The Ruan family was gone, so Madam Zheng would naturally not let her son marry Ruan Mingyu again, and she would not care about the child in her belly. Although there were some rumors, they would slowly subside over time. Only next spring, Zheng Yiyang might not be in the emperor's eyes because of his reputation. Thinking of this, Madam Zheng could only suppress her anger. The Ruan family was gone, and the Xiao family was the victim. She had no place to make trouble.

After this incident, Xiao Yunya seldom went out except when necessary. Although it was not her fault, there were still some gossips, and she did not want to go out to avoid causing trouble. She also became less concerned about marriage. Su could only secretly put the Zheng family on the blacklist and put Xiao Yunya's marriage on hold, thinking about whether there would be any young talents in the next spring examination.

But when she thought that there was still more than half a year before the imperial examination, and Xiao Yunya's mood would continue to be depressed, Su was anxious and angry. She could only vent her grievances to Madam Su when she came to the house to relieve the depression in her heart.

At this time, Jiangnan.

Most of the disasters were under control after Prince An arrived. Grain was distributed to the victims one by one, and the price of grain dropped because the leading profiteers were executed, so that ordinary people could also buy rice and grain. As for the memorials submitted, the emperor had not issued an order yet, so he did not take any action, but secretly kept a close eye on the people to prevent them from doing anything desperate.

Late at night, the city of Jinling was dark. Suddenly, the courtyard where Prince An and his men lived burst into flames. The fire spread so quickly that it set the entire house on fire.

The sudden fire made everyone stunned, but then there was a commotion, and everyone picked up buckets to get water to put out the fire. When the guards thought about the prince, the son of a marquis, several children of noble families, and important officials living in this house, they broke out in cold sweats. When they thought about how if so many important people were injured, their families would not be able to afford the compensation!

The guards and servants worked non-stop to put out the fire, but the fire still burned raging for two hours. When the fire was out, the sky was already turning white, and the entire house had turned into ruins. There was no sign that this was once the residence of the Governor of Jiangnan.

"Where is the prince? Where is the prince!!"

After the fire was put out, the guard who led the fire-fighting team looked for Prince An everywhere, but he couldn't find him at all. Thinking that Prince An and others might be engulfed by the fire, the guard's smoke-blackened face showed no expression, but he was shaking as if he was extremely frightened.

The Jiangnan Patrol Officer standing by seemed anxious to have people look for Prince An and the others, but he showed a hint of pride. When he heard that Prince An could not be found, the curve of his mouth became more and more obvious. It seemed that with such a big fire, no one could escape.

"This wonderful house is gone just like that? Fortunately, I am in a good mood tonight..."

Before Jiangnan Xunfu could suppress his smile, he heard the teasing taunts behind him. The smile on his face froze and he turned his head in disbelief. When he saw Prince An and others standing behind him in good health without a trace of evil, his heart sank.

"My lord, my lord..."

The Jiangnan governor stepped forward cautiously, and knelt down to plead guilty along with other officials who had heard the news.

"Forgive me? If I were to perish in the fire, you would have exterminated all of my clans. Now you are still hoping for my forgiveness?"

Prince An curled his lips and looked at the Jiangnan Patrol kneeling there trembling, with a sneer on his face. If his secret guards had not discovered the conspiracy, he would have really fulfilled the dog official's wish. As for the traitorous servant, he would never let him die so easily.

"Your Highness! You know that I and others were busy comforting the disaster victims during the day. We were so exhausted after working for more than a month that we fell into a deep sleep at night. I didn't notice the fire where Your Highness lived earlier. I have already asked the patrol troops to put out the fire. Fortunately, Your Highness is safe and sound, otherwise I would be blamed for it!"

The Jiangnan Inspector General spoke these words with great emotion. If Prince An did not know the truth, he would have applauded him to encourage him.

"It seems that Patrolman Chen really cares about me. Should I ask for your permission to reward you?"

Chen Xun stroked his palms and sweated. He was not sure what Prince An meant and did not know how to respond. He knew that Prince An was the emperor's confidant and was very resourceful. If he died today, they would not lose their lives. After all, fires are unpredictable, but it would be troublesome if the person was fine.

"Your Highness, the day is about to dawn. I believe that Prince Pei has already interrogated the person. Shall we go and take a look?"

Xiao Yunyan smiled faintly and spoke in a very gentle voice, but when Patrol Chen and the other officials heard this, they were shocked. They actually caught someone! Then, Prince An must have known that the fire was intentional and not an accident!

Chen Xunfu raised his head with difficulty, looking at Prince An's sneering face and Xiao Yunyan who seemed to be smiling behind him, and gritted his teeth to test the waters.

"I wonder who the interrogation Master Xiao is talking about is? Is it related to what happened tonight?"

Xiao Yunyan glanced at Chen Xunfu, whose face looked a little pale, and said with a smile:

"I won't bother you with that, Master Chen."

Xiao Yunyan glanced at the house and said:

"But I have one thing to trouble you with, Lord Chen. This house has burned down, and you need a place to rest. Is Lord Chen's house convenient?"

Chen Xunfu was shocked when he heard this. He wanted to refuse but couldn't. He could only welcome the person into Xunfu Mansion politely. There were not many people living there. Apart from Prince An, there were only Xiao Yunyan and Pei Lingfeng. The other officials from the capital could only live in the post station. Pei Lingfeng was still interrogating the people who had set off the fire. Only Prince An and Xiao Yunyan went there first with their guards.

Chen Xunfu's mansion was much more exquisite than the one Prince An had lived in before. Xiao Yunyan looked around as he walked along, and said to Prince An with a smile:

"This house is not inferior to Prince An's mansion. Look at this garden, it is more exquisite than the mansion. Before I go back, I will also find a skilled craftsman in Jiangnan to renovate the garden of the Xiao Mansion. Lord Chen, I will trouble you to recommend it when the time comes."

Xiao Yunyan's words made Chen Xunfu break out in cold sweats. As Prince An's expression became more and more unhappy, Chen Xunfu secretly wondered if there was any way to cover up the past.

However, before Chen Xunfu could think it through, several people had already arrived at the courtyard where Prince An and his companions lived. By this time, it was already dawn.

After a busy night, everyone felt a little tired. After washing up, they waited for Pei Lingfeng to come.

"Why? That slave still won't speak?"

Prince An narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a frightening light. The one who set the fire this time was a cook who came from the palace, and was a favored one by the Empress Dowager, who had been there when the palace was just built. The Empress Dowager would certainly not harm her own son, so this person was either bribed after coming here, or he was originally a spike arranged by someone else. If it was the latter, he was able to hide from the Empress Dowager's ears and eyes and stay in the palace for many years without being discovered, which shows that he was hiding very well. If he was not exposed this time, he would not know when he would be killed when he returned to Beijing in the future.

"I found out it's the Qiao family." Pei Lingfeng spoke in a somewhat dull voice, which made Prince An and Xiao Yunyan frown.

"Qiao family? Which Qiao family?"

"Ten years ago, the Qiao family was exiled to Liangzhou because of Prince Zhuang's rebellion. This person was a spike planted in the palace in the early years. In order to return to the capital, the Qiao family established a connection with the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion. As for the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion, Mrs. Zhong is the Pingnan Marquis's sister. This arson is most likely related to them. I guess the secret letter made the emperor determined to deal with the officials involved. They are desperate and are afraid that we have other evidence in our hands to wipe out the power they have worked hard to build in Jiangnan."

Pei Lingfeng's face was very ugly after he finished speaking. Who could have thought that such an important nail was buried in the palace? In the previous life, Prince An lived to the end, and this nail must have been discovered. Then, what about the Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion? Could there be a nail that is unknown to the public?

Pei Lingfeng was very worried. Although important positions in the Marquis' Mansion were filled by family-born sons, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be any accidents. He had to sort out the servants in the Mansion when he returned this time.

"Their hands are really long..." Prince An sneered, his eyes full of bloodthirsty murderous intent.

"With such a long arm, we must chop it off. An Yi, chop off the head of that dog slave and send it to Marquis Pingnan. Ling Feng, you can start the things you arranged before. Before I return to the capital, I want to destroy the Zhong family's influence in the army. Even if I can't kill that old bastard Zhong Shijie, I will tear a piece of his flesh and blood off!"

Pei Lingfeng naturally accepted the order. As for Xiao Yunyan, he spoke only after the two of them finished speaking:

"The Qiao family was once a prominent family, not inferior to the Xiao family. Even if the late emperor and the emperor purged them thoroughly, it is impossible that they only have this one pawn in their hands. There must be other people in the capital, and they may not only have connections with the Hepingnan Marquis Mansion. Also, the Queen Mother must have trusted the prince to give this person to him. They can send people to the Queen Mother, so it is very likely that there is more than one person, and the emperor may also have one."

Xiao Yunyan's words made Prince An look even uglier. The two most important people in his life were in the palace. Who knows, they might be assassinated one day. How could this be tolerated?

"Intensify the work in Jiangnan. Ah Yan, you will personally monitor the reconstruction of the dike. I will assign a few secret guards to you."

"Then, Your Majesty, what about the fire last night?" Xiao Yunyan asked.

"The words of a dog slave cannot be used to convict him. The Qiao family is thousands of miles away. Pingnan Hou is an old fox and will not leave any clues. This matter can only be resolved like this... However, if they want to kill me, it depends on whether they have the ability to do so."

Prince An sneered:

"No matter who the mastermind is, as long as anyone is involved, I will not let them off the hook! Even if I report them to my brother, I will not let them off in private. I will make them know what it means to live a life worse than death."

Xiao Yunyan smiled indifferently, he knew this would happen.

"That's fine. I'm tired too, so I'll go back and rest first."