Princess Huaping was only sixteen or seventeen when she caused a great uproar in the imperial palace. She was already betrothed to Pang Jing. Perhaps she was dissatisfied with the marriage, or perhaps she wanted to enjoy one last stretch of freedom before marrying beneath her station. In any case, she chose the most outrageous way possible to vent her excess energy.
Fa Feng could not provide many details. He only knew that Princess Huaping had stolen quite a few things from the imperial palace, though nowhere near as many as the rumors claimed, and she certainly had not stolen the Imperial Seal and issued imperial edicts at random.
She had merely been playing. She tossed the gold, silver, and jewelry she stole wherever she pleased. Indeed, several residents of the capital had been lucky enough to find some. But when they saw the imperial palace markings, they were so frightened that they immediately turned everything in, which only sparked a flood of rumors.
The reputation of the "Red Bat Woman" grew greater and greater, and the princess found it harder and harder to stop.
The emperor finally flew into a rage. He still did not know that the culprit was his favorite younger sister, so he issued a strict order to kill without mercy. The first few groups of pursuers searched for clues exclusively outside the imperial palace and naturally found nothing. Princess Huaping, however, took this as proof of her superior skill.
When Gu Lun took charge of the pursuit, he immediately concluded that there was an accomplice inside the palace. Thus, while making a great show of searching openly, he also investigated within the palace and soon identified Princess Huaping.
Fa Feng could only speculate about what happened next. It involved a secret between the emperor and