Suddenly, his grandson raised his head and kowtowed.
Seeing her expression, he suddenly understood that she had set a trap for him and was waiting for him to slip through it.
"Men, pull him down. Repeat the fifty boards and then lock him up. Without my order, no one is allowed to give him food. Pull him down!"
As soon as the empress dowager finished speaking, two guards came in and took her grandson out.
If his grandson Chu hadn't rejected the empress dowager's request to assassinate the Right Prime Minister, he probably wouldn't have been beaten up.
The reason why his grandson had refused was because, firstly, he knew that he wouldn't be able to return if he went to assassinate his son in the Right Prime Minister's Estate. Secondly, he didn't want to make Mu Qiu sad.
But now, he was afraid that his Sun clan would be implicated and the nine clans would be killed.
"Esteemed Empress Dowager, Esteemed Empress Dowager, this subordinate will handle matters for the Esteemed Empress Dowager. This subordinate will do anything at all …"
When his grandson Chu was dragged to the entrance of the chamber, he shouted loudly.
However, his shout had only two words waiting for him.
"Too late!"
When his grandson was dragged out of the chamber, the door to the chamber was closed once again.
Qin mama stood respectfully to one side, handing over the freshly brewed tea to the empress dowager.
"Empress Dowager, this old servant doesn't understand. Why didn't you use him?" If you use Xuanfei and the Sun family clan to threaten you, Guard Sun will definitely assassinate the Right Prime Minister. "
The empress dowager took the cup of tea and took two sips, a cold smile on her face.
"Do you think that he alone is capable of assassinating the Right Prime Minister?" The reason I asked him to assassinate the Right Prime Minister was only to test his loyalty. Since he has bluntly refused This Dowager, it means that he is not loyal to This Dowager. "
His grandson was truly not loyal to the empress dowager.
The reason he wasn't loyal was because of Xuanfei and Mu Qiu.
"Then why didn't you just kill him?"
At these words, the empress dowager rose from her chaise longue and Qin mama hurried over to help her up.
"He is not loyal to This Dowager right now, but that does not mean that he is useless to This Dowager. Send someone to set a fire for This Dowager, but remember, you can't burn Xuanfei to death, understand? "
Senior Servant Qin still didn't understand the empress dowager's words.
"Yes, this old servant will do it right away."
The night was getting deeper and deeper.
Within the Eternal Music Palace, because all of the palace maids had been sent away by Mu Qiu, there wasn't even a single person waiting outside the palace hall.
She looked around to make sure that there was no one around, then she took out a fire piston from her sleeve and ignited the firewood she had brought with her. She then opened the window of the hall, and threw the ignited firewood into the hall.
On the bed, Mu Qiu was fast asleep. In her sleep, she could only feel that it was getting warmer and warmer.
She opened her eyes from her sleep only when the fire grew bigger.
"Ah …" "Fire, fire, help, help …"
For a time, the Eternal Music Palace was in an uproar.
The fire within the palace hall was uncontrollable. It continued to burn until even the beds were lit on fire. Only then did the people of the palace bring water to extinguish the fire.
Hibiscus Courtyard.
"Master, master …"
Hua Mujie and Bai Zhan Ke were fast asleep on the bed when the sound of falling dust came from outside.
"What is it?"
Bai Zhan Ke opened his eyes and asked in a low voice.
"Mistress, the Longsong Palace is on fire."
The Longsong Palace?
When Hua Mu Jin, who was planning to continue sleeping, heard the words' the Everlasting Music Palace is on fire ', he immediately sat up on the bed.
"What?" The Longsong Palace is on fire? "
She remembered that the Eternal Music Palace was Mu Qiu's chamber.
"Yes."
For a moment, Hua Mujiao could no longer sit still. She quickly got up from the bed, took her coat from the side, and put it on as she prepared to open the door.
However, he was held back by Bai Zhan.
"Let go, I have to go and see if Mu Qiu is burned."
Hua Mujiao wanted to shake off Bai Zhan Ke's hand, but she knew that her strength was insufficient to defeat Bai Zhan Ke.
"Don't worry, put on your clothes."
Bai Zhan Ke's gaze fell on Hua Mujiao's chest.
Hua Mu Jin lowered her head and looked. Her face was slightly red as she pulled at her collar in embarrassment.
Under the forceful attacks of Bai Zhan Ke, Hua Mu Jin didn't rush to the Eternal Music Palace until she was fully dressed.
However, he did not go.
"Mu Qiu, are you alright?"
When she saw Mu Qiu being supported by a palace maid, Hua Mujiao stepped forward and examined her from head to toe. When she saw that she wasn't injured, she calmed down.
"Elder sister Jin, I, I …"
At this moment, Mu Qiu was still in a state of fear. When she saw Hua Mujiao, she directly held onto her, tears brimming from her eyes.
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Hua Mu Jin comforted Mu Qiu until her body stopped trembling and she calmed down before bringing her to her own Jin Xi Palace.
After settling Mu Qiu down, she returned to her own bedroom.
Right now, Bai Zhan Ke was still in the palace.
"I keep having the feeling that this fire is not an accident."
In the harem, Mu Qiu had always been aloof from worldly affairs and rarely interacted with the other concubines, not to mention that he had some sort of feud with them.
Furthermore, the other concubines probably knew that Mu Qiu wasn't even a threat to them.
"We will send someone to investigate."
"If I didn't catch fire earlier, if I didn't do it later, it would've been when I returned to the palace. Moreover, the one that caught fire was Mu Qiu's sleeping quarters. I suspect that someone wanted to use this as an opportunity to give me a warning."
Mu Qiu and Hua Mu Jin were extremely close, so everyone in the harem knew about them.
And she, Mu Jin, was the thorn in the side of those women in the imperial harem. It was inevitable that she would think in this direction.
"Jin'er, come over."
Hua Mujiao walked towards Bai Zhan Ke, and he grabbed her, pulling her to sit beside him.
"Jin'er, in this imperial harem, there aren't many people who can be trusted. You and Xuanfei are very close, and I do not object, but we still need to pay a little attention. "
Although the Right Prime Minister was loyal to Bai Zhan Ke, Bai Zhan Ke didn't think that Mu Qiu, the daughter of the Prime Minister, was trustworthy.
Of course, Hua Mujiao also understood the meaning behind those words.
"So you're saying that Mu Qiu set the fire himself?"
"I didn't say that."
Hua Mujie looked at Bai Zhan Ke and abruptly stood up.
"Bai Zhan Ke, it's alright if you don't trust Mu Qiu, but she's the first person in the palace who truly treats me with respect. I believe in her, she wouldn't set a fire to herself. Furthermore, she has no reason to set fire to her own hall. "
"I didn't say she set the fire!"
Hua Mujie understood what he meant, and Bai Zhan Ke felt a little helpless.
"You might not have said it, but that's probably what you meant. No matter what, I will find out who set the fire and I won't let that person who tried to hurt Mu Qiu off."
To Hua Mu Jin, Mu Qiu was her younger sister.
If anyone wanted to hurt Mu Qiu, she definitely wouldn't let that person off.
When Hua Mujiao said these words, outside the hall, Mu Qiu's eyes became moist. She pursed her lips, not knowing how to express her feelings.
She herself was the imperial concubine of the imperial harem and the emperor's woman. Although she had never prayed for the emperor to care for her, after her accident, the emperor hadn't even shown his face. It was hard to avoid feeling a bit upset.
However, after hearing Hua Mu Jin's words, she felt that she could be considered lucky.
At the very least, there was still someone in the imperial harem who truly treated her with sincerity.
The morning of the second day.
Although Hibiscus vulgaris did not rest well that night, she still woke up early.
"Mu Qiu, why is your complexion so bad?" Did they really catch fire last night? Should we invite the imperial physician over to take a look? "
At the dining table, Hua Mu Jin looked at the pale Mu Qiu and felt a little worried.
Furthermore, Mu Qiu didn't eat much.
"Big Sister Jin, I'm fine, it's just that I was scared last night and still haven't recovered from my shock."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Mm, I'm fine, don't worry."
Mu Qiu forced out a smile, but Hua Mu Jin was still worried for her.
Just then, an eunuch walked in and bowed respectfully. "Esteemed Empress Dowager, the empress dowager has sent someone over."
Her Majesty?
"What did the Empress Dowager send people for?"
At this time, the empress dowager sent someone over, which Hua Mujiao found very strange.
"In reply to the Empress, the person that was sent over said that the empress dowager had summoned esteemed Xuanyuan to Dew Hall so the imperial physician could take a look and see if esteemed Xuanyuan was burned last night."
Hua Mujiao felt that Her Majesty definitely had no good intentions in her actions.
She also had a feeling that the empress dowager had sent someone to set the fire at the Longsong Palace last night.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have come early in the morning to summon Mu Qiu.
"Go and answer them. Tell them that Xuanfei has been frightened and should not be moved."
"Yes."
"Wait …"
Just as the eunuch was about to obey Hua Mu Jin's order to reply, Mu Qiu suddenly called for the eunuch.
"Big sister Jin, I'm really alright. If the empress dowager summons me, then I'll be disrespectful to the empress dowager. In the future, the empress dowager will definitely cause trouble for me. I'll go to the Dew Palace first and return in a while."
"No, just in case she …"
Of course, Hua Mujiao also knew that if Mu Qiu refused to go to the Dew Palace, the empress dowager would definitely be furious.
But if she went, the empress dowager might not necessarily be looking for trouble with Mu Qiu.
"Big sis Jin, it's really alright, don't worry."
Since she couldn't win against Mu Qiu, Hua Mujiao had finally come to a compromise.
"Alright, Cherry, follow your mistress well. If you need anything, come find me at the Gesun Palace."
"Yes, Imperial Concubine Xi."
Mu Qiu had walked all the way from the Gesun Hall to the Dew Hall, but she still felt uneasy. She didn't know why the empress dowager had summoned her.
Although Cherry had been following by Mu Qiu's side the entire time, she was stopped outside the Dew Palace.
The moment Mu Qiu stepped into the Dew Palace, she was grabbed by two palace maids and forced to kneel on the ground.
Mu Qiu wanted to struggle free, but he didn't have enough strength.
She raised her head and looked at the empress dowager sitting nearby. "Empress Dowager, I don't know what sort of crime chenqie has committed, but the empress dowager wants to treat her like this."
Hearing this, the empress dowager smiled.
Afterwards, she said, "Xuanfei doesn't need to be nervous. This one only wants the imperial physician to take a look and see if you're injured. As long as you cooperate with the imperial physician's pulse, this one won't do anything to you."