The child seemed frightened, holding the two broken fishing rods tightly in his hands. The palace servants around him were busy putting out the fire, but he stood there blankly as if he had lost his soul.
Shen Wei sighed inwardly and told Cai Lian: "Have someone boil a tranquilizer."
Fire is terrible. I’m afraid the child won’t be able to sleep tonight. Drinking a bowl of hot calming soup will help him sleep.
"Brother, Brother Chengzhen!"
An anxious voice sounded, and Li Yao rushed over in a hurry. She ran too fast and fell to the ground, but quickly stood up and continued to run towards Li Chengzhen.
Upon learning that there was a fire in her brother's palace, Li Yao was terrified.
He rolled and crawled all the way to find his brother.
Li Yao burst into tears and hugged the dazed Li Chengzhen: "Are you hurt? Let me take a look."
Li Chengzhen shook his head: "No injuries."
Li Yao cried and wiped her tears.
Li Chengzhen clutched the broken fishing rod, with a faint expectation in her eyes: "Sister, can we go fishing after dawn? With my ninth brother."
This time, he will definitely beat his ninth brother.
Li Yao nodded quickly, choking with sobs, "Of course. I've told the Empress Dowager that you'll stay at the Cining Palace tonight. When it gets light, we'll go fishing in the pond in the Imperial Garden. The fish there are bigger."
Li Chengzhen smiled with relief.
It’s great to be able to fish.
The fire in the palace was still burning and the fire was very big. The palace beams were almost all made of wood, and once they started burning, there was no end to the flames. There were crackling sounds, and black smoke lingered in the night sky.
After a while, the Queen Mother's sedan chair also arrived. The Queen Mother was old, so naturally she couldn't keep up with Li Yao. The sedan stopped, and the Queen Mother waved to Li Chengzhen, saying in a gentle tone: "Go to the Cining Palace tonight. The Queen Mother sent someone to make a new bed for you."
Li Chengzhen held the fishing rod and nodded silently.
He was about to leave with the Empress when the Empress' voice suddenly came from behind him: "Chengzhen!"
Li Chengzhen paused in his steps, turned around and looked at the queen who was running towards him. He was about to escape from hell, but was pulled back into hell by his mother.
The fire was blazing, and the entire harem knew that there was a fire in the second prince's palace.
The Queen naturally knew it too.
The queen was extremely anxious and hurried to find her only son regardless of the guards' obstruction. Seeing Li Chengzhen with her hands and feet intact, the queen burst into tears. She hugged Li Chengzhen tightly and said, "My child... Fortunately, you are okay."
Imprisoned in the huge Kunning Palace, accompanied by green lamps and ancient Buddhas every day, the queen's last hope is her son.
As long as his son is alive, there is a possibility of seizing the throne.
Li Chengzhen looked silently at his mother in front of him. The queen mother was worried about him. Was it because she cared about his health, or was she worried that his death would leave her without support?
After the queen confirmed that the child was safe and sound, she suddenly stood up coldly and angrily scolded Shen Wei beside her: "You are so good! The emperor and the queen mother asked you to manage the harem, and this is how you manage it? You almost killed my son!"
The Queen changed her attitude very quickly.
The fire at Chengzhen's residence was a perfect entry point to criticize Shen Wei for her inexperience in managing the harem and for almost killing the prince. Tomorrow, the Queen will write another letter to the Tan Tai family, asking the Tan Tai family to unite a group of ministers to criticize Shen Wei in the court.
Maybe, I can take the power away from Shen Wei.
Zhang Miaoyu, who got the news, hurried over. As soon as she arrived, she heard the Queen's angry rebuke.
Zhang Miaoyu rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Queen, please don't bite people without permission. Who could have predicted that the palace would catch fire? The palace servants put out the fire immediately and rescued the Second Prince. This shows that the Concubine Chen taught well."
The queen glared at Zhang Miaoyu and said, "You have no right to speak here."
Zhang Miaoyu snorted coldly: "I heard on the way here that you, Queen, secretly came to the Second Prince's palace tonight. After you left, there was a fire in the Second Prince's palace. Maybe you set the fire."
Queen: "You, you are talking nonsense!"
The fire in the hall was still burning, and the burnt wood fell down, making a deafening noise.
Li Chengzhen looked at the adults who were arguing. He held the fishing rod and told the queen: "Mother, it was my child who accidentally knocked over the glass lamp and caused the fire."
The responsibility lies with him and has nothing to do with others.
Zhang Miaoyu snorted, "Queen, you heard it clearly this time, it was the child's fault."
The queen gnashed her teeth in anger.
She was so disappointed with her stupid son that she glared at him unhappily. He is already twelve years old, but he still has no foresight. This rare opportunity to overthrow the Concubine Chen has been wasted.
Li Chengzhen lowered his head and said nothing.
Li Yao felt sorry for her brother and gently held his arm: "Chengzhen, sister will take you back to Cining Palace. We will go fishing together tomorrow--"
Before she could finish her words, the Queen pulled Li Chengzhen back to her side. The queen looked at Li Yao with disgust.
No wonder I saw a fishing rod in Li Chengzhen’s bedroom.
It turned out that it was this little girl Li Yao who was secretly doing bad things, sending all kinds of toys that would make people lose their ambition. Li Chengzhen wants to study. He has the hopes of his family on his shoulders. How can he let this distract him?
The Queen said angrily, "How many times have I told you not to teach your brother bad things?"
Li Yao's eyes turned red after being scolded, and she opened her mouth: "But...but...my brother is very tired, I want him to relax a little."
The queen was too lazy to talk to Li Yao anymore. How could a twelve-year-old child understand what tiredness is?
This ungrateful daughter defended Shen Wei everywhere and was close to Shen Wei's children. The queen had given up on Li Yao long ago.
The Queen caught a glimpse of the two broken pieces of fishing rod in Li Chengzhen's hand, and she felt even more dissatisfied. Some even suspected that Shen Wei deliberately instigated Li Yao and Li Chengzhen to send these things, causing Li Chengzhen's academic performance to decline.
The queen snatched the two pieces of fishing rod and threw them into the sea of fire not far away.
The Queen warned Li Chengzhen: "Don't touch these things in the future. Playing with them will ruin your ambition."
Clang——
The two pieces of fishing rod were thrown into the sea of fire and burned, with the bamboo joints making crackling sounds.
Li Chengzhen was stunned, and it took him a long time to react. He lowered his head and stared blankly at his empty palms.
There would be no more fishing and the day would never come.
The taut string in Li Chengzhen's heart broke in an instant. Bitterness, pain, despair, countless surging negative emotions pressed down on him and became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
He suddenly shook off the queen's hand and rushed into the sea of fire without looking back.
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