Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 95

"I always thought that you were careful. How could you be so careless today? Besides Yun Shang, we also smelled the perfumed powder. It was lucky that you discarded the needle as soon as you spotted something wrong. Had we been caught, we would be in big trouble before we could teach Yun Shang a lesson." Lady Ming said with a frown. There was a hint of disapproval in her eyes.

Madam Yu fell to the ground hurriedly and kowtowed before Lady Ming for several times. "I understand, My Lady. I was reckless today. But I didn't expect that Princess Yun Shang would send people to investigate you on pretext of concern for your health."

"Hum, Yun Shang is by no means a simple girl. She pretends to be timid and overcautious. But occasionally, she seems to be clever, too. However, her cleverness was so deliberate that no one would doubt that it was just her way to cover her clumsiness." Lady Ming waved and said, "All right. Anyway, what happened cannot be changed. I have led a peaceful life for many years, and have kept my hands from getting tainted by dirty tricks. You seem to not be accustomed to sneaky schemes as well. Be careful next time. Few women in the Palace are simple-minded. Don't underestimate our enemies again."

Madam Yu replied immediately, "I understand, My Lady. It's getting late, you should retire now."

Lady Ming nodded, "It's getting colder. Set a warm stove in the room later."

"Yes." Madam Yu answered before standing up. She helped Lady Ming take off her clothes, and took out the warmers from under the quilt. The bed was already warm because of the warmers. Madam Yu pulled the quilt on Lady Ming after the Lady had lain on the bed. After folding and putting aside the clothes, Madam Yu walked to the stove. She added more coal to the fire. Then she blew out the lamp, walked out of the room, and retired in the small night-watch cabin in the outer room.

Lady Ming felt uneasy during her light sleep as she dreamed of a cat. The cat let out a pitiful scream and jumped at her. Lady Ming was so scared that she awoke from the nightmare. It was only a dream! Lady Ming wiped off the sweat on her forehead. However, when she was about to close her eyes again, she heard the faint yowling of a cat. And the yowling sounded more and more sad.

How could it be possible for some cat to come here? Lady Ming frowned. Thinking of the dream she just had, she could not help but feel frightened. So she called aloud, "Madam Yu..."

Movement was heard before Madam Yu responded, "Yes, I'm here."

After a short moment, a light was seen when Madam Yu walked in with a glaze-covered lamp. "What happened, My Lady? Are you thirsty?"

Lady Ming shook her head. She leaned a little forward and tried to hear for odd sounds. But, she heard nothing. So, Lady Ming asked, "Did you hear something, Madam Yu? The yowling of a cat, or something like that?"

Madam Yu shook her head at Lady Ming's question, "No. Did you hear something just now?"

Lady Ming said with a frown, "The meowing of a cat."

"The meowing of a cat?" Madam Yu felt a little surprised. "But I didn't. How could it be possible for cats to come here at his hour? It is forbidden to let pets wander about in the Palace after evening. How could it be possible?"

Lady Ming felt surprised, too. She thought she was imagining things. So she waved at Madam Yu, "All right. It may be an illusion."

Madam Yu nodded. But before she turned to leave, she noticed an open window. Madam Yu frowned at this. "Why is the window open? I remembered having closed it before I left. Look, the fire is not as big as before."

Lady Ming felt a chill after hearing Madam Yu's words. "It snowed the whole day today. Maybe the window was not shut tightly, and the wind blew it open?"

"Hum, " Madam Yu replied. She put down the lamp on the table by her side, and walked toward the window. Suddenly, she stopped as she felt as though she had stepped on an object which was both, soft and hard. Madam Yu almost fell when she stumbled into the object. She looked down, and saw a white fluffy thing under her foot. When she took a closer look at it, she could not help but let out a sharp scream, "Oh my.."

Lady Ming was startled. She propped herself up to look at Madam Yu. "What's happening?"

Madam Yu pointed at her foot and said with her eyes closed. "My Lady, it is a cat. A dead cat..."

This made Lady Ming's hair stand on end. She trembled as she said, "Guard! Call the guard! Call them now!"

In the quiet winter night, the knock was heard at the entrance of every Palace. "Emergency summon from Lady Ming. Ladies, please get dressed and go to Changchun Palace as soon as possible..."

"Your Highness, please get up. Lady Ming sent for you. We have no idea what happened, but it seems that all the other ladies have been summoned, too." Qin Yi got up in a hurry, and then wakened Yun Shang. After helping Yun Shang get dressed, Qin Yi fetched a warmer and handed it to the Princess. "Your Highness, it's very cold outside. Do you need one more robe?"

Yun Shang shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Perhaps it would be better for you to take one more coat for yourself. We don't need to be in a hurry."

Qin Yi nodded and left to fetch a coat from the night-watch cabin. Then she scurried out of the room to check whether it was snowing or not. At last, she returned to the bedchamber and said to Yun Shang, "Let's go, Your Highness. The snow has stopped."

Yun Shang nodded and left for Changchun Palace with Qin Yi and Qian Yin. Before they got to Changchun Palace, they saw Qin Meng and Lady Ying who were also on their way. Qin Meng and Lady Ying greeted Yun Shang, and the Princess nodded at them. Then Yun Shang quickened her pace and walked ahead of Qin Meng and Lady Ying. She didn't want to be forced into a conversation with the two ladies.

Many ladies were already waiting in the Hall at Changchun Palace when they arrived. None of them wore makeup. And they all seemed listless as they kept yawning from time to time. Lady Ming, who was sitting on the Hostess's Seat, seemed quite furious.

Yun Shang swept a curtsy toward Lady Ming. Shortly after, Yun Shang took her seat. A maid came and served her a cup of tea. While sipping the tea, Yun Shang heard the ladies sitting next to her gossip. They were speculating about why Lady Ming had summoned them so late at night.

The Hall was like a sea of noise as everyone was talking. Suddenly, an eunuch announced from outside, "His Majesty and Lady Jin are here."

Lady Ming frowned after hearing the announcement. She turned to look at Madam Yu, and said, "I told you not to disturb the Emperor, didn't I?" Emperor Ning spoke before Madam Yu could respond. "I stayed in Lady Jin's chamber tonight. I heard of the emergency summon from the eunuch who was sent to inform Lady Jin. It seemed quite urgent. I was curious as to why mother summoned everyone in the imperial household in the middle of the night."

As the Emperor's presence was beyond everyone's expectation, all the ladies had come to Changchun Palace without wearing any makeup. Therefore, they all felt a little annoyed at Lady Ming who had asked them to come in such a hurry.

What the Emperor had said annoyed Lady Ming too. She curled her lips a little, and said, "Of course, I wouldn't send for everyone for no reason. After the cat accident during the banquet not long ago, Changchun Palace got an unexpected visitor. Guard, bring it here."

Two men entered the Hall in a hurry. They were holding a shovel on which lay a cat drenched in blood.

All the ladies screamed at the sight of this bloody cat. Emperor Ning's face darkened as well. He immediately took Lady Jin into his arms and pressed her head against his chest. He was afraid that Lady Jin would be scared by the frightful scene.

"Madam Yu, tell them what happened..." Lady Ming sneered after getting a glimpse of everyone's response.

Madam Yu stepped forward and swept a curtsy toward everybody. "As Lady Ming was feeling exhausted, she went to bed early. And I took a nap in the night-watch cabin. A short while ago, I heard Lady Ming call. I ran into Lady Ming's room as soon as possible. Lady Ming told me she had heard the yowling of a cat, and asked me whether I had heard it or not. I am a deep sleeper, so I heard nothing. Lady Ming thought the yowling might be an illusion. But before I left, I found that the window in Lady Ming's room was open. I thought it must have been blown open by the wind. So, I went to close it. But I stamped on this bloody thing before I could make my way to the window. Do you know how scared Lady Ming and I were when we saw it?"

"Hum, " Lady Ming said, "After a cat had ruined the banquet, another one appeared in my Palace. Incidents in the imperial household are getting more and more uncivilized now. I am afraid more frightening things will happen if I just let go of tonight's incident. Emperor, you must be tired after dealing with affairs all day. I didn't mean to bother you for this trivial matter. I told them not to wake you, as issues in the imperial household are only the business of women. However, as you have already come, please wait and witness the investigation."

Emperor Ning nodded, "Members of the imperial household need to learn. Don't worry, mother. I'm always in support of justice."

Then Lady Ming said, "Check the cat to find its owner. Besides, find all the eunuchs and maids on duty tonight.

"Yes," the eunuchs and maids standing by Lady Ming's side answered in a hurry before withdrawing.

"It was lucky that the culprit behind this incident intended not to kill me. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for me to sit here and talk with all of you." It seemed Lady Ming was in extreme fury as she had a frowned brow since the very beginning.