Chapter 4 Burning Flames and Woken Dreams

The fire raged on. The clamor outside grew louder and louder, but no one came to her rescue. Yun Shang chuckled to herself. Although she had expected this to happen, she still felt somewhat desperate.

Smoke leaked through the cracks of the door between the inner palace and the hall, bringing Yun Shang to coughs and tears. Suddenly, she heard a bang on the window. She turned her head and saw a man dressed like an Imperial bodyguard climbing through the window. The smoke blurred her sight and she could not see the bodyguard's face. But she was able to hear him, "Princess, my apologies..."

Yun Shang felt her body being abruptly lifted. The man held her in his arms and got out of the room through the window.

Once safely outside, the bodyguard put Yun Shang back on the ground. She hadn't even settled on her feet when felt big strong hands grip her by the shoulder, "Shang'er, are you hurt?"

Yun Shang's heart twitched and her tears began rolling down, "Father..."

In her previous life, the Emperor had long lost faith in her because of her arrogance and imperiousness. They rarely saw each other after she turned ten. She had started the fire today for another purpose. She did not expect that the first person she would see after her narrow escape was the father who had previously been disappointed in her.

Yet through her hazy and foggy eyes, this man who ruled over the world did not seem so severe and cold as she once remembered. Perhaps it was because of the urgency? His hair was uncombed, his dragon robe had been hastily put on, and his eyes were filled with worry.

Yun Shang's tears fell again.

The Emperor saw Yun Shang's distress. He thought that she was injured in some way, so he held her up and asked, "Shang'er, where did you hurt yourself? Let father see..."

Yun Shang kept shaking her head, "I'm fine, I'm fine..."

The Emperor did not believe her. As he was just about to call for the Imperial physician, he heard a woman's voice, "What happened? How did the princess' palace catch fire all of a sudden?"

Yun Shang squinted her eyes and turned her head. She saw a glamorously dressed woman walking towards them with four palace maids following behind. Yun Shang glanced at them apathetically. One of the maids was a familiar face from Nichang Palace.

"Empress..." The Emperor saw the woman approaching, but he simply gave her an indifferent look before he let go of Yun Shang's hand. Yun Shang froze. A memory flashed by her so fast that she could not catch it. Afraid to persist on the thought, she curled her lips and cried to the Empress, "Mother, what took you so long? If it were not for father's guards who saved me, I would have been burned alive. The fire was so fierce, mother..."

Hearing her, the Empress halted. She raised her head and saw the Emperor behind Yun Shang frowning. The Empress smiled and walked up to Yun Shang. She took the young princess' hand, and then said softly, "The other day, Shang'er injured herself in a fall. I have been praying for Shang'er in Qiwu Palace for the last two days. I was afraid of being disturbed, so I ordered that no one shall visit. That is why I was late. Shang'er must be in shock, aren't you? It is my fault..."

Yun Shang narrowed her eyes and lowered her head. Knowing what she knew of her past life, she could now see right through the Empress' feigned concern. She raised her head as she spoke, "I'm alright. Mother, please do not worry. You look so beautiful today, mother..." Your Ling Yun Braids have been done so beautifully. Bi Yun must have spent a lot of time on it. It suits mother so well..."

The Empress could feel that something was not quite right. She grew more and more displeased with every passing comment. What was wrong with the young princess today? When did Yun Shang become hostile towards her?

The Empress looked down at the young woman in front of her. All she saw was a naive face with teardrops hanging from her eyelashes. Her reaction did not seem fake. She felt even more anxious. A few days earlier, Yun Shang had fallen from a great height. The Emperor did not say much, but he did bear a grudge against her. With Yun Shang's display today, the Empress was afraid that the Emperor would become even more dissatisfied with her.

Yun Shang saw the Empress' face and smirked deep down. She started crying yet gain, "Mother, someone is trying to kill me! Someone is trying to kill me! Earlier I saw some dark shadows, but I was too scared to scream. Then the fire started. Such furious flames, I am so scared..."

The Empress became serious at the accusation. Before she could speak, she heard the Emperor's wrathful roar, "How could such a thing happen? Ning Yi, arrest everyone at Nichang Palace. Interrogate them at the Supervisory Office..."

Hearing the order, the Empress was stunned. Even though she was raising Yun Shang, the Emperor had been quite fond of the young princess in her earlier years. The Empress had spent a lot of energy replacing the staff in Ni Chang Palace with her informers. Over time, Yun Shang had gradually become haughty and imperious, and lost her hold in the Emperor's heart. That could mostly be attributed to the people the Empress had placed. If all of them were to be arrested, it would be significantly harder for her to plant informers again.

The Empress quickly added, "Shang'er is in shock just now. She can't be alone without someone taking care of her. If you arrest everyone, who would serve Shang'er..."

This was an unplanned consequence of Yun Shang's actions today. Nevertheless, the unexpected results pleased her very much. She could not let the Empress sabotage her work so easily. As Yun Shang thought more, she came upon another idea. She deliberately pulled on the Empress hand with a regretful expression, "Mother, I do not need their service. Someone was trying to hurt me. I'm so scared. I do not want their service..."

A sliver of anger flashed across the Empress' eyes and disappeared in an instant, but Yun Shang saw it ever so clearly. Yun Shang could not have been happier. Who would have thought that she would be able to remove the Empress' spies once and for all. In her past life, she had been too young to know better, and the Empress had taken advantage of her youth and naivety. Now, even though she looked young, no one could see that her soul had traversed through a previous lifetime. But she, Yun Shang was able to see everything as it were. Her revenge had only just started. The Empress and her daughter would meet their fate...

"Ning Yi, take them. Today, Yun Shang will accompany me and rest at Wanshou Palace. I still have some political matters to be resolved. So I will be staying at Qinzheng Hall. Tomorrow, have a eunuch take Shang'er to pick some maids and eunuchs to serve her. The Nichang Palace has burned down. No one can live here anymore. As for Shang'er's future residence, I will decide tomorrow. It's late already. Empress, you may retire to your palace. Stop wearing all this jewelry so late at night. You might lose them in the dark." As he spoke, he turned to leave, "Shang'er, come with me to my palace."

Yun Shang was not expecting that the Emperor would take her to Wanshou Palace. She could not help but feel surprised, so she hurriedly said goodbye to the Empress, "Mother, I'm leaving now. I will be greeting mother tomorrow." She then followed the Emperor.

The Empress bowed and said "Farewell my Emperor." She stood straight again and watched as the Emperor and Yun Shang walked further and further away. The Empress squinted her eyes and stared for a while longer. The hatred in her eyes thickened at first, but slowly faded away. After a long while, she finally said in a deep voice, "Return to my palace..."

The night was deep and dark. It was the kind of night where very few people in the palace slept peacefully.