If not abolished

Chapter 223 The Truth

The Crown Princess went to pay her respects to Concubine Wang as usual, and Concubine Wang was about to ask her about the fire that happened last night.

"It's just right that you're here. I was just about to send someone to check out the situation. What's going on? Why did the fire suddenly break out? Was it an accident or..." Everyone in this palace is a smart person. There are not many things that can be accidents. Most of them are just man-made.

"I am here for this matter as well. It is not an accident. She is a concubine of the Eastern Palace. She has always had some grudge against Concubine Guo. No one would have thought that she would be so bold as to do such a thing."

When Concubine Wang heard that someone did it on purpose, she shouted angrily, "With you in the East Palace, your majesty and I are extremely relieved. Even with the troublesome Guo, you have balanced the power of the concubines very well over the years. How could such a thing happen this time?" Although Taizu had long ago given ancestral teachings that the concubines of the princes did not have to look at whether their family background was prominent or not, as long as they had three generations of clean character and virtuous people, the country had only been founded for a few decades after all, and it was still necessary to stabilize the country. Now, the concubines of the crown prince were mostly descendants of meritorious aristocrats, and mainly through marriage, each family sent their daughters to the palace, naturally for the family honor. The crown princess' family was not prominent, and the concubines were either descendants of meritorious officials or daughters of famous families. None of them was easy to worry about, and it was difficult for the crown princess as well.

"It is indeed my fault. The concubine was originally a maidservant of Concubine Guo. She used some tricks to become a concubine. Concubine Guo was naturally very angry. The two of them had many conflicts. Later, the concubine suddenly went crazy and was put under guard. Who would have thought that she evaded the guards yesterday and actually set fire to kill people. Fortunately, Concubine Guo was blessed by heaven and was fine. Otherwise, I am afraid I cannot escape the blame."

"Hearing what you said, this matter is quite complicated. Where is the concubine now? She did such a thing, even if she is sentenced to death..."

"To answer your Majesty, it may be that evil will be punished. That person was in the fire last night... So I came here to ask your Majesty, how to deal with this matter?"

"Besides her, are there any other casualties?" Concubine Wang only heard that the fire was brought under control immediately and thought there were no casualties. She didn't expect that the instigator actually died in the fire.

"Besides her death in the fire, several palace maids suffered superficial injuries, and the others were basically frightened out of their wits. Fortunately, no one else died." The Crown Princess described the situation.

"That's good. Let's show the injured palace maids a good look. Give each of them an extra three months' salary. No words of comfort can be as real as money."

"Yes, I will do as your Majesty says."

"Your Majesty is about to move the capital. There must be no more trouble in the East Palace, otherwise I may not be able to persuade Your Majesty." Concubine Wang warned.

The Crown Princess naturally understood and nodded repeatedly.

"By the way, such a big thing happened last night, and the Crown Princess is still pregnant. I wonder if she was scared?" Concubine Wang thought of Hu Shanxiang and asked.

"Don't worry, Imperial Concubine. I sent someone to ask about it. The Crown Princess is not frightened. The Imperial Physician checks her pulse every day."

"That's good. If the Crown Princess's baby is a boy, it will be your Majesty's first great-grandson. I don't know how precious it will be."

"Speaking of this, Agui repeatedly reminded me not to mention boys in front of Shanxiang, fearing that she would be stressed. But they are still young, and this is their first child, so it doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl."

"That's true." Concubine Wang didn't mean that Hu Shanxiang must give birth to a boy, but it would be better if she gave birth to a boy first.

Qingyun Palace

Hu Shanxiang had finished her breakfast, and Cao Wanyi and Chu Xuanying came over to chat with her.

"Why did you come here so early today? Have you had breakfast?" Hu Shanxiang asked them to sit next to her.

"Thank you for your concern, sister. We have already used it." said the two.

"We were both woken up last night and were worried, so we came here early."

Chu Xuanying has always been a gossiper. "Sister, listen to the book. Was the fire last night not an accident?"

"Oh, was the fire set on purpose?" Hu Shanxiang asked.

"That's right, I never thought it would be..." Chu Xuanying was about to continue speaking when she was interrupted by Cao Wanyi, "Sister Ying, you must be thirsty. Have a cup of tea first." As she spoke, she brought the teacup to Chu Xuanying's mouth.

"Um……"

Hu Shanxiang knew that Cao Wanyi was always cautious, so she ordered, "All of you go out. I will call you if I have something else."

"Yes." After everyone went out.

Chu Xuanying put down the teacup and said, "Sister Cao is too cautious. Everyone here is the Crown Prince's concubine's people. Are you still afraid..."

"It's always better to be careful. Not only around the Crown Princess, but even around us there are spies from other countries." Cao Wanyi reminded.

"Sister Wan is right. Not all people in this palace are my people. It is better to be cautious." Hu Shanxiang also nodded in agreement.

"Okay, okay," Chu Xuanying continued what she had not finished saying just now: "The palace that caught fire last night is where Concubine Guo lived. Concubine Guo was quite favored by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before. There were many concubines in the Eastern Palace who didn't get along with her, but the one who didn't get along the most was the concubine who came out of her own palace. Her name was Qing or something. Anyway, that concubine was taken into custody because of some things, and no one knew what happened last night. She suddenly went to Concubine Guo's palace in the middle of the night and set fire to it. Who knew that Concubine Guo was rescued and was fine, but the concubine died in the fire. Don't you think this is strange? I've heard of many people being burned to death by arson, but this is the first time I've heard of someone burning herself to death." Chu Xuanying complained unintentionally. She just felt it was strange and didn't think much about it. But when these words fell into the ears of Hu Shanxiang and Cao Wanyi, they naturally thought of more things than her.

"So that's how it is. I thought it was a palace maid who made a mistake at night..." Hu Shanxiang listened to what Chu Xuanying said, and couldn't help but think of her own dream. In the dream, she also saw someone trying to set a fire. At that time, she tried her best to dissuade her from doing so. The person put down the fire, and she woke up. But it was just a dream, maybe she was just overthinking. There should be no connection between the two.

Just when everyone thought that Qingluan was the one who did it, the other person involved in the incident, Wu Yingyue, clearly remembered the truth of last night.

Last night, she waited outside for a long time, but there was no movement inside, so she had to go in to check the situation. Then she saw that Qingluan was about to light the fire, but for some reason, she was just standing there, muttering something. She was afraid of being discovered, so she didn't dare to get too close. After a while, Qingluan actually put the fire away. Wu Yingyue was puzzled. Why did she give up the plan and waste so much time, just like that...

No, this was her only chance and she couldn't let it go. She found a wooden stick nearby and attacked Qingluan from behind when she was not prepared. Qingluan was knocked unconscious to the ground.

Wu Yingyue found the tinder from her body, lit a fire, put the tinder in her hand, and lifted her into the fire.

"Don't blame me. I'm helping you fulfill your wish. Don't you just want to burn Concubine Guo to death? You can't do it, so I'll help you. As for you, instead of living in pain in this palace, it's better to go to paradise as soon as possible and avoid suffering in this world. You see how good I am to you. And your last value is to lend me a hand. After all, we used to be good sisters. I believe you will agree to it." Wu Yingyue's face was reflected in the raging fire as she watched Qingluan being surrounded by the fire little by little.

When the fire was almost out, Wu Yingyue was ready to rescue people. Suddenly, Qingluan slowly opened her eyes, "You...what did you do?"

Her back ached and she couldn't get up for a while. She only saw herself in the fire, and her former good sister was just watching her there.

"I... cough cough, didn't I set the fire? cough cough? How come..." Qingluan was so choked by the smoke that tears were streaming down her face and she couldn't even finish her words.

"You didn't set the fire, I did. Don't blame me. Just think of it as helping your sister for the last time. After all, isn't that what you taught me? You have to do whatever it takes to get what you want." "You... ahem, you..." Qingluan just wanted to get up when she was hit by a fallen beam. She died in the fire, and Wu Yingyue went to the main hall and rescued Concubine Guo.