After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 29
Xiu Ji Temple was located on a mountain in the outskirts of Yandu. The outside of the house was full of maple trees. A few rustling sounds came from the woods, and a white shadow quickly darted into the forest and disappeared.
After only a few steps, a person appeared in front of Yan Heng.
That person was dressed in white, standing silently before her.
Yan Heng took a few steps back, a surge of fear welling up in her heart.
Yuan De didn’t speak, only staring at the fox who was trying hard to appear calm.
His voice was cold: “You should know what I do, shouldn’t you?”
Yan Heng bared her teeth, trying to intimidate him.
He couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “Don’t try to scare me.”
“You heard it all? Let me think, you’re definitely not a spirit from around here, so…” Yuan De said, pulling a very small crossbow from his sleeve.
Yan Heng slightly turned her head, observing her surroundings.
Shoot, I’m going to be done for here today.
“Nice fur, it’s just right to present to Your Majes—”
The white fox retreated a few steps, suddenly leaped up, and charged straight for Yuan De’s throat.
Yuan De was startled, and the crossbow bolt in his hand shot out, piercing Yan Heng’s left forepaw.
Yan Heng endured the pain, fiercely bit Yuan De’s arm, and then landed beside him.
“Tit for tat, very good, little fox.” Yuan De shed his feigned benevolent expression and put on an angry face.
He pulled out a square box: “Too bad you’re injured, the fur is unusable now.”
Just as he was about to open the box, Yuan De was struck hard from behind with a stone.
Yan Qiu kicked him in the back, and the stunned Yuan De rolled to the side.
He picked up Yan Heng, whose eyes were filled with tears: “You still need your brother to step in!”
Yan Heng was so moved she wanted to bite him.
Yan Qiu held her by the scruff of her neck: “You little ungrateful wretch.”
Yan Heng transformed into human form, clutching the wound on her left arm and grimacing in pain: “Quick, quick, do you have any medicine?”
Yan Qiu said: “Let’s go down the mountain first, lest that person wakes up again.”
The two found a medical clinic and had Yan Heng’s wound bandaged.
After the wound was treated, Yan Heng looked at him suspiciously: “Why were you on that mountain?”
Yan Qiu said: “To bring you the Twin Life Pendant. I just happened to arrive in the outskirts today.”
Then he looked smug: “Siblings are connected. I sensed you were nearby, so I went up the mountain, and who knew, I just happened to save your little life.”
He then became serious: “You’re not in the palace, so why did you reveal your true form and run into that demon-slayer?”
Yan Heng sighed heavily: “Don’t even mention it.”
This morning, Yan Heng heard from Liang Xiao that Liang Shu was going to visit the Imperial Advisor at Xiu Ji Temple. Coincidentally, Liang Xiao had been looking for a flaw in the Imperial Advisor these past few days, so Yan Heng volunteered to sneak onto Liang Shu’s carriage and go to Xiu Ji Temple with him.
Who knew she was so engrossed in eavesdropping outside the house that she didn’t notice, and was caught red-handed by Yuan De.
Yan Qiu lamented: “Truly a stupid fox.”
Yan Heng was so angry her teeth itched.
Yan Qiu took the Twin Life Pendant from his waist pocket and handed it to her: “Here, now that I’ve given you the item, I won’t go into the palace.”
Yan Heng nodded and took it, then remembered Liang Shu and Yuan De’s words.
Liang Shu knows Concubine Lian is a demon.
A guess emerged in her mind, making her shiver.
Could the death of the Empress be related to Liang Shu?
Yan Heng took the Twin Life Pendant, hurriedly got up, and bid farewell to Yan Qiu: “You explore Yandu by yourself, I won’t be able to host you.”
Yan Qiu still wanted to caution her about something, but the fox was already out of sight.
Returning to Liu Yang Palace, Yan Heng held the jade pendant and found Liang Xiao. Just as she was about to speak, her arm was grabbed.
Liang Xiao frowned, pointing at the bloodstain on her arm: “How did you get injured just by going out once?”
Yan Heng waved her hand dismissively: “That’s not important, Your Highness—”
Liang Xiao didn’t wait for her to finish, pulled her hand, and summoned Yuehua, who brought in a pile of medicine jars.
Seeing that Liang Xiao was about to remove the gauze on her arm, Yan Heng quickly said: “I already had a clinic treat it.”
Liang Xiao looked up and shot her a glare: “The medicine at my residence is the best, are you going to use it or not?”
Yan Heng immediately fell silent and nodded obediently.
Yuehua discreetly withdrew.
Liang Xiao lifted the gauze, revealing the wound that hadn’t completely stopped bleeding.
Fortunately, Yuan De’s crossbow bolt wasn’t poisoned, so it was only a superficial injury, but the bolt had pierced quite deeply, leaving a bleeding, circular hole.
Liang Xiao lightly gasped, carefully sprinkling the medicinal powder on Yan Heng’s wound.
This was naturally extremely painful. Yan Heng gritted her teeth, not daring to make a sound.
“If it hurts… don’t hold it in,” Liang Xiao said softly, seeing her covered in cold sweat.
Yan Heng bit her lip, looking at the person who was personally dressing her wound.
Liang Xiao wrapped the wound again with a clean white cloth, her movements extremely gentle, as if treating a fragile treasure.
Yan Heng’s gaze fell on her face, watching her tightly pursed lips and eyes full of distress.
Distress? Is Your Highness… worried about her?
This thought instantly stirred waves in Yan Heng’s heart.
People always said that Princess Yong’an was moody and unpredictable, and always extremely indifferent to others.
She had heard too many descriptions of Liang Xiao from other people’s mouths, but none of them matched the Liang Xiao she knew.
So, is she the exception in His Highness’s heart?
Liang Xiao finished treating Yan Heng’s wound, then got up and instructed Yuehua to brew some medicine.
Yan Heng sat obediently on the couch, watching Liang Xiao move in and out.
She cautiously opened her mouth: “Your Highness…”
Liang Xiao glared at her, speaking through gritted teeth: “Next time if you’re still this careless, I’ll—”
“I’ll make you drink the bitterest medicine.”
Yan Heng pulled a long face: “Have mercy, Your Highness.”
Seeing that Liang Xiao was no longer angry, Yan Heng composed herself and carefully spoke: “I heard some things at Xiu Ji Temple…”
Liang Xiao looked at her: “What?”
Yan Heng paused, unsure how to begin.
How should she tell His Highness that the father she trusts might be related to her mother’s death?
Liang Xiao looked at her silence and asked suspiciously: “Why aren’t you speaking?”
Yan Heng nervously clutched the corner of her clothes, gathered her courage, and informed Liang Xiao of everything she had heard.
“Your Highness?” After Yan Heng finished speaking, she turned her head to observe Liang Xiao’s expression.
Liang Xiao’s right hand was tightly gripping the corner of the table, completely unaware of the pain.
Yan Heng quickly took her hand away, flipped it over, and saw a deep red mark already showing on her palm.
Liang Xiao turned her head to look at Yan Heng, her eyes red-rimmed, her chest heaving violently: “Father knows Consort Lian was a demon?”
Yan Heng bit her lip and nodded.
The conversation between Yuan De and Liang Shu had almost explicitly laid one thing before them.
Liang Shu knew Consort Lian was a demon. It was possible that, for the sake of the royal family and himself, Liang Shu had used others to kill her.
Liang Xiao abruptly stood up: “I’m going to see Father.”
Yan Heng quickly stopped her: “Your Highness, you mustn’t be so impulsive.”
She continued: “If the Emperor asks how you came to know about this matter, how will you answer?”
This question instantly brought Liang Xiao back to her senses.
If she questioned her father now, not only would it lack justification, but it would also expose Yan Heng as the eavesdropping fox demon.
Yan Heng helped her sit back down on the small couch and poured her a cup of tea.
Yan Heng stood beside her: “We need to plan this carefully. We should think about how to bring this up to the Emperor without arousing suspicion.”
Liang Xiao held the tea and asked in a low voice: “You said before that Father has been dreaming of Mother recently, correct?”
Yan Heng nodded: “Yes, and the Emperor feels somewhat uneasy because of it.”
Liang Xiao placed the teacup on the table: “We’ll… trick Father.”
Yan Heng was bewildered: “Play a trick?”
Liang Xiao pointed to the empty space beside her, motioning for her to sit down: “We’ll publicly announce that Princess Yong’an has been having nightmares lately, as if an evil spirit has possessed her.”
She looked up at Yan Heng and continued: “One day, the Princess suddenly goes mad, claiming to be Consort Lian, and wants to see the Emperor whom she deeply loves.”
Yan Heng clapped her hands: “If the Emperor has a clear conscience, then seeing the Empress will naturally be a display of deep marital affection. But if the Emperor has a guilty secret, then…”
Liang Xiao spoke word by word: “Then we will use this opportunity to trick the truth about what happened back then out of him.”
Since they had a plan, both of them relaxed a little. Yan Heng pointed to Liang Xiao’s palm: “Does it hurt?”
Liang Xiao shook her head: “I can’t feel anything.”
After speaking, her gaze fell on Yan Heng’s arm: “You must come to me every day for a new dressing. Do you hear me?”
Yan Heng nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken: “Yes, Your command is my duty!”
It was already September, and the autumn wind was rising, scattering fallen leaves all over the ground.
A few young palace maids responsible for sweeping were working and, seizing the chance when no one was around, discussed the latest rumors in the palace.
“Hey, did you hear? Princess Yong’an has been having nightmares lately, acting all crazy,” said a palace maid in green.
The palace maid in pink nearby said: “Of course I heard.”
The palace maid in green looked around again and deliberately lowered her voice: “I heard from people in Liu Yang Palace that the Princess is possessed by an evil spirit.”
The palace maid in pink was startled: “Don’t talk nonsense!”
The palace maid in blue nearby interjected: “If people from Liu Yang Palace said it, how could it be false?”
The pink-clad girl waved the broom in her hand: “Perhaps it’s those people she killed before, coming back for revenge?”
The palace maid in green quickly nudged her with her elbow: “Don’t scare me!”
Someone was walking towards them from a distance. The three immediately fell silent and continued working obediently.
A few days later, a group of consorts came to pay their respects to the Empress. Yan Heng sat properly in the back, listening to the private whispers of the consorts nearby.
The consorts in the harem were often confined to their palaces, so any bit of gossip quickly became the topic of their idle chatter.
The topic they were discussing was precisely the news Liang Xiao had instructed people to spread.
In just three days, the majority of people in the palace knew about it, and the rumors grew more intense. Some even said that Liang Xiao was inherently an evil being who stayed in the palace to kill people for fun.
Even the consorts started gossiping and wouldn’t be quiet even while paying their respects to the Empress.
Seeing the people below becoming increasingly outlandish in their talk, the Empress, sitting at the head, frowned and shouted: “Enough!”
The consorts immediately fell silent.
The Empress coughed a few times: “It’s just false rumors; why are you all so concerned?”
With that, she singled out the consorts who had been gossiping, telling them to go back and copy some scriptures to calm their minds.
This news was meant to pique the curiosity of the Empress and Liang Shu. When they came to Liang Xiao’s palace, everything could proceed according to plan.
During these few days, Yan Heng disguised herself as a palace maid using a disguise spell to keep Liang Xiao company.
As expected by the two of them, the Empress came with a pile of tonics two days later, looking worried.
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