An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 134

Upon hearing this, Hua Jing looked up at the Emperor with terror and shook her head repeatedly. She kept saying, "Don't come near me! Don't touch me!" While speaking, she moved to a corner of the bed and curled up.

On seeing this, Yun Shang frowned. If she couldn't see that Hua Jing was pretending madness, she would be a fool. Yun Shang hesitated for a moment but said nothing. She just fixed her eyes upon Hua Jing's countenance.

"Talk!" The Emperor roared at Hua Jing in anger. Hua Jing who was sitting huddled in the corner trembled all over and stared at the Emperor with tears in her eyes. She seemed to be shocked.

The Emperor snorted and said coldly, "Since you are reluctant to name the father of your baby, I won't let you stay in the Imperial Palace. You will be relegated to a civilian and be exiled to the frontier as labor."

Yun Shang perceived a strong resentment in Hua Jing's eyes when the Emperor uttered those words. Yun Shang smiled grimly as she was now sure that Hua Jing was pretending madness. What an ingenious idea. Yun Shang lifted her eyes and said, "Father, there is something wrong with my sister. Why not call for an imperial physician to check her?"

At the mention of imperial physician, Hua Jing was thrown into consternation. She shouted, "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"

The Emperor frowned and snorted, "Call for an imperial physician right now!"

The eunuch standing by nodded and retreated. As they waited for the imperial physician, an imperial bodyguard entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, the physician has checked Prince Jing's horse. I have also sent someone to check the food eaten by the horse. We have found something unusual…"

"Tell me!" On hearing this, the Emperor turned around and asked, "What?"

"Your Majesty, the physician said the horse must have eaten some purgatives. I have checked the food kept for the horse, but I found nothing special. However, I did find black beans mixed with some purgatives in the forest. I think the horse must have eaten those black beans, " replied the bodyguard.

The Emperor's face darkened when he thought that someone was trying to harm Yun Shang on such an important occasion. He roared furiously, "Find the culprit who mixed the black beans with the purgatives."

The bodyguard made a quick bow and withdrew from the room. Prince Jing said in a low voice, "My valuable horse likes eating black beans. Only those who are expert in horses' habits know this. So I guess that the culprit is a person who knows my horse well. Moreover, the culprit must know that Shang'er would ride my horse."

Yun Shang knew who did it, but she couldn't tell the Emperor directly. She had to say something to enlighten the Emperor and let the Emperor find the culprit. So, she thought for a while before she said, "When Uncle prepared horses for the horse race, he only thought of the ladies who knew how to ride. I don't know how to ride, so Uncle didn't prepare a horse for me. Later, Uncle let me ride his horse to avoid issues during the race. Who knows that I don't know horsemanship, but was certain that I would join the horse race?"

Just as Yun Shang finished her explanation, the Emperor's eyes grew serious. He was lost in thought. A while later, he rose to his feet and said, "I will conduct a deep investigation into this incident. I will make some arrangements now." After this, he pointed to Hua Jing and continued, "This disappointing monster! Let the physician conduct a thorough examination of her. If she refuses, just bind her. If the physician has any results, inform me."

Lord Zheng nodded. Then the Emperor left the room. Yun Shang turned to look at Hua Jing who was still huddled in the corner. She looked as though she was in a trance. A grim smile appeared on Yun Shang's face. Then she also stepped out of the room.

After leaving the room, Yun Shang kept her head down. It seemed that she was thinking about something. A while later, she turned around to speak with Qian Yin, "Check whether someone visited Princess Hua Jing."

Qian Yin nodded and left. On seeing Qian Yin leave, Prince Jing swiveled his head and said, "You also think that Hua Jing was behaving weirdly."

Yun Shang said with a grim smile, "I thought Hua Jing would admit that the baby belonged to Prince Qingsu when father questioned her. She would be afraid of being executed if she didn't speak. But she didn't admit that. She pretended madness to avoid father's questioning. She couldn't think of such a solution. I believe someone told her to do so."

"Shang'er, you're smart." Prince Jing smiled and looked at Yun Shang with admiration.

Yun Shang felt embarrassed and her face flushed. She turned her eyes away and said, "I can't figure it out. Since Prince Qingsu said he wanted Hua Jing to marry her, why didn't he take the chance to admit that the baby belonged to him? If he had admitted it, the Empress and Grand Councilor Li would have no reason to reject the marriage between him and Hua Jing. Because father values the royal family's prestige much more than Hua Jing, he would have agreed as well."

Prince Jing shook his head and said with a smile, "You're only partially right. Prince Qingsu wanted to marry Hua Jing so that he could get the support from the Empress and the Li family. Only in this way can he become the Crown Prince of the State of Yelang. But it was exactly for this reason that he couldn't admit the baby belongs to him. The physician said that Hua Jing had been pregnant for three months. But three months ago, our state was fighting with the state of Yelang. If people knew that Hua Jing had been with Prince Qingsu since then, what would happen?"

Yun Shang understood Prince Jing's rationale. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Qian Yin return. "Your Highness, the Grand Councilor's wife visited Princess Hua Jing."

"Really?" Yun Shang raised her eyebrows and said, "I think I know how to deal with the Li family." The tips of Yun Shang's mouth lifted. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

Prince Jing thought for a moment and understood what Yun Shang was going to do. He nodded and said, "It's a feasible idea. If you want my help, just tell me."

Yun Shang nodded and said with a smile, "I will."

At the same time, in another room of the temporary imperial palace stood a man in a black suit facing a folding screen. He spoke reverently, "Master, I found that the baby that Prince Hua Jing was bearing belonged to Prince Qingsu."

For a long while, there was no reply from the other side of the folding screen. Just as the man in black thought he wouldn't get any reply, a mild voice said, "Really? Prince Hua Jing had been pregnant for three months. Three months ago, Prince Qingsu of the state of Yelang had a fierce fight with Prince Jing of the state of Ning in the battlefield. How could Prince Hua Jing be with Prince Qingsu at that time?"

The man in black stood upright and replied calmly, "Master, about four months ago, Princess Hua Jing's husband went missing on the battlefield. She went to the frontier to find her husband. But she disappeared for a long time at the frontier. I'm afraid…"

"Interesting! I thought Prince Qingsu came here for Princess Hui Guo. I had not thought that he came here for Princess Hua Jing. But I think Prince Qingsu didn't expect such an incident to happen. I have no idea what Prince Qingsu is going to do to solve this problem. But does Prince Qingsu really think he could become Crown Prince of the state of Yelang with the support of the State of Ning after marrying Princess Hua Jing?" said the man standing on the other side of the folding screen. His statement had a mocking air.

The man in black meditated for a while before he said, "Master, what should we do now?"

A long interval elapsed. A cold voice came from the other side of the folding screen. "We take no action now. The Grand Councilor won't let Princess Hua Jing marry Prince Qingsu. But we have to be alert. If Prince Qingsu publicizes his relationship with Hua Jing, the Emperor would have no choice but to let Hua Jing marry Prince Qingsu, even if he was reluctant."

After a long pause, the voice spoke again. It was mild but somewhat cold. "I won't let that happen. If Prince Qingsu did that, I would think of a way to make Emperor Ning relegate Princess Hua Jing to a civilian. Then the Li family will renounce Hua Jing. If that doesn't work, get rid of her."

The man in black nodded and replied, "Yes, Master." After this, the man in black withdrew from the room.

The man standing on the other side of the folding screen muttered, "I should forsake somebody that is no longer useful to me just as I abandon useless chess pieces; otherwise, it will bring me trouble." After saying this, several chess pieces rolled to the other side of the screen. Then a pale and skinny hand stretched out from the side of the screen to pick up the pieces. As soon as he picked them up, he threw them out the window.