Chapter 180: Pretty Good at Doing Things
"Cough cough cough!" Thick smoke blew in with the night wind. Chu Liuzheng was caught off guard and inhaled a mouthful of it, choking and causing him to bend over and cough.
Her face was covered in gray and white, the ends of her hair were touched by the fire, giving off a burnt smell, and her clothes were burned with several holes.
Chen Xing helped her stand under a tree in the shelter from the wind. Chu Liuzheng stopped coughing and asked anxiously, "How is Sister Moxiang?"
"She just choked on a few puffs of smoke, nothing serious." It was Siyue who answered. She put the unconscious Moxiang next to Chu Liuzheng and quickly placed her fingers on Moxiang's wrist.
"Here comes the water!" Yuzhui came running over with two bowls of water. "Liuzheng, how are you? Is Moxiang awake?"
"I'm fine." Chu Liuzheng said, "Sister Moxiang is fine too."
Yuzhui fed her some water, then turned to look at the Yulin Guards who were busy putting out the fire, frowning and saying, "How could this fire suddenly break out out of nowhere?"
"Someone set the fire." Mitsuki wet the handkerchief and wiped the dust off Moxiang's face.
Chen Xing supported his chin and nodded, then continued, "I knocked out a palace maid I don't know. After the fire is out, I can hand her over to the Imperial Guards for a thorough interrogation."
As expected of a secret guard, he is extremely efficient!
Chu Liuzheng gave a thumbs up in his heart and asked, "Where did you put her?" I hope she won't burn to death.
Chen Xing raised his hand and pointed to the roof opposite: "There."
A few people looked up, and in the thin moonlight, they could indeed see a dark shadow on the roof.
Yuzhui tilted his head to get a better look and asked curiously, "How did you throw her up there?"
"Sister, do you want to try it?" Chen Xing smiled, with dimples faintly visible on her cheeks.
Yuzhui felt an inexplicable chill on his back and shook his head quickly: "No, no, no, I don't want to."
Chen Xing pouted regretfully and looked at Chu Liuzheng. Without waiting for Chu Liuzheng to refuse, he looked away and sighed softly.
This person cannot be played with.
At this moment, a shrill voice pierced the sky, "Your Majesty has arrived!"
Everyone in Nongyun Garden was shocked. Except for those who were still fighting the fire, they all knelt to greet him, "Your Majesty, may you be well."
Xiao Jingfan strode over, his face grim and his jaw clenched. His cold eyes scanned the crowd for a moment, but he didn't see the person he wanted to see.
That woman must have...
Thinking of a possibility, he pursed his lips, the veins on the back of his hands bulged, and the Bodhi beads in his palms creaked.
Chu Liuzheng, kneeling in the corner with his body completely covered by the shadow of the tree, was secretly surprised.
[Frog fun! How did the tyrant come so soon? The fire hasn't even been put out yet, and Eunuch Zhou doesn't even try to persuade him. Isn't he afraid that the Queen Mother will find out and punish him?]
Hearing the familiar voice, Xiao Jingfan suddenly loosened his clenched hands and slowly ground his back teeth.
If you're not dead, don't even make a sound!
Zhang Hong came over quickly, bowed, and said, "The fire has not been put out yet. Your Majesty, please stop."
Xiao Jingfan looked up at the row of houses in front of him that were billowing with smoke and the Imperial Guards working hard to put out the fire, and nodded: "I won't go over there, you go and do your work."
"Yes!" Zhang Hong ran back to continue commanding.
Xiao Jingfan waved his hands towards the people who were still kneeling: "Everyone, please stand up. Is anyone trapped?"
"Your Majesty, no!" Chen Xing's voice was crisp and loud, and just one voice allowed Xiao Jingfan to determine her location.
He turned his head and looked. Under the dark shadows of the trees, only Chen Xing's pretty face was half exposed in the moonlight. The people beside her could not see her face clearly, but the hands exposed in the moonlight were wrapped in gauze.
His gaze rested on those hands for a moment, and he said, "Go forward and answer."
Chen Xing immediately grabbed Chu Liuzheng's wrist and pulled her to the emperor to answer.
Chu Liuzheng:? ?
Wait, what does this have to do with her?
The shadows of the clouds were floating, and the moonlight was bright. The two men left the shadows of the trees and bathed in the moonlight, their awful appearance clearly visible.
Xiao Jingfan glanced at Chu Liuzheng, and after seeing her appearance at this moment, his brows immediately frowned, his eyes were heavy, and his displeasure could be seen without words.
Chu Liuzheng curled his lips secretly.
"Yes, yes, yes. I know I don't look fit to see you now, but I didn't come here to bother you. If you want to glare at Chen Xing, go glare at me. Why are you glaring at me?"
[Speaking of which, wouldn't the tyrant just have me dragged out and chopped off just because he dislikes me? Just like he did with that dancer.]
Xiao Jingfan: "..."
He looked away and looked at Chen Xing: "What else do you know?"
"Your Majesty, someone deliberately set the fire," Chen Xing said. "I smelled smoke and got up to investigate. I saw a few dark figures in the courtyard, but they disappeared in a flash."
Eunuch Zhou was extremely worried about the safety of his Majesty. Upon hearing this, he said anxiously, "Your Majesty, we must catch those arsonists as soon as possible."
Xiao Jingfan said coldly, "Search the palace and make sure all the arsonists are apprehended."
Chen Xing volunteered: "Your Majesty, I have seen those arsonists. Please let me help you catch them."
Xiao Jingfan nodded: "Yes."
[Wow, Chen Xing is quite capable. The tyrant was just about to catch the exposed Xixia spy and punish him, but Chen Xing handed him a knife. Now Chen Xing is the only one who saw the arsonist, so when it comes time to arrest him, whoever she says is the real one?]
【Just a few people are missing.】
Chu Liuzheng quietly took out the list from the gossip and compared it with the list found by the secret guards.
[Let me take a look. What's missing are... Xiao Qingzi, the young eunuch who's in charge of trimming the flowers and trees in the Imperial Garden, Rong Qing, the maid who sweeps the floor in Maohua Palace, Madam Qi who delivers meals to the Cold Palace, and the Imperial Household Department...]
Xiao Jingfan silently memorized the names in his mind, feeling that this trip was not in vain.
*
Half an hour later, the fire was completely extinguished, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of smoke.
When the Empress Dowager and the Queen heard that Nongyun Garden was on fire, they hurriedly sent people to check out the situation.
Xiao Anzi said, "Please rest assured, Her Majesty the Queen Mother and Her Majesty the Empress, the fire has been put out and there are no casualties."
Nanny Zhao immediately chanted a Buddhist chant and went back with Gao Yongfu to report.
On this side, Zhang Hong led the Yulin Guards to search the fire scene and found that the fire started in the room next to Chu Liuzheng and the others, where Qiaoqiao and Yushu lived.
The two were responsible for taking care of the flowers in Wenhua Hall throughout the year. They not only had to water and prune the branches, but also had to place the right flowers at the right time.
It had to be suitable for the occasion, to please the emperor, and to change the style from time to time. I don't know how much effort the two of them put into it.
When they really have no idea, they will seek help from Chu Liuzheng and others. Although their relationship is not very close, it is still acceptable.
When the fire broke out, the two were in the greenhouse of the greenhouse selecting flowers to be arranged tomorrow and were not in the house.
The arsonist must have taken advantage of this opportunity, ran into the two people's room, set fire to flammable materials such as bed curtains, sheets, pillows, etc., and poured lamp oil to fan the flames, which burned all the way to the beams.
The beams of the houses in the row were connected, and it happened that there was a strong wind tonight. When Chu Liuzheng and Moxiang were woken up by the smoke, even the bed curtains were set on fire by sparks falling from the beams.
The two hurried to open the door, but it was locked from the outside, and the window was blocked by something and could not be opened at all.
The two of them shouted for help. Moxiang did not forget Chu Liuzheng's hand at this time. She protected her with both hands, but she fainted because she inhaled too much smoke.
If Chen Xing had not kicked open the window and jumped in with Si Yue to save people, Chu Liuzheng and Moxiang would have been burned to death.
Zhang Hong bowed and reported, "After investigation, I found that only the doors of Miss Liu Zheng and Miss Mo Xiang's rooms were locked by the criminals, and the windows were also bolted shut. The fire was likely set for those two girls."
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