Shangguan Hongye watched the huge flames burn down the beam, causing the horse underneath him to take a step back in fright.
He was in a trance. Apart from the scarlet-clad man who was still unfailing in the flames, he could also hear the sound of his father struggling in the fire.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, leave quickly - it's going to explode!!"
The sound of horrified shouts continued in the distance.
Ling Bo and his other followers rushed madly towards Shangguan Hongye, waving to him on his horse and beckoning him to retreat quickly.
Shangguan Hongye closed his scarlet eyes tightly, turned around suddenly, drew his bow, and galloped away.
"Boom--!"
The gorgeous Qingyun Temple behind him was completely annihilated in an explosion of fire.
Shangguan Hongye's back was scratched by sparks and broken bricks, but he still galloped forward without noticing.
It wasn't until he was completely away from the dangerous area and was welcomed into the middle by his followers that he let go of the reins.
They looked silently at the palace under the fine snow, the flames sweeping up the sky, and even the clouds seemed to be burning.
Everyone knows that this is the end of an era.
The old emperor died under the attack of power, and his life was ended by his favorite ministers.
…
The flames of Qingyun Temple burned for three days and three nights before ending.
After waiting for the scorched earth to fall, Shangguan Hongye stood in the palace and looked around.
"Your Highness, Cang Qiao, the guilty minister, prepared too many fire bombs from the Folang machine, and the explosion was too powerful. Although some charred human bones were found in the palace, it is no longer possible to tell whose bones it is."
Ling Bo came up and told Shangguan Hongye.
In fact, there were only a few charred bones, and it took the authors a long time to identify them.
With such constant explosions and burnings, most of the human bones have long since been turned into ashes.
Shangguan Hongye looked at the scorched earth-like palace where the smoke had not cleared away, and his eyes fell on a small piece of blackened white jade pipa not far away.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "When I know this, I will gather up all the scorched bones that I can and put them in the coffin, and treat them as the remains of the late emperor."
Everyone is dead, and the honors and offerings behind them are meaningless to him.
After all, my father was "cremated and returned to the west" here, so let's just think of him everywhere.
His idea of wanting Cang Qiao to go down and serve him came true.
Ling Bo nodded in agreement.
Shangguan Hongye suddenly asked: "How was the inspection in Dongchang?"
Ling Bo reported back: "After the news spread that Cang Qiao was a traitor and held His Majesty hostage, all those rebels seemed to have fled in all directions, and the rest were the jailers and pawns who couldn't escape."
Another confidant also followed suit: "At the command post of Jinyiwei, several upper-level guardsmen who are close to Cang Qiao have been captured, but there are also many who took advantage of the chaos in the capital and ran away."
Shangguan Hongye sneered: "It is true that the building will collapse and the trees will fall and the hozens will scatter."
Ling Bo asked: "Your Highness, half of the Imperial Army, led by Mu Qingshu, escaped from the capital and ran away, but the Mu family did not have time to finish their run..."
Shangguan Hongye frowned: "They must have fled with their grandmother. Send people to chase her back. Don't touch the Mu family."
The Mu family members are also his relatives.
Ling Bo nodded: "Take the order!"
He hesitated for a while, then asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, according to your instructions, our people have been searching in Qingyun Palace until now, and no secret passage has been found."
Shangguan Hongye narrowed his eyes and thought thoughtfully: "At the last stop three days ago, we didn't find those fierce black-clothed Tiqi from Dongchang. This is not like Cang Qiao's style. Even he and his father-in-law were missing.
"
With that man's ability, if he wanted to fight to the death, he wouldn't be in this situation.
He could clearly feel Cang Qiao's deep hatred for his father.
There is also Cang Qiao's unfailing desire to die. The man's madness and brilliance are shocking.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "Go and find out what happened to Cang Qiao before she entered the palace. Who is she from, why did she enter the palace, and the past with Xiao Guanyin needs to be investigated in detail!"
For some reason, he always felt that people like Cang Qiao would not simply turn into ashes.
Disturbing...
At this time, several generals led their people over. After saluting Shangguan Hongye, they cupped their fists and said——
"The late emperor has passed away. Your Highness was originally the newly crowned prince of the late emperor. However, the canonization ceremony has not been held. The country cannot live without a king for a day. Please ascend the throne as soon as possible!"
Ling Bo and other soldiers also knelt down on one knee: "Your Highness, please ascend the throne as soon as possible!"
In the gloomy sky with flying snow, Shangguan Hongye looked at the figure kneeling on the ground, with a complicated and deep expression on his handsome face——
This is the day he's been waiting for, isn't it?
Your full ambitions can finally be realized, and you no longer have to be submissive and cautious.
So, why bother to pretend to refuse?
He raised his hand and said in a deep voice: "My dear friends, I will take care of the funeral ceremony and enthronement ceremony next!"
"Yes - Your Majesty!" Everyone clasped their fists in unison.
…
hundreds of miles away
In the fine snow, Hancheng City is dimly lit at night.
The slim figure on the bed sat up suddenly, sweating profusely.
She clutched her chest tightly, as if something had penetrated her chest, and the pain continued to spread from inside.
"Huh-huh-"
She looked out the window blankly and couldn't help but panic: "Ah Qiao!"
The door was pushed open in a hurry, and Chunhe hurried in holding a lantern: "What's wrong with the eldest lady? Is it a nightmare?"
Ming Lanruo took a deep breath, took the handkerchief she handed over, and held it in her chest: "I... dreamed about him. I dreamed that he was dressed in bright red, looking at me with a smile, and the flames swept him... and disappeared."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Jing Ming leading a man outside the door in the fine snow: "Miss, urgent report from Beijing!"
Ming Lanruo paused for a moment, then immediately put on his clothes and stood up: "Let someone come in immediately and bring hot tea."
In order to travel day and night, they would simply untie their outermost thick furs or coats when they slept, almost sleeping with their clothes on.
Only half an hour.
The slim figure was already sitting at the table, lighting the candle and listening to the report from the person in front of her.
When she heard - "Nine thousand years old, Cang Qiao, the governor of Dongchang, held the late emperor hostage and confronted the King of Qin who forced him to go to the palace. In the end, he was hit by an arrow and died in the sea of fire with the late emperor..."
The scissors in Ming Lanruo's hand fell to the ground with a snap.
She slightly opened her red eyes and looked at the visitor, then stood up: "Is this serious?"
"The informants in the capital are working hard day and night to report. There will be no lies." Chen Ning said.
Ming Lanruo closed her eyes and swayed slightly. It turned out that this was the reason why he was so unrestrained that night, carving himself into every inch of her body.
He only said that he had something to accomplish and asked her to wait for him, but he refused to tell himself what he wanted to do.
It turned out to be such a crazy move...
Really, the one I love, hate, and pitifully is all him!
She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and quickly asked about the current situation of Jin Yiwei at the Middle East Factory in Beijing.
Those who came to report all reported truthfully.
Ming Lanruo was pacing back and forth and suddenly said: "Let everyone prepare. Let's set off as soon as it breaks out in the morning, speed up our horses, and run towards the three southwestern provinces as quickly as possible!"
Chen Ning, Chun He and others were all stunned: "Miss, we just arrived yesterday, don't we have to rest and replenish food and grass for two days?"
Minglan Ruoming narrowed her eyes and looked out the window at the cold night sky——
"If I can't seize the time to hide in Chu Yuanbai's territory in the few days after our new emperor ascends the throne, when the new emperor is free, he will probably send someone to get my imperial edict soon!"
