Chapter 206 - Serial Fatal Traps at Work!

“Ninghua, be careful!”

Chu Junyi held Shen Ninghua in his arms. He glanced at the carriage and suddenly flung the table beside him to block Shen Ninghua’s body. “Ninghua, protect yourself!”

The situation outside the carriage was already in chaos. Shen Ninghua held the table. The look in her eyes was tense. “The people came with ill intent. Be careful.”

Chu Junyi pursed his lips and nodded. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped out. Then, He waved the folding fan in his hand around, downing all the arrows flying towards the carriage.

Suddenly, dozens of black-clothed men rushed out from both sides of the street. With sharp swords in their hands, they quickly charged towards the people around the carriage.

Imperial Guards Commander Zhou Quan was injured in the arm. Seeing the black-clothed man, he immediately frowned and shouted coldly, “Who are you? How dare you stop the carriage of the princess and imperial son-in-law?”

The black-clothed man in the lead sneered and then raised his arm, shouting “Save the princess and imperial son-in-law and kill the rest!” After finishing his words, he didn’t give the Imperial Guards a chance to speak and directly slashed them with his sword.

Chu Junyi’s face was filled with killing intent as his fingers kept exerting strength on the ribs of the fan. These men were obviously here to frame them. Their martial arts techniques were extremely superb and the Imperial Guards were no match to them.

Inside the carriage, Shen Ninghua’s eyes turned terrifyingly calm as she heard the voices and sounds of fighting outside. She quickly thought to connect everything together bit by bit. First, there was the gaze that misled them, followed by the incident in her mansion. When the Emperor summoned them, this so-called “rescue operation” took place. If all these plots succeeded, she and Chu Junyi would probably not be able to explain themselves clearly.

The Empress was truly amazing. She had such a good tactic and made such a great move!

Seeing that the Imperial Guards were killed one after another, the Imperial Guards Commander Zhou Quan immediately ordered the rest to defend at all cost. Seeing more people around him falling down, he coldly questioned Chu Junyi, “Imperial son-in-law, His Majesty summoned you to the Palace for questioning. You actually sent people to intercept and kill the Imperial Guards. This is a heinous crime!”

Chu Junyi sneered as he used his folding fan to deflect the sword piercing towards his heart. “Lord Zhou, these people are clearly dressed in black with their faces covered. Obviously, they don’t want anyone to know their identities. But as soon as they came up, they announced that they wanted to rescue the princess and me. Don’t you find it strange?”

Zhou Quan paused for a moment and then frowned. Yes, these people were highly skilled in martial arts. If they really wanted to save Princess Zhaohua and the imperial son-in-law, it was better for them to quietly fight and run. There was no need to shout. Moreover, those arrows were clearly aimed at the carriage. At that time, both Princess Zhaohua and the imperial son-in-law were in the carriage!

They were not here to rescue Princess Zhaohua and the imperial son-in-law. Instead, they clearly tried to kill them! In addition to killing the princess and imperial son-in-law, they also wanted to set them up!

Chu Junyi used his fan to knock down the black-clothed man who yelled to rescue them before. He left a few black-clothed men as captives and killed the rest on the spot.

After the commotion outside died down, Shen Ninghua got off the carriage and walked to the black-clothed men on the ground. She crouched down and removed the veil of a black-clothed man.

The Imperial Guards Commander furrowed his brows. Seeing her actions, he subconsciously wanted to stop her, but he was stopped by Chu Junyi. “Lord Zhou, these people came with ill intent. They wanted to kill Her Highness and me but failed. Then, they wanted to frame us. Now that they’ve been captured, we must see who they are and interrogate them.”

Zhou Quan paused for a while and said, “Your Highness, imperial son-in-law, these people should be brought into the Palace to be interrogated by His Majesty. After all, His Majesty is currently waiting for the two of you in the Palace. You can’t keep His Majesty waiting for too long, right?”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and said, “Lord Zhou, you have seen these people. They are powerful martial arts experts. Although they have been knocked unconscious now, who knows if they will suddenly make an attack after being taken to the Palace? It is better to tie them with ropes first and then cripple them and remove the poisonous sacs in their mouths to prevent them from causing trouble or committing suicide. What do you think?”

Zhou Quan nodded. “Your Highness is right. Someone, do as Her Highness instructed.”

“Yes, Lord.”

After the black-clothed men were properly handled, Zhou Quan looked at the corpses of dead Imperial Guards on the ground. A trace of pain flashed in his eyes. “Take our brothers back and bury them properly. I will go to the Palace to ask for an explanation for them.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Inside the Chengqian Hall, Baili Qingcang sat on his seat with a gloomy expression. Empress Zhao Huiying sat beside him and handed over a cup of tea. “Your Majesty, this matter has not been investigated clearly. Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding. Don’t worry too much, just call the princess into the Palace and ask her.”

On the hall knelt the pale-faced Consort Yin. She cried bitterly when she heard the words of the Empress. “Your Majesty, I have been in the Palace for two years. Thank heavens, I finally got pregnant. I was overjoyed and wholeheartedly wanted to give birth to a child for the royal family. Who would have thought that I had a miscarriage unexpectedly? I’m sorry to let down Your Majesty!”

Baili Qingcang raised his eyes. He grabbed the cup of tea from the Empress and threw it on the ground. “Why hasn’t Princess Zhaohua arrived yet?”

The chief eunuch hurriedly reported, “Your Majesty, Imperial Guards Commander Lord Zhou personally led his men to invite Her Highness. She should be here soon.”

The Empress furrowed, forming a nice shape of arc between her eyebrows. But there was a cold expression in her eyes. “Chief Eunuch Zhao, go and ask again. It is high time she arrived.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When he was just about to move, a voice was heard at the entrance. “Your Majesty, Princess Zhaohua and imperial son-in-law are here.”

Baili Qingcang looked coldly at the entrance and said, “Let them in.”

As soon as Shen Ninghua entered in the hall, she saw the red-eyed concubines sitting on both sides and Baili Qingcang who was sitting on his seat with a serious expression.

“Greetings, Father Emperor. Long live Father Emperor.”

She knelt down. But Baili Qingcang did not ask her to get up like before. Instead, he remained silent for a long time before asking, “Ninghua, did you make the Ice Soul Incense that has been used in the Empress’ Palace?”

Shen Ninghua looked up and said, “Father Emperor, I made it.”

“Then what kind of ingredients does Ice Soul Incense require?”

“Mainly plum blossoms and some harmless fragrant materials.”

“Does it have harmful impacts on people’s bodies?”

“No.”

Baili Qingcang frowned. “Do you know what Chen Yun found in the Ice Soul Incense?”

“Father Emperor, please let me know.”

Baili Qingcang looked at Chen Yun with a gloomy expression.

“Your Highness, I found that musk and safflower are contained in Ice Soul Incense, which will cause great damage to the bodies of women.”

Shen Ninghua’s heart trembled as she looked at Empress Zhao Huiying, who was sitting beside Baili Qingcang. “Father Emperor, I asked the Academy of Imperial Physicians to check Ice Soul Incense before taking it into the Palace. The imperial physician confirmed that Ice Soul Incense was harmless to the human body. Mother Empress can prove this.”

Zhao Huiying nodded. “That’s true. I asked the imperial physician to examine it before putting it into use.”

Consort Yin aside couldn’t help but step forward and kneel on the ground. Tears streamed down her pale face. “Your Majesty, that imperial physician has confessed that he was threatened by Princess Zhaohua. That’s why he lied about the harm of Ice Soul Incense to human body. The baby I lost is also your child. Your Majesty, please do justice for our unborn child.”

Baili Qingcang gritted his teeth and said, “Someone, help Consort Yin get up. You just had a miscarriage and the ground is cold. It would be bad if you got ill.”

Shen Ninghua turned to look at Consort Yin. “Did Consort Yin miscarry?”

“Your Highness, I have no grievances or enmity with you. How can you do this?”

Shen Ninghua’s brows furrowed slightly. “Consort Yin, be cautious with your words. I am Father Emperor’s daughter, and Father Emperor dotes on me. How stupid I must be to harm Father Emperor’s child?”

“Your Highness, are you still refusing to admit your guilt? The Empress has treated you well. But you had a grudge against her when she left your wedding banquet early. So when she asked you for some incense, you deliberately set her up. You offered her harmful incense with the intention of damaging her body. If she hadn’t treated us kindly and granted the incense to us, your plot wouldn’t have been exposed so quickly and she wouldn’t have known it. Now, almost all the consorts in the Palace have been harmed. Are you finally happy? ”

“I don’t have the slightest resentment towards Mother Empress. Please don’t speak nonsense. You can’t rely on your speculation to convict me. You are exaggerating.”

Tears kept flowing down Consort Yin’s face. She looked extremely sad. “Your Majesty, please do justice for me.”

Baili Qingcang’s expression was gloomy. “Ninghua, the imperial physician who examined the Ice Soul Incense has committed suicide. Even his family members were burned to death in a fire. He only left a confession, saying that the incense you sent into the Palace was poisonous. Do you have anything to say?”

“Father Emperor, I can ensure that the incense I sent into the Palace is harmless.”

Empress Zhao Huiying said, “Your Majesty, this matter should be considered in the long run. Although there is a confession, there might be some misunderstandings that need to be investigated. The weather is very cold now, how about letting Ninghua get up first?”

“You can get up now.”

Shen Ninghua put her hands on the ground and stood up. She glanced at the clean ground and a cold murderous expression flashed across her eyes.

Baili Qingcang felt a violent headache and rubbed his eyebrows. He inadvertently saw Zhou Quan, whose body was covered with blood. Then, he remembered that it took Shen Ninghua much more time to arrive at the Palace than usual. He frowned and asked, “Zhou Quan, what happened to you?”

“Your Majesty, on the way back to the Palace, I and other Imperial Guards encountered an assassination.”

“What?” Baili Qingcang slammed the table. “Assassination? Who would dare to assassinate the princess and imperial son-in-law in the capital, especially when they were protected by Imperial Guards?”

This was simply a provocation against the imperial power!

“Those black-clothed men shot arrows first and then they rushed up trying to kill us. They shouted that they wanted to rescue the princess and imperial son-in-law while killing the rest!”

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were filled with fury as he looked at Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi with a dignified and oppressive gaze of a sovereign. “Kneel down!”

Shen Ninghua knelt on the ground and lowered her head. “Ninghua, I just asked you to come in for questioning. How dared you send someone to assassinate the Imperial Guards?”

“Father Emperor, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t? Ninghua, you’re getting bolder and bolder now.”

A eunuch quickly walked in. “Your Majesty, all officials have entered the Palace and they request to see Your Majesty. They said that something happened to their wives and daughters in the princess’ mansion.”

The Empress sat on her chair, and her expression was calm as she looked down at Shen Ninghua from above. The exquisite dangling golden phoenix on her head glowed brightly…