Fire Captain

After Minglan got engaged, Madam Wang also planned to arrange an engagement for Ruolan, and she had her eyes on the child of her brother. However, before she even opened her mouth, she found out that Ruolan had fallen in love with a scholar named Wen Yanjing. The key point was that Wen Yanjing was once the husband chosen by Sheng Hong for Sheng Molan, but Sheng Molan thought he was too low a branch and asked her to climb a higher branch.

This made Madam Wang very angry, and the whole Weiruixuan was in chaos. But in the end, she was powerless. After Ruolan cried, made a fuss, and even threatened to hang herself, Madam Wang finally compromised and arranged a marriage for the two.

Now the two daughters of the Sheng family have each found their own homes and are waiting to get married on an auspicious day next year. The mother and daughter of the Lin family, the only ones who could cause trouble, have left the Sheng family. The Sheng family has finally become quiet.

Bai Ziyang heard that Qi Heng and the Princess of Jiacheng County had married, and he didn't expect it to be so fast. He even sent a gift to them that day. He also heard that Zhu Manniang, who had kidnapped Gu Tingye's son, had appeared in the southwest, so Bai Ziyang immediately sent people to track her down. He had been angry with Gu Tingye at the time, and he didn't expect that such a thing would happen after he left the capital, and he missed the opportunity. What he didn't expect was that Zhu Manniang was so good at hiding that even his people had no news.

As the days passed, Bai Ziyang always felt that the situation in the capital was changing rapidly. Now, word came out from nowhere that the emperor had already chosen a crown prince, and he might announce it to the world soon. Whether this news was true or not, it made the hearts of the various forces in the capital uneasy.

Late at night, Bai Ziyang released a carrier pigeon. Prince Zhao walked behind him, looked at the flying pigeon and sighed, "The storm is coming..."

So on a very ordinary day, it was suddenly heard that Concubine Rong in the palace had invited the families of many officials into the palace, including Princess Zhao. But there was no news of any banquet being held in the palace. No one knew what Concubine Rong was going to do, so many people entered the palace as usual, but Princess Zhao brought a few unfamiliar maids with her.

What's more, when Minglan was chatting with her grandmother and sister-in-law today, she mentioned her father and brother who had not returned home for a few days due to the busy affairs in the palace. On a whim, she brought fish soup to the palace to visit her father and brother. When she was about to leave, the eunuch on duty at the palace gate came in and said, "I don't know why, I found that there was no one guarding the palace gate. I called for a long time but no one came to open the door!"

When the Sheng family father and son heard this, they were surprised and said, "Closing the palace gates at noon? This has never happened before!"

The young eunuch said, "Yes, Miss Sheng, please wait a moment. I will go and take a look at it later!"

Sheng Hong heard this and said, "Then I'll trouble you, eunuch!"

As for Concubine Rong, a room full of female relatives gathered in her palace. Concubine Rong did not say why she summoned them all. She just sat upright, listening to the people around her flattering her with a smile. Princess Zhao was sitting far away, looking at Concubine Rong's expression as if she was waiting for something, and she couldn't help but secretly become alert.

Sure enough, not long after, a young eunuch ran in in panic, fell to the ground and shouted, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" He looked up and saw a room full of women, but he didn't know whether he should say anything.

The whole room was filled with confusion and confusion at the eunuch's words, but Rong Fei did not look panicked at all. She seemed to have everything under control. She helped her maid to stand up and walked in front of the eunuch. She slapped him to the ground and scolded him, "Why are you panicking? You are so dishonest!"

The young eunuch got up and said, "Madam, I don't know who opened the Xihua Gate just now, and someone broke in. Qian Youcai went to investigate but didn't come back for a long time, so I bravely went to chase him and found... found that he was dead on the railing beside the Xihua Gate!"

Rong Fei didn't show any fear when she heard this and said, "Go, close the door. No one can walk around freely!"

The women in the palace had already sensed something was wrong. Someone boldly guessed, "It was you? Did you let them in with the help of someone inside?"

Rong Fei smiled and said, "That's right!" Then she looked at the people in the room and said, "I called you here today without any intention of letting you go back!"

Upon hearing this, some people were immediately frightened and cried out, "My Queen, we didn't do anything wrong... Why is this happening?"

Rong Fei said: "Some of you should have noticed that all of you here are wives of military officers. I have them in my hands. If any general or unit in or outside of Bianjing dares to act rashly, I will destroy their family and their lives!"

Some brave people asked: "We have no grudges against you, why do you want to harm us like this?"

Rong Fei's face changed, and she said angrily: "No grudges? I want to ask you, who among you has not ridiculed my life experience behind my back, especially you..." Then she walked to Princess Zhao and said: "Why? In the past, you were a high and mighty princess. Back then, you looked down on my own sister for your precious son. What about now? Aren't you still my prisoner?"

Princess Zhao looked at Concubine Rong expressionlessly, then suddenly revealed a hint of mockery and said with a smile: "Prisoner? Don't forget, before things are settled, it's still uncertain who will win or lose!"

Rong Fei laughed loudly upon hearing this, and said madly, "The army of Prince Yan is about to attack the imperial city. Is it necessary to say who will win or lose? You are trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm. Aren't you afraid of death?"

Princess Zhao said calmly to the frantic Concubine Rong: "Everyone is afraid of death, but unfortunately my family told me that I will live a long life. I am afraid that even if you die, I will not die!"

Rong Fei shouted angrily, "Okay, okay! I'll see if you can still be stubborn later. Someone, come in?" She called the guards outside the palace and pointed at Princess Zhao and said, "Take her away!"

Several guards obeyed the order and stepped forward to grab Princess Zhao, but she did not move. However, several of her maids, who should have been controlled by the guards outside the hall, suddenly appeared in the hall for some reason, stood in front of Princess Zhao and said, "Don't be rude to her!" Several guards wanted to push them away, but unexpectedly they failed to do so!

Rong Fei angrily said: "Waste, can't a few women deal with it?"

Upon hearing this, several guards were about to draw their swords and intend to kill these people, but they were suddenly kicked on the wrists, and the swords fell to the side. Then, before they could raise their heads, they were kicked in the chest with such force that several people flew out one after another. Everyone was stunned by this action, and then they realized that the several maids following Princess Zhao were actually hidden masters.

Princess Zhao stood up, gently brushed aside the two maids and walked to the front. She looked at the doubtful Concubine Rong and said, "Today's incident is to tell you, never be so sure about things!"

After saying that, she said to the maid beside her: "Let's go and see how the emperor is doing?" Then she looked at the women in the room and said: "You just stay in Rongfei's palace. It's probably not as safe outside as here!" Then she walked out of the palace.

Rong Fei had hoped that the guards outside could stop them, but what she saw was the guards lying in a twisted state in the yard.

Several people escorted Princess Zhao all the way to the Funing Palace where the emperor was, but they didn't expect that a person who looked like a kitten suddenly appeared halfway along the way, followed by another person. Princess Zhao looked closely and found that it was Minglan. She couldn't help but ask, "Ming'er? Why are you here?"

Minglan was like a headless fly. She ran into Princess Zhao and said with a mixture of joy and tears: "Princess! I... I came to visit my father and brother, but the palace gates were sealed. It was... Tingyu who escorted me to find you!"

Minglan was about to leave after visiting her father and brother, but the palace gates were closed. Later, the eunuch who went to inquire about the news came in a hurry and reported: "Murder, murder! There are corpses outside!"

Sheng Hong couldn't believe it when he heard it, and asked, "Are you saying that someone was killed in the palace? Then... who was the murderer?"

The young eunuch said, "They are all wearing soldiers' uniforms, and it's impossible to tell which group they are from. They hacked anyone they saw, and even dragged palace maids into the corridor to do shameful things!"

Minglan was terrified after hearing this. Sheng Changbai quickly stepped forward to block Minglan. Sheng Hong turned around anxiously and asked, "How far are those murderers from us?"

The young eunuch said, "We are almost at the palace gate!"

"Ah, what should I do?" Sheng Hong was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

At this moment, Tingyu, who had been hiding in the dark, suddenly appeared in front of Minglan, which startled Minglan. After seeing Tingyu, she vaguely remembered her because Tingyu was one of the people who had saved her mother when she was a child. So she asked, "Tingyu? Why are you here?"

Tingyu said, "The young master was afraid that the Sixth Miss would be in danger, so he sent me to protect her in secret!"

Although Minglan was very moved after hearing this, now was not the time to be moved, so she hurriedly asked, "Tingyu, do you have any good ideas now? What should we do?"

Tingyu said, "Because the princess is also in the palace today, we need to reunite with her as soon as possible. The maids around her can easily fight ten people, so they can keep us safe for the time being."

While Minglan was still considering, Sheng Hong couldn't wait to say, "Well, let's go!"

Tingyu said, "Master Sheng, please forgive me for being blunt. If I go out with the Sixth Miss, we can still avoid stealth. But if all the masters go out with us, firstly, we will be too conspicuous and attract too much attention from the rebels. Secondly, I am afraid I cannot protect everyone. I think it is better for you to stay here for safety. After all, the rebels' goal is not to kill everyone!"

After Sheng Hong calmed down, he thought it made sense, and turned to Minglan and said, "Child, if anyone can escape, then that's a good thing! Miss Tingyu, I'll leave it to you!"

Tingyu said, "Don't worry, Lord Sheng!" After that, she picked up the cloak and covered Minglan with it, escorting her all the way until she met Princess Zhao.

Princess Zhao pulled Minglan aside and said, "Good child, don't be afraid, let's go see the old emperor. He delayed appointing a crown prince and kept trying to create checks and balances, which has fostered people's hearts. He deserves the current situation!"

Seeing Princess Zhao's calm attitude and her heroic spirit, which showed that women are as good as men, Minglan's uneasy heart gradually calmed down. Seeing that the rebels were about to rush in, she followed Princess Zhao with firm steps towards the Emperor's bedroom.