Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 134

Upon hearing this, Hua Jing looked up at the Emperor with terror and shook her head repeatedly. She kept saying, "Don't come near me! Don't touch me!" While speaking, she moved to a corner of the bed and curled up.

On seeing this, Yun Shang frowned. If she couldn't see that Hua Jing was pretending madness, she would be a fool. Yun Shang hesitated for a moment but said nothing. She just fixed her eyes upon Hua Jing's countenance.

"Talk!" The Emperor roared at Hua Jing in anger. Hua Jing who was sitting huddled in the corner trembled all over and stared at the Emperor with tears in her eyes. She seemed to be shocked.

The Emperor snorted and said coldly, "Since you are reluctant to name the father of your baby, I won't let you stay in the Imperial Palace. You will be relegated to a civilian and be exiled to the frontier as labor."

Yun Shang perceived a strong resentment in Hua Jing's eyes when the Emperor uttered those words. Yun Shang smiled grimly as she was now sure that Hua Jing was pretending madness. What an ingenious idea. Yun Shang lifted her eyes and said, "Father, there is something wrong with my sister. Why not call for an imperial physician to check her?"

At the mention of imperial physician, Hua Jing was thrown into consternation. She shouted, "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"

The Emperor frowned and snorted, "Call for an imperial physician right now!"

The eunuch standing by nodded and retreated. As they waited for the imperial physician, an imperial bodyguard entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, the physician has checked Prince Jing's horse. I have also sent someone to check the food eaten by the horse. We have found something unusual..."

"Tell me!" On hearing this, the Emperor turned around and asked, "What?"

"Your Majesty, the physician said the horse must have eaten some purgatives. I have checked the food kept for the horse, but I found nothing special. However, I did find black beans mixed with some purgatives in the forest. I think the horse must have eaten those black beans," replied the bodyguard.

The Emperor's face darkened when he thought that someone was trying to harm Yun Shang on such an important occasion. He roared furiously, "Find the culprit who mixed the black beans with the purgatives."

The bodyguard made a quick bow and withdrew from the room. Prince Jing said in a low voice, "My valuable horse likes eating black beans. Only those who are expert in horses' habits know this. So I guess that the culprit is a person who knows my horse well. Moreover, the culprit must know that Shang'er would ride my horse."

Yun Shang knew who did it, but she couldn't tell the Emperor directly. She had to say something to enlighten the Emperor and let the Emperor find the culprit. So, she thought for a while before she said, "When Uncle prepared horses for the horse race, he only thought of the ladies who knew how to ride. I don't know how to ride, so Uncle didn't prepare a horse for me. Later, Uncle let me ride his horse to avoid issues during the race. Who knows that I don't know horsemanship, but was certain that I would join the horse race?" Just as Yun Shang finished her explanation, the Emperor's eyes grew serious. He was lost in thought. A while later, he rose to his feet and said, "I will conduct a deep investigation into this incident. I will make some arrangements now." After this, he pointed to Hua Jing and continued, "This disappointing monster! Let the physician conduct a thorough examination of her. If she refuses, just bind her. If the physician has any results, inform me."

Lord Zheng nodded. Then the Emperor left the room. Yun Shang turned to look at Hua Jing who was still huddled in the corner. She looked as though she was in a trance. A grim smile appeared on Yun Shang's face. Then she also stepped out of the room.

After leaving the room, Yun Shang kept her head down. It seemed that she was thinking about something. A while later, she turned around to speak with Qian Yin, "Check whether someone visited Princess Hua Jing."

Qian Yin nodded and left. On seeing Qian Yin leave, Prince Jing swiveled his head and said, "You also think that Hua Jing was behaving weirdly."

Yun Shang said with a grim smile, "I thought Hua Jing would admit that the baby belonged to Prince Qingsu when father questioned her. She would be afraid of being executed if she didn't speak. But she didn't admit that. She pretended madness to avoid father's questioning. She couldn't think of such a solution. I believe someone told her to do so."