The atmosphere suddenly changed.

Lin Mengya took back her hand and looked at her toes. Why did she do this?

Lin Mengya was annoyed with herself. She found that she couldn’t say anything.

“I… I have to go back to work.”

Lin Mengya suddenly found that Long Tianhao’s eyes were incredibly deep.

Looking him directly in his eyes, Lin Mengya felt that she was completely attracted to him.

No!

Lin Mengya secretly pinched her thigh, and she nearly cried with pain.

“You’ve worked hard in the past few days.” Maybe he was attracted by this atmosphere, or he just wanted to show solicitude for his subordinate.

Long Tianhao looked at her small face with complex emotions.

In order to deal with the Empress, he reluctantly promised to marry Lin Mengya.

But now, she had become an incredible help to him.

The Empress would definitely regret it if she knew this.

“I’m alright. By the way, Concubine De doesn’t feel very well these days. You can visit her in your spare time.”

Long Tianhao nodded. Lin Mengya was a qualified and devoted daughter-in-law.

She often took time to visit his mother and took care of her every single thing personally. Aunt Jinyue always praised her.

The style of the relationship between them suddenly became warm and soft, which made her feel strange. She was unaccustomed to it.

“Well…”

Both of them opened their mouths and spoke at the same time. They looked at each other and then looked away tacitly.

They move perfectly together as if they were closely related. Lin Mengya blushed and felt embarrassed even though she was thick-skinned.

They didn’t get along well with each other before. But both of them had changed.

Obviously, the female guests’ area in the front courtyard was not affected by the romantic atmosphere of the backyard.

Males and females shouldn’t sit together. So the noble gentlemen and their fathers were sitting in another area.

Jiang Ruqin took her maid and walked to the female guest area with anger.

As the eldest daughter of the Marquis Zhennan, Lin Mengya was so difficult to deal with!

Before getting married, the Prince was nice and kind to her!

Lin Mengya was so vicious and it was all her fault. Jiang Ruqin was sure that she could have become Princess Yu if Lin Mengya hadn’t appeared.

Now, Lin Mengya dared to be so arrogant to her, which made her furious.

“Miss Qin, don’t be angry. I believe that the Prince still cares about you. He doesn’t allow any ladies to enter the Qinwu Courtyard except you, right?”

Jiang Ruqin’s personal maid said carefully with a forced smile.

“Really?” Jiang Ruqin raised her eyebrows and glanced at the maid standing beside her.

“Yes! It’s true! I don’t dare to lie to you!” Cui’er was scared by the look of Ruqin. Miss Qin looked weak and delicate outside, but she showed no mercy in punishing her servants at home.

“Well, it better be.” Jiang Ruqin quickly adjusted her facial expression and walked into the female guest’s area arrogantly.

Most of the guests in Concubine De’s birthday party were officials who had a good relationship with Prince Yu or Concubine De.

But it seemed that Lin Mengwu and her mother were neglected.

Shangguan Qing was arrogant and had never been willing to shed much of her dignity to make friends with others.

As a result, no one paid any attention to them despite that they were the stepmother and sister of the Princess.

“Hello, Miss Jiang.”

Someone greeted her as soon as she entered the room. Jiang Ruqin immediately smiled and pretended to be a polite lady.

She looked around and found that all the ladies were dressed in their best. But none of them was as beautiful and gorgeous as she was.

Jiang Ruqin suddenly felt that she was superior to others.

“Why is she so proud? She’s just the daughter of a civil official. My father brings peace and stability to the country. Without him, they can’t enjoy a happy life.”

Lin Mengwu was also very outstanding in this group of ladies whose fathers were senior officials.

They both believed that they were the most beautiful and purest girls at this party. So they became opponents and compete with each other secretly.

“You’re the sister of the Princess, right? You’re so miserable. Your sister is highly respected Princess Yu while you’re just an old spinster and no one wants to marry you. You and your sister are worlds apart.”

Lin Mengwu hated it when someone compared her with Lin Mengya and treated her as an old spinster. She stared at Jiang Ruqin coldly with her beautiful eyes and wanted to kill her.

“Pay respects to ladies. Please take your seat.”

The woman housekeeper dropped a curtsey and the ladies immediately took their places at the table.

Concubine De was the protagonist of today’s party. She had been used to the solemnity of the imperial palace. So when she had the opportunity to eat and chat with relatives and friends, she was very happy and had a kind and soft smile on her face.

Lin Mengya and Long Tianhao sat on either side of her. The man was handsome while the woman was beautiful.

When Lin Mengya appeared, everyone marveled at her beauty while Lin Mengwu and Ruqin were green with envy.

There were a lot of people at this party.

Lin Mengya smiled at all the guests.

She felt that there was an undercurrent between Jiang Ruqin and Lin Mengwu. But she was not sure.

It was interesting. She wondered what these two contrived girls would do if she deliberately drove a wedge between them.

“Auntie, I wish you a long life. This is the birthday gift that my father has prepared for you. Please accept this trifling gift.”

Jiang Ruqin smiled gently and offer birthday congratulations to Concubine De gracefully.

Jiang Ruqin held a box with clouds pattern. It was lined with bright red silk and there was an S-shaped jade inside.

This gift was not very expensive, but it was very exquisite. Concubine De smiled and nodded, and asked Jiang Ruqin to sit beside her.

“It’s just a piece of jade. It’s no big deal.”

Lin Mengwu sat beside her mother and looked at Jiang Ruqin with disdain.

But Shangguan Qing was reluctant to come over here, so they just chose a birthday gift casually to avoid being impolite.

As a result, their gift was not as good as that of Jiang Ruqin.

Jiang Ruqin gained recognition and affection of Concubine De and became complacent, which made Lin Mengwu irritated.

“Don’t hurry. They won’t be happy and complacent for long. You’re too impatient.”

Shangguan Qing took up her glass and took a sip. She was shrewd and looked at the noble and popular family coldly.

She had heard the news from the imperial palace in the morning. If it was correct, the birthday party of Concubine De would not be so happy and joyful after a while.

Lin Mengya accidentally noticed the look of Shangguan Qing. It seemed that the Empress really wanted to harm her.

She secretly clenched her little fists. She hoped that she could get through it.

“The Empress is here! The Crown Prince is here!”

They heard the sharp voice of the eunuch. All of them immediately stopped what they were doing and obediently fell to the ground to welcome them.

Lin Mengya helped Concubine De to drop a curtsey. The lobby, which was lively a moment ago, became quiet in an instant.

The Empress was wearing an exquisite purple dress. She wore her hair in a bun and looked respectable. The Crown Prince was wearing a yellow robe and there was a purple gold crown on his head. He always smiled gently and elegantly.

But he cast a shrewd look at Princess Yu.

They were nominal cousins, and he had seen this girl in the house of the Lin family before.

But every time he saw her, this girl looked stupid and annoying. But his mother told him that Prince Yu who was standing in front of him was very smart now.

“Get up. Sister Concubine De, today is your birthday. So I bring the Crown Prince to offer you birthday congratulations.”

Concubine De pretended to be terrified in an instant. It seemed that she was really afraid of the Empress.

The Empress lifted her beautiful eyes and there was a glint of disdain in her eyes.

This bitch always pretended to be delicate and timid. She had successfully deceived the Emperor and all the other people in this country.

Without her competent son, this bitch would have already been killed by her.

“Thanks for your concern. Sister Empress, please take a seat.” Although Concubine De was the protagonist of this party, she showed great respect to the Empress and dared not to neglect her.

The Empress and the Crown Prince were seated and the banquet continued as usual.

These two women were arch enemies and had competed with each other for half a lifetime. But now, they were sitting together and exchanging pleasantries. The Crown Prince was holding a glass of wine and making jokes with Prince Yu.

“You’re so lucky. I believe that your wife must be the most beautiful one among all those young ladies in the capital city!”

Compared with Long Tianhao, who was cold and handsome, the Crown Prince looked softer and easier to approach.

But his seemingly gentle eyes gleamed with evil intentions, which made Lin Mengya feel uncomfortable.

“Brother, you’re flattering her. Ya’er is a good wife but I am more grateful to the arrangement of the Empress.” Long Tianhao smiled and his answer had some hidden meanings, which made the Crown Prince unhappy.

Princess Yu was beautiful, charming, and elegant. Her eyes were sparkly and he was completely attracted to her.

She was not the most glamorous one, but men would easily be attracted by her.

She looked charming and attractive. She could attract the attention of all men by sitting here quietly.

Why did this beauty belong to Long Tianhao?

His eyes glittered with coldness.

The love of his father and the praise of the officials all belonged to Long Tianhao since they were still kids.

But he was the crown prince of this country! He was the next emperor of Dajin!

However, when his life was at stake, the Emperor gave the imperial jade seal to Long Tianhao instead of him. As the Crown Prince, he couldn’t even touch it!

His mother tried hard to force him to marry a stupid girl. He thought that Long Tianhao would become the laughingstock of this country.

But now, the stupid girl suddenly changed into a beautiful and clever lady, which made him furious.

Dajin belonged to him and everything in the world also belonged to him!

As a result, he must kill this arch enemy.

He glanced at Princess Yu, who was absorbed in thought and was sure that this woman would become his exclusive domain one day.

He didn’t love her. But he wanted to deprive Prince Yu of everything. At that time, Long Tianhao could only fling himself to the ground and asked for his mercy.

“Of course. Mother took great pains to choose a good wife for you.”