Mountain and River Festival 289. Fire in the Palace, Leaving the Capital

Most of the buildings in the palace are made of pure wood, and the borders are painted with various colors for decoration. Once the fire started, it naturally became more and more intense. In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire Qiuliang Palace was surrounded by a sea of ​​fire, and even the surrounding palaces began to spread. Ye Li and the other two could only take Princess Zhenning and retreat to the Yu Garden far away from Qiuliang Palace. They put Princess Zhenning on a spacious, flat and ventilated lakeside, looked at the fire in the distance where people had already started to put out the fire, and ordered: "Go and ask the imperial doctor to come."

"Ali!" Before the imperial physician arrived, Mo Xiuyao in white had already rushed over like the wind. He was relieved to see that Ye Li was fine, and glanced at Princess Zhenning beside him and raised an eyebrow at Ye Li. Ye Li shook her head speechlessly. It was not appropriate to talk about these things in front of Princess Zhenning at this time. Behind him, Mo Xiaobao, who was carried by the guards, also followed, and Leng Junhan was also held in his arms behind him.

"Mother..." Mo Xiaobao happily jumped from the guard's arms and rushed to Ye Li. However, Mo Xiuyao grabbed him by the clothes on his back and hung him in the air, waving his hands and feet, "Mother, mother... I was so worried about you... Father is bad, let me go! I want mother..." Ye Li took him from Mo Xiuyao's arms with a smile, patted him soothingly and said with a smile: "Mother is fine, I told you to be careful. Good boy..." Mo Xiaobao rubbed himself in Ye Li's arms with satisfaction, ignoring Mo Xiuyao's gloomy face and nodded repeatedly, "I'm glad that mother is fine. I love mother the most..."

Princess Zhenning, who was sitting against the rockery, looked at Mo Xiaobao, who was giggling in Ye Li's arms, and then looked at the gentle and faint smile on Ye Li's face. A trace of envy and bitterness flashed in her eyes. Ye Li saw it, put Mo Xiaobao on the ground, squatted down and asked softly: "Princess Zhenning, are you okay?"

Princess Zhenning nodded and whispered, "Thank you... Thank you Princess Ding for saving my life." She really couldn't face the elegant and graceful woman in front of her. She knew what her mother had done, but it was Princess Ding who saved her life regardless of her mother's relationship. And her biological mother not only took advantage of her but also almost killed her. Why... Why is her mother such a person?

"Sister! Sister!" A series of urgent calls came, and the King of Qin, who had heard the news, hurried over with his eight-year-old brother. Following behind them were Mo Jingli and other royal princes and dignitaries in the court. The fire in Qiuliang Palace was quite big. Although someone had gone to put it out, the breezy weather today made the fire even worse, and now it was almost spreading to three or four palaces. Even though they were standing diagonally from Qiuliang Palace, they seemed to be able to feel the heat of the fire.

Mo Xiaoyun rushed over and saw Princess Zhenning sitting on the ground at first sight. He rushed forward and said, "My sister, how are you? Are you injured?" Princess Zhenning quickly covered the scar on her face with her hands and said, "No...nothing serious..." But how could she cover up that new scar with her hands? Everyone took a breath without hesitation. The originally delicate and gentle girl had a scar the size of a palm on her face. At this moment, the scar still had a bloody feeling and was burned by fire, which made people want to vomit. Many ladies who followed screamed in shock and took two steps back.

Princess Zhenning's face darkened and she lowered her head even more fearfully, trying to cover the scar on her face with her hair.

"Don't touch your hair. If your hair is not clean, it will cause an infection more easily if it touches a wound." A slender hand gently pressed her shoulder, gently holding down her hand that was trying to pull her hair. Princess Zhenning was stunned, and she looked up at the woman in front of her with a faint smile on her lips. There was no trace of disgust or fear on her face, but from her gentle and clear eyes, she saw how ugly she was. Princess Zhenning trembled and quickly lowered her head.

Ye Li sighed softly, took out a white handkerchief and carefully tied it around Princess Zhenning's face, covering the ugly scars. "Wait for the imperial physician to come and prescribe some medicine to heal the scars. You'll be fine soon."

The ladies of the Da Chu family who were well-educated also had the habit of wearing veils when going out, so although Princess Zhenning looked a little different among the ladies who were all showing their faces, she was not out of place. The people around also breathed a sigh of relief. Most of them were women who were raised in the inner chambers of the family, and they had never seen such scars. It was always good to be covered now, and at the same time, more people turned their eyes to the gentle and beautiful woman in white, and admired Princess Ding's calm demeanor.

"What is going on?" Mo Jingli looked at Ye Li who had returned to Mo Xiuyao's side and asked in a deep voice.

Princess Zhenning bit her lips and refused to speak. Mo Jingli looked at Ye Li, who said calmly, "We also rushed over after seeing the fire in Yu Garden. We only managed to rescue Princess Zhenning in time. We don't know if there are other people inside."

Mo Jingli frowned and asked, "Why is Princess Zhenning in Qiuliang Palace at this time?"

Princess Zhenning refused to speak. Mo Xiaoyun took a deep breath, stood up, patted his brother who was hiding beside him in fear, and said, "Grandmother has locked my mother in Qiuliang Palace. I am going to visit her."

"Yes, it was me who locked her up in Qiuliang Palace." The Queen Mother came slowly, surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. She just happened to hear what Mo Xiaoyun said and replied calmly.

Mo Jingli said in a deep voice: "Concubine Liu Gui was imprisoned in Qiuliang Palace? How come I don't know?"

The Queen Mother sneered, "This is the inner palace's business. How come I don't know that I should discuss with Prince Li how to punish the late emperor's concubines who don't follow the rules?" Mo Jingli was speechless. Even though he was dissatisfied with the Queen Mother's handling of Concubine Liu behind his back, he couldn't say it in front of so many people. After all, even if he was the regent prince, he could only manage government affairs. On the surface, he should never interfere in the affairs of the late emperor's harem.

After a moment of silence, Mo Jingli said, "If that's the case... we don't know if Concubine Liu died in the fire." Everyone looked at Princess Zhenning. The fire was still burning, and no one except Princess Zhenning knew what was going on inside. No one knew if Concubine Liu was burned to death inside. But Princess Zhenning refused to speak, and everyone was helpless.

Mo Xiuyao glanced at everyone calmly. Just when Mo Jingli thought he was going to say something important, he said leisurely, "Since there is something going on in the palace, I guess this banquet can't be held. The king and the princess will return home first. In addition, the king and the princess will leave for the northwest in a few days, so I won't come to resign then."

Mo Jingli secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "In that case, Prince Ding, please go ahead."

Mo Xiuyao nodded, holding Mo Xiaobao in one hand and Ye Li's hand in the other, and prepared to turn around and leave the palace.

"Princess Ding." Mo Xiaoyun, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, walked up to Ye Li and said in a deep voice: "Thank you for saving my sister. I cannot repay you for saving my life. Please accept my greetings." After that, he bowed deeply to Ye Li. Seeing the young man, who was only twelve or thirteen years old, doing such a solemn ceremony, Ye Li smiled faintly and said: "King Qin is too polite. I will stop here. King Qin, please take good care of Princess Zhenning. Farewell."

Watching the family of three walk out of Yu Garden surrounded by guards, Mo Jingli felt relieved. It was not until this moment that he really believed that perhaps Mo Xiuyao really had no interest in the affairs of Da Chu.

On the carriage out of the palace, Leng Junhan, who was lying in Ye Li's arms, had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. Mo Xiaobao sat in Mo Xiuyao's arms, and although he hadn't fallen asleep yet, he no longer had the energy he had in the palace. After all, they were only five or six years old, and they were tired enough after being noisy for most of the day.

Ye Li patted Leng Junhan gently and asked, "Xiu Yao, is Concubine Liu dead?"

Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. Concubine Liu has been the most favored concubine in the harem for more than ten years. Even if the monkeys scatter when the tree falls, she will still have some power that can be used. There are many people coming and going at the palace banquet today. It may not be impossible for her to escape from the palace if she wants to."

Ye Li frowned and said, "Since she still has someone to use, why does she still treat Princess Zhenning like that? Does she really want to burn Princess Zhenning to death?" Thinking of this, Ye Li couldn't help but feel cold in her heart. How cruel does one have to be to bear to treat their own daughter like this? Even if the father of this daughter is not the person she loves, the child is still her own flesh and blood. Princess Zhenning risked being punished by the Queen Mother to see her, but she got such a reward. No wonder her eyes were as dead as death when she was rescued just now.

Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said, "I don't know. Let the people below keep an eye out. Once that woman shows up, she will be killed without mercy!" He was not interested in whether Concubine Liu wanted to burn Princess Zhenning to death or why she wanted to burn her to death. But if this was true, then Concubine Liu must die! Such a cruel woman, keeping her alive is definitely a disaster.

Ye Li nodded silently. She had no mercy or sympathy for Concubine Liu Gui.

"I heard from Xiaobao that Mu Yang's wife was rude to you in the garden before?" Putting the matter of Concubine Liu behind his mind, Mo Xiuyao asked calmly.

Ye Li glanced at Mo Xiaobao who was the first to complain, and said with a smile: "A woman twisted by jealousy, can I still take action against her? Don't worry, Yao Ji is not a pushover, she won't let her off easily." Mo Xiuyao snorted and said: "I was too kind to Muyang Marquis's Mansion at the beginning." Thinking of some grievances with Muyang Marquis's Mansion, Mo Xiuyao regretted his original plan to use Muyang Marquis's Mansion to let Yao Ji and Mu Lie hide in the capital. Because this means that he can't take action against Muyang Marquis's Mansion for the time being. But when he saw the people of Muyang Marquis's Mansion, especially Muyang Marquis himself, some bad memories that he had tried hard to forget came up again, making Mo Xiuyao feel very bad.

On the day when the new emperor ascended the throne, a fire broke out in the palace and almost burned down half of the palace. Such news spread quickly among the people. People were talking about the new emperor's lack of virtue to inherit the throne, which led to the punishment from the heaven. Everyone in Prince Ding's mansion laughed secretly. The new emperor was just a child of six or seven years old. What can be said about virtue or not? However, once the rumor started, it was not so easy to extinguish it. Especially when someone with ulterior motives fanned the flames, the rumor spread like wildfire.

The people in Prince Ding's Mansion ignored all this, because they were all packing their bags to leave the capital again and go to the northwest. Although most of them were born and raised in Chujing, their life in the northwest over the past few years made them feel more at home in Licheng. Everyone packed their bags for the journey with happy smiles. In addition to Prince Li officially becoming the Regent Prince to take charge of government affairs, the court also announced the death of the empress and the burial of Concubine Liu. The empress dowager, who should have been the grand empress dowager, was exempted from the burial because the previous emperor's legitimate wife died and the new empress dowager could not take on the heavy responsibility. The hair was used instead of the head and placed in the imperial mausoleum for the time being. In the future, when the grand empress dowager dies, she will be buried in the grand emperor's mausoleum.

Without paying any attention to the ups and downs in the capital, Mo Xiuyao and his party left Beijing and returned to the northwest three days later. In their carriage, there was not only a graceful and beautiful middle-aged woman, but also an equally beautiful young woman and an old man with extraordinary bearing.

"Tianxiang." In the carriage, Ye Li reached out and held the hand of Hua Tianxiang, who was still a little frightened, and smiled slightly.

Hua Tianxiang's beautiful face was still filled with shock. She stared at Ye Li for a long time before she let out a soft breath, "Li'er...Aunt..." The Queen nodded, smoothed her dark hair with pity, and said softly, "Tianxiang, you have worked hard these years." She was the granddaughter of Duke Hua and the niece of the Queen. She was the envy of all the young ladies in the capital. However, because of this identity, she was still unmarried even though she was over 20 years old. An ordinary woman at this age would have already been a husband and mother, and a manager of the household. However, she could only avoid being conspicuous and practice with her hair untied. For example, the temple said that she was praying for her grandmother, but it was better to say that she was practicing with her hair untied.

Hua Tianxiang shook her head and smiled: "Aunt, what are you talking about? I have good food and clothes, so how can I suffer? But you, aunt, seeing you is really..." Hua Tianxiang's eyes turned red when she was excited. Originally, when she heard the news in Ciyu Temple, she really thought that her aunt had passed away. This morning, she was doing morning prayers in her room as usual, but she was suddenly knocked unconscious. Unexpectedly, when she woke up, she saw her aunt who she thought was dead and her good friend who she hadn't seen for many years. They were already on the carriage heading to the northwest, no wonder she didn't come back to her senses for a long time.

"Li'er, aunt, I..." Looking at the two people in front of her, Hua Tianxiang still wanted to ask something with some doubts, but for a moment she didn't know where to start.

Ye Li held her hand and said with a smile: "Duke Hua has handed you over to me. From now on, Miss Hua will have to trouble you to go to the northwest to live a hard life."

"Yes, Grandpa..." Hua Tianxiang said excitedly, suddenly remembering some strange instructions that Grandpa said when he came to see her a few days ago. She didn't think much about it at that time. Did Grandpa already plan to entrust her to A Li? The Queen said softly: "Your Grandpa is doing this for your own good. Now the new emperor has ascended the throne, and Prince Li is in charge of the government. A few days ago, Prince Li vaguely proposed to marry you as a concubine. Although my father refused on the spot, as long as you are still in the palace, there is always..."

Hua Tianxiang wiped her tears and said, "I know Grandpa did this for my own good. But we are all gone... Grandpa..."

"Don't worry, Duke Hua is highly respected. Mo Jingli has just taken power and will not do anything to Duke Hua. However, in order to avoid trouble, you'd better change your name, and the Queen, uh... Sister Hua, too."

The two nodded. They certainly understood what Ye Li said. Although not many people had seen them, they still had to take precautions. If people knew that there were so many people who shouldn't be there in Licheng, especially in Prince Ding's Mansion, it would be bad for both Prince Ding's Mansion and the Hua family.

Hua Tianxiang thought for a moment and said generously, "My grandfather's family name is Yang, so I'll call him Ruohua to the outside world."

The queen smiled faintly and said, "In that case, I will borrow Tianxiang's surname and call myself Madam Yang." After saying this, she was unwilling to even take a name. Ye Li sighed and looked at the queen with some worry. The queen smiled and said, "Being able to get rid of the shackles of the palace is already a blessing that I never thought of in my life. Moreover, Changle is still here in the northwest, everything will be fine."

"I'm only afraid of Feng San..." Ye Li frowned. Ever since Feng Huaiting was persuaded by Feng Zhiyao to go back to the northwest with them, the relationship between Feng Zhiyao and his son has gradually become less rigid. Feng Huaiting is different from the queen and Hua Tianxiang. Mo Xiuyao asked for him from Mo Jingli in a fair and square manner. Mo Jingli has emptied the Feng family, so naturally he doesn't care about Feng Huaiting, an old man in his sixties. Even the other people in the Feng family can be taken away generously. However, the two legitimate sons of the Feng family are unwilling to go to the northwest to live under the wing of their half-brother, not to mention that they are now being used by King Li. Madam Feng was very angry about her husband's decision, and naturally stood on her son's side. Except for a few loyal servants and young illegitimate sons and daughters, no one in the entire Feng family was willing to follow Feng Huai Ting, who had no wealth or power, to suffer in the northwest.

"But Master Feng..." Although Feng Huaiting didn't say it clearly, Ye Li could still see his attitude towards the matter between Feng Zhiyao and the Queen. The Queen shook her head and smiled, "Ayao has been without parental care since he was a child, so he always values ​​feelings more than others. With his father watching over him, he will slowly understand. After so many years... I am also tired. As long as Tianxiang is fine in the future, Changle is fine, I will have no regrets."

Ye Li was silent. It was difficult for outsiders to interfere in emotional matters. Feng Zhiyao and the Queen had to solve their own problems. Hua Tianxiang looked at the two of them in confusion, but she also felt that the atmosphere was a bit heavy. She pulled the two of them and said with a smile: "Of course we will be fine. Everyone will be fine. Aunt, please call me Ruohua, so as not to accidentally call me the wrong name in the future."

The three of them smiled, and Ye Li nodded and said, "Yes, we will all be fine."

In a dark corner somewhere in the capital, a woman in wolfish clothes was thin and dressed in the simplest gray cloth clothes. Her hair was tied up with a crude wooden pin. It was almost impossible to tell what she looked like. Hiding in a shabby little house at the end of this cold and almost deserted alley, a pair of eyes shone with a chilling light in the darkness.

"Prince Ding has already left Chujing?"

"That's right. Prince Ding has already left the city with the princess and the prince this morning." A deep and somewhat hoarse male voice whispered.

"It's been so many days, and you still haven't found a way to send me out of the city?!" the woman said in a sharp and angry voice.

The man rubbed his hands and said with some embarrassment: "The whole city is under martial law now. I heard that a fire broke out in the palace when the new emperor ascended the throne, and Princess Zhenning's face was burned. I'm afraid the higher-ups are trying to catch the assassin who is rampant."

"?" The woman's eyes widened in shock, and her pale face, which had not seen the sun for a long time, showed obvious shock. The man thought she was scared, and hurriedly held her hand to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, assassins will never come to such a place." Looking at the stunning woman in front of him, who was wearing rough clothes and had no makeup on, but was still beautiful, the man's eyes changed and his hand moved upwards in an unruly manner.

A hint of impatience flashed across the woman's face, and she waved him away, saying, "Get lost, I'm not in the mood!"

"Baby... don't worry, we will find a way to leave the city soon. Baby..." The man picked up the woman and pressed her down on the bed. With amazing desire flashing in his eyes, he buried his head in the woman and kissed her like a wolf.

The woman suppressed her disgust and allowed the man to do whatever he wanted to her. But her mind was already wandering elsewhere. How could...how could Zhen Ning be burned? Although she was worried that Zhen Ning would ruin her business, so she gave her some drugs. But she had clearly instructed him to send Zhen Ning out and then set fire to Qiuliang Palace after she left.

But she didn't know that she needed someone to burn to death in there for her. Not a dead person, but a person who was burned alive. Those who worked for her were also flesh and blood people, how could they be willing to die themselves, or let someone familiar to them die? Princess Zhenning, who was knocked unconscious by Concubine Liu, was naturally the best scapegoat. Otherwise, when Princess Zhenning woke up and told others, they would not be able to escape.

Zhenning... don't blame mother. Mother didn't want to burn you to death. It was just an accident. Who told you...

"Baby, why aren't you concentrating?" The man said unhappily, his plain face flushed, and he kissed the woman's delicate red lips fiercely. The woman closed her eyes in disgust. Compared with the vulgar man in front of her, Mo Jingqi was simply a stunningly handsome man. But now, she can only rely on this man to escape from Chujing. Mo Xiuyao... Ye Li, it's all your fault! It's all your fault...

"Baby, you are so beautiful..." The man hurriedly tore the woman's clothes. He had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. He would not even dare to think about such a good fortune in the past, but now, this beautiful beauty belongs to him and will become his wife in the future.

In the deep alley, in the dark room, there were waves of ambiguous panting and banging sounds, and soon joined by the gentle moans of a woman...

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

You all hate Concubine Liu, right? You wish she would die right now, right? I want to turn her into a super villain! The process is difficult, and the solution is tragic.

…….

A certain Feng: Do you want to live?

Concubine Liu: Of course I do! I want to survive, I want Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li to die miserably!

Mou Feng: Ideals are full, but reality is cruel. To survive, you have to endure all kinds of suffering.

Concubine Liu Guifei: I am not afraid of hardship!

A certain Feng: If I survive, I may die and still not be able to take revenge (I can’t fool you. If I let you take revenge, I will be killed.)

Concubine Liu Guifei: I am willing

Mou Feng: If you survive, you might get raped by N men?

Consort Liu Guifei: This palace...

A certain Feng: If I survive, I will marry...

Concubine Liu Guifei: Actually, I am willing to be burned to death. I will return to the palace now.

A certain phoenix: ...