A bright-yellow figure was striding near from afar. Seeing this, Qin Yunuan raised her lips slightly but didn’t struggle to free herself from the guard beside her. She wanted Emperor Zhaoxuan to witness what Imperial Concubine Yun had done.
Imperial Concubine Yun felt as if her heart were beaten by something. She hurried to come out of the painting hall to welcome the emperor.
“My greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Humph,” Emperor Zhaoxuan sneered. He entered the painting hall directly without permitting Imperial Concubine Yun to stand up. He sat at the front seat and stared at Imperial Concubine who kept curtseying until her legs were trembling. Then he waved his hands, “All right. Stand up.”
Imperial Concubine strode in discreetly. The emperor cast a sidelong glance at Qin Yunuan who stood still. Imperial Concubine immediately said angrily, “You senseless servants! Let go of Infanta Ping and Fourth Miss Leng!”
Qin Yunuan responded with a sneer, “There’s no need for that. Now that things aren’t figured out yet, untying us will be of no use.”
Emperor Zhaoxuan glanced at Qin Yunuan. He saw the firm and calm expression on Qin Yunuan’s face which really resembled Queen Mother when she was young. Emperor Zhaoxuan said to her in a teasing tone, “You are rather strong-willed. Now that you have married to the Grand General of Qi, even the way you speak is different now. And you,” Emperor Zhaoxuan turned to Imperial Concubine Yun and continued, “Ganging up with Eunuch You to fake my decree is cheating me, do you know that?”
Imperial Concubine Yun kneeled down and apologized at once, “I know I was wrong. I just wanted to share your worries, but I did it in a wrong way, so the result is unpleasant now.”
Emperor Zhaoxuan still had a deep feeling to Imperial Concubine Yun at least in public. So his tone became gentle soon, “Just this once.” It only implied that in Emperor Zhaoxuan’s heart he would like to do the same as Imperial Concubine Yun had done.
Emperor Zhaoxuan glanced again at Qin Yunuan and Leng Suxin who were kneeling down to curtsey and waved, “All right. You both stand up.”
Leng Suxin was about to get up, but Qin Yunuan kept absolutely still, “Since you came here, there must be something you want to ask. Compared to kneeling down again in response to being wronged, I prefer keeping kneeling.”
“Wronged?” Emperor Zhaoxuan asked her back, “If you haven’t done it, why are you feeling wronged?”
Qin Yunuan glanced at Imperial Concubine Yun and sighed in a helpless tone, “He who has a mind to beat his dog will easily find his stick. Weak and lowly as I am, I’m afraid that I won’t have a chance to defend myself later.”
Emperor Zhaoxuan squinted. He knew what Qin Yunuan meant, so he said with great generosity, “Okay. I’ll give you the chance to speak, but I want to hear the truth,” Emperor Zhaoxuan took a sip of the new tea served by the imperial maidservant just now, “Where is your servant girl? The one named Leng Shuang.”
Emperor Zhaoxuan began to suspect Leng Shuang as expected. Indeed, rumors had swirled in the Royal Palace. Besides Infanta Shuhua’s palace, many eunuchs and imperial maidservants in other palaces also said that they had seen the ghost of Empress Chen wandering above the Royal Palace, especially in her chamber which was empty after her death, horrifying and frightening. There were even some people claiming that they had heard Empress Chen crying every night as if she suffered from wrongful treatment.
Qin Yunuan winked, and Leng Shuang went out of her hidden place like she was waiting outside. She looked cool, dressed in purple and hair tied up high in a knot. The moment she stepped into the painting hall, she was attacked by someone’s palm.
Leng Shuang leaned back to avoid the strength of the attack. The attacker was good at using fists and palms, while Leng Shuang’s advantage was that her body was light and flexible, so she did well in avoiding and light skills. In the painting hall, a man and a woman, a black figure and a purple one fought furiously to and fro, with one keeping chasing and attacking closely and the other switching between defense and assault.
Considering being in front of the emperor, Leng Shuang didn’t dare to use all her strength, but the black-dressed man was pressing on her at every move she did. Emperor Zhaoxuan watched their fight calmly with the easiness of enjoying tea. Qin Yunuan knew that it was sounding out Leng Shuang, so she didn’t say anything else. However, when Leng Shuang was focusing on defense, her foot slipped suddenly, and she was about to fall down. The man in black hurried to support her, but Leng Shuang gave a reflexive jump. After a deceptive movement, Leng Shuang buckled the weak spot on the man’s wrist with her finger, and the right hand of the man in black was touching her face. The two people were of about the same ability, so they were counted as a draw.
“Heiying, that’s enough.” Emperor Zhaoxuan ordered the man in black leisurely. It was at this time that Qin Yunuan was able to see the man’s face clearly. He had a defined square face. However, there was a long scar on it, looking horrifying. No wonder that she had never seen this man among the emperor’s personal retinue. Nevertheless, since he could fight with Leng Shuang for such a long time, he was definitely an expert.
The man named Heiying turned around to curtsey to Emperor Zhaoxuan and replied coldly, “Your Majesty, this woman’s skill is completely different from the woman appeared that night. I’m sure that she is definitely not the one fighting with me that night.”
As expected, the attack aimed at sounding out Leng Shuang’s martial arts. Emperor Zhaoxuan nodded approvingly. Then Qin Yunuan said, “Is that enough?”
Emperor Zhaoxuan winced a little, looking discontented, “Qin Yunuan, even though you are the Infanta entitled by Queen Mother herself and Leng Changxi’s wife, it doesn’t mean that you can speak to me like that.”
“Can’t I?” Qin Yunuan stood up indifferently, “In fact, you have already planned together with Imperial Concubine Yun. Firstly, she invited Fourth Miss Leng and me to come here in order to examine whether Fourth Miss Leng had worn a mask made of human skin. Secondly, you appeared after that, pretending that you were angry, and you would speak for me. This time when you asked to see Leng Shuang, I had no choice but to obey it so that you could figure out Leng Shuang’s martial arts. Your Majesty, you were suspecting Leng Shuang and me in the first place. It was you that gave me a chance just now to speak for myself so that I wouldn’t be wronged. Therefore, can I speak to you in the way I spoke just now?”
Emperor Zhaoxuan was so angry that he pounded the table and jumped to his feet, “Qin Yunuan, it’s true that your Golden Butterfly Embroidery House is the biggest taxpayer in Qi, donating much soldier’s pay and provisions, and that you are the wife of Leng Changxi and the granddaughter of Sir Shangguan, to whom I promised to keep you safe and sound. However, it doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want.”
For the first time ever, there was someone challenging Emperor Zhaoxuan’s judgment in public and poking his weakness so boldly. Suspicious as he was, he wouldn’t let go of the slightest clue. He would test it by himself.
“I have never thought of doing whatever I want,” Qin Yunuan said calmly. In fact, the words Emperor Zhaoxuan said just now had already indicated that Qin Yunuan was emboldened to speak to him like that, “I just want to find out the one plotting the chain of events together with you.”
“You? How can you assure that you can do it?” Emperor Zhaoxuan looked disdainful. He never believed that women would come up with some wonderful ideas. Even for Empress Chen previously, he just took her as a helper to take charge of the internal affairs. After the assassination, he was not willing to believe women in particular.
Qin Yunuan smiled, “Because I’m standing here now, safe and sound.”
The twilight was deepening. The carriage back to the mansion passed the Rosefinch Gate golden and bright in the setting sun. On the high gate, there was a man wearing a black cloak who was hard to be noticed. Standing in the warm sunset, he smiled coldly.
There came the sound of someone hurrying to go upstairs. A man dressed like an internal attendant appeared beside the man and said with great respect, “Prince Ray, the Third Young Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion and Princess Ning has already left the Royal Palace.”
Sima Ray didn’t speak for some time before he turned his eyes from afar. He said coldly to the man, “I knew that already. You should give me useful information in the future. If I get the information earlier than you do, why should I keep you?”
The man trembled suddenly. Since Sima Ray lost Liu Bao, he became more fastidious to the people following him.
Seeing the servant still standing here, Sima Ray became more impatient, “That’s enough. Go away.” In his mind, he thought that Liu Bao would absolutely know when to leave and what to say according to the occasions. He was lacking a person knowing him well now. Sima Ray kept drifting away with his eyes empty as if he had seen a place far away. He whispered to himself, “Yunuan, how can you learn my love for you? We are the most suitable for each other.”
Prince Ning’s Mansion gradually sank into the tranquil night. Xie Ruying’s courtyard in the East Garden was the first to put out the light. The winter night was getting colder, but Xie Ruying was wearing a light robe to sleep. The semitransparent clothes stuck to her skin tightly, sketching her delicate posture.
The moon splashed into the window like ink. A plume of blue smoke with a distinctive scent flew into the room from a mysterious hole in the window. Xie Ruying had already fallen into sleep. The scent made her breathe more heavily.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed by. Xie Ruying was completely unaware of it. However, she was awakened by the cold flashing light, which was the moonlight reflected by the dagger.
“Who is it?” Xie Ruying sat up, draping her clothes. She was ready to scream, but her mouth was covered. Beside her ear was a low voice, “One who wants your life.”
As the dagger was about to stab Xie Ruying’s heart, there suddenly flew a copper coin shooting the man’s wrist holding the dagger. It fell onto the ground. Immediately there were dense shadows of people and footsteps on the beam and outside the house.
Bad luck! The man sighed secretly. It was a trap. Although the assassin wanted to escape, Xie Ruying hugged the one’s breast tightly all of a sudden, shouting, “Third Young Master, I’ve caught him!” To her surprise, she felt that she was touching something strange and soft. “Are you a woman?” The one who wanted to kill her was a woman?
The assassin got Xie Ruying in a coma by hitting her backhand. As she was about to escape through the door, people outside flooded in, leading by Heiying beside Emperor Zhaoxuan. Then Leng Changxi entered the house and said to the assassin in black, who was still in the defense gesture, “The wrist you used to hold the weapon was hurt by my coin. Fold your hands for capture.” Leng Changxi abruptly lowered his voice, calling the assassin, “Mother.”
