Hai Ling brought up Ye Lingfeng, and the Empress Dowager looked at her with her dark, deep eyes for a long time before she finally smiled.
"Very well, since the Empress is so determined to ask, then let her ask."
After she finished speaking, she reached out and rubbed her head: "I'm tired, Your Majesty, you may go back."
"Mother, please get some rest."
Hailing stood up and led Shimei and Shilan away from Cining Palace. At the palace gate, Shimei felt uneasy: "Your Majesty, we must be careful. The Empress Dowager's gaze makes this servant uneasy."
There was some unease, but the Empress Dowager was, after all, Ye Lingfeng's mother. No matter how bad she was, she wouldn't harm her, right? And right now, she was carrying the Ye family's child in her belly. So Hailing wasn't as nervous as Shimei was, and the group returned to Qingqian Palace.
Because of the tense relationship between the Empress Dowager and Hailing, everyone around Hailing was very careful, fearing that Hailing would provoke the Empress Dowager's revenge. Every aspect of her life, from clothing and food to housing and transportation, was carefully checked, and no mistakes could be tolerated.
However, it was clear that they were overthinking things. The Empress Dowager did nothing, and Hailing was eating and sleeping well.
As for the case of Minister of War Li Huang's murder, the Ministry of Justice has arrested a six-fingered criminal who was indeed the murderer. He killed Li Huang because he recognized him and wanted to frame him, but he ended up getting himself caught.
The Ministry of Justice reported the matter, and Hai Ling investigated it again. She found that it was indeed the six-fingered man who had acted on impulse to kill. As for Li Huang in the Yi Hong Lou, he was likely framed. That person wanted to ruin his reputation and then remove him from his post so that they could take his place.
With things having come to this point, the Ministry of Justice had its own procedures, and Hailin didn't get too involved, following the proper procedures.
A few days later, Shen Ruoxuan finally returned from Medicine King Valley. As soon as he appeared, Shi Mei's heart, which had been in her throat, finally relaxed. She had been on tenterhooks these past few days.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
In the main hall of Qingqian Palace, Shen Ruoxuan thanked Hailing with a gift. Hailing gestured for him to stand up and inquired about his medical studies in Medicine King Valley. Shen Ruoxuan gave a brief account.
Shi Mei immediately instructed Shen Ruoxuan to take her master's pulse and examine him carefully, making sure nothing went wrong.
Shen Ruoxuan examined Hailing and confirmed that the fetus in her womb was fine, which put everyone at ease. In the end, everyone agreed that the child in the Empress's womb was still the Empress Dowager's grandson, and even if the Empress Dowager was still angry with the Empress, she couldn't possibly ignore the child. So they were overthinking it.
That night, however, a major event occurred in the palace.
Chapter 96 Burning Down the Qingqian Palace [First VIP Text Version]
Inside the palace, all was quiet. The painted beams and carved pillars of the ancient palace walls were shrouded in a thin mist. The lanterns under the eaves swayed gently in the wind. Apart from the occasional patrolling guard, there was not a sound to be heard anywhere.
Inside the Qingqian Palace, it was completely quiet. The night watchmen were leaning against each other, dozing off, and there wasn't a sound to be heard anywhere.
Inside the palace, Hai Ling and Shi Mei were fast asleep, and rather soundly so, with an eerie blush on their cheeks, which looked both alluring and beautiful under the lamplight.
At the head of the bed, Little Lion Ball Ball opened its big eyes, shook its head sensitively, looking around anxiously and sticking out its red tongue from time to time.
Suddenly, thick, white smoke billowed up from somewhere in the room, growing larger and larger until it filled the entire palace. Inside, everyone was fast asleep, completely unaware of what was happening. Little Lion Ball Ball could no longer think. It pounced forward and began biting at Hai Ling's clothes on the bed, hissing and howling desperately. Unfortunately, the people on the bed, and everyone else in the room, remained completely oblivious, still fast asleep.
Little Lion Qiuqiu, no longer able to roar, bit Hailing and desperately dragged her out of the bed. Although it was an immature lion, it was very strong, so it managed to pull Hailing out of the palace. The others in the palace were still fast asleep, completely unaware.
The smoke grew thicker and thicker, and the smell was pungent.
A great fire broke out in the darkness, alarming everyone in the Northern Lu Imperial Palace, except for those in the Qingqian Palace who remained fast asleep.
Footsteps surged in, accompanied by panicked cries of many people: "Fire! Fire! Help! Help!"
The fifty guards who had been hiding in the shadows to protect Hailin, along with Ji Shaocheng and others, discovered her and quickly rushed into Qingqian Palace to rescue her.
Ji Shaocheng quickly found his younger sister, Ling'er. Ling'er was alright; she had been dragged out of Qingqian Palace by the little lion Qiuqiu and taken to a secluded corner outside the palace where she was still fast asleep. Ji Shaocheng breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that his sister was safe. He then summoned several of his men to protect his sister and led them into the palace to rescue her.
Inside the palace, the fire grew larger and larger, and panicked cries echoed everywhere. Shouts blended into one loud chorus.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, where are you?"
"Please save the Empress! Please save the Empress!"
Because of the thick smoke, no one knew that Hailing was the first to escape danger; she was perfectly fine.
Ji Shaocheng and fifty Imperial Guards rushed into Qingqian Palace and managed to rescue the people inside. The fire inside Qingqian Palace was also extinguished, but the palace was burned black and charred, with no part intact.
The fire was not only fierce but also extremely rapid, starting from the inside and then spreading to the outside. Ji Shaocheng and the others were protecting the area from a distance, and by the time they discovered it, the flames had already grown large.
Outside the Qingqian Palace, a group of people surrounded Hailing, calling out to her in a panic.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Shen Ruoxuan happened to be staying at another place in Qingqian Palace tonight, and he rushed over. He was taking Hailing's pulse by her side. After a while, he shook his head, indicating that Hailing was fine. He then looked up and smelled the air. His expression was solemn, and he gave instructions to Ji Shaocheng.
"Your Highness is alright. Let's find a place for Her Highness and the others to settle down first. They will wake up soon."
The people around breathed a sigh of relief, and soon someone came over to help the Empress up and settle her in another palace to rest.
Shen Ruoxuan took the pulses of Shi Mei and the others again, confirming that they were all fine, but had been drugged by a peculiar and rare incense, which was why they were unconscious.
The fire at Qingqian Palace quickly alerted Cixi Palace. The Empress Dowager was shocked and led her people over. Seeing that Ji Shaocheng and the others were all there, she breathed a sigh of relief and calmly questioned Shen Ruoxuan.
"How is the Empress?"
"Your Majesty is alright. She was poisoned by a kind of incense called 'Die Luo Xiang'."
"Delospermum jasminoides?"
The Empress Dowager frowned. She had never heard of this fragrance before; it had a very strange name. But it was good that the Empress was alright.
"It's good that the Empress is alright. What about the baby in her womb?" the Empress Dowager asked with concern, her face pale. Shen Ruoxuan shook his head, indicating that the baby was also fine and that the Empress Dowager could rest assured.
The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief, glanced around, and then flew into a rage: "How could this place have caught fire? The Empress and the others were even poisoned with the fennel incense! Where is the commander of the guards?"
The palace guard commander quickly led his men over and respectfully awaited orders.
The Empress Dowager issued an order: "Search everywhere immediately to see if the thieves are still hiding in the palace. How dare they be so audacious as to set fire to the palace?"