Chapter 64 Someone deliberately set fire
The old man gritted his teeth, then suddenly bit his tongue, spitting out blood and dying on the spot.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't get anything out of him," Black Wind said.
Holding Xiaodouzi in her arms, Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the children, who were all safe and sound. "It's alright, it's good that we were able to rescue them. From now on, we must be more careful and make sure no more children get hurt."
Pei Zhi walked over and patted Xiao Douzi's head: "Don't be afraid, no one will be able to bully you anymore."
Little Bean wiped away her tears and whispered, "Thank you, Sister Wanning, thank you, Brother Pei."
Ye Wanning smiled, feeling a warm glow inside. It was truly a close call; they had escaped unscathed this time.
However, she knew that the Tianyan Sect would not let them off so easily, and that the next step would be another difficult journey.
After sending the child back to Cining Hall, Ye Wanning dared not linger. She quickly took the map of the armory and went to the palace with Pei Zhi to see the emperor.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, on the unfolded sheepskin map, the Emperor's finger traced the markings of the border armory, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "Excellent! Excellent! With this map, the defenses of the Great Qi are secured. Wanqing has truly rendered a great service to the country!"
Just as Ye Wanning was about to reply, the Emperor changed the subject, his gaze falling on her: "Second Miss Ye, now that you have the Tiger Tally and the Armory Map, which you also found, these two items are related to the lifeline of the Great Qi. It is too much for a woman like you to carry. How about this, you hand them over to the court and let me send someone to manage them, so that you won't have to take any risks."
"Your Majesty is suspicious of me, fearing that I possess too much and might overshadow you." Ye Wanning was startled. She lowered her head and read aloud the small characters her mother had left on the map, then took a deep breath. When she raised her head again, her eyes were filled with determination: "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to hand it over. It's just that the Tiger Tally has recognized its master. When the late Emperor forged it, he placed a secret incantation on it. Only I can recite the incantation to mobilize the Western Region vassal kings and the armory. Moreover, the Tianyan Sect and the Turks are also watching us closely. They can even threaten children. If the Tiger Tally and the map are handed over to the court, I fear they will seize them by force. If power falls into someone else's hands, Your Majesty will be in trouble."
She paused for a moment, then said, "Moreover, didn't His Majesty say he wanted to take back power? I am not greedy for imperial power. Once we have driven away the Tianyan Sect and the Turks and eliminated the external threats, I will definitely return the tiger tally and map to the court with my own hands."
The emperor tapped his fingertips on the dragon throne, making a tapping sound. For a long time, he did not say a word, and the entire hall was so quiet that the crackling of the candle wick could be heard.
Pei Zhi timely reminded the Emperor: "Your Majesty, what Miss Ye said makes sense. These are turbulent times, and with the tiger tally and map in her hands, there should be no problem. I can guarantee that Miss Ye will have no ulterior motives."
The Emperor glanced at Pei Zhi, then at Ye Wanning, and finally nodded: "Alright, I'll trust you this time. But you must remember, these two things are the lifeblood of the Great Qi. If anything goes wrong, I'll take your life!"
"Your Majesty, I obey! I will certainly not fail in my duty!" Ye Wanning bowed respectfully, but inwardly she felt relieved. She knew that the Emperor had agreed, but he was still uneasy, and she would have to be more cautious in her future actions.
After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Pei Zhi followed behind her and whispered, "The Emperor is also worried about the loss of imperial power. Don't take it to heart."
“I understand,” Ye Wanning said. “As long as we can keep the Tiger Tally and the map, this temporary suspicion is nothing. However, the Tianyan Sect has suffered several major defeats, and they will definitely have bigger moves to make. We need to prepare quickly.”
To guard against retaliation from the Tianyan Sect, Ye Wanning strengthened the security of Ci'an Hall. The secret guards were divided into three shifts to patrol Ci'an Hall in shifts, and the Shadow Pavilion also sent ten elites to stay in Ci'an Hall. Even the Guanyin statue in the backyard of Ci'an Hall was guarded.
Even so, an accident still occurred.
On the night of the incident, Ye Wanning had just finished grading the homework of the children at Ci'an Hall when she smelled something burning. She rushed out of her room and saw a huge fire raging in the back room of Wanzhao Pavilion—the room where she kept the map of the military archives!
"Fire! Fire!" Ye Wanning shouted, and the guards and Shadow Pavilion members each grabbed a bucket of water and rushed over. The old manager, Su Zhong, also ran over with a wooden stick. He yelled for people to dismantle the building, used the stick to keep the fire out of reach, and rushed into the flames—the map was inside, it absolutely couldn't be allowed to burn!
Ye Wanning's heart leaped into her throat as she stared intently at the fire. Su Zhong, carrying a brocade box, rushed out of the flames. His arm, beneath his sleeve, had been burned through a large hole, revealing a bloody, mangled gash with bone faintly visible.
"Second Miss, the map is fine!" Su Zhong said, panting, as he handed over the brocade box.
Ye Wanning hurriedly took it, opened it, and saw that the map inside was indeed fine, so she was relieved.
"Quickly bandage the wound!"
Su Zhong pressed his stomach and said in a deep voice, "Second Miss, this fire was not an accident; someone deliberately set it!"
"What?" Ye Wanning was taken aback.
Ye Wanning's heart tightened. The employees of Ci'an Hall were all personally selected by Su Zhong, and they all came from impeccable families. It was impossible for anyone to have an unknown background. How could they have infiltrated the Tianyan Sect?
She quickly gave the order: "Call all the workers to the front yard! Not a single one can be missing!"
Soon, more than twenty workers stood in the front yard, heads bowed, none daring to speak. Ye Wanning asked them to extend their left hands, examining each one individually. When she saw a worker named Afu, she stopped. Afu had a crescent-shaped birthmark on his left wrist, exactly as Su Zhong had described!
"Afu, did you start the fire?" Ye Wanning's voice was cold.
Afu trembled with fear and knelt down with a thud: "Second Miss, I...I...I didn't mean it! The people from Tianyan Sect forced me! They said if I didn't do as they said, they would kill my mother!"
"What else did the Tianyan Sect make you do?" Ye Wanning asked, gripping the dagger in her hand even tighter.
"They...they made me monitor the Second Miss's every move, reporting your whereabouts to them every day," Afu said, trembling. "They also made me find an opportunity to steal the map of Hyogo, but I never found one, so they forced me to set fire to the place, trying to burn the map..."
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