Chapter 72

In spring, peach blossoms bloom in profusion, their petals falling like rain. Pink buds sway in the breeze, like fairies dancing gracefully. The fragrance of flowers fills the air, and the entire peach blossom manor is like a dreamlike fairyland.

On the mountain path, a group of elegantly dressed women, accompanied by maids and guards, came to enjoy the spring scenery. Their clothes were fragrant, their hair was elegant, and they chatted and laughed.

"The peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms are bright and beautiful."

A cluster of peach blossoms blooms unattended, lovely in both deep and light red.

Several noble ladies, who considered themselves learned, couldn't help but compose poems in their honor.

"Oh."

Princess Qinghe, who was walking at the front, suddenly sneered.

The noble ladies were somewhat displeased, but dared not show it in the slightest; the emperor's younger sister was not someone they could afford to offend.

However, they couldn't help but grumble to themselves, "This Princess Qinghe has been confined to Cining Palace by His Majesty for half a month, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures. How come her temperament is still so bad? Has she not been influenced by Buddha at all?"

If His Majesty hadn't been busy dealing with the Xuanwu Marquis's household lately and hadn't paid attention to her, and if the Empress Dowager hadn't been protecting her, who knows how long she would have been imprisoned.

His Majesty doesn't have much affection for his younger sister.

Who told Princess Qinghe to abandon her own brother and spend all her time fawning over the deposed crown prince and Prince Li?

I wonder if Princess Qinghe helped the deposed crown prince and Prince Li to bully His Majesty, his own brother, back then?

Tsk tsk, it's laughable that the Empress Dowager and Princess Qinghe were so eager to curry favor with the deposed Crown Prince and Prince Li, but in the end, it was their own son (and older brother) whom they looked down on the most and had given up on long ago who ascended to the throne.

As a result, the two people who should have been closest to the emperor by blood are now in a lower position than the two powerful eunuchs, Sun Zhong and Mo Zhi.

How ridiculous!

But who could have imagined that the deposed crown prince, who was originally in a sure-fire way to win, would fail and die, while the legitimate prince, whom no one believed in and who was even exiled to the border, would actually be able to fight his way back to the capital and seize the entire country?

However, these noble ladies could only watch the jokes about Princess Qinghe and the Empress Dowager from the sidelines.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; if those two were truly determined to deal with them, it wouldn't be difficult.

Princess Qinghe glanced disdainfully at the group of sycophants behind her, "Who said these peach blossoms are unclaimed?"

Everyone was disgusted by her attitude, but what did Princess Qinghe mean?

Princess Qinghe pointed to the dreamlike manor nestled among peach blossoms on the mountain, "That's Peach Blossom Manor, where my father..."

Princess Qinghe paused for a moment before continuing, "The manor bestowed upon my imperial brother."

Everyone froze, staring at the manor in disbelief.

So this is Peach Blossom Manor!

Because this manor was bestowed upon His Majesty in a way that was almost an insult to the current emperor, few people in the capital bothered to investigate it, treating it merely as a joke to be told over tea.

After His Majesty ascended the throne, no one dared to investigate further.

Therefore, not many people actually know the exact address of Peach Blossom Manor.

At this moment, the noble ladies looked at the beautiful manor, which was as beautiful as a fairyland, and couldn't help but wonder if the late emperor had really humiliated His Majesty instead of bestowing a favor upon him.

However, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

The noble ladies were filled with unease.

Is His Majesty's territory a place one can trespass upon at will?

Do they think they're living too long?

The noble ladies were devastated by the thought of His Majesty's reputation for cruelty.

It's not that no one has thought that once the new emperor ascends the throne, they could enter the palace, receive his favor, and strive for a glorious peak.

However, there must have been many women sent to the palace by their families over the years.

But their fate was either sudden death or being sidelined, never even getting to see the emperor, which was no different from being a widow.

Gradually, the noble ladies became genuinely afraid.

They were born into wealth, and even if they were to marry into another powerful family through a family alliance, they could still live a life of luxury and wealth. Isn't that better than entering the palace where life and death are uncertain?

Princess Qinghe's face suddenly turned pale.

Isn't she afraid of that tyrant?

But……

"I heard that the joint trial of Marquis Xuanwu and his son by the three judicial authorities will be held in the next few days."

Princess Minghui suddenly said something.

The other noble ladies were stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that Princess Qinghe had not given up on saving Prince Shangguan.

Two days ago, Princess Qinghe rushed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation immediately after leaving the Cining Palace, intending to kneel and beg His Majesty to spare Shangguan Hao.

However, His Majesty did not even see her, and said that if she really missed Shangguan Hao so much, she should go to the Eastern Depot's prison to keep him company.

Princess Qinghe was so frightened that she could only slink away.

Everyone thought she had given up.

I didn't expect she still had such wicked intentions!

Princess Qinghe is genuinely sincere towards Prince Shangguan.

Everyone was unsure whether to feel a sense of admiration or sarcasm.

But what is Princess Qinghe doing at Peach Blossom Manor?

Surely His Majesty isn't here?

The noble ladies looked at her in horror and exclaimed, "Your Highness, what are you going to do?"

If she wants to anger the tyrant, she should do it herself. Why drag these unlucky bunch into it?

What did they do to offend her?

Princess Qinghe showed absolutely no remorse or guilt, stating matter-of-factly, "Didn't you all want to come with me? Did I beg you?"

The noble ladies: "..."

If this woman hadn't been a princess, they would have killed her on the spot!

Princess Qinghe sneered, "The law does not punish the masses. We were just passing by my brother's manor. What could he possibly do to us?"

Everyone was speechless again.

"So, Your Highness, His Majesty is really at Peach Blossom Manor?"

Princess Minghui was the first to react.

Princess Qinghe remained silent.

Prince Li told her that the emperor had been coming to Peach Blossom Manor for some time now, and that it might hold a very important secret of the emperor, or it might be her only chance to save Shangguan Hao.

Is Princess Qinghe afraid of Emperor Chengyuan?

Fear to the core!

She could never forget the night Emperor Chengyuan stormed into the palace. Dressed in a black robe and wielding a silver sword, he was like a god of death descending upon the world, coldly slaughtering people. Human lives were as worthless as grass in his eyes. His robes and sword were dripping with hot blood, but there was no madness in his eyes, only a godlike indifference.

Princess Qinghe only came to her senses and screamed when the head of the noble Crown Prince, whom she considered high above, rolled to her feet...

That terrifying scene became a lifelong nightmare for her!

If she could, Princess Qinghe would never want to face that terrible imperial brother.

But she really couldn't just stand by and watch Shangguan Hao die!

So, even though she was terrified, she still came.

She brought along this group of noble ladies with a sliver of hope.

These are all women from royal and noble families. No matter how cruel my brother is, he couldn't possibly kill them all, could he?

The noble ladies roared: Hasn't His Majesty killed enough members of the royal family and powerful figures over the years?

Killing them would just be adding another casualty.

Sorry, they're not playing along!

Princess Qinghe gritted her teeth, "If you dare to leave, I will tell my brother that you are helping your families spy on the Emperor's secrets!"

"Princess Qinghe!"

The noble ladies glared at her angrily.

However, Princess Qinghe stubbornly refused to back down.

In the end, with no other choice, everyone could only resentfully and miserably accompany Princess Qinghe up the mountain to their deaths!

They only hope that His Majesty will not kill them on sight, but will allow them to plead their case.

They will definitely file a complaint against Princess Qinghe!

However, the direction of the peach blossom forest was hard to discern. The peach blossom manor looked not far away, but they could not get there no matter what they did. They wandered around and did not know where they had gone.

Everyone became even more uneasy and kept blaming Princess Qinghe.

"Pick the newly opened peach blossoms, not the ones that have been open for a long time, and also not the buds."

Then a soft, sweet girl's voice rang out, startling everyone. Their minds immediately conjured up all sorts of ghostly and terrifying images.