Chapter 95 The Nightmare

"I always thought that you were careful. How could you be so careless today? Besides Yun Shang, we also smelled the perfumed powder. It was lucky that you discarded the needle as soon as you spotted something wrong. Had we been caught, we would be in big trouble before we could teach Yun Shang a lesson." Lady Ming said with a frown. There was a hint of disapproval in her eyes.

Madam Yu fell to the ground hurriedly and kowtowed before Lady Ming for several times. "I understand, My Lady. I was reckless today. But I didn't expect that Princess Yun Shang would send people to investigate you on pretext of concern for your health."

"Hum, Yun Shang is by no means a simple girl. She pretends to be timid and overcautious. But occasionally, she seems to be clever, too. However, her cleverness was so deliberate that no one would doubt that it was just her way to cover her clumsiness." Lady Ming waved and said, "All right. Anyway, what happened cannot be changed. I have led a peaceful life for many years, and have kept my hands from getting tainted by dirty tricks. You seem to not be accustomed to sneaky schemes as well. Be careful next time. Few women in the Palace are simple-minded. Don't underestimate our enemies again."

Madam Yu replied immediately, "I understand, My Lady. It's getting late, you should retire now."

Lady Ming nodded, "It's getting colder. Set a warm stove in the room later."

"Yes." Madam Yu answered before standing up. She helped Lady Ming take off her clothes, and took out the warmers from under the quilt. The bed was already warm because of the warmers. Madam Yu pulled the quilt on Lady Ming after the Lady had lain on the bed. After folding and putting aside the clothes, Madam Yu walked to the stove. She added more coal to the fire. Then she blew out the lamp, walked out of the room, and retired in the small night-watch cabin in the outer room.

Lady Ming felt uneasy during her light sleep as she dreamed of a cat. The cat let out a pitiful scream and jumped at her. Lady Ming was so scared that she awoke from the nightmare. It was only a dream! Lady Ming wiped off the sweat on her forehead. However, when she was about to close her eyes again, she heard the faint yowling of a cat. And the yowling sounded more and more sad.

How could it be possible for some cat to come here? Lady Ming frowned. Thinking of the dream she just had, she could not help but feel frightened. So she called aloud, "Madam Yu..."

Movement was heard before Madam Yu responded, "Yes, I'm here."

After a short moment, a light was seen when Madam Yu walked in with a glaze-covered lamp. "What happened, My Lady? Are you thirsty?"

Lady Ming shook her head. She leaned a little forward and tried to hear for odd sounds. But, she heard nothing. So, Lady Ming asked, "Did you hear something, Madam Yu? The yowling of a cat, or something like that?"

Madam Yu shook her head at Lady Ming's question, "No. Did you hear something just now?"

Lady Ming said with a frown, "The meowing of a cat."

"The meowing of a cat?" Madam Yu felt a little surprised. "But I didn't. How could it be possible for cats to come here at his hour? It is forbidden to let pets wander about in the Palace after evening. How could it be possible?"

Lady Ming felt surprised, too. She thought she was imagining things. So she waved at Madam Yu, "All right. It may be an illusion."

Madam Yu nodded. But before she turned to leave, she noticed an open window. Madam Yu frowned at this. "Why is the window open? I remembered having closed it before I left. Look, the fire is not as big as before."

Lady Ming felt a chill after hearing Madam Yu's words. "It snowed the whole day today. Maybe the window was not shut tightly, and the wind blew it open?"

"Hum, " Madam Yu replied. She put down the lamp on the table by her side, and walked toward the window. Suddenly, she stopped as she felt as though she had stepped on an object which was both, soft and hard. Madam Yu almost fell when she stumbled into the object. She looked down, and saw a white fluffy thing under her foot. When she took a closer look at it, she could not help but let out a sharp scream, "Oh my.."

Lady Ming was startled. She propped herself up to look at Madam Yu. "What's happening?"

Madam Yu pointed at her foot and said with her eyes closed. "My Lady, it is a cat. A dead cat..."

This made Lady Ming's hair stand on end. She trembled as she said, "Guard! Call the guard! Call them now!"

In the quiet winter night, the knock was heard at the entrance of every Palace. "Emergency summon from Lady Ming. Ladies, please get dressed and go to Changchun Palace as soon as possible..."

"Your Highness, please get up. Lady Ming sent for you. We have no idea what happened, but it seems that all the other ladies have been summoned, too." Qin Yi got up in a hurry, and then wakened Yun Shang. After helping Yun Shang get dressed, Qin Yi fetched a warmer and handed it to the Princess. "Your Highness, it's very cold outside. Do you need one more robe?"

Yun Shang shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Perhaps it would be better for you to take one more coat for yourself. We don't need to be in a hurry."

Qin Yi nodded and left to fetch a coat from the night-watch cabin. Then she scurried out of the room to check whether it was snowing or not. At last, she returned to the bedchamber and said to Yun Shang, "Let's

"It looks like, looks like... Lady Fu's cat..."

Li Fuyi frowned and stood up. "Since Zirui says it is my cat, it must be my cat. But, Lady Ming, how could I know it is my cat? I had played with it shortly before I went to bed. I have no idea why the cat would come here. Anyway, it is impossible for me to plot against you. If I had planned the plot, it would be stupid for me to use my own cat..."

Lady Ming knew well that even if Li Fuyi wanted to hurt her, she would not take any action at this moment. So she waved at her and said, "I know it was not you. But the servants and maids in your Palace cannot escape suspicion. Since it was time for everyone to sleep, the doors must have been locked. If the door was locked, how could it be possible for the cat to sneak out and come to my Palace?"

"Atishoo..." Yun Shang sneezed all of a sudden. Then she apologized immediately, "I'm sorry, Lady Ming. I didn't mean to interrupt you. But I could not hold back the sneeze as, somehow, I have smelled an odd fragrance... I'm allergic to perfumed powders... I don't know what happened but I can smell something right now. There was no such smell a moment ago..."

The women in the imperial household were very smart! After hearing Yun Shang's words, they all guessed that something was wrong. Lady Ming frowned and muttered, "Perfumed powders?"

Yun Shang nodded. She sneezed again before she was about to speak. "Atishoo..."

"It is very fragrant. And it is quite fresh as I didn't smell it before." Yun Shang frowned after taking in a breath.

There hadn't been such a scent until this moment. Lady Ming sank into deep thought as she set her eyes on Yun Shang. No one left nor entered. The only thing that was brought into the Hall was ... the quilt on Yun Shang's body.

It seemed the quilt had also caught Yun Shang's attention. She lowered her head, and breathed deeply. "Atishoo..." "Atishoo..."

Yun Shang sneezed several times in a row. Lady Jin, who was sitting next to Yun Shang, stood up and took the quilt off from Yun Shang. She held Yun Shang's arm, helped her stand, and pulled her close.

"Are you feeling better now?" Lady Jin looked at Yun Shang and seemed worried.

Yun Shang said with a nod, "Yes, I'm feeling much better."

Lady Ming watched Lady Jin and Yun Shang for a short while. Then she turned to Madam Yu, "Is the quilt smelling of a perfumed powder?"

Madam Yu looked quite confused at Lady Ming's question. "Never. This is Lady Ming's quilt. His Majesty asked for a quilt so urgently that I had to take the quilt on your bench. Many quilts stored in the closet haven't been basked under the sun for disinfection."

Madam Yu walked to the chair that Yun Shang had sat on. She took the quilt and smelled it. "Nothing. I don't smell anything peculiar."

Yun Shang went closer and smelled again. Then she sneezed and nodded repeatedly. "Yes. Yes. That's it. Madam Yu, please smell here."

Madam Yu smelled again, but she looked confused. "The scent is similar to the incense used to fumigate dresses. I think the quilt must have been tainted with the smell when the maid was fumigating your dress."

"The fumigating incense?" Yun Shang murmured as if speaking to herself. Then she raised her head to look at Lady Ming, "Lady Ming, can I smell your dress?"

Lady Ming had no choice but to give Yun Shang a nod, though she thought it a rude request.

Yun Shang walked to Lady Ming and sniffed at her dress. "No, there is a difference. Though the two scents are quite similar, they are different. The scent on the quilt smells of some perfumed powder..."