Reign of the Phoenix

Chapter 4 – What a Pity for Such a Pretty Face
Yan Feng’s expression grew darker and darker, looking more and more furious. Everyone was making their own guesses. Maybe the girl is still a virgin? Is that why the emperor is so angry? Because he can’t condemn her?

After hearing the complete report, Yan Feng let out a scornful laugh. Brought back a bit later, Murong Zhining knelt down.

With utmost contempt, Yan Feng hatefully glared at Murong Zhining. “Listen closely, you lowly servant. Not only are you an impure woman, you’re even pregnant. This is a crime against the emperor. I can’t believe there exists such a shameless woman like you in this world. Men, come! Take this lowly servant and also the maid that made up false evidence back to prison until punishment is decided. As for that girl called Cai Qin, she has done a good deed reporting. Reward a hundred silver taels and return her freedom. She can leave the palace and lead her own life.”

Cai Qin was exhilarated. She never thought that her small scheme would not only teach Murong Zhining a hard lesson, but also earned her a great deal of silver. However, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay here to watch the show and saw for herself how the emperor would punish Murong Zhining. Therefore, Cai Qin begged Yan Feng to let her remain in the palace. Yan Feng was happy to agree to this small favor and assigned her to be a palace maid at an unfavored concubine’s residence.

Murong Zhining and Cai Sang were thrown back to prison by the guards. Murong Zhining wanted to cry so badly, feeling humiliated and helpless at the same time.

Cai Sang wasn’t one bit resentful. She stroke Murong Zhining’s hair dearly. “How can you be so foolish? How didn’t you know that you’re pregnant? But I’m sure you were forced by that old thief. Don’t worry, I won’t look down on you, because I was sullied by that old bastard too.”

Murong Zhining pulled Cai Sang over and hugged her as they sat on the ground. Her eyes brimming with tears, she cradled Cai Sang’s face. “I’m so sorry Cai Sang, I’ve dragged you down with me. If I hadn’t insulted that dog of an emperor, he wouldn’t have ordered his people to frame me, and we wouldn’t have to go through this either.”

Cai Sang was terrified. She glanced around and whispered, “Someone might have heard you! Are you tired of living? How could the emperor frame you? Even if he loathes you for calling him a fatuous ruler, he can just kill you directly. There is no need for him to taint your reputation!”

Murong Zhining hugged her knees, her eyes filled with tears. “Because that dog of an emperor is a petty vindictive man.”

Cai Sang’s heart ached for Murong Zhining. She took out a piece of green bean cake, the pastry that she had riskily snuck away, and stuffed it into Murong Zhining’s mouth. “Hurry up and eat. Let’s just not think too much on it. No matter what happens, I’ll always stay by your side.”

The two girls smiled as they leaned onto each other. Cai Sang’s words had warmed up Murong Zhining’s lonely and helpless heart.

Nighttime fell and rain pattered outside. Water kept trickling down the prison cell walls, leaving no dry area on the ground. The two girls lay on the cold and wet floor, asleep.

Late into the night, Cai Sang was awoken by the cold. For warmth, she subconsciously inched closer towards Murong Zhining’s body, and then she discovered that something was wrong as the latter’s body was burning hot. Cai Sang was jolted awake. She used her palm to feel Murong Zhining’s forehead, the temperature of which was scorching. Cai Sang tried shaking her, but Murong Zhining’s eyes remained sealed shut without any reaction. She was in a coma.

Cai Sang panicked. She grabbed the cell bars and shook them with all her might, shouting, “A person is sick! Help!”

A guard walked in and took a quick glance. “She’s only a prisoner, if she’s sick then she’s sick. If you shout again, I’ll let you have a taste of my leather whip.”

Cai Sang gave up on calling for help knowing that no one would care, because a servant’s life was worth nothing more than a strand of wild grass. Cai Sang had once served Zhuang Cheng’s son. When that fool had a fever, Madam Zhuang would order her to take off his clothes and wipe his body with a wet cloth to cool his temperature down.

Cai Sang couldn’t mind too much under the current crisis. She laid Murong Zhining’s body out flat and took off her clothes. Then, Cai Sang soaked her handkerchief with the dripping rain water from the wall and carefully wiped Murong Zhining’s body.

Murong Zhining quietly lay there, her small face pale and devoid of life. The wide open outfit exposed her smooth white skin that could rival the top quality silk. When Cai Sang wiped down to her stomach, she saw that area budged up little. Cai Sang felt her nose burn a bit. This foolish girl. She must have refused to admit the pregnancy because she was afraid I would look down on her.

Cai Sang’s heart ached as she gazed at the unconscious form of Murong Zhining. When thinking that Murong Zhining had gone through the same humiliation, tears fell from Cai Sang’s eyes onto Murong Zhining’s body.

When the sky lit up, Murong Zhining’s temperature finally dropped. She slowly opened her eyes and looked gratefully at Cai Sang who had been taking care of her through the night. Murong Zhining swore to herself: If there would be a day they could leave this sunless prison, she would definitely reciprocate Cai Sang.

Murong Zhining’s condition didn’t take a turn for the better, though. Just shortly after that, she groggily dozed off. Her complexion grew paler and paler, as if her life was being sapped away.

Cai Sang was anxious to the point of tears. She couldn’t care less if the guards would punish her now. Using all of her strength to shake the cell door, she screamed, “Help!”

When a guard came over, Cai Sang knelt down and pleaded, “A prisoner is still protected by the law. She is pregnant. Even if her sin deserves the death sentence, the execution still has to wait until she gives birth.”

The guard had no authority over this, so he sent people to report the situation to Yan Feng.

Despite his dislike for Murong Zhining, Yan Feng wasn’t a heartless person. He sent an Imperial Physician to cure her.

Murong Zhining was carried from the prison cell to a dry room and placed on a stone bed covered in straw. Imperial Physician Gao Dehong came here to diagnose her per the emperor’s orders.

 

Imperial Physician Gao felt Murong Zhining’s pulse, his face growing more and more serious. Cai Sang urgently asked, “Is it serious? I beg you, please don’t give up on her, please save her! She’s still so young!”

Imperial Physician Gao shook his head with a sigh. “Her illness has been delayed for far too long. It’s not going to be easy to treat. Moreover, curing her requires very precious herbs. Who would use such precious herbs on a prisoner?”

“Just bring whatever herbs you need to cure her. If she dies here, who knows how people will criticize me later!” Yan Feng’s icy voice rang out from behind them. Imperial Physician Gao and Cai Sang hastily knelt to pay their respects.

Yan Feng originally wanted to see how miserable Murong Zhining was. He didn’t expect her illness to be so bad that it actually aroused a tiny bit of compassion in him.

Yan Feng glanced at the girl lying on the stone bed. This was his first time having a clear look at Murong Zhining’s face. The girl grew up to be quite beautiful. Despite the ashen and lifeless complexion, her delicate face still looked perfect. Her eyebrows were curved and smokey. As her eyelids were tightly closed, her pair of long and thick eyelashes looked like two mini fans. Occasionally, they fluttered like a frightened butterfly, dropping two quivering shadows on her skin. Her nose was tall and straight, slightly upturned at the tip. Her soft lips were a bit pale. Her pointy chin shaped the elegant outline of her face.

For a second there, Yan Fang was entranced: The pair of eyes hiding under must be very watery, those curvy little lips must be very soft. When he regained his wits, Yan Feng was a bit infuriated. How could such a pretty face grow on such a dreadful and filthy woman? He violently flung his sleeves and left in a rage.

Imperial Physician Gao wrote the prescription and told an expert to fetch the herbs. The physician personally cooked the herbs and told Cai Sang to pour the medicine down Murong Zhining’s throat. In his over thirty years being and Imperial Physician in the palace, Imperial Physician Gao had been a kind doctor. He did his best to cure Murong Zhining. The physician never treated a patient according to their identity and always gave his best effort in each and every case. He was a respectable physician with a benevolent heart and skillful execution.

Imperial Physician Gao watched as Cai Sang made Murong Zhining drink all of the medicine. Then, he told Cai Sang about any matters to be noted before leaving.

Cai Sang was overjoyed to see Murong Zhining get her treatment. She guarded Murong Zhining and occasionally touched her forehead, afraid that her sickness would get worse. Gazing at Murong Zhining with gentle eyes, Cai Sang’s thoughts slowly drifted. Back then when they were maids in the Zhuang Estate, Murong Zhining and Cai Sang were both bullied by the maids serving Madam Zhuang. Their similar circumstances drew the girls closer to each other.

One time, when Cai Sang delivered fruits to Madam Zhuang’s room, the madam was having a noon nap. Her maid-in-waiting, Cai He stole the madam’s most favorite pearl earrings and pushed the blame onto Cai Sang. Cai He told Madam Zhuang that Cai Sang was the only one who came in the room during the whole afternoon, and that she saw Cai Sang seemed panicked upon leaving.

Madam Zhuang had people bring Cai Sang to her and questioned her using torture. Unable to endure the pain, Cai Sang admitted to it in the state of confusion. However, she couldn’t tell where the pearl earrings went.

As a close friend of Cai Sang, Murong Zhining was very clear about her personality and knew that she was innocent. Therefore, she begged the madam to give her three day to find the earrings and exonerate Cai Sang from the accusation. If she couldn’t find them, she was willing to be punished along with Cai Sang. In the end, the harsh Madam Zhuang agreed to give Murong Zhining two days.

After Murong Zhining carefully scanned the madam’s room, she came up with an idea.

Murong Zhining came to Madam Zhuang’s room the next morning. Acting all mysterious, she told the madam that a celestial being visited her dream the previous night. “The immortal told me that he’s the locust tree spirit in the courtyard. Yesterday evening, a thief dug up a hole at under him to hide the evidence and hurt his roots. Master Tree said the evidence mustn’t be dug out right away. Before we excavate it, we must visit the Immortal Furnace Temple and ask for some incense ash to scatter on the soil first, or else the digging would harm his vitality. If we don’t do as he said, calamity would befall the Zhuang Estate.”

Murong Zhining inched closer to Madam Zhuang and continued, “Master Tree is very angry. He even told me that he would reveal himself to carve the thief’s name on this place.” Murong Zhining looked around vigilantly, then used her hand to cover her mouth and whispered something into Madam Zhuang’s ear. After that, she returned to the kitchens to work.

That evening, a figure a covered face snuck in the back garden of Zhuang Estate. The figure used a knife to carve something on the mini mountain, before quickly disappearing into the night.

The next day, the Zhuang Estate was as bustling as Lunar New Year celebration; tables and chairs were arranged in the courtyard. When Zhuang Cheng heard about the tree spirit dream-telling, he was curious and wanted to watch the show. The story also became very exotic and miraculous after it was spread amongst the servants. Since no one wanted to miss such a good show, the yard was crowded with maids and errand boys.

Zhuang Cheng and Madam Zhuang sipped their tea, asking when Murong Zhining was going to begin. The girl’s answer was that she could only start after the errand boy who had gone to the temple came back with incense ash.

Roughly half an hour later, the errand boy handed a small pouch of incense ash to Murong Zhining.

Murong Zhining held the pouch respectfully and handed it to Madam Zhuang’s maid-in-waiting Cai He. “You are Madam’s personal maid and also an important witness. You are the one with the most qualifications to lead this excavation. Madam will definitely reward you well after this.”

Cai He revealed an expression of joy upon hearing those words. She smugly received the incense ash and walked to the big locust tree. Cai He poured the ash onto the spot and ordered the servants to dig at it. A while later, they had indeed dug out Madam Zhuang’s missing earrings. After verification, it was confirmed that Cai Sang’s name was carved on the mini mountain in the back garden. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and exclaimed that the spirit had truly manifested. Now they only had to wait for Madam Zhuang to send Cai Sang to the authorities for punishment.

Cai He fawningly offered the earrings to Madam Zhuang with two hands. Inwardly, she was dreaming about how the madam would reward her. Cai He nearly laughed out smugly at the thought.

 

Madam Zhuang didn’t received the earrings. Her face darkened and she glared ferociously at Cai He as if wanting to devour the maid alive. “Cai He, I never treated you badly, did I? Why did you steal my earrings and even blamed it on someone else?”

Terrified, Cai He instantly knelt. “The earrings have been found. The immortal also manifested and pointed out the thief. Why are you saying this to me, Madam?”

Murong Zhining stepped forth. “I’ll answer your question in Madam’s stead. Yesterday, I told Madam that the immortal appeared in my dream in front of everyone, but deliberately didn’t let you all know the location he would show up, because I knew for sure someone will ask Madam about it after I left. I told Madam that Celestial Tree would show up at the rockery in the back garden. Indeed, after I left, you pretended to be curious and probed Madam about it. Madam never doubted you so she easily told you, which was exactly the result I wanted. No matter whether out of a guilty conscience or that you just wanted to make sure Cai Sang was blamed, you would sneak to the mountain and carve her name on it. And indeed, someone saw you sneak out at midnight with your face covered and headed towards the back garden.”

 

Cai He still tried to weasel out of it, “If you knew I would do it, why didn’t you bring people to catch me red-handed? Now that there is no proof, how are you going to frame me?”

Murong Zhining’s expression was calm, relaxed even. “I left after the conversation with Madam so that you would have time to ask Madam about it. After that, I had someone lead you away and came back to see Madam. I told her that I had said the wrong thing because I was too anxious. The name that the immortal would carve on the mini mountain would be the wrongly accused person. Also, I told madam that I missed a detail of that dream: the location of the earrings is a mystery of heaven, so Madam mustn’t let others know.”

 

Cai He still stubbornly struggled, “I admit that I had quarrels with Cai Sang due to some trivial matters. I resent her for it and want to get revenge at all time. But, the earrings were definitely stolen by her!”

Madam Zhuang stomped her feet and coldly said, “Still going with your chicanery at this point? Yesterday, Murong Zhining only told me that the thief hid the evidence under the small locust tree at the west side. Today, no one ever told you where to dig, yet you yourself ordered men to dig out the earrings under the big locust tree on the east side. If it wasn’t you who buried them, how would you know they were hidden there?”

Cai He fell on the ground, battered out of her senses. She sat there and mumbled to herself, “That’s impossible… Without the immortal dream telling, how did she know it was a locust tree? Why didn’t she dig it out right away if she knew?”

Murong Zhining stared at Cai He. “I believe in Cai Sang’s morals. There’s no way she would steal Madam’s belongings. I suspected that the thief stole the earrings on an impulse and didn’t have time to sneak it out of the estate yet, so of course they would hide it somewhere inside. I was quite lucky, actually. When I looked everywhere for clues, I discovered that under the big locust tree on the east side, a leaf was half lodged in the soil. Everyone knows it’s impossible for a leaf that falls from the tree to lodge in the ground, unless… someone has touched that soil. The Locust Celestial being damaged and needing incense ash to recover was only an excuse to buy time. I calculated that a trip to the temple and back would take one day. This period would be perfect to set up the thief. So you should be clear by now, right? The purposeful arrangements were only to make you expose your own crime in front of everyone.”

Cai Qin shouted emotionally, “You bitch! How did you come to suspect me?”

Murong Zhining stared fixedly at her eyes. “As long as one does something bad, they will definitely reveal a trace. You reported Cai Sang, so you’re naturally the biggest suspect as far as I’m concerned.”

Relying on her intelligence and careful observation, Murong Zhining easily helped exonerate Cai Sang. Because of this matter, Cai Sang had been badly beaten up. If it hadn’t been for Murong Zhining, she didn’t know if she could have survived it. Not only did Murong Zhining save her life, her wisdom and ability also greatly impressed Cai Sang. The two girls became true sisters that had bonded through the trials of hardship.