"What? You mean Prince Jing had been in Yuman Tower before we got there?" Hua Jing stood up so abruptly that she spilled the tea on her hand. Fortunately it was not hot. Hua Jing waved to dry her hand before stretching it out towards the maid by her side.
Her mind was racing in all directions all at once. "So Prince Jing lied to us at Yuman Tower? He had no reason to lie to us if nothing had happened. Is it possible that he heard us?"
"Your Imperial Highness, what should we do?" Bing'er was getting nervous. "It seems that Prince Jing and Princess Hui Guo are on close terms. Is it possible that Princess Hui Guo knew about all this?"
Hua Jing withdrew her hand, and considered her maid's question. Then she shook her head, "No, it seems not. Had Yun Shang been aware of our plans, she wouldn't have come to my Palace."
Hua Jing sat on a chair and pondered. She frowned as she thought of something else. "Have your met with Brother Bai. What did he say?"
Bing'er shook her head. She looked uneasy. "Your Imperial Highness, I haven't seen Brother Bai even though I have asked everybody for his whereabouts. I ran into one of his underlyings who told me that Brother Bai, after learning of the failed plan, escaped. He was fearful of being caught."
"What?" Hua Jing slammed the table in her fury, "That rogue! I should not have trusted him! I would not have had him in my service but for my prudence to keep His Majesty from getting wind of this matter! Send someone to find him and then eliminate him."
"Yes." Bing'er replied in haste.
Hua Jing sighed, "Brother Bai is just a nobody. It will not be a problem removing him. But Prince Jing... If Prince Jing is aware of this matter, I can go straight to him to negotiate some conditions. But I'm afraid of the consequences if he knows nothing and I tell him everything. We cannot be rash in this matter. I have to seek an opportunity to test him before I can make a decision. After all, Prince Jing is a person we cannot afford to offend."
Hua Jing winced and pondered for a little while. "We cannot tell this to mother. She already has enough to deal with now that the pregnant Lady Jin has asked to stay in Qiwu Palace for the sake of her pregnancy. I shall not make mother worry about me. I'll write an invitation later, which you should deliver to Prince Jing. You must tell Prince Jing that many talented youths and fair ladies in the Imperial City admire him. Since he is rarely seen in the Imperial City, they are longing for his presence at the monthly banquet. It would also be useful to make acquaintance with the versatile youngsters."
Bing'er replied, "Yes, I will do it soon."
Hua Jing nodded and waved to let Bing'er go. Then she turned toward Qing'er who was standing behind her. Hua Jing said softly, "Send someone to keep an eye on both Yun Shang and the old woman. If anything goes wrong, no excuse will win my pardon even though you have served me for many years."
Qing'er nodded.
"Go and fetch the lists of preparations for the banquet that will be held in seven days."
Qing'er scurried into the bedroom and returned with the sheep skin parchment. Hua Jing thumbed it through and said, "Send a message to Madam Xi. Ask her to pay a visit to Princess Hui Guo early tomorrow morning."
Qing'er nodded. Then Hua Jing stood up and walked towards the bedroom, parchment still in her hand, "Today has been a challenging day. We were so close to success. But alas, all our planning was for naught in the end."
"Don't be worried, Your Imperial Highness. Princess Hui Guo is staying in the Princess Palace, which is of course under the control of Your Imperial Highness. Wouldn't killing her be as simple as waving Your Imperial Highness' hand?" Qing'er followed Hua Jing and said with due respect.
"Ha, do you really think it is as easy as waving my hand? Certainly not. It's because she is living in my Palace that I need to be more careful and prudent. If she died here in my Palace, how would I defend myself when His Majesty looks into it? So... I have to make a smart plan. I don't have to kill her. But I can give her a miserable life. Being dead would pale in com
Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again. But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment. The man had already got what he wanted from her, but she couldn't understand why he still wanted to torture and haunt her.
Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex. To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him. "As long as I'm alive, I'm still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.
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parison to the horrors of being alive!" Hua Jing's month curled into a terrifying smile.
Hua Jing lingered in her chamber for some time. She was reading books when a voice outside the room announced, "Princess Hui Guo is requesting a visit."
Hua Jing lifted her head and winked at Qing'er. The maid went to the door, raised the curtain, and peeped. Then she turned around and said to Hua Jing, "Your Imperial Highness, Princess Hui Guo is here."
No sooner had Qing'er finished her sentence than Yun Shang could be heard, "Is sister in the chamber?"
Hua Jing stood up and walked outside, "Yes. I was reading something about the preparations of the banquet. Did you rest well in your room in the afternoon?"
Yun Shang flashed a gentle grin, "Yes, I did." Then she turned around and fetched a couple of rolls of parchment from Qin Yi. She said with a smile, "Sister, I planned to pay a visit to Lady Zhao. However, it seems that Lady Zhao does not like me. So I have delayed my visit to her lest I invite trouble for you and the Emperor's Son-in-law. It's by sheer coincidence that I overheard from you some time ago that Lady Zhao is a pious Buddhist. I know very little since I have only transcribed some Buddhist texts. A few rarely seen texts were among those that I reproduced while at Ning'guo Temple. It is said that Master Wu Na is the only one to own existing copies of these ancient Buddhist texts. Fortunately, I always carry some Buddhist texts with me. Since I brought them here, I would like to present them to Lady Zhao as a gift."
Hua Jing smiled at Yun Shang's explanation. She took the Buddhist texts from Yun Shang, unrolled them, and looked through them briefly. Then she said, "Your handwriting looks beautiful, no worse than mine. It seems those parchment have been preserved at Ning'guo Temple for a long time. They even smell of the particular incense used at the Temple. As you are so eager to do so, I cannot let you down. Well, I will take you to Lady Zhao right now."
A ray of ecstasy shimmered in Yun Shang's eyes. "Thank you very much, dear sister."
"All right. As those Buddhist texts are so heavy, why not let the maids carry them? Qing'er, help Princess Yun Shang with those heavy Buddhist texts!" Hua Jing turned around to look at Qing'er.
The maid nodded before stepping forward to take the rolls of parchments from Yun Shang.
"Thank you, Qing'er." Yun Shang nodded at the maid with a smile, and then walked around to catch up to Hua Jing.
A male servant was walking toward them as they stepped out of the courtyard. Hua Jing waved for him to approach, and then asked, "Where is Lady Zhao?"
The servant replied in a hurry, "Lady Zhao has been in the Buddhist Prayer Room since she returned this afternoon."
Hua Jing turned around to look at Yun Shang, and then said with a smile, "You are smart to prepare such a wonderful gift. My mother-in-law spends every minute of her free time in the Buddhist Prayer Room. But, Shang'er, after so many years at Ning'guo Temple, do you really think that the Buddha can help every prayer to become true? Somehow, I doubt it."
Yun Shang grinned, "It's not so magical. As far as I know, the Buddha is an ideal, something that allows people to acquire peace for their heart and soul. If you believe, it will manifest extraordinary powers, and if your don't, it will of course not."
Hua Jing nodded at Yun Shang before heading toward the Buddhist Prayer Room.
The humming of the Temple Block could been heard well before they reached the Buddhist Prayer Room. The two Princesses had a clear view of the interior from the doorway. In the middle of the hall stood a huge statue of Buddha. It must have been over 20 feet in height! Lady Zhao knelt before the statue. Her posture indicated that she was a woman who would not yield to anything.
"Mother." Hua Jing called out to the woman from the door of the Buddhist Prayer Room. She didn't show any inclination to enter the Room.
The woman inside kept silent. She was looking at the Temple Block and reciting Buddhist texts. After a moment she said, "This is rare. You seldom come to visit me. What happened today..."
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