Chapter 63 Consort Rong
Qiu Shuzhi held back her laughter. He was a grown man, yet he was still afraid of ghosts like a child.
She pretended to be concerned, “What’s wrong? What happened? It’s late at night, why are you here alone?”
“Let’s go, let’s go quickly.” Lan Xuezhao desperately tugged at the corner of Qiu Shuzhi’s clothes, wishing he could pull her off the horse and ride away himself. The bells on his wrist kept ringing, and the frenzied night wind made them chime even more intensely.
The dense forest and mountains were hidden in the night, and he didn’t know how many terrifying monsters and ghosts were lurking inside. He was so scared that he didn’t dare look back, feeling the swaying shadows of the tree branches behind him were menacing.
Lan Xuezhao anxiously pulled her hand, his eyes still brimming with glistening tears, his tear-soaked lashes wet. “Please take me away.”
Qiu Shuzhi sighed and dismounted from the horse, gently consoling, “There are no ghosts behind you. Perhaps it’s just a wild bird in the mountains.”
Lan Xuezhao shook his head in panic, “You don’t know, you know nothing. It’s him, he’s come to claim my life.”
He cried, tears streaming down his beautiful face. His enchanting eyes were stained by crystal-like teardrops, as alluring as a peony flower after the rain, with dewdrops still hanging on the petals.
Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes stirred slightly. Following his words, she asked, “Who? Who has come to claim your life?”
Lan Xuezhao’s body trembled violently as he buried his head in her arms, clinging to her like a lifeline. “Imperial Consort Jing… It’s Imperial Consort Jing. It wasn’t me who harmed him. Don’t come after me.”
Qiu Shuzhi let him hold her, knowing this was the best opportunity to investigate the assassin. She calmly said, “Indeed, Imperial Consort Jing called out your name before he died…”
“Don’t say it, don’t say it! I didn’t harm him. I want to go home. I want my A’du. I don’t want to stay in this wretched palace. I want to go home…” He used all his strength to grasp her arm, the bells on his wrist ringing wildly, almost shattering. He was on the verge of a breakdown, and even a slight provocation could easily shatter his sanity.
She felt Lan Xuezhao shaking like a sieve in her arms, his thin body nearly collapsing. The stunning flower had experienced a fierce storm and was about to wither in her hands.
She was slightly moved. It seemed Lan Xuezhao was not willing to enter the palace either.
Although his behavior was unruly and his temperament arrogant, he had never mistreated the servants in the palace, let alone put them in mortal danger.
On the contrary, since Qin Qing entered the palace, his methods had been relentless. Not only did he cut off all of Lan Xuezhao’s contact with the outside world, but he also deliberately transferred the servants Lan Xuezhao brought from Yunnan and replaced them with Qin Qing’s spies.
As a foreigner, even the King of Dian couldn’t support him. In the deep palace, he had no one to confide in, and instead, he was constantly monitored. His life was not as glamorous as it appeared on the surface.
She gently patted his back, trying to comfort him, but more importantly, to find the person behind it all.
She asked in a low voice, “If Imperial Consort Jing wasn’t harmed by you, then who did it? If the vengeful ghost can find the real culprit and dispel its grievances, it will naturally reincarnate. Otherwise, it will keep following you.”
Lan Xuezhao curled up in her arms, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably, crying even harder.
“I can’t say it,” he sobbed, tears rolling down endlessly. He held her tightly, “If I say it, he will die. They will all die.”
He raised his head, tears falling like pearls. His enchanting eyes were slightly red, filled with shimmering tears. “Lord Qiu, please take me away. I don’t want to stay here. I’m scared…”
They were so close that they could clearly feel each other’s breath and the rise and fall of their chests. The strange fragrance from his body surrounded them, as if they had entered an endless sea of flowers.
Unexpectedly, even when frightened to this state, Lan Xuezhao was unwilling to give up the mastermind behind it. She could only give up.
She slowly pulled away from him, “Alright then, please get on the horse.”
Lan Xuezhao rode on the horse while Qiu Shuzhi held the reins, galloping through the vast night. The fragrance from his body flowed into her nostrils with the wind, the same strange scent she had smelled in Jiang Si’s tent.
Lan Xuezhao wiped away his tears while riding on the horse, his eyes red and swollen. But behind him, there was a chilling sensation, as if something cold was clinging to his body.
He shivered instinctively and grabbed Qiu Shuzhi’s sleeve, holding it tightly in his hand, not daring to let go.
He felt the texture of Qiu Shuzhi’s fabric, which was ordinary rough cloth, even a bit abrasive, far inferior to the fine silk he was wearing. But for some reason, as long as he held her sleeve, he could gain a sense of security, as if in this pitch-black night, those haunting monsters and ghosts no longer dared to approach him, and there was nothing left to fear.
“Lord Qiu,” as they got closer to the camp, the scent of human presence grew stronger, and Lan Xuezhao was no longer as timid and frightened as before. He regained some rationality and called out her name, “Don’t mention what happened earlier.”
With that said, he seemed to feel that his tone wasn’t fierce enough, so he intensified it, “Otherwise, this palace has ways to deal with you. Even Her Majesty won’t give you any good looks. She’ll demote you to a remote, bitterly cold place where you’ll cry out to the heavens in vain.”
“Understood.” Qiu Shuzhi smiled faintly, not taking it to heart.
Men’s hearts were as unpredictable as the sea. Just a moment ago, Lan Xuezhao was as weak and vulnerable as a little rabbit, but in an instant, he transformed back into a venomous beauty, hissing with a scarlet forked tongue.
Seeing Qiu Shuzhi’s reaction, Lan Xuezhao felt a bit embarrassed instead.
After all, she had helped him, and his words carried a taste of ingratitude.
He coughed softly, a faint blush appearing on his face. His voice was awkward, “But if you can keep your mouth shut, this palace naturally won’t skimp on your benefits.”
Qiu Shuzhi raised her eyebrows, her interest piqued. She turned her head and asked, “What benefits can Consort Rong offer me?”
The cold moonlight shone on her stunningly beautiful profile, shrouded in a layer of mist. In heaven and earth, only her whiteness remained pristine.
Lan Xuezhao inexplicably lowered his head, turning away his unkempt long hair. “What do you want? Gold, silver, pearls? Or a promotion?”
Qiu Shuzhi smiled faintly, gentle as water, “I don’t need any of those lowly things.”
She had little desire for wealth in the first place, and the salary of a Senior Riding Captain was not low. Even if she didn’t line her own pockets like other officials, she could still live a very good life.
“Then what do you want?” Lan Xuezhao asked curiously, the silver hairpin in his hair swaying slightly.
She lowered her eyes in thought, a hint of bewilderment and melancholy in them. What she wanted, Lan Xuezhao couldn’t give, Qin Qing couldn’t give, let alone Yue Shen. They fought for their own interests, but seemed to forget that there was still a group of people deeply trapped in the vortex, struggling to live, their lives worth less than dogs.
Suddenly, she smiled with a sigh, casually saying, “Consort Rong, please take care of yourself.”
Lan Xuezhao’s enchanting eyes flickered, his pupils quivering slightly.
He looked at the smile in her calm eyes, as if across a distant cloud, neither close nor distant, but extraordinarily tempting to approach.
Asking him to take care of himself? Was this the benefit she wanted?
He suddenly blushed, his pearly teeth biting his lips, flushing red as if about to bleed, yet revealing a hint of an indescribable smile.
“You really know how to talk,” he said softly.
“What?”
Lan Xuezhao’s voice was carried away by the wind, and she didn’t hear clearly.
He quickly shook his head, his face as red as if he were intoxicated by the spring breeze. “Nothing.”
He looked at Qiu Shuzhi’s back, his heart pounding like a little deer, even more excited than when he was chosen as the holy son in the Miao village.
He patted his face, telling himself to sober up.
Qiu Shuzhi was the empress dowager’s person.
There had always been rumors in the harem that Qiu Shuzhi was the empress dowager’s lover, which was why she had risen through the ranks at such a young age.
Thinking of this, Lan Xuezhao suddenly couldn’t feel happy anymore. His charming eyebrows were also tinged with a layer of melancholy.
Such a good-looking and gentle person, how could he be a toy boy?
And a toy boy of that vicious old widow, no less.
What a pity, such a great pity.
Thinking of how that vicious old man tortured him in various ways, not only killing the servants he brought from the Miao village but also playing tricks behind his back.
He was merely favored a bit more, yet that vicious old man spread rumors among the people that he was a wicked consort who brought disaster to the country, a modern-day Daji, harming loyal officials and living a debauched life. The King of Dian was very displeased with this.
He didn’t dare imagine what that vicious old man would be like in bed. Would he cry and beg her to be lenient and gentle with him, or would he maintain the empress dowager’s lofty demeanor and force her to make love to him?
It should be the latter.
After all, men in their thirties were as fierce as tigers. That old widower had been celibate for so many years and must be hungry and thirsty. Perhaps Qiu Shuzhi was forced to become his lover.
Such a person, with unparalleled talent and beauty, was forcibly occupied by an old widower.
Thinking of this, Lan Xuezhao looked at Qiu Shuzhi with even more pity.
He secretly made up his mind. When the King of Dian rebelled in the future and the Qin clan was defeated, he would definitely save her from this sea of suffering. If possible, he would take her back to the Miao village and find her a few gentle and amiable Miao men to live a secluded life together, forgetting these humiliations.
“The camp is almost here. This humble official can’t escort you any further, or it will cause misunderstandings.” Qiu Shuzhi stopped the horse and said.
Lan Xuezhao suddenly came back to his senses. Before he knew it, the camp was already in sight.
With the impending separation, he concealed his inexplicable melancholy and said faintly, “I know.”
He originally wanted to dismount directly, but for some reason, he suddenly remembered how she had carefully helped the empress ride the horse a few days ago.
The night wind stirred his unknown thoughts, and he impulsively reached out his hand.
Seeing Qiu Shuzhi look at him in surprise.
He bit his lip, his bewitchingly beautiful eyes glancing at her with a hint of coquettishness. “Aren’t you going to help this palace dismount? You were so gentle with the empress before.”
Only then did Qiu Shuzhi reach out to support him.
He slowly grasped her wrist, slender and soft like the stem of a lotus, delicate yet straight. Holding it in his hand, he truly feared it would snap.
He couldn’t imagine that such a weak and orchid-like woman had such good martial arts skills that she could even injure Jiang Si, exposing the assassination attempt.
