Chapter 250 Waiting for the Prey

Chapter 250: Waiting for the Rabbit at the Stump

Seeing that Qiu Heng was about to leave, Cheng Susu objected: "Qiu Liu, you're just leaving like that?"

"Miss Cheng, you saw it too. My horse was startled by a sneak arrow and ran wild—it wasn't intentional. Once I've handled this, I'll come to your residence to apologize properly."

"Heh, you say you'll come to apologize, but you'll just turn around and not show up—"

"Su Su." Madam Cheng stopped Cheng Susu from continuing, giving Qiu Heng a distant yet polite smile. "Today's incident was an accident, and we weren't injured. There's no need for you to come and apologize. County Princess Suiyun, please go about your business."

"Mother—"

Madam Cheng gave a warning glare, and Cheng Susu curled her lip. "You got off easy this time."

In that brief moment, officers from the Inspection Bureau arrived.

"What happened?" The leading inspector demanded, then spotted Xue Han. "Ah, it's Official Xue."

Although Xue Han no longer held the position of Imperial City Commissioner, he still had a fourth-rank honorary title, so addressing him as "Official Xue" was correct.

Xue Han also recognized the leader. "Inspector Yang."

"Official Xue, what's going on here?"

"I was walking down the street when I saw chaos ahead, with two carriages about to collide. I stepped in to put down the spooked horse."

"The frightened horse belongs to—"

Qiu Heng spoke up: "It's from the Earl Yongqing residence."

The Imperial students' petition at the palace gate had made Qiu Heng's face familiar to Inspector Yang, who was responsible for maintaining city order. "Qiu Liu!"

He turned sharply to Xue Han, suspicion flickering in his eyes. Wasn't he just saying he happened upon the trouble while walking down the street?

Xue Han said calmly, "It really was a coincidence."

Inspector Yang's lips twitched. Everyone in the capital knew you two were lovers—this coincidence was treating people like fools.

"Inspector Yang, today's horse bolting wasn't an accident; someone intended to murder me."

Hearing this, Inspector Yang's expression changed. "Miss Qiu Liu, aren't you being overly suspicious?"

When he saw the feathered arrow embedded in the horse's body, Inspector Yang groaned inwardly. He was just on routine patrol—how had he ended up in such a troublesome mess?

"I was invited to Prince Fu's residence today as a guest. On my way home, I encountered a sneak arrow, and I nearly collided with Vice Minister Cheng's carriage..."

Inspector Yang broke into a cold sweat. "This concerns a county princess, so it's no trivial matter. It must be reported to the Capital Prefecture and the Imperial City Bureau."

Let them handle it—this was beyond the scope of his little Inspection Bureau.

"Go ahead and report it, Inspector. A few helpful witnesses mentioned they saw where the arrow came from; we'll go take a look first."

Naturally, Inspector Yang wouldn't stop Xue Han. He ordered his men to report the situation and arranged for the horse's body to be removed.

Seeing Qiu Heng and Xue Han leave, followed by a crowd of onlookers, Cheng Susu got curious. "Mother, I'm going to check it out."

Madam Cheng looked stern. "Stay out of trouble. Get in the carriage and go home."

Seeing her mother's firm stance, Cheng Susu had no choice but to board the carriage. On the way home, she still mused over the matter. "Mother, who do you think wants Qiu Heng dead?"

Madam Cheng tapped Cheng Susu's forehead. "You're too curious. Don't bring trouble upon yourself."

"I'm not going near Qiu Heng." Cheng Susu lowered her voice. "Mother, I have a guess—"

"What?"

"I think Honored Consort asking Fang Rui to be a palace maid might be because of Qiu Heng."

Otherwise, why would Fang Rui deserve to serve at Honored Consort Yu's side? Hopefully, Fang Rui would use Honored Consort's authority to clash with Qiu Heng, and they'd both get hurt—that would be fun to watch.

Madam Cheng tapped Cheng Susu's hand. "Don't gossip about the palace nobility."

"I know."

The Cheng family's carriage gradually faded into the distance. Qiu Heng's carriage was pulled to the roadside, with Uncle Zhang watching over it.

"It's right here." The young man who led the way stopped, pointing to a nearby shop. "I was buying some sundries, and when I got here, I suddenly remembered I forgot to buy vinegar. I stopped to look through my basket and was about to head back when an arrow flew past. It scared me so much I dropped the basket—luckily nothing broke..."

Qiu Heng exchanged a glance with Xue Han, then walked in the direction the young man indicated, stopping beside a thick locust tree.

In winter, the locust tree's leaves had all fallen, its branches stark. Nothing blocked the snow that had accumulated beneath the tree, leaving behind chaotic footprints.

Xue Han observed for a moment, then followed a set of footprints to the foot of a wall, where they disappeared.

"The culprit must have been waiting here first. When he saw the carriage approach, he moved to the locust tree, fired the arrow, and took off immediately."

Thus, the footprints left earlier at the foot of the wall had been covered by fresh snowfall, leaving only one trail from the wall to the tree.

"It's almost New Year's, snow or not, lots of people are out shopping. Someone should have seen the culprit waiting here."

Perhaps because Qiu Heng and Xue Han were held in high regard among the common people, someone quickly chimed in. "I was at the sundries shop and casually noticed a person standing by the wall. I thought, why would anyone be standing there in the snow... That person wore a bamboo hat, so I couldn't see their face, but they looked about my height..."

A shop assistant from the sundries store said, "When I came out to dump water, that person was already there. Time? Around 10 AM, I'd say."

Qiu Heng had gone to Prince Fu's residence after breakfast, chatted lightly with Princess Rongning over wine, and left without staying for lunch.

From around 10 AM to around 11 AM, the window wasn't long, but it was enough to determine that the attacker didn't follow Qiu Heng's carriage from around Prince Fu's residence to this spot.

The attacker had known that Qiu Heng would visit Prince Fu's residence today and had chosen this location in advance to ambush her.

After gathering enough information, officers from the Capital Prefecture and the Imperial City Bureau arrived one after another.

Xue Han passed on what they found out.

The Capital Prefecture's judge politely asked Qiu Heng, "Who knew that the princess would visit Prince Fu's residence today?"

Qiu Heng said calmly, "I suppose everyone from the Earl Yongqing residence and Prince Fu's residence knew."

"Ahem." The judge coughed twice at this, then couldn't help shooting Qiu Heng a deep look.

The girl's expression was completely calm, nothing like someone who'd just survived a crisis.

No wonder she's Miss Qiu Liu, who had taken down the King of Xijiang's household and come back alive and kicking.

"The princess was riding in a carriage with the Earl of Yongqing's crest. From the earl's residence to Prince Fu's, anyone curious could easily find out." The Imperial City Bureau representative was the new commissioner, Di Sheng, who was very deferential to Qiu Heng and Xue Han, his attitude a complete departure from their first meeting.

Qiu Heng didn't disagree with what Di Sheng said: "Yes, I went out openly and aboveboard. It's hard to infer anything from that."

"We'll question the people nearby again. If we find any clues, we'll inform you two promptly." The Jingtian Prefecture official said these perfunctory words, sighing inwardly.

If they'd given chase right when the attacker loosed that arrow, there might have been some hope. But after the horse panicked and caused chaos, with so many onlookers, the culprit had long since fled to who knows where.

"We appreciate your help." Xue Han clasped his hands toward the Jingtian Prefecture official and Di Sheng, then turned to Qiu Heng. "Let me take you back first."

Qiu Heng nodded, thanked the kind-hearted locals who had provided information, and walked with Xue Han toward the carriage parked up ahead.

Yep, just the carriage, no horse.