"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
Upon hearing this, the chief eunuch, who had been standing quietly to the side, shifted his gaze from Emperor Jing's writing with admiration and looked over to see the disheveled appearance of the guard who had just entered.
Although she was startled, she immediately glared at the man and quickly held up a finger to hiss, signaling him to stop.
Even though the visitor was clearly flustered, Emperor Jing didn't even glance at him, continuing to concentrate on his calligraphy.
Until the very last stroke was completed, looking at the powerful characters that appeared on the paper, which seemed to satisfy him to some extent: "An ant trying to shake a big tree, how laughable and presumptuous."
Just now, as he put down his pen, he asked coldly, "What's the matter that you're so flustered?"
The guard looked at the chief eunuch again, and only when the eunuch finally nodded to him and he knew that his consent had been obtained did he dare to speak.
A hurried report: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Chenxiang Pavilion is on fire."
Upon hearing this, before Emperor Jing could speak, the chief eunuch beside him was startled and anxiously inquired about the situation.
"What did you say?"
"Is the Chenxiang Pavilion on fire?"
"The Agarwood Pavilion was completely empty, how could it have caught fire?"
When did this happen?
How serious is it?
Upon hearing Qidun's series of questions, the guard timidly lowered his head.
Taking a breath, she said tremblingly, "The Agarwood Pavilion was already dilapidated and had been neglected for many years. The withered vines and old trees in the courtyard were spreading everywhere. In recent days, the weather has been dry and windy. Just before dawn, a candle in the backyard was blown down by the wind, which ignited the withered vines and caused a fire."
"How...how could this be?"
The head eunuch then asked anxiously, "What about... that damned girl? Is she still alive?"
The guard stammered, "Lilac...lilac..."
After much deliberation, he finally steeled his resolve and said, "Because the Agarwood Pavilion is located in the most remote corner of the palace, there are only three palace servants responsible for guarding it, and they have to take turns day and night. The fire was large and sudden, and it started in the backyard. It was discovered too late, and by the time the fire was extinguished, the girl had already been burned to ashes!"
At this moment, a thunderous rage finally erupted from within the hall.
"Useless! What kind of work are you doing? Right under my nose, you couldn't even keep an eye on a woman who could barely breathe. What use are you to me? Drag you out and execute you immediately!"
At that moment, a pitiful cry for help echoed throughout the entire hall: "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"
After the guard was dragged away, the chief eunuch asked worriedly, "The guardian is probably already on her way back. At this critical juncture, if we lose this bargaining chip, how can we continue to control her?"
Emperor Jing thought for a moment, but appeared completely unconcerned, saying, "It's just a bargaining chip..."
What troubled him most was: "I fear this fire is suspicious! Why did the source of the fire come from the most hidden backyard?"
Emperor Jing spoke, slowly withdrawing his gaze to the words he had just written, and said thoughtfully: "An ant that overestimates its own strength yet dares to shake a great tree, truly ignorant of its own limitations, courting its own destruction!"
The emperor listened intently, then seemed to suddenly realize something: "Your Majesty, are you perhaps suspecting that the fire at Chenxiang Pavilion was arson, and that it was all secretly orchestrated by Prince Qin's men..."
Recalling Emperor Jing's words, the chief eunuch said urgently, "That's right, His Majesty just said that those dog servants couldn't even keep an eye on a half-dead woman. Could it be... that the girl didn't die, but was rescued by Prince Qin's men!"
Emperor Jing remained silent.
The chief eunuch gritted his teeth and said angrily, "How despicable! Who could have leaked this information?"
Emperor Jing seemed to be deep in thought, as if he already had someone he suspected, but he did not say it aloud.
Finally, he solemnly instructed, "If the guardian inquires about this matter after returning to the palace, say that as soon as she left the palace, that girl went out to run errands and was kidnapped on the way by a group of people of unknown origin, and there has been no news of her since."
The chief eunuch thought for a moment and suddenly understood Emperor Jing's intention: "Your Majesty intends to pin all the suffering that Dingxiang has endured on Prince Qin. In this way, if the guardian has not lost his memory and is just pretending, then the suffering that Dingxiang has endured will also create a real rift between him and Prince Qin."
"And if she really has amnesia, she will definitely stand firmly on the Emperor's side even more firmly because of Dingxiang, avenge him, and serve the Emperor."
Upon realizing this, he immediately flattered, "Your Majesty's plan to turn the tables on you is brilliant!"
However, the chief eunuch had some concerns: "I just don't know if that girl's body can hold out until the guardian returns!"
In an instant, Emperor Jing's lips curled into a faint smile, and he said sarcastically, "Why can't he live? Isn't there someone who goes to detoxify him every day on time?"
The chief eunuch paused for a moment, then asked incredulously, "Does Your Majesty mean that Zhang Zhiyuan is feeding that girl the antidote every day?"
As soon as he said it, he realized something was amiss: "No, how could Zhang Zhiyuan dare? He's one of Your Majesty's men. The food he sends to Chenxiang Pavilion every day is inspected by special personnel, and I've never heard of any problems with it."
Emperor Jing did not argue, nor did he feel it was unnecessary.
Because Zhang Zhiyuan was indeed smart enough that he couldn't find any fault with him.
However, after observing Zhang Zhiyuan meticulously for nearly half a year, he discovered that Zhang Zhiyuan had indeed changed.
After a moment of silence, Emperor Jing continued the previous topic, saying, "If she really can't survive, then it's her fate, and she can't blame anyone else. Wouldn't it be better to let her die in the Prince of Qin's mansion? Ants should stay where ants belong, and even in death, they should stick together with their kind."
The chief eunuch thought for a moment, then realized what he meant and exclaimed in approval.
"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful..."
"That's wonderful!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Now, we're just waiting for the Guardian to return to the palace!"
At this point, the head eunuch suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, the servants of Changning Palace were cleaning the main hall a few days ago when they found a very peculiar peony. Originally, the flowers were pink, but I heard that they were later stained with a mouthful of blood spat out by the Northern Fierce Dog before its death. Now, even in the cold winter, they have not withered, and the color of the flowers has turned vermilion. This thing seems to be somewhat evil. Should we throw it away?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing also found it somewhat miraculous. He pondered for a moment, then muttered, "You said that pink peonies stained with blood turned crimson..."
The chief eunuch nodded.
Emperor Jing then thought for a moment and said, "Keep it. I imagine that when she returns, seeing that red mark every day will further fuel her desire for revenge!"
The chief eunuch then accepted the order: "Yes!"
That night.
The Prince of Qin's Mansion, Xinglin Pavilion.
Everyone waited quietly here.
Cheng Liang looked around and saw that it was getting dark outside, which had been going on since early morning. He was very anxious and could no longer help but keep asking the white-robed man beside him questions.
"Imperial Physician Yue, how is she?"
Why hasn't Dingxiang woken up yet?
"Could it be that they were choked by the thick smoke?"
"It's all that damned Zhang Zhiyuan's fault. After I set fire to the withered vines in the backyard, he wouldn't leave for a long time. In the end, I had no choice but to bring him out with me!"
"I wonder if he recognized me?"
At this moment, Physician Yue, who had been guarding the bedside without daring to leave for even a moment, comforted him, saying, "General, do not blame yourself. The reason why this young lady has been unconscious until now is not because of the thick smoke, but because she has been poisoned for a long time. I have just given her acupuncture to expel some poisonous blood. Although it is not very effective for such a severe poisoning, I believe she will wake up soon."
"Really? That's great!" Cheng Liang said happily.
He then continued, "Once she wakes up, I believe the truth about everything concerning the Princess Consort and everything that happened in Changning Palace will come to light!"
Physician Yue nodded slightly in agreement.
Cheng Liang immediately felt much more at ease.
Just then, Dingxiang's eyes actually rolled around a few times, and she slowly woke up.
Before Physician Yue could examine or inquire, Cheng Liang strode forward, excitedly exclaiming, "You're finally awake!"
Dingxiang felt completely weak and powerless, but she still forced herself to sit up.
He looked at the two people in front of him one by one, and then glanced around at the surrounding environment.
Finally, he clenched his fist and pounded his head, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever.
Everything before her was unfamiliar to her.
So she slowly began to speak.
Who are you?
Where is this?
How did I get here?
Cheng Liang seemed completely oblivious to her unease. He immediately grabbed her arm and began excitedly asking her a series of questions.
"Dingxiang, let me ask you, did Her Highness the Princess not die in the hurricane and sandstorm in Luxian County? She is still alive, isn't she?"
Dingxiang was clearly frightened, shrinking back and not daring to look him in the eye, seemingly not understanding what he was saying at all, only repeating his words.
"Lu County?"
"Your Highness?"
I don't know what you're talking about?
Having finally found her, Cheng Liang was naturally anxious to know everything that had happened.
Xuanyuan Han fell ill again, and this time his condition seemed even more serious than before.
It's heartbreaking to think about.
So he wondered to himself, "Could it be because we haven't seen each other for so long that she doesn't remember me?"
He then introduced himself, saying, "I am His Highness Prince Qin's deputy general, don't you remember me? I want to know if my lady is still alive, and what exactly happened? Tell me quickly, my prince has fallen ill again because of this."
No matter how anxious she was or what she said, Dingxiang didn't seem moved at all.
Fortunately, Cheng Liang applied a little more force and instantly pulled him off the couch: "Fine, I'll take you to see the Prince, you can tell him yourself!"
In an instant, Dingxiang was terrified and cried out in protest, "What are you going to do? Let me go! I'm not going anywhere!"
"General Cheng, wait..."
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