Mu Zhuohua returned to her room, changed her bloodstained clothes, washed herself a bit and went to bed to rest. She wanted to take a nap to get enough rest, but she couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was in a mess, and she couldn't even calm down to think about the problem.
The fire in the palace had awakened many people. No one in Dingjing was destined to sleep that night.
Mu Zhuohua turned over and sat up, changed into her official robe, looked in the mirror to retouch her pale face, and took a ginseng slice and pressed it under her tongue to refresh herself. Guo Juli was awakened by the noise outside. He got up and saw that Mu Zhuohua's room was brightly lit. He knocked on the door and asked, "Miss, are you awakened too?"
The door opened, and Guo Juli saw Mu Zhuohua in her official robes. He was stunned for a moment: "Miss, what are you doing wearing official robes so early? Didn't you say that His Majesty went to the palace and didn't have to attend court for the time being?"
Mu Zhuohua said solemnly: "Juli, the palace is on fire. I'm afraid something big has happened. You stay at home and I'll go out to see."
Guo Juli was startled: "The palace is on fire? Miss, how did you know?"
Mu Zhuohua did not answer, but glanced at the red night. The fire reflected the darkness before dawn.
"You stay at home and don't need to know too much."
After Mu Zhuohua finished speaking, he picked up a small package and went downstairs and entered the courtyard next door.
Liu Yan had finished his bath. Zhimo helped him clean up and put on new clothes. At this time, he was lying on the bed with steady breathing. His pulse showed signs of improvement, but his face was still pale and ugly.
Mu Zhuohua gave Liu Yan another acupuncture treatment and asked Zhimo to go to the palace to get information.
Zhimo hurried back and forth and said to Mu Zhuohua: "Your Majesty and the Queen Mother... I'm afraid they were both killed in the fire."
Mu Zhuohua moved his fingers and felt his heart almost stopped.
The fire came inexplicably, and what was even more terrifying was why did His Majesty and the Queen Mother die?
Mu Zhuohua's eyes fell on Liu Yan's face, but he heard Zhimo say firmly: "The prince has a deep brotherly love for His Majesty and would never harm His Majesty."
Mu Zhuohua said: "No matter how we guess, it's useless. We'll know the truth when the prince wakes up."
Mu Zhuohua also didn't believe that Liu Yan would kill Emperor Zhaoming, but the Queen Mother...
and this fire, who started it.
"Your Highness must wake up and take charge of the situation before the princes arrive." Mu Zhuohua said in a deep voice, "His Majesty has passed away, and the group is leaderless. Now only Your Highness can control the situation."
Zhimo looked at Liu Yan's pale face and doubted, "Your Highness is so seriously injured, can he make it in time?"
Mu Zhuohua took a deep breath and said, "Believe him, he can."
Mu Zhuohua asked Zhimo to prepare court clothes and carriages, and she stimulated the acupuncture points to wake Liu Yan up.
Now the situation is dangerous, Liu Yan wakes up in time, not only to suppress the people who are ready to make a move, but also to prove his innocence. If he falls asleep at this time, I'm afraid
he can only be bullied. Mu Zhuohua leaned over his ear and whispered, "Your Highness, wake up soon..."
"If you don't wake up, this world will be in chaos..."
"Your Highness..."
"Your Highness..."
The warm breath brushed his ears and cheeks, but did not wake him up.
Mu Zhuohua sighed, lowered her eyes and looked at the pale face, and involuntarily reached out and held his fingertips. His fingertips were slightly cold, but were slowly warmed by her soft palms.
Mu Zhuohua always felt that she had a lot to say to him, but in the end she just looked at his closed eyes and sighed slowly.
"Liu Yan..."
Liu Yan's fingers moved slightly and brushed across her palms.
Mu Zhuohua clenched his fingers in surprise: "Prince, you are awake!"
Liu Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and it seemed that he took a lot of effort to open his eyes. His eyes slowly fell on Mu Zhuohua's face. His eyes were dark and blank, and he seemed to not remember what day it was. After a long time, those painful memories came like a landslide and tsunami, making him frown, and a trace of pain flashed across his eyes.
"Prince, I'm glad you woke up!" Mu Zhuohua smiled happily.
Liu Yan looked at Mu Zhuohua and asked in a hoarse voice: "Why are you here?"
Mu Zhuohua said: "Your Highness, you are mentally injured and unconscious. I am here to treat you."
Liu Yan glanced at the gate and asked: "Where are Zhijian and Zhimo?"
Mu Zhuohua said: "Your Highness, the palace caught fire. His Majesty and the Queen Mother died in the fire."
Liu Yan was startled and subconsciously clenched Mu Zhuohua's hand: "When did it happen?"
Mu Zhuohua said: "It was one or two hours after Your Highness left the palace."
Liu Yan wanted to sit up, but he was too weak to use any strength. Mu Zhuohua immediately stepped forward to help him sit up, and at the same time told him the current situation: "Your Highness, Dingjing is likely to be in chaos. Someone has gone to the palace to inform the princes of the news. The garrison in the capital is under attack. "I took the initiative to let Zhijian take the prince's military token to Juliang Pass to mobilize troops to avoid any accidents in Dingjing. Please forgive me, prince."
Liu Yan glanced at Mu Zhuohua and said, "You did the right thing."
Mu Zhuohua said again, "According to the distance, the three princes should enter the city in more than an hour. Your Majesty must rush to the palace as soon as possible to preside over the situation, so I dared to wake up the prince. At this moment, Zhimo has prepared the carriage outside."
Liu Yan nodded lightly: "Let's go immediately."
Mu Zhuohua took Liu Yan's court clothes from the table beside him and said, "Prince, let me help you change clothes."
Although Liu Yan woke up at this time, he was very weak and could only let Mu Zhuohua help him change into court clothes. The distance between the two was very close, but Mu Zhuohua could feel Liu Yan's alienation, which made her inexplicably sad. She obviously helped him, why did he have this attitude?
Mu Zhuohua helped Liu Yan put on his official robes, then took out a porcelain bottle from a small package and poured out an amber pill.
"Your Highness, take this pill, it will help you regain some strength."
Without asking any more questions, Liu Yan took the pill from Mu Zhuohua and put it into his mouth and swallowed it.
Zhimo came in at this time and saw that Liu Yan had woken up and changed into his official robes. He was overjoyed and said, "Your Highness, you are really awake!"
Liu Yan nodded to Zhimo and said, "Go to the palace immediately."
In the carriage, Liu Yan leaned back against the cushion and closed his eyes to restore his energy. The pill that Mu Zhuohua gave him burned warmly in his stomach, slowly restoring his cold limbs.
Mu Zhuohua knelt beside Liu Yan, pursed her lips and said nothing, lowered her head and pinched the corner of her clothes. When she wanted to get in the car just now, Liu Yan refused. It was she who stubbornly insisted, saying that she was worried about Liu Yan's health, and with Zhimo's help, Liu Yan let her get in the car.
Liu Yan clearly wanted to draw a line between him and her, but it was Mu Zhuohua who followed him shamelessly. Seeing Liu Yan's attitude, Mu Zhuohua understood the seriousness of the incident, which was far worse than before...
Mu Zhuohua felt as if a thorn had pierced her heart, and suddenly she heard Liu Yan ask, "You are the one who invited His Majesty here."
Liu Yan did not use a question, but a calm statement.
Mu Zhuohua raised her head and met Liu Yan's dark and deep eyes. She nodded stiffly and said, "I... I found a waist badge from the Queen Mother's palace in Xue Xiaotang's residence. Combined with other evidence, I guessed that the Queen Mother was behind everything. I was worried that the Queen Mother would harm the prince, so I took the initiative to go to the palace to ask His Majesty for help."
Liu Yan listened to Mu Zhuohua's explanation, his expression was still indifferent, and people could not guess what he was thinking.
Mu Zhuohua asked cautiously, "Prince, what exactly happened in the palace?"
Liu Yan glanced at her and said lightly, "Don't know too much."
Mu Zhuohua bit her lip, lowered her head and pinched the corner of her clothes: "I know... Your Majesty doesn't want me to be involved, but... Your Majesty said that no matter what we do, in the eyes of others, we are people in the same boat."
Liu Yan's gaze fell on her profile again, and the corners of her slightly pursed lips revealed a hint of grievance and dissatisfaction.
"I am the prince's man. This is an indisputable fact in the eyes of others. It cannot be denied by the prince's alienation from me." Mu Zhuohua raised her head and stared at Liu Yan with burning eyes. Her little face was full of stubbornness and insatiable resentment. "The prince is unwilling to tell what happened in the palace last night. He wants to face the dangerous court situation alone. But if something really happens to the prince, I will not have a good ending. Since it has been destined to share weal and woe, why not face it side by side. Although my ability is limited, I can at least help the prince solve his problems!"
If it weren't for her cleverness and alertness today, Liu Yan would probably have been killed by the Queen Mother. Even if he had held the sword, he would have received her favor, but Liu Yan pushed her away like this...
Liu Yan looked at Mu Zhuohua in a daze. With her intelligence, she should be able to realize what she was going to face. Her temperament can be said to be selfish. She would not do anything without benefits. Why did she have to follow him and stand on the side of the unfavorable situation?
Mu Zhuohua reached out and grabbed Liu Yan's sleeve, and said stubbornly: "Your Highness, don't try to kick me off the boat. You forced me to stand on your side. Now it's too late for me to cling to others' thighs. You have to be responsible for me!"
Liu Yan lowered his eyes, looked at the little hand holding his sleeve, and suddenly curled his lips and smiled: "Okay."
Mu Zhuohua was delighted and said with a smile: "Then Your Highness, tell me, what happened last night?"
Mu Zhuohua helped Liu Yan lean on the cushion, and then heard Liu Yan say: "The Queen Mother wanted to poison me with Huanyang Powder, and His Majesty came and drank the glass of wine for me."
Mu Zhuohua took a breath of cold air. She never thought that it would end like this. Liu Yan said it simply, but she outlined the whole story in an instant.
"What about the Queen Mother? What happened to the fire?" Mu Zhuohua asked.
Liu Yan frowned and shook his head, saying, "I don't know. I had already left the palace at that time. When I left the palace, the Queen Mother was still there."
Mu Zhuohua asked in confusion, "Could it be that the Queen Mother set the fire?"
"We can only go into the palace to check it out."
As he spoke, the carriage slowed down, and Zhi Mo's voice sounded outside, "Your Highness, there are many people gathered at the palace gate, and the carriage cannot get close."
Liu Yan said, "Stop here."
Liu Yan lifted up his robe and was about to get off the car, but Mu Zhuohua grabbed his sleeve. He turned around and looked at Mu Zhuohua in confusion.
Mu Zhuohua pulled Liu Yan's sleeve and asked him to sit down: "Your Highness, wait a minute, your complexion is too bad, it will make people see the flaws, I will help you to fix it."
Mu Zhuohua said as she opened her small package and took out a small wooden box, which contained a plate of powder creams of various colors.
"This is..." Liu Yan asked with a frown.
"My unique secret makeup cream is harmless and tasteless, and will not let people see the flaws."
Mu Zhuohua said, using the fingertips of her right hand to pick up some light yellow powder, and said to Liu Yan: "Your Highness, close your
eyes first." Although Liu Yan had some doubts, he still closed his eyes as he was told. Mu Zhuohua's warm fingertips fell on the skin under his eyes, gently pressing, covering the dark blue under his eyes. After a moment, Liu Yan opened his eyes again when he felt her put her hand down.
Mu Zhuohua changed her index fingertips to pick up red rouge, and the fingertips fell on Liu Yan's soft lips. Both of them were stunned. Mu Zhuohua knelt in front of Liu Yan. The close distance made each other's breathing and temperature extremely clear, and also made the suddenly chaotic heartbeat nowhere to hide. Mu Zhuohua forced herself to stare at Liu Yan's lips, watching the pale lips dyed with a faint blood color under her gentle application. The soft touch and the deep gaze from above made her heart tremble slightly. Last night, she fed him medicine orally. At that time, she only remembered bitterness and worry. Now she recalled the beauty and ambiguity. It was her own hand that pressed his lips, but she felt a numbness on her lips that shouldn't have been there, which made her unconsciously purse her lips and swallow.
Mu Zhuohua's originally white cheeks were now stained with a bright red color. Every tiny change did not escape Liu Yan's attention. He smiled silently, pulled down Mu Zhuohua's wrist, and whispered, "That's enough."
Mu Zhuohua came back to her senses, rubbed her hands awkwardly, coughed twice, and said, "Your Highness, please go down first, I'll be there soon."
Seeing Liu Yan get off the carriage, Mu Zhuohua breathed a sigh of relief. It was obviously a very serious matter, why did she think of it in a wrong way?
Mu Zhuohua rubbed her cheeks vigorously, shook her head, and finally calmed down.
The palace gate was crowded with ministers, some wearing court robes, and some seemed to be in a hurry, untidy, and wanted to rush in but were stopped by the guards.
Liu Yan's arrival finally gave everyone a backbone, and everyone bowed to Liu Yan.
Liu Yan came to the palace gate with a sullen face. The one guarding the palace gate was a member of the Zhou family, Zhou Kui, who was the commander of the Palace Front Division at the time. Zhou Kui was in his fifties, with eyes like torches, and he was intimidating without anger. With him guarding the gate, no one dared to say much. This man was a cousin of Queen Mother Zhou, and he had also participated in the persecution of Liu Yan, but at this time he did not know that Liu Yan had known about what the Zhou family had done to Liu Yan, so he still maintained a friendly and respectful attitude towards Liu Yan.
"Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Ding." Zhou Kui bowed and said solemnly, "Why did the prince come so late? Something big happened in the palace."
Liu Yan did not answer but asked, "Has the fire been put out?"
Zhou Kui replied, "I have mobilized the garrison to participate in the fire fighting. Half of it has not been put out yet. Fortunately, your majesty and the princes are in the temporary palace, but the Queen Mother's palace..."
Emperor Zhaoming's return to the palace was a secret, so no one knew about it at this time, but the Queen Mother's bedroom was on fire and had been burned down. Before everyone saw the Queen Mother escape from the sea of fire, they had made ominous guesses in their hearts.
"Let's go to the palace first. Letting so many people block the palace gate will only cause greater panic." Liu Yan said as he led the officials into the palace gate.
One by one, the charred bodies were carried out from the sea of fire. Because the fire started in the middle of the night, most people were asleep. It was the hot summer, and the fire burned quickly and fiercely, causing many people to be buried in the sea of fire before they could escape.
Liu Yan heard someone report the fire, saying that the fire started in the harem, and guessed that it was caused by the candlestick falling and the gauze curtain missing. Emperor Zhaoming left the palace and took the empress and concubines away, so the harem neglected to take precautions, and the eunuchs and palace maids also slacked off, which led to the fire not being detected in time, and it became bigger and bigger and out of control.
The fire in the empress dowager's palace was finally put out. Liu Yan and Zhou Kui asked the officials to stay where they were and wait for orders, and they went to the empress dowager's bedroom to investigate.
The once magnificent palace was now in ruins, and there were many charred corpses lying in the palace, and it was difficult to distinguish their faces. However, the empress dowager was of noble status and wore gems that were not afraid of fire, which made her stand out in the ruins.
Zhou Kui saw a phoenix hairpin inlaid with gorgeous gems on the steps, and he staggered immediately, his face turned pale, and he took two quick steps and knelt down in front of the corpse.
"Empress Dowager..." Zhou Kui choked and lowered his head.
Liu Yan held his breath and walked step by step to the place where he sat yesterday, which was also the place where Emperor Zhaoming was buried. The body was still there, but its face could no longer be seen. Liu Yan felt a sharp pain in his heart and his eyes went dark. He bit his tongue and forced himself to wake up. He walked to the side of the body and squatted down. With trembling hands, he picked up a gold and jade seal next to the body.
"Brother Emperor..." Liu Yan called softly in a trembling voice.
Zhou Kui had very good hearing and immediately caught Liu Yan's call. He was startled and turned around, only to see Liu Yan half-kneeling in front of a body with a sad look on his face, holding a familiar seal in his hand. He hurriedly got up from the ground and ran towards Liu Yan.
"Your Highness, this is..." Zhou Kui looked at the seal in Liu Yan's hand in disbelief, "This is His Majesty's private seal!"
Emperor Zhaoming never left his private seal, how could it be here?
Zhou Kui stared at the body in front of him with wide eyes, as if someone was strangling his throat. He screamed twice, but couldn't speak.
There were footsteps coming from behind, and someone shouted, "Princess Roujia, you can't go in!"
Liu Yan and Zhou Kui looked at the door, and saw Princess Roujia ran in in a panic. When she saw Liu Yan, she stopped. "Uncle, uncle..." Princess Roujia looked at everything in front of her helplessly and blankly, "Where's the grandmother..."
Princess Roujia slowly walked towards Liu Yan and Zhou Kui.
Liu Yan did not answer. Zhou Kui stood up and saluted Princess Roujia, "Your Highness, please accept my condolences."
Princess Roujia turned pale, closed her eyes, and her body swayed. Her personal maid Man'er hurried forward to support her.
Liu Yan said to Man'er, "Help your princess go back."
"No!" Princess Roujia opened her eyes and refused firmly, "My grandmother is in trouble, how can I leave? Does my father know?"
Zhou Kui's face suddenly became ugly when he heard Princess Roujia mention Emperor Zhaoming, and his eyes subconsciously fell on the seal in Liu Yan's hand.
No, maybe it wasn't His Majesty. It was just a coincidence. When the carriage of the temporary palace arrived, Emperor Zhaoming would also arrive.
Zhou Kui comforted himself in this way, but soon after, his fantasy was shattered.
The three princes came with the Queen and Concubine Shu, ran into the Queen Mother's bedroom, grabbed Liu Yan and Zhou Kui and asked eagerly: "Why did the palace catch fire? What happened!"
Zhou Kui did not find the figure of Emperor Zhaoming in the crowd, and his heart suddenly sank. He asked: "Where is His Majesty..."
Liu Chen said: "Father returned to the palace last night."
Zhou Kui's heart sank. He looked at Liu Yan, Liu Yan looked at the seal in his hand, and finally looked at the body on the ground.
Everyone was silent, and followed Zhou Kui's gaze to see the seal that was burned by fire, and finally saw the body on the ground.
Only two screams were heard, and the Queen and Concubine Shu fainted one after another.
"Father..." The three princes looked at all this in disbelief, and their legs almost softened.
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