Chapter Forty-Five
A few days later, in the middle of the night, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out in an abandoned courtyard in the capital. The entire capital was awakened from its sleep, and six huge fire dragons immediately shot up into the sky, turning half the sky completely red and burning with an incredibly eerie hue.
Then, a huge fire broke out, and the people around the courtyard fled in terror. Some of them remained calm and shouted, urging the terrified people to use the pots and pans they had to pour water and put out the fire.
The firefighters from Duting were the first to arrive at the scene, and water bags, water pumps, and other equipment were systematically deployed to fight the fire.
"Bang!" Another loud noise rang out, and a little girl whose cheeks were flushed red by the firelight covered her ears and cried out in fright.
"You! Go, evacuate the civilians!" An older man, dressed in his nightgown with a loose robe haphazardly over it, pointed at a rather green-looking night soldier and ordered. Judging from his composed command of the firefighting efforts, he must be the officer in charge of this group of young Duting night soldiers.
"Yes, sir!" A night soldier immediately picked up the gong from the watchman's hand, swung the stick, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone disperse! Don't gather around!"
"Scatter! Scatter!"
...
The night soldier's voice was unique, sharp and penetrating, somewhat like a rooster's crow, and soon the onlookers dispersed.
Before long, the Ministry of War personnel also arrived at the scene of the fire.
"Lord Wu." The head of the military headquarters twitched involuntarily when he saw the Vice Minister of War leading a group of men from the Ministry of War, who was also carrying an axe. He recognized the man as Wu Li, the son of the Minister of War, and the entire Ministry of War was practically under the control of the father and son.
Wu Li stared intently at the dilapidated courtyard, now completely burned beyond recognition, and asked calmly, "Do you know why it caught fire?"
The commander said, "Sir, there is gunpowder in the courtyard. I suspect the fire was caused by this gunpowder." He paused and said in a low voice, "There seems to be quite a lot of gunpowder inside."
Wu Li casually replied, "Yes! The soldiers at Duting Night Market were commendable for putting out the fire in time. I will report this to the Emperor."
The head of the military camp twitched again. Fire control was their duty, so why was this Vice Minister of War specifically emphasizing the need for "merit"? He secretly glanced at Minister Wu, wondering if this unusual hospitality was for some shady business...
Sure enough, Wu Li waved his hand, trying to swat away the thick smoke that was blown in front of him by the wind. He coughed twice, cleared his throat, and then said, "Since there is gunpowder in this abandoned courtyard, it is the Ministry of War's business."
The head of the pavilion looked ahead; the fire was almost extinguished. Upon hearing this, he immediately perked up, understanding the purpose of the Vice Minister of Summer Affairs' swift arrival. It seemed the fire wasn't the problem; the gunpowder was the key. Perhaps, this courtyard held hidden talents.
The commander of the pavilion squinted, gripped his axe, and said with a forced smile, "This subordinate understands. The commander is only responsible for putting out the fire. Once the fire is out, the night market soldiers should immediately withdraw to the pavilion to rest."
Wu Li nodded solemnly.
...
"Vice Minister Xia, the fire has been extinguished. I will lead my brothers to take our leave now." The head of the village, carrying a bucket in one hand and a rattan basket in the other, with some soot on his face, gave a slight bow.
Wu Li: "Alright, thank you for your hard work, brothers..."
Before he could finish speaking, the officer quickly shouted to the night soldiers, "Listen to my command, return to the pavilion and regroup."
The night soldiers were extremely disciplined. As soon as their commander finished speaking, they immediately assembled into three squads and disappeared from the sight of the Ministry of War personnel in a short while.
Wu Li: "..."
The Ministry of War personnel watched in disbelief as the night soldiers extinguished the fire with such fervor and then withdrew with such swift and frantic speed. They wondered if these men had been eating half a midnight snack and were now rushing back to finish their meal.
"Sir, why are you in such a hurry?" After the soldiers had walked a distance, the leader of their group approached them and asked.
"Didn't you realize this fire is serious? We lowly officers and soldiers should hurry up and leave, don't get involved in this mess." The commander grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and rubbed his face.
The night soldiers were completely baffled.
After scrubbing his face clean of the white snow, the commander of the pavilion stopped and gave a sinister instruction to the group of young night soldiers who had just been recruited into the pavilion.
“You’re inexperienced. The moment I saw that fire, I knew something was wrong. Such a huge fire, yet not a single civilian was injured. There were explosives inside, yet they didn’t all detonate; only a small portion exploded. Just imagine, if all those explosives had detonated, the entire capital would have been in an uproar, and there would have been countless deaths and injuries. Once a fire starts, don’t take any chances. Someone must have tampered with it, using some method to isolate the explosives and prevent them from detonating. Don’t forget the bombing of the palace. This matter will definitely reach the Emperor, and then a bunch of people will be waiting to use it against the Ministry of War.”
"What does this have to do with the Ministry of War?" another night soldier asked curiously.
The words that the commander was about to say twitched at the corner of his mouth, but he swallowed them back. "I don't know, but this matter is definitely not simple. Listen carefully, if anyone asks about the fire tonight, just say that you only went to put out the fire and know nothing else."
The young night soldiers responded in unison, whispering, "Yes, sir."
People who were planning to go to Yanxi Tower for drinks in the middle of the night saw a group of people under a big tree in front of them, carrying axes, hammers, buckets, ladders, fire hooks and other tools, whispering and discussing something. They thought they were bandits who were going to attack Yanxi Tower and ran home in fright.
...
Before dawn, after a group of soldiers from the Duting Night Market extinguished the fire in the abandoned courtyard, an even bigger fire broke out inside the Yunxiu Kingdom's palace.
In the Shuqing Hall, the Minister and Vice Ministers of the Ministry of War shrugged their shoulders, glancing at each other and secretly glancing at Emperor Zhaoming standing in front of the three men, filled with unease.
"Your Excellency, if this abandoned courtyard doesn't spontaneously combust, I'm afraid this gunpowder will blow up into the palace," Emperor Zhaoming said ominously.
"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty and deserve to die." The Minister of War, his old bones trembling as if they were about to fall apart, knelt down on the ground with a thud.
Emperor Zhaoming felt a rather unpleasant breeze brush against his face, and his brows furrowed. He was clearly startled by the Minister of War's sudden and incredibly swift movements. Looking at the emaciated figure kneeling before him, he could only suppress his anger and say, "Minister, at your age, let's not talk about life or death." He paused, his gaze falling on the Vice Minister beside the Minister of War, "The Vice Ministers are still young."
The Minister trembled slightly; he had a pretty good grasp of the Emperor's thoughts.
Emperor Zhaoming turned his back, his sleeve snapping with a sharp crack, sending a whirlwind of anger through the Minister's face. "The Yunxiu Kingdom's unauthorized manufacture of gunpowder is tantamount to treason. Minister, investigate this matter thoroughly for me. If you fail to do so, the Minister and Vice Minister of War may be replaced!"
The Minister shivered as he listened to Emperor Zhaoming's words, and stammered, "Yes."
"Father, the Emperor says he wants to thoroughly investigate this matter." Xia Guan Shilang Wu Li helped the Minister of War into the carriage.
The Minister rolled his eyes at him. "Investigate thoroughly? How? Arrest the Princess, and then what?"
Wu Li: "..."
The Minister sighed, "Wu Li, the Eldest Princess commands 150,000 Yunzhao troops of Yunxiu Kingdom. In five years, she has subdued neighboring countries with this army, and now even the Emperor is wary of her. Yunxiu Kingdom is only truly secure in the northern frontier. Do you think the Emperor would take action against the Eldest Princess even if she were to secretly manufacture gunpowder? Don't forget, secretly manufacturing gunpowder is a crime punishable by treason!"
Wu Li's face turned pale instantly. "Father, then..."
The Minister closed his old eyes, adopting a posture of waiting for death, and after a long while spoke, "Sigh, I thought I had gotten away with it, but I didn't expect to be caught red-handed with a single fire, and it just so happened to happen when the Princess returned to the capital. Has there been any movement from the Imperial Uncle's side?"
Wu Li: "Ever since the Princess returned to the capital, she has refused to see anyone, staying indoors. Imperial Uncle Yu and Granny Shen have pleaded with her several times, sending her all sorts of rare treasures, but she's returned them all. She says the Princess is unwell and it's inconvenient for her to receive guests. Imperial Uncle Yu has been persistent, personally patrolling in front of the palace gates, hoping to bump into her. For a month or so, the Princess hasn't stepped out of the palace." Indeed, the men he sent to stake out the palace gates hadn't seen the Princess step out either, but they had bumped into Imperial Uncle Yu several times.
Little did they know that with Zhao Shu's wormhole, Mo Yinghuo no longer needed to go through the main gate.
The Minister shook his head. "Right now, it's neither good to investigate nor not to investigate. Find some time to go see the First Prince."
Wu Li nodded.
On the unusually pink peach tree in the Princess's residence, a branch was weighed down with the first snow. With a "crack," it suddenly broke, and the accumulated snow fell to the ground, startling a few magpies in the tree.
Mo Yinghuo remained in the manor, practicing her archery. Since Zhao Shu's guidance last time, and with her diligent practice in recent days, her black iron arrows could now hit the bullseye of the stone.
There was one thing, however, that she couldn't match Zhao Shu's arrows: her arrows could never hit the target as steadily as Zhao Shu's. But there was nothing she could do about it. Zhao Shu had told her before that the people of Yelan were naturally strong, and he was one of the best among them. No matter how much she practiced, she couldn't reach Zhao Shu's level.
Talent is indeed a terrifying thing.
Zhu Chunhua held a quiver in her arms. Zhao Shu had recently obtained more than a dozen black iron arrows from the Military Affairs Department. After all, he was Lord Zhao of the Military Affairs Department, so he naturally had the advantage of being in a position of power. The arrows that were forged were naturally used for combat, and the rest were distributed to the archers for practice.
The quantity was limited, and with Yun Zhao's army of 50,000 archers, each archer only received two arrows. Initially, five archers shared one black iron arrow. The Military Affairs Office worked day and night to produce arrows, daring not to slack off under the Emperor's orders. Mo Yinghuo's family was considered wealthy, and the fact that they were able to obtain so many black iron arrows was largely thanks to the Military Affairs Ministers in their household.
"Bang!" Another arrow hit the bullseye.
Mo Yinghuo twisted her shoulders. After shooting arrows all day, and not just ordinary arrows, her shoulders and arms were already incredibly sore.
Zhao Shu stood to the side, looking every bit the master, and nodded in satisfaction. He said in a serious tone, "Your Highness, remember that the strength comes from the waist and back. Don't tense your shoulders and hands too much, or you won't get tired easily." Ever since the last time Zhao Shu personally taught Mo Yinghuo how to shoot arrows, although he didn't know why she looked strange, Zhao Shu had simply stood behind her, watching and instructing her.
The twilight shone through her snow-white skin onto Mo Yinghuo's face. A light sweat had already seeped from her forehead. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and she was about to ask for advice, "Zhao Shu..." Before she could finish speaking, she heard a series of hurried footsteps.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened," Granny Shen whispered in her ear.
Zhao Shu turned his face away, politely avoiding the question.
Mo Yinghuo's face suddenly turned serious. She tossed the longbow to Zhu Chunhua, stretched her shoulders, and said in a seemingly relaxed manner, "This princess is going to the palace."
Zhao Shu: "Your Highness, would you like me to come along?"
Mo Yinghuo was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'll be back as soon as I've taken care of it."
No sooner had they been about to leave than the head steward rode up to the Princess's residence on horseback.
Upon seeing that it was the Emperor's eunuch, Granny Shen quickly gave Zhu Chunhua a wink. This man, who was said to be General Long's chief guard, had come to the Princess's residence and, besides spending his days removing arrows for Mo Yinghuo and occasionally practicing his archery skills when the Princess was free, had learned the most remarkable skill: he could instantly understand the ever-changing information contained in Granny Shen's half-glance.
Just as Steward Pang made a move to dismount, Zhu Chunhua immediately sprang to the side of the horse like a monkey, steadily helping Steward Pang, who was not good at mounting and dismounting, down from his horse, thus taking over the job from the two young eunuchs beside Steward Pang.
"Your Highness, His Majesty said that Your Highness has not attended court recently and has been missing you dearly. He sent me here specifically to say, 'Please come to the palace to have a chat with your younger brother.'" the head steward said kindly.
Mo Yinghuo's eye twitched, and she couldn't help but shiver. She thought to herself, "He really misses me. When we were fighting on the border, I was stabbed several times by the enemy, but why didn't the Emperor say he missed me then? Now that he's back, he's already worried about me... I'm too unlucky to receive such attention." Mo Yinghuo tightened her sleeves and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Steward Pang. I was just thinking of the Emperor myself, and I was about to go to the palace. The horses are all ready. In that case, I will go to the palace with Steward Pang."
Granny Shen blinked again, and Zhu Chunhua helped the steward onto the horse's back with both hands.
Yu Guojiu, who had been lurking at the entrance of the Princess's residence, finally saw the Princess. His round face was overjoyed and he was about to go up and bump into her when he saw the steward coming out as well. The group cracked their whips and sped off towards the palace.
For the first time in his life, the emperor's brother-in-law felt that the horse he was riding was far too old and useless. He cracked the whip a few times, and the old horse neighed and swayed along the way, almost throwing the emperor's brother-in-law into the street.
When Wu Li, the Vice Minister of War, heard the messenger report that the Eldest Princess and the Chief Eunuch had entered the palace, he began to feel uneasy, and the First Prince's advice echoed in his ears.
"Since His Majesty has ordered the Ministry of War to conduct a thorough investigation, then let them conduct a thorough investigation. However, do not conduct a public investigation; conduct a secret investigation and then present the results to His Majesty so that he can make his own decision."
This is probably the only solution at the moment. Not only him, but even the First Prince couldn't figure out what the Emperor meant.
...
Zhao Shu stood quietly under the peach tree in the courtyard of the Princess's residence, looking up at the windless and starless night sky, which was as if it had been splashed with ink. The night was dark and unusually cold, but he was only dressed in thin clothes, yet he showed no sign of desolation and stood perfectly upright.
Granny Shen had been anxiously waiting at the entrance of the Princess's residence for a long time, but the Princess did not appear. She sneezed a few times in the cold wind. Zhu Chunhua quickly ran to fetch her an outer robe.
...
"Master Zhao, aren't you going to rest yet?" Granny Shen was just about to go to Mo Yinghuo's room to light a stove for her when she saw Zhao Shu standing under the tree in the distance. At first, she didn't look closely and even thought that His Highness had returned.
Zhao Shu: "Wait a minute."
Granny Shen: "Before His Highness went to war, he was just like Abbot Zhao, always standing under this tree every night, looking up at the starry sky, and looking in your direction."
"Granny Shen, why are there guards all over the Princess's residence?" Zhao Shu suddenly asked.
Granny Shen knew that this abbot was no ordinary person; to be precise, he was unfathomable. However, based on her accumulated experience in dealing with people and her intuition, she sensed that this person would never harm His Highness. In fact, he would wholeheartedly protect His Highness.
"If Abbot Zhao had come before, there would have been countless guards in the manor. Back then, you'd see groups of men everywhere you looked, like clumps of weeds." Granny Chen paused, and it seemed that was still the case... She shuddered and continued, "I don't know why, but since the young princess was born, there have always been assassins around her. The young prince has been injured countless times. But strangely, every time the guards arrived, the assassins would escape. No matter how hard we searched the entire manor, we couldn't find them. Back then, the prince would sleep with a knife every night, and it broke my heart to see it. It's a miracle that the princess is still alive today. But it seems that the assassins stopped appearing a year before the war. I guess they were intimidated by the guards in the manor and dared not come again."
Zhao Shu: "She doesn't seem to have mentioned these things before."
Granny Shen: "Her Highness has been able to endure since she was a child. Once, she was stabbed two or three times. Although she avoided fatal wounds, when Gongliang Zhong carried her out, Physician Lu treated her wounds. Her face was completely bloodless, but she still didn't utter a sound."
Zhao Shu stood perfectly upright, but his voice was low and hoarse, "Then why not have the guards watch over them?"
Granny Shen sighed, "Alas, I don't know why. Perhaps it's because the Princess is of noble birth, but her guards have been dying one after another. After several such incidents, the Princess stopped allowing anyone to accompany her."
A profound silence fell.
"Granny Chen, something terrible has happened!" Zhu Chunhua practically roared as she rushed in from outside, her voice preceding her arrival. The scattered guards in the Princess's residence were startled by her unprecedented shout, breaking out in a cold sweat. Their swords, already half-drawn, were abruptly sheathed when they saw it was the Princess's personal guard.
Granny Shen, with her haughty and domineering demeanor, stood beside Zhao Shu, unconsciously straightening her back ramrod straight, and said impatiently, "I've told you so many times, when you're serving the Princess, you must guard against arrogance and impatience..."
"Your Highness... has offended the Emperor and has been imprisoned!"
"What!" Granny Shen immediately erupted in shock.
The guards in the mansion drew their swords more than halfway from their sheaths, then withdrew them in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Shu stood aside, completely ignoring the two's startled reactions, and quietly raised his eyes to gaze at the moonless and starless night sky.
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