An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 226 Sword Shadows

It was an ear with blood on it.

Wen Xi screamed.

The Empress glanced coldly at the ear and snorted, "Do you think that I will believe these are Hua

Jing's ears when someone cut them off and send them to me? Yun Shang, I just thought that your skills

have improved a lot, but I didn't expect you to be so unskilled. Such a clumsy way is of great use to

you."

Yun Shang smiled, but her eyes were calm. "Mother, why don't you read it carefully? Are you scared? I

heard that there is a birthmark on sister's ear... " She paused.

Frowning slightly, the Empress glanced at the thing on the ground again. There seemed to be a touch

of rouge on the back of the ear, like a plum blossom. The Empress turned around quietly and clenched

her hand in the sleeve. Her long nails pierced into her palm, causing pain.

"It's just a birthmark. But many old people of certain ages in the palace know about the characteristics

of Hua Jing. It's not strange to make a fake one. Yun Shang, don't waste your time. If you can, just

send Hua Jing to me. I believe you." Then the Empress went to a chair and sat down, without saying

anything.

Yun Shang grinned, "servants, take it to feed dogs."

The secret guards put the things into the box and picked them up. Yun Shang smiled and walked to the

Empress. "Oh, I forget that mother is used to deceiving herself. In that case, I don't have to say more.

Somebody, lock her in the secret chamber."

The chamber was located in the Empress' palace. It was a small punishment room on the wall behind

the bed, where the empress used to deal with some people in private. She accidentally broke into it in

her previous life, so she got to know that. Now it seemed to be a wonderful place.

Yun Shang summoned Ning Qian, disguised as the Empress, and left after she told the things.

As soon as Yun Shang left, Li Fuyi ran to her, with anxiety in her eyes. "We lost all the ladies. Do you

know who did it?"

The Empress was sitting in front of the mirror, dressed in disguises. She looked at her own face in the

mirror. When she heard Li Fuyi ask such a question, she frowned and said, "what are you doing? Do

you really think that you can get into Qiwu Palace as you like? "

After hearing this, Li Fuyi was a little stunned. She looked at the Empress and couldn't help but be

angry, "sister, you have to grow up. How long can you be the Empress? Do you know how much time

my father has spent in plotting the kidnapping? If you break father's plan, I'm afraid that you will die

without knowing why. "

Hearing this, the Empress laughed suddenly. "Yes, how long can I be the Empress? Do you think you

will have a good end? Even if father ascended the throne, so what? You are just a late Emperor's

consort who has been abandoned by everyone in the past. Where can your dignity be? "

"One more question, sister. Where have the ladies in the imperial household gone?" Li Fuyi glared at

the Empress, with anger in her eyes.

The Empress smiled, picked up the comb on the dresser, and combed her slightly messy hair. "Where

did they go? Didn't you tell me to arrest all the concubines and send them to Jinluan Hall?"

"There is no one at Jinluan Hall!" Li Fuyi banged her hand on the table.

"Really? Is it? There's no one in Jinluan Hall, which made me suspicious. There are people working for

the Emperor. If you are not careful enough, it's likely to go wrong. Just as you said, I can't bear the

consequences if father is in trouble. So, I will send them to my secret chamber. " The Empress turned

around and looked at Li Fuyi with unpredictable eyes. "I don't know. You are in charge of my affairs."

After saying that, she turned to the mirror. "No wonder you said you have been ill bred. Your mother

taught you to be obedient to your sister? Do you really think that I don't know what's going on in the

palace these years? I know clearly that you killed your mother in order to get father's favor? "

Li Fuyi's eyes flashed a murderous look. "You're right, sister. I crossed the line. Since you had already

made a plan, then I won't blame you." Then she gave the Empress a meaningful look, turned around

and left Qiwu Palace.

Ning Qian breathed a sigh of relief after watching Li Fuyi leave. It was lucky that her master had taught

her how to behave, or else everyone would find out the truth. Ning Qian stood up, turned around,

picked up the lamp on the table, and went into the dark room.

There was only one chair in the dark room, and the Empress was sitting on it, with a cloth tied to her

mouth. Her eyes were fixed on Ning Qian, who had come in. When she was in the dark room just now,

she felt strange that why there was someone outside who answered Li Fuyi, and her voice was the

copy of her. Now she knew, without the help of others, that this was the reason.

She had heard about the skill of disguising oneself, but she didn't expect Yun Shang to have such a

capable person by her side.

A question flashed through her mind. What on earth was Yun Shang going to do?

Standing in front of the Empress, Ning Qian looked at the Empress with a smile and said, "Your

Majesty, please don't worry. I'm sorry that I didn't greet you before. I disguised as Princess Hua Jing

and Princess Yun Shang, but I never disguised as the Empress. I felt a bit panicked, but now as I see

it, it's not bad. "

After saying those ambiguous words, Ning Qian left the secret chamber quickly.

Now the Empress was left alone in the dark room. All of a sudden, a crazy idea crossed the Empress'

mind. She just said that she had disguised as Hua Jing? Why did she pretend to be Hua Jing?

A sense of uneasiness overwhelmed her. She didn't believe in Yun Shang's trick when she saw Hua

Jing's ear. After all, the news that Hua Jing was kidnapped by Qingsu was reported to the Emperor.

But now, she was a little uncertain. The one that was kidnapped was actually someone with disguise,

not Hua Jing herself. Was Hua Jing really kidnapped by Yun Shang?

The thought of the bloody ear sent a chill to the Empress.

Before Prince Jing's army reached the Imperial City, something happened in the Grand Councilor's

mansion. Yu'er, who was prisoned by Grand Councilor Li Jingyan due to her disrespect to the seventh

Prince of the State of Xia, ran out for no reason and deceived the guards at the door as if nothing had

happened. She went into Grand Councilor Li Jingyan's bedroom and shouted, "give my child back!"

Then she stabbed Grand Councilor Li Jingyan in the abdomen. It almost killed Grand Councilor Li

Jingyan.

Just when she raised the dagger again, the guards quickly grabbed the dagger from her hand and sent

her off.

But Li Jingyan passed out because of his serious injury.

Hearing the news from secret guards, Yun Shang looked at Prince Jing with burning eyes, "Your

Highness, you believe me. Once this woman goes wild, there will be surprising effects. Yu'er lived her

life in the State of Yelang like a princess. She married a bad old man to the State of Ning now, and she

was still powerful. However, her family members didn't care about her fame. They dared not bully her

because she had a child, so she managed her life. However, Grand Councilor Li killed her child

personally. Yu'er is always shrewish. She can't bear it. "

Prince Jing looked at Yun Shang as if thinking of something, "you must have also drugged her, right?"

Yun Shang raised her eyebrows, "sure. If it weren't for her weakest defense in the Grand Councilor's

mansion, I wouldn't have tried to hurt her. Yu'er is too reckless. "

Around noon, the secret guard Yun Shang sent to Laifeng City came back. "Lady Jin and his majesty

are in good condition, and nothing special happened. But two days ago, a young lady came to Laifeng

City to visit Lady Jin, and Lady Jin stayed with her. It seemed that she was Jing Wenxi. She said she

knew your highness, and his majesty also recognized her as the daughter of Master Jing, so he let

Lady Jin ask her to stay. According to Madam Zheng, the Empress and Jing Wenxi seem to like each

other very much. "

Yun Shang shuddered at the name of Jing Wenxi.

She remembered that she saw a pretty cute little girl in Prince Shun Qing's Mansion, but Ruyu was

hostile to her, which left her an impression. But, wasn't she the daughter of the Head of the Court of Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Rites? How could she appear in Laifeng City at this time? Was it really a coincidence?

Yun Shang didn't believe that this was a coincidence. She only knew that this was unusual. Yun Shang

turned around and asked, "The Head of the Court of Rites is on whose side?"

Prince Jing kept silent for a while and said, "The Head of the Court of Rites belongs to his majesty."

Yun Shang was shocked. There was no reason that father's people targeted at mother. But she still felt

uneasy, feeling that she had ignored something important.

She pondered for a while and turned to the shadow guard, "investigate why Jing Wenxi was in Laifeng

City, and where the Head of the Court of Rites is. Tell the shadow guards in FengXing Palace not to let

Jing Wenxi get close to my mother."

"You suspect Jing Wenxi?" Prince Jing listened to Yun Shang's orders and said softly.

Yun Shang nodded and frowned. "Last night when I went to the palace to see the Empress, the

Empress said she would do something to mother and brother. I had underestimated the Empress and

didn't dare to take the risk of mother and brother's lives this time. It was a coincidence when Jing Wenxi

appeared..."

Prince Jing asked no more. After a short silence, he said, "I'll send some more shadow guards to

protect your mother."

Yun Shang nodded, feeling her pulse beating fast.

Prince Jing's army was coming toward the Imperial City, and Xia Houjing seemed to be calling for

troops in secret. Prince Jing knew that Xia Houjing had some soldiers in other parts of the State of

Ning, and dared not to be careless. He stayed in his study every day to check the map of the State of

Ning.

Yun Shang felt uneasy. Although she didn't know much about Xia Houjing, she knew that it was not a

wise decision for Xia Houjing to stay in the Imperial City. Besides, she had heard about Xia Houjing's

tactics and strategies that she shouldn't have put herself into such a passive situation.

Yun Shang was worried about the chaos in the Imperial City while thinking about what had happened in

the Laifeng City. Everything seemed to be all right according to the information collected by her secret

guards. A few days ago, Jing Wenxi, her brother in business, was wandering around the State of Ning.

She happened to come to the Laifeng City a few days ago. From the day they set out, they seemed to

know nothing about the Imperial City.

But as for the Head of the Court of Rites...

The death anniversary of the late Emperor was in July. Because of his mother's delivery, his majesty

had no time to worship, so he asked the Head of the Court of Rites instead of his father to worship the

tomb. Moreover, he was not in the Imperial City.

Besides, Prince Jing said that the Head of the Court of Rites is under her father's orders. Logically

speaking, his news should not be wrong.

Everything seemed to be normal. The only unusual thing was that Jing Wenxi went to meet mother in

the temporary imperial palace when she passed by Laifeng City. To be honest, Yun Shang didn't know

Jing Wenxi very well, and there was no need for her to visit given her identity.

Yun Shang frowned slightly. No matter what, she had to be more cautious. So she asked the secret

guard to tell Lady Jin not to meet Jing Wenxi and dismiss her as soon as possible.

Two or three days later, it was the end of August. Emperor Ning suddenly sent a letter to her, saying

that he would return to the Imperial City in two days. Yun Shang surmised Lady Jin had given birth to

her baby and her brother had been one month old. Now, she was indeed supposed to go back to the

Imperial City. Moreover, the war in the Imperial City had been delayed for some time. Prince Jing's

army was intercepted on the way, and it delayed for some time. But they should be able to enter the

city within two days.

After discussing with Prince Jing, Yun Shang decided to do it in two days. The situation at the frontier

was also very urgent. The earlier the Imperial City was rescued, the earlier the people there could be

freed as soon as possible for support of the frontier.

Two days later, the night was still deep. Yun Shang and Prince Jing quietly left the Imperial City. In the

dense forest outside the Imperial City, an army of 30000 people was already waiting to be packed up.

"Your Highness, the secret guards have sneaked into the Grand Councilor's mansion, and all the

soldiers at the city gates have been killed."

Prince Jing nodded and raised his whip, "Li Jingyan, that old bastard, will die without a burial place

today."

Prince Jing waved his hand, and his soldiers followed him towards the gates of the Imperial City. The

gates had already been taken by secret guards. As soon as the army arrived at the gates, the gates

were opened.

It was dawn and with the moisture of dew in the morning, no one was on the streets of the Imperial

City. The sound of horse's hooves kicking and the collision of the armor of the soldiers could be heard.

Yun Shang frowned at the silence.

They arrived at the gate of the Grand Councilor's mansion. Archers were everywhere on the walls.

Prince Jing drew his sword and waved it. "Charge over."

The dark guard took the lead and rushed towards the archers on the wall. The shield soldier quickly

changed the position, walked to the front of the group and raised a shield.

The arrows fell down like rain, and the two guards in front of them moved forward step by step. Behind

them, the archers, who were standing between the shields, shot towards the archers on the wall. In a

short moment, they reached the gate. As soon as Prince Jing gave the order, the gate of the Grand

Councilor's mansion was knocked open.

In the Grand Councilor's mansion, there were archers lurking under the rockery of wildflowers, trees

and rockeries. Yun Shang and Prince Jing were aware that something was wrong. According to

intelligence, there were more than 40 thousand soldiers in the Imperial City, who could contend against

the enemies at the gates or at the Grand Councilor's mansion for a while. However, with only 30

thousand men among them, they were completely invisible in the Imperial City. But they were still

trapped in the Grand Councilor's mansion. Some archers were resisting. At present, they were no more

than thousands.

"Find him for me! Find Li Jingyan for me!" Prince Jing shouted and many soldiers rushed into the

Grand Councilor's mansion. The Grand Councilor's mansion was stuffed with a lot of people in a short

while.

"Is he in the Imperial Palace?" Yun Shang murmured, "No, the guards in the palace have already been

replaced by us. If Li Jingyan really gets into the palace, there is no reason for us not to receive the

news..."

After a short while, the soldiers had thoroughly searched the Grand Councilor's mansion. There was no

Li Jingyan, no Xia Houjing, and not a single person that could be taken as the master. But there were

only three thousand soldiers in the Grand Councilor's mansion.

Prince Jing and Yun Shang exchanged a look with each other and looked grave.

After a long time, Prince Jing said, "if we follow the plan, His Majesty will leave for the palace today."

Yun Shang shivered as she realized that they had fallen into Xia Houjing's trap. Xia Houjing and Li

Jingyan had been planning to take over the Imperial City from the very beginning. Father was not in the

Imperial City, so even if they took control of the Imperial Palace, it would still be an empty city.

Besides, if they could take the Imperial City, they had to guard the Imperial City all the time. The

Imperial City was located at the center of the State of Ning, far away from the border. It would take at

least half a year to attack the Imperial City even if the armies of the State of Xia took over the three

cities at the border. It would be tough for Li Jingyan and Xia Houjing to guard the Imperial City for half a

year.

Yun Shang was too eager to avenge herself that she had overlooked something. When she thought

about it carefully, a flame of hatred lighted up in her heart. "Xia Houjing wants to attack my father and

threaten him to command the world."

Prince Jing nodded and frowned. "I felt something was wrong a few days ago. I thought Xia Houjing

had arranged for some secret troops to attack the Emperor in secret, so he sent twenty thousand

soldiers to protect the Emperor. But I didn't expect him to abandon the Imperial City with a lie."

Yun Shang's heart sank. With her father's guards around, she hoped that the fight could last for a while.

"We must immediately go to support father."

Prince Jing nodded and gave the order. He flew to Laifeng City with his army.

Yun Shang suddenly thought of something that she had ignored. When she met Jing Wenxi at Prince

Shun Qing's Mansion, Ruyu said to her, "Everyone in the Imperial City knows that Jing Wenxi likes

Prince Jing..."

At that time, her father had just granted her and Prince Jing a marriage