Chapter 82 Settling The Chaos

In Shuya Palace, Lady Shu sat in her chair. Her servants and maids knelt before her.

The silence was broken when a maid rushed in. She walked up to Lady Shu and spoke, "Your Highness, Qiwu Palace is being guarded at His Majesty's order. I couldn't find out what was going on inside."

Lady Shu sprang to her feet. "What? Guarded?"

Lady Shu tried to understand why the Emperor would do such a thing, but she couldn't come up with a plausible explanation. "That's strange. The Empress was the one who got hurt. Why would her Palace be guarded? If she did have a miscarriage, then I should be guarded. After all, she tried to set me up in front of everyone. The spectators would think that I pushed her to the ground. So I should be the one to blame. Even if she is all right, I should also be the one who got blamed. By now, His Majesty should have come to scold me."

"I find it confusing too. What happened earlier was quite a mess. First one physician was rushed to Qiwu Palace. Then every single physician from the Imperial Hospital was called there. I really thought that Her Majesty's health must have worried the Emperor. But then His Majesty rushed out in anger, so I went to see what happened. But before I could get more information, the Palace was guarded." Lady Shu's maid added as she was confused at what she had seen.

"Who else was in Qiwu Palace besides the Empress?" Lady Shu asked.

The maid hurriedly answered her. "Princess Hui Guo was also there. When His Majesty was sending the Empress back to her Palace, the Princess followed them. And His Majesty left earlier than her."

Lady Shu nodded. "Let's sit tight and see how things go. If the situation still remains so unclear tomorrow, I will go to Qingxin Palace to find out myself."

The maid nodded. Then the maid looked at the other maids and servants who were still on their knees. Seeing this, Lady Shu waved to let them leave. "Excuse yourselves. You're of no use."

The servants on the ground conveyed their gratitude before standing and leaving.

After everyone had left, the maid started to talk again. "Your Highness, His Majesty has asked people to investigate the accident that happened during the Ceremony."

Lady Shu smiled. She reveled in the Empress's misfortune. "I had almost forgotten. The esteemed Empress made a huge mistake today. Let them do whatever they need to. I didn't do this anyway. The worst that can happen is that I get blamed for bad management. The garment was made by Shangyi Bureau, and although I am in charge of the imperial household, I had no business in it. But I am really curious about the person who is behind all this. Who was it that punished the Empress for me? That was a really nice move. Good for him. And even though His Majesty banned us from talking about the accident, I'm sure the officials who love to gossip will tell everyone that the Empress is a bane for us all when they get back home. She'll be seen as the cursed one. Si'er, what have they found out?"

The maid who was called Si'er quickly answered. "Your Highness, as you said, given that we didn't do it, we are not the target of their investigation now."

Lady Shu nodded and smiled coldly. Then she continued, "What bothers me is that the Empress was acting really odd today. I've never seen her like this before. Even if she believed that I was the one who framed her, she shouldn't have just come at me. Besides, with her pregnant body, fighting like that would definitely kill her baby. Is that what she wanted? Why on earth would she do that?"

Lady Shu was more confused than ever. She wondered who was behind all this. Who had planned the accident in front of everyone at the Ceremony? And why was the Empress so determined to risk her baby? And what was happening with the Empress now?

These questions kept everyone awake in the Palace that night.

The next day, the guards that had been placed outside of Qiwu Palace were still there. And even though Emperor Ning had given strict orders not to speak about the accident, the news that a Xiong character appeared on the Empress's back during the Ceremony had been heard by all. The commoners were panicking. They believed that the Empress had sinned so greatly that the Heavens were punishing her. Even worse, they thought that her punishment was a warning of an upcoming disaster.

Lady Shu hurried to Qingxin Palace with her maids. When she arrived, Yun Shang was reading through Buddhist sutras. She murmured something that didn't make sense to Lady Shu.

Lady Shu sat and waited patiently for Yun Shang to give her attention. Eventually, Yun Shang smiled, "Lady Shu, when did you arrive? I didn't notice."

Lady Shu smiled and said, "I've been here for a while. You were reading the sutras, so I didn't interrupt you."

Yun Shang smiled and asked Qin Yi to make tea for Lady Shu.

Lady Shu waved to refuse. "Thank you, but that's not necessary. I came here today to ask for a favor. Yesterday, Her Majesty and I had a little misunderstanding. After I returned to my Palace, I was regretful about what I had done. But I was afraid I'd upset her more if I went to apologize.

as arrived. He is at Qinzheng Hall playing chess with His Majesty right now. His Majesty sent me here to inform you. Would you like to join them, Your Highness?"

"Of course, " said Yun Shang with joy in her eyes. "It's been a long time since I last saw Master Wu Na. Please wait for a moment. I'll fetch my cloak and accompany you to Qinzheng Hall."

Qin Yi hurriedly walked to the inner hall. She took out Yun Shang's cloak and draped it over the Princess's shoulders. Master Zheng looked at them and smiled. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the cloak that Prince Jing gave to His Majesty? I remembered that it was rewarded to Your Highness by His Majesty."

"Well." Yun Shang acted as if surprised. "I only know that it's a gift that shows father's love for me. I didn't know its origin. Turns out it was given by uncle."

Master Zheng nodded and smiled. Then he followed Yun Shang to Qinzheng Hall.

At Qinzheng Hall, Master Wu Na and the Emperor were playing chess. When Yun Shang arrived, they were tied in the game. So Yun Shang stood aside without interrupting them. After a long while, the Emperor laughed happily. "Master, you're getting better at chess these days. You won."

Master Wu Na touched his beard and smiled. "Your Majesty must have been very busy with national affairs, so you have had little time to practice. Now, even Yun Shang plays better than you."

Then Emperor Ning saw Yun Shang standing on the side. He stuck out his tongue and said with a smile. "Really? I didn't know that she was good at chess."

"Of course. After all, she was taught by..." Before Wu Na could say Xiao Yuanshan, he felt a slight pain on his back. He quickly realized that Yun Shang had pinched him before he could divulge who had taught the Princess to play chess. So he coughed and said, "She was taught by me, hand in hand."

Emperor Ning felt happy. "You have taught Shang'er a lot. I couldn't thank you enough."

Wu Na smiled. "Amitabha Buddha. We just happen to have the same hobby. As for the recent issue, Her Highness wrote me a letter. And I've also heard a lot along my way here. Though lying is forbidden, I'll break that rule once, for this is a national matter. Helping the people is a worthy cause. I will take Buddha's punishment, if there is any. Don't worry."

Emperor Ning was more than grateful at Master Wu Na's reassurance.

The next day, Master Wu Na made his way to the most prosperous place in the Imperial City. As a Buddhist monk, and a revered one at that, Master Wu Na was pious and free of secular desires. Upon hearing that Master Wu Na was in the city, the commoners rushed to catch a glimpse of the Master. The crowd elbowed and nudged each other to get in front. When asked, Wu Na answered, "The other day, I was observing the stars above the Imperial City and saw an ill omen. So I hurried here. To my surprise, last night a red glow suffused the whole sky. That was a sign from the Heavens indicating a virtuous lady. With her presence, there's no need to worry. Satisfied that all is well, I will now return to my temple."

Within a day, Wu Na's words spread like wildfire. No one focused on the Empress and the Ceremony. Instead, they all discussed Wu Na's message and what it meant. If the topic of the Empress came up in passing, they brushed it aside and re-directed the conversation to Wu Na's message. In their minds, the Empress must have been responsible for the ill omen.