin Mengya who was standing behind him, traced the perfect projectile of Elder Qian’s flight and fall with their eyes.

They witnessed his great fall. Before he could take another breath, he fainted.

Instantly, there was dead silence among the people.

Long Tianyu scanned the surrounding with a chilling, murderous look in his eyes. In that instant, the people standing around retreated five meters instinctively.

Lin Mengya smothered a giggle. These people were too used to wrangling.

They were obviously shocked and intimidated by a violent man like Long Tianyu, who became physical the moment there was unhappiness.

“Elder Qian! Elder Qian! Quick, bring Elder Qian back!”

Duanmu Yang, accompanied by his disciple, quickly went up to check on Qian Yuming’s condition.

He had merely fainted from the shortness of breath. He was not going to die. Unfortunately, Qian Yuming would henceforth be a laughing stock in the Pavilion of Herbs.

Qian Yuming’s disciples carried him away hurriedly. Then Lin Mengya emerged from Long Tianyu’s back quietly.

There was a cold look in her gentle eyes. Both she and Long Tianyu had outstanding appearances. However, to the disciples of the Pavilion of Herbs, they looked like the two deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. Their eyes were filled with fear.

“Princess! Prince Yu, what’s your intention?”

Nan Rui appeared to be provoked to anger. He shot a cold look at Lin Mengya and Long Tianyu.

“Elder Qian was rude to us in the first place. It was only right for the subordinate to obey the rules. On this occasion, my husband had merely given a light punishment for a great offense. It would not be so the next time.”

Because of the breakout of the event, coupled with Long Tianyu’s severe countenance, the couple had instantly become a nightmare to them.

Perhaps she had inherited the imposing manner of the Lins nurtured in the battlefield; there was a cold, murderous air about her when she put on a serious face.

For this reason, no one dared disregards her presence.

“There are many questionable points regarding Du Zhong’s death. Naturally, I will give you an account, but it’s up to you to believe and accept my account. I believe justice will prevail eventually. However, if anyone intends to blacken our name and Prince Shen’s name, beware and think about how many heads you can afford to let roll if you insulted the royals!”

She always had a reputation for being fair and upright, but she naturally knew that what happened today would result in many discussions among the people.

Although gossip was a fearful thing, it would be hard to shut everyone’s mouth no matter what she did. Nevertheless, her threats would be a deterrent to them to a certain extent.

“Since Your Highness have given us your words, we should not make things any more difficult for you. Regardless of whether Du Zhong had died because of the princess, it’s somewhat related. Du Zhong is a disciple of the Pavilion of Herbs so we have to investigate this matter thoroughly. Before we find out the truth, we would like Your Highness and Prince Yu to not roam around the pavilion freely lest we make this matter even more complicated.”

Nan Rui laid out the conditions reluctantly after pondering for a moment.

They each hold their stand and reasons, but no one was able to produce any evidence to prove the other party wrong.

For this reason, Nan Rui’s request was not unreasonably.

The only concern was that their every movement within the Pavilion of Herbs would be restricted from now on.

It would have brought considerable inconvenience upon them.

“The safely of Your Highness is of utmost importance without a doubt, but no one is above the law, not even the emperor! If Your Highness refuses to oblige, I might appeal to the imperial court and let the emperor judge the matter!”

This was the ultimatum given by Nan Rui and Lin Mengya had no other choice but to nod in agreement.

If this was brought up to Zuo Qiuchen, it would be a dilemma for Zuo Qiuchen given that he had to safeguard his reputation as well as the legal system.

“Your Highness, You are indeed clear on matters of principle. Let’s go!”