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Chapter 485 The Price of Life and Death

“I suppose... that’s alright. Please follow me, Your Highness.”

Lin Mengya got up and followed after Min’er.

Yu An, too, got up and followed closely behind Lin Mengya in fear of any possible change of circumstance.

“Master, the princess says she would like to come in to have a look.”

Lin Mengya stood behind Min’er and watched as Min’er carefully opened the door.

Once they entered through the door, it led them onto a corridor that had been partitioned by a screen with paintings of sceneries on it. On one hand, one would not be able to look into what was happening inside, but on the other hand, one would not feel stuffy as walking along the corridor.

“This way, please, Your Highness.”

Min’er was apparently very familiar with the way and led Lin Mengya towards the right.

Lin Mengya had only taken a few steps before a deep frown appeared on her face.

She quickened her steps and overtook Min’er to push open the small door at the end of the corridor.

“Your Highness, don’t...”

Min’er took a step forward to stop Lin Mengya, but when she caught sight of what was in the room, her eyes widened and her jaws dropped as she stared at the scene before her eyes with shock and fear.

With tightened fists, Lin Mengya gazed coldly at the woman’s corpse hanging from the beam. Clearly, the killer had no attempt to cover up the murderous intentions, which was seething recklessly.

Dressed in the same simple plain outfit, Fanggu, who was just overreacting with her emotions a moment ago, had now become a dead body that died with everlasting regret.

Her eyes were widened like full circles and they were staring at the ground. Her hair was messy and her feet were off the ground.

Apparently, she had stopped breathing for quite a while.

“Ah!!! Master! Master!”

Min’er exploded into a heart-wrenching cry that alarmed Zuo Qiuyu, who was guarding outside the door.

By the time he rushed into the room, Lin Mengya, together with Yu An had brought down and laid the body of Fanggu on the floor.

“How... how did this happen?”

Zuo Qiuyu could not fathom how this person, who was alive and kicking just a moment ago, had turned into a cold, dead body.

Especially, this had happened right under their noses!

“Master! Master, wake up! What can I do if you die?”

At the scene, the person who was most intimately related to Fanggu was none other than Min’er, who had been following her by her side since young.

By now, Min’er had completely broken into tears.

If not for Lin Mengya stopping her, Min’er would be crying over Fanggu, bending over her dead body.

“Damn it!”

At this moment, Lin Mengya’s expression had turned ghastly and she gently pushed Min’er into Yu An’s arms.

Holding back the outrage in her, Lin Mengya approached Fanggu’s dead body to have a better look.

The ruthless murderer had used a thin rope over Fanggu’s neck, which had almost been completely severed.

Her snow-white neck was now a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

Strangely, Lin Mengya did not remember smelling anything while they were in the courtyard. It was only when she entered the house that she was able to pick up a little bit of the scent of blood.

The only explanation would be that the murderer had escaped from Fanggu’s room moments before they entered.

Lin Mengya turned to the window immediately and to her expectation, she discovered a man’s full footprint on the small table below the window.

“Damn it!” cursed Lin Mengya.

She was clearly feeling outraged!

“Who on earth killed Fanggu?”

Zuo Qiuyu’s expression did not look any better than that of Lin Mengya.

Every time they found one of his aunt’s maidservants meant they got hold of one more piece of evidence towards proving his cousin’s identity.

They had just chanced upon one, but on this same occasion, she had met with her death.

This outcome had driven people nuts!

“Stop crying, Min’er. I was me who had implicated Fanggu and resulted in her death. Since the murderer had escaped, what’s most pressing now is to give Fanggu a proper burial. Come, let’s go to the backyard and wait, while the two of them help carry Fanggu out.”

There was no way Min’er could refuse since Lin Mengya simply held on tightly to Min’er’s shoulders and directed her out.

It only took them a few steps to get outside. At this moment, Min’er was about to suggest that she went back into the room to take a last look when she spotted a severe expression on Lin Mengya’s face.

She had fixed her eyes on the door.

It did not take long for Yu An and Zuo Qiuyu to carry the dead body out. Once they all walked out safely, Lin Mengya appeared to breathe a sigh of relief thereafter.

“The murderer is still hiding in Fanggu’s room, but let’s not react, because we’re no match for him.”

Lin Mengya whispered into the ears of Min’er whose body stiffened as she thought of Fanggu’s tragic state.

Min’er opened her eyes wide as she stared blankly at Fanggu’s dead body, but she did not have the courage to lift up her eyes to look into the room.

As they listened attentively, there was a subtle sound that was transmitted through the air.

Thereafter, Lin Mengya finally let out a sigh of relief. Her body became paralyzed as she sat down at the stone stool.

She hated herself for being so useless. Not only did she allowed Fanggu to be killed right under her nose, but she had no choice but to let him escape even though she knew that the murderer was still in the house,

She punched the table with her left fist. She was just sitting at the firm stone table when the loud sound of some kind of moving mechanism sounded all of a sudden.

Everyone’s attention turned to the stone table.

What they witnessed the next moment was that the middle of the ordinary-looking table began to open up.

Thereafter, a box made of rock began emerging before their eyes.

“This...”

Lin Mengya was stunned. Instinctively, she picked up the heavy stone box.

As she pulled out the stone slate on top of the box, there was a small but tightly bundled packaging inside, and it looked very familiar to Lin Mengya.

Was this fabric not the same material as the one she found on the old turtle at the bottom of the pond?

Lin Mengya carefully opened the package and found two small books and a personal seal in it.

“Come over and take a look at this, Yu An. Is this the register of names you were talking about?”

Yu An immediately came over and took a closer look and as expected, there was a clear record of Fanggu’s appearance and her birthplace.

In addition, there was even the Servants Administration’s official seal.

The other was an official letter proving her identity. After Yu An and Zuo Qiuyu went through it carefully, they confirmed that it was Lin Mengya’s mother’s handwriting.

At this moment, the truth of Fanggu’s identity was finally revealed.

A feeling of regret and remorse began gnawing at Lin Mengya’s conscience.

If she did not come here today, perhaps Fanggu would continue to lead a contented life, hanging on her ideals and beliefs.

Although her arrival had brought new hope to Fanggu temporarily, it had brought about her death too.

The remorseful Lin Mengya felt that she was no longer able to face this woman, who had waited her whole life for the sake of Lin Mengya’s mother.

“Stop feeling so guilty. On the other hand, why would Fanggu need to enter her room to look for the papers if they were here all along?”

Zuo Qiuyu tried to comfort Lin Mengya, but the latter appeared to be suddenly shaken.

That’s right! If Fanggu had hidden these items here, there was no way she would mix up her memory.

Could it be that Fanggu already knew that there was a man highly skilled in martial arts, hiding in her room?

Shocked, Lin Mengya looked at Fanggu and thought that she certainly did not look like she was at peace.

Lin Mengya tasted something bitter at the back of the mouth when it occurred to her that Fanggu had offered up her life!

No wonder... all of a sudden, certain details came welling up in Lin Mengya’s mind.

They had just met up but Fanggu had sacrificed her life to protect Lin Mengya. Even in the face of death, Fanggu had not even fought to keep alive in order not to alarm them.

It was no wonder that when they entered Fanggu’s room, it was still in order. It was no wonder that Fanggu’s stiffened fingers were pointing at her bed even when she was being hanged.

It must be because Fanggu knew this man to be very highly skilled. Fearing that Lin Mengya’s life and the lives of her companions would be endangered, she chose to sacrifice her own life.

Lin Mengya was deeply saddened. She felt as if she had suffered a heavy blow of a hammer, but she could not shed a drop of tears.

She had never seen someone as loyal as this woman, who was able to endure such great torment for a master whom she had not seen for decades, who was willing to sacrifice her life in exchange for the safety of her master’s heir.

Lin Mengya felt faint and began swaying from left to right, but in the next moment, she fell into a pair of strong arms.

She looked up only to see Long Tianyu’s worried expression on his handsome face.

Lin Mengya felt as if her heart was going to break into pieces from grief.

The mixed feelings in her seemed to be warring with each other. All she could do was to passively remain in Long Tianyu’s embrace in a daze.

Long Tianyu, who had just arrived, became extremely anxious over Lin Mengya’s condition in this instant.

Back home, Baili Rui had warned them that Lin Mengya should not be exposed to anything that would cause her emotions to fluctuate immensely.

Little did they expect the many accidents would happen on this trip to the Nation of Lintian.

Long Tianyu focused his eyes on Lin Mengya’s pale face and she appeared to be gasping for breath.

Long Tianyu did not care about what was happening around but began gently massaging Lin Mengya’s back with his large hands.

“Hooo....”

After a long time, Lin Mengya finally let out a long breath.

At this moment, colors started to come back onto her face.

By now, Min’er had been weeping so hard that her voice had turned hoarse. All the people there, including Long Tianyu who had appeared abruptly behind her, were looking at her quietly, waiting for her to handle the situation.

“Min’er, give me a hand so we can freshen Fanggu up together and send her on her way,” said Lin Mengya with a usual solemn tone.

Although Lin Mengya looked as if she would faint any moment now, she still had a little bit of strength in her.

Refusing help from Long Tianyu, Lin Mengya pushed herself up and walked up to Fanggu.

Setting her eyes on the basin of water brought by Min’er, Lin Mengya used a clean towel to clean away the blood on Fanggu’s neck, which had congealed.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry to have brought this misfortune upon you,” mumbled Lin Mengya.

Her sincere apology was not just directed at Fanggu alone.

Min’er, whose life could have continued to be peaceful and quiet, had been implicated.

Having lost Fanggu, her security, what should such a pitiful girl do in the future?

“No, Your Highness, the princess. Please don’t take the blame on yourself. Fanggu told me that the reason she was still alive was that she once had a master who treated her like her own sister. In order to repay her master’s kindness, she was willing to die without any murmur. I didn’t understand what she meant then, but now I see what she meant.”

Min’er helped Lin Mengya with cleaning up Fanggu’s body as she narrated the story of Fanggu with a hoarse voice.