Chapter 646: Burning the Library!
Zhao Yunci announced Gu Qingchen's "end" slowly and calmly.
"Come here, take Miss Gu to the library."
"Punish her to read through the 'Daily Records' of our dynasty since its founding, word for word. After three days, I will personally examine it. If she makes a single mistake..."
The emperor paused, his eyes deep.
"I'll have Imperial Doctor Meng use the longest needle to properly heal your overly active brain."
Library?
Daily records?
Gu Qingchen's face fell instantly.
There were piles of files recording the daily words and deeds of emperors of all dynasties. They were so boring that even a fly would fall asleep if it flew in.
Let her finish it? And then she has to take the exam?
This is worse than being whipped!
"No, Uncle Emperor!" Gu Qingchen wailed and rushed over to hug the emperor's thigh, but was stopped by the eunuch with quick eyes and hands.
"I was wrong! I was really wrong! Please punish me by making me copy books! I can copy as many as I want! Please don't let me read those things! They'll kill me!"
Zhao Yunci had a cold face and remained unmoved.
"As for the Crown Prince and Qian Zhenyun," he glanced at the other two little guys, "confine them to the Eastern Palace and make them copy the 'Book of Filial Piety' and 'Rules for Disciples' one hundred times each. They are not allowed to leave the palace until they have finished!"
After saying that, he turned around and didn't even look at the crying little girl.
Soon, the emperor was the only one left in the imperial study.
Outside the door, Gu Qingchen was being held by two eunuchs, one on each side, and dragged towards the library.
Her earth-shaking cries echoed throughout half of the palace.
"I don't want to go! I'm suffocating! I might as well be stabbed with a needle! Help, Dad! Mom! If you don't come back, your precious daughter will die from reading books!"
Zhao Yunci's face, which had turned black with anger before, now showed a sense of relief as if the sky had cleared up after the storm.
When he thought of Gu Qingchen's crying and wailing appearance when he was carried away by two eunuchs, the smile on his lips couldn't help but deepen.
To deal with this kind of devil, you have to use the thing she fears the most.
The whipping and beating were physical pain, but she endured it with her neck stiffened.
Only those boring books can truly wear down her edge.
The emperor, in a good mood, stood up and decided to go to the queen's palace to share his glorious achievements in "pacifying the civil strife" today.
In Fengyi Palace, Empress Su Wan was already preparing to rest, but she was a little surprised to see the emperor walking in excitedly.
"Your Majesty, you are here so late?"
Zhao Yunci waved away the palace maids and sat down beside the bed with a smug smile on her face: "Today, I finally found a good place for that girl from the Gu family."
He vividly recounted the farce that took place in the Golden Palace during the day, and how he later "outsmarted" Gu Qingchen in the Imperial Study.
After listening to this, Su Wan shook her head helplessly, and a trace of sadness appeared on her gentle face.
"This child should be properly disciplined." She sighed softly, "If she is so naughty, how can she take care of the Crown Prince and shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the Crown Princess if she enters the Eastern Palace in the future?"
Zhao Yunci nodded in agreement, "That's why I punished her by making her read the Daily Records. It's a good opportunity for her to learn some etiquette and see how the virtuous empresses of past dynasties behaved."
As the two were talking, the door of the bedroom was suddenly knocked, and the sharp and anxious voice of the eunuch chief was heard from outside.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It's bad! There's a fire!"
Zhao Yunci's brows furrowed instantly, and he asked in a deep voice, "Where's the flood? Why are you so panicked?"
The eunuch's voice was filled with tears, almost shouting: "It's the library! The library is on fire!"
"What?"
Zhao Yunci sat up straight from the bed.
Library?
Gu Qingchen is still inside!
His mind buzzed, and all his military achievements and pride were instantly thrown out of the window.
Gu Junze only has this precious baby. If something were to happen to him in his palace, the Duke of Zhenguo, who is so protective of his child, would probably come to fight him to the death with a knife!
"Quick! Get ready!"
Zhao Yunci's voice changed tone. She got out of bed, not even having time to put on her outer robe. She grabbed a cloak and rushed out.
Queen Su Wan's face was also pale. She also thought of the child and did not dare to delay for a moment. She immediately stood up and followed.
From afar, one could see flames rising into the sky, lighting up half the night sky red, and thick smoke billowing, mixed with the crackling sound of burning wood and the panicked shouts of the palace servants.
Zhao Yunci was extremely anxious all the way. When he ran outside the library, the place was already in chaos.
Hundreds of imperial guards and eunuchs ran back and forth carrying buckets of water, trying their best to put out the fire, but the fire was too big. The three-story attic, which was usually solemn and dignified, was now being mercilessly devoured by the raging flames.
"Where are the people? Where is Gu Qingchen?" Zhao Yunci grabbed a commander of the imperial guards who was running by and shouted with red eyes.
Ying Qing was startled and quickly pointed to a large tree not far away: "Your Majesty, calm down. Little Qingchen is fine. He was rescued early this morning!"
Zhao Yunci and Su Wan looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, they saw a small figure sitting alone on a stone step.
The child was wrapped in an imperial guard's outer robe, and his face was black and white from being smoked, like a little cat just pulled out of a stove.
He was hugging his knees, staring blankly at the sea of fire.
Zhao Yunci's heart, which had risen to her throat, finally fell back to its original place with a "thump".
As long as everyone is okay, it's good. As long as everyone is okay, it's good.
He breathed a long sigh of relief. As long as the little ancestor was not missing any limbs, burning down a library did not seem to be an unacceptable thing.
At this moment, Gu Qingchen on the stone steps seemed to have noticed their arrival.
She slowly turned her head and saw the emperor and empress, and her eyes, which seemed particularly bright in the firelight, blinked.
Then, she opened her mouth, revealing an extremely brilliant smile, and her neat little white teeth were particularly eye-catching on her pitch-black little face.
The breath that Zhao Yunci had just let out of her stomach was instantly held back again, blocking her chest, unable to go up or down.
He felt his temples throbbing.
Queen Su Wan was heartbroken. She walked forward quickly, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, squatted down, and carefully wiped the ashes off her face.
"Qingchen, are you hurt anywhere? Are you scared?"
Gu Qingchen shook his head and let the queen wipe his face gently, but his eyes were still glancing at the emperor not far away.
Soon, with the strenuous efforts of a large number of imperial guards, the fire in the library was finally brought under control and gradually died out, leaving only charred ruins and choking smoke.
Zhao Yunci looked at the attic that had been burned to the point where only the frame was left, and her heart was bleeding.
He stepped forward, his voice a little hoarse from the heartache: "What's the damage?"
"Your Majesty, the losses are heavy. The rare books and notes from previous dynasties collected in the pavilion have been almost...almost destroyed."
When Ying Qing said this, he subconsciously glanced at the safe and sound little man next to him out of the corner of his eye.
Zhao Yunci only felt a black screen in front of his eyes and his body shook.
Those are priceless treasures! They are the result of countless generations of hard work!
He suppressed the severe pain in his heart, stared at the culprit with a sharp gaze like a knife, and said, "Tell me! How did the fire start?"
Being glared at by him, Gu Qingchen shrank his neck, and the fearlessness he had just shown disappeared without a trace in an instant.
She stood up from the stone steps, lowered her head, and nervously tugged at the corners of her clothes with her two small hands.
"It's...it's too dark in there. The bookshelves are so high and close together. I can't even see the way through with just one candlestick."
As she spoke, she secretly looked up to observe the emperor's expression.
"I...I just thought I'd light a few more candlesticks to make it brighter and easier to find books."
Her voice became softer and softer, until it was almost inaudible.
"Who knew... who knew those bookshelves were so fragile? I accidentally knocked one over when I was moving the candlesticks, and then... and then it caught fire so easily..."
Zhao Yunci's eyes went dark at first, then dark again.
He felt his blood rushing up to his head like crazy.
Gu Junze! When will you come back? Hurry up and take this little ancestor of yours away to me!
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Someone come!"
"Take her back! Ground her! Ground her..."
"Without my order, you are not allowed to step out of the door!"
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