An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 101 Miscarriage

On her way back, Yun Shang was contemplating Prince Jing's proposal. She wondered what was so

special about her, and why he would give up his military power. Suddenly, her feet slipped. Qian Yin

quickly stepped forward to stop the Princess from falling.

After struggling to balance herself, Yun Shang looked down. This path was the only way leading to the

inner court, and the servants had already swept away the snow. She could see the cobbles clearly.

Why would she slip? Suddenly, Yun Shang saw a mount of moss under her feet.

Yun Shang was stunned for a moment. She squatted to get a closer look. She saw that the moss was

not growing on the stone. It was fresh and moist.

"The lantern." Yun Shang ordered with a pensive expression on her face.

Qin Yi hurriedly offered the lantern to her. Yun Shang took the lantern and looked across the path in the

light. She found piles of moss scattered at intervals along the road.

She followed the trail of moss and found that it ended at an intersection. Doubt filled Yun Shang's

heart. She carried on to her Palace while thinking about the moss issue. Just as her maids were

helping her remove her cloak, a eunuch rushed toward Yun Shang's room. He slipped and fell as he

reached the door. He crawled forward and urged, "Your Highness! You have to visit Qiwu Palace now!

Lady Jin fell on her way back. She is bleeding! It seems like a miscarriage!"

Her mother had bled? Yun Shang's heart sunk. Without putting on the cloak, she ran toward Qiwu

Palace.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! It's winter! You have to put on some more clothes!" Qin Yi grabbed

Yun Shang's cloak and followed her.

Yun Shang didn't slow her pace. She asked the messenger, "How did Her Highness fall?"

The eunuch panted as he followed the Princess. He was trotting so fast, almost out of breath. "Since

Lady Jin was pregnant, His Majesty invited her to sit in his royal palanquin. As the attendants carried

the palanquin through the Imperial Garden, one of the them suddenly slipped and fell, and His Majesty

and Lady Jin both fell off the palanquin. His Majesty had protected Lady Jin in his arms, but still, she

was shocked by the fall, and began bleeding."

Slipped? Yun Shang frowned at his words. The accident reminded her of the moss trail.

Yun Shang reached Qiwu Palace as fast as she could. She spotted the Empress in the distance. Yun

Shang quickened her step and entered the palace first.

"What? Is that Princess Yun Shang? What has brought you to Qiwu Palace, Your Highness? Oh, didn't

you see Her Majesty? And don't you know about etiquette? How dare you not curtsy to Her Majesty

and walk in front of her? Where are your manners, Your Highness?" As Yun Shang stepped through

the door, she heard Xiu Xin screech at her.

Hearing her words, Yun Shang suddenly turned round and cast a cold glance at her, "However rude I

may be, I'm still a Princess. And you are a maid. Who are you to tell me how to behave?"

That said, Yun Shang ran on toward Lady Jin's chamber.

"Impudent!" The Empress snapped as she frowned at Yun Shang's behavior. But Yun Shang kept

running toward her mother.

Empress Yuan Zhen gritted her teeth. She gnashed, "This is ridiculous! How dare a Princess offend her

Empress?"

Not far behind, Qin Yi was hurriedly following. When she got closer, she heard the Empress's

reprimand, and realized that she was referring to Yun Shang. Qin Yi's heart quivered at the Empress's

anger. Stepping forward, she curtsied to Empress Yuan Zhen in a hurry. "Your Majesty, please forgive

Princess Yun Shang. Lady Jin was hurt in an accident. Her Highness is too worried to follow etiquette."

"What? What did you say? What happened to Lady Jin?" Asked the Empress in shock. But her eyes

flashed joy.

When Qin Yi was speaking with the Empress, she bowed her head so low that she didn't see the joy in

the Empress's eyes. She answered, "A eunuch just informed Princess Yun Shang that Lady Jin was

hurt. Though the Princess is not close to Lady Jin, she does worry about her biological mother."

But the Empress wasn't listening. She exchanged a glance with Xiu Xin, and turned toward Lady Jin's

chamber.

As they arrived, the Empress saw Lord Zheng standing at the door. Yun Shang waited on the side. At

the scene, her heart quickened. If the Emperor were here, something serious must have happened. It

would be great if the child died in the accident. But she was also a little worried. If the accident took

place in Qiwu Palace, it would be difficult for her to shake people's suspicion.

"Lord Zheng, I've heard something has happened to Lady Jin, and intend to pay her a visit." The

Empress glanced at Lord Zheng.

Lord Zheng frowned. He hesitated for a while before saying, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has given his

orders. No one is allowed to enter Lady Jin's chamber..."

The Empress narrowed her eyes. But the joy of seeing Lady Jin suffer overwhelmed her. She shot a

glance at Yun Shang and ordered, "Xiu Xin, bring two chairs. I am so worried about Lady Jin's health

that I will wait here."

Xiu Xin hurriedly curtsied and went away. Before long, she brought back two chairs, and positioned the

chairs for the Empress and Yun Shang.

Yun Shang was a little surprised. She shot a questioning look at the Empress. Then she sat on the

chair, and started to ponder.

After her birth, no more sons or daughters had been born in the Palace. And in the past a few years,

few ladies had become pregnant. Even if they bore the Emperor's child, miscarriages would occur. That

was why Lady Jin's pregnancy was so arrestive. The attendants responsible for carrying the palanquin

were well-trained. They never slipped on snow, even in the dark.

Thinking it through, Yun Shang got up from the chair and said, "Lord Zheng, where are the palanquin

carriers?"

Lord Zheng hurriedly answered, "They are kneeling outside Qiwu Palace."

Yun Shang nodded. She went out again, and found the eunuchs kneeling along the path. Nodding to Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

one of them, she ordered, "Lead me to where the accident happened."

The eunuch trembled so much that when he tried to get up, he faltered in the snow. After a few

attempts, he struggled to his feet and bowed to Yun Shang.

Yun Shang coldly said, "Don't lie to me. Tell me where the accident happened."

The eunuch bowed to her, and led her through the Imperial Garden, toward a corner. "Your Highness,

here it is. I hold the back pole of the palanquin. When we passed this corner, the front poles suddenly

fell, and the accident happened."

Yun Shang nodded. She turned to Qin Yi, "Lantern."

Qin Yi hurriedly handed the lantern to her. Yun Shang took the lantern and examined the path. During

her investigation, she saw something odd on the cobbled path. Frowning, Yun Shang squatted and

picked up a green moss filament, an unremarkable trace that had remained on a footprint. Yun Shang

narrowed her eyes. Now she could be sure that the attendant stepped on the moss and fell. And

someone had removed the moss remains after the accident in a hurry, leaving alone the humble

filament.

Yun Shang stood and checked along the path. The moss trail had disappeared.

"Your Highness, did someone..." Qin Yi also noticed that the moss had disappeared. She thought of a

question, "Has someone removed the evidence?"

Yun Shang sneered, "Yes, of course, what a smart move. Even if I were investigating and had found

this filament, I wouldn't know what it was had I not slipped on the moss earlier."

"But now the evidence is missing." Qin Yi said worriedly, "How can we find the culprit?"

Yun Shang flashed a grim grin, "Let's go back and have a look at mother."

When they returned, the Empress had left. Yun Shang raised her eyebrows in doubt. She thought the

Empress would stay and watch her mother suffer.

Lord Zheng noticed Yun Shang's doubt. He hurriedly explained, "His Majesty happened to see the

Empress waiting here. He told her to wait inside her palace."

"I see." Yun Shang looked back and saw a maid peeking around the corner. Knowing that she was the

Empress's spy, Yun Shang said no more and walked in.

Inside the palace, an imperial physician was bent over a desk. With a brush in his hand, he seemed to

be writing a prescription. Emperor Ning sat by Lady Jin's bed. He held her hand. Yun Shang greeted

him as she walked inside.

Lady Jin looked pale and tired. When she heard Yun Shang's voice, she turned her head toward her

daughter and smiled "Have a seat, Shang'er. I am fine."

Madam Zheng hurriedly brought a stool and said, "Your Highness, Lady Jin is fine, as is the child. She

was merely scared, and will recover soon. Your Highness can be assured."

Yun Shang was aware of Madam Zheng's medical skills. She felt great comfort when she heard her

mother was fine. "I'm glad to hear that, Madam. I was so frightened when the eunuch told me about

mother's fall."

Still frowning, Emperor held Lady Jin's hand tighter. He said, "Lord Zheng informed me of your inquiry

into the palanquin carriers. What have you found?"

Yun Shang was a little surprised. Should she tell the truth?

Although Emperor Ning was her father, she dared not to place her trust in him, for her findings

concerned the safety of her mother. Hesitating, Yun Shang looked to Lady Jin, who returned an

encouraging smile. Yun Shang gained a little courage from her smile. After all, her father was still in

love with her mother, and her mother would soon give birth to their second child.

"When I was walking from Jinluan Hall to Qingxin Palace, I slipped in the Imperial Garden. When I had

a closer look, I saw moss on the cobbled path. Not the natural, withering moss, but fresh and moist,

deliberately placed by someone. It had been put in piles along the path, trailing from the Imperial

Garden to the Crescent Pavilion. It seemed weird, but I didn't pay much attention, until I heard of

mother's accident. With doubts in my heart, I checked the spot, and found a green moss filament along

the trail. And the previous moss piles were all gone..." Answered Yun Shang softly, with a perplexed

countenance.

Emperor Ning's succession to the throne had been smooth. But he had grown up in the Palace, and

had seen his father's ladies playing tricks. To him, Yun Shang's report came as no surprise. He

concluded, "Someone placed the moss along the path, intending to harm the child in Shu Jin's belly.

And after her fall, that person removed the evidence."

Yun Shang nodded in confirmation, "If I hadn't slipped, I wouldn't have noticed the piles of moss along

the road, nor would anyone else. If that were the case, the scheme would remain undiscovered."

Hearing her words, Emperor Ning suddenly felt as though he had never seen through his young

Princess. Gazing at Yun Shang, he asked, "If I asked you to solve the case, how would you lead the

investigation?"

Yun Shang thought for a while, and said in a low voice, "If I were to lead the investigation, I would

spread the word that my mother had miscarried."

Seemingly, this New Year's Festival was doomed to be tumultuous. Just after midnight, the Palace

became noisy again as the rumor spread, "Lady Jin has miscarried!"

"When His Majesty and Lady Jin passed through the Imperial Garden, a palanquin carrier slipped and

fell! Both the royals fell off the royal palanquin, and Lady Jin miscarried!" Emperor Ning and Princess

Yun Shang stayed in Lady Jin's palace the whole night. The next morning, the Emperor sentenced all

the palanquin carriers to death. In Qiwu Palace, Lady Jin stayed in bed. And the side palace she lived

in was guarded by imperial bodyguards.

On New Year's Day, Empress Yuan Zhen announced her recovery, so Lady Ming instructed the ladies

to pay their respects at Qiwu Palace. Having heard Lady Ming's instructions, the ladies understood it as

a sign of her returning power to the Empress.

When they arrived at Qiwu Palace, they couldn't help notice the well-guarded side palace.

"We are pleased to see that Your Majesty is well. May good fortune shine on you always, Your Majesty,

" all the ladies chanted as they curtsied to the Empress.

The Empress nodded, "Rise."

As everyone sat on their seats, Empress Yuan Zhen glanced at Yun Shang, who looked tired and

worried. She said, "Shang'er, you've taken care of Lady Jin the whole night. Go and get some rest."

Hearing that, Yun Shang sniveled. Tears welled up in her eyes. She sobbed, "I am not tired, Your

Majesty. I am worried about Lady Jin. I've seen lots of blood..."

As Yun Shang spoke, the Empress studied her face. She found the Princess's expression to be sincere

and sad. Convinced by Yun Shang's words, she breathed out a sigh, "Alas, no one expected the

accident. What a tragic turn the miscarriage has been."

Yun Shang sobbed some more before wiping the tears with the back of her hand. She gnashed her

teeth as she spoke. "It was not an accident. The moss..."

Yun Shang suddenly stopped, a panicked look appearing on her face. Concealing her discomfort, she

lowered her head and explained, "Nothing, I meant to say there was no moonlight last night."

The ladies exchanged a meaningful glance. They had heard it clearly. Princess Yun Shang just blurted

out that it was not an accident. And she mentioned... Moss?

The Empress frowned slightly. She shot a glance at Yun Shang, and saw that the Princess was anxious

and agitated. She seemed to be clenching her wide sleeve in her nervousness.

After a long while, Yun Shang murmured, "Your Majesty, you were right about my weariness. I am

exhausted by last night, and I want to ask for your permission to retire. I need to rest in the well, oh, no,

I mean, my Palace."

That said, Yun Shang left in a hurry. She did not even wait for the Empress's permission.

The Empress lowered her eyes. She smiled demurely. Her eyes were fixed on the silk handkerchief in

her hands. "Well, that's all for today. His Majesty must be unhappy about what happened. Don't vex

him more, and stay in your own palaces."

The ladies curtsied to the Empress, and left in order.

In a few moments, the main hall was empty again. Only Empress Yuan Zhen and a few maids

remained. The Empress gestured to the maids. After the maids curtsied and left, Empress Yuan Zhen

turned to Xiu Xin and said, "I don't think it's that simple. Though I'm glad the bastard died, I still smell a

plot."

Xiu Xin nodded. "Princess Yun Shang was behaving strangely. I do smell a rat, too. Your Majesty, we

need to be careful..."

The Empress closed her eyes and muttered, "Since my release, one bad thing has led to another.

Yesterday's plot was against Hua Jing, and today's, I'm afraid, targets me."

Xiu Xin remained quiet for a while. She then asked, "Your Majesty, Lady Jin..."

Frowning, the Empress cast a glance at the side palace. She said, "I'd like to remove it from Lady Jin's

palace. But now, the side palace is well-guarded. It's too late to remove it."

Hearing that, Xiu Xin said no more.

The Empress stood from her phoenix chair, "I'll ask His Majesty's permission for my home leave. It's

New Year's Day today, and I will pay my parents an annual visit as is customary."

Once out of Qiwu Palace, the Empress headed towards Qinzheng Hall, followed by her maids. When

they passed through the Imperial Garden, they spotted a crowd of people examining something around

the lake. The Empress's eyes narrowed at the scene. She ordered Xiu Xin to have a look. Xiu Xin went

to the crowd and asked a few questions. She then returned to the Empress and reported, "Your

Majesty, they were looking for something around the lake and the well. But when I asked what they

were looking for, they merely said that they were doing a regular security check."

"The well?" It reminded Empress Yuan Zhen of Yun Shang's abnormal behavior earlier. She had

mentioned the well.

Pondering it over, Empress Yuan Zhen remained silent for a long while. Then she continued walking

toward Qinzheng Hall.

Lord Zheng was standing outside the Hall. When he spotted the Empress and her maids, he hurried to

her and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty is in a bad mood. He's lost his temper and smashed all

furnishings. And His Majesty has given the order that no one is allowed to enter."

Empress Yuan Zhen glanced at Lord Zheng and seemed convinced by his apologetic tone. She stood

by the door for a while. She heard the cracking sound of porcelain shattering into hundreds of tiny

pieces. She said, "It seems to be bad timing, Lord Zheng. I'll go then, but please, inform His Majesty of

my calling, and let His Majesty know that I will come again when His Majesty is willing to see me."

Lord Zheng bowed and assured her. The Empress took another glance at the closed door before

leaving.

When Empress Yuan Zhen and her maids disappeared from his sight, Lord Zheng straightened up and

went into the Hall.

The Empress waited patiently for the rest of the day. She didn't receive the Emperor's summons. Xiu

Xin sent a few servants to make inquiries and learned that the Emperor was busy sending people to

examine the lakes and wells in the Palace.

The Empress contemplated on this information, but couldn't think of a reason. The wells and lakes

didn't remind her of a thing.

Early morning on the second day of the New Year, news spread. In a remote well near the lake outside

the Imperial Garden, someone had drowned.