SSFSE 08

Chapter – 08

Inside Kunning Palace, Yin Ning kicked off her shoes the moment she entered and lounged comfortably onto the couch.

Seeing her lazy demeanor, Empress Xu could not help but chide: “Look at you, like a lazy cat—you haven’t changed since you were little!”

“Since you know I won’t change, why do you keep wasting your breath, Mother?” Yin Ning replied with a grin.

When Empress Xu saw her talk back, she feigned anger and tapped Yin Ning’s forehead with her finger. “You sharp-tongued girl, can’t you just keep quiet for once?”

Hearing that, Yin Ning simply shot Empress Xu a sweet smile.

Seeing her act cute, Empress Xu tried to keep a straight face but could not help softening; eventually, she let out a laugh as well.

“Lady Yun, have someone bring the honey-preserved lychees that this girl made in early summer—that ought to stuff her mouth.”

Because of the crown prince’s untimely death, the mood in Kunning Palace had been somber for days. Now, seeing Empress Xu’s spirits lifted by Yin Ning, Lady Yun—who had served the empress for many years—immediately smiled and acknowledged the order.

The honey-preserved lychees that Empress Xu mentioned were made by Yin Ning earlier that summer. While eating lychees, Yin Ning recalled a rural cooking video from her previous life. On a whim, she followed the steps shown—placing peeled lychee flesh into honey, sealing it in a jar, and storing it in a cool cellar.

She had told Empress Xu that the preserved lychees could be kept until winter.

Unfamiliar with such methods, Empress Xu had been worried Yin Ning might get sick, so she had summoned imperial physicians to confirm that such preserved fruits were indeed safe before allowing it.

Before long, Lady Yun brought over the small jar of honey-preserved lychees Yin Ning had made.

Fresh fruit was a rare treat in winter, and lychees were among Yin Ning’s favorites, so the moment she saw the jar arrive, she sat up straight.

The lychees taken from the jar were still translucent as amber. Biting into the glossy flesh, Yin Ning immediately savored the delicate honeyed fragrance that had infused the fruit.

Satisfied with her successful attempt, Yin Ning distributed one to Empress Xu, Lady Yun, and the other maids.

Lady Yun and the maids were long accustomed to Yin Ning’s habit of sharing; after thanking her, they too began to enjoy this rare winter sweetness.

“Even a rotten tree can sprout a fine shoot!” Yin Ning said with a laugh, settling back onto the couch and looking at Empress Xu across from her.

Empress Xu spat the lychee pit into a dish, dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief, and then replied:

“Thank goodness for that fine shoot, Emperor Jingwu—otherwise, Great Jing would have been utterly ruined by that scoundrel Yin Rui.”

She looked at Yin Ning. “It’s plain to everyone now that your father intends to groom that Emperor Jingwu as his successor. That bodes well for us—after all, judging by that emperor’s temperament as revealed on the heavenly screen, once he ascends the throne, he is unlikely to make things difficult for us mother and daughter.”

Yin Ning nodded in agreement. Before the heavenly screen appeared, she had even prepared for the worst, thinking that if absolutely necessary, she would take her mother and flee Great Jing by sea, to become a local sovereign on some island.

But given the current situation, it seemed her secret hideout would not be needed after all.

Neither Yin Ning nor Empress Xu had any great objection to the possibility that Emperor Jingwu might be a descendant of Yin Rui.

However, for those with ambitions for the throne—such as the Third Prince—this possibility was unacceptable.

Thus, upon returning to his residence, the Third Prince immediately summoned his group of advisors in a panic.

Originally, aside from the crown prince, the Third Prince—renowned for his learning—had been a strong contender in the struggle for succession.

Naturally, his camp included some sharp-minded advisors.

Noticing the gloom deeply etched on Yin Wen’s face, a stout, middle-aged man among the advisors suddenly cleared his throat and addressed him:

“Your Highness, in this subordinate’s opinion, although His Majesty has kept the four imperial grandsons in the palace, that does not mean Your Highness has already lost.”

Before the middle-aged man spoke, the other advisors had looked as if the sky were falling and their ship were sinking. Thus, these words immediately captured Yin Wen’s attention.

Yin Wen fixed his eyes on the middle-aged man, a glimmer of hope hidden within his gaze: “Master Liu, what do you mean by that?”

The middle-aged man: “May I ask Your Highness, when the woman on the heavenly screen mentioned Emperor Jingwu slaying the Second Prince, did she ever use the words ‘killing his father’?”

Yin Wen had already replayed Liu Sanqi’s words several times on his way back from the palace.

He shook his head at once and said with certainty: “She never did!”

Upon hearing Yin Wen’s answer, the middle-aged man’s lips curled up slightly: “Exactly. And that woman never told us that the Second Prince and Emperor Jingwu were father and son. So, Emperor Jingwu might actually not be the Second Prince’s descendant, but rather his brother!”

Hearing this analysis, Yin Wen’s previously depressed and frustrated mood lifted considerably.

Though he also understood that Liu Sanqi might not have mentioned it because she assumed everyone already knew Yin Rui and Emperor Jingwu were father and son, so there was no need to state it explicitly.

Still, the possibility raised by the middle-aged man planted a glimmer of hope in Yin Wen’s heart.

Since his youth, Yin Wen had coveted the throne, so giving up now was something he simply could not accept.

Thus, despite not being certain whether the middle-aged man’s speculation was true, after some deliberation, Yin Wen directly ordered his subordinates to secretly spread this analysis far and wide.

Since the current situation was already fraught with undercurrents, Yin Wen decided to stir the waters even more.

That way, he might just find more opportunities.

Later, after dismissing his advisors, Yin Wen summoned a trusted confidant and gave him another quiet assignment.

In the following days, the capital appeared calm on the surface, but beneath it, there was plenty of activity.

Inside the imperial palace, in the Imperial Garden, at the Lake Pavilion.

It was a rare sunny winter day. Yin Ning was currently playing chess with her tutor, Shi Qingyuan, in the pavilion.

However, just as the game reached its midpoint, Yin Ning’s personal maid, Baiju, entered the pavilion.

Knowing Baiju had just gone to gather news, Yin Ning asked directly upon her return: “What’s happened outside the palace?”

Though Shi Qingyuan was present, Baiju knew that Yin Ning greatly trusted her tutor—indeed, she often treated Shi Qingyuan as a strategist.

So Baiju reported directly: “Princess, His Majesty just sent gifts to Inspector Cheng Shan’s household and to Minister Weng, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy. But Eunuch Chen, who delivered them, kept a very low profile throughout, as if he didn’t want too many people to notice.”

The Lake Pavilion was surrounded by water on all sides, with a wide, open view, so Yin Ning had no worries about being overheard here.

She looked at Shi Qingyuan across from her and said: “That fits my father’s style. Though not stated outright, the gifts are effectively an apology on behalf of that scum Yin Rui. But if it meant making a grand show of it, he’d never swallow his pride.”

At Yin Ning’s assessment of Emperor Jingming, Shi Qingyuan smiled faintly: “A father’s fault lies in his son’s failings. His Majesty is so concerned with face that he probably wishes everyone would just forget all those scandals about the Second Prince that Miss Liu Sanqi revealed on the heavenly screen.”

Yin Ning nodded in full agreement.

“Princess, there’s another piece of news from outside: the concubine at the Crown Prince’s residence accidentally fell into the lake last night and drowned. Her body drifted in the water all night and was only discovered this morning by a passing eunuch.”

Hearing this, the relaxed expressions on Yin Ning’s and Shi Qingyuan’s faces instantly turned serious.

They both knew that this concubine was the very person who had personally poisoned the crown prince.

Originally, they had planned to use her to uncover the true mastermind behind the plot.

Now, the concubine’s death had given Yin Ning the answer.

Yin Ning sneered: “Still waters run deep. It seems my third brother is truly bent on ascending the throne!”

Yin Ning had previously narrowed her list of suspects down to the Second and Third Princes. But now, with Yin Rui imprisoned, he neither had the means nor the reason to silence the concubine.

Thus, the one who had her killed could only be the Third Prince—the real culprit.

Shi Qingyuan looked at Yin Ning and said: “Recently, a rumor has been spreading outside—that Emperor Jingwu might not be one of the imperial grandsons, but rather one of the other princes.”

Yin Ning let out a disgusted snort: “They’re all plagues. Let them tear each other apart!”

“Beat him to death! Beat him to death!”

Startled by the sudden commotion, Yin Ning and Shi Qingyuan both turned toward the source of the noise.

Nearby by the lake, four richly dressed young boys stood with a retinue of eunuchs. One of them—slightly younger, about ten years old—was shouting excitedly at the other eunuchs, ordering them to kick and beat a young eunuch on the ground.

Seeing this, Yin Ning instantly rose to her feet, her skirts billowing as she strode out of the pavilion and toward the lake.

“Stop it at once!”

At Yin Ning’s sharp command, the four young boys and the eunuchs all turned to look.

Seeing it was Yin Ning, the eunuchs quickly lowered their heads, while the four boys—especially the one who had been shouting about beating someone to death—suddenly looked much more nervous.

When Yin Ning reached them, the four young boys greeted her in unison.

Yin Ning was not fooled by their polite and composed demeanor. She glared angrily at the boy who had given the order—Yin Jie—but before she could even ask, Yin Jie rushed to defend himself:

“Little Aunt, this isn’t my fault! I didn’t hit him for no reason! My kite fell into the lake, and I told him to go fetch it for me, but this worthless slave dared to disobey! Tell me, shouldn’t he be taught a lesson?!”

Since Yin Ning was Emperor Jingming’s youngest daughter, Yin Rui’s four sons all addressed her as “Little Aunt.”

After hearing Yin Jie’s explanation, Yin Ning’s fury only burned hotter.

All for a broken kite—he would beat a person to death?

Even after living in this ancient world for nearly eighteen years, Yin Ning still could not accept behavior like Yin Jie’s—treating human life as if it were worthless.