Lin Qingwan was unconscious, but she knew that Zhao Cong had come in and saved her.
He also overheard Lin trying to stop Jiang Zhenlin, intending to die with him.
She felt as if she were trapped under a mountain, unable to escape, her consciousness in a state of chaos. She thought that God would at least have mercy on her once, and that dying unconsciously would be a rare thing.
Little did she know that even in her unconscious state, she could clearly feel the scorching pain of the heatwave enveloping her. She couldn't scream, nor could she run away; she was destined to fully experience the agony of death.
I must have broken some heavenly law in my past life, because every day I live in this life is spent experiencing suffering.
Even her breathing is wrong.
Just when she was in despair, the high and mighty Crown Prince rushed into the sea of fire, picked her up, and saved her.
She could smell the faint scent of angelica on him, feel his strong but trembling arms, and hear his heartbeat... chaotic and fast.
"She's still breathing, isn't she!" Jiang Zhenlin stared intently, his neck still arched despite his hands being bound behind his back by the guards, trying to catch a glimpse of Lin Qingwan, who was wrapped in the Crown Prince's robes.
Jiang Zhenlin then thought of something, "Your Highness, she is a hero in the fight against the plague, and now she is unconscious. If she is also imprisoned, her life will be in danger."
"Please let the doctor treat her first!"
Jiang Zhenlin knelt down without hesitation, showing not a trace of the arrogance and haughtiness he had displayed over the past decade.
Zhao Congming's yellow undergarment was covered in black ash, and a piece of the hem was burned off, but because of his cold eyes and calm expression, the word "disheveled" was not appropriate to be used.
“You all know she’s a hero.” He glanced at Madam Lin. “There are many people in this world who would rather die than help, but this is the first time I’ve seen a mother not help her own daughter.”
Lin choked up, covered her face with her hands, and wept uncontrollably.
Jiang Zhenlin argued, "My mother didn't want me to have any more accidents; she wanted to give her life to Lin Qingwan."
Zhao Cong remained unmoved, saying, "She wouldn't want you to accompany her on her journey to the underworld."
Lin's back trembled, and she curled up and fell to the ground.
Everyone in the Prime Minister's residence was taken away. Shen Xu found a house that hadn't been destroyed by the fire, and Physician Zhu also arrived.
Zhao Cong, however, said, "Let's go to the small courtyard in the east of the city."
"Your Highness, please change your clothes before going out. There are Imperial Guards and patrolmen outside, and a lot of people are gathered in front of the gate." Cang Ying hurriedly brought over a clean set of clothes.
Shen Xu: "Your Highness, let Physician Zhu examine Miss Qingwan first. It's quite a distance from here to the courtyard, and we don't want to cause any delays."
Zhao Cong hesitated, but he knew that Lin Qingwan would not be willing to stay in the Prime Minister's residence for even a moment longer.
Physician Zhu noticed that Lin Qingwan was gripping the Crown Prince's robes tightly with her fingers. Judging by the strength, she should be alright for the time being. However, she had a deadly poison in her body, so he couldn't be careless.
Physician Zhu had a sudden inspiration. “Your Highness, Jiang Su forged letters of treason to frame you. This is a capital offense that could lead to the execution of your entire family.”
"Although Miss Qingwan has made contributions in fighting the epidemic, her merits do not outweigh her faults. If we really want to calculate it, she should be exiled."
Zhao Cong frowned. "What are you trying to say?"
Physician Zhu tiptoed and whispered a few words in his ear, causing Zhao Cong's expression to change slightly.
Cang Ying and Shen Xu watched from a distance, wondering what kind of whispers he was saying to the Crown Prince this time.
Cang Ying clicked her tongue. "Is the Crown Prince the kind of person who can be easily swayed into making decisions?"
Shen Xu joked, "It concerns Miss Qingwan, so what's wrong with it?"
"When have you ever seen the Crown Prince so anxious about anyone?"
Cang Ying pursed her lips. "When the young prince was kept in the court by the Grand Tutor last time, the Crown Prince was also worried, fearing that the young prince would be beaten."
Shen Xu choked, his eyes widening, and after a long pause, he finally said, "Eunuch Cang, you should transfer this stubbornness to your legs. Don't let anything happen to you and you'll lose your balance and I'll have to support you."
Cang Ying seemed to have forgotten her embarrassing moment earlier. She raised an eyebrow and said confidently, "I advise you to help her up."
"If something happens to our family, and the Crown Prince is missing a familiar eunuch, it would be troublesome if he were to castrate Guard Shen and keep him in the inner palace in a panic."
Shen Xu's lower body tensed, and he swallowed hard. "You vicious eunuch. I said a few words to you, and you curse me."
Cang Ying smiled smugly, "Eunuchs are all ruthless; curses are the least of their worries."
"Aren't you afraid...?"
Before Shen Xu could finish speaking, Cang Ying interrupted him, "Eunuchs are all childless and have no descendants, so they are not afraid of retribution."
Shen Xu pursed his lips and remained silent.
At this point, Zhao Cong had already accepted Physician Zhu's suggestion, "Take a look at her first. If there's nothing seriously wrong, carry her out through the side gate and take her to the small courtyard in the east of the city."
"I'll go over after I've dealt with Jiang Su's matter."
Physician Zhu nodded in agreement.
The problem was that Lin Qingwan wouldn't let go, and she had wrinkled Zhao Cong's clothes on his chest.
Zhao Cong placed the person on the bed, but he couldn't straighten up for a long time.
She had quite a strong grip; he tried to pry it open for a long time but couldn't, mainly because Zhao Cong didn't dare to use too much force.
Zhu An clicked his tongue in admiration from the side, "Oh, even though Miss Qingwan is unconscious, she still knows you're reliable, look how tightly she's holding on."
Zhao Cong glanced at him sideways, "Aren't you going to come and help?"
Zhu An laughed and said, "Your Highness, why don't you just take this dress off and give it to her?"
After taking off his clothes, Zhao Cong couldn't help but think, "She's always thinking about my clothes, inside and out. What's wrong with her!"
······
About half an hour later, the people outside saw His Highness the Crown Prince come out.
The prince wore a cloak, and as he walked, the burnt hem of his robe could be seen inside.
Shen Xu deliberately raised his voice, "Most of the important items in the study have been rescued, and the remaining servants have been brought back to Dali Temple. Jiang Yanwan started the fire, and she is already dead."
Zhao Cong stopped in front of the carriage.
Shen Xu continued, "We've already interrogated Jiang Yanwan's maid. She didn't want to marry into the Hu family, and she resented Lin Qingwan's return for causing her to fall from grace, so she deliberately locked Lin Qingwan's door. Therefore..."
"Miss Qingwan also did not come out alive."
This news is enough to keep the capital talking for half a month or a year.
After the Crown Prince's carriage left, the once glorious Prime Minister's residence was reduced to ruins, leaving some with regret and others with contempt.
Guards were constantly carrying out burned corpses through the side gate, and Lin Qingwan was among them when she was taken to the small courtyard in the east of the city.
In the following days, the Dali Temple was busy investigating Jiang Su, which led to countless unforeseen events, but each and every one of them had a traceable origin.
When Jiang Su met Zhao Cong, he knew that things wouldn't last much longer.
"My wife and Ah Lin..." Jiang Su kowtowed, "I beg Your Highness to show mercy."
"They were unaware of it."
Jiang Su did many dirty things for Consort Ning, but he always protected his wife and son very well.
"For a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, it doesn't matter whether they knew about it or not," Zhao Cong said calmly.
Jiang Su trembled. "Please, Your Highness, for Qingwan's sake..."
"She is dead."
Zhao Cong's voice was icy, and Jiang Su's words came to an abrupt halt.
"Jiang Yanwan set a fire, and the Prime Minister's residence was reduced to ashes. She could have survived, but her room was locked with two iron locks."
"Jiang Zhenlin split one open, leaving the other one..."
"Your wife was afraid something would happen to your son and stopped him, so your biological daughter...died."
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