Chapter 42 Punishing Qin Meng

Yun Shang thought about the previous night for a moment and guessed what might have happened. She looked up at Qin Yi. Mischief danced in her eyes. "I'm in no hurry. I will have my breakfast before I deal with the Qin Meng situation."

Qin Yi nodded and then turned to leave. She stepped out and spoke with the messenger standing outside. A short while later, a maid-in-waiting brought breakfast to the Palace. Qin Yi took it from the maid with a smile. She said to Yun Shang, "You have red bean porridge for breakfast. Looks delicious."

Yun Shang nodded and explained herself, "You see, there is always trouble. Qin Meng certainly is troublesome."

Qin Yi put the dishes on the table while saying, "I forget that we are now in Prince Jing's Mansion instead of at our own. Qin Meng deserves to be punished. Someone had to teach her a lesson. Then she would know that she can't just do whatever she wants to do, wherever she goes, and whenever she pleases."

Yun Shang smiled. She tucked into a bowl of red bean porridge before picking up an egg roll from the plate. After breakfast, Yun Shang took a nap before finally deciding to deal with Qin Meng. She asked a servant to lead her to the so-called forbidden area in the Prince's Mansion.

Qin Meng was kneeling in front of the door of the forbidden area. She must have been kneeling for a long time for she could barely stay straight. Hearing a noise, she looked up slowly and, upon seeing Yun Shang, her eyes brightened. She straightened her upper body and said with tears in her eyes, "Princess, help me, please. I just wanted a private place to relieve myself. But the mansion is so large that I couldn't find a servant to guide me. It was during my search that I stumbled here. I didn't know that this is the forbidden area. Princess, help me…"

Yun Shang frowned and walked towards Qin Meng quickly. With an anxious expression, she reprimanded the maid. "Qin Meng, how could you be so careless? We are now in Prince Jing's Mansion. You are not allowed to walk around freely. You have caused offense to my uncle, Prince Jing. I am unable to save you…"

"I didn't mean harm. Princess, please go beg the Prince to forgive me." said Qin Meng. Tears

e her end up like this. The Empress managed to put her by your side, but she was turned into a useless person by the Prince before she did anything useful for the Empress. It is the Prince that punished Qin Meng. You did not hurt her. Nobody can attribute her punishment to you. What a wonderful thing it is to get rid of her without doing anything." said Qin Yi with excitement.

Yun Shang stood still and looked into the distant bamboo grove. Joy didn't appear on her face. She said, "Letting her stay by my side is not necessarily a bad thing. I had thought I could make use of her later. I had never thought that she would be punished by the Prince… It's just as well. I don't have to be vigilant all the time without an agent of the Empress by my side."

"Princess, you can take the chance to place several trustworthy servants by your side." said Qin Yi. This was the first time since her return from the Temple that Qin Yi felt completely at ease.

Yun Shang nodded and said, "We will set out for our Palace once the Prince's servants send Qin Meng back.

Yun Shang wanted to meet with Prince Jing privately for two reasons. The first was to get a little space from the Imperial Palace and its on-going schemes, and the second to ally with someone who disliked the Empress as much as she did. Now that she got what she wanted, there was no reason to stay. Besides, Prince Jing's would set off interesting events in the Imperial Palace. How could she miss that?