Chapter 156 Returning To The Pce; The Encounter With Prince Houjing (Part Two)
Prince Jing nodded, and then slowly closed his eyes again.
Xia Houjing didn''t say anything more. He bowed to the two in the carriage, and left.
After Prince Houjing left, the coachman closed the door, and Prince Jing let Qian Hua out. Prince Jing
was frowning, as if he was worried about something. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Just now the
Prince raised doubts about us."
Yun Shang nodded, but didn''t say anything. She warned herself, ''Xia Houjing is someone I must guard
against and keep an eye on.''
Qian Hua tugged on Yun Shang''s sleeve while she was lost in thought to tell her, "Mydy, that is the
woman that I saw."
Yun Shang looked to the direction Qian Hua was pointing. She saw a woman in green walking out of
the Yuman Tower. The woman looked tall, and was wearing light make-up. She was a beautiful woman.
But just as what Qian Hua had decribed, thedy gave Yun Shang a weird feeling. The way she walked
and the look on her face seemed strange. She behaved as though she was hiding something.
Yun Shang squinted, observing the woman for a long time. Suddenly it struck her, "That is not a woman
at all!"
"What?" Qian Hua hesitated, then asked, "Mydy, I don''t understand."
Prince Jing understood what Yun Shang meant. He looked at the woman for a short while, then he
turned to Yun Shang, "That''s a man in women''s clothes and make-up."
Yun Shang nodded in agreement. That woman was a man. The man appeared good-looking, so even
though he was taller than the averagedy, he was able to pull it off. Maybe he was afraid to be found
out, so he imitated women''s behavior, but he was too cautious over each move as he walked. Even
how he looked at others seemed like it had been practiced a thousand times.
The man was overdoing the acting, and did note off as a natural woman. Perhaps that was how
Yun Shang recognized he was disguised.
"Why did he disguise himself as a woman to meet secretly with Prince Houjing?" Qian Hua frowned,
confused again.
Yun Shang considered why he might have, "Maybe, he wanted to conceal his identity, because he is
well known. So he disguised himself as a woman to avoid attention and trouble."
Qian Hua understood and nodded. "If he is really someone well known, then it''ll be easy for us to find
out who he is. Mydy, you don''t need to worry about him. I will let you know his identity within two
days."
Yun Shang said slowly, "Thank you."
Qian Hua left the carriage after that. Yun Shang lifted her head looking at Prince Jing. "We''ve had the
Osmanthus cake, we can go back to the Pce now."
Prince Jing agreed, ordering the coachman to resume to their original destination. Yun Shang noticed
that Prince Jing seemed tired, so she lowered her head and kept silent.
When they arrived at the Pce gate, Prince Jing helped Yun Shang dismount the carriage. He said,
"Let''s go see His Majesty together. You''ve been lost for some time. He must be worried."
Yun Shang kept her head low as they walked to Qinzheng Hall together. Emperor Ning was not alone
when Yun Shang and Prince Jing were shown inside. A girl was standing by the table. Yun Shang
nced at her before lowering her head again. It was Lady Ya.Content held by N?velDrama.Org.
"Shang''er,e here. Let me have a look at you, my daughter......" Seeing that Yun Shang walked in
with Prince Jing, Emperor Ning smiled with relief. He hesitated, as though trying to think of how to word
something, while not offending Lady Ya, "It has only been two days since I saw you, but it felt like
forever. It makes me want to postpone you marrying Prince Jing and leaving me sooner."
Yun Shang kept her head low but smiled. Prince Jing, on the other hand, frowned. He said to Emperor
Ning, "Brother, you''ve given me your word. Don''t break your promise. A word from a man of honor
cannot be withdrawn......"
Emperor Ning seemed unhappy about Prince Jing''s words, and said, "So what? Shang''er is my
daughter."
''Well, look how excited he was about his daughter.''
Prince Jing wasn''t angry, instead, he smiled, "Well, soon we will all be confused. I''ve called you brother,
and after I marry Shang''er, I wonder what should I call you. Should I call you father, as Shang''er always
has? Or shall Shang''er call you brother, as I call you?"
Prince Jing''s questions silenced everyone, until Emperor Ning erupted inughter, "I''m already
confused."
Lady Ya smiled as she put the solid ink that she had been grinding down and added softly, "The most
important thing is they love and treat each other well. Whether they call you father or brother is not as
important."
Emperor Ning nodded, "Lady Ya is right." Then he turned to Yun Shang, who was smiling. "Well, my
daughter is quite naughty. Of all the men in our State, she fell in love with Prince Jing."
Yun Shang blinked, her smile growing as she looked at Emperor Ning, "Father, stop teasing me."
They continued their conversation for a while. Yun Shang saw that Emperor Ning and Prince Jing had
something important to discuss, so she took her leave. Lady Ya left Qinzheng Hall at the same time.
Yun Shang and Lady Ya walked in silence together back toward the imperial household. After a while,
Lady Ya broke the silence, "I visited Her Majesty yesterday, and she told me to get acquainted with His
Majesty as much as possible. She also told me which style of clothing His Majesty''s prefers on his
Yun Shang listened to her rambling and started to wonder. The Empress had kept herself in Qiwu
Pce. Physically she wasn''t around, but she was busy keeping her eyes on everything in the imperial
household.
"Did she tell you to befriend me?" Yun Shang asked casually.
Lady Ya thought for a long time before she said, "The Empress told me that Princess Hui Guo seems
harmless but is actually a poisonous flower. She told me that if I ingratiate with you in a stupid way, I
may not be liked by you. That''s why I need to calm down and wait for the best timing. She also
suggested that I should arrange some coincidences to make them seem real."
Yun Shang nodded, "She has been keeping herself busy. I bet she has thoroughly analyzed my
character and preferences."
Lady Ya smiled softly and said conspiratorially, "I''m afraid she''s doing more than that. I caught her
people sneaking into Lady Meng''s Pce the other day."
"Really?" Qin Meng? Yun Shang paused, then continued. It had been a while since shest spoke to
Qin Meng. It''s brave of the Empress to try and form an alliance with Qin Meng, especially knowing Qin
Meng hated her so much. The Empress was desperate, and taking risks at turn.
Yun Shang had to admit the Empress made a good choice in choosing Qin Meng. Even though Qin
Meng didn''t like the Empress, she could work with the Empress, given that she was quite a snob. It''s
said that if there are enough benefits, Qin Meng would even befriend the one who would kill her family.
So, it was likely she didn''t care that she was part of a gambit and chose to work with the Empress.
"Did the Empress''s people see you?" Yun Shang asked.
Lady Ya shook her head, "No. I''m sure they didn''t."
Yun Shang nodded. After a while, she said, "Your brother used to work at the Imperial Hanlin
Academy*. It was a ce people don''t have much to do. For a Zhuangyuan, it''s a waste of talent. After
some time, he will be appointed to work in the Imperial n Court*. Even though it will be only a small
position at first, he will be in charge of handling all the matters pertaining to the imperial family. It''ll be
easier for him to get promoted."
(*TN: Imperial Hanlin Academy: membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of
schrs, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court; Imperial n Court: the Imperial
n Court is an institution responsible for all matters pertaining to the imperial family.)
Hearing Yun Shang''s words, Lady Ya was grateful, "Thank you so much, Your Highness. Your
generosity will be remembered by both of us."
Yun Shang nodded, and headed to Qingxin Pce.
When she arrived at Qingxin Pce, she was greeted with joy by Qin Yi and Qian Yin. They
apologized, ming themselves for what had happened, "Your Highness, this was our fault, we failed
to protect you. We didn''t do our job well. Please punish us......"
Yun Shang was surprised and looked at her maids, "I was staying at Prince Jing''s mansion for two
days to help him manage business regarding the uing birthday banquet. What are you sorry for?"
Qin Yi and Qian Yin looked at each other, exchanging expressions of surprise, and opened their
mouths to say something, but then closed them again.
Yun Shang went and sat on the couch. She sat contemting something and then looked up, asking
Qin Yi and Qian Yin, "After I was abducted, I didn''t pay much attention. How did you get out? Is
everything okay with you two?"
The maids shook their heads. "Maybe they thought maids were no use. After you were taken away,
they drugged and dumped us in a remote area. The secret guards saved us."
Yun Shang nodded, "d that nothing happened to you."
Qin Yi came close to Yun Shang and said, "Your Highness, about the abduction that happened, we
both feel it was done by a mole from Qingxin Pce, but we haven''t discovered who. During the past
two days, Qian Yin and I have checked every servant''s background and their serving history. When she
was sent here, Qian Yin changed most of the servants out with our people. To avoid notice, she kept a
few of the elderly maids. When I was checking on them, I found something strange about them. I didn''t
notice before, but now I am having second thoughts about them. I think they are somehow suspicious."
"Really? How are they suspicious?" Yun Shang asked as she looked up.
Qin Yi thought for a while and responded, "Among the elderly maids, two of them have served ady
who passed away. And thatdy is Lady Geng. She is the elder sister of the Grand Councilor
Li......"