boyutpedia Chapter 222 The Ungrateful Prince (Part 3)
Chapter 222 The Ungrateful Prince (Part 3)
After receiving the plot, Qingmo raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected to kill that ingrate right from the start, so it wasn't entirely unfair to him.
Didn't they say the original owner didn't need to save him? Didn't they say the original owner was blocking his true love?
Qingmo's decision not to save him is perfectly reasonable. As for true love, she'll just send him down to earth and they'll become a pair of dead lovers.
When the fire was extinguished, the house was almost completely burned down. Only a charred corpse was carried out, next to which was a burnt jade pendant. Someone recognized it as Jiang Siyan's. Upon counting the people, they found that he was indeed missing.
The eldest princess was furious. If the cause of the fire could not be found out, she would not be able to explain it to the Prince of Ruyang, since his son had died there.
After questioning them, the princess sent them home. These were the children of court officials, and there were many of them. The princess could not detain them without knowing the truth.
Qingmo left with the others. As for what happened next, what did it have to do with her? Anyway, she didn't start the fire. The original owner of this body and Jiang Siyan were not familiar with each other before, so it was impossible for her to be implicated.
Only Zhang Mengyuan was restless after returning home. After all, she knew what she and Jiang Siyan had done. If people found out about her, even if Jiang Siyan's death had nothing to do with her, she would never be able to face anyone again.
"What should I do? What should I do?" Zhang Mengyuan paced back and forth in the room alone, feeling uneasy. If she had known earlier that Jiang Siyan was a short-lived ghost, why would she have seduced him? She had really lost both her wife and her army, which was very unlucky.
"Don't worry, I'll help you."
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out from behind her. Zhang Mengyuan felt her scalp tingle. She turned around and saw Qingmo's face, but before she could scream, her neck was snapped.
After dealing with her, Qingmo went directly to the Prince of Ruyang's residence.
With the two main characters all killed, the remaining minor characters were naturally not worth her time and she was too lazy to kill them one by one. She simply set them on fire and sent their entire households down to reunite.
Of course, I'm not the kind of person who gets arrogant just because I have some power. She still has to take away the storerooms, gold and silver treasures in advance. Although I'm now richer than a country, one can't forget one's roots. Being thrifty is the norm.
That night, flames soared into the sky, alarming the city's garrison, who rushed to put out the fire. But for some reason, the fire was impossible to extinguish; those who wanted to rescue people couldn't get in, and those who wanted to get out couldn't get out.
The Prince of Ruyang's residence seemed to be excluded from this world.
They drew a circle around themselves, imprisoning the entire household of several hundred people, who were burned to death in the fire. Their screams were incessant, a truly heartbreaking and inhuman tragedy.
However, the strangeness of this fire did not stop there. Although the fire soared into the sky and burned half the sky red, it did not affect any other people's residences in the slightest. Even the walls and courtyards adjacent to the Prince's Mansion were not affected by the fire.
"Divine punishment, Your Majesty, this is divine punishment!"
"The Prince of Ruyang's mansion has probably committed many evils. Now even the heavens can't stand it anymore and have sent down heavenly fire to make them atone for their sins with their lives. This is His Majesty's good fortune, that Heaven has shown mercy and cleansed His Majesty of the wicked."
The Imperial Observatory spoke with absolute certainty, asserting that this must be divine punishment. The high-ranking officials in the court were also discussing it extensively, after all, if it was not divine punishment, how could the strangeness of the fire be explained?
"Absurd! Utter nonsense! Under the clear sky, our dynasty is peaceful and prosperous. How could there be divine punishment? Prince Ruyang is an upright and honorable man. What do you mean by 'committing numerous evils'? I think this is clearly someone deliberately creating a mystery and committing this heinous crime. Your Majesty, I implore you to thoroughly investigate this matter."
Zhang Song, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was the first to stand up and refute the claim. As an official who specialized in investigating various cases, he absolutely did not believe in the so-called divine punishment. Rather than divine punishment, he believed that human intervention was more likely.
The Imperial Observatory said, "Your Majesty, this is divine punishment! We cannot investigate it. If we anger Heaven and it sends down further divine punishment, no one can bear the responsibility."
"Hmph, I find this matter suspicious. The Imperial Observatory is so obstructing a thorough investigation; is there something to hide? Do you know who did this, or are you involved in this matter yourself?"
Zhang Song's words were directed at the Imperial Observatory. As the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he was upright and incorruptible, and he despised those who spoke without evidence and only knew how to flatter.
"You...you're spouting nonsense, Your Majesty! I'm innocent!" he said, prostrating himself on the ground to show his loyalty.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his brows furrowed. This matter was indeed strange. "My two ministers, there is no need for you to argue. I will make my own decision. Minister Zhang, do not be anxious. I will send people to investigate this matter."
"Your Majesty is holy."
In the end, the matter was all bark and no bite; no evidence was found, and the emperor naturally didn't want to investigate further. As for divine retribution, it's better to believe it exists than not.
The eldest princess did catch the servant who accidentally set the fire that day, but now that the Prince of Ruyang's mansion is gone, there's no point in bringing it up again. She dealt with the servant privately.
Zhang Mengyuan's death did not cause much of a stir, but the Dali Temple did investigate whether Zhang Mengyuan had any grudges against anyone.
When he discovered her affair with Jiang Siyan, he immediately handled the funeral arrangements for this illegitimate daughter discreetly, as he did not want the death of this wicked daughter to affect his family's reputation.
Qingmo didn't pay much attention to the aftermath of the whole incident. No matter how they investigated, they couldn't find her. She was just a well-behaved young lady who rarely left her home and spent her time reading novels.
Then an imperial edict arrived. "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Ouyang Ruoxue, the eldest daughter of the Qing family, is of both beauty and talent, and possesses a kind and gentle heart. She is hereby betrothed to the eleventh prince. This is the imperial decree."
Qingmo was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this news. She hadn't found any information about the eleventh prince in the original owner's memories, so he shouldn't be a favored prince. Why would he suddenly be betrothed to someone? This was quite interesting.
She didn't think this was a good thing, but no matter what schemes or tricks they were, they were all just a joke in the face of absolute power.
After receiving the imperial edict, Minister Ouyang summoned Qingmo to his study for questioning.
"Qing'er, do you know the eleventh prince? Why would His Majesty suddenly bestow a marriage upon you?" Minister Ouyang frowned, quite puzzled by the matter.
Qingmo shook her head: "No. Father, who is this eleventh prince? Among the favored princes, I don't think I've ever heard of this eleventh prince. Who is he?"
Hearing this, Minister Ouyang frowned even more. "This eleventh prince is named Mu Jingyan. He was born to an unfavored concubine in the palace. His birth mother was originally a maidservant of the Empress. She was disliked by the Empress for seducing the Emperor, and the Emperor quickly forgot about her. Because of his birth mother's low status, he has always been unknown among the princes. Now, it's hard to say whether this is a blessing or a curse. Alas."
After listening to her father, Qingmo remained silent. Whether Mu Jingyan was a human or a ghost, time would tell.
She'll make anyone kneel before her, even ghosts will prostrate themselves before her. If all else fails, she'll make sure even ghosts can't be hers, and her soul will be scattered to the winds.