Chapter 423 Ah Chu, wait for me
Pei Yuan's expression changed drastically, and he jumped off the stage and grabbed the eunuch.
"What did you say? Say it again."
The eunuch was so frightened by the look of horror on his face that he could hardly speak.
"Death...death row flooded..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was thrown heavily to the ground.
Pei Yuan had already disappeared.
Ling Ce was also nowhere to be seen.
Li Chengxuan was so anxious that he covered his buttocks and chased after him, urging Zhou Jun, who was trying to help him up, to hurry up.
"Don't worry about me, go save Achu quickly."
The group rushed towards the death row.
The so-called death row was actually part of the imperial prison, all located in the north of the palace, near the Taiping Gate.
Pei Yuan lightly touched the ground with his toes and stumbled out of the palace using his fastest movement technique, heading north.
The wind whistled past their ears, but none of it was as loud as the eunuch's panicked shout.
"Young Master Shen is still inside..."
Ah Chu, you absolutely must not get hurt.
From afar, thick smoke and flames could be seen rising from the direction of the prison.
Pei Yuan stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.
"Your Highness."
Ling Ce reached out to support him.
Pei Yuan shook his head. "I'm fine. Quick, go to the death row."
The death row is a separate courtyard within the imperial prison, where prisoners who have been sentenced to death are held.
There were also people like Shen Chu who were imprisoned by special order of the emperor.
Upon entering the prison, one is greeted by panicked shouts all around.
The official in charge of guarding the prison was loudly directing people to carry buckets of water and keep pouring it into the prison.
But the fire was too big, and the little water they poured on it had no effect at all.
Thick smoke billowed out, and thick white smoke drifted out, choking people and causing them to cough.
A minor official rolled out of there screaming, his clothes and hair all on fire.
Ling Ce reacted quickly and poured a bucket of water on it.
The fire on the minor official's body was extinguished.
Before I could even react, someone grabbed my shoulder?
"Is A-Chu still inside?"
Pei Yuan and Ling Ce, two people, four pairs of eyes, stared intently at the minor official whose face was covered in soot from the fire.
They desperately wanted to see the minor official shake his head and say no.
The minor official wiped the black water off his face, then knelt down with a thud, trembling as he reached out his hand.
A lake-blue purse lay in his palm, burned by fire and then doused with water.
It was wet and dark at the moment, but Pei Yuan still recognized it at a glance as the purse that A Chu usually carried.
"Ah, Lady Shen was hit in the stomach by a falling beam, I... I want to save her."
But I can't move the beam... I... Lord Shen told me to run, I... Wow... Lord Shen is such a good person.
The minor official lay on the ground and wailed loudly.
He was hit in the stomach by a falling beam!
Pei Yuan's vision went black, and he nearly fell to the ground.
He gritted his teeth, trying to stay alert, and rushed forward.
Flames leaped out of the house, and the intense heat was suffocating.
The fire inside was burning too fiercely; it was impossible for anyone to get in.
Pei Yuan snatched the bucket of water from the person next to him.
A bucket of water was poured over his head, soaking him completely.
He threw down the bucket and rushed into the fire without a second thought.
Behind him came the Emperor Longqing's loud shout, "Quickly, stop him for me!"
It was too late; Pei Yuan's figure had already disappeared into the sea of fire.
Ling Ce rushed in next.
The Longqing Emperor was furious and ordered, "What are you standing there for? Quickly drag Prince Rui out for me!"
The scorching heat from the flames made my skin feel tight all over, and the thick smoke stung my throat, causing both heat and pain.
Pei Yuan could only crawl on the ground, inching forward little by little.
As the commander of the Flying Eagle Guard, he had visited the death row several times and remembered its structure.
He crawled into the death row corridor and saw Shen Chu lying in his mouth in the distance.
A burning beam was pressing down on her stomach.
There was blood all over her body, and the bright red bloodstains spread out and had already flowed outside.
Her bright red satin cloak with gold trim was already ablaze, enveloping her entirely in flames.
She lay there quietly in the sea of fire, completely still.
“A-Chu”.
Pei Yuan's eyes were bloodshot, and he crawled forward desperately, using both his hands and feet.
But they walked too far, and the cells next door were all on fire, with flames constantly leaping out.
Wood and tiles kept falling from the roof.
Pei Yuan found himself unable to move an inch.
Bang.
A beam came crashing down, and Pei Yuan, hearing the sound of the wind, rolled to the side and narrowly avoided it.
The scorching smoke stung his throat, causing him to cough incessantly.
"Your Highness, please be careful."
Another beam crashed down.
Someone grabbed Pei Yuan around the waist.
It's Ling Ce.
He grabbed Pei Yuan's waist tightly, while others rushed over and hugged Pei Yuan.
"The main beam is about to collapse, Your Highness, let's get out of here quickly."
Pei Yuan stared intently at Shen Chu at the end of the line.
The towering flames had already engulfed her, obscuring her features.
Pei Yuan's eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
He gripped Ling Ce's hand tightly, his voice hoarse from the smoke.
"Achu is still inside, let me go."
Ling Ce gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and knocked him unconscious.
"Quickly, carry him out."
Two imperial guards immediately carried Pei Yuan out.
Ling Ce stared intently at the sea of fire, tears streaming down his face.
The crackling sound overhead grew louder and louder, and things kept falling down.
Ling Ce closed his eyes tightly, gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran out.
He had just left the fire when a loud bang came from behind him.
The entire death row collapsed in the sea of fire.
Ling Ce stared blankly at the towering flames, then slowly slid to his knees and let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"Achu!"
Li Chengxuan and Zhou Jun rushed in, and upon hearing this cry, both of them turned pale and collapsed to the ground.
Li Chengxuan's limbs went weak, but he refused to give up. He lunged forward and grabbed Ling Ce, asking, "Where's A-Chu? Where's A-Chu?"
Ling Ce's lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
Li Chengxuan followed his gaze to the sea of fire, shaking his head in alarm.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Even with such a huge fire at General Li's mansion, it didn't reach A-Chu."
Ah Chu is very lucky; she'll definitely be fine this time. Maybe there's a secret passage beneath this death row cell.
Ah Chu will definitely be alright.
A secret passage?
Ling Ce seemed to see a great hope. He wiped his face with his sleeve, jumped up and shouted, "Yes, the secret passage! Put out the fire! Put out the fire!"
The fire was so big that it took more than an hour to finally put it out.
The entire death row cell was almost completely burned down, with blackened wood smoldering everywhere and the smell of burning permeating the air.
The Longqing Emperor ordered the Imperial Guards to go inside and take stock of the situation.
As he watched the charred corpses being carried out, Ling Ce grabbed the warden in charge of the imperial prison.
Are there secret passages beneath the death row?
The prison warden looked at him with pity in his eyes and slowly shook his head.
"No, death row is for death row inmates, there would never be any secret passages there."
Pei Yuan slowly woke up and happened to hear these words. His heart ached, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Your Highness."
He forced himself to stand up, waved his hand, and looked straight ahead.
A body was just being carried out of the fire; judging from its protruding belly, it was clearly a pregnant woman.
Pei Yuan stumbled toward the corpse.
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