The guards hurriedly protected the emperor and the empress dowager. They looked nervously at the gunpowder under the bonfire wood, fearing that it would explode at the next moment.
"What on earth is going on?" The Queen Mother's expression changed several times. Finally, she forced herself to calm down, pretended to be furious, and glared at Su Lijin.
Everyone was so frightened by this sudden change that their faces turned pale. When they heard that the Queen Mother was furious, they dared not even breathe.
They retreated one by one until they were within the range where the gunpowder could not harm them, and only then did they dare to look at the gunpowder in the bonfire.
"Shiqi, you are really great. You actually made gunpowder!" Xiao Zhaolin's voice sounded from the side.
The Queen Mother angrily shouted again, "Woman, do you want to kill me and the Emperor?!"
This angry voice immediately drew everyone's attention to Su Lijin.
They all stared at her with wide eyes and talked among themselves.
"She was the one who caused trouble here just now and brought out this gunpowder. Maybe she had been wanting to take advantage of the chaos to blow up the Queen Mother and the Emperor!"
"Ah, this witch! Her heart is so sinister!"
Everyone criticized Su Lijin and she immediately became the target of public criticism.
The guards were watching her with eager eyes, ready to arrest her immediately at the order of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor!
After hearing this, Su Lijin sneered in her heart. The Queen Mother was really good at acting. She pretended to be furious and looked at her meaningfully. It was obvious that she wanted to incite everyone and bring disaster to herself.
But she wouldn't let her have her way.
Thinking of this, Su Lijin's face revealed a soft and pitiful expression, and she waved her hands desperately: "Empress Dowager, you just saw that Shiqi also came to the altar with the emperor, and did not touch the altar at all. How could this be done by Shiqi?"
Xiao Shengxing also nodded: "Shiqi has been following me all the time, this is not her doing."
However, his dark eyes were dark, and the gunpowder in front of him clearly showed that someone was deliberately trying to harm him.
If Shiqi had not dropped the torch and disturbed the firewood, he would have lit the bonfire by now. The bonfire would have ignited the gunpowder and would have blown him to pieces.
The person behind this is so vicious!
Xiao Shengxing's gaze swept across everyone and finally fell on the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother frowned, "Your Majesty, although this woman came with you, she may have made arrangements in advance. Who knows what she's up to?"
"She just made such a scene at the altar, not only affecting our national destiny, but she is also highly suspected of framing the emperor and me. Such a person must be arrested and severely punished!"
"Someone, come and drag her away for me!" After the Queen Mother said this, she immediately ordered the guards to take action.
She really didn't want to see Shiqi for even a moment. Xiao Shengxing had almost died a few days ago. All her plans had gone to waste because of Shiqi.
This woman couldn't have appeared at any other time, but at this time. It was obvious that she was going against me.
The Queen Mother really wanted to drag her down and execute her immediately!
The angry eyes fell on the guards, who dared not neglect and hurried to catch the man.
There was a hint of sneer in Su Lijin's eyes. It was obvious that the Queen Mother wanted to kill her.
"Mother, if she hadn't accidentally fallen just now, I would have lit the bonfire and the gunpowder would have killed me."
Xiao Shengxing said in a deep voice, glancing at the guard. The guard immediately stopped where he was, stretching out his hand to grab Su Lijin, but it was not right to stretch out his hand, nor was it right not to stretch out his hand, so he stood there in embarrassment.
At this juncture, the guards were in a difficult position as they were being manipulated by both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Offending either of them would result in the death penalty.
"Emperor, maybe she just wanted you to ignite the explosives quickly, but it was only because of God's blessing that she was disrupted."
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother immediately thought of an excuse, accusing Su Lijin of having bad intentions.
Xiao Zhaolin also nodded, staring at Su Lijin with a sneer on his face: "This woman has been acting suspiciously since she appeared on the altar. I have been keeping an eye on her for a long time. She is clearly suspected of having ulterior motives. Fortunately, Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, so she escaped this disaster."
The other ministers were also instigated at this time, and they pointed at Su Lijin one by one, as if they were looking at a witch.
Su Lijin curled her lips and said calmly, "Your Majesty, since the Queen Mother has determined that Shiqi is a suspect, why not let the Emperor personally conduct a thorough investigation to clear Shiqi of suspicion?"
"If I continue to be misunderstood and slandered like this, even if Shiqi dies, I will feel it's unfair."
As soon as she said this, Xiao Shengxing's dark eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately understood. He nodded and said solemnly, "Shiqi is right. Since the Queen Mother believes that Shiqi is a suspect, then I will personally investigate thoroughly to find out what is going on behind the scenes. If it is not Shiqi's doing, then the person behind the scenes has such ulterior motives, and I will definitely execute him!"
When the empress dowager heard Shiqi asking the emperor to conduct a thorough investigation, she felt uneasy, and when she heard the emperor's last two words, her heart trembled even more.
Her fingers were shaking slightly, but she forced herself to remain calm. She coughed lightly and said, "Emperor, you are so busy with your affairs that you don't need to come and investigate this matter in person. Today is the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony, so don't let this delay the process."
Su Lijin heard that she wanted to cover up the truth and quickly stepped forward and said, "Queen Dowager, since this matter has already happened, we must find out the result. Shiqi is willing to investigate and clear her name."
"Shiqi, then I will allow you to investigate this matter." Xiao Shengxing agreed.
The empress dowager was even more panicked. If this matter fell into Su Lijin's hands and was really discovered, everything would be over.
"Stop messing around!" The Queen Mother pointed at Shiqi and scolded her dissatisfiedly: "Who is Shiqi? How can she investigate this matter thoroughly? Her behavior is clearly a cholera harem and interfering in government affairs!"
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