Chapter 342: The Ashes Hidden Tricks, the Night Dew Brings a Cold
The night wind, carrying a scorching smell, swept across the crumbling walls of the west courtyard. Moonlight filtered through the charred window frames, casting spiderweb-like shadows on the ground. Little Swallow yawned, leaning against a porch pillar. The pearl tassels on her temples swayed gently with her movements, and a faint dark hue clung to her eyes—two months pregnant, she always had trouble sleeping at night.
"Yongqi," she tugged at her husband's sleeve, her voice soft as if she had just woken up, "I'm very sleepy, I'll leave this to you." Her fingertips accidentally touched the jade pendant on his waist. It was a red rope she had woven with her own hands, and it emitted a warm light in the night.
Yongqi immediately turned around and reached out to smooth the collar of her cloak. The dark-colored cloak, embroidered with lotus flowers at the edges, was a gift from Ziwei last year. A corner was now lifted by the night breeze. "I'll have Xiao Dengzi take you home." He brushed his thumb across her cheek. "Go slowly on the way, don't catch a cold."
Xiaoyanzi nodded, her eyes glancing at Zhihua, who stood nearby. She was still crying, her shoulders shaking, her white skirt stained with black dust, looking like a frightened, fragile woman. But those eyes, which occasionally glanced toward the ruins, held something colder than the night dew.
"Shuntian Prefecture Governor," she suddenly spoke, her voice soft but clear, "This fire is suspicious. I'd like you to investigate carefully. Especially..." She paused, her gaze settling on the burnt rose bush, "see if there's anything else among the flowers besides the reeds."
The Shuntian prefect quickly bowed and said, "Don't worry, Princess. I will investigate carefully."
Zhihua's sobs suddenly stopped, and the handkerchief nearly slipped from her hand. Nanny Li gently tugged at the hem of her clothes from behind, and the two exchanged a panicked glance.
Without looking at them, Xiaoyanzi turned and headed towards the East Courtyard. Xiaodengzi followed closely behind, carrying a sheep-horn lantern. The light from the lantern cast tiny specks of light on the bluestone pavement. When she reached the Moon Gate, she suddenly stopped and glanced back at the West Courtyard. Although the fire was out, the ruins seemed to hold countless pairs of eyes.
"Little Dengzi," she whispered, "when the fire started just now, did you see a dark shadow on the west courtyard wall?"
Little Dengzi was stunned for a moment and scratched his head. "Oh my goodness, I was so busy putting out the fire that I didn't see it...Princess, did you see it?"
Xiaoyanzi shook her head, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the laces of her cloak: "Maybe my eyes are blurry. Let's go back, Mianrui should be awake by now." But she knew in her heart that the black shadow was extremely fast and was definitely not a servant in the mansion.
The candlelight in the east courtyard was warm and bright, and the nurse was pacing back and forth, holding the crying Mianrui. When the little guy saw Xiaoyanzi, he immediately stretched out his arms to be held, babbling like a little bird looking for a nest.
"Are you hungry?" Xiaoyanzi took her son and unbuttoned his clothes skillfully. At the moment when Mianrui was sucking on her nipple, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark figure squatting on the old locust tree outside the window - it was not an illusion!
Her heart skipped a beat, but she remained expressionless as she gently patted her son's back. After Mianrui had eaten and fallen asleep, she said to Xiao Zhuozi, who was guarding the door, "Go tell the prince that I can't sleep and ask him to come back soon after he finishes his investigation."
As Xiao Zhuozi left, the dark figure outside the window moved. Xiaoyanzi suddenly grabbed the soft sword beside her pillow and quietly pushed open the back window. In the moonlight, the dark figure was moving towards the west courtyard, its sleeves fluttering, revealing a crescent-shaped jade pendant at its waist.
It's someone from E Min's house! Her pupils shrank, and fragments of memories from her past life suddenly came flooding back - E Min had some unclear dealings with Zhihua's father, Chen Bangzhi.
"Princess?" The nurse was awakened by the noise and rubbed her eyes and looked out. "What's wrong?"
"It's okay." Xiaoyanzi closed the window, her fingertips turning white from the force. "The wind is strong, so I closed the window."
Meanwhile, in the west courtyard, Yongqi was staring at the evidence handed to him by the Shuntian prefect—a small piece of reed stained with oil. "I found this on the beam in the study," the Shuntian prefect pointed at the black mark on the reed. "It smells like pine oil, obviously it was soaked in it."
Zhihua's face turned pale, and her lips trembled: "No... Impossible... How could this be in my study?"
Yongqi didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on another piece of burnt cloth—the same one Xiaoyanzi had found among the rose bushes that afternoon. "Madame Li," he suddenly said, his voice as cold as ice, "who usually takes care of Concubine Li's study?"
Nanny Li knelt down with a plop, her face as pale as paper. "Your Highness, it's...it's Xiao Cui and I who take turns taking care of it..."
"Where's Xiao Cui?"
"Xiao...Xiao Cui just said she wasn't feeling well and asked for leave to go home..."
Yongqi sneered and said to the guards, "Go and find Xiao Cui for me. I want her alive or dead."
Zhihua's body swayed and she almost fell. "Your Highness," she grabbed Yongqi's sleeve, her nails almost digging into his flesh, "You have to believe me, I really don't know anything..."
Yongqi shook her hand off, the gold thread on his cuffs gleaming in the moonlight. "Concubine, you'd better go back to your room and rest, lest we find out something later and pollute your eyes."
Zhihua froze in place, watching Yongqi's back as he turned and walked towards the ruins. The last bit of tenderness in her eyes shattered into ice.
The candles in the east courtyard were still burning. Xiaoyanzi leaned against the window, her fingertips tracing the cold window frame. Faint sounds of arguing drifted from the west courtyard, and she knew Yongqi must have uncovered something. And the dark figure that vanished into the night was like a thorn, piercing her heart. Zhihua wasn't the only one behind this fire.
The copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind. Xiaoyanzi touched her still flat belly, her eyes gradually becoming determined. No matter who dared to touch her children and family, she would make them pay with blood.
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