Chapter 336: Fire in the Imperial Fragrance Pavilion

After seeing the two people's faces clearly, the calm smile on Yan Changwen's face disappeared instantly.

His eyes suddenly turned gloomy and glanced at the man in black who was driving the coach.

“What’s going on!?”

The man in black was also shocked and knelt down immediately, his voice trembling: "Your subordinate, I clearly saw that the mother and daughter got on the car..."

"Young man, is that what you mean?"

An old and hoarse voice came out of Chu Xin's mouth. She walked forward a few steps with a hunched back, looking like a little old lady.

The man in black was immediately dumbfounded.

Zhu Qingyan raised the corner of his mouth with some pride, thinking that Zhu Lan was indeed a very clever guy.

He and Chen Li were of similar build, but Old Mrs. Chen was very thin, so Chu Xin could imitate her mannerisms and expressions to be 70% similar.

They changed clothes with Chen's mother and daughter, and left under the cover of night, getting into the carriage with their heads lowered. If you didn't look closely, it would be difficult to tell their identities.

The most amazing one was Chu Xin, who imitated the voices of Chen Li and Old Lady Chen by himself in the carriage, so vividly that even though he was sitting opposite them, he could not hear any flaws.

As for the danger... Zhu Qingyan understood it without Zhu Lan explaining it.

Prince Qi was only looking for Chen's mother and daughter. When he found out that he had found the wrong people, no matter how angry he was, he dared not do anything to himself and Zhu Lan, two imperial officials, in the capital.

Creating trouble at this critical moment would only bring trouble to oneself, and King Qi would not do such a stupid thing.

"Your Highness, Prince Qi, the three of us were just having some midnight snacks and were about to take a carriage home. I wonder why Your Highness stopped us?"

Zhu Qingyan, who was fearless, looked puzzled and said innocently.

“In the dead of night, His Highness abducted the three of us women here and threatened to take me and this little sister away.

"I am an editor of the Imperial Academy appointed by His Majesty, and I am also a clean girl. Your Highness, I am afraid that this action of yours is inappropriate, isn't it?"

Yan Changwen's face darkened. He didn't expect that he would be tricked by these people in front of him.

He stared at Zhu Lan without saying anything, as if he was thinking about how to deal with the matter next.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from far away.

The man on the horse was wearing the cloth clothes of an ordinary citizen, but Zhu Qingyan could tell at a glance that this man had been trained in horse riding and was definitely not an ordinary citizen.

Sure enough, the man swiftly got off the horse, came to Yan Changwen and said something.

Yan Changwen's expression changed in the night, but after hearing the last part, a smile reappeared on his face.

Just as confident of victory as when he appeared just now.

"It turned out to be a misunderstanding." Yan Changwen smiled at Zhu Lan and the other man, but that smile made Zhu Lan a little confused.

Yan Changwen symbolically cupped his hands and said, "I found the wrong person. I apologize to you all."

After saying this, he looked at the man in black who had been driving the carriage earlier, and his tone seemed to be somewhat happy.

"Send the three girls back."

Yan Changwen got on the carriage and before leaving, he gave Zhu Lan a half-smile, but meaningful look.

"Three ladies, please get in the car." The man in black came up to the three people and spoke respectfully.

"Get out of the way."

Zhu Qingyan said coldly, asked Zhu Lan and Chu Xin to get on the carriage, and drove the car himself.

The man in black was still a little hesitant standing in front of the car. After all, His Highness had ordered him to send the person back.

Until the next moment, when a sword blade as thin as a cicada's wing was placed in front of him and he met Zhu Qingyan's threatening gaze, the man in black quietly retreated.

Zhu Qingyan put away his sword and then asked Zhu Lan what to do next.

"King Qi left just like that?"

Even Zhu Qingyan couldn't believe it. A dignified prince was fooled by three of them, and it just ended like that?

Zhu Lan in the carriage also had his brows furrowed.

What did the man who just came on horseback say to King Qi?

Prince Qi was determined to capture Chen's mother and daughter during this trip. Judging from his expression just now, he didn't know that the people in the car were actually Zhu Qingyan and Chu Xin.

What kind of news could make King Qi smile so smugly after being humiliated?

Zhu Lan's face suddenly changed.

"Not good, hurry back to Yuxiang Pavilion!"

…

As soon as the carriage entered the main road of the capital, Zhu Lan heard the sound of chaotic footsteps from afar.

She drew aside the curtain and looked out—

There was a fire rising from the direction of Yuxiang Pavilion, alarming almost half of the capital city!

Neighbors were running around shouting "The fire is burning", while groups of people were fetching water to put out the fire, otherwise the fire would spread and would inevitably affect their own homes.

The carriage galloped all the way and finally stopped in front of the chaotic Yuxiang Pavilion.

Zhu Lan jumped off the carriage in a hurry. A wave of heat hit her face and she felt as if her very hair was about to burn.

The originally several-story Imperial Fragrance Pavilion had now become a sea of ​​fire. The originally gorgeous lanterns and curtains were reduced to ashes in the flames, and the air was filled with a burning smell and thick smoke.

Zhu Lan’s first thought was to save people. She tried to move forward but was dragged back by Zhu Qingyan.

"You're burning like this, are you going to die?!"

Zhu Lan forced himself to calm down and observe the situation nearby. Suddenly, he caught a familiar figure among the panicked crowd nearby.

"Shopkeeper Wang!" Zhu Lan called out.

Wang Defa was anxiously directing people to put out the fire. When he heard Zhu Lan's voice, he hurried over.

"What's going on!?" Zhu Lan asked anxiously.

Wang Defa wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and explained that in the middle of the night, a fire broke out in the guest room of Yuxiang Pavilion for some reason and it was burned into this state in a short while.

"How many people are still trapped in there? What about the two people I brought with me?"

"Boss, don't worry! Although the fire is big, fortunately no one was hurt!"

Wang Defa then explained that everyone in the Yuxiang Pavilion had gone to bed in the middle of the night, but suddenly they heard someone screaming that there was a fire.

The fire had just started to spread and everyone was awakened. Wang Defa almost immediately organized the waiters to call people out of each room. As soon as the guests evacuated, the entire Yuxiang Pavilion was on fire.

Wang Defa patted his chest and cried out in excitement. Fortunately, Yuxiang Pavilion often trained his staff in emergency strategies, and everyone reacted quickly and responded appropriately. Otherwise, if a fire broke out in the middle of the night, who knows how many lives would have been lost!

When Zhu Lan heard that everyone had been rescued, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked where Chen's mother and daughter were.

"They are both fine, but..." Wang Defa looked conflicted and glanced at Zhu Lan's face cautiously.

"The room that caught fire was the room where the two of them lived."