Chapter 150 The Great Fire at Guanju Palace

"Father! Waaah... Father..." Cheng'an and Ning'er were so frightened by the thick smoke and scorching heat that they burst into tears, their little faces turning red.

Su Luoxue's heart was breaking. She forced herself to put Ning'er, whom she was holding, into Yuwen Hao's arms as well. She gripped his thin shoulders tightly and stared into his eyes, which were stinging from the smoke: "Hao'er! You are the older brother! Look after your younger siblings! Protect them!"

Yuwen Hao himself was trembling with fear, his face pale, but looking at his mother's resolute eyes and at his younger siblings crying in his arms, he bit his lower lip hard, nodded emphatically, and hugged Cheng'an and Ning'er with all his might: "Okay!"

The smoke and lack of oxygen made Su Luoxue dizzy and almost unable to stand, but she still staggered towards the door, ramming her body against the unmoving palace door again and again!

"Bang! Bang!" The door made a dull thud, but showed no sign of loosening.

"Open the door! Is anyone outside? Open the door!" she shouted hoarsely, but the only response was the crackling sound of the ever-growing flames outside.

She turned back in despair to the three children huddled together in the corner, their figures almost completely engulfed by thick smoke; only suppressed coughs and sobs could be heard. Granny Zhang lay limp on the ground, unconscious. Fuling shielded the children with her body, swaying precariously herself.

"Cough cough...cough cough cough..." Su Luoxue inhaled a lot of thick smoke, her throat felt like it was being burned by fire, her vision began to blur, and her body slid limply down the door panel.

Fuling used her last strength to support her, her voice hoarse and weak, trembling with tears: "Is anyone there...? Help... Someone, please come quickly..."

"Help! Help! Help!" Su Luoxue's voice was so weak it was almost inaudible. With her last bit of strength, she slammed her shoulder against the door of despair once more, only to collapse softly to the ground. The sleeping gas had made her unable to even stand.

"A-Che... Yuwen Che..." she murmured helplessly, her vision beginning to blur.

“Yuwen Che…”

...the children...

With her last bit of strength, she crawled back to the corner, staggered, and rushed to Yuwen Hao and the children. She used her body to hug the three of them tightly, trying to shield them from the ever-approaching flames with her frail back.

Cheng'an and Ning'er were so frightened that they kept crying, "Father... Father!"

"Mother, I'm scared..."

"Don't be afraid... Your mother is here... Don't be afraid..." Her voice was weak, but still very gentle.

Yuwen Hao raised his head, and through his blurry, tear-filled eyes and thick smoke, saw his mother's face, pale as paper yet unusually calm. He choked out, "Mother..."

Su Luoxue looked down at him, trying to give him a reassuring smile, but only managed to twitch the corners of her mouth: "Hao'er... don't be afraid..."

"Your father will definitely return."

He will definitely come back.

"Definitely."

Cheng'an and Tingxue trembled with fear in her arms, their cries choked by the thick smoke.

The towering flames and billowing smoke from Guanju Palace finally caught the attention of the palace servants outside!

"Fire! Fire at Guanju Palace! Help!" A terrified scream shattered the tranquility of the palace.

A young eunuch scrambled towards the Sizheng Hall, nearly collapsing in front of Li Dehai, crying out in terror, "Chief Eunuch Li! Something terrible has happened! Guanju Palace... Guanju Palace is on fire! The fire is huge! Her Majesty the Empress... Prince An, His Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Yongning... they... they're all inside!!"

Upon hearing this, Li Dehai was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale. He grabbed the eunuch by the collar, his voice trembling, "What did you say?! Say it again?!"

"Really...really...fire...such a big fire..." The little eunuch was so frightened that he couldn't speak coherently.

Li Dehai shoved him away abruptly, staggered a few steps, and roared hoarsely towards the side hall: "Fire! Fire! Go save the Empress and the princes! Go now!!"

His vision blurred, and he nearly fainted. His Majesty had given him countless instructions before leaving the palace, but now… if anything were to happen to the Empress and the princes, he would be condemned to death! The entire palace was instantly plunged into chaos and despair as people tried to put out the fire.

As soon as Yuwen Che and his party stepped into the capital city, he suddenly pulled on the reins, and the horse reared up with a loud neigh!

"Ugh..." He groaned, his left hand instinctively covering his chest, where a sudden, sharp, dull pain came from, accompanied by intense palpitations, which instantly turned his face pale.

"My lord!" Han Ying immediately rode closer, his voice tense. "Is it a wrist injury... or has the constant travel aggravated an old ailment? I'll go find a doctor right away!"

"No..." Yuwen Che raised his hand to stop him, his brows furrowed beneath the mask. A sudden, inexplicable panic and unease surged within him, almost suffocating him. He abruptly looked up towards the palace. "Back to the palace! Back to the palace immediately! Quickly—!"

Before he finished speaking, he spurred his horse hard, ignoring the dull pain in his chest, and abruptly turned the horse around, charging wildly towards the palace!

"My lord!" Han Ying exclaimed in alarm, not daring to delay for the slightest. He immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Follow him! Protect our lord!"

Yuwen Che galloped recklessly along the long streets of the capital! The sound of his hooves thundered, shattering the tranquility of the city. Pedestrians scattered in panic, and cries of alarm rose from all sides.

Yuwen Che paid no heed; only one thought screamed in his mind—Faster! Faster! Xue'er! The children!

Ignoring the chaos behind him, Yuwen Che quickly ordered one of his shadow guards, "You stay here and make double the compensation for all the damage to the civilians and their belongings!" He then spurred his horse to follow closely behind Yuwen Che.

The group rushed to the palace gate like a whirlwind. Just as the guards were about to step forward to stop them, Yuwen Che suddenly ripped off his silver mask, revealing his cold and majestic face.

"Your Majesty?!" The guard was horrified and hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects.

Yuwen Che charged straight into the palace gates like an arrow released from a bow. As soon as he stepped into the inner palace area, he looked up and saw flames soaring into the sky and thick smoke billowing from the direction of Guanju Palace!

In that instant, Yuwen Che's heart almost stopped beating!

"Xue'er—!"

He didn't even have time to walk along the palace path. He suddenly leaped off his horse, stomped heavily on the saddle, and jumped directly onto the high palace wall. Using his lightness skill, he ran wildly across the top of the wall and the roof, rushing towards the sea of ​​fire in the fastest straight line!

Seeing this, Han Ying and the others also abandoned their horses and used their lightness skills to follow closely behind, their hearts sinking to the bottom—the Guanju Palace was on fire, and the Empress and the princes…

Yuwen Che landed in the courtyard of Guanju Palace, where flames soared into the sky and palace servants frantically trying to put out the fire. He grabbed a eunuch who was running with a bucket of water and roared, "Where is the Empress?! Where are the Crown Prince and the Princess?!"

The eunuch was so frightened by his terrifying expression that he collapsed to the ground, crying out, "Your Majesty! Her Majesty... Prince An, His Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness the Princess... they're all... all inside! The door is bolted shut from the outside, we can't get in!"

"They're all inside..." Yuwen Che felt a sudden darkness engulf him, his blood rushing to his head, and he staggered, almost collapsing. He looked sharply at the side hall completely engulfed in flames: "Xue'er—! Cheng'an! Ning'er—!"

He was determined to rush in regardless of everything!

"Boom!" A red-hot beam, engulfed in flames, crashed down in front of him, the scorching heat forcing him to take a step back.

"Xue'er!!" Yuwen Che's eyes were bloodshot, and he was about to charge again when Han Ying and another shadow guard caught him tightly from behind!

"My lord! No! The fire is too big! Going in is certain death!" Han Ying tried his best to stop him, his voice hoarse.

"Let me go! Xue'er is inside! My child is inside!!" Yuwen Che struggled desperately, his inner force surging, almost shaking the two of them apart. "Get out of my way!!"