Chapter 111 Hide Well

Chapter 111: Hide It Well

"Brother, eat the red bean cake."

That was the only thing the little girl ever said to him, and from then on it became his obsession, his fixation, his nightmare.

Countless times, he dreamed of that sweet voice: "Brother, eat the red bean cake."

"Brother, eat the red bean cake..."

Waking from the nightmare, he was overwhelmed by a wave of guilt. What he remembered most clearly, besides her appearance and her voice, was the small mole beside the web of her thumb on her right hand when she handed him the red bean cake.

Later, he grew up, came into a position of power, and learned the little girl's identity: the sixth young lady of the Yongqing Earl's house, Qiu Heng.

After taking control of the Imperial City Bureau, he secretly sent people to search for her, but found nothing.

Until early summer this year, when the Yongqing Earl's house found the sixth young lady who had been missing for ten years.

He rushed to visit and confirm; she was indeed the little girl who had been abducted while trying to give him the red bean cake.

The guilt buried in his heart for ten years made him want to do everything in his power to make amends, to keep her from worry, to shield her from wind and rain.

Little did he expect to lose his own heart in the process.

Xue Han had no regrets about losing his heart, but he had to carefully hide this affection to prevent his adoptive father from harming Qiu Heng.

His adoptive father, known as the "Hidden Prime Minister," could easily target a young lady from a declining earl's house. As a child, he had caused her to be abducted; if he were to harm her again now, he could never atone for it.

After hearing Xue Han's story, Xue Quan was greatly surprised: "So you and that girl have such a past."

"Yes, all these years, your son has felt deeply guilty."

"I didn't realize Han'er was so deeply affected." Xue Quan smiled meaningfully.

"Your son had a difficult childhood, experiencing both the kindness and cruelty of the world. Those who were kind to me, I remember in my heart."

Xue Quan smiled with satisfaction: "Good, I misunderstood you."

"As long as Father is no longer angry." Xue Han breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Qiu Heng and Ling Yun walked back in silence. Upon returning to her quarters, she tentatively called out, "Brother Ling."

Ling Yun's face was stern: "Show me your hand."

Qiu Heng hesitated for a moment, then slowly extended her hand.

The crescent-shaped marks her nails had dug into her palm were particularly noticeable.

"Fetch the best ointment," Ling Yun instructed the maid.

"It's just broken the skin, it's not necessary."

Ling Yun's expression grew even colder: "Just because it's broken doesn't mean it doesn't hurt? A Heng, you really are hard on yourself."

To have clenched her palm hard enough to break the skin—what did it cost you to endure that?

"Brother Ling, I—"

"I know you have no feelings for Lin Chengfeng." Ling Yun didn't let Qiu Heng finish.

He neither wanted to hear A Heng lie to him, nor did he want to force her to tell the truth.

Let him say it instead.

"I just hope you can be kinder to yourself."

Qiu Heng's nose stung: "Brother Ling, given the situation at the time, this was the best way."

"Would you really have no regrets if you were actually betrothed to Lin Chengfeng?"

Qiu Heng met Ling Yun's gaze and smiled: "It's still better than having an affair confirmed between Beauty Qiu and Lin Chengfeng, don't you think, Brother Ling?"

Ling Yun fell silent.

Even though he was angry and pained, thinking it over, there really hadn't been a better choice at that moment. Aside from A Heng taking the blame, no one else could have done anything.

"Young Master, the medicine is here."

Ling Yun took the ointment, motioned for the maid to leave, opened the porcelain jar, and personally applied the medicine to Qiu Heng's hand.

As Qiu Heng watched Ling Yun gently apply the ointment, she felt momentarily dazed: Brother Ling seemed to treat her even better than he did in the south.

"What about Xue Han?"

Ling Yun asked this calmly, but Qiu Heng's outstretched fingers unconsciously curled slightly.

"Don't move." Ling Yun tightened his hold on her hand.

"Official Xue—" Speaking of Xue Han, Qiu Heng felt a tumult of emotions in her heart, but none showed on her face. "He probably guessed the truth, just like you, Brother Ling. As a friend, he wanted to help me."

Friend?

Ling Yun mulled over the word in his mind, then put away the ointment jar: "A Heng and Official Xue are friends now?"

"Official Xue has helped me repeatedly; I can't just ignore his kindness."

Ling Yun pondered for a moment and reminded her: "I don't know much about Xue Han, but his adoptive father, Xue Quan, is not an easy man to deal with. You need to be very careful in your interactions with Xue Han."

"Yes, I understand."

"And what about Cui Er?" Mentioning Cui Er, Ling Yun's tone became much more casual.

Qiu Heng sighed, looking helpless: "I don't know what's going on with him either. Not long ago, the Cui family came to propose marriage. I thought he wanted to marry me to get revenge for his friend Han Ziheng."

Ling Yun's lip twitched in a look of even greater helplessness: "A Heng, no man would do that."

Without a deep-seated grudge, would someone sacrifice their own lifelong happiness just to get revenge for a friend?

Qiu Heng finally caught on: "Cui Er, he—"

Ling Yun finished her sentence: "Has feelings for you."

Qiu Heng frowned: "We haven't had much interaction."

Ling Yun smiled: "For a young master like Cui Er, feelings come and go quickly; don't worry about it. His stepping forward today was actually a good thing."

With two men competing, His Majesty might still seriously consider whether to arrange a marriage or not. But with Cui Er also appearing, His Majesty would just think it's a bunch of young people fooling around and wouldn't bother to intervene.

And that's exactly what happened.

"It's just that A Heng will probably have to deal with some gossip for a while."

Qiu Heng's lips curved. "That's unimportant."

Now that I think about it, Honored Consort Yu went straight for Lin Chengfeng, clearly aware that Beauty Qiu still had lingering feelings for him.

With Honored Consort Yu's overwhelming influence, if Beauty Qiu wasn't careful with her words and actions, even if she avoided it this time, there would be a next.

The daggers and sword shadows of the deep palace were all hidden; navigating its dangers step by step required the caution of those living within it. She, being outside the palace, was powerless to help.

"A Heng, in the future, discuss matters more with your elder brother. Don't shoulder everything alone." Ling Yun raised his hand and gently patted Qiu Heng's head.

"I know, Elder Brother."

Princess Kang learned about the commotion under the canopy from Prince Kang, her head throbbing.

"I said that girl was trouble, Yun'er—"

"Yun'er acted quite like an elder brother." Not wanting his wife to bring their son into this, Prince Kang interrupted Princess Kang.

Princess Kang composed herself a bit and nodded. "That's true. Yun'er did well."

Just now, hearing from the prince that Yun'er had also stepped forward in the end, she nearly fainted.

Fortunately, Yun'er's words and actions were appropriate, preventing Prince Kang's mansion from becoming a laughingstock among the other noble houses.

Unable to find fault with her son, Princess Kang turned and called for her daughter, pulling her aside to lecture her: "Jia Yi, your mother knows you and A Heng get along well. But getting along is one thing; you are a county princess, precious and noble. You must never learn from A Heng and get entangled with several men."

County Princess Jiayi frowned upon hearing this. "Mother, that's biased. I've also heard about today's events. It was clearly Official Xue and Master Cui who were infatuated with A Heng, not A Heng entangling herself with them."

Princess Kang's face darkened. "If she conducted herself with more propriety, how could they all admire her?"

County Princess Jiayi looked at Princess Kang in surprise. "A Heng is beautiful, has a good personality, knows how to make incense, play cuju, climb trees, and has the courage to lure away a black bear alone. Wouldn't it be strange if no men admired her? If I were a man, I'd also like a girl like A Heng."

Princess Kang was so angry she saw stars. "Stop talking nonsense—"

"Fang Zhou fried some turnip cakes and asked me over for some. Mother, I'm leaving now!" County Princess Jiayi smiled at Princess Kang, lifted the hem of her skirt, and ran off.

"Look at her, what has she learned from that Qiu Liu girl? I'm really afraid she'll be tainted by bad company—" Princess Kang complained angrily to her trusted confidante, Aunt Mei.

"Princess Consort, don't be angry. The county princess has a pure heart and won't pick up bad habits," Aunt Mei consoled.

Princess Kang sighed heavily. "Ever since taking in this goddaughter, life has gotten livelier day by day."

In Qiu Heng's courtyard, the aroma of fried turnip cakes wafted from the small kitchen, making the maids and servants glance in that direction from time to time.

Qiu Heng stayed alone in the inner room, taking out the wooden doll and examining it carefully.