Xie Qing immediately led his men to the Fourth Prince's Mansion.
At this moment, the Fourth Prince's Mansion was in chaos. Most of the front yard was burned, and only the main hall was still standing. The concubines, along with a group of concubines and children, were standing at the entrance of the main hall. When they saw Xie Qing coming, they rushed out and kowtowed, saying:
"I beg the prince to spare our lives."
Xie Qing frowned and asked Xiao Luzi, "What's going on?"
Xiao Luzi bowed and replied, "The concubine believes that this fire was caused by either the Crown Prince not allowing anyone in the Fourth Prince's mansion to be tolerated, or someone trying to kill them."
Xie Qing lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Well, send someone to take them to the palace and report to the emperor to see where they should be accommodated. As for the children, they are innocent children. Once they enter the palace, they will go to school together with the others and be taught well."
"Yes." Xiao Luzi agreed and went to tell the concubine.
The concubine heaved a sigh of relief and kowtowed quickly: "Thank you, Your Highness!"
They didn't pack anything. Each of them only brought a bag, held their own makeup box, and took their children with them as they followed Xiao Luzi into the palace.
It was already dawn and Qin Wan sent someone to bring food.
Jixiang said, "I know that the Crown Prince and the others have no time to eat, so I have sent a servant to bring you some buns and goat milk. You can take them and eat them."
Each person had a small basket containing a plate of buns and a water bag of goat milk.
The buns are small and easy to eat, which is convenient. The goat milk is packed in a water bag, which can be held in your hand or hung around your waist without any hassle.
Several people ate while exploring the ruins. People from Dali Temple and Shuntian Prefecture searched the ruins with sticks.
However, this was not just a fire, but an intentional arson with tung oil, a suicide, and everything was burned thoroughly.
In the end, only half a skeleton was found. I say half because it was burned too thoroughly and many bones had turned to ashes and could no longer be found.
People are like this, let alone other things. There is really not even a piece of paper.
Xie Qing paced back and forth among the ruins, a bun clutched in his hand, which had turned from snow-white to gray-black. "I'd rather die than set it on fire. There must be some secret hidden there. Dig deep! I want to see what he's hiding!"
The people from Shuntian Prefecture and Dali Temple dug together for a whole day, but they couldn't find even a secret passage after digging three feet into the ground.
The Minister of Revenue sighed, "It turns out they didn't leave any clues at all."
Xie Qing stuffed the completely cooled bun into his mouth, as if the bun was the Fourth Prince, and bit down fiercely: "Good job Xie Xiao! I think he still has a trick up his sleeve!"
The Dali Temple Minister was very worried: "In the account books and letters submitted by Shen, there are frequent references to the Northern Di and Western Regions. I am afraid that these most important things have been drowned in this fire."
"Who did the Fourth Prince contact at the border? What did he do? What exactly does he want to do? If we can't find out, it will be a hidden danger. If the border is in chaos, then all the hard work of Pingyang Hou for eight years will be in vain, and..."
What? He didn't say it. Xie Qing also knew it very well. The fourth brother dared to collude with Beidi and commit treason. What else could he not dare to do?
He still has explosives in his hand. If...
Xie Qing turned around, walked out quickly, jumped on his horse, and galloped to the Heavenly Prison. He drove straight in, full of murderous intent. He grabbed the Fourth Prince by the collar, his eyes bloodshot: "What are you planning! Tell me now!"
The Fourth Prince stared at Xie Qing intently and suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! What am I planning? What am I planning? I'm already like this now. Is it still useful for me to plan anything? You forced my staff to death, and you're going to torture me into confessing?"
Xie Qing listened to his provocation, and although he wanted to strangle him to death on the spot, he did not do so. It would be refreshing to do so, but he would also inevitably fall into his trap.
This is the Heavenly Prison, not the Eastern Palace. It is one thing for the emperor to hate the fourth brother, but he may not be willing to see brothers fighting each other.
What's more, he wanted to make the fourth brother's crimes known to the world and make him be tortured to death like he was in his previous life!
Xie Qing narrowed his eyes: "When I came in, I didn't say that your staff was dead. Besides, do you think they were all burned?"
The Fourth Prince's pupils shrank. "How is that possible? I burned those letters myself, how could any of them have slipped through the net?"
After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize that he had said the wrong thing. He looked at Xie Qing and gritted his teeth, "You actually cheated me!"
Xie Qing casually threw him away and smiled slowly: "If I don't trick you, how can I know that you have a backup plan? It doesn't matter if you don't tell me. I can slowly investigate. I have plenty of time, but you don't."
Xie Qing didn't even look at him again, turned around and strode away.
Not long after he left, a man dressed in eunuch's clothes entered the prison with his head lowered. He bent his waist and lowered his head, and showed his name card to the jailer, who immediately opened the door for him.
The eunuch stooped and entered the cell, then squatted before the Fourth Prince and raised his head: "Fourth Prince, how are you?"
"Is it you?"
The eunuch smiled and nodded, his eyes dim: "Are you interested in collaborating?"
"What do you want?" The Fourth Prince was very cautious. There is no free lunch in this world.
Hatred suddenly shone in the eunuch's eyes: "I don't want any more, I want their lives!"
The Fourth Prince stood up, leaning against the wall, and said with a sinister grin, "No problem, no problem."
***
Xie Qing left the prison. Prince Du and Mr. Yu immediately approached him and asked, "Do you have any clues?"
Xie Qing shook his head: "He was very stubborn and didn't tell the truth. He also said that he had burned all the letters."
Prince Du frowned and asked, "What should we do?"
Yes, things will be difficult without clues.
The most important thing is what the fourth brother is planning.
Does he have any connection with the Western Regions and the Northern Di?
Xie Qing said: "When the enemy comes, we will fight them; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. This is the only way."
He looked at Prince Du again and said, "Go tell your father that there might be a fierce battle soon. Tell him to be prepared and ready to go at any time."
Duke Du was also a military commander who had only retired in recent years, intending to enjoy the company of his grandchildren at home. However, who knew that Prince Du would not live up to his expectations.
Now it seems that Duke Du’s wish of enjoying his grandchildren has been dashed, and he has to mount his warhorse again.
Prince Du was surprised and confused: "Are you saying that he is desperate?"
Just as Xie Qing was about to say something, Xiao Luzi rode up on horseback and said hurriedly, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened."
Seeing his pale face, Xie Qing hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Luzi jumped off his horse, glanced around, and said in a low voice, "Hurry to the palace! Urgent news from the border."
The last four words were spoken very softly, very softly, and neither Master Du nor Mr. Yu could hear them clearly.
Under the two men's surprised gazes, Xie Qing grabbed the reins, jumped on the horse, and hurried to the palace.
Prince Du was stunned: "Why didn't you say a word?"
Just as he was wondering, Eunuch Zhang unexpectedly rode up on horseback. When he saw Prince Du, he immediately tightened the reins and said to him, "My Lord, quickly go find the Duke and have him come into the palace. His Majesty has an urgent decree."
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