Long Tianyu gazed at Zuo Qiuyu with a mixed expression in his eyes.

This was a very private matter between the two of us. Why was this fellow enquiring about it?

When Zuo Qiuyu saw the suspicious look in Long Tianyu’s eyes, all he could do was force a smile.

Rubbing his palms together, Zuo Qiuyu awkwardly moved closer to Long Tianyu’s ear.

He whispered briefly into Long Tianyu’s ear and immediately, a look of surprise and doubt appeared in Long Tianyu’s eyes. Finally, he seemed to be taken in by what Zuo Qiuyu said.

“Are you serious about what you said?”

Long Tianyu looked at Zuo Qiuyu solemnly. Finally, the latter nodded with conviction.

“I’m a physician, so naturally such matters won’t escape me. I know that you have a soft spot for my cousin, but no matter how much you fancy her, you have to consider her health. You must not be too demanding on her, lest her health suffers long-term effects in the future.”

A strained look flashed across Zuo Qiuyu’s eyes.

Although Long Tianyu did not like the feeling of being teased and mocked, he had no choice but to let this fellow go for now.

He furrowed his brows and turned towards Lin Mengya, feeling a little worried.

“Is there a way to nurse this illness?”

Zuo Qiuyu thought he should not play the bystander when he saw how Long Tianyu was taking this so seriously.

He leaned close to Long Tianyu and whispered something into Long Tianyu’s ear. Thereafter, Long Tianyu shot him a glance, then left the conference room.

Although Lin Mengya felt befuddled, she could not fall asleep.

Frustrated, she covered her face with the blanket and quietly blamed Long Tianyu for making her fall for him.

Back in the days when she was still studying in medical school, she always fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow no matter how busy and exhausted she was.

However, the Lin Mengya of today had suffered insomnia all because of Long Tianyu.

“For goodness sake! What am I so confused about?”

Feeling exasperated, Lin Mengya lifted the blanket, focusing her vision on the top part of the bed.

Since last night, she felt as if the complicated emotions in her was almost driving her crazy.

If she had known that romantic love was so difficult to deal with, she would rather be poisoned to death right from the beginning, than to have anything to do with Long Tianyu.

“Are you asleep, Mengya?”

Long Tianyu’s voice echoed from outside the door all of a sudden.

Lin Mengya was startled and froze for a moment. Straightening her clothes and tidying up her hair, she sat up on the bed and responded with a lukewarm tone.

“Come in, I’m not asleep yet.”

The door was pushed open by Long Tianyu from outside.

Thereafter, he brought in a big bowl with great caution.

Lin Mengya felt perplexed. It was only after she saw the dark liquid in the large bowl that she turned to look at Long Tianyu with puzzlement.

“What medicine is this?”

“Drink it while it’s hot. Zuo Qiuyu said this medicine is good for your health.”

Naturally, Lin Mengya did not suspect anything when she witnessed how cautious Long Tianyu was carrying the bowl.

She pondered for a moment, lifted the bowl, and in one gulp, she downed the contents.

What she did not expect was that the medicine was not bitter, rather it tasted a little spicy. To her greater surprise, the medicinal soup was actually sweet.

It was only when she had finished the entire bowl of soup that the frown on Long Tianyu’s face eased gradually.

At that moment, he gazed at Lin Mengya with a concerned look in his eyes.

“Now that you’ve finished drinking, you should sleep for a while. Zuo Qiuyu said that you should take a good rest in the next few days. You may leave all other matters to me. I’ll handle them for you.”

Then, he caressed Lin Mengya’s head gently and affectionately.

He even fiddled with her blanket to make sure she was properly covered.

Lin Mengya gazed at Long Tianyu with a surprised expression on her face. However, when she saw the doting look in Long Tianyu’s eyes, Lin Mengya finally understood.

“What did that idiotic Zuo Qiuyu say to you?!”

Lin Mengya opened her eyes wide and did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

Hesitating for a moment, Long Tianyu said with a low voice, “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? Women… are naturally different from men. It was my fault for being negligent. Please rest well for the next few days.”

Immediately, Lin Mengya had a grasp of what happened.

Zuo Qiuyu was not to be blamed for such a misunderstanding. It was difficult not to make Long Tianyu worry when she acted so abnormally last night so abruptly.

However…

That fellow was a physician. It should not escape him whether that time of the month had arrived for her.

It appeared that he was abusing his medical knowledge and skills to make fun of Long Tianyu.

She was speechless.

“Long Tianyu, actually I… forget it, thank you anyway.”

The bowl of ginger red sugar soup not only warmed her body, but it also melted her heart.

Despite having the intention to push him away, she realized that she had neglected Long Tianyu’s feelings.

He liked her. He was even willing to sacrifice his life for her.

Love was a matter between the two of them. How could she be so selfish to reject Long Tianyu and push him away because of the little shadow in her heart?

By doing so, she would be bringing hurt both to herself as well as Long Tianyu.

Once she straightened out her thoughts, she was able to lay aside the emotional entanglement in her heart for now.

A warm and tender smile returned to Lin Mengya’s countenance.

Long Tianyu finally felt relieved and assured when he saw the expression on her face.

He had thought that there was something abnormal about Lin Mengya last night. It seemed that Zuo Qiuyu had been right.

This soup was not difficult to prepare. He would make sure this soup was always available in their little kitchen.

Lin Mengya was totally unaware that her change of mood had turned Zuo Qiuyu into Long Tianyu’s benefactor.

Once she came round, Lin Mengya was no longer emotionally entangled by those matters.

She fell into a deep sleep and woke up only in the afternoon. By then, her vitality had returned as she walked out of her room.

Apart from Long Tianyu and Yu An, Zuo Qiuyu was the only one laughing cheekily as if he had an evil plan that worked.

Lin Mengya sneered. How dare Zuo Qiuyu played a trick on her!

“Are you alright, Princess? Has your body recuperated?”

Yu An thought that Lin Mengya had fallen ill and quickly went up to ask about her.

Lin Mengya shook her head. It was then that she felt the inconvenience.

Her period had never been on time. In the past, at least she was surrounded by ladies, but now, being surrounded by this group of men, it was awkward for her to explain what was happening.

“My dear cousin, it’s great to see that you’re well. Oh yes, I have a piece of good news for you.”

Zuo Qiuyu took the initiative to approached Lin Mengya and danced attendance on her. Obviously, he was trying to suck up to her with that sweet smile on his face.

Lin Mengya glanced at him coldly, trying to anticipate what tricks he was going to play next.

“Someone came in the morning to inform us that one of your old acquaintances has come for you. I didn’t want to disturb you so I asked that he wait in the outer courtyard. Would you like to invite him in now?”

Zuo Qiuyu knew to stop before going too far. He had picked up this skill since he started interacting with Lin Mengya.

On the surface, Lin Mengya might carry herself well, Zuo Qiuyu knew that if he were to drive her to the wall, even his brother, and the emperor might not be able to defend him.

Sigh, it was all because of the ever-changing situations in the world. He would very much like to continue living for many more years.

“An old acquaintance? Who’s looking for me?”

At the mention of an old acquaintance, Lin Mengya quickly remembered the imposter old Taoist priest she met in the market and the lady boss of the Hengyun gambling den.

In that instant, the sparkle in her eyes dimmed.

The man used to have a profound relationship with her mother. If not for her moment of negligence, she would still be living her own life now.

She had no time for guilt and self-blame because the conspiracy would create a wave one day.

She was merely a fuse.

“Who’s that?”

Lin Mengya was rather curious, but Zuo Qiuyu simply smiled mysteriously then got out of the way.

Thereafter, a smart-looking figure threw herself at Lin Mengya in the next instant.

“Elder Sister! I finally found you. These people were so bad. They refused to let me come in!”

The clear crispy voice caught Lin Mengya by surprise.

The outlandishly dressed young girl in Lin Mengya’s arms lifted her face to look straight at her with her large, watery eyes and smiled brightly.

“Xiu! Why are you here?”

The girl who was putting her arms around Lin Mengya’s slender waist was none other than Xiu, whom Lin Mengya almost sold away.

At this instant, the girl with rosy lips and white teeth leaned into Lin Mengya’s embrace and refused to part with her.

Did they not say that this lass had left with her uncle?

How was it that she managed to find Lin Mengya here only in a few days?

“I did leave with my uncle, but I couldn’t help worrying about you, so I had a fight with my uncle. Then, my uncle brought me here to look for you. Elder Sister, I know you need help here. We, the members of the Dongfang family, are people who know to be grateful and repay other people’s kindness!”

Looking at how Xiu beat her chest as a gesture of assurance, Lin Mengya could not help but smiled.

Xiu was pure, lovable, and bold. What was even more commendable was that she was upright and able to tell right from wrong.

Lin Mengya had always had a good impression on her, moreover, she enjoyed Xiu’s company very much.

To Lin Mengya, seeing her was like seeing a younger sister.

“Sigh, don’t be so willful. Do you know it’s very dangerous for you to stay here? Be a good girl. If you really don’t want to go back, wait for me to leave this place. Then, I’ll speak to your uncle to ask for permission to make a trip to my house. As for now, you really have to leave.”

Lin Mengya believed that those of her household would like Xiu very much.

However, for Xiu to stay here now would be to be pushing down the abyss of suffering.

Lin Mengya did not wish that to happen, neither could she do that.

Now Xiu was getting anxious. She wished she could persuade Lin Mengya to let her stay, yet she did not want other people to know about it.

She stamped her feet and leaned close to Lin Mengya and whispered into her ear.

“This— are you serious?”

Lin Mengya looked at Xiu without doubts in her eyes as she asked her quietly.

Immediately, Xiu nodded profusely and Lin Mengya found it difficult to turn her down because of the pleading look in her eyes.

Lin Mengya remembered clearly how this lass had risked her life because of a promise back then.

If she did not give in to her, she might create more trouble and in turn, she might be hurt.

After much contemplation, Lin Mengya finally nodded in agreement.

“You are still the best, Elder Sister! I knew you would agree! Let me go bid farewell to my uncle. I’ll be back in a while. Wait for me!”

Lin Mengya watched as Xiu skipped away and she felt a burden weighed down on her heart.

She looked around and saw the dubious looks on the faces of the three men.

“Im-mor-tal Pow-der,” she said softly.