Female Consort Chapter 87: Palace Intrigue

Third Prince Li Hengyu was born to the concubine Zhen Meiren. On the day of his birth, his mother died from a difficult labor and severe hemorrhaging. Afterward, the Empress took him in and raised him as her own, he became her adopted son and the constant shadow beside the Crown Prince.

When following the trail to uncover the truth, the most unlikely answer often turns out to be the only correct one.

What made it all the more fitting was that in a recent note left by Lian Yun, it was clearly stated that Primi Minister Wu had urged her to slander Qiu Che.

She had even seen Prime Minister Wu meeting secretly with the Third Prince.

This only confirmed Qiu Che’s suspicions.

Looking back now, many things she once couldn’t understand suddenly had their explanations.

Li Hengyu played the fool to conceal his true strength, planting many traps, Cui Wenshen was one of them.

Qiu Che had previously analyzed that the political turmoil in the capital was stirred up by a hidden mastermind working behind the scenes against her.

She hadn’t understood why before, but now it was clear, Li Hengyu saw her as a threat and sought to snuff out any chance of her rising, even if it meant colluding with the Southern Yi.

Who knew the palace’s secrets better than him?

It was obvious that the affair between the Empress and Yuan Fu was exposed by him.

Yuan Fu was someone he had saved.

He and Prime Minister Wu were partners, Qiu Che had verified this with Wu Yiqi just two days ago. Wu Yiqi had sent her a letter proving he found an uncle’s old correspondence with the Third Prince that hadn’t been burned completely.

Before the autumn hunt, Li Hengyu had already sent Minister Wu to persuade the emperor.

At that time, Qiu Che’s sharpness was too much for the emperor to control, so he took a gamble and collaborated with Prime Minister Wu.

Yuan Fu was the one the emperor allowed in, though perhaps the emperor himself didn’t realize who exactly he had let in.

But Li Hengyu’s repeated attempts all failed.

Looking back, when Li Qingwu told her that the Third Prince had verbally betrayed her in childhood, she should have immediately considered him a prime suspect.

Someone so young willing to do anything to climb higher would only become more terrifying as he grew older.

Now that suspicion pointed squarely at him, Qiu Che hurriedly asked Yang Qiu for help and uncovered many things.

For example, the true background of the Third Prince’s birth mother.

And from subtle clues, it could be inferred that Cui Wenshen had already gotten close to Lan Zhen when she was pregnant with the Third Prince.

So Qiu Che’s claim that the Third Prince might be Cui Wenshen’s child wasn’t baseless.

But Lan Zhen had died years ago, and many details were impossible to verify. After all this, it was still just speculation.

Still, Cui Wenshen’s shifting expression suggested he was thinking of something.

Who the real father was remained uncertain.

...Of course, without solid evidence, Qiu Che couldn’t say this in front of Cui Wenshen.

Not only couldn’t she say it, she had to pretend she had proof.

“Lord Cui, don’t you want to know why I say the Third Prince shares your bloodline?”

After the initial shock, Cui Wenshen’s gaze toward her turned sharper, filled with caution and scrutiny.

“I want to know… but will you tell me?”

“That’s impossible,” Qiu Che replied quickly. “How about this, if you put down your sword, we can sit down and talk.”

Cui Wenshen hesitated but didn’t lower his blade. “That’s hardly a fair trade, Lord Qiu.”

Qiu Che spread out her empty hand and blinked. “If you have questions, you can ask me too.” Though she didn’t promise she’d answer.

She was sure Cui Wenshen had plenty to ask.

He hesitated again, then returned to his usual calm face. “Whether he’s my son or not, it doesn’t stop me from killing you.”

The sword pressed deeper against her neck, a faint sting followed by a drop of blood tracing down her delicate collarbone.

Qiu Che remained calm, as if unaffected. She asked back, “Are you sure?”

Her tone was exactly the same as when she once asked him, “Are you sure Lan Zhen was the one who saved you?”

Cui Wenshen narrowed his eyes. “What are you going to say now?”

Reason told him Qiu Che was clever with words, she could turn black into white, wrong into right.

If he let her speak, he’d be convinced.

But his feelings urged him: Let her talk.

Qiu Che smiled lazily. “I’m guessing what you’re thinking is, if the Third Prince is your child, then helping him wouldn’t be wasted. You might as well finish the job, kill me, the one who knows, then help him ascend to the throne and serve as his rightful advisor. Isn’t that right?”

Cui Wenshen’s face twitched slightly but he said nothing.

Qiu Che took his silence as assent.

She said meaningfully, “But Lord Cui, do you think that since I know his identity, no one else does?”

“...Who else knows?”

“Have you not heard?” Qiu Che said innocently, “The Princess Royal and I are close, deeply aligned, how could I keep this from her?”

“Oh, of course,” she added, “Besides her, many of my subordinates and allies also know…”

Cui Wenshen’s expression darkened uncontrollably, the sword pressing heavier. “Who?”

“Lord Cui, is that a threat?”

Qiu Che glanced sideways at the sword at her throat, then smiled calmly and looked up. “You care so much before even confirming if he’s your child?”

“Feel free to try, before you kill me, let’s see if this blade of mine can cut your throat first.”

Both fell silent.

“Here’s another choice for you,” Qiu Che said, already growing impatient, the longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it was for those still in the city.

But she forced herself to stay calm. “We each take a step back. I’ll tell you who else knows, and you let me leave. How about that?”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill them once I find out?”

“Whether I’m killed depends on your skill.”

In other words, even if she revealed everything, Cui Wenshen might not be able to eliminate them all.

He took a deep breath.

After a long pause, Cui Wenshen withdrew his stiff hand holding the sword.

“Speak.”

“Well…” Qiu Che licked her lips, sheathed the blade, and let her voice trail off.

Just as Cui Wenshen was fully focused on listening to what she was about to say, she suddenly raised her sleeve and scattered a handful of dazzling white powder from within it.

Caught completely off guard, Cui Wenshen took two sharp breaths, then immediately covered his mouth and nose, quickly raising his sword in defense, 

But it was already too late.

In an instant, his limbs went weak, his whole body nearly powerless. Holding the sword steady was out of the question.

At the same time, a cold, gleaming soft sword pressed sharply against the back of his neck.

Ayue stepped out from the shadows, followed by dozens of agile, similarly dressed women from the city guard. They emerged silently from the bamboo grove, standing quietly nearby.

Ayue bowed respectfully and called out to her, “My Lady.”

Cui Wenshen’s posture wavered slightly as he supported himself with his sword, a soft “hiss” escaping him along with a mouthful of blood.

He actually knew someone had come, but relying on his superior martial skill to keep anyone at bay, he hadn’t taken this group seriously.

He hadn’t expected Qiu Che to play such an open and blatant trick on him.

“You tricked me?”

“No, no,” Qiu Che smiled lazily, “This is called winning with wisdom. You’re just too straightforward, Lord Cui, too rigid to adapt.”

Hiss.

If Yang Qiu ever heard her say something like that out loud, she’d probably roll her eyes all the way to the sky.

After all, the stubborn mule who never bent with the wind used to be herself.

Cui Wenshen asked, “What drug did you give me?”

Qiu Che snapped her fingers. “Ah, just the most common ‘Soft Bone Powder’... mixed with a little of that Southern Yi poison that slowly weakens one’s martial abilities, you know, my wife is descended from the Southern Yi, and she’s always been quite talented with these things.”

Cui Wenshen was speechless.

Qiu Che smiled kindly.

But from her face, Cui Wenshen caught a shadow of the words “grudge” and “revenge.”

He fell silent for a moment, feeling his power rapidly draining away, confirming her words were no lie.

Then he closed his eyes, saying nothing more.

There was something about him that gave off the vibe of “You want to break me? Fine. Go ahead and kill me then.”

Qiu Che relaxed her already weakening grip on his wrist and ignored him for the moment, turning her gaze to Ayue.

“What brought you here?”

Ayue glanced at Cui Wenshen beside her and answered tactfully, “By order of Her Highness the Princess.”

In truth, the women guarding the city gates had heard the bird whistle from inside the city and realized something was wrong, that Qiu Che was in danger, so they hurried from the camp.

This whistle was extremely useful; back at the border, it had already been widely taught among their women’s unit. They even had someone specially learn to make the whistles, so nearly everyone had one.

Qiu Che’s sharp ears picked up on something in Ayue’s words. “Something happened inside the city?”

Ayue shook her head. “We don’t know. But the signal definitely came from the city gates. Although there’s a curfew tonight, our patrol guards carry city gate passes, so the gates can still be opened. Yet Yu Yan chose to send the signal instead of coming out herself.”

The “signal” meant the bird whistle.

While they spoke, Cui Wenshen remained sitting nearby, his posture as upright and still as if meditating, eyes closed and silent.

Qiu Che shifted her gaze back to him.

“No need to look at me,” Cui Wenshen said coldly. “I won’t say a word.”

“Ah.” Qiu Che paused. “Lord Cui, you misunderstand. I’m not asking what you know. I’ve already guessed what’s happening inside the city.”

Cui Wenshen’s eyelashes twitched slightly.

In the end, he couldn’t help but raise his eyes to her, his expression clearly saying: “How is that possible?”

“Why not?” Qiu Che read his expression and smiled again, twirling a dagger before slipping it back into her sleeve. “I know what your son, oh no, your master, is planning.”

“Bring us into the city, and I might consider letting you go.”

Inside the capital, after Qiu Che left,

Li Qingwu quickly snapped to attention and stood up abruptly.

“Immediately send Yu Yan to find the prince consort. If he’s found, protect him at all costs. If he can’t be found or can’t leave the city due to unforeseen circumstances, send the signal to the city guard to search for him.” She spoke rapidly, then instructed Fulou, “Take the ladies to Night Bright City to lay low for a while. Have Yu Ming inform Lord Yang and the others, all of you, gather inside the city.”

“My Lady,” Fulou sensed trouble and nervously asked, “What about you?”

“…Something big is about to happen.”

Li Qingwu put down the ledger in her hands, muttering, “It’s coming too fast… faster than we expected, by more than a few days.”

“Pingyi is still in the palace. I must go fetch her.”

Seeing Fulou’s worried expression, Li Qingwu hesitated, then patted her hand. “Maybe I’m just overreacting. But it never hurts to be prepared.”

“My Lady,” Fulou asked anxiously, “Are you sure you must go?”

“Pingyi is my sister,” Li Qingwu said quietly but firmly. “I promised Consort Xu I’d keep her safe.”

Knowing her nature, Fulou reluctantly released her grip, struggling to say, “Then please, take care. I’ll wait for you in Night Bright City.”

“It’s in your hands now.” Li Qingwu smiled. “I trust you can do it.”

Fulou’s eyes glistened, and she nodded firmly.

“I’ll go with you.” Fu Feng jumped down from the corridor eaves and walked to Li Qingwu’s side.

Li Qingwu said nothing but thought for a moment, then turned back into the room and took out the bow and arrows Qiu Che had given her.

Since she received it over a year ago, Li Qingwu had practiced relentlessly, never missing a day.

The results were gratifying, she now hit her mark nine out of ten times at close range and could hit a target at a hundred paces.

Because it was inconvenient to carry, shortly after Qiu Che returned from the northern expedition, she modified it.

The bow was now a retractable mechanical one, shrinking small enough to fit inside her sleeve pouch, ready to be drawn at any moment, extremely convenient.

Li Qingwu’s fingers brushed the finely carved bow’s back. She glanced toward the outskirts of the capital and masked the worry in her eyes.

Silently, she thought to herself:

I hope this time, you won’t need to use it.

(There are quite a few plot hints in this passage, if anyone’s interested, feel free to go back and check for small details I slipped in during the edits. I’m a detail freak! 😏)