"Brother, there's no need to send me off."
"Brother, take care!"
Regardless of what they were thinking, at the very least, when Prince Qi and Prince Xin walked out of the hall, their faces were filled with smiles, looking like brothers.
After walking out of the Prince Qi Manor and getting into the carriage, Prince Xin's countenance turned grim.
Putting aside the fact that he had become the true loser in the fight for the throne, as a prince, he had even been humiliated on the streets. The worst thing that had happened in his entire life had happened in these two days.
"I want to see how long you can continue to be smug!" He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Before that, I'll settle a small debt first …"
He lifted the curtain and said in a soft voice, "Help I investigate something."
After returning to the hall, a hint of a cold smile appeared on Prince Qi's face.
So what if he had authority over the entire court? So what if he could cover the sky with one hand? No matter how much his father favored him, when he ascended to the throne, it would just be a single decree for him to be dealt with.
There were too many such examples in history. The ruler was the ruler, and the subjects were the subjects. If the ruler wanted the subjects to die, the subjects had no choice but to die. How could a mere county marquis have the capability to rebel?
…
"This … Is this a rebellion?" Liu Dayou rubbed his head and said in a soft voice in the county yamen.
As the year approached, there were more matters to handle in the yamen. There was a huge flow of people in the capital, and it was hard to maintain law and order. There would be over ten small cases of theft and robbery every day. Although there were no major cases, just these trivial matters were enough to give him a headache.
What made him even more vexed was that when the constables in the yamen were investigating some old cases, they discovered some new clues. This caused him to feel a chill in his heart.
This included the case of the son of the former Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works. Although it had been a long time, that case was too important. The number of deaths was high, and the way they died was so tragic that it attracted the attention of the entire capital. Even if it was hard to close the case, it was impossible to just let it go so easily.
Thankfully, there were finally some clues to this case.
Holy Religion.
As the mystery of that thing called Holy Religion was gradually revealed, Liu Dayou felt as if he had sensed a huge hibernating beast hiding somewhere in the capital, secretly observing everything.
This feeling made one's hair stand on end.
How many people did the Holy Religion have in the capital? Who was the person called the Empress? He had no way of knowing, but it was precisely because of this mystery that people were afraid of.
The New Year was approaching, and the Imperial Court Conference was approaching. They could not afford to have any trouble during this period of time. In the coming year, they would have to report this matter to the Imperial Court and treat it seriously.
…
Li Yi had a headache.
The Old Madam had already told him several times that only when the family ate together on New Year's Eve could it be called a reunion dinner. If there was one less person, it would not be a reunion.
The one with the least was naturally Drunken Ink.
Even Ruyi had mentioned to him several times that it wasn't appropriate for the Li family to live outside all the time, as outsiders would gossip about her …
But the problem was that Drunk Mo was still thinking of ways to win over her best friend and add another mistress to the Li family. The time was not very ripe yet …
This was really a headache-inducing matter.
Li Yi was trying to persuade Drunk Mo. Otherwise, he would have to persuade the Old Madam and Ruyi when he went back.
Ruyi was the easiest to talk to, but the Old Madam was not easy to deal with. She could use that kind of sincere tone to talk in his ear for a whole day. In the whole family, besides Miss.Liu, she was the person that Li Yi was most afraid of.
Persuading Drunk Mo alone was easier than persuading both of them.
"I'm fine with anything." Drunk Mo looked up at him and said, "But if I move over now, Sister Ruoqing will definitely not go with me. It's not the right time, and I'm afraid it will have the opposite effect."
Li Yi thought about it and felt that one couldn't always think of simple and easy things. Sometimes one had to challenge difficult things.
Drunk Mo suddenly looked at him and asked, "There's a question I want to ask you."
"What is it?" Li Yi smiled. His expression was unchanged, but his heart immediately became alert.
She looked at Li Yi and asked curiously, "Me and Sister Ruoqing, who did you like first?"
Li Yi looked up at the night sky, as if thinking. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "Tonight's moon …"
Drunk Mo looked at him and said, "There's no moon tonight, not even stars."
No, there were stars.
A few starlights appeared in Li Yi's eyes, streaking across the night sky and flying in this direction.
The starlight fell on the roof and ignited a raging fire.
It was not starlight, but fire.
Drunk Mo was startled, and her expression changed. She said, "Sister Ruoqing is still inside."
"Protect her!" Li Yi said in a low voice, and a maid-like woman at the door flashed and appeared beside Drunk Mo.
A few more spots of light flew in different directions, and at the same time, a few figures appeared in the night sky, rushing in the direction of the fire.
Inside the room, Wan Ruoqing, who was reading at the table, had not realized what had happened when she was carried out of the room by Li Yi.
"You …" Her face was red, and it was not until she was carried into the courtyard by Li Yi and saw the fire on the roof that her face began to turn pale.
"Is there anything important in the room?" Li Yi asked quickly, ready to rush in again.
The fire on the roof had spread, and it would not spread to the room for a while. It was too late to put out the fire, but there was still time to move some things out of the room.
"No." Wan Ruoqing grabbed his hand and shook her head. "There's nothing important, don't take risks."
Drunk Mo looked at her and seemed to think of something. She immediately said, "Your painting …"
Wan Ruoqing held Li Yi's hand tightly and shook her head. "It's not important …"
In fact, time came in a hurry, but she was holding his hand, and Li Yi could not rush in with her.
These two rooms were not the only ones on fire in the Zeng Residence. Several guest rooms and the rooms where the servants lived were also on fire. There should be kerosene on the arrows, otherwise the fire could not have spread so quickly. People kept rushing in from outside and fighting the fire with the servants in the residence. Li Yi held the two women's hands and sat in the courtyard, watching the fire gradually engulf the entire room.
After a while, a few people came in from outside, shook their heads, and said, "Three men of sacrifice. We just caught up with them and they died of poison."
Li Yi used to have many enemies, but now, they were all in prison or on the way to exile. It was impossible for them to do something like setting a fire in the middle of the night.
There were men of sacrifice and fire arrows. It was not a small matter. It was just that this person was a little too impatient …
Fang dashed over in exasperation and scolded furiously, "That damned person is so immoral. Five rooms have been burned. No one will be able to stay here tonight."
Li Yi looked at the fire and said in a soft voice, "Prince Xin …"
"What? Prince Xin?" Fang was stunned for a moment, then he turned and walked out. "I'll bring people to burn down Prince Xin Residence right now!"
Li Yi pulled him back in time. The people were already dead, and there was no evidence. How could they accuse Prince Xin? Even if it was found out that Prince Xin had instructed others to do it, which of the charges of setting fire to a commoner's residence and setting fire to the prince's residence was greater?
Recently, the weather had been dry, and the residences of the nobles were all closely connected. It would be bad if the innocent were to be implicated.
It would not be as simple as waiting for him to leave the capital and breaking his legs.
However, the Zeng Residence held a special meaning to Drunken Mo. Li Yi looked at her worriedly. Before he could say anything, she shook her head and said, "It's fine. So what if the house is burned? It's fine as long as he's fine."
Xiao Cui walked over pitifully and asked, "Young Miss, where are we going to sleep tonight …"
Li Yi looked at the room that was still burning. The Zeng Residence was no longer suitable for people to stay in. It was already so late, and the inns and the like were all closed. Where they were going to stay at night was indeed a …
His expression suddenly froze, and his gaze once again looked toward the few rooms that were lit up by the fire.
This fire didn't seem to be that bad after all …
Drunken Mo gave it some thought and said, "Let's go back to Willow Alley first. We'll be able to stay there after we get some bedding and tidy up."
"Willow Alley …" Li Yi shook his head and said, "Fang's relatives came to the capital a few days ago. It's not convenient for them to stay in an inn, so we let them stay there."
"Huh?" Fang looked puzzled.
Drunken Mo looked over suspiciously. "Really?"
Fang looked at her, then at Li Yi, and nodded. "Yes, poor relatives from the countryside. They're not used to staying in inns. Sorry for the trouble they've caused Miss Zeng …"
With that, he turned and walked outside.
Li Yi looked at him and asked, "Where are you going?"
Fang did not look back. He waved his hand and said, "I'm going to Willow Alley to remind those poor relatives that the weather is dry, and to be careful of open fires …"
Li Yi turned his head and looked at Drunken Mo and Ruoqing. "Since we have nowhere to go now, why don't we …"
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