Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 27

Hearing this, Yun Shang's eyes widened. She turned to Emperor Ning and said, "Father, there is no need to kill them if these packets are harmless."

Emperor Ning looked at his young daughter. He contemplated for a while before asking, "Who prescribed these herbs to you? Go check the records at the Imperial Medical College."

The maid kowtowed and said, "Oh it was physician Shang who prescribed these herbs. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you so much, Your Highness."

Realizing Qing Xin would no longer be treated as a suspect, Yan'er, the maid who went to retrieve the cushion cried out, "It wasn't me! I don't even know what those herbs are or where they came from! Were it not for Qin Yi asking me to fetch the cushion for the Princess today, I wouldn't even have had the chance to enter the Princess's chamber. Please trust me, Your Majesty!"

"You are in charge of cleaning the Princess's Palace. So even without Qin Yi asking you to fetch the cushion, you could have still found a way to tamper with the medicine." Lord Cui snapped, "Besides, those herbs have already been given to an Imperial Physician. We will soon find out whether they are poisonous."

"Oh I am innocent! I truly do not know how those herbs came to be under my pillow!" Yan'er paused as she thought of something. Then her eyes filled with resentment. "It has to be Jing Rong. She lives in the same room as me, and we have always been incompatible with each other. It must be Jing Rong who put those herbs under my pillow."

Qin Meng frowned, she bowed towards Yun Shang and Emperor Ning, and said, "Jing Rong is a maid in the kitchen. She was ill today and stayed indoors. How did she get the chance to poison the Princess?"

Yan'er collapsed on the ground, "I didn't do it. I'm innocent..."

While she was claiming her innocence, an Imperial bodyguard hurried in. "Your majesty, I have the result of the herb tests. Qing Xin's package contains licorice powder indeed, but Yan'er's herb package contains poison."

"Take her away. Decapitate her." Emperor Ning frowned, and shouted at the guards.

Two guards stepped forward and dragged Yan'er away. No one in the Hall spoke for a long while. The only sound that disturbed the silence was the faint screams of Yan'er as she was carried away by the guards. Yun Shang closed her eyes, and murmured "Amitabha Buddha." (*TN: Amitabha Buddha, single-minded

recitation of Amitabha's name, showing faith in, and acceptance of Amitabha's deliverance)

"Father, I'm a bit tired. I will take your leave and return to my Palace and get some rest." Yun Shang sighed, stood up, and bowed towards Emperor Ning. Then with Qin Yi's help, she left for the inner hall.

Gradually, the Palace fell silent. Qin Yi walked to the door, lifted the curtain, and peeked outside. "They are gone."

Yun Shang smiled, "What a scene! I put the poison in the medicine bowl. I didn't expect someone else to be scheming to poison me."

Qin Yi frowned and said, "We still don't know who sent Yan'er to us. It couldn't be the Queen, otherwise Qin Meng wouldn't stab the maid like that."

Yun Shang shook her head, "You've only see a part of the conspiracy. In my opinion, the herb package might not have been hers at all. It doesn't matter who sent Yan'er. She wouldn't be stupid enough to put the package in such a conspicuous place. As for Jing Rong, it cannot be a coincidence that she happened to be sick today. Qing Xin's behavior also left me with some doubts."

"I have the same doubts about Jing Rong. Like Yan'er said, it is possible that Jing Rong deliberately put the herb package under her pillow to avoid suspicion. As for Qing Xin, I don't understand why you didn't believe her. Wasn't she carrying licorice powder?" Qin Yi was confused.