Chapter 200 Sneaking Out Of The Imperial Palace (1/2)

Night fell. Yun Shang lay on the bench, sleepless. She was already dressed as she was expecting Prince Jing to come and lead her out of the Palace. But she had blown out all the lamps in her chamber. Yun Shang stared into the darkness in the room. Her eyes were wide open. Somehow, the moment reminded Yun Shang of her previous life. Jingran exposed his nature as a playboy shortly after their marriage. He fooled around with prostitutes in brothels day and night, and seldom returned home.

At first, Yun Shang cried and smashed things to vent her anger. She even went to the Empress to air her grievances. 'Although the Empress consoled me with gentle comforting words, she must have been glad in her heart of hearts when she heard all my pitiful stories, ' Yun Shang thought to herself. However, Yun Shang only incurred vicious blames from her mother-in-law for her cries and desperate behavior. Then Yun Shang gradually came to realize that there was no use in doing so. She finally accepted defeat. But she could no longer fall asleep at night. On those nights, Yun Shang could only stare into the pitch darkness in her room with a broken heart.

Spoiled by the Empress on purpose in her previous life, Yun Shang had never felt misery nor distress before her marriage. She had never imagined that she would sink into such an abyss of suffering one day. In her darkest moment, desperation was the only thing she could feel. However, her life worsened further as Jingran married many concubines. All of them were so vile and cunning that Yun Shang had suffered a lot at their hands.

”Bang!”

A strange noise originating near the window caught Yun Shang's attention. Yun Shang sat up and turned to look at the window. In the dim moonlight, she saw a person in white jump in from outside.

”Hmm? I thought you would be asleep. Why are you sitting here? You scared me.” Prince Jing said. He seemed exhausted. That surprised Yun Shang. She wondered what had happened to make the Prince so tired. She knew that His Majesty hadn't sent the Prince on any errand recently. How could he be so exhausted...

Yun Shang took off the quilt and left her bench. ”I have told Qian Yin and Qin Yi about our plan. Have you thought of how we're going to explain my absence?”

”Don't worry. I have thought of something.” Prince Jing said as he walked toward Yun Shang. She could not help but frown after she took a closer look at the Prince. Prince Jing sat down on the bench and let out a sigh. ”I heard that Ning Qian is very good at changing her facial appearance. How about letting Ning Qian stay at the Palace and impersonate you for a couple of days?”

Yun Shang wrinkled her brow as soon as she heard the Prince's suggestion. It seemed Jing Ying had indeed told the Prince everything about her. Yun Shang curled her mouth a bit in anger, and said, ”I have sent Ning Qian on another errand.”

Yun Shang could not afford to relax her precautions against the Li family when she was away from the Imperial City. She understood that the Empress would never be happy if her marriage was a success. She felt the need to take action before the Empress could hurt her. Yun Shang wanted to find such an opportunity to ensure that the Empress and Hua Jing faced a heavy setback. So, she sent Ning Qian on an important task.

Prince Jing nodded, ”Okay, let's go. But I'm a little tired. We will go to my mansion first. I'm in need of sleep.”

Yun Shang became more curious after hearing that. Although she had noticed Prince Jing's weariness, she hadn't expected that the Prince would admit to it candidly. And he even said he was in need of sleep! What had happened to make the Prince so exhausted? The Prince looked normal. They had met earlier in the day and she hadn't noticed any changes since their last meeting.