After catching a chill all night, her cough became more severe. Qing Xia knew this was definitely not a cold or fever—she might already have pneumonia. With no special medicines available here, Qing Xia knew this illness could be serious or minor, but the problem was she had no way to treat it. After thinking for a while, she still stood up, coughing as she walked to the main gate and pulled it open.
“Swoosh!” Spears and swords formed a forest of cold gleams, their snow-white light making Qing Xia’s eyes brilliant white. She frowned and coughed twice, then said to a guard at the entrance, “I’m not trying to escape. I’m ill, possibly with pneumonia. Please request instructions from above and find a doctor. You’re the ones watching me—if I die, you’ll also bear responsibility.” After speaking, she slammed the door shut with a bang.
After hearing some quiet commotion outside followed by footsteps gradually departing, Qing Xia couldn’t help but breathe deeply, leaning against the doorframe. The morning star gradually rose on the horizon—the long night was about to pass.
In Yunxiang Hall, Concubine Dan sat on the heated platform in a bright red palace dress. Around the round table below sat several third-rank Graceful Ladies recently enfeoffed by Chu Li. Though Chu Li had ascended to the imperial throne and Concubine Dan hadn’t been made empress, in the vast harem, she was already the undisputed master.
“What do you sisters think?”
Concubine Dan’s voice was soft with a trace of weariness, but her phoenix eyes showed a hint of icy coldness. Mo Wanyi, dressed in light green flowing silk ribbons with clear eyes and brows, suddenly said loudly, “In my opinion, she’s probably thought up some new trick to enchant His Majesty—speaking nonsense shamelessly. Sister needn’t pay her any mind.”
As soon as Mo Wanyi finished speaking, the other women echoed her words. Concubine Dan smiled coldly, yawned lightly, and said lazily, “However, since she says she’s ill and I don’t let anyone examine her, if something happens later, it will still fall on me. Fu Quan, go find Lord Pan from the Medical Guard Office. Tell him Concubine Lan has consumption—treat it however it should be treated.” Though nominally called the Medical Guard Office, it was actually just a group of Maoshan Taoists who burned paper and drew talismans.
This group of people, wrapped tightly from head to toe, entered the Cold Palace at Four Quarters and burned all of Qing Xia’s daily belongings to ashes. They jumped around waving so-called evil-suppressing objects, filling the entire courtyard with smoky, fiery air. Finally, they prepared a bowl of pitch-black talisman water for Qing Xia to drink.
Qing Xia watched these attention-seeking charlatans coldly, feeling a fire burning fiercely in her chest cavity. She knocked over the talisman water in the old Taoist’s hands and slapped the old man across the face with a resounding blow.
The old Taoist flew into a rage, shouting about demons and ghosts, but finally slunk away under Qing Xia’s murderous gaze.
Qing Xia covered her chest and sat on the stone platform beside the courtyard, thinking deeply. It seemed that regardless of whether she had complete confidence, she had to start taking action. She hadn’t eaten last night’s or this morning’s meals—if she fasted for two more days, the toxins in her body should be completely neutralized. Then she’d figure out how to leave the imperial palace, or else if she wasn’t killed by others, she’d die of illness.
Thinking of this, she dumped all the freshly delivered food into the flower beds in the small courtyard, then covered it with soil before returning to bed.
When she woke up in the morning, she felt her physical condition was even worse. Apart from hunger, her cough seemed more severe. Qing Xia seriously doubted whether she could escape from Chu Li’s grasp in her current state. Just then, a strong smell of Chinese medicine suddenly rushed into her nostrils. Qing Xia turned her head and saw a bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup placed at her bedside.
Qing Xia picked it up and smelled it, her brow gradually furrowing, but she didn’t dare drink it rashly.
That evening, Qing Xia pretended to go to sleep. After a while, light footsteps indeed sounded in the room. The visitor seemed very careful, afraid of waking Qing Xia. That person cautiously walked to Qing Xia’s bedside, discovered the untouched bowl of medicinal soup, and seemed to freeze.
At this moment, Qing Xia suddenly reached out and tightly grabbed the visitor’s arm, immediately flipping over and sitting up. Opening her eyes, the dagger in her hand instantly followed, pressed against the visitor’s throat, as she shouted fiercely, “Who?”
The dim candlelight illuminated half of the visitor’s face. Qing Xia couldn’t help but pause, asking in confusion, “It’s you?”
“Your Highness, please calm your anger!”
The man dressed in the dark blue official robes of a third-rank guard fell to his knees with a thud, his face no longer showing its usual humility and flattery, but revealing a sharpness that only comes from life-and-death battlefields.
Qing Xia recognized this man. He was a subordinate of North Gate Guard Captain Xu Quan, usually following behind Xu Quan with a fawning smile, flattering and boot-licking in a very disgusting manner.
Despite being weakened to the extreme, Qing Xia still forced herself to keep the dagger at the man’s throat, looking coldly at this uninvited guest and asking sternly, “Who sent you? What’s your purpose?”
“Your Highness, please calm your anger. This humble one is He Shun, actually from Qi.”
The man said neither humbly nor arrogantly, slowly raising his head to look directly into Qing Xia’s eyes. A sharp light flashed through his eyes—clearly a shrewd and capable character. He Shun lowered his voice and said quietly, “Your Highness doesn’t know this humble one, but you must know the dancer Fu Lan from Rouxi Hall. She is this humble one’s sister and sent a letter to Your Highness a year ago.”
Qing Xia raised an eyebrow, her eyes showing sharp gleams. Could this be the spy sent by Qi An?
This meant that Fu Lan was the link between the original Zhuang Qing Xia and Qi An. Thinking of this, she remembered that over the past half month, Rouxi Hall had repeatedly requested to perform dances for Lan Pavilion Hall, but Qing Xia had treated them as ordinary palace people coming to flatter and curry favor, not receiving them. It seemed Zhuang Qing Xia was indeed a spy sent by Qi An—without a doubt.
“Your Highness, this humble one received news that His Highness the Crown Prince has safely returned to his country. Your Highness can rest assured. Additionally, His Highness the Crown Prince instructed this humble one to tell Your Highness to endure for now, take care of your health. This time at the Chu Crown Prince’s enthronement ceremony, our country will send people to attend and will definitely find a way to rescue Your Highness.”
Qing Xia calmly withdrew her dagger. He Shun remained kneeling on the ground and continued, “His Highness the Crown Prince’s personal letter—please forgive this humble one for being unable to bring it in safely, so I can only recite it orally. His Highness said that regarding last time’s matter, he already understands the cause and effect. The friendship of childhood companions he has never forgotten, and the day of being together is right before us. He asks Your Highness to please take care of yourself.”
“Alright, I understand.” Qing Xia nodded faintly, slowly exhaled, swept her phoenix eyes, and looked coldly at He Shun, saying sternly, “Please also tell Qi An to consider Zhuang Qing Xia already dead. Last time’s matter was just repaying him a favor. From now on, we owe each other nothing. As for you, no matter what happens in the future, don’t come looking for me again. Otherwise, don’t blame me for turning ruthless. After all, I’m still Southern Chu’s consort, and you still have relatives staying in the Chu palace. I’ve said all I need to say—conduct yourself accordingly and withdraw.”
He Shun paused but quickly understood. As an undercover agent, there were many things he shouldn’t interfere with. He nodded seriously and said, “This humble one understands. Your Highness’s words will definitely be reported truthfully to His Highness. But whether to come find Your Highness again is not for this humble one to decide. This humble one’s family was harmed by Chu people, and His Highness is this humble one’s savior. Life and death were set aside long ago. This humble one takes his leave.”
The room quickly became quiet. Qing Xia gazed ahead, picked up the medicine bowl, tilted back her head, and drank it all in one gulp.
Under the solitary lamp, Qing Xia’s shadow was faintly cast on the empty floor. In the cold room, chilly wind occasionally blew in.
She didn’t wake up until noon the next day. Qing Xia knew her physical strength was being frantically depleted, but there was no way to reverse this situation. The current situation was a dead end—without finding a breakthrough, there would be no way out.
Yesterday’s chaotic courtyard had been cleaned up at some unknown time, and the water vat at the corner had also been filled with water.
Qing Xia silently concluded it must have been He Shun’s doing. Without thinking much about it, she sat in the courtyard and took a deep breath.
It was already winter now. The southern weather was cold and damp, but the sunlight was still warm. Qing Xia felt weak all over, leaning against the courtyard with her head slightly raised. Sunlight shone through her fingers onto her face, creating a hazy halo.
At this moment, a slight scraping sound suddenly came from the east, like a stone thrown into a quiet lake in the dead silent courtyard. Qing Xia alertly turned her head but saw no one. Looking carefully, she saw a hint of blade silver showing above the wall. The sharp dagger tip slowly inserted along the edge of the blue brick. Suddenly, with a bang, a blue brick fell down, revealing the light blue dense forest outside through the small square gap.
“Dong dong” sounded twice immediately!
Qing Xia held her breath and saw a slender palm slowly extend through the gap, gently tapping on the surrounding walls.
The hand was large and slightly rough—clearly a man’s hand. That hand groped around, seemingly not minding being discovered by Qing Xia at all. It even waved once, then gently tapped on the wall.
Friend or foe was hard to distinguish, and the behavior was strange enough. Qing Xia stood up, clutching her skirt, carefully moving her steps, silently approaching and pressing her body tightly against the wall, slowly getting closer to that hand.
A dry branch suddenly made a crisp “crack” sound. The embroidered shoes with brocade soles stepped on it, immediately breaking it in half.
The hand extending through the wall immediately retracted, everything seeming like an illusion, leaving only a palm-sized opening through which the blue-green forest faintly showed.
Qing Xia pressed tightly against the wall, speculating in her heart about the visitor’s intentions. While guessing, that hand suddenly extended again, but this time holding a vermillion red bottle.
That person seemed to already know Qing Xia was nearby, gripping the bottle tightly and reaching toward Qing Xia’s direction very peacefully, without any hostility. Qing Xia unconsciously reached out and slowly took it.
Feeling the strength in her hand, that hand also slowly loosened and was about to retract.