Chapter 268 Butterfly
A pair of delicate feet were submerged in the water, their toes painted with bright red nail polish.
Qiu Heng was stunned.
"Sixth Miss Qiu, the water's getting cold," Consort Yu reminded her with a half-smile.
She wanted to see what Qiu Heng would do.
Should he bow his head and wash her feet, or should he remain defiant to the death?
The best course of action is to remain defiant to the death, so that you can splash the basin of foot-washing water on her face.
Consort Yu's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
Qiu Heng grabbed Consort Yu's ankle and pulled her foot out of the water.
The palace maids present gasped in surprise, and Consort Yu was even more astonished: "Qiuheng, how dare you!"
The foot that was grabbed kicked hard at Qiu Heng's face, but couldn't move.
Consort Yu was furious: "Are you courting death? Guards—"
"Sister." Qiu Heng stared at Consort Yu's jade-like feet and called out softly.
Consort Yu paused, staring intently at Qiu Heng: "What did you say?"
Qiu Heng pointed to the ankle of that jade-like foot, where a dark red butterfly stood out on the fair skin: "This birthmark, you've had it since you were little, haven't you?"
At this moment, a group of palace servants rushed in upon hearing Consort Yu's shouts. They were shocked by the scene in the room: "How dare you! How could you offend Her Majesty!"
Consort Yu waved her hand: "You may all leave."
The palace servants exchanged glances, said "Yes," and withdrew in unison.
"What did you just say?" Consort Yu calmed down and stared at Qiu Heng with a scrutinizing gaze.
Qiu Heng raised her eyes and stared intently at Consort Yu.
The woman, as beautiful as a rose, was in the prime of her youth, and although the malice in her eyes was undisguised, it did not diminish her beauty in the slightest.
Do they look alike?
When Qiu Heng first carefully examined Consort Yu, she finally caught a glimpse of her adoptive parents in the curve of her red lips and the high bridge of her nose.
It's not that similar.
But she had heard her mother mention that her father had an older sister who was incredibly beautiful and was forcibly taken away by a rich young man. The aunt, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide. Her father went to stand up for his sister and was retaliated against, so the whole family moved to Yunfeng Village.
Perhaps Consort Yu resembled that aunt, or perhaps it was a stroke of good fortune, but the butterfly birthmark could not have been a coincidence.
She will never forget what her mother said before she died.
Their biological daughter was four years older than her, and was only five years old when she went missing. She had a butterfly-shaped red birthmark on her left ankle.
In the vast sea of people, her mother was afraid that she would suffer because of this, so she specifically told her not to look for it deliberately. Unexpectedly, she met it under such circumstances.
Qiu Heng looked at Consort Yu, tears welling in her eyes: "Before coming to the capital, I lived in Yunfeng Village in Suiyun County in the south. It was a peaceful and beautiful village filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. I had loving parents who doted on me. It wasn't until the people from the Yongqing Marquis's Mansion came looking for me that I learned they were just my adoptive parents. They had a biological daughter who had gone missing, and my sister had a butterfly-shaped, dark red birthmark on her left ankle—"
"Shut up!" Consort Yu coldly interrupted Qiu Heng.
Qiu Heng watched her quietly.
"Who gave you the audacity to look at me like that?" Consort Yu raised her foot, pointing at the butterfly birthmark. "Qiuheng, you're really quick-witted. You saw the birthmark on my ankle and immediately made up this story. Do you think that if I believe you, Fang Rui's death will be over and you'll be fine?"
Faced with Consort Yu's aggressive attitude, Qiu Heng's heart was filled with turmoil.
She had imagined how wonderful it would be if heaven would take pity on her and let her find her parents' biological daughter. Her parents' spirits in heaven would be comforted, and she would have another family member.
“Does Sister know how Father and Mother found me?” Qiu Heng continued, “They were looking for you. They had been looking for you every year since you were lost. In the fourth year of their search, they found me and brought me home.”
Consort Yu sneered, "With you around, you haven't bothered looking for that unfortunate biological daughter anymore, have you?"
Qiu Heng shook her head: "Even with me around, Father still goes away for a period of time every year. When I was little, I asked Mother, and she said Father went to pick precious incense materials. Now that I think about it, Father went to look for my sister."
"That's just your guess."
Qiu Heng and Consort Yu exchanged glances, and Qiu Heng saw anger in Consort Yu's eyes.
Qiu Heng's eyes flickered.
Her anger suggests that Consort Yu had some memory of what happened before she got lost.
Will she still remember her biological parents?
Upon hearing this, Qiu Heng stared directly at Consort Yu: "Sister was five years old when she went missing, so she must have some memory of our parents, right?"
She was five years old when she was abducted, but she was so traumatized that she lost her memory. Under normal circumstances, would a person have some vague memories of events before the age of five?
Qiu Heng noticed the instantaneous change in Consort Yu's eyes and knew the answer in her heart.
"Sister, you still remember Father and Mother, don't you?"
"Stop spouting nonsense." Consort Yu's expression was cold, her eyes filled with disdain. "My lineage is clearly recorded in the palace. Who are you to dare to claim such a connection?"
"elder sister--"
"Someone come here."
Soon, a palace servant came in.
"Send her back to the inner prison."
Qiu Heng gave Consort Yu a deep look, but said nothing more.
Consort Yu watched Qiu Heng being taken away expressionlessly, then grabbed a teacup and threw it hard to the ground.
The broken teacup mirrored her shattered emotions.
Do you remember your parents?
She thought she had completely forgotten, but when Qiu Heng pointed to the butterfly birthmark on her ankle and talked about it, the fragments of memory buried deep in time resurfaced.
Their faces were blurry, the specific events were blurry, all she remembered was that the young woman she called "Mother" was holding her and calling her "Baozhu".
Mother's pearl is the most beautiful.
The money from selling the spices was used to buy silk flowers for Baozhu to wear.
Jewel, jewel...
Consort Yu held her forehead, her face pale.
Are these memories or fantasies?
When she was disciplined, punished, and forced to call strangers her parents, she cried and said they were not her parents. She was beaten repeatedly, and the fear of new life finally covered up her old memories.
Now that she has become a noble concubine, second only to the emperor, this reminds her of all these things.
As expected, Qiu Heng is such a despicable girl, she deserves to die!
Consort Yu clenched her fist so hard that she broke off one of her carefully maintained fingernails.
Qiu Heng returned to the inner cell, sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, and didn't even look up when she heard footsteps.
"It seems like nothing's wrong. I didn't expect the Imperial Concubine to be so lenient with you."
"I want to see Xue Han." Qiu Heng raised her eyes and looked at Xue Quan, who had a forced smile on his face.
"What?" Xue Quan thought he had misheard.
"I said, I want to see Xue Han."
Xue Quan stared at Qiu Heng for a moment, then laughed: "Qiu Heng, you are a serious criminal now. You can't just see whoever you want."
“I am pregnant. If you won’t let me see you, I will tell Consort Yu when she summons me again.”
"Say it again?" Xue Quan's voice suddenly rose.
Qiu Heng smiled and said, "Xue Han is going to be a father, and you're going to be a grandfather. Can you see him now?"
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