Female Consort Chapter 86: Son

“Who are you? And where’s Ayue?”

The man didn’t answer. His wary stance only grew more cautious.

Qiu Che frowned and said coldly, “If you don’t speak, this knife in my hand won’t show mercy.”

“Ayue” took two steps back but stayed silent, clearly ready to fight rather than talk.

Qiu Che sneered and raised her knife, rushing straight at him.

He drew a long sword from his waist to block her blade.

That sword wasn’t Ayue’s. Qiu Che felt a flicker of relief, it meant Ayue might still be alive. This man was an impostor, not a killer posing as her after the fact.

She was obviously a trained fighter, her moves wide and forceful, steady and precise, and her skill was on par with Qiu Che’s.

If it weren’t for the year of battle training she’d gone through, Qiu Che wasn’t sure she could have kept up so evenly.

When did the capital have such a formidable opponent...?

After several exchanges, Qiu Che pulled a dirty trick and slashed the man’s face.

But, as expected, no blood flowed.

Beneath the torn skin was another face, still too blurry to recognize.

It was a human skin mask.

Qiu Che struck again, aiming for the man’s face. His defense held only briefly before she slashed his right cheek.

Both sides of the skin mask were cut open, and a large piece hung loosely, blocking his vision.

Without hesitation, he ripped the mask off.

Qiu Che’s heart skipped a beat. “...Lord Cui. Didn’t expect you to know about the Bone-Shrinking Technique.”

Cui Wenshen stared silently, his figure shifting from the disguised woman’s shape back to his original form.

It was clear that although he could perform the technique, it took a toll on him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have reverted so quickly in front of her.

But... why was Cui Wenshen here?

Qiu Che recalled her recent investigation with Yang Qiu into Cui Wenshen’s background and frowned deeply.

No doubt, Cui Wenshen had deliberately lured her out.

But for what purpose?

Who did he serve?

Was he trying to draw her to the training ground, or simply out beyond the city?

Though both were attempts to lure her, the difference in purpose mattered greatly.

Confirming this was simple: just check the training ground to see if Ayue was still there or if the city guard had been compromised. That would reveal the truth.

Yet, judging from Cui Wenshen’s expression, it seemed he had no intention of letting her leave.

“I don’t want to tussle with you,” Qiu Che said coldly. “If you leave now, I’ll pretend none of this happened.”

“You just can’t beat me,” Cui Wenshen replied calmly, “That’s why you don’t want to fight.”

“You can’t beat me either,” Qiu Che said evenly, “So let’s both step back and avoid conflict.”

He shook his head and gave her a strange look.

Under the moonlight, his eyes showed a flicker of pity and regret as his voice returned to its usual tone.

“Sorry, but you can’t leave.”

“Try to stop me. I doubt you’ll succeed.”

“My orders are to kill you.”

Before he finished, he charged again with his sword drawn.

As the commander of the Imperial Guard, his martial skill was said to be second to none, and few would dare claim first.

When he gave his all, no one could track the speed of his moves in midair.

Qiu Che blocked his sword with her knife while her mind raced: “...Lord Cui, you must know if you kill me, it won’t end well for you. Either you die, or I do. I don’t know what I did to offend you, but after all this time, you want to kill me the moment we meet.”

Cui’s attacks targeted her vital points with precision and didn’t bother defending against her counters.

Even during the exchanges, he calmly apologized, “Sorry, I don’t wish to hurt you, but I’m ordered, you must die tonight.”

“Is that your master’s command?”

Realizing he’d said too much, Cui fell silent again and attacked with renewed ferocity.

Qiu Che bent to dodge and countered with a stab, still chatting: “If you won’t speak, fine. The Crown Prince? No, your expression says it’s not his order.”

Cui’s eyes shifted slightly.

Qiu Che dodged leisurely and continued, “Though the Crown Prince probably knows and agrees... so your master must be someone else.”

For a brief moment, his jaw tightened.

“Let me guess their plan?” she said casually, “They don’t just want to stop me, they want me dead. But they specifically lured me out beyond the city to kill me, ”

“I don’t think you’re afraid of the princess’s guards. If you go through all this trouble, it means I can’t die inside the princess’s estate.”

“Why? Sending a top expert to lure me out like this.”

Qiu Che slashed her knife again, barely dodging his strikes, her voice still light: “I get it. You’re planning something big in the capital, and you can’t risk me interfering, right?”

“Oh,” she said calmly, watching his subtle expressions in the night, “No, it can’t be anyone interfering, and your master sees me as the biggest variable. So you must kill me at any cost, even if it costs your life.”

“Am I right?”

By then, Qiu Che’s knife rested on Cui’s neck, his sword pressed against her shoulder.

A bowl-sized scar on his arm dripped blood.

A shallow blood streak appeared on Qiu Che’s face; she wiped it and her fingertips instantly stained red.

Their fight had stirred quite a commotion, pushing from the city gate toward the roadside bamboo grove, where leaves rustled and piled around their feet.

Yet no city guards came to investigate.

The city gates were tightly shut, and no lights flickered inside, an eerie silence.

Sweat dripped from Cui’s temple due to his arm wound and the prolonged fight.

Still, his expression was blank, cold even in this life-or-death moment.

Empty... like death itself.

Qiu Che looked at the blood on her fingertips and smiled softly. “It’s okay if you won’t answer. Since you want to waste time, I’ll keep you company.”

“You obey him because when you were young, you were saved by Lady Zhen, right?”

Cui’s eyes flickered, his face finally changing.

His sword pressed a little harder on Qiu Che’s shoulder as his tone darkened, “What else do you know?”

“Oh, quite a lot. The Imperial Household Records mention Lady Zhen, real name Lan Zhen, once a lowly palace maid who caught the Emperor’s eye after being assigned to his service. She later gave birth to a prince.”

Qiu Che spoke calmly, watching his reactions closely.

“During the autumn hunt, the Emperor was proud and hated losing. He always claimed the kills as his own. Maybe something happened then, maybe you were injured, and Lady Lan happened to be among the accompanying maids and saved you.”

“And you raised her up to the palace to repay her kindness, giving her a chance to climb onto the dragon bed. And indeed, she didn’t disappoint your favor... no, perhaps she even asked for it herself.”

These words were partly information Qiu Che had dragged Yang Qiu out to find, partly her own deductions and guesses.

But Cui Wenshen’s expression told Qiu Che she was mostly right.

“It’s just that after climbing onto the dragon bed and becoming a consort, she didn’t see the emperor for a long time. Instead, another concubine, Xiao Changzai, appeared.”

“She was stunningly beautiful, skilled in both arts and talents, and the emperor quickly turned his attention to her. Coincidentally, she also started as a palace maid and had once worked alongside Lady Lan Zhen when they were both still palace maids, you should know her. After all, when you transferred Lan Zhen to the palace, you also transferred this Xiao Changzai.”

“After being neglected for a while, and perhaps oppressed by other concubines, Lan Zhen finally realized the cruelty of the inner palace. She became afraid. She was just an inexperienced palace maid who had summoned all her courage to climb onto the dragon bed, but never expected to end up like this... So she came back to you.”

What happened after she found you? Anyone who’s heard those stories can imagine.

For some reason, Cui Wenshen agreed.

He became this little palace maid’s new support.

At this point, the muscles at the corner of Cui Wenshen’s lips twitched slightly, as if recalling something painful. His dark eyes flickered with sadness. “Enough.”

“Don’t get so worked up,” Qiu Che said casually, as if chatting idly, with a faint smile. “I’m not done yet. Lord Cui, don’t you want to hear the rest?”

“I already know. No need for you to keep talking.”

“Oh? Then Lord Cui, are you sure the one who saved you back then really was Lan Zhen?”

Cui Wenshen’s pupils flickered. “...What do you mean?”

Qiu Che smiled as if not noticing his shock. “I said it before, Lan Zhen was just a palace maid, with no hidden background... If your injuries were minor when you met her, you wouldn’t have needed a stranger’s help to heal you... If you were badly hurt, then how exactly did she save you?”

“Lord Cui, I don’t believe you have any doubts about this.”

“You know?”

“I do.”

“Lord Cui?”

“...So what if I do?” Cui Wenshen fell silent for a moment, then his eyes hardened, his voice barely a whisper: “She’s dead.”

Lan Zhen died soon after giving birth to the prince, due to excessive bleeding and a difficult delivery.

She was originally a mere palace maid, posthumously honored as a beauty.

“Oh, ” Qiu Che drew out the sound. “So Lan Zhen’s last wish was for you to protect and assist her son, right?”

“Lord Cui sure loved her deeply. Enough to betray generations of loyalty to the emperor. I’m impressed.”

Cui Wenshen’s hand trembled barely perceptibly. “What’s that got to do with you?”

“Of course it concerns me. What if I told you,” Qiu Che said calmly, “the one who truly saved you was actually Xiao Changzai?”

“Impossible.” Cui Wenshen immediately denied it, then quickly caught himself and steadied his voice, “Even if it was her, she’s dead too.”

Xiao Changzai was Li Qingwu’s own mother, the one who died in the cold palace.

Also known as the Saintess of the Southern Yi, she was a spy sent to Great Xia.

“But her daughter is still alive.”

There it was again.

Xiao Changzai’s daughter, wasn’t she the Eldest Princess, Li Qingwu?

“Are you sure you want to kill the only daughter of the one who saved your life?”

“I didn’t kill her.”

“But if you kill me, Qingwu won’t survive either.”

“...” Cui Wenshen’s lip twitched.

He felt like she was showing off their affection, but without any proof, just a feeling.

Qiu Che lifted her chin, serious now: “So, Lord Cui, why do you think it couldn’t have been her? The Saintess of the Southern Yi, even if you didn’t know before, I don’t believe you don’t know her identity now. The Southerners are skilled in medicine, after all. It wouldn’t have been hard for her to save you with some remedies, right?”

“She’s a Southern spy,” Cui Wenshen said coldly, “Why would she save me?”

“You’re asking me? Who else would you ask?”

“Perhaps,” Qiu Che paused, “she saved you to become a palace maid in the emperor’s presence?”

“The promotion to palace maid was Lan Zhen’s idea. I only agreed because she was close to Lan Zhen, and I was afraid people would notice me meddling in palace affairs without reason. So I promoted them both as a cover.”

Cui Wenshen’s voice turned cold: “If she saved me to become a palace maid, then why didn’t she just admit it back then?”

“Because she didn’t want to expose herself,” Qiu Che’s hand holding the dagger ached slightly from tension. “What’s so puzzling about that? What if her original goal wasn’t you, or climbing the dragon bed at all?”

Cui Wenshen froze.

Perhaps Xiao Zi’s initial goal was simply to become a palace maid, making it easier to gather intelligence and assassinate the emperor.

If so, after saving Cui Wenshen, letting Lan Zhen, who wanted power and wealth, take credit made perfect sense.

The two sisters both became palace maids, and Lan Zhen was eventually promoted to consort.

Xiao Zi, thanks to her beauty, soon caught the emperor’s eye and was swept away by his flattery, forgetting her original mission.

Very plausible.

Cui Wenshen thought about it and found no counterargument.

Qiu Che smiled: “Asking these questions means Lord Cui already has the answer inside, doesn’t it?”

Otherwise, knowing his nature, he would have stabbed me with one sword rather than waste time talking nonsense.

Finally, Cui Wenshen raised his eyes and spoke.

His voice was hoarse, tinged with complexity: “My master said you’re sharp-tongued and skilled at manipulating hearts... told me not to waste words with you, just kill. That’s true.”

“Your master...” Qiu Che mused over the word with an unreadable smile.

“Your master, the Third Prince, right?”

Cui Wenshen replied steadily: “You guessed long ago, didn’t you?”

“I guessed,” Qiu Che said with a strange tone, giving him a sideways glance and a teasing smile, “But I never expected Lord Cui to call his own son ‘master.’”

Cui Wenshen’s pupils shook violently, and his hand holding the sword wavered: “...What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t even know if I have a son!”