An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 174 The Hidden Facts (Part One)

There was coldness in Emperor Ning's eyes when he looked at Hua Jing. "When I asked you to attend

the Flower Show Banquet, you refused, saying that you were feeling unwell. You told me you would

rather stay at the temporary imperial palace. No one saw you in the temporary imperial palace just now

though. Where have you been?"

Emperor Ning's cold tone made Hua Jing shudder, and her face turned pale, "I... I heard that the

flowers in the temporary imperial palace had blossomed beautifully, so, I went to see them."

"Really? Which garden did you visit to see the flowers?" Emperor Ning's tone lowered, and he turned

away. He was unable to look at Hua Jing because he was disappointed that she had lain to him.

Hua Jing bit her lip and softly said, "The Butterfly Garden."

"Is that so?" When Emperor Ning finished questioning Hua Jing, he called out to his servant, "Bring the

maids and guards from the Butterfly Garden here."

Hua Jing lowered her head. She kept very still, and didn't seem to know what to do. Emperor Ning

looked at her before he turned to the Head of the Court of Justice, "What else would you like to know?"

The Head of the Court of Justice had worked for Emperor Ning for many years. He knew what the

Emperor was implying by his question. According to how the Emperor had treated Hua Jing, it seemed

that he was disappointed with her. Knowing that, the Head of the Court of Justice knew where his limits

were. He was sure that the Emperor wouldn't be enraged by his question, so he asked Hua Jing, "Your Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Highness, I'd like to know if you really walked through this garden, and will the servants claim the

same."

Hua Jing bit down harder on her lip as she shook her head, "Though it's true that I rest in this garden

quite often, I haven't been here today. It makes me wonder who it was that made the claim about

seeing me."

A eunuch walked out of the crowd and said timidly, "It was me. I swear that I saw Her Highness walk

into the garden today. And I wasn't the only one who saw her. But I remember that she wasn't wearing

this dress. She wore a peachy red dress."

"He is right. I remember the loveliest peach flowers were embroidered onto the Princess's gown. Given

my love of embroidery, the style and workmanship left a strong impression on me." A maid who was

standing in the crowd claimed that she had seen Hua Jing as well.

The Head of the Court of Justice looked at Hua Jing, and then down at the gown she was wearing. It

was blue. Hua Jing noticed that he was examining her attire, so she quickly raised her head. She

glared at the Head of the Court of Justice before respectfully stating, "Your Lordship, I believe that they

have mistaken me for another person. As you can see, I am not wearing a peachy colored dress. I am

wearing blue. There must have been some kind of mistake. I have reason to believe that someone

intentionally dressed like me to confuse you. Please uphold justice, Your Lordship."

The Head of the Court of Justice nodded, "I will uphold justice, and I will find out what the truth is." He

looked at the servants kneeling and asked them, "Apart from the dress, what else do you remember?"

The servants exchanged glances and shook their heads. Then one of the maids who looked honest

raised her head, "Your Lordship, something just came to my mind. It might be of help. When the person

who was disguising as the Princess walked into the garden, I was watching. She stood in front of the

gate for a while. She seemed to be admiring the Chinese roses. When she reached out to touch them,

she was pricked by a thorn. I don't think it was a small injury, because her maid wrapped her hand in a

handkerchief. The maid who was serving the imposter looked quite a lot like the girl standing behind

Her Highness now. Since Her Highness isn't wearing a peachy red dress, the person wasn't her. So the

maid might also disguise herself. Your Lordship could search the maid to see if she has the

handkerchief. That way, Her Highness won't be wrongly accused."

The maid making the suggestions was intelligent. She heard the allegation that Hua Jing made, so she

admitted the lady might not have been the Princess. She also indicated that the Princess might have

been lying by claiming that the maid who was standing behind Hua Jing looked like the lady in the

garden. By suggesting the maid be searched, she was able to justify that her suggestion was to help

support Hua Jing's innocence.

Yun Shang lowered her head. She took the brocade handkerchief from her sleeve to hide the smile she

found hard to suppress. Then she coughed so no one would know that she was smiling.

Of course, Yun Shang hadn't missed the sudden change in Hua Jing's expression. Yun Shang wasn't

the only one who noticed the look on Hua Jing's face. Many onlookers did as well.

Emperor Ning nodded and ordered, "In that case, search the maid..."

A madam who served Emperor Ning searched the maid. It didn't take her too long to find a pink

handkerchief on the maid. It was apparent to everyone that the handkerchief was made of the finest

brocade, and so it definitely belonged to Hua Jing. The maid was only holding it for her.

The madam opened the handkerchief so everyone could see the obvious blood stain on the

handkerchief.

Emperor Ning turned to Hua Jing again with a dark look on his face, "Is there anything you care to

explain about the handkerchief?"

Hua Jing nearly fainted when looking at the evidence. She pulled her hands up into her sleeves,

secretly. After a long pause, she said, "Father, it is true that I was injured. However, It wasn't by a thorn.

If a rose thorn had cut me, my wound wouldn't be this big." When she stretched her arm out of her

sleeve, she revealed a wound on her palm. Even though it was relatively small, it was larger than one

that would be caused by a thorn.

Hua Jing looked at the cut on her palm and explained softly, "I got it sometime earlier. When I was

enjoying the beauty of the flowers, I felt tired. So I sat on the bench. I took my hairpin out, and was

admiring its design when I accidentally cut myself with the sharp edge. That's why Ya Yun wrapped my

hand in the handkerchief. It stopped bleeding, but the wound is so deep that it has started to bleed

again."

Yun Shang was having a hard time suppressing her laughter. Hua Jing was really something. She

would go so far as to hurt herself on purpose to get what she wanted. Yun Shang knew some basics of

surgical procedures due to Xiao Yuanshan's instructions. With just a quick glance, she could tell that

Hua Jing's cut was fresh. Hua Jing had punctured herself just now. She must have hurt herself badly.

Yun Shang sighed at Hua Jing's stupidity. Hua Jing was looking for sympathy from others, but she

overdid it, thus revealing the flaw in her plans. Everyone could see that the blood stain on the brocade

handkerchief was a small one. But Hua Jing's wound was so big that it must have bled a lot. If she

really covered the wound with that handkerchief, then there would have been a much bigger blood

stain.