Chapter 4 Burning mes and Woken Dreams
The fire raged on. The mor outside grew louder and louder, but no one came to her rescue. Yun
Shang chuckled to herself. Although she had expected this to happen, she still felt somewhat
desperate.
Smoke leaked through the cracks of the door between the inner pce and the hall, bringing Yun
Shang to coughs and tears. Suddenly, she heard a bang on the window. She turned her head and saw
a man dressed like an Imperial bodyguard climbing through the window. The smoke blurred her sight
and she could not see the bodyguard''s face. But she was able to hear him, "Princess, my apologies..."
Yun Shang felt her body being abruptly lifted. The man held her in his arms and got out of the room
through the window.
Once safely outside, the bodyguard put Yun Shang back on the ground. She hadn''t even settled on her
feet when felt big strong hands grip her by the shoulder, "Shang''er, are you hurt?"
Yun Shang''s heart twitched and her tears began rolling down, "Father..."
In her previous life, the Emperor had long lost faith in her because of her arrogance and
imperiousness. They rarely saw each other after she turned ten. She had started the fire today for
another purpose. She did not expect that the first person she would see after her narrow escape was
the father who had previously been disappointed in her.
Yet through her hazy and foggy eyes, this man who ruled over the world did not seem so severe and
cold as she once remembered. Perhaps it was because of the urgency? His hair was ubed, his
dragon robe had been hastily put on, and his eyes were filled with worry.
Yun Shang''s tears fell again.
The Emperor saw Yun Shang''s distress. He thought that she was injured in some way, so he held her
up and asked, "Shang''er, where did you hurt yourself? Let father see..."
Yun Shang kept shaking her head, "I''m fine, I''m fine..."
The Emperor did not believe her. As he was just about to call for the Imperial physician, he heard a
woman''s voice, "What happened? How did the princess'' pce catch fire all of a sudden?"
Yun Shang squinted her eyes and turned her head. She saw a morously dressed woman walking
towards them with four pce maids following behind. Yun Shang nced at them apathetically. One
of the maids was a familiar face from Nichang Pce.
"Empress..." The Emperor saw the woman approaching, but he simply gave her an indifferent look
before he let go of Yun Shang''s hand. Yun Shang froze. A memory shed by her so fast that she
could not catch it. Afraid to persist on the thought, she curled her lips and cried to the Empress,
"Mother, what took you so long? If it were not for father''s guards who saved me, I would have been
burned alive. The fire was so fierce, mother..."
Hearing her, the Empress halted. She raised her head and saw the Emperor behind Yun Shang
frowning. The Empress smiled and walked up to Yun Shang. She took the young princess'' hand, and
then said softly, "The other day, Shang''er injured herself in a fall. I have been praying for Shang''er in
Qiwu Pce for thest two days. I was afraid of being disturbed, so I ordered that no one shall visit.
That is why I waste. Shang''er must be in shock, aren''t you? It is my fault..."
Yun Shang narrowed her eyes and lowered her head. Knowing what she knew of her past life, she
could now see right through the Empress'' feigned concern. She raised her head as she spoke, "I''m
alright. Mother, please do not worry. You look so beautiful today, mother..." Your Ling Yun Braids have
been done so beautifully. Bi Yun must have spent a lot of time on it. It suits mother so well..."
The Empress could feel that something was not quite right. She grew more and more displeased with
every passingment. What was wrong with the young princess today? When did Yun Shang
be hostile towards her?
The Empress looked down at the young woman in front of her. All she saw was a naive face with
teardrops hanging from her eyshes. Her reaction did not seem fake. She felt even more anxious. A
few days earlier, Yun Shang had fallen from a great height. The Emperor did not say much, but he did
bear a grudge against her. With Yun Shang''s disy today, the Empress was afraid that the Emperor
would be even more dissatisfied with her.
Yun Shang saw the Empress'' face and smirked deep down. She started crying yet gain, "Mother,
someone is trying to kill me! Someone is trying to kill me! Earlier I saw some dark shadows, but I was
too scared to scream. Then the fire started. Such furious mes, I am so scared..."
The Empress became serious at the usation. Before she could speak, she heard the Emperor''s
wrathful roar, "How could such a thing happen? Ning Yi, arrest everyone at Nichang Pce. Interrogate
them at the Supervisory Office..."
Hearing the order, the Empress was stunned. Even though she was raising Yun Shang, the Emperor
had been quite fond of the young princess in her earlier years. The Empress had spent a lot of energy
recing the staff in Ni Chang Pce with her informers. Over time, Yun Shang had gradually be
haughty and imperious, and lost her hold in the Emperor''s heart. That could mostly be attributed to the
people the Empress had ced. If all of them were to be arrested, it would be significantly harder for
her to nt informers again.
The Empress quickly added, "Shang''er is in shock just now. She can''t be alone without someone taking
care of her. If you arrest everyone, who would serve Shang''er..."
This was an unnned consequence of Yun Shang''s actions today. Nevertheless, the unexpected
results pleased her very much. She could not let the Empress sabotage her work so easily. As Yun
Shang thought more, she came upon another idea. She deliberately pulled on the Empress hand with a
regretful expression, "Mother, I do not need their service. Someone was trying to hurt me. I''m so
scared. I do not want their service..."
A sliver of anger shed across the Empress'' eyes and disappeared in an instant, but Yun Shang saw
it ever so clearly. Yun Shang could not have been happier. Who would have thought that she would be
able to remove the Empress'' spies once and for all. In her past life, she had been too young to know
better, and the Empress had taken advantage of her youth and naivety. Now, even though she looked
young, no one could see that her soul had traversed through a previous lifetime. But she, Yun Shang
was able to see everything as it were. Her revenge had only just started. The Empress and her
daughter would meet their fate...
"Ning Yi, take them. Today, Yun Shang will apany me and rest at Wanshou Pce. I still have
some political matters to be resolved. So I will be staying at Qinzheng Hall. Tomorrow, have a eunuch
take Shang''er to pick some maids and eunuchs to serve her. The Nichang Pce has burned down.
No one can live here anymore. As for Shang''er''s future residence, I will decide tomorrow. It''ste
already. Empress, you may retire to your pce. Stop wearing all this jewelry sote at night. You
might lose them in the dark." As he spoke, he turned to leave, "Shang''er,e with me to my pce."
Yun Shang was not expecting that the Emperor would take her to Wanshou Pce. She could not help
but feel surprised, so she hurriedly said goodbye to the Empress, "Mother, I''m leaving now. I will be
greeting mother tomorrow." She then followed the Emperor.
The Empress bowed and said "Farewell my Emperor." She stood straight again and watched as the
Emperor and Yun Shang walked further and further away. The Empress squinted her eyes and stared
for a while longer. The hatred in her eyes thickened at first, but slowly faded away. After a long while,
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she finally said in a deep voice, "Return to my pce..."
The night was deep and dark. It was the kind of night where very few people in the pce slept
peacefully.