Chapter 205 Should we kill her?
The carriage moved smoothly forward, the brocade inside shimmering like moonlight.
Everything was as usual, except that the girl sitting there had a cold and stern face, and every inch of her skin was taut.
Later generations described Consort Yu as a bewitching concubine who seduced the emperor, causing Emperor Jingping to become addicted to pleasure.
They disagreed on whether or not to eliminate the wicked concubine, and the gentleman explicitly opposed attributing the blame for the downfall of the country to a woman.
But what if Consort Yu was a spy from Northern Qi?
In this comfortably furnished carriage, Qiu Heng realized once again that her master was not omnipotent and could also make mistakes.
But even with more thought, proof is still needed.
This requires the assistance of Xue Han, the Imperial Envoy.
Qiu Heng made up her mind to see Xue Han as soon as possible.
Upon arriving at the Yongqing Marquis's residence, the eunuch who had escorted Qiuheng back carried out the Moonbeam Satin for her, handed it to a servant of the Marquis's residence, and then left by carriage.
The maidservant, carrying the obviously precious Moonlight Satin, walked as if afraid of tripping: "Sixth Miss, is this being delivered to Cold Fragrance Residence?"
"Come with me to Senshodo."
The old lady had been on tenterhooks ever since Qiuheng left, but when she heard from the maid that the sixth young lady had returned, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Quickly, please come in."
Soon Qiuheng entered the room and bowed to the old lady, saying, "Grandmother."
"How was your meeting with the Imperial Concubine? Did you cause any trouble?"
"I didn't cause any trouble, and the Imperial Concubine rewarded me with a bolt of moon-white satin." The old lady had already had a hard time, so Qiu Heng naturally wouldn't mention the white cat to make her worry.
"Moonlight Satin?" The old lady then noticed the maid who had come in with Qiu Heng, and was immediately stunned by the shimmering brocade.
The Earl's family was quite wealthy, and the old lady had seen many fine things, but this was the first time she had ever seen such silk.
"Why would the Imperial Concubine bestow such a precious gift upon you?" The old lady had a feeling something was amiss.
This Moonbeam Satin is no ordinary item; even a princess might not possess it.
"The Imperial Concubine has become interested in incense making and has asked me to frequently visit the palace to teach her how to blend perfumes," Qiu Heng explained.
The old lady always felt that she was prone to causing trouble, and she felt bad if she worried that something might happen to her because she often went to the palace.
"I see." The old lady was relieved upon hearing this. "Since the Imperial Concubine says so, you mustn't really think of yourself as a teacher. You still need to be careful once you enter the palace..."
Qiu Heng listened obediently and then suggested going back to her room.
The old lady pointed to the moon-white satin that the maid had placed on the table: "Don't forget this."
Qiu Heng smiled and said, "This Moonbeam Satin is too luxurious. My granddaughter can't bear to wear it, so I'll give it to her grandmother instead."
"Nonsense, this is a gift from the Imperial Concubine."
"It's not some kind of imperial gift with a mark. Since it was bestowed upon my granddaughter, it belongs to her now, and I want to give it to my grandmother."
Even after Qiu Heng had been gone for a while, the old lady was still staring blankly at the piece of silk that had been left behind.
Unlike the old lady who was secretly happy to receive her granddaughter's filial piety, Qiu Heng returned to Lengxiang Residence, shedding her feigned smile and ease.
"Is things not going well for you in the palace, Miss?" Fangzhou took the cloak that Qiuheng had taken off, and her expression changed when she saw the torn sleeve. "How did your clothes get torn?"
Qiu Heng continued taking off her outer garment, not hiding it from Fang Zhou: "It was scratched by Consort Yu's cat."
"Why is the cat that the Imperial Concubine keeps so wild?"
"Yes, I'm curious too." Qiu Heng's lips curled into a mocking smile.
Fangzhou's heart skipped a beat: "Did Consort Yu do this on purpose?"
"That's possible. I'll be going to the palace again tomorrow," Qiu Heng said, mentioning her intention to teach Consort Yu how to make incense.
Fangzhou's face turned extremely ugly: "Why can't the young lady have a peaceful life?"
Qiu Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, this is a good opportunity for me to see whether this Imperial Concubine is a human or a ghost."
As evening approached, Qiu Heng went out to find Xue Han.
Xue Han usually rested directly in the government office. Qiu Heng couldn't enter the imperial city for no reason, so she went to a small restaurant called Yue Lai Restaurant to try her luck.
Hu Si once said that he often came to this restaurant for dinner.
Luckily, as soon as Qiu Heng entered the restaurant, she saw Hu Si clinking glasses with his friends, and the whole group was having a lively time.
"Commander Hu."
Hu Si subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman wearing a veiled hat waving at him, ignoring all the stares.
Red bean cake?
Seeing that Hu Si didn't react, a friend nudged him: "What are you standing there for? Your wife is looking for you."
The other man laughed and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't keep the young lady waiting."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Hu Si hurriedly ran over and saw that Qiu Heng didn't seem to care about revealing her identity, so he quickly said, "Let's talk outside."
As they left the small restaurant, Hu Si hurriedly asked, "It's almost dark, why is Sixth Miss out?"
"I have something urgent to discuss with Xue Han, so I'll have to trouble Commander Hu."
"The lord has been staying at the Imperial City Guard lately. Miss, please go to that teahouse and wait for me. I'm going to the yamen."
Hu Si was worried that Qiu Heng would be anxious, so he went straight to the Imperial City Guard. His three friends, who had been waiting for him for a long time, decided to make fun of him when they met the next day.
Qiu Heng was slowly sipping her tea in the teahouse when the young man rushed over.
"Did I disturb your busy schedule?" Qiu Heng remembered that when they met on the Lantern Festival, Xue Han said that he had been quite busy lately.
Xue Han sat down opposite him and took the hot tea that Qiu Heng handed him: "I've already finished my duties at the yamen, I haven't been busy with anything."
"Xue Han, do you rarely go back to your private residence?"
Xue Han also has his own residence in the inner city.
"I don't go back often. Everything is in place in the government office, and they handle emergencies promptly." After saying that, Xue Han realized, "It's not very convenient to find me."
"Fortunately, it was quite easy to find Commander Hu."
Xue Han silently took a sip of tea: "Aheng, I heard from Hu Si that you had something urgent to discuss with me."
"Okay, put the tea down first."
Xue Han looked puzzled and put down his teacup: "What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid you might choke on your tea if you suddenly hear this."
Xue Han: "..." He wasn't that easily agitated.
Seeing Qiu Heng's serious expression, Xue Han became even more curious about what it was about, and even pushed the teacup away a little to let her speak freely.
Qiu Heng said directly, "I suspect that Consort Yu is a spy."
Xue Han coughed a few times with his fist to his lips before regaining his composure.
No, it's not peaceful at all.
"Is Consort Yu a spy?"
"Do you remember the day we went to the mass grave? I said to remain calm and wait for the right moment to act."
Xue Han nodded.
"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I went to the palace with my grandmother to offer congratulations. Consort Yu paid special attention to me and asked me to come and keep her company after the fifteenth. Today, when I went to Yuchen Palace, the white cat that was originally nestled docilely on Consort Yu's lap suddenly pounced on my face..."
Do you think Consort Yu is testing you?
"Yes, fortunately I have experience in dealing with this."
"Cough cough cough—" Xue Han coughed even more violently.
"What's wrong?"
Xue Han picked up his teacup and took a few sips to suppress his embarrassment.
The experience Ah Heng mentioned was the time he tested her skills during the autumn hunt.
"It's nothing, I'm just too surprised that Consort Yu is suspected of being a spy."
"It's just a suspicion. Consort Yu asked me to teach her how to make incense, and she'll be going to the palace again tomorrow. Let's see what other tricks she has up her sleeve."
"Starting tomorrow, I'll have people keep an eye on anyone leaving Yu Chen Palace." The Imperial City Guard always preferred to catch the innocent rather than let the guilty go free of spies. Xue Han quickly accepted the possibility that Consort Yu was a spy and worried about Qiu Heng, "Consort Yu holds absolute power in the palace, Ah Heng, I'm afraid you're in danger—"
Qiu Heng said expressionlessly, "Then I'll kill her."
(End of this chapter)
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