Sure enough, just a few days later, Xue Zhiyi, who was on duty at night, heard a loud gong sound, accompanied by the smell of burnt smoke.
Chuizhu, who was also on night duty, rushed out to check and came back with a worried look on her face: "There's a fire in Suining Palace!"
Outside Jianzhang Palace, palace servants, beating gongs, were running and shouting to inform the six concubines, shouting, "There's a fire! There's a fire!"
With all this noise, the empress dowager could not sleep well, so she put on some clothes and got up.
Unable to bear the smell of smoke, she covered her lips and coughed a few times, then ordered, "Zhiyi, go and see what the situation is, and then report to me."
After receiving the order, Xue Zhiyi followed the direction of the fire and, as expected, saw chaos outside Suining Palace. The palace servants were busy carrying water to put out the fire.
By the time she returned to Jianzhang Palace, it was almost dawn.
The empress dowager had not fallen asleep yet. When she saw Xue Zhiyi coming back, she gave her a seat.
"How is it?" she asked. "Is everyone okay?"
But suddenly she saw Xue Zhiyi's expression was strange, so she gave Chai Yue a look, indicating that Chai Yue should take the serving palace people away first.
Xue Zhiyi then said, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, two palace maids in Suining Palace have died, and several palace maids and eunuchs who tried to rescue them were injured and failed to successfully rescue Concubine Song."
She lowered her eyes and sighed, "Noble Concubine Song was buried in the sea of fire, one body and two lives. Please accept my condolences, Empress Dowager."
Hearing this, the Queen Mother was surprised, and her old eyes trembled slightly: "How could such a thing happen?"
Xue Zhiyi stayed near Suining Palace for half the night, so he naturally found out everything he needed to know.
She said, "I've inquired and found out that something went wrong with the candlesticks provided by the Shanggong Bureau. They fell over and set the curtains on fire. I didn't expect there was no water in the Taiping jar. The palace maids went to great lengths to get water to put out the fire, but that delayed the process. In addition..."
The words lingered on her lips for a moment before she continued, "In addition, His Majesty ordered Concubine Song to stay in Suining Palace to rest and recuperate, and she was not allowed to leave. The palace gates were locked, and she was unable to escape in time, which ultimately led to this disaster."
Although Concubine Song was not a good person, she had not committed any capital crime after all, and she was pregnant with the empress dowager's grandson. How could the empress dowager not sigh?
The Queen Mother's eyes were filled with sorrow: "Poor Song's child, and it's a pity for the royal heir."
Xue Zhiyi continued, "The two blunders involving the Shanggong Bureau and the Taiping Jars angered His Majesty, who immediately held An Zhaoyi accountable, stripped her of her authority as assistant to the Six Palaces, and punished all the palace maids involved."
The emperor was furious, and seemed to have completely forgotten why Concubine Song failed to escape from Suining Palace in time.
After a long silence, the Queen Mother suppressed her regret and asked Xue Zhiyi, "You asked me to send others away. Do you have anything else to say?"
Seeing that the Empress Dowager had calmed down, Xue Zhiyi then said, "When the fire broke out, Concubine Wu Lifei was the first to arrive. She had the connecting beams between the palace rooms cut to prevent the fire from spreading, and she also comforted the frightened palace maids. His Majesty was very impressed by this and asked her to temporarily replace Concubine An to assist in managing the six palaces."
The Queen Mother quickly understood: "Are you trying to say that this was Concubine Wu Lifei's plan?"
Xue Zhiyi lowered her eyes: "I dare not speak nonsense, but it is indeed possible."
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother sighed deeply again, "Concubine Wu Lifei has been in the palace for many years. She is known for her gentle temperament and cautiousness. She has come all the way from Nan'an, so many people have been disrespectful to her. It was only later that Pingzhang, that girl, grew up and became more outspoken. She often stood up for Concubine Lifei, that people in the palace began to respect her a little more."
Thinking of this, the Queen Mother's tone softened a bit: "But when the late emperor was still alive, I was also framed by a concubine who looked honest and indifferent. Concubine Li may not be pretending to be hypocritical, but it is possible that she has abandoned her original conscience for some purpose."
Looking at the flickering candle flame, as if ready to devour something, Xue Zhiyi's eyes became a little colder.
"I think it's not certain yet whether this was done by Concubine Li, but we can investigate secretly first so that we can have a clearer idea."
The Queen Mother nodded slightly and agreed, "You are right."
After saying this, she sighed again: "I'm afraid Concubine Li will do anything for her daughter. As a mother, she will risk anything."
Xue Zhiyi knew that the Queen Mother was worried that if this was really done by Concubine Wu Lifei, she would use such cruel means to eliminate dissidents and win favor in order to make Huo Zhiyu the candidate for the marriage and protect Princess Pingzhang.
If Concubine Wu Lifei could really do this, then she would probably spare no effort to push Huo Zhiyu towards marriage.
Thinking of this, Xue Zhiyi only smiled, but the coldness in his eyes deepened a bit: "It is better to remove the firewood from under the cauldron than to try to stop the boiling water by adding more water. As long as the roots are cut, no matter how many flowers bloom, it will be futile."
The Queen Mother remained silent, lost in thought for a long time. Looking at the gradually whitening sky, she said, "The envoys from the Northern Di will be arriving in Dayong in the next few days."
Xue Zhiyi raised his eyes and looked into the empress dowager's cloudy eyes.
The Queen Mother said, "The one who came is a prince. I heard that the prince's name is Helian You, and he is well-known for his virtue in Beidi."
This name made Xue Zhiyi's heart sink.
Helian You, the son of the current Khan of Beidi, made great contributions in the battle to besiege and kill Huo Yan and his son, and was therefore highly respected. He has always been well-known in Beidi.
But this reputation is built on blood feud.
The man who killed Huo Zhiyu's father and brother is now being welcomed into Dayong with great fanfare. She is even being taken to the place where her father and brother died, leaving her to live the rest of her life in turmoil.
How could the Empress Dowager and the Huo family not fight to the death?
…
Half a month later, Sifang Pavilion finally completed its construction before the arrival of the Northern Di delegation and was ready to welcome the guests.
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