Chapter 180: Xiao Huanxi Was Dead!

As Xiao Jingran fell ill again, the Xiao family’s power was handed over to Xiao Fengjue.

Five days later, Shen Ninghua came to attend the banquet hosted by the empress. She stood there for about fifteen minutes, and yet no palace maids came to bring her to the banquet.

After Baili Anning finished dressing up, she arrived at the side hall of Qifeng Palace and saw Shen Ninghua leaning against the railing and looking at the swimming fish in the water. “Ninghua, why are you here?”

“Nothing. No one led me to my seat, so I just wait.”

Baili Anning frowned. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long, about fifteen minutes.”

“Her Majesty’ palace has always had strict rules. This is the first time that no one came to receive the guest.” Hearing this, Baili Anning immediately understood what was going on and sneered.

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “Her Majesty is taking it out on me. There’s nothing to be angry about. She has to entertain me anyway. Just wait.”

“That’s right.” Baili Anning simply leaned against the railing and waited with her.

The two of them looked at the beautiful scenery around them and chatted. They were actually pleased with themselves.

After about half a quarter, a palace maid hurriedly ran over and said, “Greetings, Princess Anning. Greetings, Princess Zhaohua. I have come to take you two to the banquet.”

Baili Anning swept her gaze across the surroundings and coldly said, “If you didn’t come, I would think that Her Majesty has forgotten about us!”

The palace maid immediately knelt on the ground, “Please forgive me, Your Highness. I’m guilty. Please forgive me.”

Baili Anning’s expression changed. What was going on with this palace maid? She didn’t blame her, and yet she volunteered to take the blame?

Shen Ninghua took a step forward to block Baili Anning. “Her Highness only said one sentence and you made such a grand apology. Well, you just kept us waiting for an hour, and we didn’t say anything yet. You do have a big temper.”

The chief palace maid Fang Xue came forward and scolded the palace maid on the ground in a low voice, “What are you crying for? You made a mistake, and you should go down to receive the punishment. But you actually cried in front of the two princesses. How dare you! Your Highnesses, this little palace maid is new and ignorant. I apologize to you on behalf of her.”

“Aunt Fang Xue, never mind. She’s just a newcomer who doesn’t know any better. We’re fine.” Baili Anning replied.

Fang Xue smiled and bowed. “Please take your seats, Your Highnesses.”

Shen Ninghua and Baili Anning exchanged a glance. They sat in their seats and became vigilant in their hearts. It seemed that the empress had made up her mind to make things difficult for Shen Ninghua at this banquet.

Soon, Empress Zhao Huiying came in dressed in a red palace robe and everyone stood up to salute.

“Everyone, as you were. The flowers are in full bloom now. Today, I invite you to come here to enjoy the scenery together.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Since that’s the case, let’s be seated.” Zhao Huiying’s expression was gentle and carried an unparalleled aura of dignity. Her gaze swept across the crowd, causing everyone to feel that the empress paid attention to them, and all of them felt respectful to her.

Shen Ninghua lowered her head and took a sip of tea, quietly waiting for the show to start at the banquet.

But halfway through the banquet, nothing happened.

Zhao Huiying was helped up by the palace maid. She smiled and said to the crowd, “Now is the right time to enjoy the scenery in the Imperial Garden. I will go back and change my clothes. You can go first.”

Everyone agreed, got up and walked towards the Imperial Garden. The number of people who were lucky enough to visit royal gardens was small, and the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Imperial Garden was even rarer. All of them were overjoyed.

Shen Ninghua and Baili Anning followed behind the crowd and walked towards the Imperial Garden.

The two of them casually walked to the pavilion beside the water and sat down against the railing.

Baili Anning was suspicious. “Ninghua, did you think that Her Majesty asked us to come here today just to enjoy the scenery?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Well, what do you think…Ah, Ninghua, look out!”

Before Baili Anning could finish her words, she saw a figure jumping out from the bushes beside her. The person directly pounced on Shen Ninghua and rolled down to the pool of water with her.

“Someone, come quickly and save Her Highness!”

Shen Ninghua heard Baili Anning’s warning, but before she could react, she felt someone crashing into her, and then she rolled into the pond with the person.

She felt that her arms were tightly hugged and she couldn’t break free however hard she tried.

Under the water, through the clear water, she saw the ferocious face of the person who was holding her: It was Xiao Huanxi!

Why did she appear in the Palace?

Xiao Huanxi’s face was filled with a ferocious smile. She opened her mouth and a string of bubbles appeared. After being refracted by the water, her face became even more distorted.

Shen Ninghua tried to break away from her hands, but Xiao Huanxi treated her as an arch-enemy. Now, she finally had the chance to kill her. She would not let go anyway.

Layers of embroidered dress looked extraordinarily gorgeous on normal days, but when it was soaked in water, it became exceptionally heavy. Shen Ninghua felt lucky that it was already June, and the water in the pond was no longer ice-cold and bone-piercing. Otherwise, the situation would be even worse.

On the shore, Baili Anning shouted loudly. Immediately, guards rushed over.

Baili Anning’s heart shrank. Looking around, she discovered that there was not a single palace maid or nurse in the surroundings, only a group of guards. At this time, she understood that this was the trap set by the empress for Ninghua: drowning her in the pond or letting the guards ruin her reputation by having close physical contact with her.

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“All of you, stop!” Minister of War’s wife, Madam Shao stood up and stopped the guards. “Princess Zhaohua fell into the water. Quickly find some palace maids and nurses who can swim! You guards, turn around and don’t get close!”

Seeing that those guards still intended to move forward, Baili Anning gritted her teeth and scolded, “I told you to stop and turn around. Didn’t you hear me? These are all Her Majesty’s distinguished guests. If you offend them, I will report to His Majesty to club all of you to death!”

Many of the guards were instantly frightened and hesitated to step forward.

The water in the pond was a little muddy. She could only feel that there were fluctuations in the water, but no one floated up.

Baili Anning was so anxious that she almost cried out. “Ninghua, Ninghua…”

Just as Baili Anning was about to despair, Baili Qingcang strode over with a frown. “What’s going on? Why do you all gather here?”

Seeing Chu Junyi following behind Baili Qingcang, Baili Anning’s eyes lit up. “Your Majesty, Ninghua has fallen into the water. Quickly let someone save her!”

Before Baili Anning could finish her words, a figure had already shot into the pond. It was Chu Junyi, who had just stood behind Baili Qingcang.

In the pond, Shen Ninghua tried her best to control her emotions and maintain calm. She struggled to pull back one of her arms, bent her fingers and knocked at the acupoint on Xiao Huanxi’s chest.

Feeling the intense pain in her chest, Xiao Huanxi didn’t let go, she even tightened her grip. She had already gone crazy. The only thing she remembered was that she wanted to kill Shen Ninghua. So now, even if she died, Shen Ninghua must die with her!

Chu Junyi jumped into the water and swiftly swam towards Shen Ninghua. He grabbed her waist and hugged her in his arms. The fear in his heart slowly subsided. Fortunately, Ninghua was still alive.

He looked at Xiao Huanxi, who was tightly grabbing Shen Ninghua. A strong killing intent flashed through his eyes. He focused his internal force into his palm and fiercely hacked down on her arm.

Xiao Huanxi opened her mouth and cried out in alarm, but she only spat out a string of bubbles. Then, she released Shen Ninghua’s arm and slowly sank into the water.

Chu Junyi gritted his teeth and glanced at Xiao Huanxi. Then, he turned around and carried Shen Ninghua to the surface of the water.

“Ninghua, are you alright?”

Shen Ninghua choked so hard that the pain in her lungs was unbearable. After a while, she slowly opened her eyes and coughed. “Cough cough, I’m fine…”

Baili Qingcang nervously looked at Shen Ninghua. Seeing that her face was pale and wet, he frowned deeply. “Someone, get some clean clothes and summon Chen Yun here.”

Baili Anning hurriedly put the clothes that the palace maid brought over on Shen Ninghua’s body. “Your Majesty, how about sending Ninghua to my palace?”

“Alright. Who else is in the pond? Scoop them up. In public with so many guards around, someone actually murdered the princess. What’s the use of having you here?”

The guards knelt on the ground in fear, not even daring to beg for mercy.

Shen Ninghua put on the clothes and stood up supported by Baili Anning’s hand.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t know that the rules of the palace were so slack. A person hiding in the Imperial Garden was actually not found. I was knocked into the pond, and not a single nurse or palace maid was around! These guards were actually the first to rush forward ahead. Did they want to save me, or did they want to kill me?”

“Your Majesty, we were wronged.” The leader of the guards cried out in grievance, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. If they were really convicted of attempting to murder the princess, their entire families would be annihilated.

Shen Ninghua’s entire body was in a sorry state, but the imposing aura around her was unstoppable. “I wronged you? Is it true that Xiao Huanxi was hiding in the bushes?”

“Yes.”

“If Xiao Huanxi did not try to murder me, but instead offended the other madams, or even His Majesty, should you all die to apologize?”

“…Well…”

Shen Ninghua’s expression grew colder. “If it wasn’t me who fell into the pond today, but an imperial concubine, would you also rush forward and jump into the pond to save her?”

“…Your Majesty…we failed in our duty. Please punish us.”

Baili Qingcang’s expression turned sullen as he tightly clenched his hands behind his back. “I have raised you in the hope that you would be of some use one day. However, you guys are just capable of taking salary from me and can’t even perform your duty faithfully…Someone, drag down the guards who are on duty in the Imperial Garden today and give them thirty heavy strokes. The leader of the guards shall receive fifty heavy strokes. Left Imperial Censor Chu Junyi will personally supervise the execution.”

Chu Junyi’s eyes sparkled coldly. “Yes, as you ordered.” He would definitely properly supervise them!

The empress rushed over in a hurry. Seeing Shen Ninghua was still standing there, her heart paused. She then walked to Baili Qingcang and said, “Greetings, Your Majesty. What happened? I just went to change my clothes. How did this happen? Why is Ninghua wet all over? Quickly summon the imperial doctors.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes were cold as she looked at Zhao Huiying, whose face was full of worry. A killing intent flashed in her heart. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I’m fine.”

As they spoke, the nurses finally scooped Xiao Huanxi out.

Baili Qingcang snorted coldly. “Empress, why was Xiao Huanxi in the Palace?”

“I heard that Xiao Huanxi had gone crazy, so I didn’t give her the invitation. Why was she in the Palace?” Zhao Huiying frowned as if she didn’t know anything.

“You are the empress in charge of the harem. Someone entered the harem and almost murdered the princess. You actually don’t know anything?”

“Your Majesty, please punish me for my negligence.” Zhao Huiying hurriedly apologized.

Someone stood up and pleaded, “Your Majesty, Her Majesty has a lot of things to attend to. It’s understandable that she didn’t predict this.”

Baili Qingcang said coldly, “The empress does have too many things to do. Since that’s the case, let Concubine Jing and Concubine Hui help her handle the palace affairs and share some of the empress’ burdens.”

The smile on Zhao Huiying’s face was still gentle and calm. “Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang turned to look at Xiao Huanxi on the ground. “How is Xiao Huanxi?”

A nurse hurriedly stepped forward to check and reported, “Your Majesty, Miss Xiao…is dead.”

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