Eastern Palace Chapter 12

        I have always hated Li Cheng Yin, but I never wanted him to die.

        I pulled his hand, the corner of his mouth was covered in blood, but he laughed: "I have never seen you cried before....Are you scared that you will become a widow?....."

        At this moment he was joking around, I was crying even more, I hurriedly tried to cover the wound with my hand, but the wound kept leaking more blood, I was so scared. A lot of palace maids came in, some of them saw blood and fainted, the palace hall was in a state of confusion. I heard Pei Zhao giving out orders outside, he suddenly came in, it was as if I saw a life savior: "Pei General!"

        Seeing this situation, he immediately ordered people: "Hurry and go find the imperial physicians!"

        Afterwards he came forward, using his hands to examine Li Cheng Yin's acupuncture points. Seeing I was holding Li Cheng Yin very tightly, said: "Crown Princess, please let go of the Crown Princess, I would take care of the Crown Prince's wound."

        I was panicking, Pei Zhao seeing me in this state had calmed me down. I let go of Li Cheng Yin, he took off Li Cheng Yin's clothing and then wrinkled his eyebrow, I don't know what it meant when he wrinkled his eyebrow, but not too long after I knew what it meant because the imperial physicians quickly arrived, around half of the imperial physicians came to the Eastern Palace. The Emperor and Empress came to visit as well.

        I heard the imperial physicians telling the Emperor: "The wound is too deep, the Emperor please forgive us as we are incapable of treating the wound....."

        The Empress was already crying, using the handkerchief to wipe the tears. The Emperor's complexion was very hard to look at, I couldn't cry anymore, I need to wait for A'Du to come back.

        Pei Zhao already ordered some people to go chase after the a.s.sa.s.sin, I wasn't only worried about Li Cheng Yin, I was also worried about A'Du.

        A'Du finally came back at dawn, her injuries were very serious, she was carried by Pei Zhao's people. I called A'Du's name, she faintly opened her eyes and looked at me once. She wanted to lift her hand up, but she didn't have any strength left, only faintly moving her finger. I was looking at where she was looking at and she was looking at my clothes.

        My clothes were covered in blood, all Li Cheng Yin's blood. I understood what A'Du meant, I held her hand, holding myself from crying telling her: "I am alright."

        A'Du felt relieved, she placed a heavy object in my hand, and then she fainted.

        I felt pain, regret, and hatred.

        Li Cheng Yin was injured by the a.s.sa.s.sin because he stood in front of me, he pushed me to the side, I helplessly watch the long sword go into his body. Also, this person had injured A'Du as well.

         This was because of me, before we entered into Li Cheng Yin's place I told A'Du to give me her knife. A'Du went chasing after the a.s.sa.s.sin without her knife.

         Following me was my A'Du, using her life to protect me was my A'Du.

        I felt sorry for her, it was me that caused all the trouble, causing her to subst.i.tute for me to suffer hards.h.i.+p.

        I was crying very hard.

        No one consoled me, the Eastern Palace was in a disordered state, everyone was very concerned about Li Cheng Yin's injury. His injury was very serious, he might die soon, A'Du also might die soon. Li Cheng Yin, my husband, will die soon.

        I was crying for a long time until Pei Zhao came over and said: "Crown Princess." Afterwards said, "my people said that when they arrived at that moment, they could only see A'Du lying there unconscious and they couldn't see the a.s.sa.s.sin there, so they could only bring A'Du back. The nine gate is closed securely, so the a.s.sa.s.sin will not be able to escape. The Yu Lin army is actively searching for the a.s.sa.s.sin, so Crown Princess do not worry, the a.s.sa.s.sin would not be able to escape."

        I looked at the object that A'Du gave me, this object was very strange, it was a piece of wood with strange carving on it, I couldn't tell what it was.

        I gave the object to Pei Zhao: "This was given to me by A'Du, it might have something to do with the a.s.sa.s.sin."

        Pei Zhao sighed, he must have recognized this object. I asked: "What is this?"

        Pei Zhao  moved a step backwards and returned the piece of wood to me, said: "This is a very serious issue, Crown Princess please present this to the Emperor."

        I also thought I should present this to the Emperor, he was the Emperor, he was the father of my husband, he was the person with the most power. Someone tried to kill his son and kill A'Du, he must help us find the murderer.

        I wiped my tears, I let the palace maids go report that I wanted to see the Emperor.

        The Emperor and the Empress were still in the palace hall, the Emperor quickly let me in, I went inside and bowed to him: "Father."

        I barely get to see the Emperor, everytime I see him he would be sitting very far away, it was the first time seeing him this close. I realized he was just as old as my father, the hair on his temples were white.

         He was very polite to me, telling the people on the side: "Help support the Crown Princess to get up."

        I refused the palace maid's support: "A'Du chased the a.s.sa.s.sin and ended up getting injured, the Yu Lin army saved her and brought her back. She gave me this object,  I don't recognize this object, so I am giving this to your Majesty. This object may have something to do with the a.s.sa.s.sin." I lifted the piece of wood and tapped it, "Your Majesty please investigate."

        The palace maid took the wood and gave it to the Emperor, I saw the Emperor's complexion suddenly changed.

        He faced towards the Empress: "Mei Niang!"

        I just knew that the Empress's name was called Mei Niang.

        The Empress's complexion also changed, she suddenly pointed at me: "You! You are framing me!'

        I was confused, staring at her. The Empress kneeled down: Your Majesty please investigate, I raised Yin Er with my own hands, I spent my lifetime raising Yin Er, I would not harm him!"

        The Emperor did not say anything, the Empress turned around and blamed me: "Who influenced you to do this, suddenly using this method to frame me?"

        I couldn't even read the words from the Central Plains, I couldn't even read what was carved on the wood, I have not seen this object before, so I was only staring at the Empress in a confused state.

        The Emperor finally said something: "Mei Niang, she does not even recognize this object, how could she frame you?"

        The Empress became alarmed: "Your Majesty, you should not easily trust rumors. Why would I want to harm the Crown Prince? I raised Yin Er with my own hands, I regarded him as my own son......"

        The Emperor faintly said: "Own son.......Maybe not."

       The Empress covered her face and shed some tears: "Your Majesty, this phrase is just trying to expose that I have ulterior motives. Although I did not give birth to him, how am I different than a birth mother? When Yin Er was three months old, I brought him to the Central Palace and raised him with my own hands, teaching him how to behave, teaching him how to read......It was me that advise you to give him the t.i.tle as a Crown Prince, I spent my lifetime on him, why would I send someone to kill him?"

        The Emperor suddenly laughed: "Xu Bao Lin was innocent, why did you harm her?"

        The Empress lifted up her face and stared at the Emperor.

       " I don't pay attention to anything about the imperial harem, but it doesn't mean that I don't know, you doing so many evil deeds was enough. Why did you have to harm Xu Bao Lin, but also you wanted to get rid of Zhao Liang Di? Zhao Liang Di's father and brother hold ma.s.sive military power, if Li Cheng Yin ascends the throne in the future, even if we don't give her the t.i.tle of an Empress, we could still give her the t.i.tle of a imperial consort. Having them as in-laws, how could you mistreat them? Why are you worried about Li Cheng Yin ascending the throne? What are you afraid of? Are you scared that he would mistreat you? The Empress strongly said: "Why would I be worried?......Your Majesty saying this, I don't understand. "Yes, why did you have to worry?" The Emperor faintly said, "You are just worried that Yin Er might find out how his birth mother died."

        The Empress's complexion became dark, she fell to the ground.

        The Emperor said: "You are too eager, what harm can be caused if you just wait for twenty years more? Just wait until I die, Yin Er ascend the throne, give the t.i.tle of an Empress to Zhao Liang Di, then this would anger Western Liang and he would use force to win over Western Liang. However, this would cause the two countries to become enemies and the two countries would fight until the end. You are creating such a big fuss, using these tricks, is it because when the Crown Prince and Crown Princess got closer, it ruined your plans?"

        The Empress muttered: "We have been a married couple for thirty years, apparently I am this type of person in your heart."
　　

       "It's not that I think you are unbearable, it was your actions that were unbearable." The Emperor coldly said, "It was because you did a lot of malicious deeds. You caused Li Cheng Yin's mother's death I did not wrongly accuse you. You harmed Xu Bao Lin to the point she had a miscarriage, locked up Zhao Liang Di, I didn't question you when that happened, I thought you were doing all this to protect yourself. If Yin Er was not suitable to ascend the throne then he wouldn't be given the t.i.tle as a Crown Prince. Now you have become crazy even harming Yin Er, I can no longer hold it any longer. Even though he was not your own son, you even raised him, how could you do such things?" The Empress finally shed some tears: "I did not do it........Even if your Majesty does not believe me, but I didn't do it.....I did not get someone to harm Yin Er." My heart was shakened, I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I couldn't believe everything that I heard. The Empress was a n.o.ble and kind woman, but apparently she was a woman with a scheming heart. 　

        The Emperor said: "You did all those things, do you really want me to bring out all the witness and evidence, do you really want me to question you in court? If you admit everything, then as a married couple for thirty years I will keep you alive." The Empress's tears were like rain falling down: "Your Majesty, I am really innocent! I am innocent!" The Emperor coldly said: "Twenty years ago, you placed 
poison in Shu Fei's [1] medicine, right now half of the poison is still in the second cabinet. Do you want me to bring someone to bring the poison and allow you to swallow the rest of it?' Hearing the last phrase, the Empress fainted to the ground.

        Everything that happened tonight was like the sound of thunder that was so strong that it was about to explode to the point I became dumbstruck, I felt like I would become foolish.

        The Emperor turned around, pointed at me. I went towards him, and bowed in front of him. He reached out his hand and patted my head, said: "Child, don't be scared, Father is right here so no one will dare to hurt you. When Yin Er married you, it was my idea because I knew Western Liang women are the best and the most real." I was not afraid because his palm was very warm, like my own father's hand. He also looked like Li Cheng Yin, I was never afraid of Li Cheng Yin.

        The Emperor told me: "Take good care of Yin Er, he doesn't have a mother ever since he was young, if someone treats him well, he would give his heart out to them." Even if he doesn't tell me, I would've still taken good care of Li Cheng Yin.

        It was everything that happened today that made me scared, I was really scared. Everything in the palace was very scary, people are complicated like the Empress, I never expected that it was her who had caused Xu Bao Lin to have a miscarriage, and pus.h.i.+ng the blame to Zhao Liang Di. People's life in her eyes seems unimportant, unimportant than even an ant. Why did she also kill Li Cheng Yin's birth mother, is it because she want to take away her son?

        Everything was so scary, I was trembling with fear.

        Li Cheng Yin's injury was very serious, he was still unconscious after three days. I watching over him by his side.

        His wound became worse, he had a fever,  I could only open his mouth and slowly pour the medicine in his mouth.

       I felt like he may not live any longer.

        However, I did not shed any tears. At that dangerous moment, he pushed me to the side. If he does not survive, then I would die with him.

        We Western Liang women would cry all day if we were not happy. I already cried so I will not cry again.

        When Li Cheng Yin was still unconscious,  he would mumble something, I leaned forward to hear what he was saying, apparently he was saying "mother," it was like last time when he had a fever.

        I also remembered what the Emperor had said earlier, my heart had weakened, Li Cheng Yin was a pitiful person, even though he is a Crown Prince, but he have never seen his birth mother ever since he was a child. The Empress was a person with a malicious heart, if Li Cheng Yin knew it was her who had killed his birth mother, he would be very sad.

        A lot of the imperial physicians were watching over Li Cheng Yin. The Emperor already handed over an imperial edict to depose the Empress, creating shock throughout the imperial court. The imperial edict listed a lot of the Empress's offenses, especially since we don't know whether Li Cheng Yin would be able to survive, the Chancellors in the court didn't take any chances to say anything about the imperial edict. I heard from the palace maids that the Empress's family was very powerful, the government officials that supported the Empress were preparing to oppose the king for deposing the Empress. I don't understand anything that happens in the imperial court, but now I knew that the Emperor cannot do whatever he wants.

        In the morning I would take care of Li Cheng Yin, in the afternoon I would take care of A'Du.

        A"Du had suffered from a lot of injuries, she was also suffering from a very serious internal injury. A'Du's martial arts skills was already good, but this a.s.sa.s.sin was able to injury A'Du to this level, then this person must be a master in martial arts. When I was applying medicine to the wound, I noticed that the stuff I gave to A'Du was lost. A'Du would always carry the things I gave her in case I might need to use it.

        My A'Du, the A'Du that was very good to me. It was my fault for causing trouble for her.

        I saw an arrowhead was lying there, I took the arrowhead and then quietly left.

        All the people in the Eastern Palace all went to Li Cheng Yin's palace hall, the garden was deserted, not a single person was there.

        I was throwing the arrowhead in midair, then I was sitting there quietly waiting.

        Not long after, a gush of wind came and Gu Jian quietly appeared in front of me.

        Seeing me like this, he started to ask me: "Who mistreated you?" I knew right now I looked terrible, that day I was crying so hard that my eyes were swollen, also I didn't sleep for a few days, my complexion definitely would've looked bad.

         I told him in a simple way of what happened, Gu Jian silently asked me: "Do you want me to kill the Empress?" I shook my head.

        The Empress had harmed too many people, she shouldn't be alive anymore, but the Emperor would punish her by deposing her and sending her to the cold palace. This type of punishment to this type of person was enough, compared to killing her this type of punishment would make her feel even worse.

        I begged him: "Can you think of a way to save A'Du, she is suffering from an internal injury, she is unconscious: "Gu Jian suddenly laughed: "This is very funny, you are not begging me to save your husband, but begging me to save A'Du . Is it because you don't like your husband,  or do you just like A'Du too much?" "Li Cheng Yin is suffering from external injuries, even a G.o.d cannot do anything, it is up to him to see if he can survive. It was because of me that A'Du got injured when she was chasing after the a.s.sa.s.sin, she is suffering an internal injury, I know you have a way to save her." Gu Jian's face became gloomy: "That's right, I do have a way to save her, but why should I save her?" I suddenly became angry: "You said before that if I encounter any danger, then I could ask you for help, but now you don't want to help me!" Gu Jian said: "Yes, but I did not promise to help you save other people." "A'Du's life is in danger right now, A'Du's life means my life. A'Du got injured because of me, if you don't save her......." I pulled out the knife, placed it next to my neck, "I will die in front of you!" Gu jian reached out two fingers and gently tapped the knife, I didn't grasp onto the knife properly, the knife "shua"fell to the ground.

[1] Shu Fei is the name of Li Cheng Yin's birth mother.