C121

"Send the empress dowager back to Luan Phoenix Palace." Xi Men Rui Xue said coldly once again.

He was pretending to be sick. As expected, the people in the palace could not hold it in anymore. They did not know how Xi Men Rui was doing now. "Fu Qing, let's go check on Third Brother."

"Your majesty, the fire was discovered in time, so the people in the palace weren't killed or injured. Your majesty, rest assured." He did not know when, but Cui'er had already arrived. She looked at Ruo Rui in his arms in surprise. "Your majesty, why not let Cui'er take care of you?"

"Alright." Xi Men Rui Xue did not hesitate. He had been holding onto this fire the whole time. He threw it out and it landed in Cui Er's hands.

"Cui Er, my watch. I'm going to look for it." The not too far away Lotus Fragrance Pavilion was within a sea of fire. Ruo Ruo's heart trembled; that was the most precious thing that An Lun had given her.

"What watch?" Cui'er asked in confusion.

"That's right …" It's one of the things I put in the closet, round and ribboned, like a bracelet, on my wrist. "

"Miss, Cui'er did not see it."

Ruo Ruo struggled free of Cui Er's hand and rushed into the sea of fire with no regards to her life. That was her hope, she could not lose it no matter what she said. However, she only ran a few steps before being caught by Cui Er, "Miss, do you want to die?"

"Cui Er, quickly go and find it. It must be there." He anxiously looked at the house, but all he saw was the sizzling of flames on the floor. Cui Er was tugging on his sleeves, preventing her from entering the sea of flames.

When she turned back to call for help, she had already disappeared.

He sat on the grass in front of the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion and quietly stared at the sea of fire. He felt as if the sky was going to collapse.

At this moment, she discovered that although the entire Jingyang Palace was on fire, only her Lotus Fragrance Pavilion was on fire.

It was as though someone was doing this on purpose.

The buildings of the Jing Yang Palace were mostly self-contained. Furthermore, the greenery here was excellent, it was also a fireproof belt, so when a fire broke out, it didn't connect to other places. In the early morning, the fire was put out, but the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion was not extinguished, but completely burnt to ashes.

"Miss, let's go." Cui Er held onto Ruo Ruo's hand as she tried to persuade her. Ruo Ruo had been looking at the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion all night, she really did not know how much longer she would have to look. "Miss, the emperor will send people to make up for the burnt items one by one. As long as she is here, everything will be fine."

But her watch was gone.

The strength behind the fierce struggle was astonishing. How could he tell what he looked like when he had rushed into the wolf's lair, which still had a small spark hanging from it?

Cui'er was frightened, and quickly rushed over, "Young lady, you can't!"

The sleeve was once again grabbed. Ruo Ruo's body shuddered and she couldn't take it anymore and fainted.

That night was the most chaotic night in Jingyang Palace.

Ruo Ruo slept for a day and a night.

When he woke up, even the Zhou Dynasty was unfamiliar. However, the bed beneath him was so big and soft that it exceeded his imagination.

It seemed to be a dragon bed, and a thin veil covered her hazy vision, "Cui Er, where are we?" Although she didn't see Cui Er, she knew that Cui Er would definitely guard her.

"Miss, this is the emperor's sleeping quarters. The Jing Yang Palace is in perfect condition, so the emperor ordered Cui'er to bring the lady here."

It was indeed Xi Men Rui Xue's sleeping quarters. When she thought about how Xi Men Rui Xue had slept on this bed before, Ruo Rui blushed. "Cui Er, is there a smaller yard? Let's move out."

"No, the emperor said that the ladies can only live here now. They can't go anywhere."

It's over. Once I return to the palace, she'll become a bird in a cage again. Thinking back to everything that had happened in the Whisk Willow Villa, she missed it so much that now, she didn't even have any thoughts of leaving anymore.

He wouldn't give it to her.

Her watch had turned to ashes in the fire, and thinking about it, her heart ached, "Cui Er, change your clothes, I want to go out for a walk." She just wanted to relax, otherwise, she would really go crazy.

"This …" Cui Er hesitated and actually did not respond.

"What? I can't just walk around in Jingyang Palace?" How could she be so cruel? The speed at which Xi Men Ruoxue changed her expression was too fast, so fast that she was not used to it.

"Miss, the emperor is doing this for the girl's safety. Recently, the palace has been a bit chaotic."

It was indeed Xi Men Rui Xue. Ruo Ruo was instantly angered. She tilted her head and did not want to get up. "Then you can leave. I'll sleep a bit more." Where else could she sleep? She didn't want to see anyone right now, but if she couldn't go out, then she would stop eating and protest.

"Yes." Hearing that she didn't have to force herself to go out, Cui Er let out a long breath and didn't urge her to get out of bed.

She closed her eyes, tears quietly gushing out and wetting her cheeks. Suddenly, she remembered that it was his, and as she slid down, her head fell on the bed instead of on the pillow. She hated him, that guy had always been hard for her to fathom, but at this moment, her mind was full of him.

Time passed by as she let her imagination run wild. The bright sunlight outside the window made the room particularly bright. Cui Er's voice came to her ears, "Miss, please have some food."

If she didn't make a sound, she could only think that she was still sleeping.

"Sigh, it's better for a lady to cherish her body."

She still didn't say anything. Who did she love? She didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

Cui Er stood in front of the bed for a long time before she finally sighed and left. The Xi Men Rui Xue's bedroom became quiet again. The silence was a bit strange, so strange that it made her frown more and more.

Just as she was half asleep, a soft voice of a woman floated in from outside the window. "The emperor went to pick a show. I heard that Esteemed Empress Dowager has gone as well. This time, it's most likely that she'll be deciding on the empress dowager as well."

"That's right. The note from the Ministry of Rites was sent over a long time ago."

"I wonder who will be chosen by the Emperor. I heard that the Yun family's young miss and Qin family's second young miss are both popular candidates."

"I think the emperor will choose Qin Zhilan."

"Why?"

"Yesterday at the morning assembly, the emperor greatly praised the Qin family for their efforts during his illness and for splitting the worries of the court. Yet, he did not mention a single word of the Yun family's good. Isn't that obvious?"

"I don't think so. The emperor only represents his own meaning, the empress dowager is definitely biased towards the Yun family. As long as the position of empress is secured, then the family's influence will rise again. If the new empress gave birth to the little prince, then things would be even more spectacular."

"That's true. Let's not make wild guesses. In another four hours, everything will be ready. When that happens, the palace will be in an uproar again."

"Mm, I just don't know how the emperor is going to arrange for this concubine in the house. Consort isn't a concubine, but rather, it's the emperor's …"

"Lower your voice. Didn't the emperor tell her to stay in his palace? Doesn't that mean she's special in the eyes of the emperor? Also, I heard she appeared together with the emperor two nights ago."

"Yes, I heard that the emperor brought an illness to Whisk Willow Manor to bring her back. It was precisely because of this that he was able to avoid a fire. The two of them are both lucky."

"But some people say that the flames in Jingyang Palace were all ignited by Miss Qin. She is an unlucky person in the emperor's court. In the imperial court, there are even officials asking for Miss Qin's money …"

"Quickly, don't say it anymore. If someone else heard it, it would be incredible …"

It had always been like this in this palace. Whenever there was trouble, there was suspicion. She had long known of this, and there was no need to worry about the words of the two palace maids.

Who knew how many more women he chose to enter the palace.

Time passed. The sky had already darkened. Cui Er had already repeatedly advised him four or five times that he shouldn't stay still.

At this moment, the matter of the talent show had been decided.

Fu Qing's voice came from outside the door. "Miss Cui'er, the emperor is returning to the palace for dinner. Where's Miss Qin?"

"Oh, still sleeping."

"Didn't you already wake up?"

"Oh, I slept again." It was unknown whether it was intentional or not, but Cui'er was actually cooperating with her and protesting.

The soft laughter was actually somewhat considerate.

Just as he was comfortably lying down, a sudden gust of wind blew over. The undergarment on his shoulder was suddenly lifted up. "Qin Zhiruo, what kind of Miss's temper are you playing with?" Ximen Ruixue picked her up without a trace of politeness.

She looked back at him. "I'm not feeling well."

"Are you blaming me for locking you up again?"

Hearing that Xi Men Rui Xue actually meant what she said, made her somewhat guilty. "No, I was tired. I drank too much the night before yesterday."

"Is that so? I smell it, is it still alcoholic?" As he said this, he actually put his nose close to her face and took a very serious sniff. However, what was floating close was not only the fragrance coming from his body, but also a faint fragrance.

"Your majesty, why don't you accompany Big Sister Qi Lan? If you come to me, it'll be a disappointment. If you can't coax her, then Long Yan won't be so happy."

"Jealous?" No matter how much strength she used, she was unable to push him away. She still looked at him, "Zhen knows that Zhen's Ruo Ruo is the best at being jealous."

"I don't, and don't always say 'yours'. I'm not yours."

"Haha, the beautiful lady who is to be chosen has been decided. Since there are so many people in the palace, I shall make you a beauty."

"I don't care."

"But I am very fond of you, lazy girl. Quickly get up and go eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"But I heard that you haven't eaten anything for the entire day. Our beauty can't lose weight, it's such a pity for her to not be able to even manage to squeeze her waist." Ximen Ruixue's glib tongue was back to normal. She no longer had any trace of the emperor.