Chapter 336

Ling Feng escorted Gu Jiu Ling's carriage to a stop below Chongwen Pavilion; Jiu Yue and Yun Duo helped Gu Jiu Ling out of the carriage and entered the main gate of Chongwen Pavilion.

The night had grown late; only a few clerks from the Hanlin Academy guarded the gate of Chongwen Pavilion, probably because the night was cold, they had drunk liquor and gathered together to liven up and get through the night.

Seeing Gu Jiu Ling and them arrive, the clerks hurried to rise and salute; earlier Gu Kang had already ordered someone to pass the message, saying the Princess Consort of Rui would come to Chongwen Pavilion to write an article.

They hurried to usher Gu Jiu Ling inside; Gu Jiu Ling wore a hood on her head, and the few clerks could not clearly see the Princess Consort of Rui's eyebrows and eyes.

Southern Qi's Chongwen Pavilion forbids military officers from entering; Ling Feng, as a guard and military officer, could not go in, so he had to stay outside Chongwen Pavilion to stand watch.

Ling Feng and several secret guards from Gu Jiu Ling's entourage patrolled back and forth outside, and there was nothing suspicious around.

Several people gradually relaxed, leaning against one side and talking in low voices.

The head of Gu Jiu Ling's secret guards, Meng, came up beside Ling Feng and whispered, "The matter concerning the Prince and Princess Consort..."

Ling Feng snapped, "What else can we do? Just endure it for now!"

"Actually, the Princess Consort isn't bad," Meng sighed.

Ling Feng also felt stifled in his heart, silently cursing that old bastard Du Yushan, who not only implicated the Princess Consort but also dragged him and Jiu Yue's maid into trouble.

Just now when he spoke to that maid Jiu Yue, she ignored him; ignoring him was fine, but moreover...

Ling Feng suddenly froze in place, recalling the expression Jiu Yue had just given him.

Before, she usually avoided him, mostly ignoring him, but just now that glance always felt her gaze was strange.

Amidst hatred, there was a hint of longing... longing?

Ling Feng shivered violently, a bad premonition rose, and his scalp even felt slightly numb.

Meng, who had been talking with him, was startled by Ling Feng's suddenly stiff expression and hurried over.

Big Brother Ling, what's wrong?

Ling Feng felt that tonight's wind was not only cold but also strong; he even felt a chill deep inside.

He shoved Meng aside, who was blocking the way, and walked toward the gate of Chongwen Pavilion.

At that moment, the few clerks guarding the door were startled by Ling Feng's aura, hurried over, bowed to him and said with a smile, "Commander Ling, our Chongwen Pavilion's rule forbids military officers from going upstairs..."

"Get out of the way!" Ling Feng shoved aside the clerk blocking his path.

Those clerks were frail scholars; Ling Feng's shove made one stagger and nearly fall to the ground.

"Big Brother Ling!" Meng saw Ling Feng rush toward Chongwen Pavilion's main gate as if gone mad, and his heart gave a sudden jolt.

Something happened!

He brought a few guards and followed behind Ling Feng; unexpectedly, as they just rushed in, thick smoke rolled down from above, choking everyone so they could not open their eyes.

"Come! Come quickly!" Ling Feng bellowed, charging toward the stairwell; by then he was already terrified out of his wits.

Above were not only his beloved maiden Jiu Yue but also the Princess Consort of Rui; if anything happened to the Princess Consort, how could he face the Prince?

The Prince himself had worried that after he left, there would be no one to look after the pregnant Princess Consort in the mansion, so he had left these people behind; he never expected such a major incident at this critical moment.

The other guards who had followed behind Ling Feng were also dumbfounded; they never imagined something would happen inside Chongwen Pavilion.

The few clerks guarding Chongwen Pavilion were also dumbfounded, panicked and at a loss.

Chongwen Pavilion was built during the founding of Southern Qi by the former emperor; moreover, this pavilion holds greater symbolic meaning for Southern Qi, so if it were burned...

They also panicked and trailed behind Ling Feng and his group, shouting as if gone mad, while sending people rushing into the palace to report.

Ling Feng led his men rushing to the third floor, just about to charge up to the fourth, when the Princess Consort was situated on the fifth floor.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached the corner of the stairway leading to the fourth floor, a massive bookcase turned sideways blocked their path.

Ling Feng's heart lurched; if a fire had broken out earlier, perhaps someone upstairs had accidentally knocked over a candle, but now a massive bookcase had been placed sideways between the third and fourth floors.

It completely blocked the passage; someone had deliberately obstructed the rescue route, intending to burn alive everyone above the fourth floor.

At that moment, Ling Feng felt a chill rise up his spine, and an unprecedented panic swept over him.

He couldn't care about anything else, shouting the names of Jiu Yue and Gu Jiu Ling.

He lifted his foot and kicked the bookcase hard, but it was already filled with heavy volumes, so his kick only made it sway slightly.

The few guards behind him also hurried to kick it together; the bookcase crashed down with a clatter, still blocking half the path.

The fire on the fifth floor spread rapidly; in an instant, tongues of flame swept over this side of the fourth floor, the raging blaze preventing rescuers from charging in.

Ling Feng no longer cared about anything; he removed his outer garment to cover his mouth and nose, then rushed into the fire.

Unexpectedly, after just a few steps, a thud sounded as a sturdy horizontal beam collapsed, knocking Ling Feng to the ground.

The people behind him were panicking; they had just helped Ling Feng up when the fifth‑floor side collapsed with a crash.

Those behind could not be rescued; even if they rushed in, they would be burned to death inside, and the people inside could not be saved at all.

With a fire this huge, the people must already have been burned to ashes.

Moreover, part of the onlooking populace grabbed wooden buckets, filled them with water, and came to help extinguish the fire.

"Come on, people! Fetch water! Fetch water! The Chongwen Tower is on fire! Hurry!"

"Drag those people out! If you don't drag them out, they'll be burned to death!"

The guards behind Ling Feng were still trying desperately to charge inside, but the fire was too huge—either they got their faces burned or they were overcome by smoke and passed out.

The surrounding populace hurriedly dragged those reckless people out; at the moment they pulled them out, the entire Chongwen Tower collapsed instantly.

It also knocked down some innocent bystanders, but fortunately no one was killed; everyone cried out in fear and retreated, staring at the Chongwen Tower now reduced to a burnt ruin, dumbstruck.

"What... what on earth is going on? How did the water suddenly break out?"

"Yeah, the Chongwen Tower has been neglected for years and is wooden; it's no wonder it caught fire."

"These past few days, the upper floor has been piled with flammable books; a little candle could ignite it—just a pity about the Princess Consort of Rui..."

"Yeah, I heard the Princess Consort of Rui was still up there; this time she also took part in the selection, writing her new poem upstairs, not expecting to be trapped inside."

"Too terrible! Simply too terrible! She was pregnant with twins—what can be done?"

"Where did Prince Rui go?"

"No idea where he went? What a pity for the mother and child trio."

Who says it isn't? It's about to be born, how could such a big thing happen?

Before, they weren't saying that Prince Rui Xiao Yin was a husband-killer's fate, but this time the Gu family's eldest daughter married him as princess consort, and they thought they'd gotten through this life.

Don't want to... sigh... forget it, this husband-killer fate really is life‑taking—now another princess consort has died.

What can be done? Such a huge fire has collapsed to this state—people must have been burned to ashes.