Chapter 338: Doubts Abound (3)

A sudden accident interrupted Zhuo Qing's words. Qingfeng did not know if she felt disappointed or... relieved? Because at this moment, she was already worrying: if this person said "I am not," what should she do then?!

"Mistress!" The tightly shut door was pushed open by Fuling. Her expression was somewhat flustered. Without waiting for Qingfeng to speak, she walked quickly to her side and whispered, "The Cold Palace is on fire!"

On fire? Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, then immediately thought of the person living in the Cold Palace. Her heart was filled with terror, and with a 'whoosh', she stood up at once. After a moment of thought, she shouted loudly, "Someone! Come here!"

"Mistress?" Lan'er's timid voice came from outside the door.

"Lan'er, have Shen Yao come over."

"This servant is here." Qingfeng's tone was very urgent. The two did not dare to delay and trotted into the inner room. They saw the Little Prince lying flat on the bed. Before the two could figure out what was going on, they heard their mistress give the instruction, "Take good care of the Prince," and then she walked quickly toward the courtyard. Fuling also followed her out in a hurry.

Qingfeng left in a rush, as if she had forgotten Zhuo Qing's existence. It was just a fire in the Cold Palace; why was Qingfeng so anxious? Anxious to the point of rushing over even when her child had a fever. Zhuo Qing felt it was very suspicious and decided to follow and take a look.

Qingfeng walked very fast. Zhuo Qing trotted all the way to barely keep up. Not far ahead, smoke could already be seen. The acrid smell of smoke gradually permeated the air, and the sound of noisy voices grew closer. Zhuo Qing guessed that the Cold Palace should be near. The strange thing was that Qingfeng, who had been moving like the wind just moments ago, now slowed her pace, giving the impression of a leisurely stroll. Zhuo Qing remained calm and continued to follow slowly.

It was getting noisier ahead. Qingfeng raised her voice and called out, "What are you clamoring about?"

Her clear, melodious voice carried a hint of impatience and a hint of laziness; in any case, it did not sound like she was in a hurry. Zhuo Qing narrowed her eyes, observing Qingfeng while keeping an eye on the surroundings. The smoke and dust were thick, but no heat wave struck; she estimated the fire was not large, or perhaps it had already been extinguished.

Hearing a woman's voice, a Eunuch trotted over, looking as if he were about to scold someone. But as soon as he saw who it was, the Eunuch's face changed slightly. He immediately knelt down to pay his respects, saying, "May Consort Qing live for a thousand years, a thousand years, ten thousand years."

Qingfeng glanced at him and asked, "Who are you?"

"Replying to Mistress, this servant is Zhang Shun'an, the Steward Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department."

"Get up. The Cold Palace is fine; how could it catch fire?"

"The winter weather is dry, and the area around the Cold Palace has always been neglected. Perhaps some stray spark landed here and ignited it. Mistress need not worry; the fire is not large, and I estimate it is already out."

At this time, the smoke had indeed dissipated somewhat. Qingfeng looked up and, apart from the Eunuchs and Gongnu putting out the fire, she did not see anyone else. Where did Zhen Zhen go? Qingfeng was very worried in her heart, but her words were unforgiving: "What about the people in the Cold Palace? Did they all burn to death?"

The people putting out the fire all stood by blankly. They had only been concerned with putting out the fire at the time, and the people in the Cold Palace were not important, so who would pay them any mind? Now that Qingfeng asked, no one could answer. Zhang Shun'an broke into a cold sweat and was about to send someone into the Cold Palace to check when a woman with disheveled hair and covered in dust suddenly stepped forward and replied, "My mistress is ill and lying in the inner room, unable to get out of bed."

Qingfeng narrowed her eyes slightly before she could see that the soot-covered person was actually Wu'er?! Her heart grew even more worried, but she could not show it on her face. With a cold laugh, Qingfeng scoffed, "Ill? What kind of illness is so serious? I shall go in and see for myself."

"Mistress, the smoke and dust here are too thick. Your body is precious, so perhaps..." Zhang Shun'an hurried up to dissuade her, but Qingfeng ignored her completely and walked into the Cold Palace. Zhang Shun'an wanted to follow, but was blocked at the palace gate by Fuling.

Zhang Shun'an dared not say more, and could not help but sigh in his heart. Forget it; he had seen plenty of such instances of beating a dog that had fallen into the water among the Concubines.

Qingfeng entered the Cold Palace, and Fuling stood guard at the door dutifully; it seemed others would have no hope of entering. Zhuo Qing walked to the wall of the Cold Palace, her gaze falling on several charred spots, and she could not help but frown slightly.

It was much the same as the last time she came; the room was as empty as ever. Looking around, she did not see Zhen Zhen's figure. Qingfeng grew a bit anxious and called out loudly, "Zhen Zhen?"

"Zhen Zhen?"

Qingfeng called out several times. The curtain on the north side of the room suddenly moved. Qingfeng looked over, and Zhen Zhen was walking out from inside. The curtain was not large; if one did not look closely, one might overlook it.

"It's you?" Zhen Zhen clearly had not expected the person who came to be Qingfeng.

Qingfeng looked her up and down. Her face was somewhat haggard, the look of panic on her face was fading, and there were no signs of any major injury to her body. Withdrawing her gaze, Qingfeng asked in a low voice, "Where is the child?"

Zhen Zhen hesitated for a moment and replied, "Here." After saying this, she turned, lifted the cloth curtain, and entered the room behind her. Qingfeng followed quickly.

The small room was also empty, with only an old wooden chest placed by the window. The north side of the small room was a large window; the window paper was already torn, and the cold wind kept blowing in, making it very cold, though the air here was indeed much fresher than outside. Zhen Zhen looked at Qingfeng again, seemingly still hesitant, but finally, she gently opened the slightly ajar wooden chest. A thin, small child was sleeping quietly on top of a pile of clothes. The frail body was almost buried by the clothes, leaving only a tiny face exposed. Qingfeng frowned: "Why put the child in a chest?"

A flash of heartache crossed Zhen Zhen's face, and she lowered her head, replying, "There was a fire outside. I was worried that if someone came in, they would see him, so..."

With such thick smoke just now... Qingfeng asked, "Did the child cry?"

"He cried for a while when the smoke was thick at first, but his crying has never been loud. Later, I carried him to the window, and he stopped." Seeing Qingfeng's brow furrow even tighter, Zhen Zhen hurriedly said, "He really only cried for a little while! Those people were all busy putting out the fire; they shouldn't have heard."

If someone heard the child's crying and it reached the Empress's ears... Zhen Zhen was very sharp; seeing Qingfeng's expression change slightly, she immediately guessed what she was thinking and said urgently, "You cannot take the child away!"

"But..." Before Qingfeng could continue, Zhen Zhen walked up to the wooden chest, forcing Qingfeng back two steps. Her face, which had been quite gentle, was full of severity: "If you want to take him away, you'll have to do it over my dead body!"

The resolute words blocked everything Qingfeng wanted to say. A child is the apple of a mother's eye; how could she not understand? Thinking of the child in her own room, Qingfeng's heart softened instantly. With a light sigh, Qingfeng replied, "Fine. You take good care of him. I will have Imperial Physician Lin come over to take your and the child's pulses."

Qingfeng did not force the child away. Zhen Zhen was somewhat surprised, but finally let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Qingfeng."

Qingfeng shook her head. Thank her for what? She did not yet know how things would turn out later.

Qingfeng did not stay long in the room. When she came outside, the smoke from the fire had already dissipated, leaving only water stains on the ground and a heavy smell of smoke. Qingfeng said loudly, "Someone, go and summon Imperial Physician Lin. Regardless of anything else, she was once the Emperor's woman."

"Yes." Zhang Shun'an gave a look, and the young Eunuch behind him immediately ran off toward the Imperial Medical Garden in a flash.

Qingfeng was just about to say something to Fuling when she turned her head and saw Zhuo Qing squatting beside a pile of burnt ashes, wondering what she was looking at. When did she follow? Qingfeng walked behind her and asked, "What is it?"

Zhuo Qing held a half-burnt branch in her hand and lightly poked at the ashes by her feet. Without looking up, she replied in a low voice, "There was more than one ignition point. This fire looks like it was set on purpose. Burned this way, the fire wouldn't grow large, but the smoke would be very intense."

Qingfeng swept a quick glance around, her brow furrowing even tighter. By the wall in front of the Cold Palace, there were indeed several piles of ashes that looked quite unnatural. It seemed the arsonist did not necessarily want to burn down this Cold Palace. So, by doing this, did they want to draw attention to the Cold Palace, or was it aimed at Zhen Zhen? Or perhaps the child had already been exposed?

Qingfeng's heart was in some disarray. Looking at the pure, clean profile of her eldest sister who was half-squatting on the ground, those eyes calm and clear, her heart grew even more chaotic. Taking a deep breath in secret, Qingfeng continued to ask, "Can you tell anything else?"

Releasing the branch in her hand, Zhuo Qing stood up and brushed the ash off her hands, replying, "No." The arsonist's method was not very sophisticated, but with so many people coming to put out the fire, many traces had been destroyed; she was powerless. If Gu Yun were here, she would likely be able to see more clues than her, but unfortunately, the Su Family Army was well-trained, and they had already left the city early this morning to encircle and suppress pirates.

While Qingfeng felt a bit disappointed, she also felt a bit relieved. As her thoughts whirled, she found herself not knowing what to say for a moment. She opened her mouth, but in the end, only said, "It's getting late, you should go back first."

Zhuo Qing nodded, smiled slightly, and replied, "Alright. If you have anything you want to ask, come find me again."

Zhuo Qing's words seemed to imply something, but she smiled with such openness that it made Qingfeng's heart feel inexplicably more settled. Qingfeng turned and called out, "Fuling..."

"Let her stay and help you. I have entered and left the Imperial Palace several times; I can leave the palace on my own."

Thinking that there were indeed many things regarding the Cold Palace that needed Fuling to handle, Qingfeng did not insist. Zhuo Qing waved her hand and turned to leave. Her slender figure walked away quickly, firm and decisive. Staring at that back, Qingfeng was lost in a daze.

Eldest sister, is it you?

Is it you?

"Mistress..." There were still many people gathered at the entrance of the Cold Palace. Fuling called out softly to her mistress.

Qingfeng came back to her senses in a trance. Thinking of the mother and child in the Cold Palace, her head began to ache faintly.

"Eunuch Zhang."

"This servant is here." Zhang Shun'an hurried forward.

Qingfeng said coldly, "The Emperor is busy with ten thousand matters, the Empress Dowager is also getting on in years, and the Empress is not in the best of health. Do not go bothering them with these trivial, messy matters again. You servants must know how to share the burdens of your masters."

Zhang Shun'an was naturally not a fool. Understanding in his heart, he replied, "Mistress's instruction is correct."

"That's enough. Clean up what needs to be cleaned, and those who have nothing to do should disperse."

"Yes."

It was not convenient for her to stay here any longer. She gave Fuling a look, Fuling nodded slightly, and Qingfeng turned and left.

"Respectfully sending off Mistress. May Mistress live for a thousand years, a thousand years, ten thousand years."

Qingfeng did not need to turn her head to know that behind her, another group of people had knelt on the ground, their shouts uniform and resonant, yet she was exhausted and only wanted to return to her son's side as quickly as possible.

(End of this chapter)