Chapter 277, etc.

Qiu Heng stepped into Yu Chen Palace again and saw Consort Yu, who had just finished bathing.

Consort Yu wore a floor-length plain dress with butterflies embroidered in silver thread on the hem. As she raised her hands and feet, the butterflies seemed about to take flight, and there was no indication that her slender hands had just killed someone.

"Your humble servant Qiuheng greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort."

"Princess Suiyun has arrived."

Consort Yu raised her hand, signaling the palace servants inside to leave, and asked directly, "Has Qingfeng handed over the prescription?"

Qiu Heng took out a small porcelain bottle from her purse and handed it over.

Consort Yu reached out and took it, opened it, and recognized it at a glance: "Sister, what does this mean?"

"Qingfeng died from the poison. We got some antidote pills from him. I was afraid that my sister would worry about the antidote next month, so I brought one for her."

"What did you say?" Consort Yu suddenly stood up, grabbed Qiu Heng's collar, and pulled her closer to her. "You're playing me?"

Qiu Heng remained calm and said in a peaceful tone, "Sister, please don't be angry. We have no intention of playing games."

"So what do you mean? Qingfeng is dead, and there's no prescription, so you plan to use the remaining antidote pills to control me?" Consort Yu said, almost grinding her teeth to powder.

The anger he felt at this moment was even greater than his anger towards Aomine.

Being controlled since childhood was bad enough, but Qingfeng was captured and Qingdai was killed by her own hands, and she still wants to continue living this life of being controlled?

How many antidote pills are there? One, two, or three?

Without a prescription, there will be no continuous antidote. Rather than endure months of suffocating suffering under the control of that bitch Qiu Heng before dying, it's better to perish together now!

Qiu Heng saw a fleeting murderous intent in Consort Yu's eyes.

"Sister, listen to me."

"Alright, go ahead, I'm listening." Consort Yu sat down again, her hands gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, the delicate fabric snagged by her nails, but she didn't seem to care.

"Qingfeng's death was unexpected; none of us wanted to see it."

"I don't care whether he lives or dies, I only care about the prescription!"

"He left behind a lot of antidote pills."

"So what?"

“I know a miracle doctor who has those antidote pills. He said that given time, he will be able to develop a prescription for them.”

Qiu Heng did not mention Xue Han.

Having been controlled by others for a long time, yet possessing such power, Consort Yu's character had long been twisted.

She had no choice but to face Consort Yu; there was no need to add to Xue Han's risks.

"How long is 'given time'?" Consort Yu asked.

Even though she knew it was meant to calm her down, her survival instinct still made her want to deceive herself.

"The exact time is hard to determine, but it shouldn't exceed six months."

"Six months?" Consort Yu laughed sarcastically. "Will you tell me in six months that the prescription hasn't been developed and the antidote is gone? Whether there are any so-called miracle doctors or not, it's all up to you to decide what to do with your mouth."

Qiu Heng ignored Consort Yu's mockery and said earnestly, "Sister, if it's just to keep you calm and buy some time, then I don't need to tell you that Qingfeng is dead. Wouldn't it be better to just say that Qingfeng hasn't confessed yet each time I come?"

Consort Yu suppressed her smile, her lips tightening.

Admittedly, there's some truth to that.

But that wasn't enough to convince her.

But what can I do if I don't believe it? Should I just kill Qiu Heng right now and quietly wait to die?

Even ants cling to life; how could someone with supreme power and wealth willingly face death if there were even the slightest hope?

Consort Yu slowly reached out and grasped Qiu Heng's hand, her voice soft: "I believe what you say, sister. I'm waiting for your prescription."

Leaving Yuchen Palace, Qiu Heng looked at the heavily clouded sky and let out a soft sigh of relief.

Every confrontation with Consort Yu was an ordeal.

Consort Yu desperately wanted to break free from the poison's control, and she sincerely hoped that Uncle Xu would develop a cure as soon as possible. This was not only to obtain intelligence about the Northern Qi spies, but also to give an explanation to her adoptive parents.

What path will Consort Yu, who is no longer under anyone's control, choose?

Unlike the fragile peace that Qiu Heng and Consort Yu had temporarily achieved, the Imperial City Guard was filled with bloodshed and wailing.

Under torture, once the first person confessed, a second, a third... were quickly found.

Xue Han carefully organized the information obtained from the interrogation and reported it to Emperor Jingping.

Emperor Jingping flipped through the pages, his face growing increasingly grim, until finally he slammed the case file heavily onto the table.

"This is truly an eye-opener for me! It turns out that nearly half the staff in the capital's time-honored teahouses are spies!"

With a few rapid heaves, Emperor Jingping picked up another ledger and began to look through it. Seeing the familiar names, he was no longer so furious: "These are all people whom Taoranlou has paid tribute to?"

Xue Han lowered his eyes and replied, "Yes."

"Xue Quan was involved too." Emperor Jingping's lips curled slightly, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Xue Quan knelt down with a thud: "This servant deserves to die ten thousand times, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jingping glanced at Xue Quan, who was kneeling and begging for forgiveness, and then looked at Xue Han with a probing gaze: "Xue Han, is this a case of putting righteousness before family?"

Xue Han also knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am simply recording the truth of what I have learned and presenting it to you. This is also Xue Duzhi's intention."

Emperor Jingping's eyes flashed with surprise, and he raised his hand to rub his temples: "Get up, all of you, don't kneel anymore."

Xue Han and Xue Quan silently stood up, their eyes not meeting.

“The names that appear on this list—” Emperor Jingping tapped the register, “ask them all for me what kind of contact they had with those spies.”

Emperor Jingping did not believe that all the officials on the list harbored disloyal intentions, but it was necessary to take the opportunity to give them a warning.

Following Emperor Jingping's instructions without question, Xue Han carried them out without hesitation. While the vast majority of officials escaped unscathed, several who had been thoroughly corrupted by the Qi people were uncovered. These officials were subsequently dismissed, sentenced, and had their property confiscated. Suddenly, all officials and nobles felt insecure and became much more discreet when attending court.

Emperor Jingping felt much more at ease. When news came from the southeast that the peasant uprisings had been quelled one after another, the sense of crisis about the instability of the country subsided, and his mood improved even more.

In the Shengping Palace, banquets and dances became more frequent, and several incense burners emitted white smoke all day long, with fragrant mist rising endlessly.

Consort Yu stood beside Emperor Jingping, smiling faintly as he laughed heartily, but her eyes grew colder and colder.

Five months have passed since mid-spring, and the prescription still hasn't worked!

Five months of sleepless nights and constant anxiety had exhausted her patience.

If she still can't get the prescription by the fifteenth of this month, the Ghost Festival, she'll send Qiuheng to meet the ghosts!

On the thirteenth day of the seventh month, Qiu Heng received another summons from Consort Yu.

"The Ghost Festival is almost here, why are you being asked to go to the palace?" the old lady complained in a low voice, but she couldn't stop her.

Qiu Heng comforted the old lady and quietly instructed Fangzhou, "Have Wu Qingzhou accompany you to deliver a letter to Xue Han, just say..."

After giving her instructions, Qiu Heng carried the small food box and got into the sedan chair, entering the palace gates for the umpteenth time in the past few months.

Consort Yu and the others were in the palace, their faces displaying a chilling calm.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Qiu Heng bowed and held up the food box. "I made lotus root starch cake at home, and I brought it for Your Highness to try."

(End of this chapter)