An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 111

Although Yun Shang felt relieved, she had nothing to say, and the silence in the carriage became awkward. Yun Shang remembered Emperor Ning's words from a few days ago, so she gave a little cough and said, "I'm going to send my mother to the Fenglai Palace* for recuperation. My father said you would tidy up the Palace first. We are going there in a few days. Uncle Jing, is the Palace already prepared?"

(*TN: Fenglai Palace is a temporary imperial palace.)

Prince Jing nodded, "The Palace is ready. You may rest assured. Please be careful on your way to the Palace and do not let others discover Lady Jin's secret, otherwise you would get in trouble."

Yun Shang nodded, and Prince Jing continued, "It's not a good idea to conceal Lady Jin's pregnancy. What if the Empress asserts that Lady Jin had an affair with someone else and got pregnant? How are you going to deal with that?"

Yun Shang was taken aback by his words. After much deliberation, she admitted that she hadn't thought consummately. Although Lady Jin was in her third or four month of pregnancy, the Empress could invariably stir up trouble. Yun Shang nodded, "Thank you for reminding me of that, Uncle Jing. I hadn't thought of it before. I'll deal with it as soon as I return."

Prince Jing nodded, and closed his eyes to rest.

Yun Shang had been thinking of her mother and rehearsing what she would say in the upcoming meeting with the Emperor. Prince Jing and Yun Shang had no other conversation during the rest of their journey.

As soon as they arrived at the Imperial Palace, Prince Shun Qing asked to see the Emperor. After a while, Emperor Ning sent a eunuch to escort Prince Shun Qing and his family in. Yun Shang was about to follow them, but Prince Jing grabbed her sleeve to stop her. Yun Shang went blank for a while, and didn't go in.

"Lady Gao is the daughter-in-law of Prince Shun Qing, and it is their family affair. It is improper for you to go in now. Let's just wait. The Emperor is sure to call us in later." Prince Jing explained to Yun Shang as he saw the doubt in her eyes.

Yun Shang went blank again and then nodded. She blamed herself for being hasty and decided to be more careful in the future.

Prince Jing saw her reaction and knew she was not vigilant against him now. So he asked, "Have you thought about the Xiu Xin situation? Where is the real one?"

Yun Shang gave a murderous look, "I've hidden her in a secret place and given her some medicines. I'm sure she will say whatever I want her to say."

The Empress relied heavily on Xiu Xin's service. If something suddenly happened to Xiu Xin, the Empress was sure to turn the world upside down. So Yun Shang didn't kill Xiu Xin. Lady Gao would identify the Empress as the person behind the attempted murder, and Prince Shun Qing and Lady Shun Qing would serve as their witnesses. Yun Shang and Prince Jing would also give their evidence. The Empress had no excuse to absolve herself from the blame.

Emperor Ning could not turn against Prince Shun Qing for a servant girl. Yun Shang was delighted at this moment. Although she was unable to condemn the Empress to death now, she could still kill one of her capable assistants.

As expected, after a while, Lord Zheng stepped out and asked Yun Shang and Prince Jing to enter. When they entered Qinzheng Hall, Lord Zheng didn't follow, instead, he left. Yun Shang realized he must have gone to call the Empress.

Emperor Ning had a cold expression, as if he was trying his best to withdraw his anger. Yun Shang saw Prince Shun Qing and Lady Shun Qing on their knees, and behind them was a gray-faced Lady Gao. Yun Shang took the opportunity to kneel. Tears streamed down her face, "Father, it is me who caused Prince Shun Qing and Lady Shun Qing's troubles. It is me who should take the blame for Mister Wu and his daughter's death. It's all my fault..."

Hearing Yun Shang's sobs, Emperor Ning raised his eyes. He saw how red Yun Shang's eyes were and the sorrowful expression on her face. He hated Li Yiran even more at this moment. He had thought Li Yiran would be tolerant toward others as the Empress, but didn't expect her to be so merciless. She was unable to kill Yun Shang in the Imperial Palace, so she devised such a vicious idea to frame Yun Shang as a murderer. If she had succeeded, Yun Shang would live in infamy. Moreover, the Empress wanted to kill Prince Shun Qing as well.

Emperor Ning sighed. His face softened when he looked at Yun Shang, "Don't worry. It's okay. Just tell me what happened in detail."

Yun Shang nodded, "I remember it was the third day of first month of the lunar year. I went to present my respects to the Empress in the early morning, and the Empress asked me stay behind after the other ladies had left. She said Lady Shun Qing would celebrate her significant birthday* in two days and asked me to attend the celebration and get close to Lady Shun Qing. She was worried that I didn't have an appropriate birthday present for Lady Shun Qing, so she gave me the peach-shaped carving made of jadeite. I felt grateful to the Empress and agreed. I went to the Prince Shun Qing's Mansion and gave the carving to Lady Shun Qing. When the dinner began, Mister Wu Qi said the carving was very precious and wanted to have a look. So Lady Shun Qing asked a servant to fetch the carving. But the carving, somehow, had some blood streaks on it. Wu Qi said it was a bad omen. I was frightened and thought someone must have replaced the carving, so I asked Prince Shun Qing to investigate. Otherwise, people might believe that the Empress had given a fake carving to Lady Shun Qing and it would be a stain on her reputation."

(*TN: A significant birthday is 50th/60th birthday, etc.)

Yun Shang sobbed, and then continued, "Before Prince Shun Qing found anything, I heard Wu Qi had died. A physician checked his body and found that he had been poisoned, and the poison was the same as on the carving. I was so scared and didn't know what to do, and then someone said a servant girl died in the backyard. The physician went to check the servant's body and said she was also poisoned by the same poison. Moreover, Wu Qi and the servant had two similar sachets, and that the same poison was in the sachets. Prince Shun Qing sent guards to investigate the murderer, and Lady Shun Qing and I just walked around. We saw Xiu Xin coming to the Mansion in a hurry. When I was wondering why she was here, a guard reported to Lady Shun Qing that Xiu Xin went to Lady Gao's yard. So we also went there and heard..." Yun Shang burst into loud sobs. She was unable to continue talking.

Emperor Ning had already heard Prince Shun Qing's report and was familiar with the rest of the story. After he listened to similar testimony from Yun Shang, he became even more convinced and was fuming. He banged his tea cup on the table and shouted, "Bitch!"

At this moment, the door opened. The newcomer seemed to be startled and muttered, "Your Majesty, what's going on here? Who makes you angry?" The voice belonged to the Empress. Although she voiced her concern, she sounded bland.

Emperor Ning snorted, "Look at what you have done! Wonderful! I have such a virtuous wife!"

The Empress then realized Emperor Ning was mad at her. She looked around with a frown. She thought to herself, 'They are all here. Aren't Prince Shun Qing and Lady Shun Qing here to convey their grievances about Princess Hui Guo? Why is Emperor Ning mad at me?' Though she had doubts, the Empress had to take the blame, "Your Majesty, why are you so angry at me? What have I done? Yun Shang, I thought you were at Prince Shun Qing's Mansion. Why are you here? Prince Shun Qing, Lady Shun Qing, you are both here as well. What is going on? If Yun Shang did something wrong and offended you, I apologize for her. Please pardon her."

The Empress asserted Yun Shang's mistakes without knowing what had happened, and even gave an apology. Yun Shang sneered in her mind and wondered if the Empress would still be smiling in a while.

"Li Yiran, why isn't Xiu Xin with you? I remember she is your right hand." The stern-looking Emperor Ning raised his head and asked the Empress coldly.

The Empress didn't know why Emperor Ning asked about Xiu Xin. She said, "Your Majesty, Xiu Xin is sick. I was afraid she might communicate the disease to you, so I asked her to rest at Qiwu Palace."

Hardly had her voiced faded away when the door was pushed open, "Your Majesty, Xiu Xin is here."