Eight-year-old Princess: Phoenix Reborn Chapter 42

   Chapter 42 Punishing Qin Meng

Yun Shang thought about the previous night for a moment and guessed what might have happened. She looked up at Qin Yi. Mischief danced in her eyes. "I'm in no hurry. I will have my breakfast before I deal with the Qin Meng situation."

Qin Yi nodded and then turned to leave. She stepped out and spoke with the messenger standing outside. A short while later, a maid-in-waiting brought breakfast to the Palace. Qin Yi took it from the maid with a smile. She said to Yun Shang, "You have red bean porridge for breakfast. Looks delicious."

Yun Shang nodded and explained herself, "You see, there is always trouble. Qin Meng certainly is troublesome."

Qin Yi put the dishes on the table while saying, "I forget that we are now in Prince Jing's Mansion instead of at our own. Qin Meng deserves to be punished. Someone had to teach her a lesson. Then she would know that she can't just do whatever she wants to do, wherever she goes, and whenever she pleases."

Yun Shang smiled. She tucked into a bowl of red bean porridge before picking up an egg roll from the plate. After breakfast, Yun Shang took a nap before finally deciding to deal with Qin Meng. She asked a servant to lead her to the so-called forbidden area in the Prince's Mansion.

Qin Meng was kneeling in front of the door of the forbidden area. She must have been kneeling for a long time for she could barely stay straight. Hearing a noise, she looked up slowly and, upon seeing Yun Shang, her eyes brightened. She straightened her upper body and said with tears in her eyes, "Princess, help me, please. I just wanted a private place to relieve myself. But the mansion is so large that I couldn't find a servant to guide me. It was during my search that I stumbled here. I didn't know that this is the forbidden area. Princess, help me…"

Yun Shang frowned and walked towards Qin Meng quickly. With an anxious expression, she reprimanded the maid. "Qin Meng, how could you be so careless? We are now in Prince Jing's Mansion. You are not allowed to walk around freely. You have caused offense to my uncle, Prince Jing. I am unable to save you…"

"I didn't mean harm. Princess, please go beg the Prince to forgive me." said Qin Meng. Tears gushed out of her eyes. Fearful of the consequences, Qin reached out and grabbed Yun Shang's tunic.

"Those who enter the forbidden area without permission are executed. For the Princess's sake, our Prince won't order your death. However, the fact remains that you entered the forbidden area, regardless of whether you did it on purpose or not. You have been absolved from execution, but some punishment is inevitable. Since you dared to walk around as you saw fit, you should also accept the consequences." said the butler coldly. He remained unmoved with Qin Meng's plight.

"Princess, help me, please. Go beg the Prince to forgive me." said Qin Meng. Having heard the butler, her anxiety increased and her voice reached a piercing intensity. She bit her lip and looked pale as she waited for the Princess to respond.

Suddenly, a deep voice rose above the clamor and chaos. Yun Shang turned round and saw Prince Jing-Luo Qingyan enter the room.

"My Prince, she entered into the forbidden area yesterday. She is the Princess's maid-in-waiting." said the butler reverently as he stepped forward and bowed.

Prince Jing caught a glimpse of Yun Shang. Their eyes connected for a brief moment before he looked away. "What does the Princess say about this?"

Yun Shang smiled and spoke calmly, "I brought Qin Meng here. She made this mistake because I didn't discipline her well. Innocence does not equal guilt or crime. I beg you not to punish her too severely."

Prince Jing thought for a while and nodded. "Do as the Princess said. Qin Meng will face a relatively light punishment." With these words, he looked at the maid-in-waiting who was still dressed in pink. The maid-in-waiting seemed relieved. Prince Jing raised the corners of his mouth grimly and said, "Those who entered into the forbidden area in the past, are all dead now. For she is the personal maid of Princess Yun Shang, she can stay alive. Just break her legs as punishment."

On hearing this, Yun Shang retracted the smile in her eyes. A look of surprise showed on her face. The butler nodded his head and replied, "Yes, my Prince."

As the Prince's words sunk in, Qin Meng lost the relief she felt when the Prince had announced a lighter punishment. Her eyes filled with consternation. Suddenly, she rose to her feet and screamed, "No… You can't do this to me…"

"Too noisy, " said Prince Jing. As Prince Jing frowned, a guard put a gag on the maid.

Prince Jing turned around to look at Yun Shang. He said, "When the punishment is executed, there will be a violent and bloody scene. Princess, you'd better leave to avoid seeing it."

"But Qin Meng…" said Yun Shang hesitantly. She frowned and looked at Qin Meng. Her tears ran freely down her face and blue veins stood out on her brow.

"Princess, don't plead for her again. I have shown enough mercy." After saying this, Prince Jing turned round and walked away.

Yun Shang stopped and glanced at Qin Meng, then did a double-take. As soon as she noticed that Prince Jing was no longer in the same courtyard, she ran after him.

As they went out of the courtyard, Yun Shang said gently, "I owe you a debt of gratitude, my uncle."

Prince Jing said softly, "Well." After a while, he added, "How can I trust you if you are unable to get rid of those who intend you harm? This time I have punished Qin Meng for you. Next time, you have deal with such people yourself."

On hearing this, Yun Shang became annoyed. She nodded and said, "I see."

With no more words to be shared, Prince Jing quickened to leave, walking further and further away from Yun Shang.

"Princess, Qin Meng is a good-for-nothing now. How pleasant it is to see her end up like this. The Empress managed to put her by your side, but she was turned into a useless person by the Prince before she did anything useful for the Empress. It is the Prince that punished Qin Meng. You did not hurt her. Nobody can attribute her punishment to you. What a wonderful thing it is to get rid of her without doing anything." said Qin Yi with excitement.

Yun Shang stood still and looked into the distant bamboo grove. Joy didn't appear on her face. She said, "Letting her stay by my side is not necessarily a bad thing. I had thought I could make use of her later. I had never thought that she would be punished by the Prince… It's just as well. I don't have to be vigilant all the time without an agent of the Empress by my side."

"Princess, you can take the chance to place several trustworthy servants by your side." said Qin Yi. This was the first time since her return from the Temple that Qin Yi felt completely at ease.

Yun Shang nodded and said, "We will set out for our Palace once the Prince's servants send Qin Meng back.

Yun Shang wanted to meet with Prince Jing privately for two reasons. The first was to get a little space from the Imperial Palace and its on-going schemes, and the second to ally with someone who disliked the Empress as much as she did. Now that she got what she wanted, there was no reason to stay. Besides, Prince Jing's would set off interesting events in the Imperial Palace. How could she miss that?

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