Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 133

Grand Councilor Li turned to Li Yaoqi, and found that he seemed absent-minded, too. He was now sure that something bad had happened. But it was still early, and it was inconvenient for him to ask the Emperor directly. So he had to stayed seated and tried to figure out how to take leave and ask Li Yaoqi.

Emperor Ning examined everyone's expressions and tried to smile. His eyes reflected coldness. "Reward all the ladies who performed just now. Prince Jing, make sure the rewards are sent to their mansions. It's been a long day for everyone. Please rest. We have arranged for a bonfire party tonight. Let's meet at that time."

"Long live Your Majesty....." Everyone knelt on the

ground. After Emperor Ning left, they stood.

The Empress, Yun Shang, and Prince Jing all followed Emperor Ning when he left. Only then did the people start to gossip. Though many of them had witnessed what had happened, there were still some who didn't know the whole truth. So they began exchanging information. Grand Councilor Li heard Hua Jing's name several times. He also noticed that everyone seemed to avoid eye contact with him every time they mentioned Hua Jing. Grand Councilor Li frowned. He beckoned to Li Yaoqi and led him to a quiet place. He looked around to make sure no one had followed them, and asked, "What happened when I was away?"

Li Yaoqi quickly knelt. "Grandpa, it was all my fault. It was my mistake. Qi'er* incriminated the Princess and the Empress...."

(*TN: Qi'er is how Li Yaoqi referred to himself.) Of all his grandsons, Grand Councilor Li liked Li Yaoqi the most. Seeing him like this, the Grand Councilor knew that what had happened must have been serious. So he quickly asked, "What is going on?"

Li Yaoqi told him everything without missing a single detail. "When I was hunting, I saw a black bear, so I shot it. But Wang Jinhuan also shot it, which made the bear go wild. The injured beast ran around madly, so I followed it. When I found it at the edge of the forest, I saw that it was attacking Princess Hua Jing. Seeing that the Princess was thrown by the bear twice, I quickly took control of the bear. But Princess Hua Jing was already hurt and she was covered with blood. So I

brought her back before I could think of anything..." Li

Yaoqi hesitated before he continued. He looked up to peek at the Grand Councilor's face.

"Then what?" Grand Councilor frowned. The Empress looked upset as Hua Jing had been hurt. But something was still wrong. If it was only a matter of Hua Jing getting hurt, why would everyone avoid eye contact with him when they mentioned her?

Li Yaoqi found some time to organize his sentences. Then he said, "According to the physicians who were diagnosing Princess Hua Jing, she had a miscarriage...

Grand Councilor was stunned. His eyes were filled with coldness. Since the Grand Councilor was a man of great power, he looked imposing. Now, when he got angry, his face became even more frightening.

Li Yaoqi kept his head low and said with regret. "It was all my fault. If I had known it, I would have done everything I could to send the Princess away as secretly as possible..."

Grand Councilor Li clenched his hands in the sleeves. He found it hard to hold back the anger he felt. "That bitch! How could she not tell us about such an important matter? What she did humiliated the Royals. There is no chance that His Majesty will spare her. As for the civil and military officers of the Court, even though they can't talk about this incident behind His Majesty, they can definitely smear us and say that the Li clan is full of immoral people! After this, I'm afraid that the Empress will find it hard to establish her place in the Palace. That bitch! Earlier when she was having trouble with the Zhao clan, I warned her not to cross the line. But you all defended her and said good things on her behalf. Now see what happened! Bitch! Stupid! How stupid!"

Grand Councilor Li was so mad that he said the word bitch several times. Li Yaoqi felt quite awkward. After a long time, Grand Councilor Li controlled his anger. "Now that I'm in charge of welcoming the envoys, His Majesty will not cause trouble. But he will come at me afterward! Never mind. Go back and tell your fathers and uncles about this. We'll find a time to discuss our countermeasure."

Li Yaoqi nodded. Then he followed Grand Councilor to their room in the temporary imperial palace located in the east suburb.

At the Palace, Emperor Ning glanced at the woman who knelt before him. The coldness in his eyes was hard to hide. "My Empress, you have raised a great daughter for me. She knows exactly how to embarrass me at the right time. Well, well, well. Now that both the State of Yelang and the State of Xia are aware of this scandal....

The Empress kept her back straight. Her hands shivered. "It is all my fault, Your Majesty. Punish me as you wish."

"Punish you? All right. My Empress, tell me how should I punish you? And how should I punish Hua Jing?" Emperor Ning sneered.

The Empress kept her mouth shut. She knew that after losing face in front of the envoys from both States, Emperor Ning would definitely not spare Hua Jing. And if she begged for forgiveness, she might lose her position...Which is highly likely..