Chapter 286 The butterfly flies away
In the chaos, a crossbow bolt, seemingly appearing from nowhere, pierced Consort Yu's neck, causing her to stagger.
"Your Majesty!"
Amidst the exclamations, Emperor Jingping discovered that Consort Yu had been shot with an arrow, and his initial panic turned into utter terror: "My beloved consort!"
He reached out to help Consort Yu, but was firmly stopped by those around him: "Your Majesty, it's too dangerous here, we can't stay any longer."
Despite the presence of guards within the range of arrows outside Lehua Tower, preventing anyone from approaching, the Imperial Concubine was still struck by an arrow, indicating that the assassin was hiding in the tower.
The safety of the emperor was of paramount importance, and none of the high-ranking officials, imperial guards, or eunuchs present dared to let Emperor Jingping linger any longer.
Even if it was Consort Yu who was involved in the incident.
"Let go of me!" Emperor Jingping instinctively pushed away the person supporting him.
Xue Quan was the one who was pushed aside, but he quickly stepped in front of Emperor Jingping to protect him: "Your Majesty, the assassin is in Lehua Tower!"
Emperor Jingping seemed to have been struck on the head, freezing instantly and showing fear. As he was being protected and led down the path, he no longer objected, only shouting, "Take good care of the Imperial Concubine!"
Consort Yu staggered and leaned on the railing, staring straight in the direction of Emperor Jingping.
A wave of dizziness washed over her, and pain surged through her body like a tidal wave. She could no longer see Emperor Jingping's face clearly, just as her parents' faces had long since faded from her memory. Yet, she could hear his words clearly.
Take good care of the Imperial Concubine.
Haha, you said you'd take good care of her, but then you were protected and left by Tuan Tuan when she was on the verge of death?
Just like her father and mother, who called her Baozhu, yet lost her, and spoiled a wild girl they picked up into their precious jewel.
Who killed her?
If she harbored hatred towards the imperial family, shouldn't she have killed the emperor instead of a mere concubine?
Golden light shimmered before my eyes, as if countless butterflies were fluttering in the sky.
As if these lights cleaved through Consort Yu's chaotic mind, a face appeared.
It's autumn jasmine, it's autumn jasmine!
She knew the tea was poisoned, so she returned the favor with a poisoned arrow.
Scenes flashed by, but the last one that remained in my mind was them standing very close, weaving butterflies out of autumn grass.
Then, she gave her a cup of poisoned tea.
What was Qiu Heng doing after receiving the poisoned tea?
Remembering, the girl holding the tea quietly stared at the pair of newly woven butterflies.
She asked Princess Suiyun what she was looking at, and the girl readily replied that she was looking at butterflies, so she also looked at the pair of butterflies.
At the time, she thought that the two butterflies would never be a pair, and only one would remain.
She did hesitate a little, but only a little. Even that little bit of reluctance wasn't directed at Qiu Heng, but at herself.
If she kills Qiu Heng, she will be completely Consort Yu, and will have no connection with Baozhu whatsoever.
But she didn't care about being a precious jewel. Anyway, the couple had a new daughter, so she was content to just be the favored imperial concubine.
Little did she expect that the butterfly that remained wasn't hers, but Qiu Heng's.
She regretted it so much, she hated herself so much. Since she had decided to only be Consort Yu, she shouldn't have used that mushroom poison to be more discreet. Instead, she should have given Qiu Heng a cup of poisoned wine. Anyway, the Emperor doted on her endlessly and listened to her every word. Even if he knew she had poisoned Qiu Heng, he would still cover for her.
The countless shimmering golden butterflies before my eyes gradually dissipated, just like the fragile straw butterflies that eventually turned into dust.
As consciousness completely dissipated, only two golden butterflies remained before my eyes, eventually returning to nothingness.
Consort Yu's arrow wound caused even greater chaos, and at this moment, Princess Rongning, pulling a girl wearing a dark blue cloak, had already arrived downstairs.
So many people ran downstairs, so many people went to protect the emperor, and the people who ran downstairs scattered in all directions, with no one paying any attention.
Therefore, when the girl wearing the dark blue cloak took off her cloak, revealing a hairstyle completely different from Qiu Heng's, she immediately became a different person.
It was Qingluo, a maid from Lengxiangju who resembled Qiuheng in figure.
She applied a layer of makeup, making her appear as fair as Qiu Heng. Her nose and lips were also carefully enhanced. If her eyebrows and eyes were covered, she would undoubtedly be seen as Princess Suiyun by those who had preconceived notions in the night.
But when the wide cloak was no longer there to conceal them, their strikingly different features, the maid's hairstyle and dress—at least in this chaotic and fearful time, no one would associate them together.
Qingluo trembled violently after taking off her cloak.
She was terrified.
When Princess Rongning came down with a maid from the royal palace wearing a girl's cloak and exchanged places with her, every step she took up the stairs felt like walking on a knife's edge.
Unlike the maids in the Prince's mansion who only went downstairs, she had to stay upstairs for so long. What if someone wanted to talk to her? What if a noble person summoned her?
Just thinking about it suffocates her with fear.
Princess Rongning's hands were also trembling.
Such a deception could easily lead to certain doom and utter destruction with a single misstep.
So what? Even if it's a bottomless abyss, she won't stand idly by for Ah Heng.
On the eighth day of the month, a few people had a small gathering. When Aheng led her to change clothes, she held her hand.
"Princess, I need your help."
She listened to Ah Heng talk about the plan, the risks, and many other things.
She believed that if they did as Heng said, they would succeed.
Then go for it. If there are any unexpected events or changes, it doesn't mean that Ah Heng's plan is flawed; it just means she's been unlucky.
She must have been lucky; otherwise, she wouldn't have met Ah Heng.
"Green Vine".
Hearing the shout, Qingluo snapped back to her senses and ran towards Fangzhou.
Qiu Heng took the cloak, draped it over herself, pulled up the hood, and hugged Princess Rong Ning.
Princess Rongning's tears welled up instantly: "Aheng—"
Only then did her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settle down.
After the initial chaos, squads of guards ran along the Imperial Street. Some guards went to chase after the assassin who jumped from Lehua Tower, while others settled and protected the nobles who ran down from the building. Of course, they also had the intention of monitoring them, since the assassin was hiding inside the building.
"Princess Rongning, Princess Suiyun, please go over there."
Qiu Heng and Princess Rong Ning were led by guards to a gathering of noble ladies, where they were quickly surrounded by them.
"Your Highness, Miss Qiu, are you alright?"
“I saw you run over there, and you didn’t hear me when I called you.”
Qiu Heng raised her hand and took off her hood, her snow-white face still showing the fragility of someone recovering from a serious illness: "We're fine, is everyone alright?"
"Everything is fine, except that Miss Zhu twisted her ankle..."
Miss Zhu, who had twisted her ankle, suddenly opened her eyes wide and pointed at Lehua Tower: "Look, who is that being carried down?"
They were some distance from Lehua Tower, so they couldn't see clearly, but one of the noble ladies lowered her voice and hesitated before speaking: "I lagged behind when I came downstairs, and I think I heard, I heard—"
"What did you hear?" the women urged.
"I heard someone shout that something has happened to the Imperial Concubine!"
A gasp arose, and the women looked at each other, suddenly falling silent.
Qiu Heng silently raised her hand and straightened the fluffy snowballs hanging down on both sides of her hood.
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