Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao

Chapter 70: On why Prince Fu wants to commit regicide

"Your Majesty," the vassal lords couldn't stop Elder Li from talking, so they looked to the emperor next. Now that they were aware of her existence, Ning Xiaoyao finally hopped down the window. The little gyrfalcon perched on her left shoulder, while Big Boss Black sat on her right. She was holding a half-eaten pastry in her hand as she strolled slowly towards the main battlegrounds of the study. Everyone stared at His Majesty, unwilling to make any judgement on her current appearance. Prince Fu was still sprawled on the ground, a living example of anyone who went against the emperor. Who would disrespect their sovereign now?

Elder Li wrinkled his brows, but forced himself to ignore Ning Xiaoyao's current appearance in favor of the main event: Prince Fu. He asked, "Your Majesty, what punishment does Prince Fu deserve?"

Ning Xiaoyao looked at Lou Zigui, but Elder Li popped in before the latter could speak.

"Your Majesty, why are you looking at Supreme Commander Lou?"

Because he's the one who caused the fall of Prince Fu, ah. Ning Xiaoyao bit her cheek and replied, "If I have to be the one who decides, then let's just lock him up in the Hall of Punishment first."

Elder Li cried, "Attempted regicide is a heinous crime that merits the !"

Ning Xiaoyao replied, "Old gramps, I'm one of his family members too." Prince Fu was part of the imperial family. You can't kill off the entire imperial clan, can you?

Elder Li was temporarily left lost for words.

"Your Majesty," Prince Zhi, Ning Guanyuan,[1. Prince Zhi, Ning Guanyuan (祉王，宁光源) - Zhi means "happiness, blessedness," Guangyuan together means "light source, illuminiant."] asked. "Why did Prince Fu do this?"

Ning Xiaoyao looked at her imperial uncle. Compared to Prince Fu, Prince Zhu had perfectly normal human proportions. However, he had puffy, sunken eyes with deep set shadows and a sallow complexion. His entire person looked tired and listless. Ning Xiaoyao lightly brushed her hand against Prince Zhi's to get a complete diagnosis, before bumping into all the other vassal lords for the same thing. The results made His Majesty Ning suck in a breath. It looked like it'd be difficult to find anyone in the Ning Clan who lived with healthy bodies, much less healthy lives. The various princes had no idea why His Majesty had bumped against each of their hands, but only looked at her and waited for her to speak.

"What other reason could it be?" Lou Zigui said. "Prince Fu wanted---"

"Supreme Commander." Prince Xi spoke up to cut him off. "You entered the room at the same time we did. Don't tell me you saw everything happening in the study when you were still outside the courtyard gates."

Now Supreme Commander Lou couldn't help His Majesty, either. Ning Xiaoyao thought it over before she said, "It went like this: he wanted to be the emperor, so he was going to slaughter me."

Silence fell upon the study. The vassal lords and the officials from the Grand Preceptor's faction all looked at Ning Xiaoyao with an expression that said, 'you're screwing with me!' If Prince Fu wanted to be emperor, he would've tried his all while struggling with the previous emperor for the throne. Why would he wait until now? Supreme Commander Lou had a headache, but his face remained unchanged and serious as he spoke. "Your Majesty, this isn't the time for jokes."

This isn't the time for jokes. Ning Xiaoyao rubbed her nose. In other words, Supreme Commander was telling her that her excuse sucked, so she needed another one. "That there, it was just a joke. I'm not dead, so you guys don't need to be so nervous, hahaha." Ning Xiaoyao laughed.

Nobody joined her in laughing. Ning Xiaoyao closed her mouth in embarrassment and glanced at Big Boss Black, then the little gyrfalcon. Both of them simply shook their heads. They weren't humans, so how could they know how to lie like one? Ning Xiaoyao shook her head as well, her eyes spinning while she nearly tugged out a chunk of her hair. Finally, she squeezed out another excuse and told the vassal lords, "Prince Fu told me that the thousands of people in his estate are about to starve to death, so he wanted his official salary. I said sure, I'd give it to him, but he said that wouldn't do, he wanted to add more money. I said that was impossible, and then it was after that the prince wanted to kill me."