Inside the Qionghua Palace.
"Your Majesty, these are the people who tampered with the targets and arrows on the drill ground."
"Any leads?"
"They bit their tongues. We couldn't find out who instigated them..."
"Useless."
Emperor Jingxiang sat high on the throne in the main hall. His face was cold, his eyebrows sharp, and the gloomy aura he exuded made it hard for everyone here to breathe.
The searching guards were so scared that they kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.
Emperor Jingxiang got annoyed and waved his hand casually.
"Keep investigating."
The guards left, sweating profusely.
No one in the hall dared to speak. It was eerily quiet.
From behind the hall, there came occasional wails and cries, making the atmosphere in the hall even more gloomy and depressing.
Concubine Jia and the Third Prince were being treated for their wounds behind the hall. The Third Prince was the most seriously injured this time. Although his appearance was not affected, he had a string of blisters on his right hand from the fire, and there were also some burns on his body.
After all, he was only eight years old.
Although he usually looked mature, at this moment, he finally cried and wailed like a child in his mother's arms.
Princess Kaiyun couldn't bear to watch.
She covered A Li's eyes.
Thanks to Xue'er's timely pull, A Li wasn't injured. He was just a bit smoked, and now he was full of energy.
Xue'er was sitting side by side with Yu Jia. The imperial doctor checked them and said they were fine, just having inhaled a bit of smoke.
They looked at the Third Prince, who was burned by the fire, with sympathy. Yu Jia blurted out words of comfort.
She said to the Third Prince in Concubine Jia's arms, "Third Brother, don't be sad. The imperial doctors will surely cure you."
Before the Third Prince could react, Concubine Jia suddenly became as defensive as a cat whose tail had been stepped on. All her spines were up.
"Princess, you weren't injured. How could you know what it's like to be burned?"
Concubine Jia hugged the Third Prince. A venomous look flashed in her eyes, and her words were full of sarcasm.
Yu Jia was stunned. She didn't know how to react.
She turned to look at Xue'er in a daze, then lowered her head, not knowing what she had said wrong.
Xue'er held her little hand and shook her head, signaling her not to speak at this moment.
The hall fell silent again.
Emperor Jingxiang flung his sleeve and strode into the back hall. The Noble Consort saw the opportunity and followed the emperor with the Second Prince.
Yu Jia bit her lip and hugged Xue'er, not saying a word.
Concubine Jia seemed to have found an outlet to vent her anger. She was about to say something more sarcastic to Yu Jia when she caught a glimpse of Emperor Jingxiang's figure entering. Her angry eyes suddenly dropped. Her eyes turned red, and a string of tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Ming Ye, it's mother's fault. Mother failed to protect you well..."
Concubine Jia's crying voice was soft and tender, as if her heart was broken. It could really touch people's hearts.
When everyone saw Emperor Jingxiang enter, they saluted.
Concubine Jia deliberately slowed down. Just as she was about to get up, Emperor Jingxiang helped her up.
"How's the Third Prince?"
"Ming Ye's right hand is badly burned. He's in great pain. Please, Your Majesty, save Ming Ye."
Concubine Jia's tears dripped onto Emperor Jingxiang's hand, like a string of glistening pearls. The Noble Consort, seeing this behind, couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Her son was injured, and she still had the mind to seduce the emperor. How pretentious!
"Concubine Jia, the emperor isn't an imperial doctor. How can he save the prince? You'd better listen to the imperial doctor and recover well. Don't make a fuss."
The Noble Consort's words came at the right time.
Emperor Jingxiang calmly withdrew his hand.
"Doctor Li, how's the Third Prince's condition?"
"The Third Prince... The injury on his right hand is a bit serious. He needs to rest for a while. The other wounds will heal within a few days. There's no major problem."
Doctor Li reported honestly.
Concubine Jia's heart sank. She had failed to bribe Doctor Li in advance. She had miscalculated.
"Since there's no major problem, rest well. I'll get to the bottom of this today."
Emperor Jingxiang said solemnly.
Concubine Jia had a thousand words of grievance to pour out. This was a good opportunity to play the victim and gain the emperor's favor. When else could she do it?
But the emperor had blocked her words. She looked at the Noble Consort, who was beaming with joy, with venom in her eyes. Her lips were almost bitten through.
She didn't need to think hard to know that the mastermind behind this must be the Noble Consort. But unfortunately, she had no evidence.
The Noble Consort wasn't very smart, but she was always ruthless.
She was the kind of person who, if she lost a competition at the same table, would just turn the table over.
Concubine Jia's tears welled up again.
She had to win back the emperor's pity as much as possible, or Ming Ye's injury would be in vain.
She kept shedding tears.
But Emperor Jingxiang had already moved on. He asked about Princess Kaiyun and A Li's conditions, and finally came to Yu Jia and Xue'er.
"Are you injured?"
Yu Jia shook her head and lowered her eyes, looking a bit dejected.
Xue'er replied crisply, "Your Majesty, we're not injured."
"Okay. I'll have someone send you back to accompany the Empress Dowager first." Emperor Jingxiang replied indifferently. The less they knew about what was going to happen next, the better.
Princess Kaiyun spoke up at this time. She lifted her eyelashes slightly and looked at Xue'er appreciatively. "A Li is okay, thanks to Xue'er's quick reaction. She's really a smart girl."
Xue'er shyly lowered her head.
"Your Highness, you're overpraising me."
"Not at all. Xue'er is really amazing. She lives up to her name..." The Heir Apparent Li, who had regained some energy, started to praise Xue'er again. He had always had a crush on Xue'er, and since she had saved him, he thought she was even more precious.
The Heir Apparent Li was still rambling on when Emperor Jingxiang gave him a cold look.
What did this rascal want to do to Xue'er?
Princess Kaiyun naturally noticed Emperor Jingxiang's displeasure and quickly covered the Heir Apparent Li's mouth.
"Brother Emperor, he's just a child..."
"Forget it. Take these kids down." Emperor Jingxiang waved his hand, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.
"No—"
Concubine Jia had been crying all this time. But seeing that the emperor ignored her and only cared about those kids, she was already furious. Seeing that the emperor was about to let them leave first, she couldn't sit still anymore.
Concubine Jia suddenly raised her voice. When she saw the emperor looking back at her coldly, her face softened, and she pleaded desperately, "Your Majesty, there's something fishy about this. The person behind this clearly targeted Ming Ye and the Heir Apparent Li. Although Princess Yu Jia and Miss Xue'er are innocent, they're also involved. We should ask them."
"Concubine Jia, you're being unreasonable. They're so tired. Our Ming Yi has been running around taking care of everyone. Why don't you let them go and rest?"
Before the emperor could speak, the Noble Consort retorted. In fact, she exaggerated her and the Second Prince's efforts.
"Shut up."
Seeing that they were about to argue again, Emperor Jingxiang shouted coldly. Everyone fell silent immediately. No one dared to speak anymore.
Emperor Jingxiang's face was gloomy. His sharp eyes swept across the person standing at the door—An He had brought Han Bi.
He flung his sleeve, snorted, ignored everyone, and strode out.
The people remaining in the hall looked at each other in dismay.
After Emperor Jingxiang left the back hall, Han Bi saluted and then hurriedly reported to him about Lan Miao. As soon as he heard it, his heart tightened suddenly.
"Doesn't that mean my wife is alone there now?"
Han Bi was stunned. She thought to herself that it was a big mistake.
She had been so stupid.
Emperor Jingxiang rarely sighed. He walked steadily towards the outside of the hall. His back was like a heavy mountain. Han Bi followed his steps, and the guards on both sides slowly opened the door.
The moment he stepped out, a figure he had been longing for day and night rushed into his arms.
It was like a dream.