A crystal clear voice sounded from outside.

As Lin Mengya lifted her head, she indeed saw Qinghu, who was dressed in a costume meant for a priest.

He looked very different from how he usually dressed at home. The Qinghu before her eyes had turned into a chilling, cold-blooded killer.

"Lass, your father is here to bring you home. Whoever is that beak-nosed guy, watch out how you treat my daughter. If she's hurt in any way, I, being her father, will cut you into pieces!"

Lin Mengya was not an expert in fighting, in fact, she was totally clueless about it. What she knew at the moment was that Qinghu would be fighting against two opponents.

The rest of the men in black in the courtyard seemed to have been entangled in a fight with the Qinghu's men.

She did not know any martial arts and could be easily taken as a sheild for those fighting.

Oh goodness.

Why did she not get through to the second vain, Rendu when the radar was implanted earlier on?

"Hum, I thought the Dajin women were prim and proper ladies, but it looks like you are merely some skittish women! Is this your lover?"

It was apparent that the beak-nosed guy was trying to provoke Qinghu to anger and meanwhile grab any opportunity to escape. However, it was not so easy to deceive Qinghu, who instant drew out his sword and thrust it towards the foreign prince.

"How despicable!"

The foreign prince and his men did not expect Qinghu to start attacking without following the protocol.

In the midst of all the commotion, the beak-nosed prince grabbed Lin Mengha and put her in front of himself to act as a shield, hoping that Qinghu would give up on pursuing him.

However, this had little effect on Qinghu's vicious attacks. It only made Qinghu attack him from another angle. In fact, he wielded his sword passed Lin Mengya's ear.

"Be careful, Master!"

Yundu cried out as he lunged forward in an attempt to shield his master from the sharp sword.

However, a smile appeared at the corners of Qinghu's lips and he launched a kick forward.

His kick landed on Yundu and Yundu flew off the ground from the impact. At the same time, the beak-nosed prince let go of his hold on Lin Mengya.

"Are you alright, lass?"

Qinghu received Lin Mengya into his hands and a cheeky smile appeared on his face.

He winked at Lin Mengya, as he only meant to scare the foreign prince, so he could rescue Lin Mengya.

"I'm alright. However, if you've thrust the sword just a little off, you could have disfigured my face, then you'll be digging your own grave!"

She would be lying if she said she was not scared of the sword coming towards her. It was just because Lin Mengya was a woman who could keep her composure even if the world had collapsed around her. She did not react the same way as other ladies who would freak out when faced with similar situations.

"Rest assured, I'm more concerned about your face than you are. Let's go!"

Qinghu was as cunning as a fox but he was exhausted much of his strength from the repeated fierce battles.

Therefore, he did not want to continue fighting the two opponents even though he was far more skilled in martial arts then both men.

Straight after he saved Lin Mengya the the foreign prince's hands, he employed a skill which allowed him to flee quickly.

Lin Mengya, carried in Qinghu's arms, stole a glance at the foreign prince and his sidekick and saw the dismay on their faces.

Quietly, she tried to memorize their faces and she promised herself that she would make them pay for what they had done!

"Are you alright, Your Highness?"

Lin Kui was the first to approach Lin Mengya and inquire about her safety and well-being when he saw her.

After a bumpy journey, Qinghu finally brought Lin Mengya safety back to the small courtyard.

In the courtyard, Lin Kui, together with some palace guards were counting the number of dead bodies.

Even though Lin Mengya was faced with an entire courtyard of corpses, she did not appear to be afraid at all.

"How's the situation here? Has anyone found out the background of these people?"

Lin Kui nodded, looking dismayed. With a serious voice, he said,

"These men belonged to the death squad of the western foreign land and their leader was most likely a member of the royal family."

Western foreign land? At this juncture, Lin Mengya suddenly remembered that the scoundrel had been so sure that Long Tianhao would not be able to rescue her on time.

He had also commented that Long Tianhao was a useless wimp who did not live up to his status. Could it be that the meetup between the foreign nobleman and Long Tianhao was arranged by him?

"That man said he is a prince. Could he actually be the crown prince of the western foreign land?"

Lin Kui shook his head, although he had been to war with the prince.

He could only recognize the commander of the army. Moreover, that man had not come face to face with Lin Kui a while ago.

"I don't care if he really is the prince of western foreign land. I am not going to let him regardless since he tried to be funny with you."

Qinghu was a highly skilled martial artist, so much so that he was one of the best among the guards.

Liu Kui had always been wary of him. He would not have any interactions with him the prince did not make him the consort's bodyguard.

"Oh no, today the prince will be accompanying Prince Ming on a tour around the capital city. What if this person plots to bring harm to our prince? How about Qinghu, you go and protect the prince?"

Qinghu's face fell when Qinghu saw how anxious Lin Mengya was over Long Tianhao.

However, he had no way of turning down Lin Mengya's request, so he could only force a nod.

In the twinkling of an eye, he disappeared from the courtyard filled with dead bodies.

"Your Highness, is he trustworthy?"

Lin Mengya nodded as she gave Lin Kui a solemn look.

"It is my hope that you not ostracize him in future. Perhaps you were enemies in the past, but from now on, I can assure you that he will be your most loyal partner."

Lin Mengya's words were sincere and earnest.

Lin Kui could not turn her down. He could only hope that this Qinghu, who was sometimes in the light and sometimes in the dark, was able to truly protect the prince.

After all the commotion, the sky was turning dark when Lin Mengya began her journey home on the horse carriage.

While sitting in the carriage, a million thoughts ran through her mind.

She did not usually show herself in public in the capital city. Not mentioning the foreign people from the west, only a handful of people in the capital city would be able to recognize her.

Why then did that prince call her the most beautiful woman of Dajin?

Moreover, how did you come out with such a well-thought plan to kidnap her?

He had lured Long Tianhao away and made calculated moves based on her trip to the temple to offer incense. The man whom Qinghu had been entangled with could have been sent by that foreign prince too!

Otherwise, how could this be so coincidental? If that man did not appear all of a sudden, she would not have walked halfway up the mountain to where it was secluded.

The sequence of events had become a mystery to her that entangled her thoughts and she was unable to get an answer to her questions.

Her thoughts were in such an entangled mess that she was beginning to feel irritated.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Baizhi gently tugged on the corner of Lin Mengya's dress. The courtyard was in such a chaotic state.

Nobody really noticed Baizhi in the chaos. She had coincidentally run towards the side gate of the courtyard and opened it by accident, thereby allowing the royal guards to enter the courtyard and take down the masked men in black.

"I'm alright. How about you? Are you injured?"

Lin Mengya held on Baizhi's hand and looked at her apologetically. Baizhi had been serving her as a maid since young.

However, there was not a day she could enjoy herself, but had been implicated often enough.

"Your servant here is alright too. I'm the happiest person if Miss is safe and sound."

The little girl who had been in a state of shock was now back by Lin Mengya's side and she a sweet smile had spread across her face.

It seemed like she was totally unaffected by what happened.

"Alright, that puts me at ease. I will buy you another of that box next time."

Baizhi looked assured immediately. Sometimes, Lin Mengya truly envied Baizhi for her simple character.

It seemed that as long as she had something to eat and drink, she would be totally unperturbed by things happening around her.

The horse carriage soon entered the capital city and Lin Kui hurried to send Lin Mengya home.

Little did they expect that someone would suddenly emerge to block their way.

The entire Prince Yu's Mansion was in a great tumult.

In the Art Courtyard was Concubine De, who presently had anger and regret written all over her face.

If she had not insisted on bringing Lin Mengya along to the temple to offer incense, this lass would not have gone missing.

Now there was no news of her and she was anxious as to how he was going to explain to her son?

"Madam, the guards from the mansion had all been sent out. Not to worry, they will definitely find the princess soon!"

Jinyue tried to comfort Concubine De. Jinyue was as anxious as her to learn that they had lost Lin Mengya.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault! If I had not insisted to bring her along to the temple, I would not have created such grave trouble."

In the days leading to today, Concubine De had clearly seen what a wonderful person Lin Mengya was.

If Lin Mengya was not sincere towards her, why would she come to serve her every day and to chat with her?

For reason that Long Tianhao was her only son, all the princesses in the palace treated her with the utmost respect, but not all with sincerity.

Jiang Ruqin, the only one she really doted on, was a very willful lass. In this light, Lin Mengya became a very important person to her.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Don't even say that. The princess is a blessed person so I believe that she would be alright."

However, before the maid could finish her sentence, Jingyue entered the Art Courtyard with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Your Highness, Madam Lin asked to see you."

Concubine De's heart almost jumped out of her chest. This woman would not have asked to see her without a purpose. Concubine De suspected that Madam Lin must have come with some evil intention.

"Please come in."

Glancing at Jinyue, Concubine De attempted to suppress the worry in her heart.

Shangguan Qing had entered the Art Courtyard following her daughter. At this moment, there was guilt and remorse written all over her face.

She walked up to Concubine De and without saying a word, she knelt before Concubine De and started to wail.

"Please forgive me for not bringing up my daughter properly, so much so that she had caused such grave trouble, and thereby tinting the prince's reputation."

The two of them hung their head as they confessed their sins as if something disastrous had really happened.

The atmosphere in the room turned heavy and Concubine De's brows knotted together into a deep frown.

What was happening?

"Please do away with the unnecessary and get up first. Tell us what happened?"

This mother-and-daughter pair had never left a good impression with Concubine De.

At present, they had come to add to her worries at a time when she was most troubled. Concubine De could not help but sounded cold when she spoke to them.

She had two maids walk up to help both Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu respectively up on their feet.

Shangguan Qing dapped her teary eyes with a handkerchief. She tried to look remorseful and regretful and she went on to say,

"It's all my daughter's fault, that unfilial daughter's fault. At that time, when we were in the palace, she happened to be acquainted with a foreign boy. I locked her up at home so that she could reflect on her mistakes. Who would have expected that not only did she not repent, she actually eloped! Such a shameful act! I... I'm would rather bang my head and die than to face the shame!"

Shangguan Qing's words were a shock to everyone in the room.

Both Concubine De and Jinyue were stunned. How could this be?

Had the princess not been missing or kidnapped?

Did she actually elope with someone?!

Good heavens! No other news could be this shocking!