Chapter 236 Roll into the Palace

When Princess Fu saw Princess Rongning, she embraced her and burst into tears: "Rongning, your mother thought she would never see you again in this life, my Rongning..."

Princess Rongning was also in tears, but she made no sound, like a wooden doll whose soul had been taken away.

"Rong Ning, what's wrong?" Princess Fu touched her daughter's face and arm, her heart filled with panic.

Rong Ning seemed to have suffered a great shock.

Prince Fu said, "Alright, you may escort the princess back to her room."

Several maids and old women responded in unison.

Princess Rongning stood still.

Prince Fu frowned: "Rong Ning, have you forgotten what your imperial uncle said?"

Princess Rongning looked straight at Prince Fu: "I want my maid."

"His Majesty has said that, apart from you, everyone else will be temporarily placed under the supervision of the Dali Temple, including your two maids. Rong Ning, you mustn't act recklessly at a time like this."

“Willful?” Princess Rongning clenched her fist, letting her nails dig into the scabbed wounds on her palms. “Eight maids… eight girls about my age, only… only two of them came back. Xi Jiang and the others risked their lives to protect me on my way back to Daxia, dreaming of going home. Now that I’ve returned after surviving a near-death experience, I’m imprisoned in Dali Temple. Why? I don’t understand why!”

The girl, who had barely shed a tear when she desperately fled Xijiang, was now weeping uncontrollably, appearing almost insane.

Princess Fu was terrified by Princess Rongning's reaction and quickly hugged her to comfort her: "Rongning, don't worry. Have your father and the Dali Temple speak to them and bring your maid back."

“How can that be?” Prince Fu said with disapproval. “Rong Ning has caused such a big mess. Letting her return to the palace is already a lenient gesture. We can’t push our luck.”

"Taking an inch and wanting a mile?" Princess Fu sneered angrily. "If the Prince hadn't volunteered to push Rong Ning forward back then, none of this would have happened. Now you're blaming Rong Ning? Did Rong Ning agree to this?"

Prince Fu pointed at Princess Fu and said, "You should protect her."

“I am her mother, who else should I protect if not her? If the prince won’t go, I will go myself.” Princess Fu patted Princess Rongning’s arm. “Rongning, go back to your room and wait. Your mother will definitely bring the maid back to you.”

A glimmer of light finally returned to Princess Rongning's numb and empty eyes, and she moved her dry lips: "Mother—"

"Don't cry." Princess Fu took a handkerchief and wiped away her daughter's tears before walking out.

Prince Fu chased after him and stopped him, saying, "Don't be ridiculous."

Princess Fu said expressionlessly, "Either I go, or Your Highness goes. Your Highness, you choose."

Upon meeting the resolute gaze of the Princess Consort of Fu, the Prince of Fu's momentum faltered: "Go if you're not afraid of being laughed at."

Princess Fu immediately left the Prince Fu's residence, but instead of going to the Dali Temple, she went to the palace to meet the Emperor Jingping. She burst into tears upon seeing the Emperor.

"Two maids have risked their lives alongside Rong Ning. Without them by her side, Rong Ning can't even eat. Regardless of whether Rong Ning did the right thing or the wrong thing, she suffered too much in Xijiang. Your Majesty, please have pity on Rong Ning..."

Emperor Jingping was fond of refined tastes and pleasures, and correspondingly, he was easily swayed and had a soft heart. Upon hearing Princess Fu's tears, he quickly agreed.

There's no need for his head to ache from the crying of two maids listening to women.

Two maids were brought back to the Prince of Fu's mansion from the Dali Temple. As soon as they saw Princess Rongning, they grabbed her arms on either side and started sobbing.

"Your Highness, I thought I would never see you again."

Princess Rongning gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Don't call me Your Highness, just call me Princess. I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Xiuying, Xiuyu... all the maids who grew up playing Cuju with her since childhood are gone. Aheng and Lord Xue are also missing, their fates unknown. This home feels so meaningless.

On her first night back in the capital of Great Xia, Princess Rongning fell asleep with tears in her eyes.

Not long after Princess Rongning returned, the third urgent report arrived.

The Xijiang army invaded the border city, and the two armies clashed.

In the council hall, Emperor Jingping flew into a rage: "Killing the King of Xijiang was not enough! He even killed a princess and a prince, causing the prince's tribe to invade under the pretext of avenging the King of Xijiang... Xue Quan, what a fine son you raised!"

Xue Quan, no longer enjoying the emperor's favor, knelt on the ground, his face covered in dust and grime: "It's all my fault, please punish me, Your Majesty."

He knew Emperor Jingping's temperament well; the more he tried to explain himself at this time, the worse he would get.

Xue Han, you little bastard, you've really ruined my life! If you come back alive, I'll teach you a lesson!

When he thought of the urgent report that Xue Han and Qiu Heng had jumped off a cliff together, Xue Quan felt distressed again.

You heartless bastard, you've cut off the Xue family's lineage!

He said that Qiu Liu was a menace, and sure enough, she killed Han'er. He only regretted not making up his mind to kill that girl sooner.

After scolding Xue Quan, Emperor Jingping's anger was still not appeased, and he shouted sternly, "Tell the Earl of Yongqing to get into the palace!"

The messenger was a eunuch who delivered the imperial edict to the Yongqing Earl's residence, relaying Emperor Jingping's words verbatim.

The Earl of Yongqing had been living in fear and anxiety because of the death of King Xijiang. Today, with this imperial edict, he felt as if a stone had finally been thrown down his throat.

The Emperor is about to take action against the Yongqing Marquis's Mansion!

With a heavy heart, the Earl of Yongqing followed the eunuch into the palace. When they arrived at the gate of the council hall, he remembered the eunuch's words, lay down on the ground, and rolled into the hall with practiced ease.

Even though Emperor Jingping was furious, he paused for a moment when he saw the Earl of Yongqing suddenly roll in, and forgot to react.

The ministers in the palace were utterly astonished.

Uncle Yongqing is really shameless. With such a thick skin, if it weren't for his particularly troublesome granddaughter, he might actually have had a good life.

"Your subject, Earl Yongqing Qiuwu, greets Your Majesty." Earl Yongqing rolled over one last time and prostrated himself on the ground to pay his respects.

Emperor Jingping looked at the disarrayed hair of the Earl of Yongqing, and his anger subsided to eight-tenths. He coldly asked, "Earl of Yongqing, do you know what your granddaughter Qiuheng has done?"

Uncle Yongqing lay on his stomach, looking up blankly, but feeling wronged inside.

Now they say she's his granddaughter, but when the sixth girl was made the Princess of Suiyun, nobody remembered her grandfather.

"I do not know."

"She and Xue Han killed Princess Xijiang and the prince, causing border war!"

The Earl of Yongqing was shocked: "Your Majesty, is there a mistake in the report? Qiu Heng grew up in the countryside and is more robust and agile than ordinary women, but if we're talking about murder, then, wasn't it Xue Han who did it?"

At this point, Xue Quan probably wouldn't care about anything else.

Upon hearing this, Xue Quan's mouth twisted in anger, but he dared not jump out to argue.

"I'm talking about those two!" Emperor Jingping roared.

In reality, Xi Jiangjun was referring to Qiu Heng killing Princess Duoya and Prince Chiyan. It was just that the border generals of Da Xia thought that the barbarians might have some mental issues, so they naturally put Xue Han first in the urgent report.

"I've been wondering how Rong Ning, who was pampered growing up, could have the audacity to assassinate the King of Xijiang. Now it seems she was probably bewitched by Qiu Heng, and Xue Han had no choice but to cooperate in order to save them..."

Upon hearing this, the Earl of Yongqing was struck dumb.

(End of this chapter)