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S T E L L A R C L O U D
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Lian'er brought a cloth and wiped away the water stains on the table. "Princess, these past few days, you seem unsettled. Did something happen?"
"Nothing, it's fine." Princess Ning'an said.
The Bixia Palace was well protected by the Emperor, and Lian'er hadn't heard any chaotic rumors from outside. She only thought her mistress was troubled because of Huangfu Xian.
She consoled, "Don't worry about the young master. He's just throwing a little tantrum. When he grows up a bit more, he'll understand and be more respectful towards the princess."
Princess Ning'an said, "Lian'er, if one day you were taken away, would you betray me?"
Lian'er solemnly replied, "Of course not! Lian'er's life was saved by the princess. Without the princess, there would be no Lian'er. Lian'er will never betray the princess!"
"Yes, your life is mine. How could you betray me?" Princess Ning'an regained her usual composure and smiled, "Go to the small kitchen and see how the soup for the Empress Dowager is coming along."
Lian'er went to the small kitchen and returned with a food box in her hand, "It's ready."
Princess Ning'an took the food box and went to Renshou Palace.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Heng was also there.
Princess Ning'an looked at Xiao Heng in the study of Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "He is the Liulang Aijia mentioned to you before. You haven't met yet, right?"
Princess Ning'an was stupefied for a moment, then smiled faintly, "Ah, yes, we haven't met."
Xiao Heng stood up, bowed slightly, and greeted, "Princess Ning'an."
Princess Ning'an nodded in acknowledgment.
Empress Dowager Zhuang sighed to Princess Ning'an, "Didn't Aijia tell you not to cook anymore?"
Princess Ning'an smiled as she brought the food box over and placed it on the table, "This is the soup cooked by the cook from the Bixia Palace."
Empress Dowager Zhuang signaled for Eunuch Qin to take it over.
"Let me do it." Eunuch Qin took the food box from Princess Ning'an and brought out the soup.
Princess Ning'an smiled, "Then, I'll take my leave. I'll come to pay my respects to imperial mother again tomorrow."
After Princess Ning'an stepped out of the study, she heard Empress Dowager Zhuang say to Xiao Heng, "Continue speaking."
Xiao Heng responded, "That's all, those are the rumors circulating among the common people."
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "To quell the rumors, we need the witness to speak. Is the witness awake?"
Xiao Heng replied, "She's awake."
Empress Dowager Zhuang asked, "Didn't she suffer from the Seven-Days Drunken? How did she wake up so quickly?"
Xiao Heng answered, "JiaoJiao had an antidote in her hands. She woke up in the morning but could only speak in the afternoon."
Empress Dowager Zhuang inquired, "Did she reveal the mastermind behind it?"
Xiao Heng shook his head, "Not yet, she refuses to say."
"Have you used torture?"
"We have. We've used all the tortures available, but her lips remain tightly sealed."
Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted, "If the hard methods don't work, then use the soft ones. If the soft ones fail, use deceit. I don't believe that everyone in the Heavenly Music House is stubborn. Go and bribe someone, make her poison Hua Xiyao under the guise of visiting, saying it's a snack given to her by that Young Owner. Hua Xiyao won't fail to understand."
"Princess, your handkerchief..." In the courtyard, a young palace maid spoke to the absent-minded Princess Ning'an.
Princess Ning'an lowered her gaze to the torn handkerchief in her hand and smiled gently, "It got scratched by a branch. I'm just thinking about how to fix it."
After Princess Ning'an left the courtyard, Xiao Heng completely pushed open the window that had a small crack, which was barely noticeable unless one looked closely.
He watched her disappear at the entrance of Renshou Palace, softly saying, "Thank you, Grandaunt."
Princess Ning'an didn't immediately return to the Bixia Palace after leaving the Renshou Palace; instead, she went to the imperial study.
"Ning'an, come and sit." The Emperor put down the memorandum in his hand. After not holding court for many days, there was a pile of official business accumulated. Added to that was the investigation into the murder case involving Ning'an and others and the Heavenly Music House, which left him quite overwhelmed.
Princess Ning'an approached the Emperor.
Eunuch Wei brought a small stool and placed it beside the Emperor.
Princess Ning'an sat down gracefully, looking at the Emperor gently. "Am I disturbing imperial brother?"
The Emperor smiled, "No, please sit. Zhen has said you can come whenever you want. You will never be a disturbance to Zhen."
Princess Ning'an remembered, "I recall that when we were children, imperial brother often said the same. As an imperial prince, imperial brother had heavy studies. Every time I went to find imperial brother, he was always studying."
The Emperor sighed with emotion, "Zhen was not favored by imperial father. If Zhen didn’t strive to impress him with studies, Zhen feared that imperial father would forget that he had this son."
Princess Ning'an turned to him, full of admiration. "But ultimately, imperial brother stabilized the throne."
"That was thanks to imperial mother." Mentioning Empress Dowager Zhuang, the Emperor felt a pang of emotion. "You probably don’t know, during the years you were away, Zhen and imperial mother went through a lot."
Though the Emperor despised Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, he couldn't bear to see Ning'an hurt, so he didn't disclose the crimes instigated by Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing against Empress Dowager Zhuang. But now, brought up suddenly, he couldn't help but talk about it.
"... Zhen was drugged, causing Zhen to be estranged from imperial mother, and as a result, Zhen did many things that hurt her. Looking back now, imperial mother helped Zhen ascend to the throne, and yet Zhen treated her like this... She must have been very sad."
Princess Ning'an said softly, "Now that misunderstandings have been cleared, imperial brother shouldn't blame himself for the past."
The Emperor felt ashamed, "Zhen always blamed imperial mother for meddling in state affairs, but if not for that, the country might have fallen into the hands of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and the remnants of the previous dynasty long ago."
Princess Ning'an lowered her head.
The Emperor said earnestly, "Ning'an, that woman is not worthy of being your mother. You should only have imperial mother in your heart; she is the one who truly loves and protects you."
Princess Ning'an smiled, "Ning'an knows, Ning'an will be filial to imperial mother, and also to imperial brother."
The Emperor smiled with relief.
Princess Ning'an's gaze shifted, "By the way, imperial brother, I saw Lord Xiao in imperial mother's palace just now."
The Emperor thought for a moment, "Liulang?"
There weren't many male outsiders allowed into Empress Dowager Zhuang's chamber, and the only one surnamed Xiao was Xiao Liulang.
Princess Ning'an nodded, "Yes, imperial mother calls him Liulang. It seems Lord Xiao also came for the Ministry of Justice's case, but I didn't catch what he specifically said."
The Emperor recalled, "Indeed, there was such a thing. He also came to the imperial study earlier and said that the suspect from the Heavenly Music House case had awakened."
"Is really awake?" Princess Ning'an asked.
"Hmm?" The Emperor looked at Princess Ning'an strangely.
"This matter concerns the reputation of the imperial family, so I’m paying special attention to it. I hope I haven't overstepped?"
The Emperor chuckled, "How could you?"
"That's good then." Ning'an smiled with relief. "From the dossier, it seems she was drugged with something called Seven-Days Drunken, which supposedly causes a person to be in a coma for seven days."
At the mention of this, the Emperor laughed, "With our little miracle physician around, none of these are difficult."
Princess Ning'an glanced at the memorandums on the table and asked casually, "Has she confessed?"
The Emperor said, "She's still being interrogated." contemporary romance
Princess Ning'an tapped her nose lightly with a handkerchief, "Imperial brother, should we have someone go check on her?"
The Emperor pondered for a moment before saying, "That's a good idea."
This time, the Emperor sent Eunuch He.
Eunuch He had never been exposed before Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, but the Emperor didn't avoid mentioning him in front of Princess Ning'an. Perhaps it was because Ning'an had suffered hardships on the border, which increased his trust and affection for her.
Eunuch He returned quickly while Princess Ning'an was still in the imperial study.
He reported, "Reporting back to Your Majesty, the suspect named Hua Xiyao has indeed awakened. Minister Xing personally interrogated her, but she refuses to say anything and doesn't eat or drink. It seems she intends to starve herself to death."
"Does the Heavenly Music House know she's awake?"
It was Princess Ning'an who asked that question.
She seemed to be showing particular interest in the case.
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