After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 24

Hearing this, Yan Heng’s eyes darted around, and she exclaimed, “I’ve got it!”

Liang Xiao looked up at her, raising the teacup in her hand. “How so?”

Yan Heng clapped her hands in excitement: “Go find my father!”

Liang Xiao had a mouthful of tea caught in her throat and nearly spat it out. She coughed violently a few times and asked, “What?”

“My dad is really amazing. He knows all kinds of sorcery,” Yan Heng blinked at her.

Liang Xiao took a napkin and wiped her mouth. “Then how will you find your esteemed father?”

“Well, the sound-transmitting stone wasn’t enchanted by Dad back then. I’ll ask that old fox Yan Qiu and see if he’s on Flowing Cloud Mountain.” As she spoke, Yan Heng took the sound-transmitting stone out of her Qiankun pouch and placed it on the table.

“I’m not on Flowing Cloud Mountain. Why are you looking for Dad?” Yan Qiu’s voice sounded somewhat muffled, as he was clearly somewhere else.

Yan Heng: “I want to ask him about some sorcery.”

Yan Qiu smugly said, “What can’t your brother do? Why not ask me?”

Yan Heng silently rolled her eyes: “You’re not on Flowing Cloud Mountain, so where are you?”

Yan Qiu said, “I went travelling to the northern desert. I can’t rush back right now. Why don’t you just go back yourself?”

Yan Heng pouted her lips: “You really are idle.”

Yan Qiu laughed heartily: “I’ll bring you back some fun stuff from the northern desert.”

The two didn’t say anything more and quickly turned off the sound-transmitting stone.

“So,” Liang Xiao lightly tapped the table to get Yan Heng’s attention, “you have to go back to Flowing, Flowing…”

“Flowing Cloud Mountain,” Yan Heng finished her sentence.

She added, “That year, Your Highness kidnapped me and brought me home right at the foot of Flowing Cloud Mountain.”

Liang Xiao cleared her throat with a slight cough, looking a bit embarrassed: “I was young back then.”

She changed the subject and asked Yan Heng, “If you go back, won’t you have to be away for a long time?”

Yan Heng frowned: “At least half a month, I suppose. I can turn into a fox, which will make me run faster.”

She turned her head to look at Liang Xiao: “Does Your Highness want to come home with me?”

Her eyes were glistening with moisture, and her naturally upturned eyes held a charming allure. Looking at Liang Xiao with such expectation made the Princess’s heartbeat inexplicably quicken.

Liang Xiao suppressed the flutter in her heart and managed to regain her composure, saying, “How can I go? Being away from the palace for so long, wouldn’t that cause suspicion?”

“That’s true,” Yan Heng’s tone was quite disappointed. If she had ears on her head, they would probably droop down too.

She then continued, “Then how can I keep people from getting suspicious? Everyone now knows I’m faking a pregnancy, and your Imperial Father comes to see me every other day. There’s no way to hide.”

Liang Xiao frowned and thought for a moment: “Right now, it seems we can only utilize the ‘child’ in your belly.”

“What do you mean?” Yan Heng blinked, moving closer. Her warm breath fell on Liang Xiao’s hand, making the Princess involuntarily flinch.

“Someone wants to harm your child. Why don’t we set a trap, lure that person out, and stage a miscarriage and death?” Liang Xiao slightly turned her head to hide the blush on her face, speaking in a low voice.

“Are you talking about Consort Yu? I know, she definitely doesn’t want any other concubine in the palace to give birth,” Yan Heng said, “How should we lure her out?”

Liang Xiao smiled: “I already have a plan for this. Just wait until tomorrow, and I’ll bring someone to see you.”

Yan Heng was utterly confused, having no idea what trick Liang Xiao was up to, and went to sleep in a daze. When she woke up the next morning, she saw Liang Xiao had already brought a woman and was sitting in the palace.

After washing up, she walked to the main hall and confusedly asked Liang Xiao, “Your Highness, this is…?”

Liang Xiao stood up, first pulling Yan Heng into the side hall, and whispered to her, “This is a famous traveling physician, and a gynecological expert. It’s said she can tell the gender of a baby in the womb just by checking the pulse.”

“But,” Yan Heng still blinked in confusion, “I don’t have a child in my belly.”

“Are you silly?” Liang Xiao tapped her head. “Don’t you know illusion magic? Can’t you trick her?”

“Oh right!” Yan Heng seemed to wake up from a dream. “I’ll try, but I can only feign a pregnant pulse, not the pulse of a boy.”

Hearing this, Liang Xiao smiled and rubbed her head: “Don’t worry about that, I’ve arranged everything. She will naturally say that you have a Dragon Son in your womb.”

“At that time, we’ll intentionally arrange for a few people to spread the news that you’re pregnant with a Prince. Will Consort Yu still be able to sit still?”

Yan Heng suddenly understood and gave Liang Xiao a thumbs-up: “Your Highness is truly brilliant!”

The woman took Yan Heng’s pulse and, sure enough, announced that Yan Heng was carrying a Dragon Son. The next day, the news spread throughout the palace as if it had wings.

In Consort Yu’s sleeping quarters, things were scattered and broken on the floor, clearly showing someone had just thrown a fit.

The exquisitely dressed woman seemed ready to tear the handkerchief in her hand, gnashing her teeth and saying, “She actually managed to get pregnant with a Dragon Son.”

Jin Xing handed her a cup of tea to calm Consort Yu’s emotions: “Mistress, she may have the luck to conceive a child, but she may not have the ability to give birth, right? So many eyes in this Harem are watching Concubine Yan’s belly. How can she possibly give birth to a Prince safely?”

“That’s right,” Consort Yu took the tea, her mood improving significantly. “At least I absolutely will not allow her to successfully give birth to a son!”

Inside Yan Heng’s Jingning Palace, she was sitting across from Liang Xiao playing cat’s cradle.

“The news has been spread. When will the person who wants to harm me make a move?” Her brows were furrowed, and she looked a little sad.

It wasn’t surprising she was anxious. The news had been circulating in the palace for three or four days, even Liang Shu, who was busy with state affairs, had heard about it, but people like Consort Yu still hadn’t made a move.

Liang Xiao wasn’t worried. She already had a lead and just needed Yan Heng to leave the palace and return home before continuing the investigation.

“If they made a move against you immediately after the news spread, wouldn’t that be too conspicuous?” Liang Xiao smiled to comfort her, and at the same time, she took the red string from Yan Heng’s hand and made a new pattern.

While contemplating how to flip the string, Yan Heng said, “You humans have too many twists and turns. Unlike us foxes, we never engage in such trickery.”

Liang Xiao couldn’t help but laugh: “Didn’t they say foxes are the most cunning? I see you are different.”

Yan Heng indignantly said, “That’s just a rumor! We foxes are also very honest and kind, alright?”

“Alright, alright,” Liang Xiao laughed and comforted her, letting go of the cat’s cradle to stroke Yan Heng’s head. “It’s my fault for being blind and not knowing that our Ah Heng is the kindest little fox in heaven and on earth.”

Yan Heng didn’t answer immediately but unnaturally turned her face away: “You, why are you calling me that?”

Liang Xiao herself hadn’t reacted. The endearment had slipped out of her mouth so naturally, as if she had called Yan Heng that before. Now, realizing it, her heart couldn’t help but speed up, and she quickly tried to cover her tracks: “I just didn’t want to call you by your title. You, don’t overthink it.”

“Oh,” Yan Heng nodded, standing up from the stool, fanning her own cheek as she said, “It’s quite hot recently, I, I’m sweating…”

Hua Zi, who was serving nearby, couldn’t help but inwardly mutter: “…Where is it hot? It clearly rained a little this morning.”

“Greetings to Concubine Yan,” a small, unfamiliar maid suddenly approached and curtsied to Yan Heng. “My Mistress invites you for tea. Does your Ladyship have time?”

“Who is your Mistress?” Yan Heng stared at her. “Where are we going for tea?”

“Just in the Imperial Garden, my Mistress is waiting for you there,” the maid vaguely answered Yan Heng’s question, which immediately suggested something was amiss.

It seemed someone finally couldn’t hold back.

Yan Heng turned to look at Liang Xiao, and the other person nodded, signaling her to go and check it out. Yan Heng immediately understood, turned to the maid and said, “Then please lead the way.”

“Yes.” The maid led the way, and Yan Heng, with Hua Zi, followed her towards the Imperial Garden.

Unexpectedly, halfway there, a young palace maid suddenly darted out, pulling Hua Zi and saying, “Aunt Hua Zi, the Court of Garments sent new material. Aunt Hua Zheng has asked you to go back and choose.”

Yan Heng knew they were trying to send away the people beside her, and she didn’t intend to expose the clumsy excuse. She simply played along and let Hua Zi go back, so she could seize the opportunity to “miscarry.”

The thought of soon being able to leave the gloomy palace filled Yan Heng with joy, and her steps became noticeably lighter.

“Please follow this servant, Your Ladyship. Our Mistress is waiting just ahead,” the maid said.

The maid had not announced her Mistress’s name, clearly indicating that the person behind this did not want to expose themselves, but her intentions and methods were too obvious, making it hard not to suspect Consort Yu.

“It’s just ahe—” the maid said, turning around, then suddenly shoved Yan Heng hard, immediately running away and vanishing at the end of the long street.

Yan Heng, who had fallen to the ground: ??? You couldn’t even look back at me?

But the performance had to be complete. Yan Heng immediately covered her belly and began to scream, simultaneously using the blood pack that Liang Xiao had prepared for her and instructed her to carry, to fake a “massive hemorrhage.” Then she lay on the ground, pretending to faint.

Liang Xiao had timed it. After waiting for Consort Yu’s people to make their move, she sent someone to search the path they had just taken and indeed found the little fox dutifully lying on the ground, acting.

However, even though she knew it was fake, her heart couldn’t help but panic for a moment when she saw the large pool of blood. The scene was so realistic that for a second, she even feared that the blood was genuinely flowing from Yan Heng.

Liang Xiao didn’t hesitate. After instructing people to take Yan Heng back to the palace, she immediately summoned her trusted imperial physician, to prevent any further mishaps.

When Liang Shu, having heard the devastating news, rushed over, he happened to meet the imperial physician leaving the room after the diagnosis: “Your Majesty, the Lady’s body is weak. This miscarriage caused too much blood loss, I’m afraid she has already…”

Liang Shu was furious and was about to punish the imperial physician when Liang Xiao stepped forward and said, “Father, perhaps Concubine Yan was simply unfortunate, unable to bear children for you, and unable to serve you any longer. I’m sure the imperial physician has done his best…”

With Liang Xiao interceding, Liang Shu couldn’t erupt in anger anymore. He walked into the room with a somber face and immediately saw Yan Heng lying on the couch.

“Your Majesty…” Yan Heng was still dedicatedly performing the final scene, afraid of making any mistakes that might reveal the truth to Liang Shu. “This concubine is unfortunate, unable to continue accompanying Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will not, will not blame this concubine…” She coughed three times in one sentence, which deeply distressed Liang Shu, who hurriedly held Yan Heng’s hand.

“It is I who failed to protect you. Don’t worry, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find that maid,” Liang Shu said, his brow tightly furrowed, his eyes full of heartbreak.

Liang Xiao stood by the bedside, watching the two who were about to face “separation by death,” but felt a chill in her heart.

Because she knew that Yan Heng’s death wouldn’t truly grieve her Imperial Father for long. The Emperor was the most ruthless. Even his favored consort, Consort Lian, her mother, was not often missed by her father now. Instead, he favored Consort Yu, who had constantly opposed her mother back then…

In the eyes of an Emperor, romantic love was the most useless thing.

Thinking of this, Liang Xiao couldn’t help but sigh. Over there, Yan Heng had finished the last part of her performance and “breathed her last” in Liang Shu’s arms.

She stepped forward and said to Liang Shu, “Father, your daughter is also at fault in this matter, causing harm to Concubine Yan. May I suggest that Concubine Yan’s funeral arrangements be entrusted to me? It would be the last bit of filial piety I can show for Concubine Yan…”

“Playing dead,” Yan Heng heard this and wanted to open her eyes to complain, but she could only endure it, remaining a qualified “dead person.”

“Then I will leave it to you, and the investigation of the murderer who harmed Concubine Yan is also entrusted to you,” Liang Shu placed Yan Heng down, got up, and left.

Liang Xiao understood her father’s meaning. Although he felt pain, who the real culprit was, was no longer important. He naturally knew the instigator in his heart, but there was still a mutual benefit existing between this “mastermind” and himself, so he couldn’t act against her for the time being.

That’s why Consort Yu dared to be so brazen as to attack the Emperor’s favored concubine.

Liang Xiao watched her father leave, then ordered everyone else out. Only she and Yan Heng remained in the room.

Lying on the bed, Yan Heng heard the surrounding noise stop, tentatively opened one eye a sliver, and quietly observed her surroundings. Liang Xiao noticed her secretive movements and couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “It’s alright, they’ve all left.”

Yan Heng immediately exhaled, threw back the quilt, and sat up: “This breath-holding technique is really uncomfortable. I almost passed out.”

“There’s no time to lose. Change into a palace maid’s clothes and leave the palace with me shortly,” Liang Xiao took out a set of clothes and handed it to Yan Heng.

Yan Heng took it and was about to untie the fasteners on her clothes when she suddenly looked up at Liang Xiao: “Your Highness… aren’t you going out?”

Liang Xiao suddenly realized she was about to change, immediately blushed, and backed out: “I’ll come back in a moment.”

After she had changed, Liang Xiao took Yan Heng out of the palace and brought her to her own residence.

“It’s so nice to be out of the palace!” Yan Heng ran around happily in the Princess’s residence. “Finally, no one is restricting me!”

Liang Xiao stood nearby with her hands clasped, watching the wild fox, and shook her head helplessly: “Don’t forget the main task.”

“I know, I’ll set off tomorrow!” Yan Heng said to Liang Xiao.

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