An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 1318 Wait And See

Ling Ziyue sneered, "From Deer City to here, we have been in the State of Xia for more than a few

months. We have walked through countless cities and villages in the State of Xia all the way. There

was no problem before. Why do they suddenly feel uncomfortable of the journey this time?"

"It's just the emperor of the State of Xia or the Empress who tries to threaten us. Basically, they want to

make it clear to us that this is their territory and we have to be obedient. Otherwise, they have a lot of

ways to control us."

Another man smashed the table and made a huge "bang" sound. He widened his eyes and shouted

defiantly, "Damn, how could we just be sitting ducks and let them set us up like this?"

"Of course not." Ling Ziyue pursed his lips and said, "but we can pretend to be trapped. Let's just play

along and pretend that we are intimidated and lay low for a period of time. And then we shall see who

laugh at last."

He paused for a while and then confidently chuckled, "it all depends who is more manipulative."

Their little conversation in the tavern was clearly heard by Yun Shang. She was playing with the sand

tray by herself. Hearing his last words, she curled up her lips silently and whispered, "That's right. It all

depends who is more manipulative."

She looked carefully at her sand tray and the pawns in it as if she was in deep thoughts. Then she

pushed one of the pawns a few steps towards the gate of the city on the sand tray and said quietly,

"There is a saying in the Art of War: right timing, place and men are the three essential elements of

winning a battle. Losing one of them may lead to defeats. Judging by what they have now, the winning

chance is quite slim. First of all, they don't have a good place and don't even have the right timing. At

their best, they might have the right men for the battle."

She tilted her head and smiled, "but sadly, there are only a few of them. And even if they have the best

men for the job, I will find a way to destroy them."

Hearing Yun Shang's words, Qian Zhuo quickly added, "I've found out the details of the envoys from

the State of Youyue and the State of Yihai. The ones from the State of Youyue is Ling Ziyue and his

general minister Gong Yu. The escorting females are Lady Gong Sijia and the eighth princess Ling

Lanyu."

She continued, "As for the envoys of the the State of Yihai, they are prince Qian Yifan, Vice Minister

Shan Xian. The escorting females are the forth princess Qian Hutong and Lady Qian Jinyu."

Then Qian Zhuo took out a pamphlet and said, "Take a look at this. We have written down everything

we know about the temperament and preferences of these envoys and the ladies. But we really don't

know much about the two states. To be honest, we haven't dealt much with the State of Youyue or the

State of Yihai. What we know is only what they show after they come to the State of Xia. I don't know if

things are really what they seem to be."

Yun Shang nodded, "it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. Be it true or not, we can still make good

use of it if we are smart enough."

She took over the pamphlet and looked through it for a while. Then she closed the pamphlet carelessly

and chuckled, "So, among the envoys sent by the two states, the most honorable one is called Ling

Ziyue, but the most composed one is the Vice Minister of the State of Yihai, by the name Shan Xian?"

"Yes, that's exactly what we get from our informants."

Yun Shang lowered her eyelids and thought for a while. Then she put pamphlet away and asked,"Do

they usually move around together?"

"They move around together most of the time, however, since they come from two different states, we

can often see them act separately."

"That's good." Yun Shang nodded, "I had made up my mind that I wouldn't go out of the palace before

the Wanshou Festival party. But now, it's time for me to go out."

"Out of the palace?" Qian Zhuo was slightly surprised by her directive. She blinked her eyes and

asked, "Your Highness, are you leaving the palace to attend the affairs of these envoys?"

"Yes."

"What do you plan to do, Your Highness?" Qian Zhuo's face was full of curiosity.

Yun Shang lowered her eyes and chuckled, "Well, it's a secret for the time being. You'll know soon."

Then she straightened her face and quickly said, "Send someone to help me do some investigation

first." As she took another look at the names in the pamphlet, Yun Shang added, "Especially this Vice

Minister Shan Xian, pay attention to where he frequently visits. Or, when he is about to go somewhere,

come and inform me in advance. I would like to meet him. We shall wait and see."

Qian Zhuo was even more curious, she opened her mouth and wanted to ask more question but Yun

Shang simply turned her head away to hide her grin. Seeing her empress wanted to keep her in

suspense, Qian Zhuo had no choice but to pout, "Your Highness is so tricky."

Her little protest didn't make Yun Shang reveal her plan. She simply curled up her lips and didn't say

anything about what she was going to do.

On the second day, news came from outside the palace that Shan Xian had booked a private room in

one of the renowned theatres and would go there later this afternoon for a show.

As soon as Yun Shang got the news, she began to make arrangement.

"Recently, we are quite short-handed on the secret guards. Outside the palace, things are getting more

and more lively because of the coming of the Wanshou Festival. The more lively the atmosphere is, the

more dangerous it will be for me. I can't just go out of the palace without permission through the front

gate. I will be like a live target, attracting all the unnecessary attentions."

Qian Zhuo nodded and blinked, "what are you going to do then, Your Highness?"

Yun Shang thought for a while and replied, "send someone to bring Chengye here. Meanwhile, Pei Lan

shall disguise herself as me in the palace and play with Chengye. I, on the other hand, will secretly

leave the palace with my secret guards."

Qian Zhuo tilted her head, eagerly waiting to hear more about the details. Upon hearing Yun Shang's

words, she widened her eyes and earnestly asked, "Your Highness, don't you take me with you this

time?"

Yup Shang gave her a soothing smile and said, "you are my personal maid and many people are

watching your every move. It's understandable if Pei Lan doesn't show up for half a day. You can

always say that she is waiting on me inside my palace. However, if you also disappear out of no

reason, others will definitely start gossiping and spread rumours.

The last thing I want is that someone happens to figure out my plan," said Yun Shang quietly but firmly.

Hearing these words, Qian Zhuo furrowed her eyebrows gloomily. Despite her eagerness to go out of

the palace, she had to admit that what Yun Shang just said was highly likely to happen.

Taking these into consideration, she had to agree with her aggrievedly.

Soon enough, Yun Shang made the arrangements and left the palace. She and her secret guards went

straight to the theatre.

When Yun Shang arrived at the site, it was still quite early.

There was still a couple of hours left before Shan Xian would arrive. Yun Shang was in no hurry at all.

Like an ordinary spectator, she chose a comfortable seat in the private room, ordered a pot of tea and

two plates of dessert, and with great interest, she enjoyed listening to the play on the stage.

It was almost at the end of the play when the secret guard beside Yun Shang suddenly yelped in a low Original content from NôvelDrama.Org.

voice, "Look!"

"What's the matter?" Hearing her secret guard's voice, Yun Shang knew that something unexpected

had happened.

Sure enough, she soon heard him saying, "Isn't that the minister from the State of Youyue, Gong Yu?

Why is he here?"

Yun Shang raised her eyebrow. She slightly leaned over and saw a young man coming in from the

theatre gate.

Before she could figure out what was going on, the young man went upstairs like a puff of wind.

"Interesting. Is it possible that Shan Xian has made an appointment with Gong Yu today?"

Yun Shang tapped on the table with her long slim finger and said, "Although their appointment is a little

out of my expectation, it's not a bad thing for me."

Since things had changed, her plan would naturally change as well.

While Yun Shang was thinking about her next move, she heard the secret guard saying, "Your

Highness, Shan Xian is here."

She turned her head to the gate and saw a young man in his twenties coming in with two servants.

"He looks young."

The secret guard nodded and explained, "The envoys from both the State of Youyue and the State of

Yihai are quite young in age. The eldest one would be Ling Ziyue and even he is only twenty-eight

years old."

Yun Shang nodded. After a short pause, she quickly stood up and ordered, "Let's go."

She went out of the private room and gracefully went downstairs. In the hall, she met with Shan Xian

face to face.