Chapter 36 Prince Jing
At the mention of Hunan embroidery, everyone knew the woman was implicating the Princess. Hua
Jing rushed forward and grabbed the sachet. "This is mine! Why do you have it?"
"What?" Mo Jingran looked astonished and pale. "No, no... doesn''t it belong to Princess Yun Shang?"
mumbled Jingran.
"Mine? Of course not. I don''t even know how to embroider." Yun Shang was surprised that Mo Jingran
thought the sachet belonged to her. "I used to live in a Temple. I don''t use sachets anymore."
"What''s going on?" The Emperor frowned and asked.
Mo Jingran and Hua Jing knelt down simultaneously. "I lost my sachet a few days ago, and I had no
idea where it was."
Mo Jingran kowtowed. "How could it... ..."
"How did you get it?" asked Emperor Ning.
"I found it by ident, " exined Jingran.
"Found?" repeated the Emperor cooly. "Jing''er mentioned you at thest banquet. I thought you''re just
acquainted with each other. But it seems that the truth is far more than that. What audacity!"
"Your Majesty, I''m telling the truth!" exined Hua Jing hurriedly.
"Enough! Go!" continued the Emperor. "No more parties. Stay at home and study the Four Arts." "And
Mo Jingran, you deserve to be flogged, " added the Emperor. He was furious.
"My love, she may be telling the truth...don''t punish her..." the Empress frowned as she spoke.
Hearing her, Emperor Ning got angrier. "You brought her up. Isn''t her behavior also your fault?"
His word embarrassed the Empress. "As you see fit, " answered the Empress. Anger smoldered in her
eyes. With little else left to say, the Empress left.
Hua Jing remained on the ground. She stared at the Emperor. Terror reflected in her eyes. After a
while, she said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Then she stood up, and walked out.
The celebration took an awkward turn. Just then, sad music floated into the tower from the outside. The
tone of the music conveyed feelings of love and guilt. The guests were instantly curious about where
the music wasing from.
"Who is ying? It is so moving, " mumbled Yun Shang. She looked up to see her father''s face, but
there was no one on the chair.
"Forget it. The banquet is over now, " sighed Yun Shang. Then she stood up and left the tower with her
servants.
"Where''s my mother?" she asked after she walked out.
"She''s there." Qin Yi pointed to a small pavilion in the distance. "She said that the spot was perfect
since it is quiet and secluded."
Yun Shang nodded and walked towards the pavilion.
As she neared, she saw two figures standing in the pavilion. One was petite while the other one was
big. "His Majesty..." eximed Qin Yi. As she realized who was in the pavilion, her hands flew to her
mouth in surprise.
Yun Shang stood and looked. Thedy in the pavilion looked up at the man. Neither of them moved nor
made a sound until he raised his hand and wiped the tears off her face. "Don''t cry, my darling, "
Said the Emperor consolingly. Then he pulled the woman to his chest. Their embrace seemed soft and
natural.
Yun Shang smiled but her eyes filled with tears. "Reconciliation is hard to watch, " she mumbled.
"Your Highness..." Qin Yi said in an unsteady voice. Frowning, Yun Shang turned to see what had
upset her maid. "Prince Jing..." She hesitated. "Eh...uncle?"
He looked at her and smiled. Then he began walking away. Yun Shang got the feeling that he wanted
her to follow.
When she hesitated, the Prince turned and gave her another look. Now she was sure that she should
go with him, she followed. "Qin Yi, you can go back Qingxin Pce now."
"But, your Highness..." Qin Yi hesitated. She looked at the Prince and then at the Princess.
"It''s okay, just go." said Yun Shang. Then she continued following the Prince.
Prince Jing took Yun Shang to the Star Tower. It stood opposite to the Moon Tower. Being so high, it
was the best ce to enjoy the moon. But for some reason, only few people ever visited the Tower.
The Tower was indeed high. Standing at the top, Yun Shang felt it was possible to touch the stars.
Despite the cold wind, everything was perfect.
"Why here?" She look at the Prince.
He nced at her, but didn''t answer. She waited in silence until he suddenly spoke up. "It''s not easy to
meet someone as interesting as you."
Yun Shang never expected to be called interesting. She stared at the sky nkly for a few seconds
before chuckling and replying, "I''m ttered, dear uncle."
After another long silence, he spoke. "The day I returned to the Pce, I took my servant for a walk in
the evening. And I witnessed something..." He gave her a meaningful look as he spoke. "Something
interesting."
She didn''t respond, but her eyes became sharper as she understood his implied message. "Do you
think you can kill me?"ughed the Prince. "Aha, no, no...you are not strong enough."
She lowered her head and gnashed her teeth. "You''ve misunderstood. How could I possibly hurt you?"
smiled Yun Shang.
"Your mother is wise. She knows how to stay safe in the Imperial Household. It may not be a wise
decision to confront her in a fierce fight." Rather than continuing that topic, the Prince chose to speak of
other topics.
"My mother?" asked Yun Shang uneasily. She felt overwhelmed, as though she was being seen
through. It seemed that he knew everything about her, while she knew nothing about him.
After she calmed down, she spoke up. "It doesn''t matter whether she is wise or not. What matters is
that she has suffered countless unfair usations during these years. Living in the Cold Pce for
such a long time has been a harsh punishment. I want her to be loved, and to be happy."
Yun Shang looked at the pavilion, and smiled. "I just gave her the opportunity. It alles down to
what she will choose."
The Prince paused for a moment and turned to the young Princess. "It''s too windy. Go home, and get
some rest." He left the tower after saying that.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.