Chapter 125 The Crown Prince's Gratitude
Xue Han didn't know how long he had been asleep when Hu Si came in and woke him up: "My lord, a message has come from the palace that His Majesty summons you."
Xue Han tidied himself up slightly and went to see Emperor Jingping.
Compared to the high-ranking officials and nobles who stayed up until dawn before returning home, Emperor Jingping had rested more thoroughly and was in good spirits when he met Xue Han.
Although the crown prince had just escaped a life-or-death crisis, he seemed to have recovered as usual.
"Your humble servant Xue Han greets Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince."
Emperor Jingping smiled and said, "No need for formalities. Xue Han, you saved the Crown Prince last night, and I must thank you."
"It is my duty, and I dare not take credit for it."
Emperor Jingping was quite satisfied with Xue Han's attitude: "Patrolling and guarding is not only the responsibility of the Imperial City Guard, but only you were able to discover the fire in time and save the Crown Prince."
The Crown Prince stood up abruptly and bowed to Xue Han, saying, "Thank you, Imperial City Xue, for saving my life."
Xue Han quickly dodged the question, saying, "Your Highness is too kind to this humble subject."
"I was so busy last night that I didn't have time to ask how you discovered the fire at the Crown Prince's residence?"
"Your Majesty, the area around the palace is covered with vegetation. Considering the dry autumn weather and the increased risk of fire, I have arranged for my men to conduct more patrols, especially at night when it is difficult to detect any incidents in time..."
Emperor Jingping nodded, glanced at the Crown Prince, and asked, "I heard that when you led your men to the Crown Prince's residence, not only was the Zhaixing Tower on fire, but the place where the Crown Prince was sleeping was also on fire. How did you guess that the Crown Prince was trapped in the Zhaixing Tower?"
Emperor Jingping asked this question not out of suspicion of Xue Han, but out of curiosity.
When the Crown Prince was in danger yesterday, he immediately inquired about it. At that time, everyone who discovered the fire was busy putting out the fire in the Crown Prince's bedroom. If Xue Han hadn't rushed to the Star-Picking Tower to rescue the Crown Prince, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"I didn't speculate too much. I just saw that the people at the Crown Prince's residence were doing their best to put out the fire in Your Highness's bedroom, while no one was paying attention to the Star-Picking Tower. I felt a little uneasy, so I decided to go and take a look." Xue Han's tone was calm, which made people more convinced. "As for why I made this judgment, it was probably intuition."
"Your intuition is excellent!" Emperor Jingping looked at Xue Han with even more admiration in his eyes. "Xue Han, this time we really owe a lot to your intuition."
"It is what I should do."
"By imperial decree, Xue Han, the Imperial City Envoy, is hereby awarded a purple robe and a gold fish pouch for his meritorious service in rescuing the Crown Prince."
In the Great Xia Dynasty, only officials of the third rank or above were allowed to wear purple robes. Xue Han, as the Imperial City Envoy, was bestowed with purple, which was a great honor.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
Xue Quan, standing to the side, tried his best to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth, extremely satisfied.
People used to say that Xue Han had a good adoptive father, but now they'll say that Xue Quan had a good eldest son. He was right to have good judgment.
After giving the rewards, Emperor Jingping's expression turned serious: "Although the fire is out, we still need to investigate thoroughly to see how it started. Those who helped put out the fire should be rewarded, and those who were negligent should be punished."
"yes."
"You may leave."
"Your humble servant takes his leave."
The Crown Prince rose and said, "Father, I will see Lord Xue off."
"Okay, go ahead."
As they stepped out of the main hall, the Crown Prince spoke first: "Lord Xue, would you like to come and sit with me for a while?"
"It is my honor to receive your invitation, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince's new residence was not far away; it didn't take long to get there.
A palace attendant brought tea, and the crown prince smiled apologetically: "I have only just moved in, so I apologize for not being able to entertain you properly."
"Your Highness is too kind."
"I offer tea in place of wine to express my gratitude to Lord Xue for saving my life." The Crown Prince raised his teacup.
"Your Highness is the Crown Prince, and I am merely fulfilling my duty as a subject. How can I accept Your Highness's thanks?"
The Crown Prince took a sip of tea and sighed softly, "Last night, Lord Xue saved me and saw my disheveled state. Even a Crown Prince is afraid and panicked when faced with a merciless fire. He is no more capable of being immune to water and fire than ordinary people. I am truly grateful to Lord Xue."
Last night, he was trapped in a high-rise building, surrounded by thick smoke and intense heat, which made him acutely aware of his own insignificance and powerlessness.
Life and death are separated by a fine line.
In his despair, he saw the boy in front of him.
The boy wasn't wearing armor, but in his eyes, he was like a heavenly soldier descending from the sky to save him from the sea of fire.
It is indeed a matter of course for a subject to die for his ruler in the eyes of the world, but how can he, as the one who was saved, take it for granted? If Xue Han had not appeared, his fate would probably have been like that of the eunuch who accompanied him to the Star-Picking Tower with a lantern last night.
Two bodies were discovered in last night's fire. One of them was a close attendant of the Crown Prince, but he did not die from the fire. Instead, he fell to his death while trying to escape with Xue Han, who was carrying the Crown Prince.
Xue Han took a sip of tea, paused for a moment, and said, "Your Highness is too kind, so I will humbly say a few more words."
"you say."
"I was one of the first to arrive, and I discovered that the fire at Zhaixing Tower was spreading much faster than at Your Highness's residence. These two places are not connected, so the fire was not caused by a spread of flames—"
The crown prince's expression turned serious: "What do you mean?"
Xue Han looked directly into the Crown Prince's eyes and said frankly, "In my opinion, the chances of two places not close to each other catching fire at the same time are not high. The fire at Your Highness's residence seems to be a feint."
The Crown Prince's expression changed: "Lord Xue suspects that this fire was not an accident, but rather deliberately caused?"
Xue Han cupped his hands in greeting: "To be honest, Your Highness, I did indeed have this suspicion."
The prince subconsciously picked up the teacup, took two sips, then put the teacup down, his heart sinking.
He wasn't without this suspicion, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. What he didn't expect was Xue Han's frankness.
"Why didn't Lord Xue mention this to Father Emperor?" After a moment of silence, the Crown Prince asked.
Xue Han lowered his eyes: "This matter is of great importance. I dare not speak rashly based on mere speculation and cause His Majesty any worry."
The Crown Prince nodded, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Since the matter is of great importance and there is no evidence, why did Lord Xue speak frankly to me?"
Xue Han replied frankly, "Although this matter is of great importance, Your Highness's safety is of paramount importance. Regardless of whether this fire reveals anything, if Your Highness takes this as a reminder to be more vigilant in the future, then I will have done my duty."
"What a fine 'no shame'!" The Crown Prince raised his cup again. "Lord Xue, I toast to your 'no shame'."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Does Lord Xue have a direction for the investigation?"
"May I ask, Your Highness, why did you go to the Star-Picking Tower last night?"
The Crown Prince remained silent for a long time before saying softly, "Yesterday was the anniversary of my late mother's death."
According to the customs of the Great Xia Dynasty, the death anniversary is not celebrated every year, but how can a son forget such a day?
On this day every year, he would climb to a high place to remember his mother and recall the days when she was still alive.
"The other deceased was the eunuch guarding the Star-Picking Tower. Your Highness saw him yesterday; was there anything unusual about him?"
The crown prince thought about it carefully and shook his head: "There is nothing unusual."
"I find this person somewhat suspicious."
"What do you mean?"
"This person was on the first floor, and should have had enough time to escape when the fire broke out, yet he was trapped and died in the fire. I intend to investigate this person thoroughly."
"Then I'll leave it to Lord Xue."
Xue Han stood up: "This humble subject should also take his leave."
"I will see Lord Xue out."
After politely declining the Crown Prince's offer to see him off, Xue Han did not go back to rest but went directly to the place where the corpses were kept.
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