"Why are there multiple palaces in the palace on fire at the same time? There must be a thief at work! Tell the commander of the imperial army to quickly surround the palace and capture the thief! Ahem..."

He Huaiyuan was scolded so much that he coughed repeatedly. Seeing that the fire was getting more and more intense everywhere, he hurriedly changed his order:

"Ahem... Stop arresting people! Hurry up and put out the fire!" Only then did he evacuate surrounded by a group of bodyguards.

"Master, the dragon vein of Nanqi has collapsed and the palace is on fire. This is clearly a sign of the destruction of the country. What should we do now?"

Imperial Censor Zhou Lin helped Grand Tutor Zhu escape while asking questions quietly.

"This Southern Qi capital is a waste. I observed the sky last night and saw that the northern stars were shining brightly, as if they were guarding a group of stars. There will surely be a bright future in the north that will rise up in accordance with the will of heaven. Let's go to the northern border!"

"good."

All the old officials followed the lead of Grand Tutor Zhu. Taking advantage of the chaos, they escaped from the palace and fled north with their families.

Before leaving, everyone privately told their relatives and friends where they were going, which indirectly led to more people migrating northwards. This also allowed many people to avoid the turmoil brought about by various coups and natural disasters.

…

The fire spread rapidly from the four corners of the palace to the inside, and the palace covering more than 100 acres was set on fire in an instant.

The palace people never expected such a big fire to happen in the heavily guarded palace. The water they had stored was not enough, and even the thick snow on the ground could not stop the raging flames.

Many people who were trying to put out the fire and who did not have time to escape were all buried in the sea of ​​fire. Hundreds of tragic scenes streaked across the sky of the capital, and from a distance it looked like a volcanic hell appearing on earth.

In the Xiangshan Palace in the west of the city, He Yuerong was dressed in white, standing on the high platform of the palace and laughing wildly.

"Hahaha! It's burnt! It's all burnt! It's best if it's burned clean!"

"He Huaiyuan! Are you teaming up with the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to deceive me?! Do you think that position is inevitable?!"

"You didn't expect it?! I have been the Queen Mother for so many years and I have not achieved nothing. There are still so many people in the palace who are willing to listen to me! Do you really think that I am locked up in the palace and copying Buddhist scriptures every day?! Wrong! I am plotting and preparing a big surprise for you!"

"Hahaha! I'm going to burn this palace to the ground today! No one of you will ever get what I got!"

He Yuerong was extremely happy and laughed wildly for several times before leaning against the railing and taking a deep breath.

"Go check, why hasn't Prince Jingnan come yet? Did he say he would pick me up at the beginning of the evening?!"

"Don't worry, your majesty. The prince should be here soon. I heard some fighting coming from the north palace gate earlier. He should be here in another cup of tea."

He Yuerong raised her ears and listened, and indeed she heard the shouts of killing coming from far away. Only then did she feel relieved, took out a brass mirror from her pocket and tidied her appearance.

After beating the drum for a while, he felt that it was not pitiful enough, so he smeared some ash on his fair face, found a piece of wood with sharp edges and handed it to the little palace maid next to him.

"Come here, take this piece of wood, and scratch my chest hard."

"Mother...Mother?" The little maid was shaking with fear.

Even though He Yuerong has moved to the temporary palace now, she is still the empress dowager. How could she dare to do anything to her?

"Just row when I tell you to! Why are you hesitating?!" He Yuerong's face was full of ferocity.

The little girl dared to disobey, so he picked up the wooden block and hit her chest with it.

“Hmm…”

He Yuerong endured the pain and took out a mirror to look at herself. She saw that a large piece of her shirt had fallen off her chest, revealing a scarred figure and a beautiful ravine somewhere. She looked like the pitiful look that men like the most. She nodded with satisfaction.

"Bang--"

The gate of the courtyard in the distance was violently slammed open, and the shouting and screaming were getting closer and closer, occasionally mixed with some curses from the palace guards against Prince Jingnan.

The little girl was overjoyed: "My Queen! Prince Jingnan is here, we finally escaped."

"It was me who escaped."

The little girl's smile froze, and before she could react to the other party's specific meaning, she felt a strong force coming at her, and in an instant she was pushed off the platform!

“Help…Help!”

"Huan'er! Huan'er! Wuwu... You died in such a tragic way!"

He Yuerong fell weakly against the fence, her well-maintained eyes filled with tears, and I felt pity for her.

"Yue'er! Yue'er! I finally found you!"

He Yuerong sobbed, and before she could turn around, she was hugged tightly into the arms by a burly man in armor.

"Ah...Ah Rui, is it really you? Wuwu...I really wasn't dreaming, you really came to save me."

He Yuerong's tears rolled down, and she gently stroked Xiao Jingrui's cheek with a trembling hand. In her eyes, there was both the joy of finally seeing each other, and the grievance after being tortured by fate. In terms of acting skills, he is much better than the current traffic stars.

Xiao Jingrui is the half-brother of the late emperor Xiao Qi. When he was young, he fell in love with He Yuerong at first sight by chance.

But He Yuerong's dream has always been to become the most noble woman. At that time, Xiao Jingrui was suspected by the previous emperor and had no power, so naturally he was not within her consideration.

After the death of the previous emperor, He Yuerong and He Huaiyuan joined forces. Xiao Jingrui, who still felt powerless, was very dissatisfied, so He Huaiyuan tried to drive him to the fiefdom in the southwest border of Southern Qi.

The land in the southwestern border area is barren, and this person would probably be mediocre all his life.

Who knew that Xiao Jingrui was a man of ambition? Three years ago, Nanzhao invaded and the Nanqi border troops were besieged. At the last moment, Xiao Jingrui led 10,000 Jingnan troops to unexpectedly break the siege of the border troops.

The Sheng family had been guarding the northern border for generations, and there were indeed no outstanding generals in the southwestern border of Southern Qi. The court had no choice but to acquiesce in allowing Prince Jingnan to expand his troops to guard the southwest.

But she had thought that within a few years, this boy had managed the counties and prefectures in his fiefdom in an orderly manner, and was gradually becoming a dominant force in the region. It was also at that time that He Yuerong really began to pay attention to this silly boy who had once admired her madly.

That's why there was a scene where he secluded himself in the palace and secretly sent messages to the other party to come and rescue him.

He Yuerong thought she was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, but Xiao Jingrui was stunned for a moment when he caught a glimpse of the fine lines on her skin.

The eldest daughter of the He family that he had been thinking about day and night was high and mighty and dusty. When he met her suddenly, he felt as if his fantasy had been shattered.

"Ah Rui... Wuwu... Actually, you have always been in my heart... You know how much my heart ached when I was forced to leave the palace..."

"Wuwu...Arui, what's wrong with you?"

He Yuerong saw that the other party was not mesmerized by her proud figure, but was staring at the few fine lines on her hair, with a ruthless look in her eyes.

"No... Let's go. I'll take you back to the southwest. Don't be afraid. From now on, you will have a safe place under my wings."

He Yuerong was planning to let Xiao Jingrui help her kidnap the emperor and control the princes. How could she follow him so easily?

He immediately broke away from Xiao Jingrui and shouted in shock: "Go! I'm leaving!"

But suddenly she found that it did not fit the weak image she had carefully created, so she could only look up at Xiao Jingrui with pity:

"Ah...Ah Rui, Qi'er is still in the palace. Can you help me one last time and rescue Qi'er?"

"From now on...from now on, I will be yours."