Chapter 263 Framed

Qiu Heng smiled and said, "Miss Fang is well-educated and wise. After being a noble lady for so many years, don't you think it's pointless to make threats?"

Fang Rui bit her lip hard, her expression returning to calm: "Yes, there's no point in making threats. I was once a noble lady, then I became Cheng Susu's maid, and now I'm a palace maid for the Imperial Concubine. Who knows what fate awaits us until the very end? Qiu Heng, don't you think so?"

"Fortune?" Qiu Heng looked surprised. "You actually intend to surpass the Imperial Concubine in the end?"

The two palace maids standing in the changing room looked at them with surprise.

"Qiu Heng, don't spout nonsense! Are you afraid that I'll be able to turn things around in the future?"

"Miss Fang is overthinking it."

Fang Rui snorted coldly and said to the two palace maids, "Her Majesty asked me to bring her here to change her clothes."

Two palace maids opened the door.

The room, which was specifically used as a dressing room, contained several screens, two low couches, and sets of clothes arranged by color and style. An incense burner sat on a high table in the corner, emitting a faint, lingering fragrance.

Qiu Heng slowed her pace slightly, raised her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose, and then walked in without changing her expression.

Fang Rui brought over a dress in the same color as the one Qiu Heng was wearing: "Sixth Miss Qiu, please change. I shouldn't need to help you change, right?"

"No need for that. Please turn around, Miss Fang. I don't like having people watching me change my clothes."

"Meddlesome," Fang Rui said sarcastically, turning away.

Qiu Heng glanced at the dresses placed on the low couch, then looked at the incense burner on the high table.

This incense is quite potent; if someone hasn't taken the antidote, they'd probably faint before they even finished changing their clothes.

What purpose is there in letting her fall unconscious here? Could it be to lure Emperor Jingping into this place by mistake, and then use the pretext of ruining her reputation to bring her into the palace?

Consort Yu was the undisputed ruler of the palace, confident that she could be manipulated at will once she entered the palace, so it's quite possible that she would resort to such tactics.

However, other possibilities cannot be ruled out.

Does it make you dizzy?

After only a moment's hesitation, Qiu Heng decided not to get dizzy.

She has no penchant for risking her life.

Fang Rui waited for a while without any movement, then turned around and saw Qiu Heng sitting slumped on the couch, her clothes lying untouched beside her. Her face darkened: "Why haven't you changed your clothes yet?"

This slut should have been drugged by the incense, so why hasn't she reacted yet?

The girl, leaning weakly against the low couch, looked utterly exhausted, her eyes filled with surprise and doubt: "Fang Rui, what did you do? Why am I so weak?"

She didn't hear any footsteps outside. Was it because they wanted to wait until she fell into a deep coma before someone came, or had she guessed wrong about Consort Yu's methods?

If it wasn't to have Emperor Jingping ruin her reputation, then what was it?

"Feeling weak all over?" Fang Rui was taken aback for a moment, and then made a hunch.

Qiu Heng spends all her time dealing with incense materials. Does this mean she has a stronger resistance to intoxicating fragrances than the average person?

I felt weak all over, but I was still fully conscious!

Fang Rui heard her own rapid heartbeat.

It wasn't nervousness, but excitement, even madness.

The girl, her eyes beginning to glaze over, bit her lip hard, but she seemed to have little strength left, leaving only a faint mark on her lips.

Fang Rui's gaze was fixed on Qiu Heng, amused by her reaction: "So, even Miss Qiu Liu knows fear?"

"What...do you want?" Qiu Heng asked through gritted teeth, her voice soft and weak.

Fang Rui removed the gold hairpin from her hair and took a step forward.

"What do I want? Qiu Heng, you ruined my entire Fang family, you made me fall from the heights of success into hell, and you still want to ask me what I want?"

Holding the golden hairpin, Fang Rui looked like a demon crawling back from hell, her face contorted with rage: "I originally planned to attack you while you were unconscious, but I didn't expect that heaven would take pity on me and let you know clearly that you are about to die. You bitch, die!"

The raised golden hairpin pierced downwards, but a hand grabbed the wrist. The hairpin slipped from the hand and fell to the ground, but because of the brocade carpet on the floor, it made no sound.

Fang Rui's eyes widened: "You—"

Qiu Heng stood up, released Fang Rui's wrist, and her clear eyes made her look exceptionally calm: "I'm sorry to disappoint Miss Fang, but I'm more sober now."

"How come you're alright?" Fang Rui asked, her face pale and incredulous.

"Perhaps she has a special constitution?" Qiu Heng pointed to the clothes on the low couch. "I'd like to trouble Miss Fang to stand guard at the door for me. I need to change my clothes. It wouldn't be good to keep the Imperial Concubine waiting."

"You're just going to let it go like that?"

"What just happened?" Qiu Heng asked in a calm tone.

No matter how much Fang Rui hated her, the incense burning in this room could only have been arranged by Consort Yu.

She underestimated Consort Yu's arrogance and madness. She thought Consort Yu was trying to bring her into the palace to torment her, but it turned out Consort Yu intended to overturn the table.

The so-called "gradual approach" is always due to insufficient strength.

A mocking smile flashed across Qiu Heng's lips.

Despite her exceptional skills and unwavering will, even capable of turning the tables on Princess Xijiang in a life-or-death situation, in this flower-filled capital, she could only avoid the invisible blade called Imperial Favor in the hands of Consort Shangyu.

That damned, incompetent ruler.

Fang Rui stared at Qiu Heng for a long while, her face ashen: "I lost. Nothing really happened just now."

She bent down to pick up the gold hairpin, clutching it tightly, and walked step by step towards the door, urging, "Hurry up and change it, or the Imperial Concubine will not forgive you—"

The rest of the sentence was left unfinished, turning into a scream.

Qiu Heng's expression changed drastically, but it was too late to stop it.

The golden hairpin that had just been aimed at her was instead plunged into Fang Rui's own throat, and blood gushed from her snow-white neck.

After screaming, Fang Rui slowly collapsed to the ground, a smile appearing in her eyes as she stared at Qiu Heng.

That laugh was arrogant and fierce, and it even bore a resemblance to the laugh of Consort Yu.

She was panting heavily, making breathy sounds: "You bitch... you lost too..."

Two palace maids, hearing the screams, pushed open the door and entered, only to find Fang Ruihua lying on the ground, her face turning pale.

"Sister Fang, what's wrong?"

Judging from the way she was addressed, Fang Rui was considered to have some influence in the eyes of the people in Yu Chen Palace, especially in front of Consort Yu.

Fang Rui covered her bleeding wound with one hand and pointed at Qiu Heng with the other: "She...she killed me..."

At this point, Fang Rui could only make hoarse gurgling sounds, with blood foam spitting from the corners of her mouth, but the two palace maids undoubtedly understood what she meant.

"Guards! Princess Suiyun has killed Sister Fang!"

Hearing the palace maid's calls, Fang Rui's eyes, which were fixed on Qiu Heng, showed a smile.

Qiuheng, you can make incense, ride horses, play Cuju (an ancient Chinese football game), climb trees, and practice martial arts. You have influence among the royal families, such as the Prince of Fu's Mansion and the Prince of Kang's Mansion, which are difficult for ordinary nobles to approach, and you have a good reputation among the common people.

Even if you have the greatest skills, how can you win against the trap I set with my life, and against the Imperial Concubine's determination to kill you?

Some of her relatives died on the way to exile, some died in prison, and others survived in brothels.

She was the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family.

She didn't want to live such a wretched life, nor did she want to die such a pathetic death. It was worth it to exchange her life for the life of the despicable person who had harmed her entire family.

(End of this chapter)