An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 160 The Return Of The Empress (Part One)

Qian Yin said as she trembled, "The women in the Imperial Palace are so terrible. They were siblings.

But the rivalry between them was so harsh that they even plotted against each other."

Yun Shang grinned at Qian Yin's words. However, she could not help but feel a little depressed.

"Maybe life is too lonely in the Palace. The ladies cannot find better ways to entertain themselves than

rivaling with each other."

Lady Ming woke up in a couple of days. But she had been paralyzed by a stroke. Lady Ming, who had

been beautiful and dignified, had lost the ability to speak as her mouth and tongue were deformed.

Since Lady Ming was seriously sick, no one was in charge of the imperial household. In the imperial

household, only ladies with a high ranking could be entrusted with the responsibility of running the

imperial household. As the Empress had shut herself in her Palace, Lady Jin was the only other person

qualified to assume the duty. However, it was impossible for Lady Jin to take this responsibility now, as

she was staying in Laifeng City due to her pregnancy. She would not return to the Imperial City before

the delivery.

"Your Highness, don't you think it was too early to set Lady Ming up? What should we do now? Since

Lady Jin is far away from the Imperial City, I'm afraid His Majesty would ask the Empress to run the

imperial household again. The Empress would be happy if that happens." Qian Yin had no patience to

hold back anything that crossed her mind. She had spotted the undercurrents of the seemingly

peaceful life in the Imperial Palace. "I saw many ladies going to Qiwu Palace to pay the Empress a

visit."

But Yun Shang still retained a calm smile. She said while staring at the eight-facet glazed lamp at the

far end, "Of course, she needs to run the imperial household again. If she keeps herself isolated in

Qiwu Palace, how can I plot against her?"

Qian Yin grew agitated while thinking of the return of the Empress. Qian Yin was very straightforward.

Though she was more patient after the training by Ning Qian, she was, after all, still a child.

"I want to kill her, " muttered Qian Yin. Yun Shang raised her brows a little when she heard Qian Yin.

"Oh my! I didn't expect that our Qian Yin has such a quick temper. You will, of course, be very happy

after you kill the Empress. But what will we face then? The Empress of a country dies for no reason.

And she dies in the Imperial Palace which is strictly guarded. What if the Li clan insists on looking into

the death of the Empress? His Majesty and my mother would land in big trouble."

Qian Yin felt depressed at Yun Shang's words. She leaned on the wall in defeat, and said sullenly,

"Hum, how troublesome this is."

Yun Shang smiled at Qian Yin before shaking her head. "I ordered you to leak some of my information

to the Empress. How are things going now?"

Qian Yin rallied herself from her depression after hearing Yun Shang's question. "The Empress is This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

willing to hear my reports now. I told the Empress that Your Highness came into contact with two of

Lady Geng's servants, and had asked Prince Jing to interrogate them. It seems that the Prince knew

many things about the older generation in the imperial household. The Empress was quite nervous

when I told her about all this. She looked so grim that I was afraid she was considering killing her

enemies. The Empress must have been enraged when I told her how Lady Ming snared Lady Geng

and then killed Lady Geng. She clasped her hands tightly to suppress her fury. She even asked me for

more information. But I told her nothing. I just told the Empress that maybe there are more stories

about ladies in the imperial household, but the Princess didn't tell me."

Yun Shang curled her lips into a smile. Qian Yin's words had attracted her attention. "She will, of

course, have the intention to kill. The sibling rivalry between Lady Ming and Lady Geng for the love of

the former Emperor is a lesson from which the Empress can learn something. After all, the Empress

and her sister, Lady Fu, are sharing the same husband, aren't they? Lady Fu is by no means a simple-

minded woman."

Although the Empress had to allow Li Fuyi to stay in the Imperial Palace because of their father, the

Empress could never be happy with their father's decision. Now, as Lady Ming had fallen ill and could

no longer support Li Fuyi, Li Fuyi had to rely on the Empress for her survival in the imperial household.

However, since the Empress viewed Li Fuyi as one of her enemies, Li Fuyi would probably lead a

miserable life in the future. The Li Clan wished to marry more Li girls to His Majesty, so that the imperial

household could be under their control. The Li families believed that the Li girls would help each other.

But they never imagined that the Imperial Palace was a place that could change a person and expose

the darkest side of human beings.

As many ladies had paid a visit to the Empress and the Empress had received them, it seemed that the

Empress no long assumed an indifferent attitude to the outside world. Though just a nominal daughter,

Yun Shang had to see the Empress, too.

"Your Majesty, it seems you have lost weight. Did the maids and servants not take care of you?" Yun

Shang looked at the Empress who was dignified, as always. But her eyes were so hollow that Yun

Shang could not see a trace of luster in them.

The Empress smiled gracefully, "Of course, not. I just lost my appetite as the days are getting hotter

and muggier. It is normal for me to lose weight in the summer. I will put on weight again in the autumn."

Yun Shang nodded and said softly, "Your Majesty, I know you must be worried about sister. I have

pleaded with His Majesty to set sister free. Anyway, sister is also His Majesty's daughter. His Majesty

won't feel happy to see his daughter suffer. The Flower Show Banquet will be held in a couple of days.

Then, I will plead with His Majesty to allow sister to attend the banquet. Sister is physically impaired. It

will do her good if she can take a walk outside."

The Empress was surprised at Yun Shang's words. She looked into Yun Shang's eyes and tried to read

any subtexts behind those words. But Yun Shang smiled calmly. Her smile was so innocent and her

gaze so earnest that no one could doubt that she really meant what she had said. After a long silence

the Empress said, "That would be nice of you. Thank you."

"Your Majesty, you are so polite. Gratitude is unnecessary. Hua Jing is my sister after all."

After talking with the Empress for a while, Yun Shang left Qiwu Palace.

"Your Highness, I noticed there were several strangers in the Empress's Palace. Two of them seemed

to be good at Kung Fu..." Qian Yin said gently.

Yun Shang was clear what Qian Yin meant. Yun Shang paused and said softly, "We have eliminated

the people whom the Empress trusted the most. As the Empress, she will have some new trustful

subordinates. But she would not have enough time to take precautions as we took actions so quickly.

So, those strangers must be the people recently sent by the Li Clan to work for the Empress. You

know, it usually takes several years to train a loyal subordinate. So don't worry about the strangers.

Just keep an eye on them."

Qian Yin nodded in response.