If not abolished

Chapter 222: On Fire (2)

After Hu Shanxiang had been making such a fuss for a while, she, who had never felt tired at first, suddenly felt a strong sense of sleepiness coming over her like a tidal wave. Zhu Zhanji looked at her yawning non-stop, and a trace of pity welled up in his heart, so he stretched out his arms, gently picked her up, and carefully placed her on the bed.

"You have been working hard for a long time. Take a rest first. I will take care of everything." Zhu Zhanji said softly to comfort her.

Hu Shanxiang's eyes were about to close, but then they suddenly opened again, and she asked in a daze, "Do you know what caused this fire?"

"It's still chaotic outside, the situation is still unclear, and we don't know what's going on. Your first priority right now is to rest peacefully. Go to sleep first, and you'll know everything tomorrow morning." Zhu Zhanji said, patting her back gently.

When Hu Shanxiang heard this, she knew that he probably didn't want to say more, so she stopped asking questions and closed her eyes helplessly.

When he was outside just now, Zhu Zhanji had ordered Wu Cheng to closely monitor the situation outside. This fire was really strange, especially after Shanxiang had such a strange dream, a fire really broke out... He used to have doubts about certain things, but since his rebirth, he has become more and more convinced that there are gods above his head.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were outside presiding over the situation, and the concubines in other palaces were also joined in the noise.

When the fire was out and Guo was rescued, the Crown Princess advised, "Your Highness has to attend a court meeting tomorrow morning. Why don't you go and rest first? I will handle the rest."

The prince refused, "It's only been a few hours, and I can't sleep. I'll go with you to see it myself."

The Crown Princess had no choice but to follow along.

The two arrived at the residence of Concubine Guo where the fire had broken out. It was still dark and the fire was almost not discovered in time. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to other palaces. The most serious fire was in the main hall where Concubine Guo lived. Concubine Guo had just been rescued and placed in a side hall where not much damage was burned.

As soon as the prince and his companion came in, Concubine Guo immediately went over, pulled the prince's clothes, and cried, "Your Highness, you are finally here. I almost couldn't see you."

The prince looked at her tears. Her once beautiful face was now blackened by the smoke. Tears streaked across her face, one black and one white. It was heartbreaking to see. The prince hugged her in his arms and comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. It's okay now. Don't be afraid."

"Your Highness..." Concubine Guo took the opportunity to hide in the prince's arms.

The Crown Princess looked at the two of them without saying anything. She sat down and asked, "Have you found out where the water went?"

"Reporting to the Crown Princess, we just found a female corpse in the main hall of the Concubine. Although her appearance is a little damaged, it can be vaguely identified as the imprisoned Qingluan Concubine. She was holding a fire starter in her hand, so we guess that she might have set the fire."

"What? Wasn't she imprisoned? Who let her out?" The Crown Princess asked casually without thinking. This was not an accident but a man-made one.

As soon as the Crown Princess finished speaking, several guards hurried in, knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy, "Crown Prince, Crown Princess, please forgive me. We failed in our duty. Everything was fine before. I don't know why today, the brothers fell asleep, so someone ran out. Please forgive me, Your Highness, Your Majesty."

After the prince comforted Concubine Guo and heard these words, he said, "Forgive me, you were negligent in your duties today and almost made a big mistake. It is impossible for me to forgive you..."

"Your Highness, calm down. Miss Guo almost got into trouble today. It was indeed due to the poor guarding. However, apart from the guards, the patrols did not find her. Does Your Highness want to punish them all? Your Highness made a big fuss about the guards. If His Majesty knew about this, what would His Majesty think? And if we talk about fault, it was Qingluan's fault alone. Since she has passed away, it can be said that evil has been punished. Fortunately, Miss Guo was just frightened and her life is safe. She was not injured. You should give her a lighter sentence."

After listening to the Crown Princess' words, the Crown Prince thought about it carefully and felt that there was some truth in them. He coughed and said, "What the Crown Princess said makes sense, but the death penalty can be avoided, but the living punishment cannot be escaped. All the patrol and guards tonight are derelict in their duty and will be punished with twenty lashes."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for not killing me." The guard was relieved to hear that he was only going to be beaten with a stick.

"Forget about the others, but this Qingluan..." The prince became angrier the more he thought about it.

"Your Highness, please calm down. She is the daughter of a criminal and has no relatives. Now she has died in a sea of ​​fire. Even if you want to vent your anger, you can't whip her corpse." said the Crown Princess.

"That's really a bargain for her." The prince said gritting his teeth.

At this moment, Concubine Guo suddenly spoke up: "Your Highness, I have something else to report."

The prince immediately looked at her tenderly, "You say."

"Just now a palace maid rescued me from the fire. I haven't thanked her yet."

"Oh, who is it? Is it that palace maid? I will reward her well."

"It's this palace maid Wu. To be honest, she was originally a member of my palace, but there were some misunderstandings before, and Qingluan became good friends with her, so I drove her out. I didn't expect that she would come to the rescue in this critical moment. If it weren't for her, Your Highness would probably not be able to see me." Concubine Guo started crying again.

"My dear, please don't say such unlucky words. You are a lucky person and nothing will happen to you. God has even sent people to save you." The prince comforted him again.

The Crown Princess watched Wu Yingyue walk in from outside, "Did you save the Concubine?"

"To answer the Crown Princess, it is me," Wu Yingyue answered affirmatively.

"Shouldn't you be in the laundry room so late at night? Why are you coming to Concubine Guo's residence?" The Crown Princess was not so easy to deal with and immediately started asking questions.

"I... beg Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and the Concubine to forgive me. I heard that Concubine Qingluan is not living well, and remembering the kindness she had shown me in the past, I thought of going to see her. I was afraid of arousing suspicion, so I prepared to visit her in the middle of the night. Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived at Concubine Guo's residence, I saw a fire. I immediately called for help, but I didn't expect to see the Concubine in the fire. I tried to dissuade her, but she was like crazy. Seeing that it was useless, I rushed into the fire and rescued the Concubine." Wu Yingyue answered with a trembling heart. Qingluan was dead anyway, and there was no evidence. She had the final say on the truth.

The Crown Princess was about to speak, but the Crown Prince spoke first, "It seems that you are a person who cares about the old relationship. This time you risked your life to save Concubine Guo. I will reward you well. Tell me what you want."

Wu Yingyue knelt down and said, "This is what I should do. I think anyone would do the same thing if they were in such a situation. How can I ask for a reward?"

The prince thought about it and said, "In that case, I will ask you to leave the laundry room and return to serve the concubine."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Wu Yingyue was naturally overjoyed. She could finally leave a place like the laundry room.

Seeing this, the Crown Princess had no choice but to deal with other matters. When she finished, it was already dawn. The Crown Prince went to court, and the Crown Princess also prepared to return to Rouyi Palace.

Just as she was about to leave, Concubine Guo called her back, "Please stay, Crown Princess."

"What else?"

"I just want to let your Majesty know that Your Highness loves me and has just agreed to let me live in Wanyu Garden."

"Since His Highness has agreed, I will move there as soon as possible. There is no need to come and tell me specifically." The Crown Princess replied indifferently.

Concubine Guo completely lost her previous fright and weakness, and said proudly: "I am not afraid that the Crown Princess will say that I have overstepped my bounds."

"I still have to pay my respects to the Imperial Concubine, so I can't accompany my sister." The Crown Princess didn't say anything more to her, just turned around and left.

“Crown Princess, look at how she looked just now. Your Highness only asked her to live closer to the main hall of the Eastern Palace, and she came to show off to you like this. How disrespectful.” Yun Jin complained when she returned to Rouyi Palace.

"Okay, she has always been like this. Your Highness finally found an opportunity to feel sorry for her. This is just the beginning, and there is still a long time to come. Let her be, she can't cause any waves." The Crown Princess no longer had any feelings for her, but she still used those tricks.