An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 115 The Empress's Grief (Part Two)

A couple of days later, the Empress's health became worse. When the news finally spread to the

Emperor, the Emperor sneered and said nothing. But in a short while, Grand Councilor came and

asked for a presence.

On the afternoon of the same day, Lady Li arrived at Qiwu Palace with a servant girl. As soon as Lady

Li set foot in the Empress's chamber, she saw her daughter lying on the bed. Her eyes were hollow.

She looked like a puppet without a soul. Lady Li could not help but sob at the pitiful sight of her

daughter. She walked to the bed with the servant girl, and said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, His

Majesty won't allow any physicians to enter the Palace from the outside. I was at my wits end. So I had

to find a female physician, and disguise her as a servant girl. But she is a good physician. It took a

great effort to bring her here. Please let her take a look at you, Your Majesty."

The Empress turned to look at her mother. She seemed dazed at her mother's words. After a long

while, the Empress finally regained her composure and stretched out her hand. The servant girl

stepped forward and felt the Empress's pulse. She spoke with the Empress after a moment, "Your

Majesty gets irritated easily. Your fury has negatively affected your health. Your Majesty will be fine if

you take care of yourself. But you should stay calm and prevent yourself from getting melancholic, or

no medicine would be beneficial for your health."

After a long while, the female physician continued hesitantly, "Your Majesty, did you ever take any

potent medicine? I find that Your Majesty's body has been severely impaired. Though some medicines

are quite effective in treating some illness, they only take effect at the sacrifice of physical conditions.

So, Your Majesty cannot feel grieved any more. Otherwise, I'm afraid Your Majesty's health will

deteriorate to the point of no return."

A trace of coldness emerged in the Empress's eyes. She propped herself up on the bed all of a

sudden. "What did you mean? What happened to my body?"

The female physician fell to the ground, and trembled as she said, "Did Your Majesty know nothing

about this? It seems that Your Majesty's body has been in a bad condition for a long time. I just noticed

this and wanted to let Your Majesty know about this."

Having spent so many years in the imperial household, the Empress knew what the female physician

meant. The Empress was so enraged that she could not prevent herself from trembling. After a long

while, the Empress subdued her fury and asked, "Did you mean it would be impossible for me to get

pregnant again, right?"

The female physician hesitated for a short while, but nodded at last.

The Empress clutched the bedside tightly in fury after seeing the female physician nod. The Empress

seemed confused at first. But then, the hollowness in her eyes gave way to despair. In the end, the

Empress unexpectedly burst into a roar of laughter. "Good! Good! I always thought I could do whatever

I like to anyone in the imperial household and nobody could dare plot against me. But how stupid I was!

I knew nothing about my body, not to mention my sterility."

Lady Li was shocked at her daughter's response. She asked repeatedly, "How could it be possible?

How could it be possible?" She felt worried for the Empress as the Empress was so desperate. She

could not image what crazy things her daughter would do. But the Empress just sank into a trance after

her wild laugh. She sat on the bedside and stared blankly straight ahead. This made Lady Li feel more

agitated. The old lady sobbed and spoke with her daughter, "It is all your father's fault. You are my

beloved daughter. But your father insisted on marrying you to His Majesty. What a miserable life you

lead..."

The sobbing of mother and daughter echoed in the empty halls of Qiwu Palace.

But in Qingxin Palace, Yun Shang curled her lips into a smile while hearing Qian Yin report to her. "The

Empress must know what it is like to have her heart broken. Ha-ha...." Then she turned to ask her

maid, "Qian Yi disguised herself as a female physician. Did she leave the Imperial Palace safely after

the treatment?"

Qian Yin replied coldly, "I didn't expect that the Empress's mother is also a cruel woman, though she

seems not to be. Qian Yi is safe now. But when she and Lady Li left the Palace in a carriage, Lady Li

asked her servant drive them to a remote place. She wanted to kill Qian Yi there. Luckily, Qian Yi was

quite alert. She ran away safely. Lady Li never expected that Qian Yi knew Kung Fu. So she just

brought some ordinary servants with her. It was easy for Qian Yi to deal with them."

Yun Shang nodded, and closed her eyes with a smile. She was very happy when she thought of the

Empress's face. The Empress must have felt tremendous grief when she heard the news of her sterility.

Now, Hua Jing was imprisoned and Xiu Xin was dead. Today, the Empress learned that she would

never have any chance of getting pregnant. The pain the Empress has to endure must be very harsh!

This would be Yun Shang's best moment in her two lives. Everything the Empress wished for had been

destroyed. Though Hua Jing was leading a comfortable life in the prison because of her grandfather, it

would end soon. When the baby in her belly grows bigger and when Qingsu arrives at the Imperial City,

Hua Jing would also experience a pain that would gnaw at her heart. Wouldn't it be nice to watch the

enemies fall into the abyss of suffering?

Qian Yin grinned and said, "Your Highness, Prince Jing sent you a message. He wonders whether Your

Highness is in the mood to take a cruise with him on the lake."

Yun Shang frowned after hearing this. She stood and walked into the inner hall in anger. "No way."

Qian Yin put her hands on her mouth and burst into a fit of laughter. The Princess was quite amusing

when upset.

However, it was beyond Yun Shang's expectation that the Empress, instead of indulging herself in grief,

rallied herself again. When the Empress had been under suspicion by the Emperor, she seldom ate or

drank, which led to the deterioration of her physical condition. But to Yun Shang's surprise, the

Empress began to eat now, and she seemed to have recovered a lot from her illness. It was said that

the Empress sobbed no more in her Qiwu Palace. Instead, she spent her time reading, embroidering

and in similar activities whenever she was free. It seemed the Empress was quite peaceful now.

Yun Shang frowned after hearing the news. She had no idea what the Empress was plotting. Yun

Shang asked her maids keep an eye on the Empress, but nothing peculiar was found. Yun Shang had

to think highly of the Empress for her endurance. She was a woman who had gone through ups and

downs and she could swallow humiliation time and time again. So, the Empress's tranquility must be

unusual, and something must be brewing under it.

Time flew by peacefully. Soon, the winter disappeared and spring followed. It was time for people to © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

wear their thin spring robes again.

Spring Outing Day* fell on the third day of the third lunar month. Prince Jing sent a message to Yun

Shang again, asking her to go to the outing with him. Yun Shang intended to turn the Prince down.

However, the messenger said to Yun Shang, "Your Highness, Prince Jing said that Prince Qingsu of

Yelang set out from the capital of Yelang on the twelfth day of the second lunar month. He will arrive at

the Imperial City in half a month. The Prince wanted to talk with Your Highness about this. The Prince

said this is a matter that will exert a lifelong impact upon Your Highness. It would be better for Your

Highness to see the Prince."

(TN*: Spring Outing Day was a traditional day in ancient China, during which people would go on an

outing with family members and friends to enjoy the spring day and the natural scenery.)

Yun Shang was taken by surprise. How quickly time goes by! As it was already spring, Qingsu, whose

arrival Yun Shang was expecting, would come soon. And the envoys of Xia would come, too. Among all

the courtiers, only Grand Councilor and Prince Jing were capable enough to deal with Prince Qingsu

and the envoys of Xia.

It seemed the Empress and Hua Jing would be set free as soon as possible if Grand Councilor was

assigned the duty of receiving Prince Qingsu and the envoys. Yun Shang could not help but curl her

lips into a smile when she thought of the freedom of the Empress and Hua Jing. They would never

expect that the freedom they were longing for would only lead them to another abyss of suffering.

Yun Shang grinned when she thought of the fate of the Empress and Hua Jing. As she was in a bright

mood now, Yun Shang agreed to go to the outing with the Prince.

Yun Shang got up early on the morning of the Spring Outing Day. She wore a pure white robe with a

blue lace mantle. Her hairstyle was so delicate that everyone was enchanted by the Princess's

appearance.

Before leaving, Yun Shang went to Qinzheng Hall to say goodbye to the Emperor. As soon as Yun

Shang walked out of the Palace, she saw the Prince's carriage waiting by the entrance. But the Prince

was not in the carriage. This puzzled Yun Shang. Instead of inquiring about the Prince's whereabouts,

Yun Shang got in the carriage.

Qian Yin, Qin Yi, and Yun Shang talked all the way. Suddenly, the carriage jerked as though it had run

over something. Then it suddenly halted. This was so unexpected that the three women were nearly

thrown out of the carriage...