Chapter 82 Settling The Chaos (1/2)

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.