After Rebirth, I Married my Archenemy - Chapter 52
The ledger was tucked into Qun Qing’s possession. Given her usual habits, she would have taken the first chance to slip away.
The bright lights swayed in her vision, yet she changed course, pushing against the flow of people to head back.
This is not the first time that the Meng family has attacked Lu Huating. If he dies here, there will be trouble in the future.
At least check if he’s dead.
However, as she reached the designated floor, she noticed that the hidden guards of Prince Yan’s manor had quietly stationed themselves at the exits, clearly lying in wait to prevent her escape.
Feeling foolish, Qun Qing turned to blend back into the crowd, only to have her way blocked by a courtesan.
The timidity and frailty once on Wenniang’s face had vanished. She gave a respectful bow and said,
“This subordinate, Wen Su, greets Lady Qing. Are you here to meet the advisor? Please follow me.”
This Wenniang—or Wen Su—was clearly Lu Huating’s inside informant in Siye Tower, something Qun Qing had already guessed.
Wen Su possessed an exceptional memory. When Qun Qing had taken Cui Zhu hostage, it was thanks to Wen Su identifying the seal that she wasn’t deceived by a fake ledger.
Unable to escape at the moment, and needing Wen Su’s confirmation of the ledger’s authenticity, Qun Qing followed her.
At the entrance of the private room, Lu Huating and several hidden guards had gathered. He was already free from danger. Upon seeing Qun Qing return voluntarily, a flicker of surprise crossed his face as his gaze followed her up the stairs.
Qun Qing approached him, scrutinizing the bloodstains spreading on his clothes from his right shoulder to his chest. The black fabric concealed it somewhat.
“Where are you hurt, Advisor?”
Being ambushed was routine for Lu Huating. Apart from his enemies, no one ever paid attention to the specifics of his injuries. Hearing Qun Qing’s question, he found it odd but detected something in her tone that brightened his gaze as he locked eyes with her.
“Nothing serious. And you, my lady?”
It was as though her mere presence reinvigorated his fighting spirit.
Since he wasn’t dead, Qun Qing naturally hoped his injuries were severe enough to limit his interference. But raising her eyes, the allure of his captivating features unsettled her briefly, her gaze falling to his lips—paler than usual, likely due to blood loss. He wouldn’t last long here.
That much was sufficient to know.
“Just surface wounds.” Qun Qing retrieved the ledger. “The authentic ledger is in hand. I request Lady Wen Su to verify it.”
Wen Su eagerly examined the vivid red seal Qun Qing had opened, becoming visibly excited. “Yes, this is the true ledger of Siye Tower.”
The hidden guards showed excitement mixed with concern. With the true ledger secured, the next question was how to proceed.
Lu Huating, however, remained calm. He asked Qun Qing,
“What does Lady Qing plan to do with it?”
“Since it concerns the crimes of court officials, I intend to hand it over to Master Wang of the Censorate,” she replied.
“Give it to me.”
His resolute tone made Qun Qing glance at him.
Lu Huating gazed back, explaining, “If you hand it to the Censorate, it will incite mutual attacks among the officials, and the process is riddled with risks. I’ll present it directly to His Majesty. Don’t you wish to see Siye Tower collapse sooner?”
Qun Qing hesitated. Her mission was to deliver the ledger to Wang Zhen at the Censorate. She couldn’t let Lu Huating’s words sway her so easily at the final step.
“Submitting it to the Censorate is their responsibility,” she countered. “Presenting it directly violates protocol. And even if the Emperor doesn’t punish you in anger, how can I trust you’ll actually submit it after taking it?”
Clearly, she had no intention of handing it over.
Lu Huating’s expression hardened.
“Is it for Yunu or someone else? You should know in your heart. I, too, cannot trust that you’ll give it to the Censorate.”
Qun Qing was well aware her role as a spy was no secret to him. That he hadn’t acted against her and had even agreed to cooperate was a matter of mutual convenience. How could he trust her to complete her mission for Southern Chu?
She retorted, “Everyone has their motives. Isn’t yours for Prince Yan’s manor?”
Lu Huating replied, “It seems Lady Qing bears resentment toward Prince Yan’s manor.”
Qun Qing paused briefly. “I am the Crown Princess’s maidservant. Given the animosity between the two princes, should I have any fondness for Prince Yan’s manor?”
“This ledger is crucial to me,” Lu Huating pressed. “I promise to personally deliver it to the Censorate after His Majesty reviews it.”
“No.” Qun Qing’s hand rested on her goat-head sachet, unwilling to take any chances. “This ledger is just as crucial to me.”
With that, she turned to leave, only to find four hidden guards from Prince Yan’s manor stationed below, forming an impenetrable blockade.
“What if I don’t let you leave?” Lu Huating’s voice came quietly from behind, tinged with suppressed emotion.
“Then I’ll have to break through.”
She glanced at the guards below, who, having fought alongside her moments earlier, now hesitated at the thought of drawing their blades against her. Suppressing her emotions, Qun Qing instinctively eyed the window frame, calculating her odds of escape.
It had been a long time since she’d taken such a risk. Cold sweat dampened her palms, though she was grateful she’d asked Fang Xie for ginseng slices earlier.
“Please think about it again and hand me the ledger,” Lu Huating urged, his gaze fixed on her. “You won’t make it out.”
Unexpectedly, Qun Qing turned back with a radiant smile, her eyes reflecting the lamplight.
“Aren’t you overconfident? I haven’t tried yet.”
Lu Huating’s pupils darkened as he seemingly recalled something. Jian Su, standing nearby, swallowed nervously. The advisor had once mentioned a dream where half of Prince Yan’s hidden guards perished at this woman’s hands. Could it be this moment?
Just then, a sharp screech pierced the air.
A dark shadow, wings spanning as wide as a seven-year-old child’s outstretched arms, smashed through the window amidst shards of wood, hurtling into the room.
Qun Qing barely glimpsed its form as a gust of wind rushed toward her. Instinctively, she shielded the ledger, raising an arm to block its attack. Though she prevented it from snatching the ledger, the creature’s hard beak struck her arm like a blade, sending searing pain deep into her bones.
The others finally identified the attacker—it was Prince Yan’s gray falcon.
With immense strength, the bird ferociously pecked at her, intent on forcing her down the steep staircase. Despair tightened her chest as she lost her balance, but just as she began to fall, a hand seized her wrist, pulling her back.
Through her alarm, she met Lu Huating’s dark gaze. He drew Jian Su’s sword with his free hand, striking the falcon and pinning it to the wall. Black blood and feathers scattered, a few drops staining his pale face.
What… wasn’t this his doing?
The falcon let out a shrill cry, thrashing violently. Even the hidden guards were stunned by the unexpected attack, hastily drawing their swords.
“Has it gone mad? Why does Chi Su’s falcon only target Lady Qing?”
“Hurry up and help the Advisor!”
Qun Qing lowered her lashes, her gaze shifting slightly. She seized his wrist and twisted it sharply. A loud crack echoed.
“Lady Qing!” Juan Su exclaimed in alarm.
In excruciating pain, Lu Huating raised his eyes. His dark pupils caught sight of Qun Qing tumbling down the stairs.
His left hand, twisted and disjointed, bore traces of her blood. Yet, for some reason, his fingertips trembled uncontrollably.
Lu Huating gazed down at Qun Qing, his expression indescribable. She had deliberately flung herself out of his grasp.
The pain from his dislocated wrist radiated up his arm and seemed to pierce his heart, making it nearly unbearable.
A single drop of blackened blood fell from his unmoving lashes.
Qun Qing curled her body tightly, shielding her chest as she rolled with the momentum to minimize injuries.
The dark guards stationed by the stairs had rushed to engage the Gray Falcon, leaving a gap.
She mentally calculated the timing. An Lin should be arriving soon. This risky move was her best chance to escape.
Someone caught her at the base of the stairs, breaking her fall. A steady hand helped her up as a voice asked,
“Are you all right, Lady? Did you get hurt from the fall?”
It wasn’t An Lin, but the voice was strangely familiar.
Suppressing her pain, Qun Qing looked up to see a young man in simple attire and a bamboo hat. Beneath the hat, a pale, rugged face with a faint scarlet birthmark on one cheek gazed at her curiously.
Li Huan.
It was Yan Prince Li Huan, unmasked.
Qun Qing trembled all over, not just from fear but from sheer shock. She vividly remembered that Li Huan was supposed to be on his way back to Chang’an under her direct orders for An Lin to ambush and assassinate him.
Why was Li Huan here?
Strangely, Lu Huating and the others showed no surprise at his arrival.
A whirlwind of thoughts raced through Qun Qing’s mind before realization struck—she had been tricked.
Among the three shadow guards accompanying Prince Yan on his journey, one was named Ying Su, skilled in disguise. In her previous life, Ying Su had impersonated Minister Wei and nearly killed her while reclining on a bamboo chair.
This time, Lu Huating must have arranged for Ying Su to act as a decoy, posing as Prince Yan, Li Huan while traveling to Chang’an with Prince Zhao, Li Pan. Meanwhile, the real Prince Yan had already ridden swiftly back to Chang’an in secret, moving freely without his mask—and was now standing right before her.
The military dispatch about the returning army had been written solely for her eyes, baiting her into deploying South Chu spies for an ambush.
Those spies are probably in danger.
Qun Qing struggled to her feet and looked up at Lu Huating.
Her hair was disheveled, her elegant dress torn in places and stained with blood. Yet her piercing, cold eyes gave her an unexpectedly striking beauty.
Lu Huating stood at the top of the stairs, gazing distantly at her. Strands of hair fell across his face, his complexion pale from blood loss. His deep, black eyes were as cold as an icy abyss.
At that moment, a report came in from the palace guards.
“Advisor, a message from Jiannan Road—no ambush was encountered.”
No ambush.
A flicker of emotion crossed Lu Huating’s face.
Qun Qing didn’t even bother exchanging glances, her expression unreadable as she turned and brushed past Li Huan.
Her sworn enemy was within reach, and yet restraining herself from striking was almost impossible.
Li Huan, being highly skilled, instinctively reacted. In an instant, his long staff blocked her path, knocking a blade from her sleeve.
The staff shifted upward, pressing against her throat.
Unexpectedly, Qun Qing pulled a hidden dagger from her sleeve and plunged it cleanly into Li Huan’s arm.
He flinched, dropping the staff as the sharp pain overwhelmed him.
The small dagger wouldn’t kill him, but it would cause profuse bleeding and unbearable pain.
Caught off guard, the shadow guards hesitated. Without Lu Huating’s explicit order to act, they dared not make a commotion about Prince Yan’s presence. They rushed forward, but by then, Qun Qing had vanished into the night.
An Lin appeared, pulling her along as he whispered urgently,
“Let’s go!”
Inside the building, the shadow guards surrounded Li Huan.
“My Lord, why did you come here?” Zhu Su asked.
“When I returned to the mansion, no one was there. I heard death warriors had been deployed. How could I let you all face danger alone? I only wanted to help. If you’d told me earlier you were setting a trap, I wouldn’t have taken that hit for nothing—and she still escaped!”
Li Huan gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his arm as he examined the dagger embedded there.
The moment he recognized it, his expression shifted. He turned to Lu Huating and asked,
“This dagger… wasn’t it from the spoils we confiscated in Xuancheng? Is it yours?”
Lu Huating descended the blood-stained stairs, pausing briefly at the question.
He had noticed it too. The jewel-encrusted dagger gleamed faintly, reflecting the light.
It was the same dagger Qun Qing had once asked for, only to coldly abandon it by driving it into Prince Yan’s arm.
After a long pause, Lu Huating said, “I failed in my duties. Please punish me, Your Highness.”
Everyone stared at him in shock.
Several people stared at him in shock. Failure? Over all these years, when had they ever heard the Advisor utter such a word?