The incessant rain continued to beat against the buildings of the Imperial City, and the hearts of those within the palace walls. All was quiet within the Guangxin Palace, or perhaps… at least the venomous words exchanged between the siblings inside were masked by the sounds of the rain and thunder, not a single syllable escaping beyond the palace walls.

Even so, there was not a soul outside the Guangxin Palace, not even Eunuch Hong. Everyone kept their distance, for to keep distance from the Guangxin Palace was to keep distance from death itself.

Eunuch Yao was still outside the East Palace at this time, but his thoughts were already consumed by the Guangxin Palace. His hands and feet were icy, his heart chilled, not knowing what was happening inside. Although he knew he shouldn't imagine the scene, he couldn't help himself.

He wiped the rain from his face, cautiously watching the movements within the East Palace. His Majesty had entrusted him with the care of this palace, so he absolutely could not allow the Empress and the Crown Prince to cause any trouble.

Compared to the Guangxin Palace, the situation at the East Palace seemed much calmer. Although Eunuch Yao was nervous, he was not afraid. All the servants of the East Palace, from top to bottom, had been beheaded. Only the orphaned mother and son remained. He doubted they could cause any trouble, no matter what.

However, his rain-soaked eyes suddenly felt dry, burning with intensity!

…

…

Such a large fire!

Fierce flames rose from the magnificent halls of the East Palace, transforming into countless fiery sprites, reaching towards the rain-soaked sky. The intense heat swiftly spread throughout the surroundings along with the flames.

Eunuch Yao's pupils shrank sharply, but the red in his eyes did not fade in the slightest – the East Palace was on fire! At this critical juncture, only the noble mother and son within the palace would set the fire themselves. But… did the mother and son intend to commit suicide by burning?

Moreover, with such heavy rain falling, how did the fire start? Why couldn't the torrential rain extinguish the flames?

Eunuch Yao knew that this was not the time to investigate how the fire had started, but to make a decision immediately: whether to put out the fire or what to do.

Let the Empress and the Crown Prince burn to death? Eunuch Yao did not spend much time thinking. He knew that even if His Majesty was furious, if the Empress and the Crown Prince died without facing the Emperor's wrath while under his watch, the Emperor's wrath would descend upon his own head.

A moment later, Eunuch Yao's throat, as if scorched by fire, cried out in a hoarse yet shrill voice: "Fire!"

…

…

The Imperial Palace had countless large bronze vats filled with water, and countless eunuchs and maids. When the fire broke out in the East Palace, someone had already reacted and rushed to the scene, desperately trying to put out the fire. Eunuch Yao nervously and cautiously stayed away, standing on the periphery with a dark face, watching the busy crowd, extremely careful not to let anyone get ahead of him and come into contact with the mother and son in the burning palace.

This fire was a bit strange. It did not seem to have started on its own, but rather as if someone had used highly flammable materials and oils. As a result, the fire was extremely fierce, and even the rain could not extinguish it. However, once these materials were burned out, the flames had no further sustenance and died out very quickly.

Then a loyal eunuch servant broke through the charred palace gate, wanting to rush in to save his master.

However, as soon as the little eunuch broke through the palace gate, everything went black before his eyes. He did not know how, but he was struck in the head by a wooden pillar and fell unconscious.

Eunuch Yao indifferently took the lead and entered, followed by guards and eunuchs who once again surrounded the East Palace, separating the bewildered firefighters from the palace.

The East Palace had been burned into a scene of desolation. On the stone slabs in front of the hall, the Empress was being held in the Crown Prince's arms, with only a few traces of being burned and drenched by the rain.

Eunuch Yao bowed slightly: "The fire is out."

The meaning was simple: now that the fire was out, the two masters should remain temporarily confined in this palace.

The Crown Prince, whose hands were covered in scalded blisters, stared into Eunuch Yao's eyes, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his face, and said, word by word: "Unless you kill this Prince right now, the entire Imperial City will know about the fire in the East Palace. How long do you think you can hide it?"

Then the Crown Prince raised his voice, speaking calmly: "This Prince is fine, only the Empress is unconscious from the smoke." His voice carried easily to the outside of the East Palace, falling on the ears of those who had come to put out the fire, easing their hearts. As long as the Empress and Crown Prince were safe, they would not be in trouble.

However, to the eunuchs and guards surrounding the East Palace, this voice meant something else entirely.

…

…

Eunuch Yao's body trembled, and he slowly raised his head, looking at the Crown Prince before him. He realized that the Crown Prince was, after all, His Majesty's own son. In the face of disaster, the decision-making and the means of using self-immolation to pressure the Emperor were executed so flawlessly.

The Emperor wanted to handle family matters and maintain his face, so he chose these darkest hours before dawn. Heaven cooperated by sending a thunderstorm to add to the atmosphere. Today, hundreds of servants had already died in the Imperial Palace to silence the mouths of the people.

However, with the fire in the East Palace now known, and everyone aware that the Crown Prince and Empress were safe, this matter could no longer be kept secret. What was intended as a family affair was gradually turning into a matter of state.

Eunuch Yao looked at the calm face of the Crown Prince, and a sudden tremor ran through his heart. He realized that this Crown Prince, who was usually rather timid, in the face of crisis, was strikingly similar to His Majesty in his eyes and expression.

—————————————————————

The most powerful woman in the Qing Kingdom, that old woman, had actually woken up half an hour earlier. The old lady needed very little sleep, but the Empress Dowager still habitually lay on the soft couch in the Hanguang Hall, closing her eyes to rest her mind.

Today, she did not know why, she had been awake for so long, yet the sky was still so dark, leaving her with no interest in getting up and taking a walk in the garden.

Especially the subsequent wind, rain, and thunder, which caused the Empress Dowager to frown and close her eyes even tighter. She was not afraid of thunder, but she hated the sound of it, always feeling as if Heaven had some grievance against the Li family and wanted to use this method to tell her.

After the wind and thunder, a faint sound of commotion came from afar, but the sound quickly disappeared, and the dark palace returned to silence.

The Empress Dowager did not want to lie down any longer. With the help of the maids and attendants, she slowly got out of bed, tremblingly put on her clothes, carefully and smoothly tied a green ribbon on her forehead, and was helped to sit in a chair.

The maids silently brought a golden basin to serve the old lady with her wash, the warm water in the basin steaming with heat.

The Empress Dowager stared blankly at the heat haze in the basin.

After a moment, she sighed, waved her hand, and said, "Where was that noise just now?"

The maids and attendants looked at each other. They had also heard it, vaguely from the direction of the East Palace, but it was still early in the morning, and no one had left the hall, so they did not know what had happened. Even if some people guessed that something had happened in the East Palace, no one dared to say their guess in front of the Empress Dowager.

Just then, the maid holding the copper basin opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something.

And an old, decrepit eunuch slowly walked in from outside the hall.

In the entire Imperial Palace, apart from His Majesty the Emperor, only this old eunuch could enter the Empress Dowager's palace without prior notice. And the maids and attendants surrounding the Empress Dowager became even more silent when they saw the old eunuch enter. Only the maid holding the copper basin had a flash of despair and struggle on her face.

Eunuch Hong slowly walked to the Empress Dowager and said, "The East Palace caught a few unruly servants a few days ago, but they didn't kill them all, so they made a fuss again. This old servant sent Little Yaozi over; it's just a small matter."

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, said "Oh," and glanced at the maid holding the copper basin.

Eunuch Hong also looked at the maid with his turbid eyes.

The maid's body trembled slightly, and she slowly lowered her head.

…

…

However, she immediately raised her head and said in an extremely rapid voice, "The East Palace..."

She stopped there after saying two words, staring at the opposite side in terror.

The Empress Dowager grasped Eunuch Hong's wrist tightly with her old and trembling hand, because she knew that as long as Eunuch Hong was willing, this old dog had countless ways to prevent the maid from saying a single word.

"Fire," the maid holding the basin said in a trembling voice, "A big fire. The Empress and the Crown Prince are still inside."

Eunuch Hong slowly shook his head and withdrew his hand into his sleeve.

The Empress Dowager stared at the maid and said, "Where is His Majesty?"

"His Majesty is in the Guangxin Palace."

The maid bit her lip, conveying the last words for her master, which were also her last words in this world. With her left hand, she pulled out a hairpin from her sleeve and pierced her throat with the tip of the hairpin, blood gurgling out.

The water basin in her hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound, and her body also fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The Hanguang Hall was deathly silent. All the maids and attendants were stunned by this scene, and no one could say a word.

"A worthless thing to die!" The Empress Dowager stood up, not even looking at the maid's corpse on the ground, and said, "Go to the Guangxin Palace."

——————————————————————

The rain outside the Guangxin Palace gradually lessened, and the Eldest Princess's breathing also gradually lessened. The red on her face had turned from crimson to a deep red close to death. Her large and seductive eyes gradually protruded, extremely strange. Her body hung on the beautiful palace wall, her life hanging entirely on the large hand that strangled her beautiful, white neck.

Death might be coming soon, but this woman, the most eccentric woman in the Qing Kingdom for the past twenty years, was ultimately mad. Therefore, there was no trace of fear of death in her eyes, only a faint hint of mockery and sarcasm.

The target of her mockery and sarcasm was naturally the best in the world, her elder brother, His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom.

Perhaps it was because of this hint of mockery that the Qing Emperor's palm loosened slightly, giving Li Yunrui a chance to breathe. Li Yunrui breathed heavily, suddenly raising her fist and desperately pounding the Emperor's solid body. Because she was breathing too quickly, even her snot and saliva flowed out, running down her still beautiful but somewhat distorted cheeks.

Death might not be terrible, but no one who was about to die would not lose their mind if they suddenly grasped an opportunity to live.

The Emperor looked at her coldly and sarcastically, saying word by word: "So, even a madman is afraid of death after all."

The Eldest Princess spat a mouthful of saliva on the Emperor's face, and laughed crazily in a hoarse voice.

The Emperor slowly wiped the saliva from his face, his expression unchanged, and raised his hand again to slowly wipe away the filth on the Eldest Princess's face, and said slowly: "It seems that we siblings have rarely spoken our hearts in recent years. What harm is there in giving you some more time?"

"No more time is needed." The Eldest Princess chuckled with difficulty: "I was just thinking, if you kill me today, will you kill Chen Pingping next... It's strange that you didn't bring a single Tiger Guard for such a big event in the palace... Who are you guarding against? Are you guarding against Fan Jian?"

Given the situation in the Qing Kingdom's court, once the balance was completely broken, as an Emperor, he naturally had to establish a new balance, and the old generation would naturally become sacrifices.

"Very good... it seems that Fan Jian is dead, and Fan Xian is also going to die... With so many people accompanying me, what do I care about?"

The Eldest Princess suddenly spat on the Emperor's face again, and said in a hoarse voice: "You are a widower, you are a lonely man! Kill me, kill me, you have no sons, you have nothing... you are just a lonely ghost."

"An Emperor does not need friends." The Emperor said coldly: "As for sons, if they dare to rebel, I can naturally have more."

Outside the Guangxin Palace, there was a sudden, rapid knocking on the door, the sound extremely loud, as if the person outside was extremely urgent.

"You... ultimately... still can't bear to kill me." The Eldest Princess gasped, staring blankly at the Emperor and said: "You know I'm stalling for time, why do you let me?"