"Come--"
Before Xiao Shu'er could finish speaking, Chang Lili kicked her into the dark room, swiftly pulled the door shut, locked it, threw the key away, dusted off her hands, and turned to find the maid she had sent away.
"You vile woman! Chang Lili! Let me out, or I'll kill you!"
Xiao Shu'er pounded on it desperately. The inside was filled with iron mud, which not only had a good soundproofing effect, but it could also be cut by swords.
She prepared it especially for Chang Lili, but unexpectedly she ended up locking herself in.
"The person is indeed inside."
"The maid just told us that the princess wants us to light the fire immediately, otherwise we will be punished for dereliction of duty if the people inside escape!"
Bai Mei whispered to the palace maid for a while, then took out a tinderbox, blew on it gently, squatted down and lit it. The rapidly rising flames rushed into the dark room. The person inside was in great pain, and a pitiful scream could be faintly heard, but it was not clear.
"The person inside isn't Chang Lili! Stop!"
The disheveled maid stumbled forward, staring in horror at the flickering flames.
If Chang Lili isn't in the dark room, then who is imprisoned inside?
Looking back at the thick smoke billowing in the sky, Chang Lili, having changed her clothes, gave a cold smile and returned to the banquet in high spirits. Sure enough, Meng Yuxiu was in the courtyard, talking to a minister. He caught sight of her and strode towards her.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you all this time. His Majesty and the Empress have arrived, and the wedding is about to begin."
Chang Lili opened her mouth as if to speak: "..."
"Oh no! The west building is on fire!"
The servant reported this with trepidation, and Chang Lili shrugged.
The emperor was displeased: "Hurry up and lead men to put out the fire."
Xiao Lingshou's mind stirred.
The west building only contained some books and documents, and few people went there. How could it have caught fire for no reason?
Bai Mei appeared hastily, knelt before the emperor, and said something while weeping. The emperor immediately stood up and strode towards the west tower.
The empress snapped her rosary beads in her hand, a half-smile playing on her lips, and said calmly to the master of ceremonies, “A sudden fire has broken out in the West Tower. As the Crown Prince, he should go there. However, the auspicious time has arrived, so let’s keep the formalities simple.”
Lu Ming's bridal sedan chair had already arrived at the door, but they still went through the wedding ceremony and were hurriedly sent back to their bridal chamber.
The Crown Prince rushed to the West Tower, followed by Meng Yuxiu and Chang Lili. They saw the person who had been rescued from the fire, covered in wounds. They could only identify her from the still-burnt clothes on her body.
The matter concerning the eldest princess was suspicious, so the emperor sent people to investigate. It turned out that Xiao Shu'er had brought it upon herself and suppressed the matter herself.
Lu Ming knew that something had happened at the East Palace. She wanted to help, but the nanny held her back and told her to remember her place. Lu Ming waited and waited until the candles were almost burned out. Everyone in the room had left, and someone pushed open the door.
Lu Ming ripped off her red veil: "Your Highness, what happened at the West Tower?"
"The West Tower was flooded, and the Eldest Princess was among those caught in the fire. It happened so suddenly that I need to handle the aftermath," Xiao Lingshou said slowly. "You've suffered enough; get some rest today."
Xiao Lingshou left, leaving Lu Ming alone to silently gaze at the burnt-out red candle.
Xiao Shuer's injuries were serious. Although the imperial physicians tried their best to treat her, she was still left with scars on her face, which almost covered the right half of her face.
Looking at her reflection in the bronze mirror, Xiao Shu'er was terrified and burst into tears. The emperor visited her, offered a few words of comfort, and left, leaving the imperial physicians in utter distress.
"Get out of here! If my face doesn't recover, none of you will live!"
The imperial physician readily agreed and scrambled away.
Xiao Shuer touched her cheek; the bandaged wound was still bleeding and itchy. Her body was covered in unscathed flesh, and she couldn't suppress her resentment towards Chang Lili for even a moment!
"Bai Mei, come with me to Huilan Palace!"
The balsam flowers were mashed into a paste, and a maid held Consort Lan's hand, carefully applying nail polish. Voices came from outside the palace. Consort Lan looked up and saw Xiao Shu'er rushing in, wearing a bamboo hat.
Consort Lan waved away the maids: "Why has the Eldest Princess come here instead of properly recuperating from her injuries?"
"The ginseng is about to be used in medicine, and I need you to get started right away!"
Consort Lan chuckled: "No need for the Princess to remind me, I have already taken action. Just wait patiently."
The emperor was eager to recover, so a thousand-year-old ginseng was sent to the Imperial Hospital. The imperial physicians immediately began to calculate the dosage and remove the roots for medicinal use.
The emperor immediately drank the medicinal soup. The strong bitterness caused his internal energy to surge, and his face changed. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
"His Majesty!"
The imperial physician was in a panic.
News of the emperor vomiting blood quickly reached Huilan Palace. Consort Lan relaxed for a moment, dismissed the eunuchs, and was immediately filled with immense fear.
"If His Majesty finds out..."
“He won’t,” Xiao Shu’er sneered. “The ginseng was given by Meng Yuxiu, and my brother will only punish Meng Yuxiu.”
Consort Lan was skeptical.
At the general's mansion, the person with their head down was carefully measuring their arm. Meng Yuxiu felt a warmth in his heart and took the opportunity to hug Chang Lili and breathe into her neck.
"It's so itchy and cold." Chang Lili laughed crisply, shrank her neck back, and pushed him away with the measuring tape. "Don't move, let me take a good measurement. If the size is wrong, do you still want to wear it?"
"Of course I will," Meng Yuxiu said. "I'm going to marry you, how can I not wear a wedding dress?"
Chang Lili glared at him and continued measuring. Meng Yuxiu teased her occasionally, flirting for a while before finally writing down the measurements on paper. Then she was embraced by someone else.
"That's enough, if you keep this up I'm not talking to you anymore."
With their faces close together, Meng Yuxiu gently rubbed against him: "You're saying one thing and meaning another, you should be punished."
"General! Someone from the palace has come and summons you to the palace immediately." The messenger dared not rush into the room and shouted loudly from outside.
Meng Yuxiu frowned: "What is it?"
The palace eunuch said, "After the Emperor ate the ginseng you brought back, his condition worsened. He specially sent me to invite you to the palace. Please don't make things difficult for me, General."
Meng Yuxiu turned to leave, but after taking only one step, someone behind him grabbed his sleeve. Chang Lili said, "I feel very uneasy."
Meng Yuxiu rubbed her head: "It's okay, don't worry, wait for me to come back."
After Meng Yuxiu left, Chang Lili was restless and uneasy in the mansion.
No, we can't just sit here and wait to die.
Remembering the token given to her by the Three Pages Sect, Chang Lili immediately disguised herself and went to the Lu Family Pawnshop. She knocked on the door, and the shopkeeper greeted her warmly, "What would you like to pawn, sir?"
"Come and see the spring river."
The shopkeeper was taken aback, looked Chang Lili up and down, and opened the door to let her in.
Before the shopkeeper could ask, Chang Lili took out her token: "I want to join the Three Pages Sect. Liu, who gave me the token, said that someone will meet me."
"You're the person he was talking about?" The shopkeeper suddenly realized, and led Chang Lili inside. He knocked on the counter three times, then opened the hidden compartment door. "Go in, someone inside will guide you."
Chang Lili gazed at the bottomless dark passage without showing the slightest fear, and slowly walked down.
"You're the new girl? Stay close, the roads here are all complicated, don't get lost."
Just as she reached the end of the road, an aged voice came from behind her. Chang Lili's pupils contracted, and she looked up at the old man in disbelief.
It really is my mother-in-law!
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