Chapter 120 Fire
The firelight illuminating the night sky felt like molten lava being poured over one's body, burning one's very soul.
Qiu Heng's panic in front of Xue Han during the day was feigned, but now, a great fear, like a mountain and a sea, is pressing down on her, and a suffocating feeling of impending death is sweeping over her.
She couldn't possibly have misremembered the time of such a significant event. Why did the fire occur a day earlier than expected?
Qiu Heng took off running outside.
"Miss—" Fangzhou rushed out but only saw a figure disappear in the blink of an eye.
Although it was late at night, the fire started in the direction of the imperial palace, alarming many people in the Kang Prince's residence.
Prince Kang strode out, and Princess Kang, suppressing her panic, chased after him.
"Your Highness, has something gone wrong?"
"I'll go check it out. You keep things steady here," Prince Kang said, quickening his pace.
"Your Highness—"
Ling Yun arrived, her voice gentle yet calm: "Mother, I will go with Father. You don't need to worry. Take good care of the younger sisters."
Princess Consort Kang grabbed Lingyun and hurriedly instructed, "Yun'er, be careful."
Qiu Heng lifted the hem of her skirt and ran past the mother and son.
Princess Kang's eyes widened, her initial worry turning into shock: "Who, who ran over there?"
“It seems to be Aheng—” Ling Yun’s expression changed slightly. “Son, go and see.”
As Ling Yun walked away, Princess Kang remained standing there, stunned.
"Mother, what's going on outside?"
Princess Consort Kang turned her head and saw Princess Jiayi approaching. She frowned and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing out here?"
“When my daughter heard a noise outside and heard Fangzhou calling Ah Heng, she came out to check on her.”
"That Ah Heng, she's never given us a moment's peace!" Princess Kang had barely finished speaking when another figure rushed past her.
"And who is that?"
The magistrate of Jiayi County lifted her foot to leave: "It's Fangzhou."
Princess Kang held tightly to Princess Jiayi's hand: "Jiayi, you are not allowed to go anywhere. There are many plants and trees here, and flooding is not like other places. If we are not careful, we may lose control!"
"But what about Father and the others—"
“Your father and brothers are men after all; they couldn’t have pretended not to see the fire at the palace,” said Princess Consort Kang, tightening her grip on her daughter’s hand, her palms covered in cold sweat.
She didn't want her husband and son to be in danger, but since it concerned the emperor, she couldn't afford to give anyone cause for criticism.
"But Ah Heng—"
Princess Consort Kang's lips twitched violently: "That girl is wilder than a man, daring to lead a bear alone. Don't follow her example."
Chaos reigned outside as the imperial relatives, nobles, and officials surrounding the palace rushed out of their residences to the scene of the fire.
Therefore, Qiu Heng, running amidst the chaos, did not attract much attention.
She ran all the way up to the front, and looking at the towering flames and the people carrying basins and buckets to and fro fighting the fire, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
The fire broke out at the same building, Zhaixinglou, but it started a day earlier.
What about the Crown Prince? What about Xue Han?
Biting her lip hard, Qiu Heng rushed into the sea of fire.
"Aheng!"
Ling Yun's anxious shouts came from behind, but what made Qiu Heng stop was not Ling Yun's call, but the person who appeared in front of her.
Illuminated by the firelight, the boy dressed in black looked disheveled, but his eyes were clear and bright.
Xue Han also saw Qiu Heng.
The girl, who had been running, suddenly stopped. Her long, black hair was disheveled, and her face was as pale as snow, as if she were a piece of glass that might shatter into a million pieces at any moment.
After giving a few instructions to his subordinates, Xue Han strode towards Qiu Heng.
Qiu Heng stared motionlessly at the approaching boy, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
His approaching steps didn't tread on the muddy ground, but rather on her heart.
"Sixth Miss Qiu, what's wrong with you—" Xue Han approached, but stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.
The girl's slender fingers touched his cheek, icy cold to the bone.
"Xue Han—" Qiu Heng called out, but her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible, and tears streamed down her face.
Xue Han's face wasn't burned, but the Crown Prince—
She didn't dare ask.
Xue Han was startled by the incredibly soft "Xue Han" and grasped the hand that touched him without hesitation.
That hand was so cold that it filled him with uncontrollable fear, as if the girl in front of him was not a living person, but a lonely soul wandering among humans.
"Don't be afraid, I'm fine." Xue Han paused, his voice very low, "The Crown Prince is fine too."
Qiu Heng felt a sudden sense of relief.
These extreme emotional changes made her hands and feet even colder, and her mind was in complete turmoil.
She desperately needs a quiet place to think things through.
"Then you go ahead and get busy." Qiu Heng pulled her hand away, turned around, and ran away.
"Aheng, where are you going?"
Xue Han heard Ling Yun ask a question urgently.
Qiu Heng followed with her reply: "Brother Ling, I'm going back now."
"My lord, Eunuch Xue is looking for you."
Xue Han glanced at the figure disappearing into the night, then forced himself to suppress his worries and went to see Xue Quan.
"Miss!" Fangzhou rushed over and saw Qiuheng.
"Fangzhou, I need to go somewhere. Go back to your place and cover for me."
Qiu Heng didn't stop. She ran past Fang Zhou and into the mountains and forests until she reached the small lake.
The lakeside was cold and damp late at night, and birds and small animals were startled away by the arrival of Qiu Heng.
Qiu Heng sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, gazing intently at the lake.
Thirty years after she fell into the lake, she returned via Magpie Lake. At this moment, when she was on the verge of emotional collapse, it was still the lakeside that gave her a sense of security.
Xue Han is fine.
The crown prince is also unharmed.
"How wonderful!" Qiu Heng thought to herself, but her tears flowed even more freely.
That's not right. It's written in black and white; she couldn't possibly have misremembered the time.
Regarding the fire, she only told Xue Han today that there was no change in time because of her.
It wasn't a mistake in the time, nor was it a change she brought about, so why was it?
Qiu Heng already had a guess in her mind.
The real reason she nearly collapsed was not because she misremembered the time, nor even because she failed to save the crown prince, but because of this speculation.
Her knowledge came from her teacher, and the books she read were given to her by him.
What if some of the books her husband showed her were actually wrong?
How could the records concerning the crown prince's death be wrong? How could they be wrong?
Unless— Qiu Heng clenched her fist tightly, her nails digging deep into her palm.
Unless it was a deliberate mistake!
She could easily guess the reason for the mistake: they were afraid she would interfere and change the Crown Prince's fate.
Instead of letting her save the Crown Prince, she was to save Emperor Jingping, thus ensuring a smooth transfer of imperial power to Emperor Longxing.
It is true that the Lord desires a stable nation, a long and prosperous reign, and a peaceful life for the people.
I hope the Crown Prince dies as the accident has happened before, and that Emperor Longxing becomes the ruler of Great Xia!
"Sir, is that really the case?" Qiu Heng murmured, biting her lip until it bled.
She regarded the Imperial Preceptor as a towering mountain, a mountain to be admired and a path to follow.
If the realization that eliminating only the five traitors was insufficient to truly save the Great Xia Dynasty on that day was like a corner of a mountain collapsing, now it has completely crumbled.
The collapsed rocks pressed down on her, making her doubt everything and causing her unbearable pain.
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