Yang Meizi seated in her room the doors were flung open and Nuwa walked in with a pair of Imperial guards who greeted her.
"Sit down." She said and Bao Langya and Bo An complied.
"What is it that we must do?" Bao Langya asked.
"There's something that I am about to ask you to pull off and I need your undivided devotion." Yang Meizi replied.
"What is it?" Bo An asked.
"There's a certain prophecy about the Jurchen Princess that bears a blood mark and it's not that I want to care much about it but it's likely that I am she who is suspected to be her." Yang Meizi replied.
"I don't understand." Bao Langya said.
"I need you two to pose as shamans." Yang Meizi replied.
"Shamans?" Bo An re echoed.
"Yes." Yang Meizi replied.
"Why?" Bo An asked.
"It's a very important task and since this prophecy came from the heavens I wish to exploit it but I can't leave the Palace because I won't be any safer outside, furthermore the Jurchen Emperor keeps sending informants that I fear that they will infiltrate the Palace and should that be the case the peace and stability of our country will not be certain." Yang Meizi replied, "when I think about it this superstition must be extinguished thoroughly and the only people I can trust with that task are the both of you." She added.
"We'll do as you say, but what more can we do as shamans as we don't posses that much power to influence the crowd." Bao Langya said.
"You may not have power to influence a crowd but you'll have miracles to cause them to believe in you." Yang Meizi replied as she pulled a small envelope from her sleeve which she slid across the table and put it in front of the two.
"What's this?" Bo An Asked.
"Those are the details of the plan and for you to pull it off you'll have to go to Chung-tu." Yang Meizi replied.
"The Jurchen Capital?" Bao Langya asked.
"Seeing is believing and if the Emperor can behold with his eyes the wonderful gift of heaven's blessing then he will instantly believe it rather than hearing it from another, secondly since Chung-tu is the Capital then whatever happens will spread about the state like wild fire easing the tension we are facing." Yang Meizi replied.
"But if the Jurchen Emperor already sent informants into the country then they too must be dealt with." Bo An said.
"Don't worry, I have already come up with a way of subduing them, as long as you follow my instructions and do as I have written down then we might pull this off successfully and ease the tension from the Jurchen Emperor, besides, I heard that the astrologer that mentioned of this perished so it will be much easier for the people to buy without facing any real opposition." Yang Meizi replied.
"We'll take your leave then." The two said in unison as they stood up from where they were seated and left the room.
Shi Miyuan was seated in his study at home when the old man and Pula were also led in by Dong Hua.
The two halted at the entrance.
"You have never been to a Chancellor's residence?" He asked but they kept quiet, "don't worry, I won't kill you here." He added and the older more confident he quickly sat down in front of him while his son followed.
"We were told that you wished to see us and here we are." He said.
"Of course it's very urgent but I hope that you can understand that with your mere presence here you are taking a gamble to trust me and I am doing the same with you." Shi Miyuan replied.
"As you have said we are taking a gamble, depending on how well you can convince us I wouldn't mind." The old man said.
"I have talked to Zhang Shansheng's Daughter and perhaps I should give you something to believe so." Shi Miyuan said and looking at Dong Hua he nodded his head while the latter moved closer and placed her flexible sword on the table.
"I am sure that you would recognize it very well." he said and the old man staring intensely he picked it up and closely inspecting the blade with his hands he ran his fingers over it.
"I think you might find it a little bit too familiar." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"I might have grown old but my sight can not fail me, this was the very sword that once saved His Majesty and the two inscribed the symbols for their names at the bottom of the arm." He said as he turned and saw the two characters.
"I hope now I have cleared your doubt so it's important that you clear mine as well and show me if I can trust you." Shi Miyuan said and the old man looking at his son Pula he placed on the table a small box which Shi Miyuan took into his possession and opened.
From there he pulled out a piece of paper which he placed at the table and unfolded.
"That's His Late Majesty's order for me to protect the Princess with his seal." The old man said and Shi Miyuan taking it he sniffed the paper and rubbed his hands against it.
"It surely has gathered dust and the ink is in deed old and faded, it reeks and the Seal print seems genuine." He said as he handed it back to them while they returned the sword.
"I hope that clears the air." The old man said.
"Very well." Shi Miyuan replied.
"What is it that Her Highness would have us do for her?" Pula asked.
"There are Jurchen informants within the Capital but we need your help to contact them." Shi Miyuan replied.
"You want to meet up with them?" The old man asked.
"I said that in this meeting I am going to take a gamble and you are yet to prove that you have earned my trust or the Princess'." Shi Miyuan replied.
"You....?" Pula was about to argue when the old man halted him immediately.
"What is it that you want us to do?" He asked.
"You are fluent in the Jurchen language that it'll be easier for you, you understand the ways of the Jurchens much better than any of our people and since you so badly wish to save the Princess both myself and her are giving you that chance before this can become a big issue." Shi Miyuan replied.
"Tell us right away." Pula said.
"Just contact your informants and convene a meeting, the rest will be handled by us." Shi Miyuan replied and the two looking at each other seemed to be hesitant to agree.
"We need to see the Princess first." Pula said.
"That's out of the question." Shi Miyuan said.
"You said we are both taking a gamble." The old man remarked.
"And a gamble is what it is because if you withdraw now then I can take it differently and as far as I know I am the only one here in the position of dictating the terms and conditions.
If you really feel compelled as you promised Your Late Majesty that what would be the need for you to hesitate?" Shi Miyuan asked.
They kept quiet.
"Just contact your informants and convene a meeting and the rest will be handled by us, are you up for any of that?" Shi Miyuan asked, "since time isn't our best ally an immediate answer would do but walk out through those doors indisposed then I assure you it's the last you'll hear from me or anyone else concerning Her Highness." He added with a serious expression on his face.
Han Touzhou stood in his Courtyard looking at the saffron sky while listening to the melodies of the birds.
Lin Xue approached him from the side.
"What happened?" Han Touzhou asked.
"We dealt with them accordingly." Lin Xue replied, "just earlier today the Local authorities rounded up all the slave merchants." Lin Xue replied.
"And General Li?" Han Touzhou asked.
"He barely survived." Lin Xue replied, "it appears as though he were prepared and someone took the blame for him." He added that Han Touzhou quickly turned around and looked at him curiously.
"What?" he asked.
"The Authorities couldn't find any clues as the person in charge was killed and all evidence of records kept went missing from his residence and I couldn't think of any other excuse other than the possibility that someone tipped him off on our plan." Lin Xue replied.
"That's impossible, all the people in our service are absolutely loyal." Han Touzhou said.
"Does Your Excellency think of any other likely explanation to this?" Lin Xue asked.
"To have known he must have seen and the main point is that he must have been cautious as well.
To put it plainly, I must have underestimated the both of them." Han Touzhou replied.
"Could it be?" Lin Xue asked.
"Minister Li and his son are relatives of the Crown Princess and since she is a wonderful mastermind temporarily I must have forgotten that her presence is just as fatal to us." Han Touzhou replied.
"Word in the Palace has it that she has already established for herself her own power in the palace and she has registered the support of a number of palace attendants and Eunuchs along with Imperial guards as well all that is left of the screening is to see which of the many she can trust." Lin Xue said.
"That's not very hard a task for us." Han Touzhou remarked with a smile on his face.
"I understand." Lin Xue replied bowing his head.
Empress Dowager Wu was seated in her Chambers and a couple of Ladies in Waiting were fanning her while others were being led to her presence.
She inspected them very keenly and looked at a large number of them who bowed down their heads.
"How many of you can play the Pipa?" She asked.
They all kept quiet except for one who replied.
"Me Your Highness." She said while bowing her head.
"How many of you here can play the Guqin?" She asked again and with two more moving forward, the three bowed their heads.
"We Your Highness." They all replied in unison.
"How many of you can read?" She asked.
"Me Your Highness." The three each said in unison and looking at them she smiled.
"The rest of you get out, others be led forward." She said and the three complying, the other seven were led out through the doors.
"Each one of you come here one by one and tell me your names." She said and the first was a very small girl with a fine figure and surpassing beauty, her face was very lean and her temples really narrow.
"Shi Mei at your service Your Highness." She said bowing her head with a smile on her face and the Crown Princess smiling she looked at Liu Zhan who walked up to her with a very small envelope in her hands.
She handed it over to the younger while the Crown Princess smiled.
"Do as it instructs inside tonight and should any harm befall you then see to it that the letter is kept farther from where any eyes can find it." Liu Zhan muttered.
"Yes." Shi Mei replied and withdrew back in line with the other two as a second moved up to the front.
She was quite chubby but slightly medium sized, her eyes were small and her nose big and hooked, her lips smooth and her temples very wild and as she seemed fairly older she was in deed another striking beauty.
"Lin Zhi at your service Your Highness." she said as she bowed her head.
"How old are you?" Crown Princess Li asked.
"Thirty years she replied, I have spent sixteen years in the Palace." She replied while bowing her head and the Crown Princess smiling she looked at Liu Zhan who walked up to her with a very small envelope in her hands.
She handed it over to the older while the Crown Princess smiled.
"Do as it instructs inside tonight and should any harm befall you then see to it that the letter is kept farther from where any eyes can find it." Liu Zhan muttered.
"Yes." Lin Zhi replied and withdrew back in line with the other two as a third moved up to the front.
She was very young and like the first also beautiful, her eyes fairly big and her face chiseled and round.
"Chiyun Ling at Your service your Highness." She said while bowing her head with a smile on her face.
"You seem to be an expert in everything." She said.
"Before I came into the Palace at a very young age my aunt forced me to work in a brothel, naturally I'd adapt to using every musical instrument but other than that my calligraphy isn't that bad and I am also very skilled at making perfumes and make-up." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Hearing everything that you are saying you are a very talented person.
"And I hope I won't disappoint Your Highness." Chiyun Ling said.
"I also hope that you won't disappoint me." Crown Princess Li said smiling as she looked at Liu Zhan who walked up to her with a very small red envelope in her hands.
She handed it over to the her while the Crown Princess still smiled.
"Do as it instructs inside tonight and should any harm befall you then see to it that the letter is kept farther from where any eyes can find it." Liu Zhan muttered.
"Yes." Chiyun Ling replied and bowing her head she withdrew to where the other three were.
"You may all leave." she said and Liu Zhan leading them out towards the door she quickly returned to her mistress while looking around and being certain that they weren't being seen or overheard.
"Forgive me if I am too much ahead of myself Your Highness but what exactly is in the envelope?" She asked.
The Crown Princess still looking very excited she turned to her.
"How long have you served me?" She asked.
"Ever since you were a very young girl Your Highness." Liu Zhan replied.
"Then I trust your loyalty enough to tell you." Crown Princess Li said.
"You don't have to feel obligated Your Highness." Liu Zhan said.
"Nevertheless you are therefore the only one I can trust much more than anyone else to hear me out." Crown Princess Li said and looking at the others that had been fanning her, they instantly lowered their fans and bowing their heads they withdrew from the Chambers.
"There's two things in life that most people are afraid of." Crown Princess Li said, "the first is dying and the second is being caught killing someone." she added.
"I don't understand Your Highness." Liu Zhan said.
"So what if they destroy the letter?" She asked and Liu Zhan kept quiet, "as long as they are kept alive one way or another of tortured they could easily spit it out." Crown Princess Li said.
"So Your Highness means to say.....?" Liu Zhan was saying finally understanding what her mistress was up to.
"Yes." She replied before she could conclude, "the wisest of the three will understand." she added as she smiled ghastly.
"Did you infiltrate them?" Yang Meizi asked Chiyun Ling.
"Yes." She replied.
"I'm hoping that no one saw you headed this way." Yang Meizi said.
"I was trained by Master Bao, I wouldn't be as reckless." Chiyun Ling replied.
"About your family I have taken care of it and even though they were to dig up for anything they'd still know that you were orphaned at a very young age your identity is as good as safe with me." Yang Meizi said.
"Thank you Milady." Chiyun Ling said.
"This is for all the victims of the massacre to our fraternity, our brothers and sisters along with fathers and mothers." Yang Meizi said.
"I have waited for this day to get even with the Crown Princess." Chiyun Ling said.
"What did she ask you to do?" Yang Meizi asked and the younger pulling from her clothes the envelope she handed it over to her.
"What did she say?" Yang Meizi asked as she pulled out the piece of paper and opened it to read it's contents.
"They ordered me to do as the letter instructs inside tonight and should any harm befall me then I must see to it that the letter is kept farther from where any eyes can find it." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Did they say that exactly?" Yang Meizi asked.
"I paid attention to every word they said as you had ordered Milady." Chiyun Ling replied and Yang Meizi studying the letter she leaned her hand on the arm of her chair and thought deeply about it.
"What does it say?" Chiyun Ling asked.
"You are being asked to kill one of Consort Huang's Ladies in waiting according to this letter and the order is coming from Liu Zhan, the Crown Princess' closest and personal Lady in waiting." Yang Meizi replied.
"I don't think it's that hard." Chiyun Ling said.
"It's not simply very likely but rather it is that this Lady in waiting of Consort Huang is an informant of the Crown Princess so naturally she will be tipped off and basing on all the talents of you three candidates she shall have to be prepared for the worst." Yang Meizi replied.
"So that's the essence of this whole scheme?" Chiyun Ling asked herself.
"Certainly not." Yang Meizi asked, "there are two main things to be cautious about and the first is being caught while the second is seeing to it that not a single bit of the news is spread to anyone that is not supposed to learn of it." Yang Meizi replied.
"That's why they told us to keep the letter farther from where any eyes could see it, in a simpler sense they are asking us to destroy it." Chiyun Ling said.
"Setting fire to a paper isn't enough, the words of a culprit that is persecuted carry much more weight to any case and the Crown Princess' intention is to see if you can make a gamble with your loyalty." Yang Meizi replied.
"I can leave the Palace and go further." Chiyun Ling said.
"Everyone else might make such an attempt but to win over her trust I believe that you should go an extra mile." Yang Meizi replied.
"What should I do?" Chiyun Ling asked.
"Make a gamble with your life." Yang Meizi replied with a ghastly smile.
"Milady?" Chiyun Ling said.
"You can not let them know that you are a martial artist and you know the best way of attempting to kill yourself to buy sincerity." Yang Meizi replied with a smile on her face.
"I understand Milady." Chiyun Ling said smiling at her ghastly as well.
She walked out of the room a short while later while Nuwa went in Yang Meizi's presence.
"Find out about the other two women Shi Mei and Lin Zhi and tell me more about them." Yang Meizi ordered.
"Why if I may ask?" Nuwa asked.
"Han Touzhou is fearful of the Crown Princess and I don't expect the Empress Dowager to be as idle." Yang Meizi replied.
"Are you saying that it's likely that they have informers amongst the two?" Nuwa asked.
"Being suspicious isn't a crime, moreso it doesn't necessarily have to be among the other two, whoever it is that is helpful to Han Touzhou we can use to be advantageous to ourselves and that could help Chiyun Ling gain more and more of the Crown Princess' trust." Yang Meizi replied.
"Yes Milady." Nuwa replied.
The old man and Pula met with Shi Miyuan in the Fanling Court and the two seated in a room the old man pulled out a letter.
"Amongst the Jurchen informants, the one mistake that we never make is writing to one another in the common Han Chinese characters." The old man said while Shi Miyuan looked through it.
"A coded language?" He asked.
"Forged from incorporating symbols and also ancient Jurchen Characters it is very confidential and my sources identify it as the communication medium." The old man said.
"How is this supposed to bring the others to meet with us in the next two days?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"The thing with these characters is that they can be identified on buildings hence wherever it is they'll appear, other informers will be convinced to gather." Pula replied.
"Is it efficient?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"Informers are supposed to keep their identity a secret until urgency or abrupt termination of a mission has occurred, and this time my guess is that we'll have the body of the rebel Princess to give them." The old man said.
"Except that I don't want the body thoroughly inspected and I need a group of witnesses to report back to Chung-tu, I also don't want the Jurchens sneaking into the borders of this country anytime soon and I understand that you want the welfare of your Princess." Shi Miyuan said.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Pula asked.
"I'll tell you when the time is right, we don't want this news landing in the ears of outsiders." Shi Miyuan said.
"Very well." the old man replied immediately while Shi Miyuan smiled.
"So where are we going to begin?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"There's a couple of stalls that move around the city, we could use this to distribute information and tell others when to gather." Pula said.
"Then let's do it." Shi Miyuan said.
It was already very dark and Consort Huang travelling along the corridors of the Eastern Palace was being accompanied by her ladies in waiting.
Chiyun Ling approached her attendant from the opposite direction and themselves negotiating a turn she bumped into one while bowing her head the jade pendant hanging around her waist dangling she looked around to see if she had dropped anything.
"I'm sorry." Chiyun Ling said and bowing her head she continued her way while the Consort turned around to see what the problem was.
"What's happening behind there?" She asked.
"Nothing." The Lady in waiting replied and looking at the young woman calmly walking around the other corner, she checked herself once again to see if there was anything missing but not a single thing did she find.
"Could it be?" She muttered to herself but then doubting her own thoughts she continued her way.
Chiyun Ling quickly made it into a storehouse where she found Nuwa veiling her head with a black cloak.
"I did it." She said.
"Did you leave any traces?" Nuwa asked.
"They shall have no solid evidence to apprehend me and even if they do, I wouldn't say a word but rather act up to their foolish accusations." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Well done." Nuwa said as she walked closer to her.
"But are you ready sister?" She asked.
"For everything that it's worth, I am prepared for any thing." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Return to your Chambers, I am sure that now there are people watching you you need to be more careful." Nuwa said.
"Yes sister." Chiyun Ling replied before withdrawing from sight.
Crown Princess Li was still seated in her room with Liu Zhan by her side.
"Are you sure that they'll make it Your Highness?" She asked as she noticed her mistress staring at the incense stick in front of her.
"It's about an hour or two, I am not only interested in seeing who it is that is more useful and smarter than the rest." She replied joyously.
Hardly had she spoken when the doors of her Chambers were flung open and through them a young woman walked in.
"Your Highness." She said while bowing her head.
"Tell me." Crown Princess Li said as she still had her attention fixed on the burning incense stick.
"Court Lady Lin Zhi has already left the Palace." She replied and the Crown Princess smiled.
"On what grounds?" Crown Princess Li asked.
"Her mother is already terminally ill and she needs to be looked after, I heard that she had already requested for a leave a couple of hours in the morning after she left the hall." The lady in waiting replied.
"Her mother will fall sick first then her father and perhaps siblings, before I know it how many people will she have contacted outside the Palace walls and who knows if the letters will be any safer there, if she can be arrested on a false charge then what more could she say or do for me?" The Crown Princess asked.
"On your orders Your Highness." the Lady in waiting said.
"Tell my brother to get his elites and procure her from her residence, I wish to see with my eyes if she can not break." Crown Princess Li replied.
"Yes Your Highness." The lady in waiting replied.
"But what evidence do we have against her?" Liu Zhan asked.
"What does she know?" Crown Princess Li replied as the young woman withdrew.
"I don't understand." Liu Zhan said.
"The Imperial prisons even without a charge can force someone to confess, as I told you the words of a culprit carry a heavy wait none of the candidates are going to survive capture however careful and discreet they were." Crown Princess Li replied while she smiled ghastly.
The Consort Huang's Lady in waiting still walking in line she suddenly halted and broke the formation and while she appeared to look dizzy, she staggered which alarmed her fellows around her.
"Are you alright." One of them asked.
"I'm fine." She replied.
"Yet here you are sweating profusely and your skin has instantly turned pale." The other said but before the young woman would reply at a loss of strength blood gushed out from her mouth and she collapsed on the floor.
"Chu'er?" They shouted as they shook her and Consort Huang hurrying over to her side she quickly examined her with her eyes.
"I think she is poisoned." One of the ladies in waiting said.
"Take her to her Chambers and have the physician see her there." Consort Huang ordered.
"Yes Your Highness." The ladies in waiting replied in unison as they carried her away while Consort Huang and her lady in waiting closely followed.
Another lady in waiting rushing into Crown Princess Li's Chambers Liu Zhan was a little bit alarmed.
"Your Highness." She cried as she went onto her knees.
"How's the going?" Crown Princess Li asked.
"News has just arrived that Chu'er is unconscious and she has suffered from poisoning." she said.
"Secretly round up my people." Crown Princess Li said, "go after Chiyun Ling and Shi Mei and take them to the interrogation chamber." She ordered.
"Yes." Liu Zhan replied when another lady in waiting rushed into her room.
"Your Highness." She said as the Crown Princess seemed very much surprised to see her present in the vicinity as well.
"I wasn't expecting you." She confessed.
"Chiyun Ling." She replied.
"What's wrong with her?" Crown Princess Li asked.
"She has attempted suicide and the wound she has seems so fatal that right now it's hard to tell if she will survive." the lady in waiting replied.
The Crown Princess hearing that she stood up immediately as her eyes widened.
"Attempted suicide?" She asked.
"In her room we could only find ashes in the brazier indicating that she burnt something prior to the incident but anything other than that we are uncertain." The lady in waiting replied.
"Take me to her." Crown Princess Li said.
"Yes Your Highness." The lady in waiting replied and the Crown Princess hastily walking out through the doors of her residence in a distance she was being watched by Nuwa who quickly moved into Yang Meizi's chamber.
"Her Highness is on her way." she said.
"Impressive." Yang Meizi replied.
"What do we do now?" Nuwa asked.
"Bury Chu'er." Yang Meizi replied, "at first it was a gamble and the Crown Princess should lose because it's necessary that we show the others what happens to people that work for her." she added.
"Yes Milady." Nuwa replied.
Chu'er was rested on her bed while the physician examined her and took first her pulse.
He turned to Consort Huang.
"How is she?" She asked.
"It's nothing serious, the poison might have been very lethal but thanks to the fact that she has consequently been consuming black bean soup, it has increased her body's resistance to the spread of the poison to her vitals." The physician replied.
"What could have been the cause of her condition?" Consort Huang asked.
"She seems to have come in contact with snake venom and she has also ingested amatoxin from mushrooms in fairly smaller quantities." the physician replied.
"This couldn't have been an accidental call, it was orchestrated." Consort Huang said.
"But we don't even know where to begin with, the hour of consumption or how she got into contact with the venom remains a mystery to us." one of the ladies in waiting said.
"I could know a thing or two about someone who would want Chu'er dead but without concrete evidence it remains an assumption." Consort Huang replied.
"There's nothing that matters more than Chu'er's survival." One of the Ladies in waiting said.
"Perhaps so." Consort Huang said.
Crown Princess Li marched up to the entrance of Chiyun Ling's servant quarters where a smaller number of other attendants had gathered as well.
She walked through the doors and found her being tended to by the physician who at the time had stopped the bleeding and had just removed the blade from her lower abdomen.
She couldn't believe her eyes as she froze in one place and Liu Zhan noticing was curious of her mistress's behaviour that she touched her.
"Your Highness." she called.
"How is she?" the Crown Princess asked the physician.
"In good health luckily and she was yet to lose too much blood, narrowly she survived death because the blade missed her kidney and liver but for the time being I am not in the position to estimate the time when she might regain consciousness." the physician replied and the Crown Princess sighing she smiled.
"Of course it is very hard to tell." The Crown Princess muttered, "could it be that she was the only one who figured it out?" She asked herself staring at the beautiful unconscious young woman in front of her.
One of the Ladies in waiting carrying a small tray of medicine in the night she entered Chu'er's room.
As she placed it on the table she quickly turned to the patient.
"It's time for your medicines." She said but the latter not replying she thought that she hadn't been clear and loud enough.
She approached her bed and there at first looking at her pale hand hanging out of the blanket she ceased it but it felt so cold.
"Impossible." She muttered while she noticed the veins were a little dark and curiously she pulled off the blanket from the face.
She screamed at the sight of blood that was flowing out of the eyes, ears and mouth having formed a dark patch on the sheets the Imperial guards that heard the shout outside rushed in to find the young lady unconscious.
One of them looking at the bed and seeing Chu'er's condition he quickly moved over to take her pulse and the other staring intensely at him he withdrew a short while after.
"How's she?" He asked.
"She is dead." The other said and the two guards rushed out of the room.
Consort Huang was lying in her bed with her husband asleep when the doors of her room were slid open and through them her Lady in waiting rushed in at a terrible speed while crying aloud.
"Your Highness?" She called and the Crown Prince was the first to awaken he tapped his Consort who did so tiredly.
"What's the problem and why are you making such a fuss at this very late hour?" Consort Huang asked.
"Chu'er is dead." The lady in waiting replied and her eyes widening she quickly pushed away the silk curtain and stood up from her bed.
"You couldn't be saying this." She rebuked.
"She passed on at a quarter past midnight and the physicians are examining her body." The Lady in waiting replied as the young woman quickly put on her fur coat.
"Lead the way." She ordered and the Lady in waiting complied as they strode out through the doors along the dark corridors with the entire Palace in upheaval.
Yang Meizi was seated in her rocking chair while facing the moonlight and there she had covered herself with a thick blanket to resist the cold while her eyes looked up at the starry sky.
Nuwa rushed in only moments later but she didn't budge from where she was seated.
"She is dead Milady." She said but Yang Meizi hearing that remained quiet and seemed a bit too distracted to act.
"Milady?" Nuwa called to her.
"I have heard." Yang Meizi replied, "I was just wondering." She added.
"What's bothering you?" Nuwa inquired.
"I couldn't sleep." Yang Meizi replied, "I keep seeing Uncle Zhang dying in front of my own eyes, how is it that I can forget the blade that slew him or the arrow that struck my mother?" Yang Meizi asked.
"Stay strong Milady." Nuwa said.
"I wish it were actually that easy." Yang Meizi replied.
"It wasn't meant to be so." Nuwa said.
"I know." Yang Meizi replied.
"What should we do now?" Nuwa asked.
"Many Ladies in waiting die, I don't even know if she had a family, yet it's her loyalty to my enemy that has killed her I finally understand that I am not the one in wrong." Yang Meizi replied.
"This is the law of survival." Nuwa remarked.
"Well said." Yang Meizi replied and a small silence prevailing in the room she slowly turned her face to Nuwa who knelt down in front of her.
"Reserve the formality and after the post mortem is done then we shall acquire her body, I'll make good use of her death and ask the Carpenters to make me a funeral tablet, and perhaps I'll erect it in one of the abandoned rooms to pray for her and the others that are soon to be buried in this poisonous Palace." Yang Meizi said.
"Yes Milady." Nuwa replied.
Crown Princess Li surprised on hearing the News she shot up from where she was seated.
"Impossible." She remarked.
"According to the examination that was carried out by the Imperial Coroner she had an overdose of lethal venom orally that it couldn't spare her this time. The amounts only larger had nothing more to do but shut down her system painfully she died a very horrible death." Liu Zhan said.
"How is that possible?" Crown Princess Li asked.
"Someone deliberately made a final attempt on her life and they just have been skilled enough to escape without a trace." Liu Zhan replied.
"But who could it be?" Crown Princess Li wondered.
"I don't know Your Highness." Liu Zhan replied.
"When it comes to the Eastern Palace it's not the Empress but the Crown Princess in charge, with such an occurrence it's more painful for me to think that I shall be heavily implicated and for all we know the Empress Dowager and the Emperor might not let me off and even if they did my appearance in the eyes of the people shall have been tarnished." Crown Princess Li said.
"Could it be the one who benefits from all this?" Liu Zhan asked.
"Consort Huang is a very deadly enemy and she seems to have grown confident over the years because she has the Crown Prince's favour." Crown Princess Li replied.
"It couldn't mean that she knew that all this time Chu'er was merely a mole working for you." Liu Zhan remarked.
"Perhaps she was aware and ceased this as a chance I regret having underestimated her." Crown Princess Li said.
"But I heard that she cried bitterly at her loss." Liu Zhan said.
"You know her as well as I do, it isn't that hard for her to act so benevolent and merciful in the eyes of the masses so that she can get them to believe that she is a good person, further more if I were to be criticized at this moment she'd even act up more responsibly to popularize herself." Crown Princess Li said.
"This is very bad." Liu Zhan said.
"What about Chiyun Ling?" The Crown Princess asked.
"It's already been a day ever since the accident happened but she's still unconscious and the other two still in confinement under your orders haven't mentioned a word to your brother." Liu Zhan replied.
"Let me know if anything happens." Crown Princess Li said, "it's high time that we faced this issue head on." She added.
"Yes Your Highness." Liu Zhan replied.
Shi Mei and Lin Zhi were both tied to two chairs and their lips covered by a thick cloth they were unable to scream as Li San stood in front of them with his men twisting their legs.
"Enough." He stopped them and the four withdrew from the two women.
"Let them talk." He ordered and the clothes that were tied around their mouths were pulled off.
"Are you ready to tell me why you killed a lady in waiting and who was it that sent you?" He asked.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Lin Zhi said.
"I didn't do anything." Shi Mei added and angry Li San ordered for their lips to be bound again while the nearby men fixed the wooden poles between their legs and started twisting them.
The two cried out and sweated bitterly but there wasn't a single word that escaped their lips as they each seemed determined to keep quiet.
"Until now none of them has said a word." General Li San's subordinate said to him.
"The two are strong willed and my sister will be very pleased to hear that." Li San said with a ghastly smile on her face.
"A lady in waiting dead in the Eastern Palace?" Empress Dowager Wu asked Wan'er.
"Yes Your Highness." Wan'er replied.
"Then perhaps considering all the rumours that I am hearing it must be very serious." She remarked.
"The Eastern Palace is out of order and the Crown Princess herself doesn't seem to have felt any better now that she is under suspicion." Wan'er replied.
"How so?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Many believe that the young lady was a victim in her conflict with the Consort Huang on one hand and there are very faint rumours that Consort Huang had her murdered having realised that she was the Crown Princess' mole in her service.
Whichever it is for the two, people seem to believe that the Crown Princess did this because a majority believe that Consort Huang is too good natured to even kill a fly." Wan'er replied.
"Forget it." Empress Dowager Wu said, "everything in the Inner Court seems to have fallen into chaos and I'm not the one being blamed, furthermore I have every reason to believe that Yang Meizi has called all the shots." She added.
"And it must be very sad for the Crown Princess that she doesn't know how close the enemy is and who it could really be." Wan'er remarked.
"We'll do nothing and let Yang Meizi act." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Yes Your Highness." Wan'er replied.
There were men parading in the alleys along with their stalls and looking around amongst the people there were small symbols that were drawn at the tops.
The people gathering in groups started buying off the fruits that were being sold while the sellers whispered to some of them a couple of words.
Shi Miyuan was seated in the restaurant near one of them and looking in a distance he seemed marvelled to see the numbers of the people inquiring very high.
"There are this many informants in the Capital?" Dong Hua asked.
"The Emperor of Jin must have taken it seriously." Shi Miyuan replied.
"Can we really trust them?" Dong Hua asked.
"I don't." Shi Miyuan replied.
"Is that why you're watching them?" Dong Hua asked.
"I only trust Mei'er." Shi Miyuan replied.
"Did she tell you how she'll stop the Jurchen Emperor from sending other informants?" Dong Hua asked.
"Not at all but I believe that I understand the people of her nature, she might not show it excessively but she is very smart and intelligent that at times, even I can hardly read what is on her mind." Shi Miyuan replied.
Still talking to one another Pula suddenly appeared beside them and Shi Miyuan turning to him he smiled.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked.
"Feel free to sit down." Shi Miyuan replied and the latter smiling he took the empty seat beside them.
"You seem to be carrying out your end of the deal very well." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"Tonight they shall have gathered at a small tavern in the East side of the Capital." Pula said.
"How many people will be around?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"The whole building has been booked, we agreed to help one another but I don't think we are ready to sacrifice our Fanling Court." Pula said.
"Isn't it worth your loyalty to the Late Emperor?" Shi Miyuan asked.
Pula kept quiet.
"Duty without sacrifice, you're loyalty is very pathetic but at least for me my affection is very much sincere when compared to you." Shi Miyuan boasted.
"Affections or not I believe we both have our duties." Pula said.
"And what is yours?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"My father is old and he doesn't have much time left, If it's my desire today help its because I don't wish for him to die with regrets, I merely want him to confidently face His Majesty on the other side." Pula replied.
"But I don't care." Shi Miyuan said, "about both you and also your father, to md there isn't a single thing about the both of you that could flatter my heart." He added.
"You wish." Pula said.
"My affection for your Princess is too much, I'd rather you and your father left the Capital than stirring up any trouble for her." Shi Miyuan said.
"To have the informants dealt with is enough." Pula remarked.
"But certainly can't keep the walls Silent." Shi Miyuan replied, "your father's caring for loyalty and you your business, with the wealth that I own I can buy you all entirely and give you a much more favourable place to stay while sparing your life for her sake." Shi Miyuan said.
"You would threaten me for her?" Pula asked.
"I'd kill you for her if I had to and that isn't even debatable." Shi Miyuan replied and Pula smiled.
"Is this how all the people of the Great Song are?" He asked.
"I don't know about others but this is surely me, strange enough secrets that are too deadly to be exposes must only be buried as the dead will not say a word." Shi Miyuan said and leaning on the table he brought his face closer to his and looked him in the eye.
"But shouldn't you worry about the situation in Chung-tu before you can worry about us here?" Pula asked.
"We'll surely see about it." Shi Miyuan replied.
Yang Meizi walking she crossed paths with the Crown Prince on the balcony of the tavern he quickly started organising himself as he walked closer.
"Your Highness." she said bowing her head.
"Did you just call me....?" Prince Zhao Kuo Asked.
"Pardon my insolence." Yang Meizi Said.
"A Head Lady outside the Palace?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"Does it bother Your Highness?" Yang Meizi asked.
"If people were to know then they would probably misunderstand it." Prince Zhao Kuo replied.
"There's nothing to be misunderstood here, it's only natural in a while that I get out the palace after seeking His Majesty's permission and Master Bao is like a father to me which makes everyone here my family." Yang Meizi replied.
The Prince was silent.
"I won't ask a thing that doesn't concern me, now that Your Highness is here I was just about to leave." Yang Meizi said and looking at Shi Miyuan and then his hand he lowered it while Yang Meizi started off walking past the Prince.
At a distance he ceased her arm and Shi Miyuan bothered he didn't let it show.
Yang Meizi halted and turned to look at the Prince.
"Look at me." He said.
"I am not in that position." Yang Meizi replied.
"Just look at me." The Prince insisted.
"Your Highness." Shi Miyuan called.
"I wasn't talking to you." The young Prince said and Shi Miyuan kept quiet instantly.
"Aren't you curious to know why I am here?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"You were just passing by perhaps." Yang Meizi replied.
"I heard that you know this place." Prince Zhao Kuo replied.
"What's that to me Your Highness?" Yang Meizi asked.
"Don't you understand why I tried so hard to pretend to not be a Prince and got Lan He to do that job very well?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"You are a carefree Prince, with rank you can have much of everything in the world and things might come simple, you could choose to play one simple role and it becomes an order for the others around you to play along and pardon me Your Highness if I might sound impudent but anything about your personal life is not a concern to me." Yang Meizi replied.
"Do you know who you are talking to?" Lan He asked.
"His Majesty will be calling on me any time soon, I might bear to offend a Prince but the Emperor says when I get to keep my head or not." Yang Meizi said and breaking free from his grip she continued her own way while he watched her vanish from sight.
The Prince then turned his attention to Shi Miyuan who was still standing there.
"I'll take my leave Your Highness." He said bowing his head as he started out past him as well.
"She is a Lady of the Palace and you are a privileged scholar that is favoured by His Majesty." Prince Zhao Kuo said, "she might not be bothered about it but the people around are." He added.
"Your Highness seems to care too much, why is it that you are bothered by her well being if I may ask?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"I am not commensurate to you." Prince Zhao Kuo said.
"You can as well say that my heart and my whole being aren't commensurate to Your Highness but who understands better the troubles of the palace, who could understand better the burdens of unnecessary affiliations.
If Consorts and Concubines fight each other and ladies in waiting take sides, when can you be unfamiliar with new faces every time because a larger number have been buried for not being compliant?" Shi Miyuan asked.
The Prince widened his eyes.
"You might not know Your Highness, what's more suspicious and what's more alarming is when a Lady in Waiting starts to get affiliated with a first rank Prince. That alone can cause others to attempt and snap her neck and that alone could make people start to misunderstand." He added as he continued away.
The Prince was left frozen in one place unable to move even a single muscle of his.
"Your Highness." Lan He called.
"Let's go." Prince Zhao Kuo replied.
"Are you alright?" Lan He asked.
"You know that what I hate the most in the world is repeating myself." Prince Zhao Kuo replied, "are you also not listening to me?" He asked.
"Right away Your Highness." Lan He said and stepping aside the Prince led the way out of the compound and was headed for the very gates that had let him in.
YOU ARE READING
ROSES OF BLOOD
Ficción históricaThe Empress Wu fostered a daughter within the Crimson walls of the Cifu Palace who with altered and faint origins she became the sister of a Marquis. Bound to her filial piety and the path of hardship, a "seductress" is what she must become poisonou...
