I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

Chapter 299 Sharing life and death

Even if the Jinyiwei wanted to, they didn't have the strength. They weren't afraid of death. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the commander was not right about Zhao Fangyu. Who would dare to go up and save her? They were the Jinyiwei, not the imperial physicians who specialized in saving people. Even the imperial physicians wouldn't risk their lives to save a disfavored princess in a sea of fire.

If something happens, the boss is watching. If the boss doesn't let go, they just have to stay put. There is another one, and they really have no power to do anything.

They were not yet capable of flying to the fourth floor and bringing down an unconscious woman. Otherwise, they could have competed for the position of commander.

The eldest princess turned around and looked at the commander again. If she didn't go back to save Zhao Fangyu, she would be in great danger.

In a hurry, the princess didn't care about many things. She just pretended that she didn't know that this man was the commander of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei. She was about to slap him, but before her palm fell, she was grabbed by the man: "What do you mean, Princess?"

The princess stepped hard on the commander of the Northern Pacification Division, but she was wearing a pair of soft-soled embroidered shoes and posed no threat at all.

He suddenly raised his left hand and slapped the commander of the Northern Pacification Division, saying sternly, "Princess He is still up there. If anything happens to her, who among you can take the responsibility?"

"Because the Crane King is not in the capital, they bully her and make her stay alone in the capital!"

Qi Lang was already standing behind the princess at this time, looking at the man with a gloomy look: "Sir, are you unable to save my Li family, or... are you unwilling to save my Li family?"

The fire was so fierce that it could not be delayed. The commander of the Northern Pacification Division held on for two seconds before flying up again.

The flames were already approaching Zhao Fangyu's location. Fortunately, they had taken down the curtains earlier, so the fire did not spread that fast. However, the window he had just entered through was no longer accessible. He could only climb over the eaves and walls to the other side, enter through another window, and carry out Zhao Fangyu, who had completely fainted.

As soon as Zhao Fangyu came down, he was picked up by several maids who had come back. At this time, even Zhao Zhihuai arrived and carried him into the carriage.

Qilang hurriedly caught up, leaving behind only the eldest princess, who was wearing a pair of soft-soled embroidered shoes and watching the Qianjin Building she had worked so hard to build being destroyed, and the commander, who was watching the Hewang Mansion carriage leave with deep eyes.

"Boss, has anyone moved?"

The man shook his head. No matter how well Zhao Fangyu performed, his intuition as a Jinyiwei was that something was wrong with her.

She acted too perfect, without any flaws, and it seemed like she didn't benefit from it...

But his instinct in solving cases and tracking down the suspects over the years told him that this matter was related to Zhao Fangyu.

A trace of water flashed in the eyes of the eldest princess, and then she shouted angrily: "What on earth is going on!"

How could a perfectly good building catch fire?

There are countless gold, silver and treasures in it. It is the eldest princess's most worry-free nest. Now it has been destroyed in an instant, and the reason is still unknown. The eldest princess has experienced the feeling of walking between life and death. How can one not be angry?

The Jinyiwei commander stared at the princess's messy hair, then looked at her back, which was embarrassed but still more courageous than others. He took a step forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. He turned around and stared at the princess with his eagle eyes: "Why is it so... Didn't the princess suspect anything?"

The princess followed the commander's pointed gaze and saw only the shadowy back of the Hewang Palace's carriage.

If it was someone else, the princess would have been suspicious, but it was Zhao Fangyu.

"Sir, the more beautiful and intelligent women in the world are, the less likely they are to put themselves in danger."

"This Qianjin Building was part of the deal she gave me."

"If you have any plans, you don't have to wait until today."

"Besides, doesn't Your Excellency know exactly whether she really fainted?"

He fainted in a place where the fire was fierce and there was no escape, and even his last words were clear...

Zhao Fangyu obviously didn't know that the Jinyiwei would come to rescue him.

Everyone knows what happens to someone who faints in a fire.

The raging fire is merciless and cannot distinguish between high and low. It will not let Zhao Fangyu go just because she is the Princess of He.

"I believe her. If you suspect her, then you should be open and honest and present the evidence."

The princess didn't believe that Zhao Fangyu would put himself in danger just to burn down her worthless building.

There is no need to do so. The establishment of Qianjin Tower was facilitated by Zhao Fangyu. No matter how much money Qianjin Tower makes, it cannot compare to the fourteen states that are flourishing everywhere. How could it be worth it for Zhao Fangyu to bet his own life on it?

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard glanced at the eldest princess who was making a solemn promise, and said nothing.

The failure to sow discord between the princess and Zhao Fangyu was expected. If the relationship between them could be so easily sown, then when Zhao Fangyu was unconscious in the sea of fire just now, the princess should have kicked Zhao Fangyu into the sea of fire.

"I am just reminding you that Your Highness the Princess is overthinking."

The princess smoothed her hair again with the help of her maid, and said in a bad tone: "Whether you are overthinking or not, the commander of the Northern Pacification Division will make his own judgment. You are the right-hand man and the vanguard of His Majesty. How can you call yourself a lowly official in front of a princess like me?"

"Your Excellency is too modest."

The eldest princess said she was not worthy of the title, but in fact she was very worthy of it.

He was just about to be pointed at and scolded. How could he, a dog in front of the emperor, act so unruly in front of the eldest princess?

The people around were all watching. The Jinyiwei were directly under the emperor, held very high positions, and had real power. Ordinary people would avoid them when they saw the Jinyiwei's lackeys.

But the eldest princess is not an ordinary person. She is the most beloved princess of the late emperor, and his only daughter even went to Daliang to marry...

Not to mention that she had never committed any crime, even if she had, as long as the Jinyiwei didn't kill her on the spot, the people from the Zongzheng Temple would not let the emperor behead her.

Since taking office, the commander had never suffered such humiliation, and he did it in public, and he could not offend the eldest princess who represented the face of the royal family.

She pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes full of coldness: "Your Highness the Princess is right."

He retorted in a neither soft nor harsh manner, bowed to the eldest princess, and then took his men to survey the area around the fire again.

"Found a lot of... flour."

The men of the Northern Pacification Office had already rushed into the sea of fire several times and had fully explored the situation inside.

"Other than that?"

There were fires in many places in the capital today. With such chaos, how could the Jinyiwei fail to notice that something was wrong?

Among the many fire locations, the one at the Princess's Qianjin Tower was the most important. Therefore, the Northern Pacification Division almost mobilized all its forces to surround the several fire points. Among the many fire points, the Princess's Qianjin Tower was the most peculiar.

There were seven fire points in total, and only Fanlou and the eldest princess' Qianjinlou exploded.

Another thing was that when he was patrolling the palace gate, a maid came to report that his wife had fainted from crying because a young monk from the Pilu Temple was missing.

This plot was not aimed at anyone, so he hurried out of the palace. However, before he reached home, he heard that many fires had broken out in the capital, and he realized that this plot might be aimed at him.

Originally he suspected Zhao Fangyu, but Zhao Fangyu had no reason to target him.

Kill him or frame him, Zhou Qinghe cannot return to the capital. What's the use of a prince who cannot return to the capital?

If Zhou Qinghe returned to the capital, the worst that could happen to him would be a rebellion and forcing the emperor to abdicate. He was not in the imperial city and was being guarded by the emperor's men. He was thousands of miles away, and he could not allow Zhao Fangyu to ascend the throne as a woman.

The commander of the Northern Pacification Division was completely puzzled. He knew that Zhou Qinghe was sent away by the emperor for disobeying discipline, and he also knew that the emperor intended to let Zhou Qinghe take the blame for the third prince. But what he didn't understand was the purpose of this plot against him?

From the beginning to the end, his Northern Pacification Division had nothing to do with Zhou Qinghe's matter.

There was no reason why Zhao Fangyu disliked him, so he went to such great lengths, even risking his own life, just to take revenge on him who had nothing to do with the matter.

Just now he deliberately delayed the time to rescue Zhao Fangyu. When he went back the second time, Zhao Fangyu's position had not changed at all, and her pulse also showed that she was indeed unconscious.

The commander of the Northern Pacification Division used his fingers to carefully spread the flour that his subordinates had found in the sea of fire, and the fine powder covered his fingertips.

Suddenly, after smelling the flour, the commander's eyes changed. Even if he didn't go to the kitchen, he should know that the noodles and buns he ate every day were not made of such gray flour.

Besides, even if the Princess' Qianjinlou had flour, it shouldn't be such inferior mixed flour. The worst should be fine flour.

There is also a hint of sweetness hidden in the wheat aroma, and in addition to that, there is also a faint smell of coal that should definitely not appear in flour.

The smell of coal is very strong, so the amount added should not be too much, otherwise the smell would not be so light.

"Where did you find it?"

Qianjinlou is a place that sells perfume. It is absolutely impossible that flour, which has nothing to do with perfume, would be found there!

Something must be wrong when something is out of the ordinary. The commander looked at Qianjinlou with a cold look in his eyes. Even when he looked at the eldest princess, there was a hint of ruthlessness as if he had caught something wrong with her: "If Your Highness can't even manage your own place, you might as well hand this mess over to us, the Jinyiwei."

The princess naturally saw the commander kneading the gray flour, and knew that her Qianjin Building must have caught fire suddenly, but she would not do it, and Zhao Fangyu would not do it. If the Jinyiwei could not clear her name, they would come to rob her purse...

The princess, who had just come out of the fire, had black and white spots on her face. She looked embarrassed, but her eyes were shining. She refused to give in. "If the Northern Pacification Office can't do a good job, why not let the Southern Pacification Office do it?"

"Investigating a case is a job that requires your brain, and you shouldn't be doing it."

The commander picked up the flour and said, "You have a sharp tongue."

"I hope that Her Royal Highness the Princess can be so sharp-tongued in front of His Majesty."

The eldest princess snorted, and in front of everyone, she took off the golden hairpin on her head, borrowed the nearest carriage, and rode to Zongzheng Temple herself.

There was no one on the street anymore, and the Qianjin Building behind him was burning fiercely, making it impossible to save the people.

All we can do is let it burn and watch it collapse bit by bit.

"Your Excellency the Commander, there is no need for that. I will go to the Zongzheng Temple and ask my uncles to seek justice for me!"

The fire burned for three days.

The towering Fan Tower became a pile of ruins.

The Qianjin Building was reduced to dust.

The fourteen states of Zhao Fangyu were almost lost and half of them were burned by the flames coming from the surrounding areas.

The commander of the Northern Pacification Division was ambushed outside the city before he could enter the palace at midnight.

Not only the commander, but also the team of Jinyiwei who followed him out were all killed.

The body was burned black by the raging fire and turned into charred bones, making it extremely difficult to see any trace.

Wherever traces could be seen, professional killers had thrown the bones into the water and let them float downstream, or buried them in other places where they could not be found.

Even the dirt on the ground where the fight took place was shoveled away overnight, leaving no trace.

I had no idea whether these people were tall or short, male or female.

The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. All the troops in the five cities were dispatched, and even Zhao Fangyu was temporarily imprisoned.

In front of the gate of Hewang Mansion, Pei De stopped and looked at the eldest lady who was sitting in front of the screen wall of Hewang Mansion.

An armchair and the door of the mansion was wide open.

The eldest lady was wearing a dark green Zhujin jacket and a peacock crown with slightly yellow pearls on her head, and on both sides were three-inch long kingfisher phoenix tassel hairpins.

That was the dowry given to her by the late queen.

Holding the red book and iron certificate sent by the Li family from Longxi in his hand, he looked at Pei De calmly.

Pei De had nothing to say, and the group of people who followed him all knelt down.

Seeing the red-lettered iron certificate is like seeing the emperor in person.

Except for the eldest lady who was holding the imperial edict, everyone knelt and bowed their heads.

This is the confidence of the family.

Once they make a move, it's an iron certificate. If they are forced into a corner, they can take out the imperial sword bestowed by the founding emperor and kill the tyrants and treacherous ministers.

Even if you die on the spot, you can't say anything.

"If you have anything to ask, I would not dare to stop you. But I am weak and if it is inconvenient, I hope you can understand for the sake of our ancestors."

"There is no male owner in the house. If even the female owner is taken to prison, then the Hewang Mansion will never be able to hold its head up in the capital for the rest of its life."

The eldest lady spoke humbly, but who doesn't know that Zhao Fangyu's misfortune was completely unprovoked?

For some unknown reason, my husband was sent to the frontier to be a useless clerk without a word, while I went to find my aunt to play with, but ended up being trapped in a fire, leaving vertically and coming back horizontally?

Now the person is still lying in bed, doctors are coming in and out, and he is going to be thrown into prison as soon as the sky turns light?

If he were to go to jail, he would lose all his dignity and face!

Pei De took two steps closer, relying on the fact that the people at the door couldn't hear him, and tried to persuade the eldest lady kindly: "Don't worry, the princess has done me a favor, and no one in the imperial prison can touch her."

The eldest lady did not speak, but stared at Pei De's black and white eyes, as if trying to determine the truth in his words.

Pei De is now the second-in-command of the Southern Pacification Office. When Pei Yan is not around, he is in charge.

His words were effective, but not effective enough.

He forgot to count one person - the emperor.

What if the emperor wants to kill Zhao Fangyu?

Can he stop it?

He could only guarantee that Zhao Fangyu would not be secretly murdered and die in the imperial prison for unknown reasons, but he could not guarantee that Zhao Fangyu would be able to come out safely.

Be it the imperial prison or the big prison, Zhao Fangyu could not enter it under any circumstances.

"His Royal Highness the Crane King is not here, and it is really inconvenient for the orphans and widows at home. If you don't mind, I will accompany you. If you want to ask anything, I will tell you everything I know."

"But if he has to go to jail, then let him go to jail for my daughter."

The eldest lady pushed the red seal and iron certificate forward, but how could Pei De dare to take it?

I could only kneel down to the lady again.