Chapter 26 Gu Yueming
The arrow, carrying the force of creation, pierced through the gaps in the dense foliage and precisely pierced the neck of Han Wu, the commander of the palace guards.
Blood splattered everywhere. Han Wu, whose attention was entirely focused on examining the traces at the scene, swayed and collapsed to the ground.
"Commander!"
The imperial guards immediately surrounded Han Wu, calling out his name. As for the ordinary people present, they were all stunned by this sudden turn of events. After a moment of silence, some gasped, some rushed over, and some hid in the distance in fear.
Qiuheng, who was hiding in the tree, took advantage of the brief moment to climb down and hide behind the thick tree trunk.
At this moment, some of the imperial guards reacted and pointed in the direction from which the arrows had come, shouting, "Over there!"
A group of imperial guards rushed toward the tree, and while they looked around, the figure hiding behind the tree silently blended into the group.
These imperial guards were all dressed the same, with armor underneath and a wide-sleeved short shirt on top, and Qiu Heng was wearing the same short shirt.
This wide-sleeved short shirt is the uniform of the Imperial Guards. Qiu Heng happened to see it and brought it back when she went to explore the small buildings along the Xiangsha River at night.
The imperial guard lost his uniform while visiting a brothel and dared not make a fuss, thus giving her an advantage in her actions today.
If you look closely, there are differences. Underneath Qiu Heng's short blouse, she wore ordinary robes, not armor. But in such a chaotic situation, the dense foliage blocked out the light and visibility, enough to deceive her.
Qiu Heng followed the imperial guards deeper into the dense forest, subtly falling behind and quietly changing direction. She retreated slowly at first, then, once she had created some distance, she took off running.
The route had been planned in advance; the sound of the wind in her ears and the stinging of branches and thorns against her skin did nothing to affect the girl running through the mountains and forests.
She ran all the way to the edge of the cliff and stopped.
The normal route would take a long time to reach the place she had agreed upon with Fangzhou, and it would also be impossible to escape the search by the imperial guards. But this was the shortcut.
She had already traversed the cliff from its peak to its base, and back to the agreed-upon location. It was a difficult and dangerous path, but one she had to take.
After resting for a while, Qiu Heng jumped down.
Several meters below, there was a tree growing horizontally. The fall was brief, and a pair of hands gripped the branches tightly. More branches scraped against the girl's arms and body, tearing her clothes and skin.
Further down, there were protruding strange rocks and a platform barely wide enough for one foot to stand on. When there was nowhere left to hold on, Qiu Heng took out her dagger and stabbed it hard into the rock wall during her fall, making an unpleasant sizzling sound. This slightly slowed her fall and she found a new place to hold on, finally reaching the bottom of the cliff.
All of this, though a long story, actually happened in a very short instant. But for Qiu Heng, it felt like an eternity, completely exhausting her strength.
She lay there on the cold, hard rocks, looking up at the sky.
As darkness fell, the not-quite-full moon hung silently in the sky, appearing cold and desolate.
Qiu Heng, however, did not feel cold.
She could feel the heat from the pain. Success was achieved through bloodshed, and even the pungent smell of blood that wafted into her nostrils became fragrant, more wonderful than any perfume she had ever concocted.
This is the first one.
Han Wu, Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guard.
The girl, covered in scratches, gave a bright smile to the lonely moon in the sky.
At this moment, Han Wu was being rushed to the city for treatment, and most of the Imperial Guards returned to the city with him. As for Han Ziheng's few cronies, they no longer dared to show any loyalty and slunk back with him.
We dared not disobey; even Commander Han had been assassinated!
As a result, there weren't many people left in Daishan to search for Han Ziheng and the thugs. Searching in the mountains after dark was too risky, so these people could only find sheltered spots to rest for the night and wait until dawn.
Han Wu died before he could even reach the city. When he returned to the Han residence, the imperial physician examined him and shook his head repeatedly.
He is a doctor, not a coroner.
Of course, I dared not say these words aloud; I could only offer my condolences.
The entire Han household was in tears. Although the palace gates were locked, the message was still delivered.
Inside the locked palace, it was a time for singing and dancing.
Incense wafted in the air, and dancers swayed gracefully. Upon hearing the urgent report, Emperor Jingping abruptly rose and went outside.
Consort Yu, who was standing beside the emperor, showed surprise: Han Wu, the commander of the palace guards, is dead?
That night, countless people couldn't sleep.
The following day, batches of imperial guards and yamen runners appeared on the streets, controlled the city gates, and rushed around outside the city, causing panic and various speculations among the people.
At the Yongqing Marquis's residence, a carriage stopped outside the hanging flower gate. When the coachman, Old Zhang, saw Fangzhou helping the sixth young lady, who was wearing a veiled hat, arrive, he quickly jumped off the carriage to greet her.
The girl wearing a veil nodded in response and was helped into the carriage by Fangzhou.
Madam Wang handed a packet of red bean cakes to the driver, blocking the way for him to get on and off the bus: "I've been troubling you a lot lately, so please try the red bean cakes Fangzhou made."
The coachman smiled broadly: "You're too kind. It's only right that I serve my masters. Besides, Fangzhou's pastries are truly delicious..."
As the two were talking, Fangzhou called out, "Qingluo, hurry up!"
After the driver finished eating a piece of red bean cake, Mama Wang smiled and said, "Then I'll get in the car too."
The coachman stuffed the remaining red bean cakes into his pocket and raised his whip.
The silence inside the carriage was suffocating.
Fangzhou lifted a corner of the carriage window curtain and peeked out. Seeing the menacing soldiers, his heart pounded.
At this time, news of Han Wu's assassination had not yet spread widely.
Fangzhou rubbed the sweat from his palms, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts: Did the girl kill Han Ziheng? Did she successfully evade the search? Will she appear at the agreed-upon place as promised?
Fortunately, leaving the city went smoothly, and the soldiers guarding the city gates focused all their attention on the carriages and pedestrians entering the city.
"This is why the girl asked her to go to Dafu Temple today!" Fangzhou suddenly realized, and gained confidence.
The carriage was getting further and further away from the city, and closer and closer to the agreed meeting place.
"Uncle Zhang, stop for a moment, the young lady wants to get some fresh air."
"Alright." The coachman stopped the carriage by the roadside.
Fangzhou helped the girl out of the car, and Wang's mother started chatting with the driver, preventing him from noticing how many people got out.
The mountains and forests were quiet and secluded, with towering trees. Fangzhou and his companion arrived at a large tree with a canopy that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Such a tree is nothing special in this mountain forest, but next to it grows a half-year red that is not commonly seen in the capital.
When they arrived at the agreed place, Fangzhou didn't dare to call out, and instead held the girl's hand, looking around.
They heard a noise from above and looked up at the same time, only to see a person sliding down the tree trunk.
Fangzhou was startled at first, but when she saw the person's face clearly, her face lit up with joy.
It's a girl!
Qiu Heng gestured for the two to be quiet, and then began to undress.
The girl beside Fangzhou took off her veil, and the coachman realized that the sixth girl was actually Qingluo.
Qingluo and Qiuheng are similar in figure. The maids of Lengxiangju are envious of the young lady's closeness to Qingluo, thinking that it is because Qingluo's personality pleases the young lady, but they do not know that this is the real reason.
Qingluo also took off her outer clothes, revealing that she was wearing a maid's outfit similar to Fangzhou's underneath. Since she wore a veiled hat when she went out, her hairstyle was the one she always wore and she didn't need to change it.
The driver chatted with Wang's mother for a while, then realized that a bit too long had passed, and subconsciously glanced in the direction where Fangzhou and the other man had left.
The young woman said she was going to get some fresh air, which was actually a euphemism for needing to relieve herself, but she was still a little worried about being away from the deep mountains and forests for so long.
“Fangzhou and Qingluo are with them—” Mama Wang pointed and smiled, “They’re back.”
Wearing a veil, Qiu Heng approached and nodded to Wang Mama, whose lips trembled slightly. Fang Zhou and Qing Luo helped her into the carriage, one on each side.
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