Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 126 Embers
Pingle's eyes were dull, and his fingertips uncontrollably dug deep into his palms, as if he wanted to embed all the panic and anger in his heart into his flesh.

"This is outrageous! How dare any cat or dog dare to step on my head? Do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

There was the sound of weapons colliding in the distance.

General Weiyuan had not arrived yet, but his loud voice had already been heard.

"Princess, please don't blame me! I was inspecting the defense of the capital and saw the fire in the other courtyard, so I came to help!"

Xue Qingxiu followed behind General Weiyuan, took three or two steps forward, narrowed his right eye slightly, glanced at Pingle's loose hair, and raised his hand.

A group of silver-armored guards stood in neat rows, startling the crows on the roof and causing them to fly away in all directions.

"Princess, may you be safe and sound. We, your humble servants, have come to protect you."

Pingle suddenly chuckled when he saw this.

"When I was admiring the moon with my husband, the candlestick fell over, alarming the two adults."

As she spoke, she gently wrapped her nail-stained fingertips around Lu Youan's sleeves, her voice filled with unquestionable majesty and arrogance.

"But the fire has been extinguished. It seems like an overreaction for you two to mobilize so many troops. Please go back."

The mountain wind whistled past, bringing with it a strong burnt smell.

Xue Qingxiu suddenly sniffed, his eyes fell on the waterfall, his expression solemn.

"There seems to be a scent of agarwood in the smoke. Where on earth is the fire? General, for the princess's safety, we have to check it carefully."

"How dare you!" Ping Le swung his sleeves violently.

The majesty that he had accumulated over more than twenty years in a high position burst out at this moment.

"Captain Yihui, are you going to search my villa? You are so bold! Whose orders are you following? Whose master do you recognize?"

Ever since she was poisoned at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, she had been suffering from a chronic illness and had been in poor health.

At this moment, he was suddenly emotionally agitated, his entire body was unstable, sweat was pouring down his face, his legs were weak, and even his breathing became rapid and heavy...

Lu Youan reached out and held her trembling shoulders.

This action made Pingle stunned for a moment, and then he calmed down immediately - after being married for many years, he had never been so close to her in front of others.

"The princess is drunk." Lu Youan's voice was as cold as if it had been dipped into a cold pond.

He glanced at Pingle, walked forward with a complicated expression, and bowed to everyone.

"Thank you for your concern! The fire has been extinguished, and only embers remain. I am sorry to bother you any further. Besides, the princess likes quietness and does not want to be disturbed. General Weiyuan and Lieutenant Yihui, please forgive me."

There was still a faint smell of burning in the air, but looking around, there was indeed no sign of open flame.

The princess and her husband drove the guests away, and if they forced to stay, it would be considered unworldly.

Qi Mingyang glanced at Xue Qingxiu.

"In that case, Captain Xue, let's go."

Xue Qingxiu responded with a "yes" and looked in the direction of the waterfall, as if thinking about something.

"boom--"

At this moment, a flash of fire suddenly exploded in the mountains next to the waterfall.

It was already dry in midsummer, and the mountain wind fanned the fire, causing the flames to leap up quickly like a ferocious beast.

Xue Qingxiu's eyes flashed and he shouted anxiously.

"Look, General, there's a fire there!"

General Weiyuan's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, it's so windy in this damn weather, what will happen if a forest fire starts? Captain Xue, quickly bring people to put out the fire!"

Xue Qingxiu quickly responded: "Yes, all of you follow me!"

"Did the princess speak?!"

Pingle stood in front of him angrily.

"It is not your turn to interfere in this princess's villa!"

Xue Qingxiu took a half step forward and cupped his hands: "If the fire spreads there, the consequences will be disastrous."

He paused, blocking Qi Mingyang's sight unnoticeably, his eyes fell on the dangling oriental pearls on Pingle's earrings, hinting at them with a hint of provocation in his eyes.

"Military supplies are a matter of national importance. Princess, please think twice."

Pingle's pupils suddenly contracted.

When she saw Xue Qingxiu's expression, she thought of Xue Liu.

Thinking of Xue Liu, she was instantly enraged, sneered, and trembled with anger.

"How can a third-rate servant like you have the right to speak in front of this princess? You don't need to teach me how to do things. Take your people and get out immediately—"

Xue Qingxiu's expression remained unchanged, but Wei Mingyang became furious after hearing what he heard.

He was Xue Qingxiu's immediate superior. At first, he was not very happy when Xue Qingxiu wanted to meddle in the affairs of Pingle Villa.

But now that the people have arrived, he was furious to see that the princess was so arrogant and did not treat his soldiers as human beings, and even called them "third-rate slaves".

"Princess, calm down."

Qi Mingyang spoke in a cold voice, and suddenly drew the sword from his waist. The faded red silk wrapped around the hilt rustled in the mountain wind.

"This saber was given by your majesty. It is my duty to defend the land and protect the people. This must be your majesty's expectation. The fire is urgent now. I hope the princess will put the overall situation first!"

Pingle was furious when he heard this.

She was a person who could not stand being bullied. After being bullied by Xue Qingxiu and Qi Mingyang, the mania caused by her chronic illness became more intense. She was trembling all over, her eyes were bloodshot, and she was like an angry beast.

"If the princess says no, then no!"

"Someone, get these daring creatures out of here!"

In an instant.

A group of guards from the princess's mansion quickly lined up and stood in front of the silver-armored soldiers.

The two sides are facing each other, and the situation is tense.

But in a flash, the flames climbed up the mountain behind the waterfall, clinging to the dead vines, spreading rapidly and dyeing half of the night sky an eerie blood-red.

The heat wave, carrying sparks, hit the courtyard like raindrops.

Xue Qingxiu said anxiously: "Princess Pingle, it will be too late if we don't put out the fire."

If the fire gets out of control, the entire Xishan Villa will be reduced to ashes.

This was built with countless efforts and financial resources by Pingle...

She was reluctant, but she didn't dare to let go.

"I will take care of it myself. You don't need to worry about it. Get out!"
-
The blazing fire lit up the night sky.

The West Mountain is high in terrain, and the flames rising into the sky can be seen from far away.

"It's the Jilongtan!" The people nearby all saw the fire.

Someone shouted angrily: "In order to build a villa, the dog princess occupied our fields and houses, and even filled up our dragon pond! Now the West Mountain is on fire, this is clearly a punishment from heaven!" "Let's go and take a look!"

"Have a look!"

Countless people ran around to tell each other, and they were so excited that they gathered together like a surging tide and rushed towards the Xishan Villa.

Before they knew it, hundreds of villagers had gathered.

Some were holding shovels, some were carrying wooden poles, and the woman in the front row was holding a crying baby tightly in her arms.

Most of these people were people whose land was forcibly confiscated by Pingle. At this moment, flames of anger were flickering in their turbid eyes. It was the anger that had been oppressed for so long that was completely ignited at this moment.

Some brave ones climbed up the wall, and some even climbed up the big trees.

The crowd was outraged and roared loudly.

"My ancestral grave is beside the Jilong Pond. Princess Pingle dug it up. This is intolerable..."

"You have seized people's land and destroyed my livelihood. I must demand an explanation today!"

"Give me back my home!"

"Give me back my blood and sweat!"

The accusations came one after another, each wave louder than the last.

Some even cried out in tears, full of despair.

"Please show mercy to us adults and make a decision for us common people."

Public resentment was boiling, and Qi Mingyang broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this.

He just came to put out the fire and didn't expect to be involved in this storm.

"Let's put out the fire first!"

Xue Qingxiu also raised his arms and shouted: "Fire!"

He called out to the people, "What are you all standing there for? Come and help put out the fire!"

Once the people moved, the guards at Xishan Villa were no longer enough.

They did not dare to beat the people in public and could only stop them with their bodies. For a while, both sides pushed and wrestled, yelled at each other, and soon the situation became chaotic and no one came to put out the fire.

In the flames that shot up into the sky, the heat waves surged and rolled.

The smell of the spices becomes stronger after burning.

In the stone cellar, flames leaped up three feet, burning through the chiseled roof beams and wooden frames. Spices, nanmu, tribute silk and satin were all burned. This relatively closed space was like a high-temperature furnace, slowly melting the official silver...

The scorched rock near the fire suddenly cracked open under the high temperature, and the molten silver flowed down the hot cracks, attached to the stone wall, and condensed into a strange pattern...

Someone with sharp eyes suddenly screamed, "It's silver water! There's silver hidden in it!"

This shout instantly caused an uproar in the crowd.

"There's silver, it's full of silver!"

Everyone rushed over roaring.

Pingle's whole body trembled violently, and his eyebrows were twisted into a different arc.

"Who dares?"

"Stop them, stop these troublemakers!"

At this moment, she finally understood that this fire was not an accident.

Someone had calculated the direction of the mountain wind and the melting point of the official silver, and also attracted refugees to gather, clearly intending to expose the secret of her hidden wealth.

But obviously, the other party did not expect the emperor to come!

"The Holy Lord has arrived——"

A sharp cry pierced the night sky, instantly breaking the chaotic situation.

Palace lanterns came in one after another, and the bright yellow color was particularly eye-catching under the firelight.

Emperor Chongzhao came walking towards him in a majestic manner, with a smell of burning. Concubine Xiao accompanied him. A corner of her gorgeous palace dress was lifted up by the heat wave. She had a pretty face and a graceful manner. She didn't look like a mother of two children as old as hers at all.

Seeing this, everyone in the yard knelt on the ground in unison.

"Your Majesty, may you live forever."

The sound of the mountains resounds through the sky
Pingle suddenly laughed softly.

"This is fate. What does it matter if you plan everything?"

"This princess is born noble, may the heavens bless me!"

She thought to herself, wiped her red eyes, and staggered forward to complain to the emperor, but was grabbed by Lu Youan's wrist.

This prince consort, who had always been as gentle as jade, now had a coldness in his eyes that she had never seen before, and his voice was low but piercing.

"Princess, please don't disturb His Majesty, and don't speak nonsense."

Pingle's pupils shrank.

Lu Youan was warning her not to bite recklessly.

He has the leverage over her.

Emperor Chongzhao frowned and glanced over: "What's going on?"

Pingle forced herself to remain calm, walked towards the emperor with great grace, and bowed to him.

"Father, today I and my husband came to the West Hill to enjoy the moon. Unexpectedly, I was careless and ignited the candle. General Weiyuan is here to put out the fire for me."

Emperor Chongzhao nodded slightly, "It's good that he is alright."

He has been a fox all his life, how could he not see the weirdness in it?
Emperor Chongzhao raised his hand imperceptibly, signaling everyone to stand up.

"There is no need for courtesy in the face of a fire. Soldiers, please do your job. General Weiyuan, you continue to inspect the defense. The Imperial Guards will handle the situation here."

The emperor brought a lot of imperial guards with him.

With the emperor's instructions, Qi Mingyang and Xue Qingxiu did not dare to slack off and led their subordinates to retreat in an orderly manner...

However, although the emperor sent them away, he could not send away the angry people and the more villagers who were rushing to the scene.

When they heard that the emperor was coming, some people knelt on the ground and kowtowed, accusing the princess of evil deeds one by one. Some people took advantage of the chaos to rush past the guards and smash open the princess's treasury to see how much of the people's wealth she had hidden.

If the imperial guards tried to stop the common people from approaching the emperor’s carriage, how could they put out the fire in time?
The scene became more chaotic, and the fire became more fierce.

A huge explosion sounded from deep in the stone cellar, and the bronze tripod was burned and cracked, making a dull sound. The golden nanmu Buddhist shrine had long been reduced to ashes in the fire, and the gold bricks on the ground were gradually deformed under the high temperature and lost their original appearance.

The door of the stone cellar was finally opened by the chaotic crowd in the raging fire, and someone unlocked the Tiangong Lock...

When the golden Buddha head was brought before Emperor Chongzhao, more than fifty silver ingots engraved with "Chongzhao Tenth Year Jiangnan Supervised Tax Silver" were rescued from the ashes and rolled down to the feet of Emperor Chongzhao...

When the scattered gold, silver and treasures come into view...

When Fan Bing's charred and twisted body was dragged out of the fire pit...

Emperor Chongzhao had a sweet and fishy taste in his throat and his face was pale and blue.

He thought Pingle was just willful and unruly, and never expected that she would do such a thing...