In the same boat

Author: Sigui Beihong

Mo Yunxiao endured a violent cough, and her eyes were filled with tears. But she still tried hard to open her eyes and shook the teapot in front of her. Fortunately, there was still only half a pot of water.

Without thinking too much, she lifted up her long skirt and tore off a piece of the skirt. Fortunately, the dress was made of silk, which made it easier to tear.

She soaked the rag with water from the pot and returned.

"Guanjia! Guanjia!" Her cough became more and more violent, and her voice became hoarse. However, her eyes were completely black, and the thick smoke filled her surroundings, making it difficult for her to discern the direction, and she was unable to lock on to Zhao Ji.

Location.

At this time, Zhao Ji was so dizzy from the smoke that he could no longer see or distinguish sounds. Only his own heavy coughing could still be heard vaguely in his ears.

Just when he thought he was going to die here, he seemed to hear Mo Yunxiao's call, his spirit was lifted, and he used up the last bit of strength to shout: "He Lu! I'm here!"

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, followed by a cold and moist feeling.

He trembled and saw Mo Yunxiao squatting in front of him. Her hair was messy and her eyes were red and swollen, but she still smiled when she looked at him.

"Guardian, this piece of cloth has been soaked with water. If you cover your mouth and nose with it, it can still last for a while." Mo Yunxiao looked around again, and then said: "The fire is fierce, you'd better leave quickly."

Zhao Ji took a deep breath, and as expected, quite fresh air came out of the cloth covering his mouth and nose.

"Why is there only one piece of wet cloth?" Zhao Ji asked.

Mo Yunxiao understood what he meant and could only smile helplessly and said: "This little water is very precious. Official, please leave quickly, otherwise the water vapor will evaporate and everything will be too late."

Zhao Ji covered the wet cloth with one hand and held Mo Yunxiao's hand with the other, saying: "I will never leave you behind, let's go together."

Mo Yunxiao became more and more anxious, pushed him away and said, "No, the fire will get bigger and bigger. If you take me with you, it will only...only...be a drag!"

Zhao Ji's heart was shocked and he couldn't help being deeply moved. He covered Mo Yunxiao's mouth and nose with a wet cloth again, looked at the frightened expression on her face and said, "You and I can take turns with this piece of wet cloth, maybe we can support it."

Mo Yunxiao's mouth and nose were covered, and she took a deep breath out of instinct. She felt refreshed and her energy and mental strength had also recovered a lot.

"I can't just watch you die trying to save me." Zhao Ji said.

The two looked at each other for a second, and Mo Yunxiao nodded heavily. Zhao Ji felt relieved in his heart, and he took her hand with a smile, and they walked towards the side door together.

They exchanged wet cloths and supported each other as they walked forward with difficulty. They walked through the cloister and passed through the side hall. With the coughing sound getting heavier and heavier, the wet cloth gradually changed from wet to semi-wet.

Although there was thick smoke billowing in front of them, they could barely see clearly through the side door. There was a blazing fire in front of the door, so they had to stay away.

At this moment, a loud noise was heard, and the beams of the side hall collapsed. The two of them hurriedly retreated, narrowly avoiding being hit.

They squatted down, and the cloth covering their mouths and noses had completely dried and could no longer block the smoke.

"He Lu, it seems that we are really going to die here together." Zhao Ji held her hand tightly, his tone full of sadness.

The fire spread in front of her eyes, illuminating Mo Yunxiao's face red. Looking at the fire, she seemed to have fallen into an unprecedented calmness.

She smiled weakly and said: "The world is really strange. I drowned, but I would be resurrected inexplicably, and today I was inevitably killed in a fire. Maybe, after this fire, I will return to the world that originally belonged to me."

"If that is really a carefree and peaceful world, let me go with you." Zhao Ji said.

His voice became weaker and weaker, but it sounded particularly clear to Mo Yunxiao's ears. She looked at him and smiled: "I'm afraid you won't be able to adapt to that world."

Intentionally or unintentionally, she also gently leaned her head on Zhao Ji's shoulder. Zhao Ji's eyes were slightly closed, his chest was rising and falling, and violent coughs came from time to time.

He seemed to be in a state of near coma, and Mo Yunxiao also felt powerless. She felt that all her facial features were filled with black smoke, unable to breathe, and unable to escape.

The gradually spreading sense of suffocation was eroding her life bit by bit. Her head rested on his shoulder, and her hands held each other tightly.

This is definitely not a caress between lovers before they say goodbye, but an instinctive reliance on each other.

Just when their will to live almost collapsed, there were shadows of people outside the window and shouts one after another.

"The submersible fire team is coming! The submersible fire team is coming..." Accompanied by the noisy shouts of the eunuchs and maids, bursts of water mist hit the doors and windows, making a "sizzling" sound. Accompanied by a shout, a "hoo!"

, the doors and windows were broken open.

Mo Yunxiao opened her blurry eyes and saw three or four figures in thick clothes rushing in. Their heads were covered with cloth, and only a pair of eyes were exposed.

"Someone is there!" After greeting each other, two strong men carried them on their backs, breaking through the firelight and black mist, and ran out of the hall.

At this time, Zhao Ji was unconscious. Although Mo Yunxiao was not unconscious, her whole body was weak and her eyelids felt very heavy. She just barely glanced around and saw numerous officers and soldiers around them holding a thick wooden pipe. After sucking up the water, they turned to

The fire shot away like a large needle.

However, this wooden pipe should not be underestimated. I saw water dragons winding upwards, and the fire gradually showed its decline under the water mist.

More than a dozen officers and soldiers pulled up warning strips made of hemp rope and sealed off the entire Zichen Hall.

"Ah! It's an official!" Zhang Di's voice suddenly rang out. Mo Yunxiao looked sideways and saw Zhao Ji lying on the stretcher, his face dark and passed out.

Zhang Di was right next to him, shouting loudly: "Guanjia! Guanjia!"

A member of the submersible fire team poured water on Zhao Ji's face with something like a watering can, and Zhao Ji immediately started coughing heavily.

Mo Yunxiao was also let down by members of the submersible team, but she was unable to go over to check on Zhao Ji and could only watch from a distance.

Zhao Ji coughed a few times and slowly opened his eyes. Zhang Di cried with joy and hurriedly said: "Guan, you scared this little slave to death!"

Zhao Ji did not respond, but gently pushed Zhang Di away because he was standing between Zhao Ji and Mo Yunxiao. At this time, the two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Mo Yunxiao relaxed and suddenly felt like the world was spinning. Then his vision went dark and his consciousness was thrown into the abyss.

In the haze, a faint light flickered in the chaotic darkness, like a firefly or a fire butterfly. This light gradually approached and became brighter.

Only then did she see clearly that it was a lamp. A gauze lamp that glowed with lavender light.

She opened her eyes and looked around, only to see herself lying on a bed, which was leaning against the wall, with a curtain drawn on the other side. Behind the curtain was a screen made of walnut wood. Behind the screen, there were bright lights and a faint glow.

You can also see crowds of people.

"Where is this?" she asked herself.

At this time, a woman's voice came: "Guan family, this fire came out of nowhere. Fortunately, the official family is unharmed. However, a fire in the palace is a serious matter, and the official family should not take it lightly."

"Well." Zhao Ji replied respectfully: "I will investigate carefully."

"Oh?" Mo Yunxiao's heart skipped a beat. Is the woman speaking Zhao Ji's mother? She thought this way.

"The most important thing for the officials is to take care of the dragon's body." The Queen Mother said: "It's up to the Ai family to take care of the investigation. Bring it with you."

Zhao Ji looked up and saw a soldier pulling a weak palace maid over. There was a rope around the palace maid's neck, and the soldier led her to the Queen Mother like a dog. Then he bowed and said: "

The Queen Mother, the officials, and the arsonist have been caught."

This palace maid looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, with a delicate face, but her face was pale and her lips were purple.

She hurriedly knelt down on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and said: "The Queen Mother, officials, small crimes deserve to be punished with death, and the most severe punishment is death!"

The Queen Mother and Zhao Ji sat side by side, looked at each other, then picked up the tea cup and took a sip, saying: "I don't think you have the guts to harm the official family. Tell me, who told you to do this.

"

"Yes...yes..." The palace maid remained silent. She just raised her head and glanced at Zhao Ji, then did not dare to speak.

"Humph!" The Queen Mother slammed the tea cup down and said, "Can that person still protect you?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" The palace maid kowtowed her head and said tremblingly, "It's Princess Zhu... Princess Zhu."

"Concubine Zhu?" Zhao Ji was surprised. However, the Queen Mother had already expected it, so she was not surprised.

"You must think clearly, slandering the palace family is a serious crime." The Queen Mother said calmly.

The palace maid hurriedly said: "I don't dare to slander, it was Princess Zhu who specially sent a note to me, instructing me to use lard to burn the Zichen Palace. But I have no idea that the officials are inside!"

At the end of the story, the maid burst into tears and had to kowtow.

Zhao Ji suddenly stood up and said sternly: "It is well known that Princess Zhu is kind. Why did she suddenly want to harm me?"

"Officials, you are still protecting her." The Queen Mother smiled contemptuously and said to the palace maid: "Didn't Concubine Zhu write a note? Bring it to the officials to see."

The palace maid touched in her arms and took out a small bamboo stick. Zhang Di on the side went over and took the bamboo stick and presented it to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji took it and looked at it, and saw the words "Purple Chen Palace is burned down, and you will be rewarded if you succeed."

This was indeed the handwriting of Princess Zhu. Zhao Ji felt disappointed after reading it. The Queen Mother also extended her hand, and Zhao Ji handed the bamboo stick to her.

"Huh! It's really harboring evil intentions!" The Queen Mother slapped the bamboo stick on the table, turned to Zhao Ji and said, "The official family has all the witnesses and physical evidence, so we can't tolerate that wretched maid denying it."

Zhao Ji looked pale and said solemnly: "It's all up to the Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother smiled with satisfaction and ordered: "Come here, take this girl who is plotting regicide to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment and deal with it later."

The two soldiers responded, picked up the palace maid and left.

"As for Mrs. Zhu? Send troops to guard her first, don't deal with her in a hurry." She gave another order.

She took a sip of tea, smiled again, turned to Zhao Ji and said, "Concubine Zhu is the biological mother of King Jian. She is Sima Zhao's heart. Don't you understand the official?"

"The Queen Mother is saying that she wants to harm me and make her son the emperor?"

"Isn't it?" the Queen Mother asked.

Zhao Ji said nothing.

The Queen Mother slowly stood up and walked around and said: "The late Emperor Zhezong was the son of Concubine Zhu. She could have enjoyed a lifetime of glory and wealth with her son. It was a pity that God did not bless her and let Zhezong die at a young age. Hum, yes

To me, this is a God-given opportunity, how could I miss it?"
To be continued...