Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 100

After Que'er fell to the ground, Yun Xi also fell beside her.

"Are they dead?" Prince Jing frowned and bent over the two maids. After confirming that they were dead, he examined them again. This time he found two silver needles embedded into their necks. He laughed, "These needles are poisonous. This is a poor strategy. Shift the blame on others and then kill them?"

The Empress squinted but didn't say anything. Yun Shang glanced at the Empress casually before smiling and speaking, "The maids were killed, apparently at the point of identifying the real murderer. From the position of the needles, the killer must have been behind the maids. So the range of suspects is narrowed down."

No one spoke for a while. Suddenly a eunuch rushed in and broke the silence. He cried, "Your Majesty, Changchun Palace was burglarized, and the Empress's seal has been stolen."

Emperor Ning raised his eyes. Inside, a storm brewed. He ordered, "Seal the Palaces, and search them all, one by one."

"What an eventful day. In that case, father, please keep the men standing behind Que'er and Yun Xi in custody. The Empress's seal is of vital importance. I'll go see Lady Yingying now." Yun Shang said to the Emperor. Then she turned and looked at the faces of all the guests in the Hall before walking toward the door.

"You can't go! You're still a suspect. Why are you going to see Yingying? What is your intention?" Hua Jing's voice came from behind. Yun Shang turned to look at Hua Jing. While Hua Jing looked cruel, Yun Shang smiled. "Princess Hua Jing, are you concerned about the Lady Yingying?" Yun Shang asked.

Hua Jing gritted her teeth and forced a smile, "Of course, Yingying is my cousin. I do care about her." Then she brushed past Yun Shang as she headed for the side Hall.

As soon as Hua Jing got the door, a eunuch collided into her. Her body shook violently, and subconsciously, she protected her belly. No one noticed her movement except Yun Shang.

"What's wrong with you?" Hua Jing rebuked him furiously.

The eunuch quickly held the Princess so that she wouldn't fall. Once she had regained her balance, he dropped to his knees before Hua Jing. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, please forgive me. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Hua Jing gritted her teeth to hold back her anger. After all, she was in the Palace and there were so many guests. "It's okay. Get up." With that, she continued on her way to the side Hall.

Yun Shang lowered her head and said, "Now that sister is visiting Lady Yingying, I'll go later." Her eyes reflected the hurt she felt.

Everybody present had seen the situation clearly. Princess Yun Shang was obviously being framed, and Princess Hua Jing was very aggressive towards her. To the guests, it seemed apparent that Princess Hua Jing didn't like her sister. Princess Yun Shang's mother was Lady Jin. Although the Emperor favored Lady Jin, she was only a concubine. The status of a concubine's daughter was quite low in the homes of ordinary people. It wouldn't be any different in the Palace.

Emperor Ning was a little touched. He looked at Lady Jin only to find that she looked somewhat dejected and that her eyes focused on Yun Shang. Emperor Ning was now, even more displeased with Hua Jing. People say that children are the meat separated from their mothers. Lady Jin may have had little contact with her daughter since her birth, but a mother's and her child's hearts were linked. Lady Jin must have been heartbroken to see her daughter wronged.

At this time, several maids and eunuchs entered the Hall and saluted Emperor Ning. Emperor Ning nodded and said, "The Empress's seal was lost. I'm afraid it was deliberately done by someone who wanted to take it out of the Palace tonight. They probably planned on taking advantage of the comings and goings of the ministers and their families. The consequences arising from the loss of the Empress's seal will be catastrophic. All guests need to allow a body search."

No one dared to object. All the guests in the Hall formed queues and followed the maid and eunuch to the side Hall where they would be searched. The search did not yield the Empress's seal.

Just then, Hua Jing returned.

"Hua Jing, get yourself frisked." Emperor Ning looked at Hua Jing with indifference.

Hua Jing frowned and said, "Father, the Empress's seal is useless to me. I don't have to be frisked, do I?"

Emperor Ning knitted his brows and said, "Everyone in this Hall, including Yun Shang and Prince Jing, has been frisked. You are no exception. Go."

Hua Jing bit her lip with worry. She knew that if she continued to decline, it would certainly antagonize Emperor Ning. She placed her hands on her belly, and was secretly grateful that she didn't look pregnant. With this thought, she followed a maid into the side Hall.

After a while, the maid hurried back and reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress's seal was not found on Princess Hua Jing, but I found this in her sleeve."

In her hand was a small cyan bottle made of jade. Emperor Ning's eyes darkened. Then he ordered, "Call the imperial physician to check what's in the bottle."

The Empress's eyebrows twitched a little after her eyes fell upon the small cyan bottle. "It is probably an ordinary medicine to prevent daily accidents."

A sneer flitted across Yun Shang's eyes. As a precaution, many young Ladies and Noble Masters would take ordinary medicine when they went out. However, it was unusual for such a medicine bottle to be found on Hua Jing. There were two reasons. First, this kind of bottle was usually carried by a servant. And second, if a guest went to the Palace for a banquet, he or she would be strictly inspected before being allowed entry into the Palace. Such a medicine bottle was simply not permitted in the Palace.

Perhaps the Empress had not been in or out of the Palace in so long that she had forgotten the obvious?

Before the imperial physician came from the side Hall, Hua Jing rushed in. She looked a little anxious. "Father, mother, it's not mine. I don't know why it was in my sleeve. Father, mother, do justice for me..."

"Sister, the Palace is heavily guarded. How could someone secretly put such a bottle in your sleeve? This is absurd." Yun Shang exclaimed. Her eyes reflected astonishment.

An imperial physician rushed in just after Hua Jing's outburst. He took the small bottle from the maid and examined it carefully. After a long while, he said, "Your Majesty, this is a bottle of poison, and it's the same poison that was given to Lady Yingying."

Hua Jing paled. She turned to the Empress, "Mother, someone set me up. I'm innocent..." "I believe you." The Empress was stunned. She gritted her teeth and wondered, 'Why? Why was that bottle found in Hua Jing's sleeve, when it should be...'

"Your Majesty, that's unfair. A moment ago, just because a maid said Princess Yun Shang's maid had been to the Imperial Treasure House, everybody firmly believed that Princess Yun Shang was the criminal. But now, the bottle with the poison has been found on Princess Hua Jing. Why does Your Majesty believe that someone set up Princess Hua Jing?" Prince Jing's eyes held a sarcastic gleam, but when the guests heard what he said, they had a completely different interpretation of it.

"Report..." Another guard rushed in, "Your Majesty, while searching the Palace, I saw a eunuch sneaking around Meiying House. He looked very suspicious. So I took him for questioning, and this is his confession..." The guard held a parchment in his hands.

Meiying House had been mentioned more than twice tonight. Everyone stared at the parchment and wondered what it would say.

"Submit it to me." Emperor Ning ordered coldly.

Master Zheng quickly stepped down and took the parchment from the guard. He then presented it to Emperor Ning. Emperor Ning unrolled the parchment. As he looked through it, veins throbbed on his forehead, and anger gathered in his eyes.

"Somebody, bring the eunuch here."

Two guards came in, dragging the eunuch. He seemed to have been tortured. Blood was pooling around his fingertips.

"Say what you said earlier." Emperor Ning stared sternly to the eunuch. The eunuch shivered as he knelt on the ground. "Yes, Your Majesty. I'm responsible for cleaning Meiying House. After the snow stopped this afternoon, I began to clear the ground. When I became tired, I lay under a tree outside Meiying House. I was soon woken by a noise. I heard a young woman tell someone to spread poison on the qin, and she said she would send another person to convince Princess Yun Shang's maid to visit the Imperial Treasure House. After that, she asked them to insist on saying that the criminal was Princess Yun Shang's maid. Then the talking stopped and I was looking for an opportunity to leave quietly. However, I heard footsteps and didn't dare to go. Then young woman then told someone to change all the characters on the lots to Chinese Pipa when Lady Yingying was going to draw. Besides, she said that if anyone inquired, to say that Princess Yun Shang had sent her maid to tell them to do so. That's all I heard..." The eunuch immediately kowtowed to Emperor Ning several times, "Hearing this, I was afraid of retaliation, so I did not dare to speak out."