Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 559

Yun Shang also saw the lady next to Lady Hua Guo. She swept across her quickly and knew she must be Hua Yutong. Yun Shang sat down and said with a smile, "Grandmother, You must have forgotten me as you got such an outstanding lady to accompany you."

"Naughty girl." Lady Hua Guo laughed out loud. She took Hua Yutong and introduced her to Yun Shang. "This is Yutong, the youngest daughter of your grandfather's younger brother. She ranks as your senior in the clan. Since you are about the same age, you could just call her by her name.

Hearing that, Yun Shang nodded to Hua Yutong gently and said, "I'll call you Tong'er and you could call me Shang'er."

Hua Yutong agreed with a smile. Then she sighed and said, "I gotta learn courtesies and etiquette from the senior maid. With your company, aunt won't feel boring today."

Lady Hua Guo patted her hand and said, "Go ahead. Learn by your heart. I know it's the last thing you want to learn, but now you have to. I will check up on you anytime."

Hua Yutong smiled at Yun Shang and said, "Shang'er, you see, this old lady is not kind at all." She giggled and walked away.

Yun Shang couldn't help smiling. "Tong'er is really a genuinely sincere girl."

Lady Hua Guo nodded with a smile, but a concerned look appeared on her face. Yun Shang had been gazing at her, so she noticed it. "I seem to have seen her name on the list of candidates for this year's selection. Does grandfather want Tong'er to enter the Imperial Palace?"

Lady Hua Guo froze for a moment before she nodded and said with a smile, "Over these years, we have seldom engaged in politics, turning a blind eye to matters both in the court and in the imperial household. We used to feel at ease in that way, but now we feel a bit regretful. We have nobody to rely on in the Imperial Palace and it is somewhat inconvenient."

Yun Shang kept silent for a while, and then walked to Lady Hua Guo's side. She whispered, "I know you and grandpa are doing this for His Highness. But Tong'er is just a teenage girl, and His Majesty is around fifty. Besides, I'm afraid she is too innocent to fit in the imperial household." Yun Shang paused before she continued, "Grandmother, don't worry. His Highness and I have made some arrangement for the selection."

Lady Hua Guo held Yun Shang's hand and said gently with a smile, "It's very considerate of you. Both the Liu clan and the Su clan have married ladies into the Imperial Palace. If no one from our clan could be chosen into the imperial household, people will gossip about us. It has nothing to do with Qingyan."

Then she changed the subject. "I heard that you were being set up and involved into the case of Hanshi Drug? I was so worried about you. Yesterday I kept asking your grandpa to send someone to inquire about the situation. We got the news that you were fine, but we had no idea what was going on exactly. Tell me what happened?"

Yun Shang told her everything that had happened yesterday.

After a long silence, Lady Hua Guo sighed. "Given the power of the Su clan, His Majesty has to protect the Empress this time. But he is actually getting more and more dissatisfied with her. I'm afraid it won't be long before the Su clan starts collapsing. His Majesty is just waiting an opportunity. Since Su Qi became the Empress, she and her family have been aggressive and domineering. A lot of people complained about it. However, Su Qi just ignored them and became even more overbearing. His Majesty is not fatuous and he won't stand them for long."

Yun Shang nodded, "But I'm afraid Lady Shu must hate me very much. If I can't get rid of her this time, she will only turn out to be a threat to me.

"It is entirely up to the His Majesty whether Lady Shu will die or not. He thinks there must be someone who can have the Empress at bay. Although Lady Shu has been locked into the Cold Palace, the Empress couldn't do anything without scruple as long as she is alive. If one day someone could take the place of Lady Shu in the imperial household, His Majesty will get over her soon. By that time, you will be able to take control of Lady Shu's life." Lady Hua Guo looked gentle, but a fierce look flashed through her eyes.

"Take the place of Lady Shu." Yun Shang murmured to herself. No wonder Ning Qian gained the favor from the Emperor easily and got a title even though she had stayed in the Imperial Palace for only half a year. Maybe it was because Ning Qian, like Lady Shu, did not have any support from a strong family. But she could become a thorn in the Empress' heart when being favored by Xia Huanyu, so that the Su clan would not go too far. It was no wonder that when the Crown Prince died, Xia Huanyu did not show the slightest sadness. Perhaps, he had never thought of letting the Crown Prince inherit the throne.

Yun Shang kept silent for a long time before she sighed, "Maybe it's a good thing that you stay away from all matters in the Imperial Palace. Or I'm afraid that one day the Emperor will also regard our clan as a thorn in his flesh."

Lady Hua Guo smiled and held Yun Shang's hands. "We will take warning from the Su clan, you don't need to worry about it."

When Yun Shang returned, Luo Qingyan was not in the mansion. Instead, his personal servant Luo Yi was in the yard. Yun Shang felt a bit strange and asked, "Where is His Highness? Why are you not with him?"

"His Highness has gone out with Luo Er. I don't know where they are," Luo Yi answered in a low voice, scratching his head.

Yun Shang stopped and looked at Luo Yi. She pondered for a while before she figured out the reason. As Luo Yi was going to be married soon, he would not be able to serve as a secret guard. Luo Qingyan had to promote another secret guard to replace Luo Yi.