Apart from that, although the Divine Witch in front of her looked exactly like Baizhi, the Divine Witch’s skin was whiter than that of Baizhi, and some of her physical characteristics were in line with those of the cave dwellers who lived underground all year round.
That was the reason why Lin Mengya suspected that the tribe of Divine Witches was a mysterious tribe that lived underground.
“Even your mother were unaware of this. How on earth did you find out about this?” the Divine Witch asked.
Seeing her biggest secret revealed, she was extraordinarily shocked.
“It is not difficult to find out about this. Nevertheless, I am more curious about one thing: since you live underground, why do you come here?” Lin Mengya asked.
Her intuition told her that the legend of the Divine Witch might be a scheme.
But if it was just a lie, how could the t.i.tle of the Divine Witch be pa.s.sed down for so long?
“I... I can’t tell you. Miss, please stop asking. This is related to the safety of all my tribe members. Please don’t mention this to anyone.” The Divine Witch decisively refused to answer Lin Mengya’s question with a pleading and solemn look.
After pondering for a while, Lin Mengya finally nodded.
The woman in front of her was not only Baizhi’s biological mother, but also her mother’s intimate friend.
In any case, she should not force the Divine Witch to tell her.
“Rest a.s.sured, reverend ma’am. I will never mention this to anyone. But can you tell me what Madame Hui came here for a few days ago?” Lin Mengya said.
She could seek the information she wanted through other channels, so she didn’t have to force the Divine Witch to offer it.
Nevertheless, the Divine Witch was willing to answer Lin Mengya’s question as long as it was not about the origin of the tribe of the Divine Witches.
The Divine Witch answered, “She just came here to beg me to enter the imperial palace to pray for blessings. Since you have the token of Madame Jingrou, you should know her son who was brought back a year ago. After the prince entered the imperial palace, a few misfortunes happened indeed, so Madame Hui considered he brought bad luck.”
That night, Lin Mengya also overheard some information.
Madame Hui might be the only one who was so eager to blame Xiaoyu for bringing bad luck.
“Thank you for not believing the rumor, reverend ma’am. In fact, I want to ask you a favor,” Lin Mengya said.
When the Divine Witch saw Lin Mengya stopped making detailed inquiries about her secret, her face softened considerably.
She was more tolerant and kinder to the daughter of her old friend than to others.
“Please go ahead, Miss,” she said.
Lin Mengya stood up, bowed to her respectfully and said, “Reverend ma’am, I hope you can lend me a helping hand and a.s.sist the Ninth Prince to ascend the throne!”
The Divine Witch was stunned. She had no interest in getting involved in this kind of secular affairs.
But in the face of Lin Mengya’s eager request, she really wanted to repay the Lin Family for raising her daughter.
After pondering for a while, she suddenly said with a sigh, “Fine. I eventually fail to throw off the arrangement of fate although I have spent the first half of my life hiding here. Rest a.s.sured, Miss, I’ll certainly lend you a helping hand. The Ninth Prince is destined to ascend the throne. I just want you to promise me one thing and keep it in mind.”
Seeing the Divine Witch consent to her request, Lin Mengya was overjoyed.
Even if the Divine Witch made eight or ten requests, she would do all she could to fulfil them, let alone a request.
The Divine Witch said, “My poor child... It’s an extra blessing given by the Witch Empress for me to learn that she is alive and fine. Miss, please don’t tell my child about her real origin, and prevent her from stepping into the Lieyun Empire. I’m destined to have no chance to resume my relationship with her, but I hope that I could ensure her safety for the rest of her life.”
Lin Mengya had thought the Divine Witch would ask her to keep the underground city secret.
Unexpectedly, the Divine Witch’s request was about Baizhi.
Lin Mengya nodded without the slightest hesitation. What the Divine Witch had done today had shown her the Divine Witch, of an extraordinary status, had too many scruples and heavy responsibilities.
Since she considered Baizhi as her sister, she would never allow Baizhi to be in any danger.
“Thank you very much. Also, this is the dowry I prepared for her. Please give it to her, but don’t tell her that it’s a gift from me, her useless mother,” the Divine Witch said.
Then she took out a pair of red jade bracelets set with gold from her bosom with slightly trembling hands.
The jade was old and as bright as blood, without the slightest impurity.
Lin Mengya could tell at a glance that it was a rare high-quality commodity in the market.
The golden threads of the bracelets seemed to be new, each with a pearl as the b.u.t.ton. The bracelets looked fine and indescribably exquisite.
The Divine Witch caressed the bracelets reluctantly, as if she could express her longing for her daughter through them.
Lin Mengya took the red jade bracelets, where the warmth from the Divine Witch still lingered, with both hands, and put them carefully and properly in her bosom.
Then she said, “I’ll definitely give them to her. Rest a.s.sured. I promise I’ll give Baizhi a grand wedding. No matter who she marries, I’ll protect her for the rest of her life.”
This was her promise to the Divine Witch and represented her care for Baizhi whom she considered as her sister.
Warm tears ran down the Divine Witch’s delicate face. She, who hadn’t cried for many years, went through the most significant up and down in her life today.
“Okay, with your promise, I can put my mind at ease,” the Divine Witch said.
The members of the Lin Family always kept their promises, and the Divine Witch had learned it from Lin Mengya’s father long before.
With Lin Mengya’s promise, her daughter’s safety and joy in the latter half of her life could be ensured.
“Reverend ma’am, please don’t cry. Things are unpredictable. Maybe you will have a chance to meet her again. As long as you are alive, there are plenty of possibilities. By the way, I have a maid named Baisu, who is only a few years older than Baizhi. Have you ever met a girl of her age before?” Lin Mengya said.
She thought that since Wanyan Lie banned Baisu from getting into the Divine Witch Shrine, it meant that something terrible would happen once Baisu got close to it.
Judging from the reactions of Wanyan Lie’s men and Baisu’s master, it was probably something serious.
The Divine Witch glanced at her, shook her head helplessly, and then nodded, thinking Lin Mengya was really brilliant.
There were only a few secrets hidden in the Divine Witch Shrine, but now they had been revealed by her overnight.
The Divine Witch said, “In fact, my delivery caused a deficiency of vital energy and blood, making me unable to move freely. But one day, the female physician, who offered me physical therapy, suddenly brought two children. One of them was about three or four years old, and the other was still in her infancy. The female physician begged me to save the two children, so I hid them here. Because I lost my daughter, I sympathized with them. However, the female physician disappeared after bringing them here. It was inconvenient for me to seek another physician, so I had taken care of them for three years without receiving physical therapy. Later, I was willing but unable to continue taking care of them, so I respectively entrusted them to two people, and they were brought up separately.”
Lin Mengya’s heart pounded wildly. That was right. Baisu once mentioned that she vaguely remembered that a woman had taken her to another place to visit another girl.
“In that case, reverend ma’am, do you remember who you entrusted with the two children?” Lin Mengya asked.
The Divine Witch stared at her for a moment and said hesitantly, “The older child, who had an excellent body const.i.tution, was taken away by Prince Lie, while the younger child was adopted by the Dongfang Family. Nevertheless, I have never told anyone about the origins of the two children and just begged them to take good care of the two children.”
Hearing this, Lin Mengya felt her mind was blown all of sudden.
Since the older child was entrusted to Prince Lie, the child was very likely to be Baisu!
Since the younger child was adopted by the Dongfang Family, could the child be Xiu?
Lin Mengya was stunned. At first, she only knew the ident.i.ties of the two girls were a little special.
Unexpectedly, they turned out to be sisters.
“Well, reverend ma’am, is there any evidence to verify their ident.i.ties? I mean, how can I make sure they are the two little girls?” Lin Mengya tried hard to suppress her excitement and asked.
By now, she still considered it as a speculation.
The Divine Witch, who had no idea why she was so astonished, thought for a moment before saying slowly, “The two children were both very cute. I’ve forgotten if there’s any evidence to verify their ident.i.ties, except for one thing: the younger child had very special eyes that were natural containers for venomous insects.”
Hearing this, Lin Mengya was almost sure that the younger child was Xiu.
She should have thought of this earlier. If Xiu was really the daughter of the Dongfang Family, how could they leave her alone in such a secluded courtyard?
Although Xiu claimed that she volunteered to sacrifice her eyes for Xiaoyu, who would easily allow their daughter to sacrifice her eyes?
Clenching her fists, Lin Mengya did not know what to say.
“What’s wrong?” the Divine Witch asked.
Seeing the complicated expression on Lin Mengya’s face, she realized that things might not be as simple as she imagined.
“I’m fine. Reverend ma’am, when the older child left the Divine Witch Shrine, did anything unusual happen? Or did she lose her memories of the days she had spent here?” Lin Mengya asked.
Hearing Lin Mengya’s question, the Divine Witch lowered her head.
After a long while, she finally nodded her head lightly and said hesitantly, “In fact, it’s my fault. After the female physician brought the two children here, I secretly raised them during the period. Although I entrusted them to two reliable people, they believed that if the two children could still remember me, it would affect my reputation. I had no choice but to think of a way to make them forget everything that had happened here and their relationship.”
Unexpectedly, this was the reason why Baisu was banned from approaching the Divine Witch Shrine.
It was hard to deprive a person of her memories. Either venomous insects or hypnotism could merely lock this part of her memories.
Once the person undid the lock with her willpower, she would regain her lost memories.
But all this required something that aroused doubts. The Divine Witch Shrine raised Baisu’s doubts, and she lost her memories of the three years she had spent here.
This was the turning point of their new lives, as well as the end of their original lives.