Inside the main hall of the He Mansion residence,
An elderly man with white hair was solemnly identifying the components mixed in the teapot. He took out several small silver needles from his personal bag and carefully distinguished the poisonous substances in the tea.
This was an old Imperial Physician accompanying Fu Yunyu and the team.
After repeated examinations and comparisons, the old Imperial Physician frowned. He raised the silver needle in his hand and said to Fu Yunyu:
“Your Highness, based on my repeated identification, the poison in this tea is indeed Heding Red.”
As soon as the words “Heding Red” were heard, everyone present couldn’t help but change their expressions. They all knew that the toxicity of Heding Red was extremely strong. Ingesting even a small amount was enough to cause an adult to die within a short moment.
In this instant, Fu Yunyu realized that the person poisoning the tea had only one target: the assassination of He Heng.
Contemplating this, her brows slightly furrowed as she pondered the reasons behind this situation.
Fu Yunyu had initially thought that the frequent appearances of people from the Crown Prince’s side near the He Mansion were due to their private dealings. However, she never imagined that the Crown Prince intended to take He Heng’s life.
Yet, Fu Yunyu couldn’t fathom the reasons behind it all.
The foremost obstacle to preventing the Crown Prince from ascending the throne was undoubtedly herself. Therefore, it made sense that she would be his primary target for assassination.
But why go to such lengths to dispatch someone to secretly kill a puppet consort with a humble background and no political backing in the court?
Could it be that Fu Yunwei perceived some form of threat from He Heng?
“Da! Da! Da!”
In the midst of Fu Yunyu’s contemplation, the sound of footsteps, gradually approaching, suddenly echoed in the main hall. A spy swiftly entered from the outer hall, kneeling before her and bowing respectfully.
“Reporting to Your Highness, just a moment ago, we caught a suspicious person in black outside the mansion. However, the moment we apprehended him, he bit his tongue and committed suicide. We couldn’t extract any information from him, but we found this on his person.”
As he spoke, the spy searched his own body and presented two items to Fu Yunyu.
Witnessing this, He Heng walked over to take a look. He saw that the spy was holding a clearly identifiable packet of white powder and a token with a unique pattern engraved on it.
Fu Yunyu waved her hand, calling the Imperial Physician over and instructed, “Go check if the powder is Heding Red.”
Although she was almost certain that the person who bit his tongue and committed suicide was the assassin who poisoned He Heng, it was still necessary to confirm through a rigorous examination before reaching a conclusion.
After giving the order to the Imperial Physician, Fu Yunyu immediately opened the token.
Written on it were the words “Execute the Governor of Mingcheng” and in the bottom right corner of the decree, the seal of the Crown Prince was prominently displayed.
In that instant, Fu Yunyu’s pupils suddenly contracted; the situation was indeed as she had speculated earlier.
The Crown Prince didn’t intend to secretly collaborate with He Heng but rather to send someone to assassinate him.
“Your Highness, it is indeed Heding Red,” the old Imperial Physician’s voice interrupted Fu Yunyu’s thoughts.
Upon hearing this confirmation, she let the decree slip from her hand, hanging down by her side. Fu Yunyu and He Heng exchanged a quick glance, then both fell into deep contemplation once again.
The underlying reasons behind this matter remained a mystery.
He Heng was merely a humble third-tier local official, a nominal puppet consort from a humble background. What could possibly compel the Crown Prince to resort to such drastic measures against him?
These two individuals had hardly any connections. Apart from the occasion when “He Heng” presented the eyes of the mermaid in the palace, they had never even met.
Wait a minute, the eyes of the mermaid?
The medicinal ingredient required for refining the elixir of immortality.
The oil from the mermaid.
“Princess,”
As Fu Yunyu’s thoughts tangled in her mind,
He Heng suddenly took the decree from her hand and exclaimed, “Don’t you find the handwriting on this somewhat familiar?”
Under Fu Yunyu’s puzzled gaze, he waved the parchment in his hand and held it up for her to see.
Previously, Fu Yunyu had only paid attention to the content of the decree and hadn’t carefully observed the handwriting. Now, with He Heng pointing it out, she realized that the six large characters were meticulously and perfectly written. Each stroke appeared straight and precise, and the size of each character was nearly identical. It seemed as if they were printed from a template.
He Heng looked at her and said slowly, “Isn’t the handwriting of the Crown Prince’s ‘Tai Ge Ti’1a certain style or form of writing, perhaps a specific literary or calligraphic style often used during imperial examinations. a bit too neat?”
As He Heng knew, there was only one type of person who would strive to write their characters pitch-black, square, and immaculate:
Those who had participated in the imperial examination system, rushing to the capital for exams.
Under the influence of the imperial examination system, the standardized Tai Ge Ti became the common script used in examination halls. The more standardized and just the handwriting, the more likely it was to leave a favorable impression on the examiners. Conversely, if one’s calligraphy fell short, even if the content of the answers was thoughtful, it would lead to disappointment.
The next moment, He Heng pointed towards a plaque hanging in front of the main hall, prominently displaying the four characters “天道酬勤”2天道酬勤 Hard Work is Rewarded by the Heavens.
These characters looked just as orderly, square, and as if they were carved from the same mold as the handwriting on the decree.
He Heng reminded Fu Yunyu, “Don’t you think this is somewhat similar to the handwriting on the decree?”
At his words, Fu Yunyu followed the direction of his finger.
In that instant of comparing the two sets of handwriting, she looked at He Heng with a sense of disbelief.
Combined with the Crown Prince’s unusual behavior after falling into the water earlier, “He Heng’s” sudden change in attitude toward Qiao Ran, a strangely absurd conjecture emerged in her mind.
However, this thought was so bizarre that Fu Yunyu dared not continue to ponder it.
In the gap of her momentary confusion, He Heng had already rushed to the study. He dug out a large pile of handwritten manuscripts left behind by the previous owner beneath the bookshelf.
Among the stacked manuscripts were countless meticulously written characters, small as the head of a fly, all written by him in his efforts to master the Tai Ge Ti style. The upright and respectful handwriting on them was almost identical to that on the decree. At a glance, one could identify that they came from the same hand.
In that moment, He Heng’s pupils suddenly contracted. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the edge of the decree, crumpling it.
If he hadn’t guessed wrong, the current Crown Prince was likely the scum who had originally blinded Qiao Ran’s eyes in exchange for fame and fortune. Due to an error by the Temporal Management Bureau, this person’s soul had somehow transmigrated into the body of the Crown Prince.
The spy continued, “Moreover, it is said that the Crown Prince and Wu Yuansi have been secretly plotting this for a long time. They likely pinpointed the moment when you would leave the capital for the Enfeoffment Ceremony3Enfeoffment ceremonies in ancient China were significant events in which rulers or emperors granted land, titles, and privileges to their loyal subjects, typically to reward their loyalty, military service, or other contributions to the state. This practice was rooted in the feudal system, where the ruler distributed land and authority to nobles or officials in exchange for their support and service.. It is feared that during the ceremony, they might speak words unfavorable to you.”
“Your Highness, I believe we should act promptly. If that schemer seizes the initiative and deceives the Emperor with a decree against you, we might find ourselves in a very passive situation. In my humble opinion, you should return to the capital as soon as possible.”
After hearing these words, Fu Yunyu’s hand, hanging by her side, subconsciously clenched into a fist.
She hardly hesitated, decisively declaring,
“As soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, we will immediately return to the capital.”
Having said that, Fu Yunyu turned to go pack her belongings. However, in the very moment she took a step forward, He Heng reached out to stop her.
Observing this, she paused and raised an eyebrow, looking at the man behind her. He was unusually serious.
He Heng spoke in a deep voice, “I’ll go with you.”
After discovering that the current Crown Prince was the original owner, he would not stay here without taking action.
He Heng expressed his determination to retrieve Qiao Ran’s lost eyes and alleviate his suffering.
Upon hearing this, Fu Yunyu didn’t immediately agree. Instead, she asked, “Why?”
He Heng replied, “I believe the princess should be well aware of the current situation. We are both on the same boat. The Crown Prince has even sent assassins to my doorstep. I cannot afford to sit idly by.”
“I am willing to collaborate with you to confront the Crown Prince and Wu Yuansi. In return, I need your help to find Qiao Ran’s eyes. Once the matter is resolved, we can annul our engagement.”
He Heng’s requests were not difficult for Fu Yunyu; in fact, they could be considered quite straightforward. However, she didn’t immediately agree. Instead, she raised an intrigued eyebrow and remarked, “The premise of cooperation should be mutual benefit. You say you want to help me deal with the Crown Prince and that old trickster. What grounds do you have? And why should I trust you?”
At her words, He Heng smirked, finding amusement in the situation. In his mind, he thought that the princess was quite astute, always calculating and planning every move meticulously.
Almost, He Heng was on the verge of blurting out, “I dare to use Heding Red for foot baths.”
However, the words hung at the edge of his lips, and he held them back.
In the end, after some thought, He Heng looked at Fu Yunyu seriously and said, “Princess, no need to rush. You can consider this a ‘trial period’. If it doesn’t work out, we can just pretend the previous collaboration never happened.”
The next morning, they set out together. He Heng used the excuse of going to the capital to search for relatives, convincing the little mermaid to accompany him to the capital. However, watching the mermaid being haphazardly loaded onto the carriage, he couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.
He always felt that continuously deceiving the other party wasn’t a sustainable solution. What if one day the fuse was ignited, and all the buried truths exploded out? How would he explain himself then?
On the way back to the capital, Fu Yunyu rode at the forefront of the group on horseback. Due to Qiao Ran’s inability to ride a horse, He Heng accompanied him in the carriage.
It was the little mermaid’s first time riding a carriage on land, and he seemed somewhat unaccustomed.
To shorten the travel time, they took a fast road. However, due to long-term neglect, the road was filled with accumulated water and mud pits, making it very bumpy and uneven.
With the carriage violently jostling, not even halfway into the journey, Qiao Ran was thoroughly dizzy.
His complexion appeared somewhat pale, and he seemed spiritually exhausted.
The little mermaid, pressed against one side of the carriage, uneasily shifted his body. Regardless of how he adjusted his position, he couldn’t suppress the urge to vomit.
Seeing his genuine discomfort, He Heng pretended that Qiao Ran’s shoulder was his hand, allowing the little mermaid to lie down on his lap. He then wrote in the palm of his hand,
“Lie down; it’ll be more comfortable this way.”
Qiao Ran first hesitated for a moment, then obediently lay down on He Heng’s lap as directed.
The next moment,
A soft cushion was suddenly placed behind him, and he felt the man’s slender and powerful palm gently massaging the acupoints on his head to alleviate his motion sickness.
Feeling the gentle movements, Qiao Ran’s fingertips tightened suddenly, and he subconsciously spoke,
“Da Zhu.”
Hearing this, He Heng turned over his palm and wrote on it, “What’s wrong?”
The little mermaid’s voice was very soft as he tentatively asked, “Is it true that no one in your village likes you?”
He couldn’t understand how anyone could not like “Da Zhu”.
Clearly, he was such a good person and so gentle.
Since meeting “Da Zhu”, it seemed like everything had changed, but Qiao Ran couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had changed.
He felt like he had fallen into a trap made of soft material, sinking bit by bit, and eventually couldn’t extricate himself.
At that moment, He Heng wrote the words “None” in the palm of the little mermaid’s hand.
In this moment, he inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt. Sooner or later, the little mermaid would find out his true identity. Would Qiao Ran still call him “Da Zhu” so tenderly at that time?
He might get so angry that he’d want to throw him into the sea to feed the sharks.
However, at this moment, the little mermaid was completely unaware of He Heng’s thoughts. He just fumbled to hold the man’s hand and chirped,
“They don’t like you because…”
He Heng: “Why?”
Qiao Ran lowered his head, “Because they have no vision. They’re all fools.”
Hearing the little mermaid’s words, He Heng subconsciously smirked and then asked him,
“Why does Ah Ran say that?”
“Does Ah Ran like me?”
“Um.” Being asked by He Heng like this, Qiao Ran suddenly froze, his whole person standing there foolishly, unsure how to respond.
In the instant he blurted out “Like,” he thought of another layer of meaning to this word.
Thinking of this, the little mermaid blushed for no apparent reason.
This word seemed a bit ambiguous.
Qiao Ran had lived underwater for twenty years, always muddled about matters of the heart. Before meeting Da Zhu, he had never encountered someone he liked. So, he couldn’t quite grasp what the emotional “liking” in that context really meant.
But at this moment, the little mermaid thought again. Both of them were male, and not even of the same species.
“Da Zhu” shouldn’t misunderstand, right?
In the end, Qiao Ran softly uttered, “Like.”
However, the little mermaid couldn’t see that at this moment, a thin blush had appeared on both sides of his cheeks.
At the same time, He Heng wrote in his hand, “I like you too.”
For some reason, after hearing this, Qiao Ran’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, “thump! thump!” His ears started to feel hot, and his cheeks seemed like they were about to catch fire. His brain went blank, and his whole person felt dizzy. He could clearly sense an indescribable emotion flowing through his entire body.
Qiao Ran tried to control this inexplicable throbbing, but his heartbeats simply wouldn’t obey.
Listening to his own deafening heartbeat, the little mermaid kept admonishing himself in his heart,
This feeling is not strange at all!
Because he and “Da Zhu” are good friends, that’s why he feels so happy when he hears the other person say “like.”
Isn’t it normal for good friends to say “like” to each other?
Thinking about this, the little merman became even more convinced,
The reason for his accelerated heartbeat must be because he was too nervous about making a good friend for the first time on land.
Author’s Note: Good friends specifically refer to those friends who sleep together at night.
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