Chapter 156 Returning To The Palace; The Encounter With Prince Houjing (Part Two)

Prince Jing nodded, and then slowly closed his eyes again.

Xia Houjing didn't say anything more. He bowed to the two in the carriage, and left.

After Prince Houjing left, the coachman closed the door, and Prince Jing let Qian Hua out. Prince Jing was frowning, as if he was worried about something. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Just now the Prince raised doubts about us."

Yun Shang nodded, but didn't say anything. She warned herself, 'Xia Houjing is someone I must guard against and keep an eye on.'

Qian Hua tugged on Yun Shang's sleeve while she was lost in thought to tell her, "My lady, that is the woman that I saw."

Yun Shang looked to the direction Qian Hua was pointing. She saw a woman in green walking out of the Yuman Tower. The woman looked tall, and was wearing light make-up. She was a beautiful woman.

But just as what Qian Hua had decribed, the lady gave Yun Shang a weird feeling. The way she walked and the look on her face seemed strange. She behaved as though she was hiding something.

Yun Shang squinted, observing the woman for a long time. Suddenly it struck her, "That is not a woman at all!"

"What?" Qian Hua hesitated, then asked, "My lady, I don't understand."

Prince Jing understood what Yun Shang meant. He looked at the woman for a short while, then he turned to Yun Shang, "That's a man in women's clothes and make-up."

Yun Shang nodded in agreement. That woman was a man. The man appeared good-looking, so even though he was taller than the average lady, he was able to pull it off. Maybe he was afraid to be found out, so he imitated women's behavior, but he was too cautious over each move as he walked. Even how he looked at others seemed like it had been practiced a thousand times.

The man was overdoing the acting, and did not come off as a natural woman. Perhaps that was how Yun Shang recognized he was disguised.

"Why did he disguise himself as a woman to meet secretly with Prince Houjing?" Qian Hua frowned, confused again.

Yun Shang considered why he might have, "Maybe, he wanted to conceal his identity, because he is well known. So he disguised himself as a woman to avoid attention and trouble."

Qian Hua understood and nodded. "If he is really someone well known, then it'll be easy for us to find out who he is. My lady, you don't need to worry about him. I will let you know his identity within two days."

Yun Shang said slowly, "Thank you."

Qian Hua left the carriage after that. Yun Shang lifted her head looking at Prince Jing. "We've had the Osmanthus cake, we can go back to the Palace now."

Prince Jing agreed, ordering the coachman to resume to their original destination. Yun Shang noticed that Prince Jing seemed tired, so she lowered her head and kept silent.

When they arrived at the Palace gate, Prince Jing helped Yun Shang dismount the carriage. He said, "Let's go see His Majesty together. You've been lost for some time. He must be worried."

Yun Shang kept her head low as they w

by both of us."

Yun Shang nodded, and headed to Qingxin Palace.

When she arrived at Qingxin Palace, she was greeted with joy by Qin Yi and Qian Yin. They apologized, blaming themselves for what had happened, "Your Highness, this was our fault, we failed to protect you. We didn't do our job well. Please punish us......"

Yun Shang was surprised and looked at her maids, "I was staying at Prince Jing's mansion for two days to help him manage business regarding the upcoming birthday banquet. What are you sorry for?"

Qin Yi and Qian Yin looked at each other, exchanging expressions of surprise, and opened their mouths to say something, but then closed them again.

Yun Shang went and sat on the couch. She sat contemplating something and then looked up, asking Qin Yi and Qian Yin, "After I was abducted, I didn't pay much attention. How did you get out? Is everything okay with you two?"

The maids shook their heads. "Maybe they thought maids were no use. After you were taken away, they drugged and dumped us in a remote area. The secret guards saved us."

Yun Shang nodded, "Glad that nothing happened to you."

Qin Yi came close to Yun Shang and said, "Your Highness, about the abduction that happened, we both feel it was done by a mole from Qingxin Palace, but we haven't discovered who. During the past two days, Qian Yin and I have checked every servant's background and their serving history. When she was sent here, Qian Yin changed most of the servants out with our people. To avoid notice, she kept a few of the elderly maids. When I was checking on them, I found something strange about them. I didn't notice before, but now I am having second thoughts about them. I think they are somehow suspicious."

"Really? How are they suspicious?" Yun Shang asked as she looked up.

Qin Yi thought for a while and responded, "Among the elderly maids, two of them have served a lady who passed away. And that lady is Lady Geng. She is the elder sister of the Grand Councilor Li......"