Chapter 72 - A Lifetime or Three Years
Chapter 72 A Lifetime or Three Years
“The wife of the thirteenth prince? Oh! Yes! I remember now. A barbarian king took a fancy to her. He threatened to attack the Jin state if the princess refused to marry him. The late Emperor could do nothing but ask her to marry the barbarian king in secret. But they told the public that she got sick and died!”
There were widely differing versions about these anecdotes of the former dynasty. Some said that the princess refused to marry the king. She said that she would rather die than get married to the barbarian king.
But if she didn’t marry the king, there wouldn’t be so many rumors.
Members of the royal family were ruthless. They could defend the national interests at the cost of their loved ones.
Shangguan Qing was well aware of their merciless nature.
“Yes. Your father once talked with his subordinates about the royal families of Tubo. I heard that the favorite son of the king was a martial expert. He was brave and lecherous. Moreover, he likes the girls of the Jin state the best.”
Lin Mengwu immediately understood what Shangguan Qing meant. Her eyes lit up.
“If he takes a fancy on Lin Mengya, Lin Mengya has to marry him despite that she was Princess Yu, doesn’t she?”
The shameless mother and daughter wanted to make a vicious plan to sell Lin Mengya.
But they forgot that Lin Mengya had a sharp mind. She would never place herself at the mercy of others.
For half a month, Long Tianhao and Long Qinghan were busy preparing for the welcoming banquet for the Bright King.
Lin Mengya was right. The Crown Prince hushed it up after going back to his home.
He stayed in the Crown Prince’s Mansion for most of the time. Sometimes, he would go to the imperial palace to visit his mother.
Lin Mengya also asked the servants to stop talking about the events that happened that night.
But they still talked about the Crown Prince in private and the story became more far-fetched.
The weather gradually turned cold and it was fall.
Lin Mengya had lived in the north for many years and liked distinctive seasons. So she enjoyed the clear and crisp autumn climate.
Lin Mengya employed the stick and the carrot approach to managing the affairs and Prince Yu’s Mansion was organized now.
But to her surprise, Shangguan Qing didn’t make any trouble, instead, she would bring Lin Mengwu to the Qinglan Courtyard to chat with her from time to time.
Lin Mengya always went through the motions when talking with this vicious woman.
Jiang Ruqin also stopped bothering her. Lin Mengya lived a life of leisure now.
Lin Mengya felt cold despite that it was still early autumn.
She was lying in the fox blanket in the pavilion and staring blankly at the yellow leaves on the tree.
“Sister-in-law, you must be in good humor now! Are you enjoying the autumn landscape?”
Lin Mengya heard the skittish voice of Long Qinghan. She turned around and found that this handsome gentleman was wearing lavender clothes today.
“Prince Qinghan, what brings you here?”
Lin Mengya asked in a gentle and lazy voice. As she became more familiar with her body, her original character became more obvious.
Su Qingge was a cunning and mature woman while the real Lin Mengya was an innocent girl. But they intermingled without losing their separate identities. Gradually, they also found a weird balance point.
Those who were familiar with Lin Mengya felt that she was getting more and more cunning.
But Lin Mengya had a different idea. Thanks to the kindness of the former master of this body, her dark side gradually disappeared and she became more and more lively.
She once believed that human nature was evil, but now she became more optimistic and positive.
Perhaps this was the last gift of the smart and warm-hearted girl.
“I dare not bother you if I’m in trouble. But there’s something wrong with the killer in the dungeon.”
Qinghu? Lin Mengya nearly forgot that he was in the dungeon.
She narrowed her limpid eyes and looked at the flowers in the garden. It seemed that the autumn just came yesterday and several fist-sized chrysanthemums blossomed today.
“What’s wrong him? I heard that he refused to say anything and always wanted to meet me, didn’t he?”
Qinghu was a principal criminal and the guards in the mansion were guarding him from morning to night.
But he was a tough nut and refused to tell anything after being tortured.
Lin Mengya also refused to go to the dungeon to meet him. Therefore, a month had passed but there was still no progress.
“Yes. But from the day before yesterday, he passed out from time to time. The doctors in our mansion treated him but we saw no chance of any improvement. He may die if things continue this way.”
There was a glimmer of understanding in her eyes. Lin Mengya thought for a while and realized that it was time to meet him.
“Ask the guards to take the two new-blown chrysanthemums. Let’s go to the dungeon to visit Qinghu.”
Lin Mengya got up and left with her three servant girls. Long Qinghan looked at Lin Mengya’s figure with doubts.
He couldn’t understand why Lin Mengya brought the flowers when interrogating the prisoner.
The dungeon was still damp and dark and it was filled with a rancid and bloody smell.
She hadn’t entered this place for a long time. Lin Mengya suddenly noticed that there were more prisoners than before.
Lin Mengya walked by the cells without making any comments. She and Long Tianhao had different styles. They should mind their own business.
Her pomegranate-red dress was eye-catching in the dark cell.
The guards who were coming in and out of the cell knew that this beautiful and charming girl was the legendary Princess Yu, who was sinister and clever.
Some people were still skeptical about her ability.
But there were few women who could stay calm when walking in the dark dungeon.
This girl was daring and brave!
Qinghu was imprisoned in a separate cell alone.
Lin Mengya asked the guard to open the door. She took the chrysanthemum and walked into the cell by herself.
Qinghu was curled on the straw mat in the corner of the cell. He looked thinner and his clothes had already been soaked with blood and become red and black. He was lying quietly as if he was dead.
“Get up! Stop playing possum. Although your respiration is faint, it is too even. If you don’t get up, I’ll directly kill you.”
A clear and soft voice appeared in the cell.
Qinghu who was lying in the corner immediately squirmed.
He lifted his thin face and looked at the beautiful girl standing in front of him. His lips were pale and dry and he forced a smile.
“Hey! You know me well. You bastard! You’re so relentless!”
His tone was still skittish. But to her surprise, his voice was hoarse and his beautiful and charming face also turned pale.
His beautiful eyes, which always gleamed with mischief before, also became dim and dull at this moment.
“Are you crazy? Do you want to kill yourself? I told you to stop taking the drug! You’ll definitely die if you can’t kick the habit!”
Qinghu was leaning against the wall and he suddenly smiled.
His eyes were dull as if losing the focus. He was thin and weak now. It seemed that he didn’t even have the strength to talk to her.
“You don’t know the world. If I lose my ability for a short moment, I will be killed by the enemies who are lying in wait for me. I want to stay in your courtyard and eat your snacks and drink your tea in secret. This has been the happiest days of my life.”
His tone was full of loneliness that Lin Mengya did not understand.
In fact, she and Qinghu had used each other to achieve their goals.
Qinghu was no match for her and suffered defeat in the end.
But this guy had never really hurt her.
Therefore, she wanted to give him a chance.
“This is Longmo. It looks similar to the chrysanthemum but its flowers are a rare poison.”
Lin Mengya put the flower in front of Qinghu.
She found this flower by accident in the drugstore a month ago.
Longmo looked exactly the same as the chrysanthemum. The only difference between them was that Longmo had a red dark line in its petiole.
This plant was very strange. Its faint yellow flower was one of the most toxic poisons in the world.
But its leaf was an effective cure for the wounds.
This flower was suitable for Qinghu’s condition.
“Is this toxic?”
Qinghu rolled his eyes and looked at the two faint yellow flowers on the ground.
“There will be no other plants in a 5,000-meter area around it after it becomes mature. But there will also be no antidote to it at that time.”
“What will happen to me if I eat it?”
After talking with Lin Mengya for a while, Qinghu closed his eyes as if he was exhausted.
Lin Mengya lowered her eyes and answered his question without any emotion.
“It can completely neutralize the toxicity in your body without abolishing your martial arts. However, this medicine can only last for three years. After three years, you will die and no medicine can save your life.”
Qinghu looked at the girl standing in front of him with difficulty. She seemed to be the fairy in hell.
The options presented by her were always extreme and Qinghu couldn’t make a compromise.
It seemed that his nightmare started when he met her.
“Do you mean that I can live my own life freely and no one can control me in the next three years?
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Mengya still nodded.
He could choose three free years or a controlled lifetime. No one was sure which choice was more worthwhile.
“Well, you’re my killer. No, you’re my savior. I’ll enjoy three free years or even three free days at any cost.”
Qinghu sighed. There were still handcuffs on his wrists but he picked the fist-sized corolla without hesitation.
I stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it hard and swallowed it.
“This flower looks pretty but tastes very bitter.”
Lin Mengya silently stood aside and watched Qinghu swallow the two flowers.
Although this plant was toxic, it was an effective cure for the wounds. It seemed that Qinghu’s strength had improved a lot.
“Hey! Girl! Why does my body have no response?”
Qinghu had already prepared for the suffering. But after waiting for a while, he only noticed that a warm stream appeared in his stomach and nourished his body. But he didn’t have any other strange feelings.
Lin Mengya couldn’t help rolling her eyes. She picked all the other leaves and stuffed them into his mouth.
“This is not the panacea and will not cause pain or suffering.”