Chapter 275 - A Stratagem directed at the Hearts
Chapter 275 A Stratagem directed at the Hearts
It would be disastrous if Baili Wuchen had sent his men to attack Baiji and Baishao!
“Follow me, everyone!”
Lin Mengya lifted the hem of her coat as she hurried into the garden. Once there, she gathered all the guards she could find.
Baishao and Baiji had gone to the mansions of the relatives and elders to deliver some warm cotton clothing and food. Although these places were not far from the prince’s mansion, Lin Mengya, being thoughtful, had arranged for them to ride on two sedans on the way there.
Although these two maidservants were quick-witted, they did not know any martial arts. They would not be able to defend themselves if someone tried to capture them.
As Lin Mengya started getting more anxious, she quickened her steps. Eventually, she jogged all the way back to the gates of the prince’s mansion.
“Is there something important and urgent that you’ve called for us, Mistress?”
Lin Kui, who heard some commotion from the front yard, ran up to her immediately. Before the prince left, he had specially instructed the servants and the guards in the mansion that the princess would be master of the mansion in his absence. They were expected to obey all her instructions.
“Elder Brother Lin, Baiji and Baishao might have met with some trouble now, could you do me a favor by going to look for them and bring them back?”
Although Lin Mengya was not certain if they were in danger, the fact that the two maidservants had not returned worried Lin Mengya. They were either delayed by something or they had fallen into Baili Wuchen’s ambush.
“Yes, I will send men to bring the two girls back.”
All the people in the prince’s mansion were aware of Baiji and Baishao’s status in the princes Mansion. For this reason, Lin Kui did not delay a single moment, but immediately sent men to look for them.
At the gates of the mansion, Lin Mengya was pacing around anxiously waiting for Baiji and Baishao’s return. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became. When Lin Mengya almost leveled the threshold of the door of the mansion by pacing on it, a group of guards appeared at the far corner of the long street.
The guards that were approaching did not look familiar despite that they were wearing the same clothes as the guards in the mansion. Moreover, the two sedan chairs looked exactly like the ones they rode away this morning.
Lin Mengya’s heart, which was hanging, was finally at rest. It was fortunate that she had reacted on time, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Your Highness, we have safely brought the two ladies back, you may rest assured now,” reported a middle-aged, mature and steady-looking guard as he took a bow in front of Lin Mengya.
Lin Mengya responded with a nod but found the man to be unfamiliar. Logically speaking, even if Lin Mengya did not recognize every guard in Prince Yu’s Mansion, she would have an impression on most of them.
Why did she find everyone in this group of guards unfamiliar?
“You’ve worked very hard. I’ve instructed Steward Deng to prepare some dishes to thank you all for your effort. This brother over here, may I know where you eventually found the two lasses? Did you meet with any trouble?”
The man smiled a straightforward smile, put his hand to his head and replied, saying, “It’s rather embarrassing. The two ladies were actually not far from the mansion. They were hassled by some hooligans, which was why they were delayed in coming back. It wasn’t really any trouble for us. You’ve overestimated us.”
Lin Mengya seemed to have understood the situation. She glanced at the sedan and a strange feeling crossed her mind in a flash.
“I had troubled you all the same. I wonder if my two maidservants were injured in any way. Why are they not coming out of the sedan?”
The man also glanced at the sedan and said, “Perhaps they got a fright from those bad guys since they’ve always lived in the mansion and would not have come across such hooligans in their lives. It was normal to be frightened.”
Everything he said sounded reasonable. Lin Mengya could not see anything amiss as she looked at the group of guards suspiciously. For some reason, she felt an uneasiness growing in her.
“In that case, let’s all come in. I’ll have to trouble you to carry the sedan into the courtyard.”
Lin Mengya stepped aside to let the procession move in smoothly.
With a wave of his hand, the leader of the guard indicated for the rest to carry the sedans through the mansion gates into the courtyard. However, for some unknown reason, the sedan on the left fell towards its left.
“Aiya—” an exclamation sounded from within the sedan and Lin Mengya being concerned about her maidservants, quickly walked up to the sedan.
“Be careful everyone, lest my lass be injured,” said Lin Mengya.
As she spoke, she moved towards the sedan and put out her hand to lift the curtain.
Just when her slender hand touched the curtain to the sedan, Lin Mengya’s body suddenly twisted in an awkward angle and like a slippery eel, she slipped behind the thick doors.
“Whoosh!” Countless shadows swish past. The leader of the guards who was standing behind Lin Mengya did not react fast enough and had instantly become porcupine.
Countless arrows were sticking out of the man’s chest, closely spaced.
The middle-aged man’s large round eyes were filled with disbelief. He could hardly believe that she had escaped their plot so easily.
“Oh no! Assassins! Protect the princess!”
A clever doorman had followed suit and hid behind the thick door. However, his loud exclamation had alarmed many guards in the mansion.
In the twinkling of an eye, numerous guards arrived at the mansion’s gates with swords and spears in their hands. The assassins who pretended to be the guards, having missed their best chance to assassinate Lin Mengya, were at this moment, beaten up badly by the mansion’s guards.
As Lin Mengya leaned against the wall, she could hear the deafening pounding of her heart.
She would have fallen into their snare by now if her instinct had not alerted her that something was amiss about the group of unfamiliar guards.
The man had positioned himself behind her so that if she did not get killed by the arrows, he could finish her off with his sword.
The enemy’s stratagem was ruthless and vicious. It was terrifying. It could be said that every move in the attack was fatal, every move was meant to take her life!
After pondering, Lin Mengya was certain that this was merely a prelude planned by Baili Wuchen. However, she did not expect Baili Wuchen to be so meticulous in his plan.
In fact, he had turned around and checkmated her even in his absence!
What a cunning Master Wuchen!
Fierce fighting could be heard from the clanging sounds of swords and knives. However, the sound of fighting was moving further by the minute. In reality, only a few minutes had passed.
Lin Mengya did not even dare to take deeper breaths in fear that those assassins would find an opportunity to put their swords through her.
Finally, the sound of fighting stopped and Lin Mengya stuck out her head quietly to check out the situation.
The area in front of the luxurious prince’s mansion had turned into a battleground at this moment. The two sedans had fallen haphazardly on the ground in front of Lin Mengya.
The curtains of the sedans had been cut and two delicately made crossbows were exposed.
Lin Mengya came to realize at this moment the reason these people had lured her to the front of the sedans.
There were a number of corpses lying randomly on the ground. Lin Mengya took a closer look and found that their faces were not familiar to her.
“Are you alright, Your Highness the princess?”
Lin Kui, who was holding a steel cutlass, immediately appeared before Lin Mengya and asked with concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine. Will you tell the men not to pursue those assassins? They are just men sent by Baili Wuchen as a prelude to his attack. If there are any ambush along the way, we will be sacrificing our men for nothing!”
Lin Kui went away with no superfluous words and immediately ordered his men to return as advised by Lin Mengya.
The guards who ran after the assassins turned around and surrounded Lin Mengya. However, they seemed a little wary of each other.
As they reflected, they realized that those guards were people they knew.
What scheming man Baili Wuchen was! Even if they failed to kill her, at the very least they had stirred up mistrust among the guards of the prince’s mansion who were each other’s companion.
Mutual distrust was a great taboo. It was indeed the most vicious tactic to play tricks on people’s hearts.
“I believe that the rebellious guards had been chased out from here. Those who are remaining are the prince’s loyal subjects. Baili Wuchen’s goal was to take my life, but each of you here had had personal contact with me. If you had wanted to harm me, it was the best time a moment ago. Therefore, stop suspecting each other. You are like brothers after all. If this continues, Baili Wuchen would be the one to rejoice!”
It was necessary to make it clear, so Lin Mengya had cleverly pointed out the enemy’s ploy and the suspicion among the guards was abated.
Otherwise, there would be trouble if their mutual trust was breached.
Lin Mengya breathed a temporal sigh of relief when she saw that the men had stopped suspecting their friends.
It was no wonder that Long Tianyu had been looking so miserable lately and was so busy that she hardly saw him.
She did not expect Baili Wuchen’s revolt had created such serious trouble.
“They’re back, Your Highness! Baiji, Baishao and the men I sent out to look for them are back!”
Lin Kui’s shouts attracted everyone’s attention.
The guards instinctively surrounded Lin Mengya. Through the spaces between them, Lin Mengya could see that it was indeed her two maidservants who were coming towards them. All the servants and guards who went with them were all present.
Finally, the heavy burden which was weighing down on her was lifted. Fortunately, those men only took their sedans but did not do any harm to them.
“Master! Why are you out here when the weather is so frigid?”
Baiji called out to Lin Mengya, looking pained. She was aware that her master should not be exposed to freezing cold wind because of her damaged heart and blood vessels. Little did she expect to see her master out by the gates.
“I’m alright. I’ve come out to welcome you back. Let me see if you are still in one piece?”
That group of guards was perplexed when they saw the place in disarray and their expression turned solemn.
Little did they expect that something serious would happen when they left for a while to bring those two maidservants home.
The two lasses immediately followed Lin Mengya back to Liuxin Courtyard safely.
When the two maidservants were on their way back, they heard that the assassins sent by Baili Wuchen had gone all the way to their master’s mansion, and they were infuriated and wished they could completely destroy Baili Wuchen.
However, Lin Mengya wanted to keep quiet about it. Fortunately, it was wintertime and the year was coming to an end, there were no idle onlookers in the streets. Otherwise, she would have to worry about how to shut their mouths.