Chapter 291: The Family Banquet on New Year's Eve

Compared to ordinary families, the royal families would spend their New Year’s Day in a more ritualistic way.

Before sunrise, Long Tianyu entered the imperial palace in a new ceremonial robe.

On this day, under Crown Prince’s lead, all the princes and concubines would have to pay their respect to the empress dowager in Taihe Palace, and after that, they would receive officials in Yonghe Palace. Despite the emperor on the sickbed, the ritual was necessary on such a day.

After all these procedures, they would have to attend a banquet in Chongqing Palace.

The four maids all remained silent on the way to the imperial palace, and the main road of the city now was packed with carriages. Because of the festival, the palace was dotted with auspicious yet ceremonious decorations.

As Lin Mengya lifted the curtain of the carriage, a towering palace came into her sight. This ever-gloomy place now was lit up by countless lamps and as bright as day.

Everyone in her sight, including the coachmen, was in a new dress. As she had learned, these dresses were made hastily in the palace.

“What a brand new world! The year passed in the blink of an eye.”

At the very beginning of the year, Lin Mengya was just a poor girl in the general’s mansion who was tortured by her step-mother, and now, she was renowned among royal families as Princess Yu. Time changed something while the future was unpredictable.

“Miss, I still remember, last New Year’s Eve, Senior and Junior Master were out, and you and I stayed up all night around a brazier in the mansion. Servants brought us some sweet potatoes and chestnuts, and we baked them in secret. I feel like I still have that scent in my mind.”

Baizhi had a yearning expression on her face as she spoke. Their life in the past was hard yet simple.

“Oh, you arose my appetite. I’ve told the chef’s wife to reserve the sweetest potatoes for us. How about we bake them in a brazier after we return home?”

At the words, Baisyu’s big eyes glittered with delight. Despite baked sweet potato was a common food, it was popular among people.

“That sounds great. You will never be able to get yourself full at a royal banquet. When it’s over, let’s enjoy the potatoes together.”

The conversation reminded Lin Mengya of her old memories. When she was in university, she was so lonely on every New Year’s Day as she had no family and her friends all went home.

Her classmates once invited her to celebrate the New Year with them, but she considered herself an outsider and refused the invitation for fear of disturbing them.

At this moment, looking at the laughing girls, she felt she finally had families with her.

“You’re arriving at Changting Gate, Your Highness. Please get off the carriage and walk to Chongqing Palace.” The voice of the eunuch waiting outside the carriage echoed.

Those who rode carriages to the palace would have to stop at the gate, and there would be old maids leading them to Chongqing Palace.

Lin Mengya was no exception. After all, it was a royal banquet, so, no one would put on airs toward it.

Getting off the carriage, Lin Mengya immediately saw an old maid with fair skin, who curtsied to her and said, “Your servant, Maid Li, pay my respect to Your Highness. Please follow me, Your Highness.”

Lin Mengya nodded at the maid and told Baiji to give her a gold pouch.

It was a convention in the palace to give servants new year presents, and when it came to kids, the presents always were money.

Seeing the pouch, Maid Li was all smiles because the present was more precious than those others gave her, and she started to treat Lin Mengya more heartily.

“Thank you so much, Your Highness, but I’m just a servant and don’t deserve it.”

However, Baiji put the pouch in the maid’s hands deftly before saying with a smile, “Please take it, granny, as our gratitude to your hard work.”

The last time when the four maids entered the palace, they knew nothing about the royals life except for being astonished by their wealth, but this time, Baizhi included, the maids could handle all situations with ease.

It appeared that not only Lin Mengya but also her maids gained experiences.

Walking through the Changting Gate and the Imperial Garden, they reached Chongqing Palace. Lin Mengya’s eyes fell on the only dark building in the palace, which was said to be the emperor’s bedchambers.

The emperor had not stepped out of his room from a year ago. Lin Mengya got a chill to her bone as she stared at the building.

With power always came conspiracy.

Lin Mengya barely entered the Chongqing Palace when she heard the music of instruments coming from inside. As everyone was dressed up, Lin Mengya, who kept a low profile, did not catch much attention.

“It’s been a while since we last saw each other, my dear sister-in-law, but you’re as pretty as I last saw you.”

Upon hearing the flirting tone, Lin Mengya looked aside and surely saw Long Qinghan.

Not in his usual playboy-style, Long Qinghan was in ceremonial attire of light yellow, which added him with some dignity.

When he saw Lin Mengya, he had a hearty smile on his handsome face.

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“Thank you, and it would have been really hard to meet you if not for the banquet. I heard you were enjoying your days in the arms of beauties, will you bring one or two of your favorites to see us?” Lin Mengya mocked Long Qinghan, a prince whose reputation was a byword.

Long Qinghan had learned of Lin Mengya’s sharp tongue before, and he knew explanations would only bring him misunderstandings, so, he just smiled at her toward her mockery.

In actual fact, Lin Mengya did not really have a bad impression of Long Qinghan, and instead, she felt much more relaxed when facing this frivolous prince than facing the Crown Prince, who was both arrogant and selfish.

“By the way, I heard Her Highness the empress is quite concerned about you and my brother, and I also heard that there is a newly opened literature garden named North Tower in the city. Two beauties from there will perform as leading dancers and singers in the banquet.”

At the mention of North Tower, the images of the graceful Master Plum and Master Bamboo arose in her mind. It appeared to her that Long Tianyu really favored these two masters.

Otherwise, he would not have had them do the performance.

“He indeed loves Master Plum the most that he would not have her suffer any grievance.” Lin Mengya thought to herself.

Spotting Lin Mengya’s expression changing, Long Qinghan realized he said something he shouldn’t. He knew very well the relationship between Long Tianyu and North Tower.

Judging from Lin Mengya’s expression, he supposed that she did not know that Long Tianyu was the owner of North Tower. A tingle of interest arose in his heart.

“Well, I knew he has a crush on Master Plum and that he will take her in someday, but I’m not a mean woman, and it won’t trouble me that he has an affair.”

Ling Mengya might sound broad-minded, but Long Qinghan could tell she was jealous of Master Plum even if he was a fool.

Affair? She apparently misunderstood it, he thought.

Things became interesting. Long Qinghan felt surprised to find that, Lin Mengya, a smart woman whom he had never thought to be a jealous one, had such an intriguing side.

“Aren’t you angry at my brother’s having an affair, my sister-in-law?” Long Qinghan joked her.

Finally, he got a chance to keep her in the dark, and he felt so pleased after taking in her response.

“Why should I? If you’re such bored to concern about other’s business, I would suggest you enjoy the foods and wines and stop gossiping.”

Lin Mengya had a cold smile on her face as she spoke. She realized it was not the first time that Long Tianyu had had an affair, and it seemed that she was the last one in the world to know it.

Lin Mengya walked to her seat in rage, and she was in an impulse to beat Long Tianyu to death one.

“It’s none of my business,” Lin Mengya comforted herself. Since she had decided to leave him, what he did had nothing to do with her.

“Damn you the womanizer, I wish you die on women’s bed.”

“Achoo—”

All of a sudden, Long Tianyu sneezed, and he got a chill down to his spine and his hair stood on end.

He looked around but didn’t find anything suspicious.

“Your Highness, there she is.”

Night came to Long Tianyu as silent and swift as a night owlet.

In the empty side chamber, Long Tianyu’s shadow swayed with the faint flickering candlelight, like a black cobweb.

A thin figure walked into the chamber slowly.

From the looks of it, the newcomer was a woman, whose face was hidden under a snow-white cloak.

“How is it going?” Long Tianyu spoke up in a low voice.

It seemed that he was very familiar with the woman.

“Quite well. Our men have surrounded Chongqing Palace, and secret guards are lying in wait near His Majesty’s bedchamber. All we need to do now is waiting for a chance in the banquet,” the woman replied with indifference.

Long Tianyu nodded at the words, and his eyes landed on the only dark building in the palace.

Soon, very soon, he would save his father out.

“Tell Plum not to come to my mansion anymore. She is too conspicuous. Once she draws attention from others, the fact that I’m the owner of North Tower will be exposed. As a leader, you know how to constrain a careless underling, don’t you?”

Long Tianyu looked serious while speaking. The reason he had set up North Tower was to hide his force in the capital. However, that day, Plum went to his mansion without his permission to send him some medicine.

Although she was not among the Four-Saints Guards, she was famous in the city.

Therefore, it was easy for others to get the news of her visiting the mansion.

“What? Plum went to your mansion? I didn’t know that, Your Highness, please punish me. When I go back, I certainly will teach her a lesson.”

The cloak fell off the woman’s shoulder as she spoke, and she was no other than the well-known Master Bamboo of North Tower.

Though still wearing a veil, the terror in the woman’s eyes betrayed her and also showed that Long Tianyu had been really strict with his underlings.