Upon hearing this, the young emperor was so frightened that he immediately sobered up.

"What? How could this happen?" He quickly put on his clothes, jumped out of bed, and walked outside.

"Why is it so dark? Where are the palace maids who are lighting the lanterns?" he asked with a worried expression, but he dared not stop walking.

Consort Yun quickly caught up with him, handed him an object, and said:

"It's too dark, take this with you."

"What is this?" The young emperor took it with one hand and continued walking out.

"Do you know how to use a tinderbox?" Consort Yun asked from behind him.

"Oh, I know how to use it. Mother, I'll go check on Consort Yu first. Has Physician Lü arrived yet?" he asked as he ran.

Behind him stood Consort Yun, her eyes cold and ruthless, concealing a hint of madness.

"Imperial Physician Lü? I was just about to go and invite him. Why don't you go and see Consort Yu first?"

"Alright, then I'll leave it to Mother."

His voice faded into the distance, while Consort Yun's smile deepened.

"It's no trouble at all," Consort Yun murmured. "It's all my duty."

Alarm bells rang in Gu Jiangli's mind as she suddenly thought of a utterly hopeless possibility.

She once thought that the Empress Dowager had set fire to Jinghe Palace to eliminate these people, killing everyone who stood in her way.

She believed that the emperor had no choice but to accept the situation afterward, out of grief.

However, judging from Consort Yun's current crazy behavior, she has most likely completed all the previous arrangements and finally let the emperor himself light the fire.

This way, they can control him and make him live a life of regret, pain, and despair.

Gu Jiangli looked at Yun Fei and felt that the faint smile on her lips was chilling.

The young emperor ran wildly to the outside of Consort Yu's room.

"Your Highness, it is I, Ayao." The door to the room was not closed, and the young emperor walked into the room, which was pitch black inside.

The sky was full of dark clouds, obscuring the moonlight, and the room, without candlelight, was pitch black.

"Your Highness, are you feeling better?" He took out a tinderbox, blew out a flame, and carefully approached the bedside.

Consort Yu's expression was unpredictable; she appeared to be merely asleep.

The late emperor beside her was also asleep.

He then looked at the two babies in the cradle, who were also sleeping soundly.

The young emperor was somewhat puzzled. He mustered his courage, reached out and nudged Consort Yu's arm, and called out, "Consort Yu, are you alright?"

Consort Yu did not wake up.

He finally realized something was wrong.

If he were truly asleep, this action would definitely wake him up.

The young emperor was somewhat flustered. By the faint light of the tinderbox, he spotted a candlestick in the center of the table.

Without hesitation, he walked over, tilted the tinderbox gently, and prepared to light the candle.

Gu Jiangli was terrified and shouted, "No!"

But the young emperor couldn't hear her.

The flame of the tinderbox made a soft "bang" sound the instant it touched the candlestick.

The flames, like a winding dragon, spread rapidly from his feet to the four corners of the room.

The room was brightly lit by the firelight.

"Fire...fire..." He was terrified, not knowing where the fire came from. Unease and fear overwhelmed his consciousness, and the intense heat made him subconsciously take several steps back.

But he quickly stopped, because his eyes fell upon other people who shouldn't have been there, huddled in the corner of the room.

"Eldest brother! Second brother!" They were as if they had been moved here while they were asleep, placed in the most inconspicuous corner of the room, so that the young emperor only saw them when the fire was lit.

In his moment of surprise, the fire suddenly intensified, and the wooden bed, chairs, and even the gauze bed curtains in the room became the perfect fuel for the fire.

His vision was ablaze with red, scorching every inch of his skin, but he did not run away.

"Consort Yu! Father Emperor!"

"Wake up, everyone!"

The young emperor rushed over and shook their shoulders one by one, but they showed no signs of waking up.

"Cough cough cough..." Thick smoke rushed into his nose, choking him and causing him to cough incessantly.

"Help! There's a fire! Someone come quick!"

He called out loudly, but no one in the vast Mingyang Palace came to help him.

Gu Jiangli's heart clenched as she watched helplessly as the young emperor cried and begged for help while using all his strength to drag Consort Yu from the bed.

But he was too thin and weak to lift Consort Yu, let alone his much taller father.

He wept bitterly and could only run towards the two youngest babies he was most confident in.

He grabbed one of them at random and ran out as fast as he could.

Just as she reached the door, a figure blocked her way.

The young emperor's face lit up with joy, and he sobbed, "Mother! Thank goodness, you're still here! I... I don't know how the fire suddenly started. You... you must call for help! Quickly save Consort Yu and the others!"

Gu Jiangli's eyes reddened, and she held back her tears.

The young emperor is still too naive to realize that the real culprit behind the fire is none other than his own mother.

He innocently begged the real culprit for help.

How could she possibly offer help?

She wished the fire would burn even brighter, so that all these people would be reduced to ashes.

Yunfei smiled, her calm expression tinged with a hint of madness.

"Give me the little prince. You come out first. Don't rush, I've already called for help."

The little emperor nodded tearfully, "Okay, then I... I'll go and bring the little princess out."

Just as he was about to turn around and run into the burning house, Yunfei grabbed his shoulder tightly with one hand.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!