Chapter 289 Emperor Jingping Falls Ill

Chapter 289: Emperor Jingping Falls Ill

Perhaps because he had been frightened, Emperor Jingping felt utterly drained. Ignoring the attempts of Xue Quan and others to dissuade him, he made his way to Honored Consort Yu’s bier, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Beloved Consort—” Emperor Jingping approached, his trembling hand reaching out to lift the quilt covering Honored Consort Yu, revealing a livid purple face.

“Ah!” Emperor Jingping let out a startled cry, his hand releasing the quilt, which fell back over Honored Consort Yu’s face.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” Xue Quan asked in concern, seeing the Emperor’s pallid complexion.

“I’m fine.”

Emperor Jingping clutched his chest, feeling his heart thumping wildly, as if it might leap out of his chest.

Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump—

“Xue Quan, why is the Honored Consort’s face like that?”

“Your Majesty, the crossbow bolt that struck the Honored Consort was coated with a deadly poison.”

“Outrageous! Absolutely lawless!” Emperor Jingping cursed as he left the side hall, summoning the heads of the relevant offices for a scathing reprimand, commanding them to leave no stone unturned in finding the murderer of Honored Consort Yu.

But as it turned out, even a monarch could not have everything his way. As days passed, the investigation into the assassination of Honored Consort Yu made no progress, and Emperor Jingping fell ill.

It was said that His Majesty missed the Honored Consort so deeply that he fell ill.

“His Majesty truly has deep affection for the Honored Consort,” a young maid whispered to her companion, her tone filled with envy.

The older companion, more composed, warned, “Shh! If the head maid hears us gossiping about this, we’ll lose our heads.”

Emperor Jingping lay on his bed, unaware of these whispers about the Emperor’s devotion to his consort. But what he knew was that his illness was due more to fear than grief.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Honored Consort Yu’s ghastly, purple face.

How could it have come to this? That enchanting, exquisite beauty—even her delicate feet, as fair as jade, that he had once been unable to resist kissing—her death had been so terrifying.

He was sorrowful, but beyond sorrow, he now felt fear whenever he thought of his beloved consort.

There was also an indescribable sense of emptiness and disorientation.

Only on the Lantern Festival, they had watched dances together; one moment they were gazing up at the fireworks in the sky, the next they were separated by life and death.

That had been on the Imperial Street, at the Joyous Tower, which was heavily guarded by the Imperial Guard. If the assassin could kill the Honored Consort, couldn't he kill the Emperor too?

Just thinking of this filled Emperor Jingping with fear.

He was the Son of Heaven, yet even the Son of Heaven could die so easily. Perhaps during the annual Lantern Festival, or on any ordinary day.

This belatedly grown fear was far stronger and more lingering than the sudden shock at the Joyous Tower on Lantern Festival night.

Thus, Emperor Jingping languished in bed, slow to recover.

Time flew by, and soon it was the fifteenth of the second month— a month since Honored Consort Yu’s death.

No matter how shocking the assassination of Honored Consort Yu had been, and how diligently the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the Capital Prefecture, the Palace Command, and the Imperial City Bureau had tried to find the culprit, when the investigation stalled after a month, everything eventually slowed down.

The death of the Honored Consort was important, but there were many other important matters. Investigating the case was crucial, but men were not made of iron; they could not keep burning the midnight oil forever.

On Green Lotus Lake, a small boat drifted with the waves, startling a foraging waterfowl into flight.

“Not so busy lately?” Qiu Heng handed the pastries she had brought to Xue Han.

“Busy still, but not as much as at the beginning.”

“Then why didn’t you rest properly instead of inviting me out for a boat ride?”

“Today is the fifteenth day of the month.” Xue Han looked at Qiu Heng, finally able to let the concern in his eyes show openly.

“The fifteenth again—how time flies.” Qiu Heng sighed helplessly and changed the subject. “I heard His Majesty has been ill all this time. Has there been any improvement?”

Inquiring about the Emperor’s health was a grave offense, but Qiu Heng didn’t have to worry that Xue Han, the Imperial City Commissioner, would throw her into jail.

Xue Han naturally did not hide anything from Qiu Heng. “No improvement, but no worsening either. He sleeps for quite long periods each day. Yesterday, he issued an oral decree for the Crown Prince to act as regent…”

The Crown Prince acting as regent.

A strange feeling stirred within Qiu Heng.

This was quite different from what the historical records showed.

As it happened, Emperor Jingping’s illness and Xue Quan’s offering of medicine were supposed to occur this year, but not now.

And because of Honored Consort Yu’s death, the Emperor had fallen ill so soon—would Xue Quan offer his medicine earlier?

Qiu Heng couldn’t be sure.

Since she had returned, many events had changed, so the historical texts she had read could only serve as references.

Thinking this, Qiu Heng glanced secretly at the man eating a red bean cake, a hint of guilt surfacing in her heart.

She had no intention of stopping Xue Quan from offering the medicine.

“A Heng, is something on your mind?” Sensing that Qiu Heng was distracted, Xue Han felt a vague unease.

“On my mind?” Qiu Heng shook her head. “Nothing on my mind… I was just wondering—shouldn’t the Crown Prince be better than His Majesty?”

Xue Han paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, certainly better than His Majesty.”

Such audacious words—if overheard, they would be deemed treasonous, but A Heng would say them to him.

The unfounded unease dissipated, and Xue Han finally spoke the words he had wanted to say since boarding this small boat.

“A Heng, do you remember what you said two years ago?”

Qiu Heng was startled.

Xue Han reached over and took her hand. “You said to give you two years… This is the twenty-eighth year of Jingping’s reign.”

Qiu Heng quietly watched the man who was speaking, his ears turning red, and her fingertips, clasped in his hand, twitched slightly.

Xue Han instinctively tightened his grip, holding his breath as he looked at the girl before him, waiting for an answer.

“That was said in the twelfth month of the twenty-sixth year of Jingping. Now it’s only the second month of the twenty-eighth year—have you forgotten?”

“I remember.” Xue Han rested his head against Qiu Heng’s shoulder, his voice muffled. “I’m just… a little impatient.”

Qiu Heng was silent for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Xue Han’s waist.

A familiar, searing pain came.

Xue Han immediately noticed something off with the person in his arms. "A Heng?"

"It's nothing, just a chronic issue flaring up." Qiu Heng pushed Xue Han aside and jumped into the lake.

Soon, water splashed, and Xue Han jumped in as well.

"Why did you jump in too?"

Xue Han pulled her back into his arms. "To be with you."

He couldn't take away her pain, but at least he could be by her side when she's in pain.

"Xue Han, let's go boating sometime."

"Alright. When?"

"Let's wait a bit. The Imperial City Bureau is still investigating the assassin who targeted Honored Consort Yu. As the Imperial City Commissioner, it wouldn't look right for you to be openly having fun."

Qiu Heng planned to set the boating date for the first day of the fourth lunar month, the day, according to the books, that Xue Quan was supposed to present the medicine.

"Ah! Someone's committing a lovers' suicide!" A sharp cry came from the lakeshore.

Qiu Heng and Xue Han exchanged a glance, their eyes widening in shock. They silently submerged and swam toward the dense reeds.

The people who came to investigate found nothing, except the young couple who first spotted them and swore they had seen two heads on the lake's surface.

"Oh dear, maybe it's water ghosts showing up to reveal themselves to lovers like you..."

"You're really daring, sneaking off to Qinglian Lake for a secret rendezvous."

A couple of days later, Fang Zhou returned from buying ingredients and whispered to Qiu Heng mysteriously, "Miss, have you heard? Qinglian Lake is haunted again."

Qiu Heng: "..."