Chapter 101 Miscarriage


    On her way back, Yun Shang was contemting 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 bnce 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.


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


    Qin Yi hurriedly offered thentern to her. Yun Shang took thentern 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 Pce 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 Pce 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


    Pce.


    "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?"Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    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 pnquin. As the attendants carried


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


    and Lady Jin both fell off the pnquin. 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 ident reminded her of the moss trail.


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


    Shang quickened her step and entered the pce first.


    "What? Is that Princess Yun Shang? What has brought you to Qiwu Pce, 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 nce 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 ident. 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


    shed 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 nce 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 ident. But she was also a little worried. If the ident took


    ce in Qiwu Pce, 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 nced 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


    nce 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 Pce. And in the past a few years,


    fewdies had be pregnant. Even if they bore the Emperor''s child, miscarriages would ur. That


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


    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 pnquin


    carriers?"


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


    Yun Shang nodded. She went out again, and found the eunuchs kneeling along the path. Nodding to


    one of them, she ordered, "Lead me to where the ident 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 ident 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 pnquin. When we passed this corner, the front poles suddenly


    fell, and the ident happened."


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


    Qin Yi hurriedly handed thentern to her. Yun Shang took thentern 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 fment, 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 ident in a hurry, leaving alone the humble


    fment.


    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 fment, 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 shed 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 exined, "His Majesty happened to see the


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


    "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 pce, 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 greatfort when she heard her


    mother was fine. "I''m d 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 pnquin 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 ce 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 Pce, 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 ced 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 ident. With doubts in my heart, I checked the spot, and found a green moss fment along


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


    countenance.


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


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


    concluded, "Someone ced 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 Pce


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


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


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


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


    the pnquin carriers to death. In Qiwu Pce, Lady Jin stayed in bed. And the side pce she lived


    in was guarded by imperial bodyguards.


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


    to pay their respects at Qiwu Pce. Having heard Lady Ming''s instructions, thedies understood it as


    a sign of her returning power to the Empress.


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


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


    " all thedies chanted as they curtsied to the Empress.


    The Empress nodded, "Rise."


    As everyone sat on their seats, Empress Yuan Zhen nced 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, "s, no one expected the


    ident. 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 ident. The moss..."


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


    lowered her head and exined, "Nothing, I meant to say there was no moonlightst night."


    Thedies exchanged a meaningful nce. They had heard it clearly. Princess Yun Shang just blurted


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


    The Empress frowned slightly. She shot a nce 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 byst night, and I want to ask for your permission to retire. I need to rest in the well, oh, no,


    I mean, my Pce."


    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 pces."


    Thedies 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 d 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 nce at the side pce. She said, "I''d like to remove it from Lady Jin''s


    pce. But now, the side pce is well-guarded. It''s toote 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 Pce, 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


    theke. 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 theke and the well. But when I asked what they


    were looking for, they merely said that they were doing a regr 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 nced at Lord Zheng and seemed convinced by his apologetic tone. She stood


    by the door for a while. She heard the cracking sound of porcin 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 wille again when His Majesty is willing to see me."


    Lord Zheng bowed and assured her. The Empress took another nce 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 thekes and wells in the Pce.


    The Empress contemted on this information, but couldn''t think of a reason. The wells andkes


    didn''t remind her of a thing.


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


    the Imperial Garden, someone had drowned.