An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 156 Returning To The Palace; The Encounter With Prince Houjing (Part Two)

Prince Jing nodded, and then slowly closed his eyes again.

Xia Houjing didn't say anything more. He bowed to the two in the carriage, and left.

After Prince Houjing left, the coachman closed the door, and Prince Jing let Qian Hua out. Prince Jing

was frowning, as if he was worried about something. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Just now the

Prince raised doubts about us."

Yun Shang nodded, but didn't say anything. She warned herself, 'Xia Houjing is someone I must guard

against and keep an eye on.'

Qian Hua tugged on Yun Shang's sleeve while she was lost in thought to tell her, "My lady, that is the

woman that I saw."

Yun Shang looked to the direction Qian Hua was pointing. She saw a woman in green walking out of

the Yuman Tower. The woman looked tall, and was wearing light make-up. She was a beautiful woman.

But just as what Qian Hua had decribed, the lady gave Yun Shang a weird feeling. The way she walked

and the look on her face seemed strange. She behaved as though she was hiding something.

Yun Shang squinted, observing the woman for a long time. Suddenly it struck her, "That is not a woman

at all!"

"What?" Qian Hua hesitated, then asked, "My lady, I don't understand."

Prince Jing understood what Yun Shang meant. He looked at the woman for a short while, then he

turned to Yun Shang, "That's a man in women's clothes and make-up."

Yun Shang nodded in agreement. That woman was a man. The man appeared good-looking, so even

though he was taller than the average lady, he was able to pull it off. Maybe he was afraid to be found

out, so he imitated women's behavior, but he was too cautious over each move as he walked. Even

how he looked at others seemed like it had been practiced a thousand times.

The man was overdoing the acting, and did not come off as a natural woman. Perhaps that was how

Yun Shang recognized he was disguised.

"Why did he disguise himself as a woman to meet secretly with Prince Houjing?" Qian Hua frowned,

confused again.

Yun Shang considered why he might have, "Maybe, he wanted to conceal his identity, because he is

well known. So he disguised himself as a woman to avoid attention and trouble."

Qian Hua understood and nodded. "If he is really someone well known, then it'll be easy for us to find

out who he is. My lady, you don't need to worry about him. I will let you know his identity within two

days."

Yun Shang said slowly, "Thank you."

Qian Hua left the carriage after that. Yun Shang lifted her head looking at Prince Jing. "We've had the

Osmanthus cake, we can go back to the Palace now."

Prince Jing agreed, ordering the coachman to resume to their original destination. Yun Shang noticed

that Prince Jing seemed tired, so she lowered her head and kept silent.

When they arrived at the Palace gate, Prince Jing helped Yun Shang dismount the carriage. He said,

"Let's go see His Majesty together. You've been lost for some time. He must be worried."

Yun Shang kept her head low as they walked to Qinzheng Hall together. Emperor Ning was not alone

when Yun Shang and Prince Jing were shown inside. A girl was standing by the table. Yun Shang

glanced at her before lowering her head again. It was Lady Ya.

"Shang'er, come here. Let me have a look at you, my daughter......" Seeing that Yun Shang walked in

with Prince Jing, Emperor Ning smiled with relief. He hesitated, as though trying to think of how to word

something, while not offending Lady Ya, "It has only been two days since I saw you, but it felt like

forever. It makes me want to postpone you marrying Prince Jing and leaving me sooner."

Yun Shang kept her head low but smiled. Prince Jing, on the other hand, frowned. He said to Emperor

Ning, "Brother, you've given me your word. Don't break your promise. A word from a man of honor

cannot be withdrawn......"

Emperor Ning seemed unhappy about Prince Jing's words, and said, "So what? Shang'er is my

daughter."

'Well, look how excited he was about his daughter.'

Prince Jing wasn't angry, instead, he smiled, "Well, soon we will all be confused. I've called you brother,

and after I marry Shang'er, I wonder what should I call you. Should I call you father, as Shang'er always

has? Or shall Shang'er call you brother, as I call you?"

Prince Jing's questions silenced everyone, until Emperor Ning erupted in laughter, "I'm already

confused."

Lady Ya smiled as she put the solid ink that she had been grinding down and added softly, "The most

important thing is they love and treat each other well. Whether they call you father or brother is not as

important."

Emperor Ning nodded, "Lady Ya is right." Then he turned to Yun Shang, who was smiling. "Well, my

daughter is quite naughty. Of all the men in our State, she fell in love with Prince Jing."

Yun Shang blinked, her smile growing as she looked at Emperor Ning, "Father, stop teasing me."

They continued their conversation for a while. Yun Shang saw that Emperor Ning and Prince Jing had

something important to discuss, so she took her leave. Lady Ya left Qinzheng Hall at the same time.

Yun Shang and Lady Ya walked in silence together back toward the imperial household. After a while,

Lady Ya broke the silence, "I visited Her Majesty yesterday, and she told me to get acquainted with His

Majesty as much as possible. She also told me which style of clothing His Majesty's prefers on his

ladies, and his favorite scent, and food."

Yun Shang listened to her rambling and started to wonder. The Empress had kept herself in Qiwu

Palace. Physically she wasn't around, but she was busy keeping her eyes on everything in the imperial

household.

"Did she tell you to befriend me?" Yun Shang asked casually.

Lady Ya thought for a long time before she said, "The Empress told me that Princess Hui Guo seems

harmless but is actually a poisonous flower. She told me that if I ingratiate with you in a stupid way, I

may not be liked by you. That's why I need to calm down and wait for the best timing. She also

suggested that I should arrange some coincidences to make them seem real."

Yun Shang nodded, "She has been keeping herself busy. I bet she has thoroughly analyzed my

character and preferences."

Lady Ya smiled softly and said conspiratorially, "I'm afraid she's doing more than that. I caught her

people sneaking into Lady Meng's Palace the other day."

"Really?" Qin Meng? Yun Shang paused, then continued. It had been a while since she last spoke to

Qin Meng. It's brave of the Empress to try and form an alliance with Qin Meng, especially knowing Qin

Meng hated her so much. The Empress was desperate, and taking risks at turn.

Yun Shang had to admit the Empress made a good choice in choosing Qin Meng. Even though Qin

Meng didn't like the Empress, she could work with the Empress, given that she was quite a snob. It's

said that if there are enough benefits, Qin Meng would even befriend the one who would kill her family.

So, it was likely she didn't care that she was part of a gambit and chose to work with the Empress.

"Did the Empress's people see you?" Yun Shang asked.

Lady Ya shook her head, "No. I'm sure they didn't."

Yun Shang nodded. After a while, she said, "Your brother used to work at the Imperial Hanlin

Academy*. It was a place people don't have much to do. For a Zhuangyuan, it's a waste of talent. After

some time, he will be appointed to work in the Imperial Clan Court*. Even though it will be only a small

position at first, he will be in charge of handling all the matters pertaining to the imperial family. It'll be

easier for him to get promoted."

(*TN: Imperial Hanlin Academy: membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of

scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court; Imperial Clan Court: the Imperial

Clan Court is an institution responsible for all matters pertaining to the imperial family.)

Hearing Yun Shang's words, Lady Ya was grateful, "Thank you so much, Your Highness. Your

generosity will be remembered by both of us."

Yun Shang nodded, and headed to Qingxin Palace.

When she arrived at Qingxin Palace, she was greeted with joy by Qin Yi and Qian Yin. They

apologized, blaming themselves for what had happened, "Your Highness, this was our fault, we failed

to protect you. We didn't do our job well. Please punish us......"

Yun Shang was surprised and looked at her maids, "I was staying at Prince Jing's mansion for two Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

days to help him manage business regarding the upcoming birthday banquet. What are you sorry for?"

Qin Yi and Qian Yin looked at each other, exchanging expressions of surprise, and opened their

mouths to say something, but then closed them again.

Yun Shang went and sat on the couch. She sat contemplating something and then looked up, asking

Qin Yi and Qian Yin, "After I was abducted, I didn't pay much attention. How did you get out? Is

everything okay with you two?"

The maids shook their heads. "Maybe they thought maids were no use. After you were taken away,

they drugged and dumped us in a remote area. The secret guards saved us."

Yun Shang nodded, "Glad that nothing happened to you."

Qin Yi came close to Yun Shang and said, "Your Highness, about the abduction that happened, we

both feel it was done by a mole from Qingxin Palace, but we haven't discovered who. During the past

two days, Qian Yin and I have checked every servant's background and their serving history. When she

was sent here, Qian Yin changed most of the servants out with our people. To avoid notice, she kept a

few of the elderly maids. When I was checking on them, I found something strange about them. I didn't

notice before, but now I am having second thoughts about them. I think they are somehow suspicious."

"Really? How are they suspicious?" Yun Shang asked as she looked up.

Qin Yi thought for a while and responded, "Among the elderly maids, two of them have served a lady

who passed away. And that lady is Lady Geng. She is the elder sister of the Grand Councilor

Li......"