He Huaichen's face turned very ugly, and he kicked Ling Xihe.
Ling Xihe was only a child under five years old. How could she withstand such a powerful kick from an adult? She fell heavily to the ground. Fortunately, it was winter and she was dressed warmly. Otherwise, that kick would have been enough to break her bones.
Lv Yi, the attendant following behind He Huaichen, was horrified. "Master, please calm down. The princess is the apple of His Majesty and the Queen's eye. If anything happens to her, you can't bear the consequences!"
He Huaichen's face showed no sign of panic. His voice was particularly sinister. "Tie her hands and feet with hemp rope, then dig a hole in the ice and throw her into the river."
Lu Yi was so frightened that she couldn't even speak. She just stared at He Huaichen blankly.
That was Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess. If it were discovered that the master had killed Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, the palace maids who followed the master would definitely be tortured to death by the furious queen.
He Huaichen's face showed no sign of panic. His mind was surprisingly calm. "Didn't you see? Ling Xi didn't even have a servant with her. She obviously sneaked out. You should be quick and decisive now. Kill her quickly and swiftly. No one will know it was you who did it. Then, Lu Jinan will just think that his daughter was playing around and accidentally fell into the water and drowned."
Seeing that the servants were still hesitant and didn't move, He Huaichen suddenly raised his voice, "What are you still standing here for? I'm telling you, if you don't kill Ling Xi and this little bitch today, I'll beat you all to death when I get back!"
Lu Yi was brought back to his senses by He Huaichen's sudden scolding. He took the lead in stepping forward and trying to catch Ling Xihe.
Ling Xihe might be young, but she wasn't stupid. Living in the palace had made her particularly sensitive to danger. As soon as He Huaichen showed any ill will towards her, she'd already taken off running. However, she was too young, and even with all her might, she only managed to get about four or five feet before being caught by Lv Yi.
Ling Xihe wanted to shout for help, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Lv Yi stuffed a piece of rag into her mouth.
Ling Xihe struggled desperately, but to no avail. Her hands and feet were soon bound together. The ropes binding her hands and feet were very delicate, made of hemp and cotton. After soaking in water for an hour, they melted into paper scraps.
This way, when Ling Xihe's body was recovered, no one would be able to discern any clues. Her death would be completely ruled an accident.
Fearing a delay, Lvyi carried Ling Xihe, whose hands and feet were bound, and walked toward the center of Qiongyu Lake. The ice was thinner in the center, and Lvyi quickly found a hole. He mentally apologized to Ling Xihe, then, without hesitation, tossed the little figure in his arms into the water.
It wasn't that he wanted to be so cruel, it was simply that he couldn't disobey his master's orders. After doing his evil deed, Lu Yi didn't dare to look at Ling Xihe, who he had thrown overboard. He ran towards the shore without even looking back.
On the shore, He Huaichen and several other servants were cleaning up any traces that might have been left on the ground.
After completely clearing the footprints from the snow, He Huaichen slowly brushed off the nonexistent dust on his skirt, a cold smile on his lips, "Let's go. You must remember that today, I was just wandering around the snow plum forest on the back mountain of Changle Palace. I didn't come to the shore of Qiongyu Lake, nor did I meet Her Royal Highness. Do you understand?"
The attendants nodded their heads and replied "yes", and the group soon disappeared by the shore of Qiongyu Lake.
Heavy snow began to fall from the sky again.
It was freezing cold, and now it was late at night.
Even the palace maids who got up at night to use the toilet were unwilling to stay outside for too long. After finishing their work, they would go back into their warm beds without even looking elsewhere. It was even more impossible for anyone to notice Ling Xihe falling into the lake.
In the middle of the lake.
Ling Xihe, wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket, was already suffocating from the icy river water. Her first sensation upon falling into the icy water was the intense cold. As time went on, she gradually began to feel the pain of suffocation. So much icy water rushed into her nasal cavity that Ling Xihe felt as if her lungs were about to burst.
There seemed to be tears in his eyes wanting to burst out, but the moment they flowed out, they merged with the cold river water, leaving no trace.
The little girl experienced death up close for the first time. She thought she would leave this world forever, just like the Queen Chunyi.
Every time she acted naughty, her father would scold her, and then she would lower her head and admit her mistake. She couldn't remember how many times she had admitted her mistake, but this time, she really knew she was wrong.
But by the time Ling Xihe realized all this, it was too late. Her body temperature gradually turned colder, and her final struggles ceased. Bubbles gurgled on the surface of the water, and Ling Xihe gradually sank deeper into the lake.
…
Biluo Palace.
Ling Shumo teased her fourth daughter, Ling Xijie, for a while. Ling Xijie could now pronounce "Queen Mother" accurately, but she still had trouble speaking longer sentences. As the night deepened, Ling Xijie's eyelids began to sew together. Pei Jiuyan winked at the attendant, who carried Ling Xijie to the next room.
At this time, all the people in the room had left. Pei Jiuyan's hands gently climbed onto Ling Shumo's shoulders. He was about to unbutton Ling Shumo's coat when he suddenly cried out in surprise, "Why is there a small hole in your Majesty's collar?"
Ling Shumo looked in the direction of Pei Jiuyan's finger, and indeed saw that the thread there had cracked, revealing a tiny hole.
Pei Jiuyan took off Ling Shumo's outer robe and said with a smile, "I will now sew up this torn spot for Your Majesty." As he spoke, he took out a needle and thread box from a drawer beside him. He was about to use a pair of scissors to cut the cotton thread, but found that there were no scissors in the box.
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