Chapter 250 Waiting for a Rabbit to Run into a Tree Stump
Seeing that Qiu Heng was about to leave, Cheng Susu objected: "Qiu Liu, are you just going to leave like this?"
"As Miss Cheng has seen, my horse was hit by a hidden arrow and ran away in fright. It was not intentional. I will come to apologize after I have dealt with the current matter."
"Ha, you said you'd come to apologize, but then you turned around and didn't go—"
"Susu." Madam Cheng didn't let Cheng Susu continue speaking. She gave Qiu Heng a distant and polite smile. "What happened today was an accident. We weren't injured. There's no need for us to come and apologize. Princess Suiyun, please go and attend to your business."
"Mother--"
Cheng's mother gave her a warning glare, and Cheng Susu pouted, "You got off easy."
In the short time that followed, the patrol officers arrived.
"What happened?" the head inspector demanded, then saw Xue Han. "So it's Lord Xue."
Although Xue Han has lost his position as Imperial City Envoy, he still holds the honorary title of Fourth Rank, so addressing him as "Lord Xue" will not be wrong.
Xue Han also recognized the leader: "Inspector Yang."
"Lord Xue, what's wrong?"
"I was walking down the street when I saw a scene of chaos ahead. Two carriages were about to collide, so I took action and killed the frightened horse."
"The frightened horse is—"
Qiu Heng spoke up: "It's from the Yongqing Marquis's residence."
The incident of the Imperial College students pleading for their lives outside the palace gates made Inspector Yang, who was responsible for maintaining order in the city, remember Qiu Heng's face: "Sixth Miss Qiu!"
He looked sharply at Xue Han, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt.
Didn't you say you just happened to run into trouble while walking down the street?
Xue Han calmly replied, "It is indeed a coincidence."
Inspector Yang moved his lips, thinking to himself, "The whole capital knows you two are lovers. This coincidence is a bit like treating people like fools."
"Inspector Yang, today's horse being startled was not an accident, but rather an attempt to murder it."
Upon hearing Qiu Heng's words, Inspector Yang's expression immediately changed: "Is Miss Qiu overthinking things?"
Upon seeing the feathered arrow on the horse's carcass, Inspector Yang secretly groaned.
It was just a routine patrol; how did we get into this kind of trouble?
"Today I was invited to visit the Prince of Fu's residence, and on my way home I was ambushed by a hidden arrow and nearly crashed into the carriage of Minister Cheng..."
Yang, the patrol inspector, broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly said, "This concerns the county magistrate and is of utmost importance. We must report it to the Imperial City Guard and the Capital City Administration."
It has nothing to do with their small patrol and inspection department.
"Inspector Yang, please report this. Several helpful people just said they saw the direction from which the arrow came from. Let's go take a look."
Inspector Yang naturally wouldn't stop Xue Han. He instructed his men to report the situation and arranged for people to remove the horse carcass.
Seeing that Qiu Heng and Xue Han had left, followed by a group of onlookers, Cheng Susu became curious: "Mother, I'll go take a look."
Cheng's mother's face darkened: "You're joining in this kind of commotion? Get in the car and go home."
Seeing her mother's resolute attitude, Cheng Susu had no choice but to get into the carriage. On the way back, she was still thinking about this: "Mother, who do you think wants Qiuheng dead?"
Cheng's mother reached out and tapped Cheng Susu's forehead: "You, don't be so curious, lest you get into trouble."
“I don’t go near Qiuheng.” Cheng Susu lowered her voice. “Mother, I have a guess—”
"What?"
"I think the reason why the Imperial Concubine wanted Fang Rui to become a palace maid might be because of Qiu Heng."
Otherwise, how could Fang Rui possibly get to Consort Yu's side? Ideally, Fang Rui would use the Consort's power to cause a mutual defeat with Qiu Heng; then she'd have a good show to watch.
Cheng's mother gently patted Cheng Susu's hand: "Don't gossip about the noble ladies in the palace."
"knew."
Chengjia's carriage gradually drove away, and Qiuheng's carriage was dragged to the roadside, where Zhang Bo guarded it.
"This is it." The young man leading the way stopped and pointed to a shop not far away. "I bought some groceries, and when I got here I suddenly remembered I forgot to buy vinegar. I stopped and rummaged through my basket, and was just about to go back to the shop when suddenly an arrow flew by. I was so scared that I dropped the basket. Luckily, nothing was broken..."
Qiu Heng and Xue Han exchanged a glance and walked in the direction the young man pointed, stopping beside a sturdy locust tree.
In winter, the locust tree loses all its leaves, leaving its branches strong and unyielding, yet snow still accumulates beneath it, leaving behind messy footprints.
Xue Han observed for a moment, then followed a pair of footprints to the base of the wall, where there were no more traces.
"The villains must have stayed here first, and when they saw the carriage coming, they walked to the locust tree, shot a cold arrow, and fled."
Therefore, the footprints left at the base of the wall were covered by the falling snow, leaving only one pair of footprints from the base of the wall to the locust tree.
"The Lunar New Year is just around the corner. Even though it's snowing, there are still a lot of people going out to buy things. Someone should be able to see the thugs waiting here."
Perhaps because Qiu Heng and Xue Han had such a good reputation among the people, someone soon spoke up: "I went to the general store to buy something, and I casually glanced at someone standing by the wall. I thought to myself, why would someone be standing there on a snowy day... The person was wearing a straw hat, so I couldn't see their face clearly, but they seemed to be about my height..."
A shop assistant at the grocery store said, "I came out to splash water and there were people there. Time? Probably around 1:00 AM."
After having breakfast, Qiu Heng went to the Prince of Fu's residence, where she had a drink and chatted with Princess Rong Ning. She left without staying for lunch.
From 9 AM to 11 AM, the time is neither long nor short. What is certain is that the perpetrator did not hide near the Prince of Fu's mansion and came here after seeing Qiu Heng's carriage come out.
The perpetrators knew that Qiu Heng would be going to the Prince of Fu's mansion today, so they chose this place in advance to wait for her.
After asking enough questions, the officials from the Jingtian Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard arrived one after another.
Xue Han explained the situation he had learned.
The prefectural judge politely asked Qiu Heng, "Who knows that the county princess went to the Prince of Fu's residence today?"
Qiu Heng said calmly, "People from the Yongqing Marquis's Mansion and the Fu Prince's Mansion should know this, right?"
"Ahem." The magistrate of Jingtian Prefecture coughed twice upon hearing this and couldn't help but give Qiu Heng a deep look.
The girl looked calm, showing no signs of having just experienced a crisis.
As expected of Qiu Liu, who overthrew the royal family of Xijiang and returned alive and kicking.
"The county princess rode in a carriage bearing the insignia of the Yongqing Earl's Mansion. It wouldn't be difficult for anyone interested to find out the route from the Earl's Mansion to the Prince of Fu's Mansion." The new Imperial City Envoy, Di Sheng, came from the Imperial City Division. He gave Qiu Heng and Xue Han a lot of face, and his attitude was quite different from when they first met.
Qiu Heng did not object to what Di Sheng said: "Yes, I go out openly and honestly, so it is difficult to deduce anything from this."
"We'll ask around the neighborhood again, and we'll let you two know as soon as we have any leads," the magistrate of Jingtian Prefecture said politely, but sighed inwardly.
There was still a glimmer of hope if you chased after the villain as soon as he fired the arrow, but after the horse was startled and chaos ensued, with so many people joining in the fun, the villain had long since disappeared.
"Thank you for your trouble." Xue Han bowed to the Prefectural Magistrate and Di Sheng, then looked at Qiu Heng, "Let me take you back first."
Qiu Heng nodded, thanked the kind people who provided the information, and walked with Xue Han toward the carriage parked in front.
Yes, there are only carriages, no horses.
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