Chapter 198: Chapter 197: Feigned DeathHe Hongzhao sat up, staring blankly at the two figures running off into the distance, then glanced around at her surroundings.
The woods were dark and secluded.
The area around her was cold and gloomy.
The air carried the scent of rotting corpses.
It must be the burial ground.
Indeed, after her "death", it only made sense to throw her body there, otherwise, how could she have escaped by faking her own death?
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"
The Snow Monkey jumped down from the tree and burrowed into her embrace, even sticking out its tongue to lick her cheek.
This was its way of comforting and protecting her.
"Rustle, rustle—"
It was the sound of footsteps crunching on leaves.
She looked up and saw a tall figure emerge from the darkness where the Snow Monkey had jumped down.
The moonlight was dim.
His face was indistinct.
But still, she accurately called out his name, "Han Chen, it’s been a long time."
*
When Sang Yan woke up, He Ying was not by her side.
She asked a palace maid and found out that he had gone to the study early in the morning.
What had happened?
Why was he up and working so early?
Her brow furrowed, and a bad premonition welled up inside her.
Rushing to wash up, she headed for the study.
Outside the study,
Pei Muyang was kneeling.
As He Ying’s confidant, Pei Muyang was normally held in high regard. Why was he kneeling here today?
Sang Yan didn’t understand the reason, and approached to ask, "What’s going on? Mr. Pei, what happened?"
Pei Muyang replied with a pained expression, "Lady, this servant has failed in his duties. It seems that He Hongzhao might not have—"
He was too ashamed to speak!
He had personally witnessed her drink the crane crown red, had seen her coughing up blood and becoming lifeless. How could she have survived?
He still couldn’t figure it out to this moment.
Sang Yan had already guessed, "Did He Hongzhao fake her own death?"
If she did not die, it must be a faked death.
Pei Muyang was trustworthy; he wouldn’t give He Hongzhao fake poison/medicine or declare someone dead without even checking for breath.
So, did He Hongzhao use some sort of faking death drug?
She had seen this type of scenario in novels and TV dramas. No, it wasn’t just about some faking death drug. If He Hongzhao survived the poison/medicine given by Pei Muyang, there was only one possibility—she wasn’t affected by the poison/medicine at all.
Which means, she might have the body condition mentioned in novels and TV dramas—immune to all poisons!
Further thought brought another idea; the He Family parents used He Hongzhao for research, it was entirely possible they had created a body for her that was immune to all poisons!
Dammit!
They had been negligent!
Shit!
Clearly, the heavens were giving He Hongzhao a golden finger!
As expected, it’s not so easy to kill off the villain!
"Correct. She isn’t dead,"
Pei Muyang explained with a distressed look, "The two soldiers who carried her to the burial ground last night came back saying she had risen from the dead. Lord Lu sensed something was off and immediately went to investigate. The body was gone, and there were footprints indicating she had moved."
Everything was just as Sang Yan had expected.
"You may rise."
Sang Yan felt Pei Muyang was also innocent; no one could have anticipated that He Hongzhao would possess a poison-immune constitution and managed to use a feigned death to escape.
She allowed him to rise, then pushed the door open and entered the study.
Inside the study
Lu Zijin was also kneeling. Hearing the sound, he turned his head to see Sang Yan and bowed his head, "I pay my respects to the Empress."
Sang Yan nodded, permitting him to rise.
But Lu Zijin didn’t stand up, looking embarrassed and self-reproaching, "Lady, your servant has failed in his duty."
Sang Yan knew he had taken the blame for letting He Hongzhao escape upon himself. sea??h thё N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
She shook her head, analyzing calmly and lucidly, "It’s not your fault. We were all deceived by He Hongzhao’s frail appearance. We forgot she was a Divine Doctor. We even thought of using poison to kill her. Since she was young, she underwent various medical experiments. I’m afraid for her, poison is nothing more than daily sustenance."
"Yes, Lady, you are right. Hahaha, Your Majesty is truly astute and intelligent, thinking right along the same lines as me."
Imperial Doctor Liu echoed from the side, his hands fiddling with some red flower petal remnants, evidently conducting research.
Sang Yan saw this and suddenly remembered that when He Hongzhao died, she was drinking red tea. The petals in the tea bloomed and were so fragmented that their shape was indiscernible, but if pieced together, they resembled—
"Fan Yin Flower!"
She walked over and reminded him, "If these are collected from He Hongzhao’s teapot, they should be Fan Yin Flowers."
With the reminder, Imperial Doctor Liu slapped his forehead, "Ah, right. This flower can paralyze the mind and body, conceal breathing, and indeed has the effect of feigned death."
He looked at Sang Yan, full of surprise, "Lady is quite impressive to recognize this flower."
Sang Yan: "..."
The shame!
What good is she!
She had been foolish all along!
"I saw this flower when I followed the Emperor into exile in Puluo Country and cut down quite a few."
She voiced her resentment, "I hate that I did not completely destroy them, allowing them to still get out and harm people!"
"It’s not necessarily from Puluo Country."
He Ying, who had been silent, didn’t want Sang Yan to blame herself and tried to comfort her, "He Hongzhao had been in cahoots with Qi Wuya for a long time; the Fan Yin Flower could very well be her own research, which was later brought to Puluo Country by Qi Wuya."
That was entirely possible!
Sang Yan said indignantly, "She probably also has a poison-immune constitution, so the poison sent by Pei Muyang couldn’t kill her. And she drank this feigned death potion beforehand..."
Saying this, she angrily hit her own head, "I was too soft-hearted. If I hadn’t been concerned with giving her dignity and had chosen a different method of death, I wouldn’t have released the tiger back into the wild."
Thinking of how He Hongzhao had escaped and might even be meeting with Qi Wuya’s people in secret, plotting something, she loathed herself.
"It’s me! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!"
She was so angry that she bit her own finger.
"Calm down, Ah Yan!"
He Ying had been watching her, and seeing her self-harm, he quickly stopped her, "Open your mouth. Ah Yan, be obedient, don’t hurt yourself."
He coaxed her gently, getting her to open her mouth, and seeing the bite on the back of her hand, his heart ached, "Don’t do this. If I can kill her once, then I can kill her twice. Don’t hurt yourself for her sake. It’s not worthy."
Sang Yan, hearing him say this, felt even more self-reproach and began to cry, "Xinyuan, I’m so useless. I’m always messing up your plans."
"Don’t talk like that."
He Ying pulled her into his embrace, comforting her, "What has happened cannot be changed. See, it’s not without gains; at least we know He Hongzhao has an accomplice. That person might have also come to Quanzhou. This time, I shall make sure he doesn’t return."
"That person? Are you talking about Qi Wuya?"
Sang Yan, hearing that Qi Wuya might have come to Quanzhou, instantly forgot her self-pity.
With the enemy right in front of her, how could she remain hindered by such trivial matters!
"Yes!"
He Ying said with a grave voice, "Lu Zijin just went to inspect the site. Besides He Hongzhao’s footprints, there is also a grown man’s footprint. Although we don’t know his identity, it’s very possible that Qi Wuya is in Quanzhou."
Sang Yan got excited, "Then go issue a warrant for his arrest!"
He Ying nodded, smiling indulgently, "Alright."
He agreed, then turning his head and looking at Lu Zijin, his smile turned cold and his gaze icy, "Lu Zijin, go receive twenty lashes, then order a posting for a notice, within Quanzhou, to vigorously search for the whereabouts of He Hongzhao and Qi Wuya."