Chapter 244 Worshipping in the Imperial Ancestral Temple (1/2)

Lin Mengya laughed quietly to herself. These two ought to have been bribed by the Queen. They were merely chess pieces that would be used only once. Even if they succeeded in their false accuse, they would surely be eradicated by the Queen through all kinds of reasons.

Who would choose to openly carry around a sword that had been used?

“However, since the person who had been wrongly accused is Princess Yu, shall we hand them over to Princess Yu to deal with them?”

The Queen was indeed brilliant in that she had casually and conveniently handed the authority of punishing the sinners to Lin Mengya.

To her, Lin Mengya had been wronged and it was only natural that she be the one to deal with them.

In this way, the Queen would preserve her reputation as the upright and virtuous one. On the other hand, she would also shake off the suspicion on her. Killing two birds with one stone was so her style.

Unfortunately, she was dealing with Lin Mengya who was a tough side to beat.

The two royal uncles and relatives had plans of their own.

It was apparent that Queen had full confidence in her plan from what she did and said. Although they were dissatisfied with how the Queen was increasingly domineering, they were afraid that they would become a matter of derision if they were too rash to wait for an opportune time to rise in revolt.

Therefore, at this moment, all their eyes were focused on Lin Mengya.

Although the injustice on Princess Yu had been redressed, she remained kneeling silently on the floor with her head bowed.

“Princess Yu, what do you think of this arrangement?”

Lin Mengya finally looked up in response to the question of the King of Chongshan. Her pair of beautiful eyes were filled with tears by now, making her look so miserable and delicate. She was a complete contrast to the Queen, who was overbearing and aggressive.

“Your niece-in-law had been raised in boudoir since young and had never come into contact with Official Yun and the ceremonial official. Their false accusation was completely uncalled for. Moreover, the costume had come from the department of costumes. It would have also gone through the examination of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Order before it was delivered to the prince’s mansion. I believe it was impossible that these two were the real culprits.”

Lin Mengya was composed and steady, but it was obvious that she was not going to let the perpetrators get away.

These people were part of the plan to get her in trouble. Being merciful to them was equivalent to being cruel to herself.

“That sounds reasonable. Your Highness the Queen, you had been in charge of the harem over the years, what happened was really unexpected. If we let this pass, it might tarnish your reputation. It would be wise to investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it.” “On the one hand, you would do Princess Yu justice and clear her name. Secondly, you would purge the palace of any person with evil intention, lest such trouble happens again.”

The King of Lishan, having a good rapport with his brother, complemented his suggestion. The Queen was therefore left with no choice but to agree to look into this matter and get to the truth.

The Queen secretly hated the two senior princes.

When the Emperor was coronated, these two cunning princes, using the excuse that they were unfit physically, had claimed that they were not capable of taking up important offices and had gone out of the country to feudal fiefdom.

To the Queen’s surprise, when the Emperor fell ill, they claimed that the imperial edict had ordered them to return to take control of the state affairs. The Crown Prince and the Queen had no choice but to refrain from acting against them in fear that they destroy them.

Today, the Queen had involved them in her ploy to corner Lin Mengya.

Never had she expected that they took the opportunity to make a fool of her!

The cold look in the Queen’s eyes gradually disappeared. She pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s just do as the two senior princes suggested. Official Yun, Eunuch Huang, both of you are to cooperate with the two senior princes, understand?”

At this juncture, the attitude of the Queen was that of a bystander who watched from the sideline. She was fully aware that there were no such things as a foolproof plan. For this reason, she had prepared herself to handle the situation if her plan was exposed.

It was obvious that they were trying to track down the culprit following the clues. The question was, would anyone dare to implicate her?

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Eunuch Huang was not anxious at all. He was just a messenger and thought he had nothing to do with the false accusations.

Just when the Queen turned to leave, Lin Mengya started speaking again.

“Your Highness must be too busy to remember everything. You had promised me that you will let this royal daughter-in-law enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship.”

Lin Mengya spoke in a lighthearted that it made the Queen’s face fell.

It could be said that Lin Mengya had utterly provoked the Queen. Who did she think she was to want to worship in the Imperial Ancestral Temple alone?

In the royal family, this honor was a privilege given exclusively to the Queen or the Crown Prince’s consort.

She was but the consort of a bastard. How dare she go after such an honor! Dream on!

“This matter is inappropriate according to etiquettes, let’s forget about it. If you offend the ancestors, calamities might befall Dajin. By then, wouldn’t Princess Yu be cursed by the people of the entire nation?”

As proud as the Queen was, she was actually reneging on her words!

The two senior princes felt uncomfortable about the Queen’s behavior and through it inappropriate.

It might be inappropriate for Princess Yu to participate in the worshipping now, and if she insisted to break the rules, she would have shown herself to be of an inferior character.

“Your Highness is right, but to me, your words carried enormous weight. You have made a promise earlier, wouldn’t your reputation be tarnished if you go back on your words, Your Highness? Then my sins will be greater. I am alright if you refuse to let me worship in the ancestral temple today, but I would implore Your Highness to give me a promise. If one day, I were to have a request that will benefit the nation, its people and the world, I hope Your Highness the Queen will grant my request.”

Lin Mengya lowered her head, seemingly respectful, but in reality, no one knew the plans in her heart.

She knew long ago that the Queen would not let her have her way by worship in the Imperial Ancestral Temple so easily.