An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 215

Scared by his thoughts, Prince Jing swallowed the following words. He fell silent as he pondered on the matter. Why would he say that? Had he started to feel for Yun Shang?

Yun Shang had different thoughts. She frowned when she heard Prince Jing's request. Then she racked her brains about alternatives. What should she call Prince Jing, if not uncle?

Husband? Dear?

When she thought of the word husband, Yun Shang shuddered. In her previous life, she used to call Mo Jingran husband to show her love and feelings for him. Back then, she thought she had married someone for love, and was eager to express her feelings as much as possible.

But she didn't have such feelings for Prince Jing... Perhaps she would never have those feelings for anyone...

Yun Shang shook her head. There was no point in thinking about her previous life now. She needed to focus on Prince Jing's request! If not uncle, what should she call him? Qingyan, perhaps?

Yun Shang shuddered again. Since the Prince was merely an adopted son of the late Emperor, it was acceptable for them to marry. However, nothing would change the fact that he was almost twice her age. Calling him by his name would be weird. She felt unfilial at the thought, as if she were showing no respect to her elders.

Yun Shang continued to struggle with the problem, whereas the Prince was equally uneasy. He coughed to disguise his discomfort before he said, "I have to return to the study to settle something."

Yun Shang didn't pay much attention. Immersed in her own thoughts, she nodded to him.

She finally came up with an idea. She remembered hearing Lady Shun Qing call her husband, My Lord. The more Yun Shang thought about it, the more the title made sense to her. Addressing Prince Jing as My Lord in public would be acceptable as it would convey respect. Unlike the term husband and all her associated memories, My Lord was neither too aloof nor too affectionate. She wouldn't shudder every time she addressed the Prince. Delighted, Yun Shang raised her head. She couldn't wait to tell Prince Jing. To her surprise, the Prince had left the room. The Princess frowned as she noticed that the bed was empty. Yun Shang was surprised that she had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed that the Prince had taken his leave. When had he left?

Since the Prince not in the room, Yun Shang decided to let go of the matter. She sent for Ning Qian as she intended to utilize this opportunity to speak with her guards.

Not long after, Ning Qian appeared in Yun Shang's room. When she saw Yun Shang, the beautiful Ning Qian flashed a smile and derided, "I feared I would never see you again, Your Highness. The Prince's Mansion is well-guarded. And if I hadn't received letters from Qian Yin from time to time, I would have thought that you were in trouble. To rescue you, I would have broken into the mansion. But now, I feel relieved. I see you are well, Your Highness. The Prince has been treating you favorably. But..." Ning Qian giggled as she looked at Yun Shang, "It seems you are over-protected, Your Highness."

Hearing her words, Yun Shang flushed. She glared at Ning Qian and dismissed her observation, "That's total nonsense!" Yun Shang quickly changed the topic, "The Prince's guards are monitoring our meeting. If it lasted longer than half an hour, the guards would have to ask you to leave. We don't have time for teasing. Tell me about all the major recent events. Leave the details and the minor events for our later meetings. You can visit me everyday for half an hour."

Ning Qian stared at the Princess with eyes widened, as if in shock. She teased some more, "Your Highness, you should learn to control your husband, not let your husband control you." Yun Shang flushed again and was about to scold her, but Ning Qian changed the subject. She said, "I asked to visit you because many things have happened in the Imperial City during your absence."

Yun Shang remained quiet as she waited for Ning Qian to continue. The Princess had heard a little about the recent events. She had been told about some of the things that had happened because of Prince Jing's designs. However, since she had woken, the Princess had been busy with her wedding and recovery. Yun Shang had no time to learn about the details.

Ning Qian let out a sigh before she started. As she thought of all the things that had happened, Ning Qian became even more impressed by the Prince's vision and abilities. "The day after your return from Mount Kirin, Your Highness, the mountain was engulfed by fire. It burned so savagely that the whole mountain was reduced to ashes. So was Peach Blossom Village which as you know, was at the foothills of Mount Kirin. I haven't received all the details yet, but I've heard that Peach Blossom Village no longer exists. Not long after, a young man from the Li Clan was suspected to have colluded with the enemy. He used to be the commander of the Yulin Guard. One of his concubines found his correspondences with the State of Yelang by accident. She found over 40 pieces of letters and other evidences. One of the evidences is a painting that had been presented to the young Lord Li by the third Prince of Yelang, In the postscript, the Prince had highly complimented the young Lord Li. Seeing all this evidence, Emperor Ning was enraged, and sentenced the young Lord Li to be confined while a thorough investigation was being led by senior officials. However, in my opinion, the young Lord Li is doomed. For his actions, the consequences awaiting him will perhaps be more horrible than death."

Yun Shang nodded. Ning Qian continued, "Do you remember Cangyang Yu'er of Yelang? A few days ago, she married the Grand Councilor and moved into his mansion. She claimed to be pregnant. The physician estimated that she was impregnated on Prince Jing's birthday. That was the day that she and Lord Li were discovered having sex. Thus, the Li Mansion is in chaos."

Ning Qian took a deep breath and continued, "Something has happened in the State of Xia, too. The Crown Prince reported to the Xia Emperor about Prince Houjing's deeds. He claimed that the Prince intended to plot a rebellion and the evidence includes the soldiers, war horses, weapons and army provisions that the Prince had gathered. Hearing the news, the Xia Emperor was outraged. On the sixth day after the Mount Kirin fire, Prince Houjing was urgently summoned back to the State of Xia."

Having finally reached the end of her update, Ning Qian sighed, "These are all the major events from the past few days." She frowned as she remembered something. "There is one other event. It is not large-scale. But it did astonish me." Ning Qian winked at Yun Shang.

"Well, what is it?" asked Yun Shang.

Ning Qian emitted a happy laughter as she retold the story. "Your Highness, you must remember Lady Ruyu of Wen Clan. The last you heard about her was when she had been abducted by several men as they mistook her to be Your Highness. Do you remember how she had schemed to trap Prince Jing by dressing like you during the Flower Show Banquet?"

Yun Shang nodded, "I do." Wen Ruyu was a pathetic woman. She hated Yun Shang ever since she learned of the Princess's engagement to Prince Jing. Embittered by the news, she swore to avenge herself. Then, Wen Ruyu had done every evil thing she could think of including conspiring with the Grand Councilor to abduct Yun Shang. She even collaborated with the Emperor to abduct the Prince. Yun Shang would never forget her deeds.

"After news of her kidnapping, no one could find Wen Ruyu anywhere. She disappeared for a long time. But one day, she suddenly appeared outside the gate of Wen Mansion. She was naked and covered in marks. Her condition led everyone to think that she had been raped. There are rumors that she was raped by several men." Ning Qian stopped to giggle. Then she winked at Yun Shang before continuing, "A few days later, word spread. They said that Lady Ruyu was pregnant. She went mad and wandered naked along the streets all day long. She had become the laughingstock of the Imperial City."

Ning Qian's eyes sparkled with delight as she finished. She praised, "Your Highness, His Highness is such a capable man. As his plan intended, Wen Ruyu is no longer a threat. With her reputation ruined, she can no longer be taken by His Majesty as his concubine, nor can she marry Prince Jing. In fact, her condition is now known to almost everyone in the city. No one is going to marry her."

Yun Shang was shocked and at a loss for words. After a long while, she replied, "But he didn't do it for me. As you know, Wen Ruyu offended Prince Jing before. I'm afraid he's avenging himself." Still unable to process everything, Yun Shang's voice grew softer and softer.

Ning Qian giggled. She looked at Yun Shang with a smile. The expression in her eyes revealed her true thoughts, however. Ning Qian seemed to believe that Yun Shang was being delusional by thinking that Prince Jing was avenging himself.