The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1196

Chapter 1196: 581 Jiaojiao Makes a Move (First Update)

The side hall of Huaqing Palace held a Secret Room used for interrogating Palace maids; it was not as dark and fearsome as the Ministry of Justice Prison or the Sky Prison, yet it was still somber and strangely eerie.

At this moment, "Princess Ning An" lay on the cold floor, unable to stand or walk due to her broken legs.

Doctors from the Sky Prison had set her bones, but how could they fuse and heal so quickly?

The emperor sat about ten steps away from her, while Eunuch Wei and two Imperial guards stood by.

"What should We call you?" the emperor asked coldly.

"Qin... Qin Fengyang," she said weakly.

"Do you think you are worthy of the Qin surname?" Glancing coldly at the face that closely resembled Princess Ning An’s, the emperor felt his heart being torn apart at the thought of Ning An, but he was also filled with indignation at the woman who had replaced her. "How did Ning An die? Was she murdered by your conspiracy?"

Qin Fengyang gave a bitter smile, "If I say no, will Your Majesty believe me?"

Indeed, the emperor found it difficult to believe; he had suffered enough at the hands of this mother and daughter, and he was somewhat paranoid.

The emperor said, "Then We’ll ask you a different question, where are Ning An’s remains buried?"

Qin Fengyang looked at the emperor with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Maybe she is still alive. Your Majesty, if you set me free, I will tell you her whereabouts..."

The emperor’s grip on the armrest of his chair tightened abruptly.

He had to admit, his heart was tempted for a moment.

Eunuch Wei hurriedly reminded, "Your Majesty, be cautious of deceit."

The emperor composed himself and said firmly, "You need not deceive Us any longer. You have committed too many evils, and We shall not forgive you. Today, We called you here only to ask for the location of Ning An’s buried bones. If you don’t want to suffer more, you had best confess truthfully. We might consider granting you a quick death."

"A quick death... Hahaha... " Qin Fengyang laughed so hard she began to tremble. "Oh, my dear imperial brother, don’t you find your words incredibly hypocritical? Death is death; what’s this about a ’quick death’? I don’t understand, we are both your sisters, so why was only Ning An’s life so favored? Why was I taken out of the palace from a young age, living that inhuman life? Imperial brother, do you know how much I’ve suffered since I was a child? In the scorching summers, I was left to suffer under the sweltering sun, and in the bitterly cold winters, I froze in the Snowfields. Minor disobediences led to hunger, major ones to a severe beating... My happiest days each month were when I could enter the palace and pretend to be Ning An; only then could I live like a princess of the empire for a day..."

Hearing her recount her past, the emperor involuntarily frowned, "Why didn’t you tell anyone?"

Qin Fengyang scoffed with a mocking smile, "Haven’t I told you? My dear imperial brother, have I truly never told you?"

A long-forgotten memory suddenly surged to his mind.

In his youth, he and the young Ning An were squatting by a lake, writing characters with twigs.

Little Ning An wrote a large character "Yangyang": "Imperial brother, I am not Yangyang, I am Ning An."

The young him snatched the twig and flicked her forehead, "Silly girl, how can you not even write your own name?"

Upset, little Ning An retorted, "I am Ning An! That’s my name!"

After saying so, she ran away angrily.

Tears brimmed in Qin Fengyang’s eyes as she said, "Imperial brother, do you remember now? After that incident, my mother found out and warned me never to speak of my background to anyone again; otherwise, she would never let me enter the palace to see her. Imperial brother, I was just a child as old as Xiaoqi at the time, did I have the courage to oppose my mother and all those evil people? I was forced too; what have I done wrong? Why have you all only cared about Ning An... and no one cared about me?"

Qin Fengyang broke down in tears.

A deep layer of guilt suddenly surged within the emperor’s heart. If she had been raised in the palace, under our imperial father and mother’s care like Ning An, would she have turned out this way?

She should have been a princess with no worries or cares, she should have enjoyed all the glory and riches the world had to offer, she should have...

With a loud crash, the door to the Secret Room was kicked open from the outside, interrupting the emperor’s thoughts. He turned his head sharply, about to scold the intruder, but was met by a slender figure striding in with an imposing manner, who kicked the wailing and pitiful Qin Fengyang to the ground!

"Ah—" Qin Fengyang let out a miserable scream as she hit the wall behind her.

"The, the Divine Doctor?" the emperor was astonished.

Gu Jiao approached, kicking aside the medicine near Qin Fengyang’s hand and then coldly stepping on her chest with her foot.

The emperor was stunned by the scene.

The Imperial guards quickly moved to protect him, stepping in front of him.

"You, you stand down," he said.

The guards stepped aside. The emperor looked at the first aid kit Gu Jiao had kicked over, frozen in disbelief, "This is... she..."

Eunuch Wei quickly walked over, using a handkerchief to pick up the first aid kit with covered hands, opened it, and found a packet of crushed brown powder emanating a strong medicinal and floral scent.

"This scent seems familiar... have I seen it somewhere before?" Eunuch Wei murmured.

"It’s Bai Yao," Gu Jiao glanced over and said flatly.

Eunuch Wei gasped.

The emperor had been confused by this very medicine for many years, and it had only recently lost its effect; if he were to be dosed again now, he would end up an imbecile for the rest of his life!

The emperor was furious and humiliated, "How does Dali Temple do their work? Not searching a prisoner upon detention?"

Male prisoners are usually searched, but she was not an ordinary prisoner. Having an old nurse conduct the search wasn’t very professional; it wouldn’t have been difficult for her to sneak in some pills.

The emperor felt an extreme chill up his spine and disdainfully looked at Qin Fengyang on the ground, "To think We almost took pity on you just now... Turns out you’ve been acting all along!"