Chapter 27: The Bright Solitary Moon

The arrow carried the momentum of a world-shattering force, piercing through the gaps in the dense foliage and striking true into the neck of Han Wu, the Commander of the Palace Guards.

Blood sprayed. Han Wu, whose attention had been entirely focused on inspecting the traces at the scene, swayed before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Commander!"

The Imperial Guards swarmed toward him immediately, shouting his name. As for the commoners present, they were stunned by the sudden upheaval; after a moment of silence, there were cries of alarm, some people rushed forward, while others recoiled in terror.

Using that brief window of time, Qiu Heng, who had been hiding in the trees, descended and ducked behind a thick trunk.

At that moment, an Imperial Guard reacted, pointing in the direction the arrow had come from and shouting, "Over there!"

A group of guards charged toward the large tree. Taking advantage of their distraction, the figure hiding behind the trunk slipped silently into their ranks.

These guards all wore identical uniforms: armor underneath, covered by wide-sleeved short tunics. Qiu Heng’s outer garment was precisely the same kind of short tunic.

This wide-sleeved tunic was the standard uniform of the Imperial Guards. While scouting the small buildings along the banks of the Xiangsha River at night, Qiu Heng had happened to spot one being carried back.

The guard who had lost his uniform while frequenting a brothel naturally wouldn't dare make a scene, which had inadvertently provided her with the perfect means for her mission today.

In truth, if one looked closely, there was a difference. Beneath her short tunic, Qiu Heng wore ordinary robes rather than armor. But in such a moment of panic, with the dense forest obscuring light and vision, it was enough to deceive them.

Qiu Heng followed the guards deep into the forest, trailing at the very back without leaving a trace, before quietly changing direction. She first retreated slowly, and once she had put enough distance between them, she broke into a full sprint.

Her route had been planned long ago. The whistling wind in her ears and the stinging pain of branches and thorns scraping against her body could not hinder the girl running through the mountains.

She ran all the way to the edge of a cliff and came to a halt.

By normal routes, it would take a long time to reach the place she had agreed upon with Fang Zhou, and she would be unable to evade the search by the Imperial Guards. This, however, was a shortcut.

From the top of the cliff to the bottom, and then to the meeting point, she had already traversed this path once. It was difficult and dangerous, but it was the path she had to take.

After a brief moment of recovery, Qiu Heng jumped.

A few yards down, a tree grew horizontally across the slope. The fall was short, and her hands tightly gripped a branch. More branches scraped against her arms and body, tearing through her clothes and skin.

Further down were protruding rocks with ledges barely wide enough for a single footstep. When there was no more leverage to be found, Qiu Heng pulled out a dagger during her descent and thrust it forcefully into the rock wall. It made a sickening screeching sound, allowing her to slow her fall slightly and find a new foothold until she finally reached the bottom of the cliff.

Though it sounded like a long ordeal, it actually happened in a mere instant. To Qiu Heng, however, it felt as though a great deal of time had passed, exhausting her physical strength.

She lay there on the cold, hard rubble, staring up at the sky.

The sky was darkening. An imperfect moon hung quietly in the firmament, looking lonely and desolate.

Yet, Qiu Heng did not feel cold.

She could feel the warmth brought on by the pain. Having traded her warm blood for success, even the metallic scent of blood drifting into her nostrils became fragrant, more exquisite than any incense she had ever blended.

This was the first one.

Han Wu, the Commander of the Palace Guards.

The battered girl flashed a brilliant smile toward the solitary moon in the sky.

***

At that moment, Han Wu was being rushed into the city for emergency medical treatment, and most of the Imperial Guards had returned to the city with him. As for Han Ziheng's fair-weather friends, they didn't dare act the part of loyal companions anymore and slunk back to the city in disgrace.

They wouldn't dare stay behind—even the Commander had been assassinated!

Consequently, there were few people left in Mount Dai to search for Han Ziheng and the culprit. Since searching the mountains after dark was too risky, these people could only find shelter to rest for the night and wait for dawn.

Han Wu drew his last breath before he could even reach the city. When he arrived at the Han residence, the imperial physician performed an examination and shook his head repeatedly.

He was a doctor, not a coroner.

Naturally, he did not dare say this aloud, only offering his condolences.

The entire Han household was in mourning. Although the palace gates were locked, the news still managed to filter inside.

Inside the locked palace, however, music and dancing were in full swing.

Incense curled in the air, and the dancers were enchanting. Upon hearing the urgent report, Emperor Jingping rose abruptly and walked out.

Consort Yu, standing by the Emperor's side, showed a look of surprise: *Han Wu, the Commander of the Palace Guards, is dead?*

That night, countless people found no sleep.

The next day, waves of Imperial Guards and constables appeared on the streets, controlling the city gates and patrolling the outskirts, causing widespread panic and speculation among the commoners.

At the Yongqing Earl's Estate, a carriage stopped outside the flower-adorned gate. Seeing Fang Zhou assisting the Sixth Lady, who wore a veiled hat, the driver, Old Zhang, hurriedly jumped down to greet them.

The young lady in the veiled hat nodded in response and was helped into the carriage by Fang Zhou.

Nanny Wang stuffed a bag of red bean cakes into the driver's hands, blocking the entrance to the carriage. "We've been troubling you so much lately. Here, try some red bean cakes made by Fang Zhou."

The driver beamed. "You're too kind. It's only right to serve the masters. Regardless of anything else, Fang Zhou's pastries are truly delicious..."

As they spoke, Fang Zhou called out, "Qing Luo, hurry up."

Nanny Wang waited until the driver finished a piece of cake before smiling and saying, "Then I shall board as well."

The driver tucked the remaining cakes into his bosom and raised his whip.

Inside the carriage, the silence was suffocating.

Fang Zhou lifted a corner of the window curtain to peek out. Seeing the aggressive-looking soldiers, her heart raced.

At this time, the news of Han Wu's assassination had not yet spread widely.

Fang Zhou wiped the sweat from her palms, her mind racing with various thoughts: *Did the Lady kill Han Ziheng? Did the Lady successfully evade the search? Will the Lady appear at the appointed place as promised?*

Fortunately, leaving the city went smoothly; the soldiers guarding the gates were entirely focused on the carriages and pedestrians entering the city.

*So this is why the Lady told me to go to Dafu Temple today—* Realizing this, Fang Zhou suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

The carriage moved further from the city and closer to the meeting point.

"Uncle Zhang, stop for a moment. The Lady wants some fresh air."

"Right away." The driver pulled the carriage to the roadside.

Fang Zhou helped the young lady out of the carriage. Nanny Wang began chatting with the driver again to prevent him from noticing exactly how many people were disembarking.

The mountain forest was quiet, filled with towering trees. Fang Zhou and the other woman arrived beside a massive tree with a canopy like a great umbrella.

Such trees were common in these mountains, but beside this one grew a plant known as "Half-Year Red," which was quite rare in the capital region.

Having reached the meeting point, Fang Zhou did not dare call out. She held the young lady's hand and looked around cautiously.

A movement came from above. Both women looked up simultaneously to see a figure sliding down the tree trunk.

Fang Zhou was startled at first, but once she saw the person's face, her expression turned to joy.

It was the Lady!

Qiu Heng signaled for them to remain silent and immediately began removing her outer clothes.

The girl beside Fang Zhou removed her veiled hat; the "Sixth Lady" the driver had seen was actually Qing Luo.

Qing Luo shared a similar build with Qiu Heng. The maids of the Cold Fragrance Residence were often envious of the Lady's closeness to Qing Luo, thinking it was because of Qing Luo's temperament, unaware that this was the true reason.

Qing Luo also removed her outer clothing, revealing a maid's uniform similar to Fang Zhou's underneath. Since she had been wearing the veiled hat from the start, her hair was already styled in her usual manner and required no changing.

After chatting with the driver and Nanny Wang for a while, the driver felt it had been too long and instinctively glanced toward the direction where Fang Zhou and the others had gone.

The young lady had said they were going for fresh air, which was a polite way of saying they needed to relieve themselves, but he was still a bit worried about them being away from the carriage for so long in the deep forest.

"Fang Zhou and Qing Luo are both with her—" Nanny Wang pointed and smiled, "See, they're coming back."

Qiu Heng, still wearing her veiled hat, walked up and nodded to the trembling Nanny Wang. She was then helped into the carriage by Fang Zhou and Qing Luo, one on each side.

(End of Chapter)