“This concubine wants to ask how Autumn Concubine sent people to trick me to Leaf Concubine’s palace and how I was whipped. Even if I am just a lowly Liang Di, what right does the Crown Prince’s Autumn Concubine have to whip me? Please, Your Highness, seek justice for this concubine.” Xu Qing’er bowed and knelt, her gaze fixed on Long Hanxie.
“Bang!” Long Hanxie, emboldened by alcohol, slammed the table and stood up. The maidservant Huarong turned pale and hurriedly knelt.
The night was clear, the sky dotted with a faint moon and sparse stars.
“Xu Qiuer, do you have anything to say?” Long Hanxie’s eyes flickered with an indescribable emotion.
The ministers below held their breath, experiencing the tension. Xu Qiuer looked at Long Hanxie with a dazed gaze, then suddenly collapsed onto the table, surprising everyone. Xu Qing’er bit her lip and knocked her head hard on the ground.
“Your Highness, please seek justice for this concubine.”
Long Hanxie glanced at Xu Qing’er and said, “Guanyue, wake up your mistress.”
Guanyue stepped forward, softly calling, “Your Ladyship… Your Ladyship…” Xu Qiuer showed no response.
“Keep trying.”
Cang Yue also approached and pushed her. Suddenly, Xu Qiuer went limp and fell to the ground, her face flushed. Everyone thought she was drunk. Guanyue’s eyes shimmered in the pale moonlight. She glanced at Xu Qing’er, noticing her excitement, and then at Cang Yue, who understood the meaning. Cang Yue carefully patted Xu Qiuer’s cheek, inadvertently revealing her arm, pale as lotus root.
Long Hanxie moved and pushed Cang Yue aside, examining Xu Qiuer’s arm, which had turned black. Cang Yue cried out, “Your Ladyship… Your Ladyship, what’s wrong?” Chaos ensued.
Long Hanxie checked Xu Qiuer’s breath and shouted, “Summon the imperial physician.”
Xu Qing’er watched Long Hanxie carry Xu Qiuer away, clutching her hand tightly.
The carriage disappeared into the dust, and the night grew darker, shrouded in mist. The moonlight soaked the water, leaving people in a hazy state, the unseen gentleness perhaps never existed.
“I hate you, I hate you, hate you…” she murmured to herself like a butterfly’s whisper beneath flower shadows.
“Your Highness, Her Ladyship has been poisoned with crane’s top red.”
Long Hanxie was shocked. “Crane’s top red?”
