Chapter 157 The Disappeared Madams (Part One)
Yun Shang was surprised. Lady Geng? The name sounded unfamiliar to her. Who was she?
Qin Yi noticed Yun Shang''s confusion. She hurriedly exined, "Your Highness didn''t know her. Lady
Geng was thete Emperor''s Lady. She died a long time ago. She was Lady Ming''s sister, taken by the
bear his child. Then the Li n presented Lady Ming to thete Emperor. Later, Lady Ming became
pregnant. When she was merely 25 years old, Lady Geng suddenly fell ill, and died. Her death
devastated the pregnant Lady Ming, who then miscarried due to grief. At the time, many praised their
strong bond of sisterhood."
Yun Shang sneered, "Sisterhood? Once the Emperor took them both, they were no longer sisters."
Lying on her bed, Yun Shang started to think over the anecdotes. She wondered what had happened
between Lady Ming and her sister, but all entanglements had been buried. Regardless, someone had
nted Lady Geng''s confidants in her pce. Perhaps this person thought Yun Shang knew nothing
about Lady Ming and Lady Geng''s grudge, and wouldn''t find out his or her plot.
After a long while, Yun Shang nced at Qin Yi, and said, "What do the two madams do?"
Lowering her eyes, Qin Yi answered, "They are settled in the side hall. As they''re both aged now, and
versed in the etiquettes of the Pce, they''re not in charge ofborious work. Instead, they teach the
newly recruited maids."
"I see." Yun Shang blinked. That was a good position. It would be easy for the madams to cultivate
theirworks.
"Your Highness, how do you want to deal with them?" Qin Yi asked. She felt guilty as she had been
negligent about the personnel change in Qingxin Pce. It was her fault as she didn''t sift through the
recruits thoroughly, thus allowing the two maids to sneak in, leading to a disastrous result. She almost
wanted to skin the two maids, for they intended to harm her Princess.
Yun Shang contemted the matter for a while. Then she shed a smile, "They must know a lot about
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the secrets of the Pce, as they''ve served in the Pce for a long time. They also used to be Lady
Geng''s confidants. That''s why the Li n tend to ce their trust in these two maids. Qian Yin, capture
them, and hand them to Ning Qian. She''s been working on her interrogation skills. I''m sure the
madams will be good experimental subjects."
A gleam came into Qian Yin''s eyes. She giggled, "Wonderful. She alwaysins about theck of
experimental subjects. The two madams must be tougher thanmon folk. And the servants in the
Pce always keep their mouths shut. How ideal for an interrogation!"
"Go for it then." Yun Shang was amused by Qian Yin''s expectant face. She smiled and dismissed her.
When Qian Yin left to carry out her orders, Yun Shang turned to Qin Yi, "Qin Yi, go and make some
inquiries for me. What has Li Fuyi been doing recently?"
Qin Yi didn''t quite understand Yun Shang''s intentions, but she didn''t ask. She curtsied to Yun Shang
and walked out.
Yun Shang shed a smile. It suddenly came to her that Li Fuyi was Empress Yuan Zhen''s sister. She
wondered whether they were another pair of Lady Ming and Lady Geng.
Before long, Yun Shang received her maid''s report. Recently, Li Fuyi had been spending most of her
time in Changchun Pce, apanying Lady Ming in transcribing Buddhist texts and worshipping
Buddha. Yun Shang shed a sneer as she listened to the report. All the women from Li n were
unscrupulous and designing. And Li Fuyi was the worst of them all. She was smart enough to stay
away from the fight, and pretended not to be jealous andpetitive. But she had revealed her true
intention, as she served a woman who had spent all her life in the Pce. Lady Ming had survived two
Emperors, and knew more about pleasing a man than any of thedies. If Li Fuyi was able to please
her, she certainly could learn a lot from Lady Ming.
Yun Shang thought for a while before asking, "Which of thedies have slept with father in the past four
weeks? And how many times has he slept with each of them?"
Qin Yi was shocked. She forced a smile, "Your Highness, you are an unmarried Princess. You shouldn''t
ask questions like that. It''s bad for your reputation."
Yun Shang raised her eyebrows. "I didn''t ask for my amusement. I need to figure something out."
Qin Yi felt shame when answering her Princess''s questions. She said, "In the past month, His Majesty
has spent most of his nights in Qinzheng Hall, alone. And he has visited thedies five times. He spent
three nights with Lady Ya, one night with Lady Meng, and one night with Lady Fu."
Yun Shang nodded to Qin Yi. As she had guessed, seemingly, Li Fuyi was apanying Lady Ming,
but she didn''t lose the Emperor''s favor. Emperor Ning had only visited hisdies five times in the past
month, and Li Fuyi was one of the lucky five.
Yun Shang thought for a while. She chose a in dress, and asked Qin Yi to help her change. Then
she headed towards Changchun Pce.
When Yun Shang arrived, she spotted Fuyi in Changchun Pce. She was absorbed in transcribing
Buddhist texts. Fuyi''s dress was simple but elegant, and her hair was tied on the top of her head with a
in silver hairpin.
Lady Ming sat beside her. Her eyes were closed, as if she was dozing. And the hall smelt of
sandalwood, the incense of Buddhism.
"Your Highness, Princess Hui Guo has arrived." Madam Yu noticed Yun Shang. She quietly reported to
Lady Ming.
Upon hearing that, Lady Ming opened her eyes, and nced at Yun Shang. Yun Shang shed her a
smile, curtsied, and said, "The weather is getting warmer now. I tend to bezy on hot days. Just now, I
had a little plum syrup, and thought Your Highness might like its taste, and I haven''t visited you
recently, so I decided to bring some to you."