Chapter 37: The Fire at the Royal Mansion
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager’s heart twisted with apprehension, her mind weighed down with doubts.
“Your Majesty, do not let your emotions rule you. Only calmness can solve this. There were so many people at the prince’s residence today—surely some must have survived. No matter what, so many servants would have defended their master!”
Liu Li’s expression was dazed, as if he were hearing this dreadful news in a dream. “Imperial Uncle must be safe—he must be!”
The eunuch, unaware of the gravity of the moment, insisted, “Every word I speak is true: all three hundred souls in the prince’s residence have departed this world!”
“Impossible!” Liu Li, suppressing the agony tearing at his heart, hurried to leave for the prince’s residence. “I do not believe it! Surely you simply did not see them! I must search for my uncle!”
The Empress Dowager and Eunuch Liu restrained the emperor, as the hall and its surroundings filled with kneeling courtiers. Then, the funeral bell tolled.
“No!” Liu Li cried out, falling to his knees.
“Your Majesty, now is the time to summon the realm and announce the most accurate time of mourning—not to indulge personal feelings.”
Tears already stained Liu Li’s face as he replied with anguish, “Mother, please carry this out for me!”
The Empress Dowager nodded, wiping away her own tears. “Then, Eunuch Liu, accompany me.”
Eunuch Liu hesitated, murmured a few words of comfort to Liu Li, and followed the Empress Dowager out the grand doors.
Throughout the journey, the Empress Dowager maintained her serene and aloof demeanor. Eunuch Liu, observing her, considered the sequence of events carefully and by the time he had reasoned it through, they had arrived at the ceremonial hall.
“You may all leave,” the Empress Dowager said calmly, dismissing the attendants. With a half-smile, half-mocking glance at Eunuch Liu, she asked, “You seem to suspect I am responsible?”
Eunuch Liu’s expression remained unruffled. He replied evenly, “Is there something Your Majesty wishes to tell this old servant?”
“Old servant? Ha! Have I not told you—when it’s just the two of us, use our names, speak plainly. Why so formal?”
Eunuch Liu sighed, saying nothing.
The Empress Dowager gave a soft laugh, bringing over a bowl of mung bean soup. “It’s still early; why not have some soup to cool off?”
“I have neither the time nor the mood for this.”
She stirred the soup, the spoon clinking against the porcelain with a crisp sound. “Is that so? But this is cooling soup.”
“I do not need cooling off!” Liu asked, then suddenly realized, fixing his gaze on the Empress Dowager’s composed face, “Did you add something to the soup?”
She responded with a cold smile, moving to stand beside him. “No one in the world knows me better than you. Do you need to ask? This bowl—either you drink it or the emperor does. You choose.”
Liu was suddenly enlightened, staring at her. “In the grand hall—you did it on purpose? You would never give that soup to the emperor. Then… the news was timed precisely by you?”
“Oh? What are you suggesting?” The Empress Dowager, unconcerned, placed the soup in his hands. “You know well, my heart is ruthless.”
“What are you doing? If anything happens to the emperor, things will not go as you wish. The eldest prince can only ascend if the emperor abdicates! You… you cannot be so reckless!”
She looked at the furious Eunuch Liu and laughed loudly. “Rest assured, it is only a mild drug, nothing to fear! I merely want you gone, to sever the emperor’s support. Why worry? Just tell me: will you drink, or not?”
Within the vast palace, Liu Li was alone, unable to understand or believe any of it. He summoned Gao Hai.
“Your Majesty, what are your orders?”
“Help me leave the palace—I must reach the prince’s residence at once and see the truth myself!”
“If the Empress Dowager finds out, won’t she accuse you again of being ruled by emotion?”
“My uncle is in peril—how can I sit idly by? Even if I lose everything, I must know the truth!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Liu Li hurried to prepare carriage and horses, departing for the prince’s residence, while the Empress Dowager busied herself as well.
She announced the mourning, made arrangements, and managed both internal and external affairs before finally returning, exhausted, to her chambers. Even with all these matters, doubts lingered, and she sensed something amiss.
“Little Li!”
By her side were two trusted confidants, Eunuch Li and Little Li, whose positions in the palace were second only to Eunuch Liu.
“Your servant is here!”
“The emperor—has he left for the prince’s residence?”
“Yes.”
“There are many eyes and ears there. Watch him closely; report any news to me at once.”
“Understood!”
“If you handle this well, and the emperor does not resent you, you will take Eunuch Liu’s place by his side.”
Little Li was stunned, then smiled with delight. “Your Majesty, truly? And Eunuch Liu—what of him?”
“Yes. From now on, Eunuch Li stays with me; you with the emperor. The Northern Hua Palace will be entrusted to your Li family!”
Whether it was the fatigue of the journey or the weight of grief, Liu Li felt weak and wounded in spirit as soon as he stepped out of the carriage.
“How…”
Gao Hai supported him. “Your Majesty, careful!”
Passing through the cordon of soldiers, Liu Li finally saw the prince’s residence.
It was a charred wasteland, scattered with debris and corpses, the air thick with the stench of death.
Where once stood a peaceful and splendid estate, now nothing remained but the desolation left by fire. A few ruined pavilions survived, though none could be entered. Soldiers and officials were carrying bodies from the courtyard, covering them with white cloth, and the sight of those blackened, bloodied corpses left the heart unsettled.
“Uncle… Uncle…”
Liu Li heard nothing around him, only the vision of black smoke staining the sky and the tormenting grief and longing in his heart, with nowhere to rest.
Where now was that upright, kindly uncle? In this time meant for prosperity and family joy, he perished, along with his wife, children, attendants, and guests, consumed in agony by the flames…
“This was no accident!” Liu Li muttered, his voice filled with rage. “Who could be so cruel as to destroy my uncle and his entire household?”
Gao Hai barely had time to comfort him before Liu Li, wild with anguish, rushed to the area where the corpses lay, pulling back the white cloths to look at each one.
Seeing this, the officials present were terrified, and eunuchs hurried to restrain him.
“Your Majesty, please do not! These are only common folk, not worthy of your attention!”
Liu Li pushed them away, demanding, “Then where is my uncle? The prince’s family—have none been found?”
“Your Majesty, please, calm yourself! These were found in the courtyards; perhaps the prince and his family are still in the rear or the pavilions. We will send men to search immediately!”
“No need—I will go myself!”
No one could stop him. With Gao Hai protecting him, Liu Li swiftly passed the obstacles and entered the rear courtyard.
“There may be danger here, Your Majesty—be careful!”
“Do not worry about me; protect yourself!”
Though Liu Li appeared frail and gentle before outsiders, he was trained by the master of Kunlun Mountain, and possessed considerable skill. Towards his confidants, he was just and kind, treating them as brothers, never arrogant.
The tragedy at the prince’s residence struck him as deeply suspicious. Beyond mourning the dead, he needed to find clues quickly.
Liu Li, always wise and composed, forced himself to endure his grief. Urgent matters awaited; he had to seize the moment.
“Uncle, where are you? If only you survived this calamity. I do not wish to see your body—I have lost too many loved ones already!”
These thoughts filled his mind, yet he missed no detail. The place was eerily silent except for the crackling fire and falling debris. All around was scorched earth; black smoke occasionally swept through, but nothing could halt Liu Li’s search.
“There’s something odd here!” His keen senses detected an unusual, mysterious atmosphere, filling him with confusion.
Suddenly, Gao Hai called softly, “Your Majesty!”
Liu Li was startled, fearing Gao Hai had found a corpse, but he resolutely approached.
“What is it?”
“Look, Your Majesty!”
Gao Hai pointed to a corner—the rear courtyard’s fish pond.
“There is water here, still more than half full, as if nothing happened. If the fire started inside and burned so fiercely, the water should have evaporated or boiled. Yet everything is as usual!”
Liu Li nodded, feeling a surge of excitement. He examined every corner of the pond, and was delighted to find a ring. He was about to reach into the water when something inside flashed.
“What is that?” Gao Hai saw it too.
“It’s a fish!” Liu Li answered joyfully, retrieving the ring. Upon closer inspection, his expression darkened with grief. “This is my uncle’s ring. Father had one as well—they are a pair.”
Gao Hai came over, studying the ring thoughtfully.
“From the looks of it, the damage here isn’t severe. Yet both stories of the pavilion are destroyed. Ordinary fires wouldn’t do this, and with burning debris falling around the pond, the fish inside should be dead, and the plants scorched. Yet even the grass by the pond is unharmed, so…”
Liu Li put away the ring, his gaze icy. “This was no ordinary fire… Either that, or someone is deliberately covering up.”
“Your Majesty, I agree. But what of this ring?”
Liu Li tucked the ring into his robe. “It must be a signal from my uncle—there is meaning here. We must not let a single detail escape, lest malicious hands destroy our clues.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Keep searching—do not miss anything suspicious!”
Throughout the prince’s residence, all were weighed down with sorrow, and in the depths of the palace as well. Even the scent of plum blossoms could not dispel the grief, and instead gave rise to new worries.
“Why did you not follow the original plan? Why leave so many suspicious traces?”
“Hahaha!”
“What are you laughing at? If the emperor uncovers the truth, it will be troublesome!”
“He is a mere mortal, what could he possibly know? This fire, this operation—even a celestial master would not recognize it. I have waited years for this opportunity! Now, helping you fulfill your wish while I act freely—what could be better?”
“Even so, your master left many clues. I am afraid someone will pursue them relentlessly.”
“Then finish things quickly, and those clues will disappear. Time was short, and the residence was full of guests, so I could not let it slip. Indeed, the vitality of the entire household greatly increased my power; now I can wander freely outside, though only for an hour. When my greatest spell succeeds, I will help you achieve your ambitions!”
“Remember that! Next time, I hope you will consult me more closely.”
“No problem!”
As the last traces of the Plum Blossom Spell faded, she saw his form becoming fully human.
Tall and imposing, with extraordinary bearing, his black and crimson robes stained his hair and skin, giving him an uncanny appearance—not quite human, not quite ghost, resembling the demons described in old tales.