Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 90

Hua Jing had spent the whole day in her tent. When she peeked out, it was already dark. Sometimes, several patrol soldiers passed by. That and Hua Jing's agitated pacing were the only sounds that could be heard.

A sudden noise scared Hua Jing. She jumped in surprise. She turned around to see, and found that a stone had fallen by the table. Hua Jing watched as it bounced and rolled before coming to a halt. Hua Jing looked around carefully before picking it up. She split the stone into two halves and took out a strip of cloth from the inside. There were two lines of characters on the cloth, which said, Time is limited. Take action soon.

Hua Jing clenched her teeth and put the cloth into the sachet hanging on her waist. It was a letter from Qingsu urging her to finish and leave. But, she still had no idea as to how she would escape. She frowned and felt more agitated.

Hua Jing's stay in the Ning army and being a spy for Qingsu were just expedient. She had been impersonating Yun Shang since she met Qingsu, and had deceived him into writing a letter to Emperor Ning, in which he raised the request of marriage between him and Princess Hui Guo. Qingsu was so cruel that he would not let Hua Jing live if he learned the truth. So she persuaded Qingsu to send her to the Ning army. She had convinced Qingsu that she, as the Princess of Ning, could work as his spy in the Ning army, or steal an Army Deployment Map, or even poison Prince Jing.

However, Hua Jing would not do as she had assured Qingsu. She was, after all, the Princess of Ning. How could she do something to undermine her own country? She just did all this to escape from Qingsu.

But Hua Jing came to realize how simple-minded she was as soon as she set foot in the Ning camp. She had underestimated Qingsu. Qingsu not only placed guards outside the Ning camp, but he had also arranged spies to watch her inside the camp. He must know everything about her.

"Your Highness..." A voice announced from outside. Hua Jing was so shocked that she turned around hurriedly, "Who is it?"

Silence followed her question. Then the person spoke, "Your Highness, I am in service of Prince Jing. The Prince wonders whether Your Highness is willing to have a chat with him in his tent."

Prince Jing? Hua Jing squinted as she contemplated. She could feel suspicion from the Prince ever since she arrived at the camp. He always gave her the cold shoulder whenever she went to his tent. But today, the Prince was inviting her to his tent. How could it be possible? Hua Jing could not help but worry.

The soldier led Hua Jing to Prince Jing's tent. She vaguely heard the Prince speak as she stood outside the tent.

"My Lord, Her Highness is here." The soldier said aloud from the doorway. To prevent Qingsu from finding out her true identity, Hua Jing had ordered all soldiers to address her Princess instead of Princess Hua Jing since her first day at the Ning camp.

"Please come in." Hua Jing heard the Prince speak in a low and attractive voice. The soldier pushed open the curtain for Hua Jing, and she entered. But her face darkened after she got a clear view of the interior. There were three people in the tent, the Prince, Mister Xiao, and Lady Zhao.

Lady Zhao looked sullen too. She turned and gave Hua Jing a look of contempt, and said sarcastically, "It's you, Princess Hua Jing."

Hua Jing gnashed her teeth but walked in with a smile. "Mother, I didn't expect that Uncle had invited you here."

"Mother?" Lady Zhao smiled, "Your Highness is the star out of reach of the Zhao family. Before I came here, I requested the Emperor to allow Your Highness and my son to divorce. Anyway, no one knows whether Yingjie is alive or dead. Your Highness can relieve yourself of the burden if Your Highness divorces him."

Hua Jing fastened her hands into fists in her sleeves. How she desperately wished that she could consent to Lady Zhao's proposal! However, she recalled what the Empress had said to her when she was about to leave the Imperial Palace. If she divorced Zhao Yingjie at this moment, she would certainly be condemned as a hardhearted woman by everyone. Thinking of the stigma the divorce would bring for her, Hua Jing lowered her head to show pitiful meekness. She said while sobbing, "The Emperor's Son-in-Law is missing. I know mother must feel sad and worried for him. But, mother, please don't say something like that again. As Yingjie's wife, I feel no better than you. No matter what happens to him, I will bear the consequence with you, shoulder to shoulder."

Yun Shang was sitting near Hua Jing. She glanced at Hua Jing with a look of contempt, and thought to herself, You are smarter now, Hua Jing. I should never have underestimated you.

Yun Shang cast her eyes on both women before speaking with Lady Zhao with a smile, "Hua Jing is right, Lady Zhao. You two should not quarrel with each other at this time when the Emperor's Son-in-Law is missing. Her Highness is worried for the Emperor's Son -in-Law, too. Her Highness came to the border in search of the Emperor's Son-in-Law. She left the day after you left the Imperial City. All people in the Imperial City are talking about the virtuous deeds of Her Highness and lauding her faithfulness to the Emperor's Son-in-Law. But Prince Hua Jing had gotten lost along the way, and was delayed in arriving here. Her Highness must have suffered tremendously. Wouldn't it be improper for you to blame Her Highness after so long and hard a journey?"

Yun Shang smiled. Though she seemed to speak in favor of Hua Jing, Lady Zhao was clever enough to catch the subtext behind the words. Hua Jing sought to better her repute among the populace by leaving the Imperial City hurriedly and proclaiming her efforts to search for the Emperor's Son-in-Law. But she delayed her arrival on purpose.

Lady Zhao's face darkened suddenly. She said with a cold smile, "No wonder the Empress is the Empress. Her daughter is not inferior to Her Majesty in winning over the hearts of the people."

The Empress? Yun Shang smiled when she heard Lady Zhao mention the Empress. "I heard something awful had happened to the Empress during the Winter Solstice Sacrificial Ceremony. Lady Shu ran into Her Majesty by accident, and Her Majesty miscarried. The Emperor even sent Lady Shu to the Cold Palace as punishment." Yun Shang sighed and continued, "Well, what a lot of troubles we seem to have!"

This statement not only took Hua Jing by surprise, but also Prince Jing. Hua Jing stayed silent for a short while, then she said abruptly, "No. It's impossible for Mother to have been miscarried. How could that happen?"

Yun Shang showed pity and said, "I don't know all the details very well. I just heard it from others."

Miscarriage? Hua Jing paled at this thought. How could it be possible? She was hoping her mother would give birth to a son. She would have nothing to worry about if her brother was designated by the Emperor as the Crown Prince. But what had caused the miscarriage? I must return to the Imperial City as soon as possible. Hua Jing thought to herself.

Yun Shang felt happy as she watched Hua Jing's sullen expression. This is just the beginning. There will be more for you to endure. Yun Shang thought.

"You look upset, Princess Hua Jing. You'd better go back to your tent and rest. As Your Highness and Lady Zhao are the only women in the camp, it would be more convenient for both of you to share the same tent. Anyway, you two must be in need of company. Attendant. Lead the way for Lady Zhao and Her Highness." Prince Jing said aloud.

An attendant came in and escorted Lady Zhao and Hua Jing to their tent. When Prince Jing and Yun Shang were alone in the tent, the Prince asked softly, "Is Lady Shu under arrest in the Cold Palace? Would Your Highness please explain this to me? What happened?"

Explain? Yun Shang was taken by surprise. Then she remembered that Lady Shu was in service of the Prince. But how could the Prince be so sure that she devised all this to set Lady Shu up?

Yun Shang picked up the cup by her side, and tried to come up with an ideal answer. Then she heard the Prince speak after a sigh, "Lady Shu has spent many years in the Imperial Palace. I know more or less what she is capable of. You must be angry at her for what she did to Lady Jin, although Lady Jin was just an innocent victim of the war between Lady Shu and the Empress."

Yun Shang could not help but feel nervous. She said after a long silence, "How could you be so sure that it was I who set her up?"

Prince Jing walked toward Yun Shang. He lowered his head to look into her eyes. "Even if she wanted to eliminate the baby in the Empress's belly, she didn't have to do it in public. Since the Empress is unable to have a baby, how could it be possible for her to miscarry?"

Yun Shang was startled. She raised her head to stare at the Prince, "What did you say? The Empress is unable to have a baby?"

Suddenly, Yun Shang recalled what Lady Shu had mentioned about the Empress's pregnancy. Lady Shu said she didn't get any order from the Prince to kill the baby in the Empress's belly. And she also recalled the Prince had told her it was unnecessary to worry about the Empress's baby, when Yun Shang had gone to his mansion to see him. So the Prince must have known that it was impossible for the Empress to get pregnant!

"You... made her incapable of bearing more children?" Yun Shang asked.