Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 79

Qiwu Palace became more tranquil after the Empress' pregnancy as the morning ritual of a courtesy call to the Empress was suspended and the affairs of the imperial household were taken over by Lady Shu. As it was getting colder, the Empress seldom left Qiwu Palace.

"Has it been half a month since the Empress left Qiwu Palace?" asked Yun Shang casually. She had been lying on the couch reading a book.

"It has been 17 days, " answered Qian Yin. "I am thinking that we will not see the Empress for another five days. Then it will be time for the celebration of the winter solstice."

Yun Shang smiled slightly and turned a page. Then she said, "She has more patience than I thought. Lady Shu took power from her. Many people in the imperial household expected to see her fight back. It is very unexpected for her to simply hand over the Empress seal to Lady Shu and hide herself in Qiwu Palace. The Empress is not known to hide in her Palace."

Qin Yi was folding clothes. Hearing this, she replied with a smile, "I'm afraid the Empress knows what's going on in the imperial household even though she stays indoors. She has too many spies."

Yun Shang frowned as she felt something very important was being missed. She thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. She sighed, "Let's just wait. I am no less patient than her."

When footsteps could be heard nearing, the two women stopped talking. "Your Highness, an eunuch from Huanyi Bureau has brought washed clothes."

Qin Yi turned around to draw aside the curtain. Then she walked out the door. "Come in with the clothes!" came the voice of Qin Yi from outside.

Come in? Yun Shang raised her eyebrows in surprise. Qi Yi never allowed any staff from Huanyi Bureau to come into the inner hall before.

Lifting her eyes to the door, Yun Shang saw a skinny eunuch come in through the bead curtain which had been drawn aside. "Your Highness, these clothes have been washed and dried. Where should I put them?" asked the eunuch.

Qin Yin closed the bead curtain after entering the room.

"Lin?" Yun Shang straightened up and inquired gently, "Why do you come here today?"

Lin glanced at the two maids-in-waiting and understood that Yun Shang was not going to ask them to leave. Seeing this, he understood that the two maids-in-waiting were her confidants. So he curtsied and said, "Your Highness, I have something to tell you."

Yun Shang straightened up and said, "Say it. There is no outsider."

Lin nodded his head and said, "The other day, I heard about the Empress' pregnancy. However, I found an underwear stained with menstrual blood. It had been mixed with the dirty clothes of the maids-in-waiting from Qiwu Palace."

"It must belong to a certain maid-in-waiting who is in her menstrual period." said Qian Yin gently, looking at Lin.

Lin shook his head and said, "But the underwear was made of high-quality silk. It is not like other clothes that belong to the maids-in-waiting. Few ladies in the Imperial household have such kind of silk fabric, let alone the maids-in-waiting."

With a fluid glance, Yun Shang said, "I know what Lin means. In the Imperial household, it's not hard to get rid of a living man. But it's hard to get rid of an underwear stained with blood. So the underwear was hidden in the clothes of the maids-in-waiting."

"But how can you identify that the underwear is made of high-quality silk?" Yun Shang continued.

Lin said with complete confidence, "I'm totally sure about that. And I dare say I am an expert in identifying silk fabrics. I had been in the business of selling silk fabrics before I was framed by others and reduced to a eunuch in the Palace. I have a good relationship with a maid-in-waiting in Huanyi Bureau who is in charge of doing the laundry. The other day when I was chatting with her, she told me the maids-in-waiting serving the Empress have the best food to eat and the best clothing to wear and even the underwear they wear feels softer. She knows this as she does their laundry. I pretended to disagree and asked her to show me the underwear. On touching it, I knew it was made of high-quality silk."

Hearing this, Yun Shang whispered to herself for a while. A sudden thought seized her. Then the world around her became silent. After a long pause, Yun Shang suddenly rose to her feet and exclaimed, "I finally know what's wrong."

All the others in the room cast their eyes upon Yun Shang. Yun Shang smiled and said with firm eyes, "All these days I felt that something important was being missed. When Lin just revealed the laundry incident, it occurred to me that more than half a month ago Lady Shu went all out to make the Empress eat the abortifacient at the banquet. I saw the Empress had eaten the abortifacient. Logically, the Empress should have miscarried within half a month. But nothing happened until now. Qiwu Palace has remained unusually quiet. Several Imperial Physicians have been there several times to check my dear mother's health ( Lady Jin) by pulse diagnosis. But there is only one Physician serving the Empress all the time. Other Physicians have never treated the Empress."

"Your Highness, you mean that..." Qin Yi's eyes shone. She stared at Yun Shang with focused eyes.

"Putting these things together, I think that the Empress is in all likelihood, not pregnant, " said Yun Shang with an ironic smile. "The Empress played a wonderful trick on us. That day when we learned that she was pregnant, I was so shocked that I never doubted whether she was really pregnant." If Lin hadn't told me this weird story, I would not have found the trick played by the Empress, even if I did have some doubts."

"But, why did the Empress do it?" "If she is not pregnant, she will be unable to give birth to a baby. What's more, she is forced to hand over the Empress seal to Lady Shu due to her pregnancy. Doesn't she lose more than she gains?" said Qian Yin with a bewildered look.

Yun Shang calmed herself but a glimmer of excitement remained in her eyes. "I guess that the Empress wants to create an illusion. She will most likely wait for a proper time to show that she lost her baby because of an accident. Then she could blame my dear mother for the accident." "As we all know, at present only my pregnant mother is her major obstacle in the imperial household. But my mother lives in Qiwu Palace. She wouldn't be able to find a better way to get rid of my mother, overtly or covertly. So she thought of this scheme."

"What a sinister scheme! Luckily, we found it out otherwise our Lady Jin would be in danger." Qin Yi breathed out heavily before adding, "Do we need to tell our ladyship about this so that she can be on her guard against the Empress?"

As Lin heard what Qin Yi said, he lifted his eyes to look at Qin Yi and then bowed his head again.

"I have to visit Qiwu Palace before I tell my mother about this scheme. Lin said that they found the underwear stained with blood yesterday. So the Empress must still be in her menstrual period. I remember that every time the Empress gets her period, she suffers from menalgia. Let's pay her a visit and check. Without further ado, let's go check it now." said Yun Shang, rising to her feet instantly. "Dress me now!"

Seeing this, Lin curtsied to Yun Shang and asked, "Your Highness, may I leave now?"

Yun Shang turned to him with a big smile. "Thank you for your message. Go back to Huanyi Bureau now lest you cause suspicion. In a few days, I will send someone with some sweet wine with glutinous rice balls for you."

Lin replied, "OK. Thank you, Your Highness." After this, Lin withdrew from the room.

Yun Shang changed her clothes and after putting on her cloak, she stepped out of Qingxin Palace hurriedly. As Yun Shang stepped into Qiwu Palace, she saw Xiu Xin embroidering in the main hall. She walked towards Xiu Xin and said with a smile, "What a leisurely life you live, Xiu Xin. By the way, is my mother, the Empress in?"

Xiu Xin raised her head and found Yun Shang standing near her. She stood up quickly and spoke, "The Empress does not feel not well today. She is resting in the inner hall."

Hearing this, a concerned look appeared on Yun Shang's face. "Does my mother, the Empress feel ill? Why don't you call for an Imperial Physician? She is carrying the Emperor's baby. You should look after her very carefully. Who will be able to bear the consequence if something bad happens? I will send for a Physician."

Xiu Xin replied, "No, no, Your Highness. You don't have to do so. It's not a big deal. The Empress told us that she just needed to rest."

Yun Shang disagreed. "We must call for a Physician. I will feel very worried if we don't call for a Physician to check the health status of my mother, the Empress."

Hearing this, Xiu Xin was like a cat on hot bricks. Just before she could say something to stop Yun Shang, the Empress' feeble voice came from the inner hall, "Is Yun Shang speaking out there? Come in."

Yun Shang walked into the inner hall and found the Empress lying in the bed. Her face was pale. She hurried to sit by the Empress' bedside, saying, "Mother, why are you looking so pale?"

The Empress smiled slightly and sighed, "I feel weak due to the cold weather."

"You don't call for a Physician even though you feel ill? If my father gets to know about this, he will feel distressed and worried. I will sent for a Physician for you now. You are carrying a baby now. You should be more careful." Yun Shang frowned. She looked genuinely concerned.