Consort of a Thousand Faces Chapter 687.2 - An incident

Chapter 687.2: An incident

In the meantime, a dark figure crept into the Prime Minister Residence when everyone was fast asleep.
The figure moved extremely fast and entered the study room quickly. Digging through the various documents, they quickly found a particular accounting book, giving a smirk as they left just as quickly as they had appeared.
~~~
In the posthouse.
Su Xi-er looked pale as she lay sleeping on the bed, her sleeping expression uneasy.
Pei Qianhao took her hand in his as he called out to her, “Xi-er, Xi-er.”
Su Xi-er opened her eyes groggily. “A-Jing, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. You were having a nightmare,” Pei Qianhao said as he gently stroked her hair.
Su Xi-er laughed. “I scared you, didn’t I?”
“Stop being cheeky, Xi-er.” Pei Qianhao hugged her gently.
He was still trembling as he hugged her. Pei Qianhao was putting on a facade of calm, but the only thing that had stopped him from going into a frenzy when Su Xi-er had fainted was the physician finding that there was nothing serious wrong with her.
Su Xi-er smiled, but unease crept up in her. “En, I won’t anymore.”
Pei Qianhao felt reassured by her promise, but Du Ling came rushing in after hearing the disturbance.
“What’s going on? I just went out for a bit and Xi-er fainted so suddenly.”
“I’m fine, Elder Brother. It’s just a symptom of pregnancy.” Su Xi-er smiled at him.
Du Ling looked at her pale face with concern.
“Xi-er, get some more rest. I have something I’d like to discuss with Prince Hao,” Du Ling spoke with affection.
Su Xi-er smiled in acknowledgement, and the two men went outside. It was only after the door closed behind them that Pei Qianhao received a punch from Du Ling; one that he only half-heartedly blocked.
“Don’t tell me that you think this is a symptom of pregnancy too?” Du Ling asked sarcastically.
Pei Qianhao’s gaze turned cold. “I’m already looking into it.”
“There’s someone targeting Xi-er right under our noses. We can’t let this person off the hook.” Du Ling’s tone was savage as he spoke.
Pei Qianhao remained silent as he pondered the possibilities of a perpetrator..
“This must be connected to the chaos in Xiliu right now. We can start looking from there,” Du Ling suggested.
Pei Qianhao said, “We don’t have a lot of enemies in Xiliu. I know what to do.”
“I’ll wait for your good news then. If anything else happens to Xi-er, things won’t end with just a single punch.” Du Ling sneered.
He knew that Pei Qianhao had no intention of fighting back either, or else he would have done more than just parry the blow.
While the men were talking, Su Xi-er opened her eyes suddenly.
Her eyes were glazed over, and a tiny smirk hung on the corner of her lips. It looked as if she had turned into a totally different person. This lasted only an instant before her eyes closed once more, and she fell back into a deep sleep.
No one had realised that things were beginning to change in Xiliu right at this moment.
~~~
In a bamboo shed out in the countryside, a man in a black cloak held onto a straw figurine as he chanted something unintelligible.
The man did not stop until smoke emerged from the straw figurine’s head, soon engulfing the figurine in flames.
The two-faced man gave a grotesque smirk as he said, “Everything is under control.”
With a sudden swoosh, the man in the cloak seemed to turn into a puppet; his body moving involuntarily.