Chapter 731 Fire at Kunning Palace

Jiang Fenghua led Zhang Anyu out of the imperial study. She glanced around casually, sensing that someone in the palace was watching their every move.

She feigned happiness and said to Zhang Anyu, "The Emperor and I are aware of the evidence you have found, Lord Zhang. You must keep this evidence safe, as we are counting on you to overturn Jin Ji's case."

Zhang Anyu cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my utmost to find the real culprit and clear Young Master Jin's name."

Jiang Fenghua nodded: "With the evidence in Lord Zhang's hands, I believe Jin Ji will return home safely. It's too late today, Lord Zhang, please leave the palace first! If there are any new developments, just send someone to inform me. You don't need to come in person."

Upon hearing the Empress's words, Zhang Anyu immediately understood her intention. He replied, "It is my honor to serve Your Majesty. Please rest assured."

"Alright, Lord Zhang, be careful on your way back. I will send someone to escort you out of the palace," Jiang Fenghua added.

After Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua personally saw Xie Qi and Zhang Anyu off, the two returned to Kunning Palace together.

Lin Feng and his men quietly followed behind.

As soon as they stepped out of the palace gates, they were indeed ambushed by assassins.

Soon, news of their ambush by assassins reached the palace. To Xie Shang's surprise, the assassins admitted that they were sent by the Tenth Prince, Xie Xin, to assassinate Xie Qi.

He thought he had misheard and asked again to confirm: "Who are you saying wants to kill them?"

The guard said, "They were sent by the Tenth Prince."

Xie Shang was furious. The Xie family was all involved. What were they trying to do?

He said, "Bring Xie Xin into the palace. I want to interrogate him personally."

Jiang Fenghua hadn't expected it to be someone sent by the Tenth Prince. She thought that since the other party knew Zhang Anyu had evidence to prove Jin Ji's innocence, they would definitely take action.

The only thing we can do now is to have someone bring the Tenth Prince into the palace to find out what's going on.

Soon, Xie Xin was led into the Imperial Study by the guards. He was disheveled and his face was covered in grease, as if he had just been dragged out of a group of beauties.

Seeing his expression, Xie Shang was so angry that he kicked him a few times and asked suspiciously, "Did you send people to assassinate Prince Qi and Zhang Anyu?"

Xie Xin didn't expect to be exposed so quickly. He had just decided to teach Xie Qi a lesson, and now he had been discovered. "Your Majesty, I don't know what you're talking about. What assassination? I didn't do it."

"Guards!" A guard entered, carrying a knife and club. Startled, Xie Xin quickly said, "Your Majesty, I did nothing wrong..."

"Beat him until he confesses."

Before the stick even touched him, Xie Xin was so frightened that he wet his pants and knelt on the ground begging, "Your Majesty, spare my life! I was just confused for a moment. Today, Xie Qi punched me in the jewelry store and made my nose bleed. I was so angry that I found someone to teach him a lesson. He hit me first."

Xie Xin also showed the mark on his nose, saying, "My nose is still blue. Your Majesty, please look, he was trying to kill me."

Jiang Fenghua asked, "How did you know he would leave the palace and that you were lying in ambush not far from the palace?"

"Your Majesty, I did send people to follow him. After he beat me up, he went to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office, where I heard they were handling a case. Later, he went into the palace. Seeing that it was getting late, I thought of having a few people ambush him at the palace gate to avenge myself, but they were captured by someone else," Xie Xin said directly.

Jiang Fenghua stared into his eyes, trying to see if he was lying. If these people weren't Xie Xin's people, what role did Xie Xin play in all of this?

She smiled and said, "It turns out it was a misunderstanding. The Emperor arrested the wrong person and mistook you for the murderer of Madam Li."

Xie Xin feigned ignorance: "What, Mrs. Li? What happened to her?"

"He's dead. He was murdered. The murderer is still being investigated. Tonight, the Tenth Prince suddenly came. I thought the Tenth Prince was the murderer," she added.

"I...I am not the murderer. I wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, how could I dare to kill someone?" Xie Xin then said to the Emperor, "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly. I really don't know that Madam Li died. How did she die? What is her relationship with Xie Qi? Could it be that Xie Qi killed her?"

Xie Shang was annoyed by his appearance: "Someone, escort him out of the palace."

After seeing Xie Xin off, Jiang Fenghua said worriedly, "Doesn't Your Majesty find it strange? Why did someone find out about our discussion beforehand, and why did Xie Xin come out to claim the assassin? This is very strange."

"Lin Feng secretly followed them with his men. Could there be unreliable people among them, such as a spy within the group?"

Xie Shang summoned Lin Feng and asked, "What exactly happened? Your actions have been discovered. Is there a traitor among the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Bodyguards?"

Lin Feng carefully recalled the soldiers he had led, "How could this be? They are all brothers who have followed me for a long time, and none of them have left my sight. In such a short time..."

Xie Shang asked in a deep voice, "Where did the Night Shadows go?"

Lin Feng said, "He was in charge of the palace's security and did not participate in the operation. He and Ao Xue have been protecting the palace's security all along."

Without a second thought, Jiang Fenghua rushed out of the Imperial Study and led her entourage back to Kunning Palace.

Xie Shang called out from behind, "Ruan Ruan, where are you going?"

"I'll go back to Kunning Palace to take a look." Jiang Fenghua was afraid that the other party had already noticed her suspicions and would then harm her children.

She had long suspected that there was a problem among Xie Shang's people because of how Su Qingqing's death was leaked last time. However, Lin Feng and Ao Xue were with her when she left the palace, and Ye Ying was in the palace the whole time, and nothing happened there!

Before Jiang Fenghua even reached Kunning Palace, she heard someone shout, "Fire! Come quickly and put out the fire!"

Upon seeing this, Jiang Fenghua immediately ran towards Kunning Palace, where she saw Granny Wang, Lianye, and others carrying several young masters out of the side hall.

When Granny Wang saw the Empress return, she greeted her, "Your Majesty."

"Have all the children been rescued? Yan'er, You'er, Yuan'er, Yue'er." She counted them one by one.

Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou coughed repeatedly, "Mother."

Xie Lingyue kept crying and fussing, but Xie Hongyuan didn't cry or fuss. He kept his eyes fixed on Jiang Fenghua and called out, "Mother, hug me..."

Jiang Fenghua took her son from her. "Yuan'er, don't be afraid, your mother is here. Yan'er, You'er, are you alright?"

She then went to check on Xie Lingyue, who was in the wet nurse's arms, and asked, "Why is Yue'er crying so much?"

The wet nurse was terrified. "He probably choked."

"Quickly summon the imperial physician."

For a time, Jiang Fenghua was so busy she was dizzy.

“This servant has already sent someone to invite them,” said Granny Wang.

Xie Shang arrived just moments after Jiang Fenghua. He hadn't even gotten close when he saw the fire in the direction of Kunning Palace. The surroundings were filled with smoke. He took Xie Ziyan from him and asked Granny Wang, "Why is it on fire? What happened?"

Lin Feng also led his men to rush to put out the fire.

Granny Wang didn't know what had happened. They had all gone to sleep, and then the side hall suddenly caught fire. Fortunately, the young masters all had someone sleeping with them, and when they discovered the fire, they immediately carried the young masters out of the side hall.