If it weren't for the incense, the Empress Dowager might have thought it was an accidental fire. But now that the Empress and others have all been poisoned by the incense, it's clear that they were drugged first and then the fire was started.
Such a deliberate act is utterly despicable.
"Yes, I will investigate immediately."
The commander of the guards received the order and led his men to search all parts of the palace.
The Empress Dowager sat on one side of the palace, waiting for Hailing and the others to wake up.
Hai Ling and the others didn't sleep for long and woke up quickly. Before they even opened their eyes, they smelled a foul burning odor, followed by a headache. Hai Ling couldn't help but frown and groan softly. When she opened her eyes, she saw many people gathered around her bed, including her brother Ji Shaocheng and Shen Ruoxuan. Everyone looked at her with concern and asked her what was wrong.
"Your Majesty, are you alright? Are you alright?"
Hai Ling looked completely bewildered, shook her head, and then shifted her body. Several places on her body ached because when Little Lion Ball Ball pulled her out, it had bumped into her bones, causing the pain. Hai Ling didn't think much of it at first, but soon realized something was wrong. She quickly glanced at the people around her and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
"Your Majesty, Qingqian Palace has been set on fire?"
Ji Shaocheng's sharp report.
Hai Ling opened her eyes wide, her gaze cold and piercing. A layer of frost covered her beautiful face. She remained silent, lost in thought. At this moment, the Empress Dowager approached and asked with concern, "Empress, are you alright?"
Hai Ling looked at the Empress Dowager and saw her face full of concern, pale and clearly frightened. She shook her head and said, "Mother, it's alright, don't worry."
The Empress Dowager nodded, and the old woman behind her, Ying, supported her and gently comforted her, "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. It's good that the Empress is alright."
Hai Ling nodded, then instructed Ying Mama: "Help the Empress Dowager return to Cining Palace to rest. I'm here, and I'll find out who set the fire."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After receiving the order, the Empress Dowager gave Hailing a few more instructions before leading several eunuchs and palace maids away.
As soon as the Empress Dowager left, Ji Shaocheng and Shen Ruoxuan surrounded Hailing and said worriedly, "Your Majesty, we never expected such a thing to happen. It's really worrying."
The person behind this is clearly determined to kill the Empress.
Hai Ling was not afraid; instead, she became even calmer and looked at Shen Ruoxuan: "Why were we completely unaware?"
"It's because someone sprinkled Die Luo incense in the air near Qingqian Palace. This incense is the Mi Yi incense produced by the people of Yunjiang. It is made from the seeds of a Die Luo tree. This Die Luo incense is not found outside of Yunjiang. However, the people of Yunjiang rarely go out, so this matter is very strange."
"Yunjiang?"
Hai Ling was shocked. She never expected that people from Yunjiang would appear in the palace. Yunjiang was a mysterious tribe that lived in the tropical forests and rarely showed themselves. Yunjiang people were cold and aloof by nature, and they had a penchant for raising all kinds of poisonous creatures. It was said that after each person was born, they would deal with all kinds of poisons the most, and some people even fed various poisonous monsters with their own blood. Therefore, these people not only had a strange appearance, but their temperament was also very eccentric. Fortunately, they rarely interacted with people from the outside world and never had any conflicts with them, so there had never been any news about them. But who knew that a Yunjiang person named Die Luoxiang would appear now? This was not a good thing.
"Your Majesty, we must find out who set the fire, or the consequences will be dire. The people of Yunjiang are no ordinary people."
Hai Ling nodded, her mood becoming heavy. If it were just the arsonist, she wouldn't be afraid, but now that people from Yunjiang had appeared, this was troublesome.
As they were talking, Shi Mei, Shi Lan, Nalan Mingzhu, and others who were not far away woke up and overheard Shen Ruoxuan's words, which shocked them all.
Several people walked over and surrounded Hailin.
“Miss, we must find out who set this fire. The people of Yunjiang are ruthless. However, I know a little about Yunjiang. I heard that they have a clan rule that they cannot contact outsiders unless necessary. We don’t know whether the incense was set by the people of Yunjiang or if someone had obtained it from them.”
"Who do you think committed this heinous act?"
Nalan Mingzhu reminded everyone, then a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
Her expression made everyone seriously consider who wanted to harm the Empress. In the end, a look of doubt flashed across several people's faces. They looked at each other and saw a suspect in each other's eyes. However, Hailing immediately stopped everyone from thinking that way.
"Don't even think about it, she would never do such a thing, I'm pregnant with her."
She didn't finish her sentence, and everyone suddenly realized that the child in the Empress's womb was of the Ye family's imperial bloodline. Even if the Empress Dowager was angry with the Empress, she couldn't be so inhuman as to kill her own daughter-in-law and grandson. Thinking about it this way, they realized that they had been overthinking things.
As they were discussing the matter, a young eunuch rushed in and quickly reported, "Your Majesty, while cleaning Qingqian Palace, I found a letter?"
"letter?"
Hai Ling glanced at Ji Shaocheng, Shen Ruoxuan, and the others, then ordered someone to bring the letter over. She quickly opened it and glanced at it, her expression changing drastically, her eyes turning sinister.
Ji Shaocheng and the others, not knowing what the letter said, anxiously asked, "What's wrong? What does it say?"
Hai Ling reached out and handed the letter to Ji Shaocheng. Ji Shaocheng, Shen Ruoxuan, and the others looked at it together and saw that there wasn't much written on the letter, just a single sentence.
"Tonight is just a warning. Next time, I'll make sure you die a horrible death."
First they put incense on people, then they burned down the Qingqian Palace, and now they've even sent this letter. Everything they did before was just a warning. The guy behind this is too arrogant. Who exactly is he?
"hateful."
Ji Shaocheng couldn't help but punch the wall next to him, his face turning green with anger.
Shen Ruoxuan and the others didn't look much better either. They all fell silent. There were no clues at the moment, so there was no use in being anxious.
Hai Ling was the first to calm down: "It seems this person has come looking for me. There's no use in being anxious. We should be careful and find out who this person is. If I'm not mistaken, the arsonist behind this is mentally unstable and neurotic. We should all be careful."
"yes."
Everyone responded. It was almost dawn, and Shi Mei and Shi Lan went to Hai Ling's side to help her lie down and rest for a while.
Little Lion Ball nestled obediently in her arms, not moving at all.
Hai Ling hugged Qiu Qiu, closed her eyes, and suddenly missed Ye Lingfeng. If he were here, she wouldn't be struggling alone like this now.
The burning of Qingqian Palace shocked the entire court and the people of Beilu. Several ministers went to the palace to visit the Empress, and only after confirming that she was safe did they feel relieved.
The Ministry of War, having obtained the Empress's decree, began searching the capital, and the entire city was on high alert.
However, Hai Ling knew that since that person was prepared, he would not let them catch him easily. The guy behind the scenes was a cunning and ruthless individual.