After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 27
Yan Heng was momentarily stunned.
After a long time without hearing Yan Heng’s voice, Yan Qiu asked, slightly confused, “What’s wrong? Why haven’t you spoken for a long time?”
Yan Heng snapped back to attention: “Why do you bring up that painting? What are you going to do with it?”
Could Yan Qiu have seen someone selling that painting? Otherwise, why would he ask this?
Yan Qiu said, “I once made a painting like that, and not long ago I suddenly wanted to try again. It just so happens that the special pigments for that painting are only available in the Northern Desert…”
His heart suddenly quickened. Yan Heng didn’t even realize how shaky his voice was when he spoke: “How… long ago was it?”
Yan Qiu answered without thinking: “Eleven years ago. I remember it very clearly—it was a rare occasion where I made such a large sum of silver.”
With a ‘thud,’ the storybook in Yan Qiu’s hand dropped to the floor.
She hurriedly asked, “Where did that painting go later?”
Yan Qiu was a little strange: “Why are you asking about this?”
Yan Heng wished she could reach through the transmission stone and drag him out: “Just answer me quickly!”
Although puzzled, Yan Qiu still answered honestly, “I sold it, sold it to a person wearing white clothes.”
White clothes… Liang Xiao had said the State Preceptor loved white clothes the most…
How could it be such a coincidence?
If Yan Qiu’s painting was really bought by the State Preceptor, and if the State Preceptor was indeed the mastermind, then was Yan Qiu considered an accomplice?
“A-Heng?” Yan Qiu hadn’t heard any movement for a while and softly called Yan Heng’s name.
“Do you remember what the person who bought the painting looked like?” Yan Heng held the transmission stone in her hand.
Yan Qiu thought for a moment: “Hmm, I have a vague impression. He looked like a clean-cut scholar. Oh, right, he had a mole beneath his lip.”
A mole beneath the lip—it really was the State Preceptor.
Yan Qiu asked, “Why are you asking about this?”
Yan Heng said softly, “Nothing.”
Yan Qiu was completely baffled. He was about to say something more but found the transmission stone had disconnected.
“How strange,” he muttered.
Her brother was truly an accomplice.
Yan Heng sat on the bed hugging her knees, her gaze hollowly fixed on the begonia-red bed curtain.
How was she supposed to tell Liang Xiao that her own brother had willingly sold that painting to the State Preceptor?
That evening, Yan Heng sat gloomily in the room, pondering how exactly she should broach the subject with Liang Xiao.
Liang Xiao entered the door, holding up her skirt, and immediately saw Yan Heng’s pained expression.
She had some news she wanted to tell Yan Heng—Reverend Guanzhen had been found. She thought this little fox would be very happy.
Liang Xiao pursed her lips, and the expression on her face dimmed slightly.
Footsteps approached. Yan Heng turned her head to look, almost jumping off the small couch in fright.
The person she had just been thinking about was now standing right in front of her, and she was completely unprepared.
Liang Xiao lifted her skirt and sat down beside her: “Why didn’t you come find me today?”
Yan Heng whispered, “I was afraid of being a nuisance.”
Liang Xiao paused while pouring tea: “Whoever dares to dislike you, this Princess will immediately drive them out.”
Yan Heng looked miserable and didn’t answer. The two were silent for a long time.
“Your Highness—”
“This Princess—”
The two spoke simultaneously. Yan Heng quietly withdrew her words: “Your Highness speaks first.”
Liang Xiao said slowly, “Reverend Guanzhen… has been found.”
The sentence was spoken with extreme difficulty.
Her mood had become complicated when she received this news yesterday.
Once the ‘Love Silk Lock’ was resolved, Yan Heng would leave, and it would be very difficult for them to see each other again after that.
Although she was very reluctant to admit it, Liang Xiao truly couldn’t bear to let her go.
Hearing this, a look of joy indeed flashed across Yan Heng’s face, but it was immediately replaced by a cautious expression.
Liang Xiao saw her strange look and asked, “What do you want to tell this Princess?”
Yan Heng bit her lip and remained silent for a long while, then softly said, “I found the person who sold the painting.”
Liang Xiao suddenly reached out and grabbed Yan Heng’s wrist: “Did you really find him? Where is he? Who is it?”
Yan Heng looked at her anxious face and blinked: “It’s…”
“It’s my elder brother.”
Liang Xiao’s face was filled with disbelief, and the grip on Yan Heng’s wrist loosened. Yan Heng easily pulled free.
Yan Heng looked at her face, her heart heavy with mixed feelings: “He said that eleven years ago, he sold the painting to a white-robed Taoist with a mole under his lip. I suspect it’s the State Preceptor.”
Liang Xiao’s wrist was still suspended in mid-air, her expression still frozen, only her lips trembling slightly: “Is that true?”
Yan Heng nodded: “He told me himself yesterday.”
Liang Xiao turned around silently, the shock on her face also receding.
Yan Heng whispered: “Your Highness, he didn’t mean to—”
Liang Xiao interrupted her: “I know.”
Her expression was indifferent, but her right hand was clutching the corner of her clothes tightly.
There was another long silence, so long that Yan Heng thought she had only had a strange dream. Then Liang Xiao suddenly got up.
“Reverend Guanzhen will arrive in Yandu in a few days. Once the Love Silk Lock is removed, you may leave. You don’t need to help this Princess investigate anymore.”
With that, she left without waiting for Yan Heng to reply.
Yan Heng sat on the couch in a daze.
Could she finally take it off? She should have been happy, so why did she feel such a suffocating sense of oppression?
Wait a minute, did Her Highness just say she wouldn’t need her help with the investigation anymore?
No, no, that wouldn’t do. This matter involved Yan Qiu, and she couldn’t just stand by.
She frantically searched for her qiankun bag (a dimensional pouch) and rummaged out the transmission stone.
Perhaps Yan Qiu might have kept some evidence; she still needed to ask him properly.
As long as they could prove the person who bought the painting was truly the State Preceptor, then maybe the mastermind could finally be brought to light.
Yan Qiu readily answered the transmission stone: “My dear sister, what is it now?”
Yan Heng got straight to the point: “Did the person who bought your painting back then leave any token?”
Yan Qiu gave a sound of hesitation: “Hmm, let me think about it carefully.”
A moment later, he said regretfully: “Doesn’t seem like it.”
Yan Heng’s invisible fox ears instantly drooped.
The last thread of hope was shattered.
Yan Qiu continued: “But I’m not entirely sure. You’ll have to let me go back to Flowing Cloud Mountain to look for it.”
Yan Heng immediately nodded vigorously: “Then hurry back. This is very important to me.”
This piqued Yan Qiu’s curiosity: “What is so strange about it? You’ve been digging for answers all along.”
Yan Heng thought for a moment and told him everything.
Yan Qiu stroked his chin and said: “If I really did sell the painting to the murderer, then what about you and the Princess?”
Yan Heng looked distressed: “How can you still say that? It’s all your fault.”
After saying that, her nose stung, and she actually felt like crying.
This unusual feeling made her pause slightly, and then the urge to cry disappeared.
It must have been her imagination.
Yan Qiu knew he was in the wrong: “Alright, alright, it’s my fault. Once I find evidence that can point to him, you won’t have to be sad anymore.”
Yan Heng felt a little better then, squeezing out a “Hmph” from her nose, and grinding her teeth said: “There better be evidence. If there isn’t, I’ll personally knock you out and offer you to the Princess as an apology.”
Yan Qiu was alarmed: “Oh, my good sister, when did you learn to put righteousness before family? Even if you like that Princess, you don’t need to use your own brother as a sacrifice, do you?”
This remark must have hit a nerve for Yan Heng. She quickly denied it: “Don’t talk nonsense! I don’t like her!”
Yan Qiu was confused: “You young girls have a good relationship, and I can’t even mention it?”
Hearing Yan Qiu’s words, Yan Heng felt quite embarrassed.
Yan Qiu hadn’t meant anything ambiguous; she was the one who misinterpreted it.
She played it down: “No, no, you heard wrong. No more talk, no more talk. Hurry back to Flowing Cloud Mountain!”
Yan Qiu sighed helplessly: “Got it, my dear Miss.”
For several days in a row, Liang Xiao did not come to Yan Heng’s room to find her. Even during the day, Yan Heng never encountered her in the manor.
Yan Heng was too embarrassed to brazenly go look for her, so she just moped and zoned out in her room.
After dinner, Liang Xiao paced back and forth in the study several times, unable to calm her heart. These past few days, she hadn’t been able to sleep or eat properly; she was unusually conflicted.
After learning about Yan Qiu’s involvement, it was a lie to say she held no resentment.
But Yan Qiu was somewhat innocent, after all, he didn’t know that the person buying the painting would be the murderer.
Thinking of this, Liang Xiao felt a little irritated again. Although it was not yet certain if the State Preceptor was the true culprit, all the clues they had found so far pointed to him alone.
The mole beneath the lip, the man in white.
Her thoughts were interrupted. Yan Ling curtsied at the door and said softly, “Your Highness, the Emperor has newly acquired a red coral from Ronghai Prefecture, and asks you to come to the palace to see it.”
Ronghai Prefecture is near the sea and is rich in items like pearls. Every year, rare and precious items are selected and sent to the Imperial Palace.
Liang Xiao raised her hand and rubbed her temples: “I understand.”
This red coral today appeared to be extremely valuable. Liang Shu had invited the entire harem to view it.
When everyone saw Liang Xiao arrive, they all made way for her, and Liang Shu also beckoned her over.
“Xiao’er, come quickly and take a look. The appearance of this red coral is excellent. Do you like it?”
Liang Xiao put on a radiant smile: “Your subject is a commoner and doesn’t appreciate these treasures, but the color is truly excellent—it’s dazzling.”
Liang Shu laughed heartily: “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand.” As he spoke, he looked at Liang Xiao’s face, and in a trance, saw a former acquaintance.
That was the concubine he doted on the most. Liang Xiao was not as seductive as her mother, but she was six parts similar. The way her eyes curved when she smiled was as captivating as her mother’s.
Even though eleven years had passed, he still couldn’t forget.
His face still held a doting smile: “Xiao’er, if you like it, how about sending this large coral to your palace?”
A concubine behind them heard this and secretly whispered to the person next to her: “The Emperor has already decided to give the coral to the Princess, and yet he still called us to come and look.”
Another concubine tapped her: “Doesn’t everyone know the Emperor dotes on the Princess? Any treasure is given to Her Highness first.”
That concubine couldn’t help but sigh: “If I could be as favored as Consort Lian, my child would also be able to enjoy all the treasures in the world.”
The concubine next to her rolled her eyes ungraciously: “With Noble Consort Yu’s overwhelming favor in this harem, when will we ever conceive an imperial heir?”
Liang Xiao listened to their conversation and sighed inwardly. She then scanned her surroundings, a slight confusion appearing on her face—Noble Consort Yu was usually arrogant and domineering, so she didn’t know why she hadn’t come today.
Although the matter of Yan Heng’s fake death was planned by the two of them, without Noble Consort Yu’s assistance, they might have had to delay for a few more months. Ultimately, Noble Consort Yu was the obvious culprit who “killed” Yan Heng, but because of her high status, people couldn’t do anything to her, and the matter eventually died down.
Liang Xiao looked at Liang Shu’s expression and pouted coquettishly: “Your subject doesn’t like the color red, I don’t want this coral.”
Liang Shu was not annoyed and laughed: “Then what does Xiao’er want?”
Liang Xiao blinked mischievously: “The beads on my recent jewelry have lost their luster. Your subject wants to personally go to the jewel repository to choose some.”
Liang Shu: “Go if you wish.”
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