An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 157 The Disappeared Madams (Part One)

Yun Shang was surprised. Lady Geng? The name sounded unfamiliar to her. Who was she?

Qin Yi noticed Yun Shang's confusion. She hurriedly explained, "Your Highness didn't know her. Lady

Geng was the late Emperor's Lady. She died a long time ago. She was Lady Ming's sister, taken by the

late Emperor as a concubine when he was the Crown Prince. But after their marriage, she failed to

bear his child. Then the Li Clan presented Lady Ming to the late Emperor. Later, Lady Ming became

pregnant. When she was merely 25 years old, Lady Geng suddenly fell ill, and died. Her death

devastated the pregnant Lady Ming, who then miscarried due to grief. At the time, many praised their

strong bond of sisterhood."

Yun Shang sneered, "Sisterhood? Once the Emperor took them both, they were no longer sisters."

Lying on her bed, Yun Shang started to think over the anecdotes. She wondered what had happened

between Lady Ming and her sister, but all entanglements had been buried. Regardless, someone had

planted Lady Geng's confidants in her palace. Perhaps this person thought Yun Shang knew nothing

about Lady Ming and Lady Geng's grudge, and wouldn't find out his or her plot.

After a long while, Yun Shang glanced at Qin Yi, and said, "What do the two madams do?"

Lowering her eyes, Qin Yi answered, "They are settled in the side hall. As they're both aged now, and

versed in the etiquettes of the Palace, they're not in charge of laborious work. Instead, they teach the

newly recruited maids."

"I see." Yun Shang blinked. That was a good position. It would be easy for the madams to cultivate

their networks.

"Your Highness, how do you want to deal with them?" Qin Yi asked. She felt guilty as she had been

negligent about the personnel change in Qingxin Palace. It was her fault as she didn't sift through the

recruits thoroughly, thus allowing the two maids to sneak in, leading to a disastrous result. She almost

wanted to skin the two maids, for they intended to harm her Princess.

Yun Shang contemplated the matter for a while. Then she flashed a smile, "They must know a lot about

the secrets of the Palace, as they've served in the Palace for a long time. They also used to be Lady

Geng's confidants. That's why the Li Clan tend to place their trust in these two maids. Qian Yin, capture

them, and hand them to Ning Qian. She's been working on her interrogation skills. I'm sure the

madams will be good experimental subjects."

A gleam came into Qian Yin's eyes. She giggled, "Wonderful. She always complains about the lack of

experimental subjects. The two madams must be tougher than common folk. And the servants in the Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

Palace always keep their mouths shut. How ideal for an interrogation!"

"Go for it then." Yun Shang was amused by Qian Yin's expectant face. She smiled and dismissed her.

When Qian Yin left to carry out her orders, Yun Shang turned to Qin Yi, "Qin Yi, go and make some

inquiries for me. What has Li Fuyi been doing recently?"

Qin Yi didn't quite understand Yun Shang's intentions, but she didn't ask. She curtsied to Yun Shang

and walked out.

Yun Shang flashed a smile. It suddenly came to her that Li Fuyi was Empress Yuan Zhen's sister. She

wondered whether they were another pair of Lady Ming and Lady Geng.

Before long, Yun Shang received her maid's report. Recently, Li Fuyi had been spending most of her

time in Changchun Palace, accompanying Lady Ming in transcribing Buddhist texts and worshipping

Buddha. Yun Shang flashed a sneer as she listened to the report. All the women from Li Clan were

unscrupulous and designing. And Li Fuyi was the worst of them all. She was smart enough to stay

away from the fight, and pretended not to be jealous and competitive. But she had revealed her true

intention, as she served a woman who had spent all her life in the Palace. Lady Ming had survived two

Emperors, and knew more about pleasing a man than any of the ladies. If Li Fuyi was able to please

her, she certainly could learn a lot from Lady Ming.

Yun Shang thought for a while before asking, "Which of the ladies have slept with father in the past four

weeks? And how many times has he slept with each of them?"

Qin Yi was shocked. She forced a smile, "Your Highness, you are an unmarried Princess. You shouldn't

ask questions like that. It's bad for your reputation."

Yun Shang raised her eyebrows. "I didn't ask for my amusement. I need to figure something out."

Qin Yi felt shame when answering her Princess's questions. She said, "In the past month, His Majesty

has spent most of his nights in Qinzheng Hall, alone. And he has visited the ladies five times. He spent

three nights with Lady Ya, one night with Lady Meng, and one night with Lady Fu."

Yun Shang nodded to Qin Yi. As she had guessed, seemingly, Li Fuyi was accompanying Lady Ming,

but she didn't lose the Emperor's favor. Emperor Ning had only visited his ladies five times in the past

month, and Li Fuyi was one of the lucky five.

Yun Shang thought for a while. She chose a plain dress, and asked Qin Yi to help her change. Then

she headed towards Changchun Palace.

When Yun Shang arrived, she spotted Fuyi in Changchun Palace. She was absorbed in transcribing

Buddhist texts. Fuyi's dress was simple but elegant, and her hair was tied on the top of her head with a

plain silver hairpin.

Lady Ming sat beside her. Her eyes were closed, as if she was dozing. And the hall smelt of

sandalwood, the incense of Buddhism.

"Your Highness, Princess Hui Guo has arrived." Madam Yu noticed Yun Shang. She quietly reported to

Lady Ming.

Upon hearing that, Lady Ming opened her eyes, and glanced at Yun Shang. Yun Shang flashed her a

smile, curtsied, and said, "The weather is getting warmer now. I tend to be lazy on hot days. Just now, I

had a little plum syrup, and thought Your Highness might like its taste, and I haven't visited you

recently, so I decided to bring some to you."