3 The assassin's attempt

Grand Imperial Princess Mansion, Yuchang City

 Princess Cheng's eyes locked onto her grandmother's color-changing lips, and beneath her feigned calmness, a sense of unease surged within her. 

She settled on a wooden stool beside the Grand Imperial Princess, who had risen slightly from her bed. With a weak smile, the old princess attempted to ease the situation, "Don't go after this poison matter; I just ate something wrong."

Princess Cheng ignored her with a worried look and placed her fingers on her grandmother's pulse, her pupils trembling with horror. 

 A commotion infested the mansion, and the maids and servants, working in an orderly manner, began to gather in the open area. 

Princess Cheng couldn't help but hear the loud chirping of the birds gathered outside her grandmother's window, singing the lament of a dying soul. 

"This can't be happening! She is indeed...."Princess Cheng mumbled to herself, slowly opening her eyes.

 A faint smile reminiscent of an infant's graced her grandmother's lips,"Cheng'er, this day had to come, I knew, you knew, everyone did, why cry?" 

Princess Cheng couldn't hold back her tears as she heard her grandmother's words, speaking in a wheezy tone.

Her heart ached, an epiphany struck her, and her eyes widened, she checked her grandmother's pulse once more and then ordered in a loud voice, "Servants!"

"Bring my medicine box! Immediately!" Princess Cheng commanded, a glimmer of hope lighting up her eyes.

"It's of no use! I don't want to live any longer; I know I am poisoned. I deserve it."The old princess wailed. 

"No you don't!" Princess Cheng shed tears, her mouth was bitter at the thought of people who made her grandmother's life miserable.

"My son sent you here to be raised by me so that I am not lonely but I…" Her voice faded for short moment, but then she again took a deep breath and continued, "…I delayed your youth and blocked all the marriage prospects."

 "If not for my sins, you could have married a good husband. I have wronged you!" the Grand Imperial Princess cried, tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks.

 "Don't say that! You are not a sinner!" Princess Cheng repeated as she wiped away her own tears.

 She had always tried her best to bring happiness to her life but the gloominess always hovered above her grandmother. Mama Li often pictured for her how her grandmother has been depressed and not cheerful as before. 

How could anyone be happy at all after being betrayed by her own son and witnessing a tragic death of her beloved husband. 

Princess Cheng was just three-years-old when her father sent her to Yuchang, and was raised by her grandparents. 

Her grandfather died when she was seven and at that time her grandmother sent her back but her father, the prime minister refused to let her in.

Eunuch Jiu entered the room, placing the medicine box on a side table and then discreetly retreated, his eyes filled with hidden tears.

Princess Cheng didn't spare a glance at the priceless treasures within the medicine box and directly reached for a jade ceramic bottle covered with a red drape. 

The Grand Imperial Princess watched in astonishment, wondering if the medicine was worth more than the jade bottle itself.

"What is this?" She asked, coughing, stunned by her granddaughter's actions.

"It's the elixir I made; it happens to act as an antidote to your poison." Xuan Cheng answered, her head was burdened with the doubt whether or not the elixir would work on her grandmother. 

The Grand Imperial Princess refused, "I won't eat this!" 

"Why?" Princess Cheng asked surprised, "It's smell is so bad and it's must be bitter."

"Grandma! You can't do this! I am trying to save you, and you are complaining about the bitterness? So picky!" Cheng scolded, her annoyance evident and forcefully fed the elixir. 

"I need candy!" the Grand Imperial Princess stubbornly demanded after swallowing it. 'She is fighting with death and acting so childish.' Princess Cheng spoke to herself.

 "No way! You cannot eat anything for two hours," Princess Cheng replied firmly, her concern for her grandmother hidden beneath her stern words.

"You are scolding me? I am your grandmother, and you are scolding me." The Grand Imperial Princess widened her eyes in bewilderment.

"Now you remember it that you have a granddaughter!?" Her grumpy voice asked.

 "Be obedient, my grandma! Recuperate well, so that you can raise a stick and hit me with your own hands."

"Okay! Now sleep! You will have sweet dreams! I promise!" Cheng covered her with the blanket and patted her head affectionately, forcing her worried her away. 

"You are so naughty! I will make sure to give you a good beating," the Grand Imperial Princess said with a faint smile.

Princess Cheng placed her index finger on her grandmother's forehead, gently massaging it as light blue energy dispersed and spread over her body, calming her nerves.

"Cheng'er!" the Grand Imperial Princess called out in a low voice, her condition seeming to improve.

"Hmph…" Cheng raised her eyebrows and responded.

"You are a prodigy in medicine and specialize in poison; you should try to earn some merits in the court," her grandmother lamented with a hint of guilt in her voice.

"Promise me that you shall go back to your father when I die," she pleaded with hopeful eyes. 

Princess Cheng couldn't voice her true feelings,'Grandmother… you are colder than that bitter winter night.'

"Grandma! Don't think about such things!" Princess Cheng replied with a composed expression as she continued to massage her grandmother's forehead.

She changed the subject, she could not bear to think about any future when her present was unstable, her heart groaned in pain remembering the day she was returned from the gates of the city in the winter night. 

"Sleep!" she whispered gently in her grandmother's ear, her eyes filled with concern as she watched her fall into a peaceful slumber.

Eunuch Jiu, who had been waiting outside, entered the room. He had overheard the entire conversation and knew that Princess Cheng has holding herself back from sharing the truth.

"Your Highness, why did you not tell Her Highness that you have already surpassed the Tian Limit?" He inquired, feeling that Princess Cheng was being wronged. 

She didn't pay heed to his words, inhaling deeply she commanded, "Investigate everyone. I want to know who dared to poison a dying person and for what ridiculous reason."

Eunuch Jiu, aware of her intentions, had already made arrangements for the investigation. 

 Sitting in the main hall Princess Cheng glared at the woman lying at the floor. Gritting her teeth, she questioned, "Where did you find her?" her hoarse voice sent chills down the spine of her guards, their eyes filled with guilt and fear. 

One of them gathered courage and came forward to answer, "Beside the fence. We caught her but then she committed suicide." 

"So you could not even keep her alive," Princess Cheng snarled at them, "Open her eyes," she commanded. "

The guards nodded and then forced the dead woman's eyes open. Princess Cheng walked up to the still-warm body of the woman and looked into her eyes.

A red light inwardly flashed followed by spiraling wave of aura, reflecting the memories of the woman, scenes of the past flowed inside of Princess Cheng's eyes. 

Eunuch Jiu noticed her pupils hue changing and he knew that her Jade Eyes were activated, and was in a full swing. 

Princess Cheng took a deep breath and blinked after a long while, her eyes changed back to normal as she straightened her back, she walked back to her seat and looked down at the dead woman, she scoffed at her and said, "Sometimes kindness becomes one's enemy." 

"Your Highness, what did it reveal?" Eunuch Jiu questioned curiously, seeing how the princess' mood changed. 

"She came to avenge herself. Apparently, My grandmother had her freed from the brothel where she worked as a top courtesan." Princess Cheng explained,"Her life became terrible working under a dignified minister as a slave."

Princess Cheng's guards and servants were all awestruck by her ability and thought that it was a pity her talent was being wasted in the confines of the mansion. 

"Give her a funeral at the welfare house, and let the people know how she had served her master selflessly." Princess Cheng ordered. 

Then two of her guards carried the dead body of the assassin who had breached the mansion's security and attempted to kill the old princess who accepted her faith without protesting. 

Princess Cheng let out a deep sigh and then turned to Eunuch Jiu, "I am afraid people responsible for this incident cannot go unpunished." 

"Understood." Eunuch Jiu nodded and passed down the orders with his eyes, and the guards willingly accepted their fate, knowing that they deserved it for slacking off. 

"Increase the security, especially around grandmother's courtyard, stop the recruitment of slaves this year and no one can leave without my permission." Princess Cheng instructed. 

"No night ventures then?" A teenage guard questioned with utter disappointment in his hushed tone, "No, little guard, no night ventures!" Princess Cheng sarcastically smiled and replied.