Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister’s Scheming Daughter - Chapter 344

Walking out of Chunxi Palace, Shen Ninghua clenched her fists slightly. Did Father Emperor call her back from the northwest just for her to see Xia Jingxin, her so-called aunt?

“Princess Zhaohua, please wait a moment,” a eunuch hurried after her with a wide smile on his face. “Greetings, Your Highness. I am Liu Rui.”

“Stand. Does Father Emperor have any message for me?”

“No. Noble Concubine sent a lot of gifts for you, and Her Grace asked me to send the gifts to your residence.”

Shen Ninghua turned to look at Chunxi Palace and bowed slightly. “Please thank Her Grace for the reward on my behalf.”

After returning to her residence, Shen Ninghua sent her maid to entertain Liu Rui while she rushed to Huajun Pavilion to see Baili Junyi. Seeing that Bai Ruo and the others were very careful and made appropriate arrangements, Shen Ninghua let out a sigh of relief. She gently sat by the bed and whispered to Baili Junyi about what happened.

“Junyi, we have already returned to the capital. Although we have only been gone for a few months, many things have happened here.”

Shen Ninghua sighed slightly and called Hong Ling in, “Hong Ling, contact the people we placed in the capital and ask them what has happened recently.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Just as Hong Ling was about to leave, Shen Ninghua suddenly had an idea in her mind and hurriedly called out to her, “Wait! Go and call Ye Yi over.”

Ye Yi quickly rushed over. “Master.”

Shen Ninghua was perturbed. “Before we leave the capital, His Highness should have arranged people to deliver the news in the capital to us on time, right?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, has anyone sent the news about the new Noble Concubine who has appeared in the imperial palace? She lives in Chunxi Palace, and she claimed to be my aunt.”

Ye Yi raised his head abruptly. “A new Noble Concubine has appeared in the imperial palace? When did this happen?” As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed. It meant two things if no news had been delivered. Either their informants hadn’t received the news, or they had been eliminated or bribed. Regardless of the outcome, it was bad news.

Shen Ninghua’s expression was stern and serious. “Send our most trusted men to come into contact with the informants and check the people on both sides. We can’t make any mistakes now. Also, send some men to investigate what happened in the capital in the past few months. Investigate everything in detail and report them back to me.”

“Yes, Master.”

Ye Yi and Hong Ling made their moves respectively. Soon, a large amount of news gathered at Shen Ninghua’s desk. Shen Ninghua quickly browsed through them and slammed the papers in her hand on the table fiercely.

“The Sixth Prince, Baili Jinze, has regained His Majesty’s favor. Now, he has been promoted to Prefectural Prince Ze… Baili Jinze… How can he turn the tables?” Due to Shen Ninghua’s continuous suppression, Baili Qingcang did not take Baili Jinze seriously at all. Baili Jinze was also banished and disliked because of his involvement in fighting for the throne and corruption. It was absolutely impossible for him to gain favor ever again!

After reporting the news, Hong Ling stood quietly at the side. Sensing the intense aura from Shen Ninghua, Hong Ling assured in concern, “Miss, I’ll go and investigate the matter. I promise to find out the truth.”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “No. Don’t act rashly. I feel that Baili Jinze is related to Chunxi Palace’s Noble Concubine. Father Emperor cares about that woman in Chunxi Palace very much. We don’t want to offend Father Emperor and piss him off.”

“Then are we just going to watch?”

Baili Junyi was unconscious, and she needed to protect two young children. Right now, it was best to stay put. “Let’s wait and see. Tomorrow, I’ll enter the imperial palace to ask Father Emperor for Snow Lotus Pill. Let’s see if Junyi will become better after taking it.”

The next day, Shen Ninghua entered the imperial palace to ask to see His Majesty, but before she could see Baili Qingcang, she was blocked outside Chunxi Palace.

Liu Rui stood on the steps with a wide smile. “Your Highness, uh… His Majesty is accompanying Her Grace to take a nap. I don’t dare to go in and disturb them.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and replied, “Okay. I’ll just wait here. Go ahead if you are busy.”

“Uh…”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows. “Why? Can’t I wait here?”

“Your Highness, you have just returned to the capital, so you don’t know about many things. Her Grace is the most kind-hearted person. She will be sad for a day even when she sees an ant being stepped to death. If Her Grace knew that she had let Your Highness wait outside in vain because she was taking a nap with His Majesty, she would probably not be willing to take her nap tomorrow. Your Highness may not know about this, but Her Grace is very weak now. If her condition worsened because of this, I’m afraid…”

A cold light flashed in Shen Ninghua’s eyes. “Alright, I won’t make things difficult for Her Grace. Since that’s the case, I’ll leave first. Please inform His Majesty that I have come to see him after he wakes up. When His Majesty has time, please send an oral edict. I have something important to talk to him.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Walking out of the imperial palace gate step by step, Shen Ninghua felt annoyed. Who exactly was Xia Jingxin? How could Father Emperor care about her so much? Was it because she looked similar to her mother?

“Ninghua…”

Hearing the familiar voice, Shen Ninghua quickly turned around, and she sounded a little surprised as she muttered, “Anning?”

Baili Anning lowered her head and instructed the maid beside her, who hurriedly carried over a stepping stool and helped Shen Ninghua into Baili Anning’s carriage.

Shen Ninghua was over the moon when she saw her good friend whom she had not seen for months. “I was thinking about you! You should have finished your confinement after giving birth. What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?” Baili Anning looked a lot more haggard than before, and her eyes were a little dull. She did not look happy and energetic like before.

Baili Anning bit her lips slightly and suddenly hugged Shen Ninghua, her whole body trembling. “Ninghua, Ninghua…”

Shen Ninghua looked up in surprise. Feeling a burst of wetness on her shoulder, she felt that the uneasiness in her heart was intensifying. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Baili Anning was crying so hard that her entire body was twitching from crying, but she did not dare to talk loudly. “You shouldn’t have come back. You really shouldn’t have come back.”

Shen Ninghua’s expression turned cold, and she ordered the driver, “Anning and I haven’t seen each other for a long time. Drive the carriage to Prefectural Prince Yi’s residence. We want to have a nice chat now that we bumped into each other.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

When they arrived at Prefectural Prince Yi’s residence, Shen Ninghua had someone bring tea and snacks and waved for the servants to leave. Only then did she ask, “Anning, you look so sad and gloomy. What exactly happened?”

Baili Anning sat down on the chair and covered her lips with both hands. Tears streamed down her face, and her voice was full of grief. “Ninghua… m-my child died.”

Shen Ninghua was patting Baili Anning’s back to help her breathe. When Shen Ninghua heard this, her arm froze slightly. “Your pulse was very stable before. I also left you a prescription to keep the baby healthy. How did it happen?”

Baili Anning sat up straight, took a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and recounted in a somewhat absent-minded expression, “Yes, the baby was healthy throughout the pregnancy. I even gave birth to him safely. It was a boy, a very adorable boy.”

“Then what happened? Did someone hurt him?”

Baili Anning suddenly tore the silk handkerchief in her hand, her eyes bursting with intense hatred. “Someone killed him!”

Shen Ninghua was shocked. “Anning, what do you mean?”

Baili Anning grabbed Shen Ninghua’s wrist abruptly. “Ninghua, you shouldn’t have come back. You shouldn’t have brought your two children back. My child is dead. She must be making her moves on your children now.”

Shen Ninghua was shocked and asked, her tone was cold. “Who is she? How dare she?! Anning, tell me clearly, how did your child die? You are a princess. Your son was Father Emperor’s biological grandson. Besides, a child does not hinder the interests of others. Who would hurt him? Who was so daring and powerful to hurt him?”

“I…” Baili Anning couldn’t stop crying. Finally, she gritted her teeth and snarled, “What if the person who killed him got Father Emperor’s support?”

“Impossible!” Shen Ninghua retorted subconsciously. “All men, good or bad, rarely ill-treat their own children! How could Father Emperor attack an innocent newborn? Not to mention it was his biological grandson!”

“Why would I lie to you? My child died. He died before he turned one month old. I just gave birth to him not too long ago… I’m so pissed! I’m pissed!”

“Is there a misunderstanding? Anning, what exactly is going on?”

Baili Anning raised her head and calmed down a little after a while. “After you and Fifth Royal Brother left the capital, the capital was indeed peaceful and quiet for a period of time due to the corruption incident, until the matter of Zhou City’s disaster broke out. Father Emperor personally went to Guangdu Temple to offer incense and pray. On the way back, he suddenly fell ill. The first thing he did after waking up was to send someone to Guangdu Temple’s back mountain to pick up a woman there.”

“A woman?” Shen Ninghua asked. “Is she Noble Concubine Xia Jingxin, who is now living in Chunxi Palace?”

“Yes, it’s her! Ever since this woman came to Father Emperor’s side, Father Emperor has changed completely. He always follows her will to please her… Simply put, he treats her as a treasure,” Baili Anning sneered. The hatred in her eyes became more and more obvious. “But Xia Jingxin seems to be made of cotton. When the wind blows, she will catch a cold. When the sun shines, she will get heatstroke. She even faints many times.”

“Even so, what does it have to do with your baby?”

Baili Anning held the table tightly, her eyes red, almost bleeding. “Father Emperor ordered a wide range of doctors to treat her. The cunning doctor, Yan Bushou, entered the imperial palace and told Father Emperor that he needed an auspicious boy’s blood as a medical catalyst!”

Shen Ninghua frowned. “What? An auspicious boy’s blood as a medical catalyst? Nonsense! Did they use your baby? How dared they?!”

“Of course, they dared! Why wouldn’t they? They had His Majesty’s support!” Baili Anning roared in a low voice, “Yan Bushou! Why doesn’t he just die already! My son was so young, but they drew his blood for this purpose! The medicine didn’t work the first time, so they drew his blood again, and again… During the third time, h-he didn’t make it through…”

Shen Ninghua was stunned on the spot. She almost couldn’t believe her ears. Someone actually drew the blood of the son of a Royal Princess as a medical catalyst. This was so bizarre and outrageous!

Baili Anning grabbed Shen Ninghua’s arm. “Ninghua, Xia Jingxin needs to use this bloody medicine every two weeks. My boy is dead. It’ll be your turn next! Hurry up, take your children, and leave! Leave this damn place quickly!”