Chapter 39: Wild Pheasants Crow
The lingering clouds bring the summer heat to an end.
The outskirts of Dadu are already covered in autumn scenery with yellow leaves filling the sky.
I opened the car curtain and the refreshing autumn breeze blew in, carrying the scent of floating leaves after the rain.
It makes people want to sing a song.
"ah--"
Feifei let out a long breath.
"I'm coming out!"
She happily threw herself on Qiu Xuan.
"I thought you wouldn't let me get in the car, but I didn't expect you to be so considerate."
"Do you want me to throw you out on the street?"
Feifei climbed over the wall of the Princess's Mansion this morning and hired a car to go directly to the door of the Yunyang Marquis' Mansion.
"I thought if you didn't agree, I would go straight to Jiang Jue."
This morning, the emperor's carriage drove along Suzaku Avenue and was worshipped by the people.
Because there were too many people on both sides of the road and the Imperial Observatory calculated the time a little early, the emperor's carriage encountered a minor problem.
A series of small things added up to the fact that the ceremonial procession heading to the autumn hunt had to slow down and move forward slowly.
While Qiu Xuan and Fei Fei were sitting in the carriage of the Yunyang Marquis' Mansion waiting to leave the city, they even chatted with the Fourth Prince, who was also waiting for the emperor's procession to pass before leaving.
If there weren't so many people around, Feifei would have been too conspicuous when she got out of the Yunyang Marquis's car and went to the Fourth Prince.
"There are not so many regret pills in the world."
Qiu Xuan reached out to pull the car curtain, and held Feifei down to make her sit down.
"Just wait patiently. Didn't the Fourth Prince say he would come pick you up during the break?"
Jiang Jue did not break his promise this time.
As soon as the hot water in the camp boiled, he sneaked over.
Qiu Xuan happened to leave the carriage to ask the Yulin Army who were guarding the convoy for directions. When he came back, he lifted the curtain and found that there was a different person inside.
"You're back." Lu Dongfeng's mouth was full of pastries. When he saw Qiu Xuan coming back, he hurriedly drank tea and almost broke his throat.
Qiu Xuan glanced around.
"Don't look anymore. Feifei ran off with Jiang Jue." Lu Dongfeng flipped through the snack box, continuing to search for something that caught his eye. "I think she's almost ready to turn into a cross-body belt and tie it around Jiang Jue's waist."
Qiu Xuan got into the car in silence.
"Why is your little tail gone?"
Lu Dongfeng is very outgoing.
"You're here today, so I left her to look after the house."
Jing Beian came to Qiuxuan last night and talked about today's plans.
As a captain of the Northern Army, he could not move freely on the road, let alone take Lu Dongfeng with him.
So he asked her to pretend to be Qiuxuan's maid.
"Guarding the house?" Lu Dongfeng stuffed a piece of osmanthus cake into his mouth. "Are you still worried about thieves breaking into the yard?"
"Jing Youan doesn't want me to leave the mansion. I'm worried that after I leave, he'll sneak in and mess up my packed luggage."
Qiuxuan poured herself a cup of tea.
"How is your medicine preparation going?"
"Don't worry." Lu Dongfeng patted his chest, "I guarantee it will be foolproof."
Qiu Xuan spread out her hands and waved them in front of Lu Dongfeng.
"What do you mean?" Lu Dongfeng looked confused.
"Didn't Jing Beian tell you?" Qiu Xuan frowned slightly, "Give me a portion of the medicine."
"What do you want the poison for?" Lu Dongfeng asked warily.
"You asked me and I want to ask," Qiu Xuan laughed, "Who knows what Jing Bei'an's trick is? He only told me to give you half."
Lu Dongfeng cursed Qiu Xuan in a way that he couldn't understand.
"He's always like this, and he keeps saying whatever he wants."
As she spoke, she took out a porcelain bottle from the medicine box, separated the poison out, and handed it to Qiu Xuan.
"This thing dissolves in water, so be careful when using it."
"Anyway, this medicine won't take effect until three days later, so it's okay if I accidentally ingest it, right?"
Qiu Xuan shook the medicine bottle to confirm the number of pills.
"The poison will take effect if you use ginseng. Are you afraid?" Lu Dongfeng said with a serious expression.
"I see."
Qiuxuan carefully put away the medicine bottle.
Lu Dongfeng couldn't help but ask Qiu Xuan: "What do you think Jing Beian wants you to do?"
Qiu Xuan shook her head. "Maybe it's just in case. After all, if I were to meet Wu Zhuang or some other noble, I wouldn't be able to bring you along."
"That's right, you Han people have a lot of rules." Lu Dongfeng nodded in understanding.
It was past noon when the convoy arrived at the hunting ground.
Qiu Xuan was not qualified to watch the sacrificial ceremony, so she and the families of other officials waited at the outermost edge.
Qiu Xuan had just corrected Lu Dongfeng's posture when she saw a young eunuch running over from the front.
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince, please come over."
Qiu Xuan had seen this eunuch before. It was him who was guarding outside the door when Jiang Jinhan went to the theater.
"Can I take my maid with me?"
Qiu Xuan asked.
"The Fourth Prince asked you to go alone." The young eunuch emphasized.
"Then I'll have a few words with her."
Qiu Xuan turned around, and Lu Dongfeng immediately asked, "What's going on? Why would the Fourth Prince suddenly ask you to go?"
Could it be Feifei? She really knows how to pick the right time."
"Adapt to circumstances." Qiu Xuan said cautiously.
Then he followed the young eunuch and left.
"This situation is urgent. I will take Mr. Qiu to take a shortcut. Please don't panic."
"I know the way." Qiu Xuan said with a smile.
When they followed Ningjia to participate in the autumn hunting, they went out for a lot of fun.
After a few turns, the two of them arrived in front of the emperor.
The court officials have all left to prepare for tomorrow's hunting.
The emperor only left behind the witch, the eldest princess, and two princes to accompany him.
The ceremonial officer was showing two leopards with white fur and black spots. They were locked in a cage and wandering around restlessly.
"Ningjia has always been filial."
Qiu Xuan heard the eldest princess' voice.
"I have something new and interesting, so I want to show it to my royal brother."
Then, an old man's laughter came.
"Sixth sister, look at these two leopards Ningjia sent back. Do they look like the two wolf cubs she caught in the hunting grounds and presented to me as treasures?"
"Of course I remember."
"These children, even though they have grown up, they still have the same mischievous nature. But if you say they are still young, they have already grown hard wings and can fly away."
The young eunuch gestured for Qiu Xuan to lean back, and Qiu Xuan realized that he had been distracted in order to hear clearly what the emperor said.
"I remember Ningjia had a study partner, and they were close friends. Did she accompany Ningjia to Baisha City?"
Here it comes.
"Your Majesty, you forgot that Ningjia's study partner's surname is Qiu."
The Fourth Prince's words left the only sound in front of the Emperor: the Snow Leopard's uneasy growl.
Even the wizard and the shaman tensed their backs.
It was the eldest princess who laughed and broke the deadlock.
"If the fourth brother hadn't told me, I would have forgotten about it."
She looked at the emperor nonchalantly: "She is Qiu Yun's granddaughter."
The emperor nodded slowly: "I remember that my mother issued an order to protect her."
"Are they safe in the north?" he turned to ask Jiang Jinhan.
"I remember that Ning Jia's study partner was kept by Madam Nangong of the Yunyang Marquis's residence to pray for a marriage for the then missing Yunyang Marquis."
"My daughter's study partner was actually arranged to marry her in the afterlife by her."
The emperor suddenly became angry.
"I was wondering why she suddenly fell ill and died. It turns out she committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
There was complete silence before the emperor.
Qiu Xuan, who was eavesdropping in the dark, almost laughed out loud.
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