Peach Blossom.

Tao Ye remembered that in chemistry class, they learned that the ignition point of white phosphorus was only 40 degrees.

Although the weather has been cold recently, the friction generated by the fighting between warriors is enough to make the temperature of the outer clothes exceed 40 degrees in an instant. If there is white phosphorus in the interlayer of the outer clothes, it will of course spontaneously combust.

Tao Ye only now understood why Si Xiu cried last night. Although he accepted his father-in-law's advice, he couldn't bear it in his heart.

What Tao Ye found most unbelievable was her beloved second brother. He was the one who planned this scam. No wonder he was not worried that these people would use the prince's token for other purposes. It turned out that he had planned to burn these people to death a long time ago... Although those Meng clan members had no relatives or friends with them, and although those people had relied on the power of Queen Mother Meng to bully others... But after all, there were more than 300 young and strong lives. Were they going to be burned to death like this?

She felt that she was really stupid. When Wang Jing explained to her that it was "just to put a mark on the clothes to distinguish between the people of the Bai and Meng families", she actually believed it. Now think about it, the mark on the clothes should be on the surface of the clothes, how could it be put in the interlayer?

Before Tao Ye could think much, the Meng clan members burned very quickly. Everyone just screamed in pain and had no chance to say a word to anyone.

Si Yao was shocked and her head was buzzing. She couldn't figure out what was going on. She could only watch her relatives being engulfed by the fire. The burning sensation forced her to step back repeatedly, shouting, "How could this happen? How could this happen?"

Even Madam Han, the guards and others who were not far away looked a little confused.

Some of the women of the Meng family were also attracted to this area. When they saw their men being burned, they no longer cared about rules and etiquette and ran into the Shiqian Hall, trying to find something to help put out the fire.

But they had no chance.

Hundreds of archers suddenly jumped out from the walls on both sides of the Shiqian Hall, and just as the women of the Meng family rushed over, arrows flew like rain.

Middle-aged women with haggard faces, pretty young girls, and even those ignorant children... each one was shot through by the rain of arrows and fell in a pool of blood.

Meng Wan, a five-year-old girl who kept calling out "Dad", was hit by several arrows while sobbing and running towards her father Meng Hong. Her small body was supported by the long arrows, half sitting and half standing on the spot, unable to move.

"No!" Tao Ye's face was already covered with tears. Seeing even those toddlers dying innocently, she couldn't bear it anymore. She ran forward involuntarily, even thinking about rescuing the young lives from the rain of arrows.

Before she could get close, a figure faster than her grabbed her waist and stopped her, not allowing her to get close to the tragic rain of fire and arrows in the Shiqian Palace.

Tao Ye looked up and saw that the person who stopped her was Wang Jing.

I don’t know what kind of mentality she had, but Tao Ye raised her hand and slapped Wang Jing in the face. She cried bitterly and couldn’t say a word in hatred.

Wang Jing said nothing, but just held Tao Ye's arm with one hand to control her freedom.

On such a clear day, the flames, which were limited to the size of a person, were not bright enough. The short burning soon turned the men of the Meng family into ashes. All that was left on the ground were a pile of corpses of women who were shot to death.

There was also Si Yao, who had fallen to the ground and cried until she had no more tears. She was still holding the prince's token tightly in her hand, staring blankly at the broken bones and ashes on the ground, still in a daze.

At this time, Si Xiu came to Shiqian Palace with a dozen attendants. He looked around Shiqian Palace with a look of surprise on his face.

When Madam Han saw Si Xiu, she smiled and asked, "Your Highness, you came at the right time. Otherwise, I would have sent someone to ask for advice. How could you hand over the token to the Princess? How could you allow the Meng family to trespass into the emperor's bedroom?"

The look of surprise on Si Xiu's face became more serious, and his eyes fell on Si Yao: "Aunt, it was you who stole my token?"

"Steal?" Si Yao raised her head in confusion and repeated the word. She seemed to have not figured out what was happening for a moment.

Si Xiu's eyes were filled with disappointment, and he rebuked her as if he was heartbroken: "You have been visiting me often recently and caring about my injury. I have always been very touched and thought it was a sign of the deep affection between aunt and nephew... I didn't expect that you would actually set your sights on my token and look for an opportunity to steal it? How could you do this?"

"I..." Si Yao seemed to realize something, and suddenly got startled. He stood up and argued, "You are talking nonsense! It was you who gave the token to me! It was you who asked me to bring people to force my way into the Shiqian Palace!"

"Aunt, everyone around me knows that I never leave my token without me. How could I give it to you so easily? I have always respected and protected you. How could you put me in an unjust position?" Si Xiu kept shaking his head, almost crying with sorrow.

Madam Han smiled and turned her gaze to Si Yao: "I never thought that the princess failed to kill the emperor last time, but this time she dared to steal the token, falsely pass on the order, and blatantly lead the Meng clan to break into the emperor's bedroom with the intention of harming the emperor?"

"You...you are talking nonsense...you have planned to harm me..." Si Yao shed tears and stretched out his arms helplessly. He pointed his finger at Si Xiu and then at Madam Han. He suddenly felt that he had no way to defend himself.

Mrs. Han walked a few steps towards Si Yao, grabbed the token from Si Yao's hand, and handed it to Si Xiu.

Si Yao had empty hands, surrounded by the ashes of the men in the Meng family and the corpses of the women. He felt dizzy and almost collapsed.

She suddenly ran out, shouting at the royal family, ministers, palace maids, etc. who were watching: "The emperor has passed away a long time ago, and Madam Han colluded with the Grand Marshal to conceal the news of his death. It was the prince who ordered me to break into the palace and expose them, but now they have turned against me..."

After saying these words, Si Yao seemed to be crying and laughing at the same time, like a madman, holding onto the door frame and howling non-stop.

The royal relatives and ministers looked around and were stunned when they heard that "the emperor has passed away long ago".

Upon hearing this, Madam Han immediately shouted, "The Princess is really crazy. How dare you curse the Emperor in public?"

Si Yao suddenly turned around, glared at Madam Han and shouted, "You said I was a "curse", so you invite the emperor out for everyone to see! Do you dare to let the civil and military officials in the court come and take a look?"

As soon as Si Yao finished speaking, the door to the central room of Shiqian Palace was opened by two palace maids.

In full view of the crowd, Si Yuan appeared at the door of Zhongzhai, supported by Grand Marshal Shang Yun and Imperial Physician Tian Yuan on both sides, and walked out of Zhongzhai together.

"Long live the emperor."

Inside and outside the Shiqian Palace, Madam Han, Si Xiu, all the ministers, their wives, and palace maids knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".

This time, Si Yao was completely stunned. He leaned against the door frame and slowly slid down until he fell on the threshold, stunned.

Si Yuan looked at the mess in the yard, slowly walked to Si Xiu and handed him a piece of paper.

Si Xiu hurriedly took it with both hands and read it from beginning to end. It was Zhang Xiaowan's confession written for the murder of Empress Dowager Meng, and there was also Zhang Shuyuan's seal at the end of the letter.

Si Xiu tried to figure out what Si Yuan meant, and quickly raised the paper to speak to everyone: "The Empress Dowager passed away suddenly earlier, and the Grand Marshal has already found out that it was Tao Ye, the Minister of Music of the Imperial Music Department, who was seeking revenge. The testimony of the witness Zhang Shuyuan detailed the course of the case, and Tao Ye, the Minister of Music, also died in prison a few days ago, so the case has been closed.

But the princess and the Meng clan still used this as an excuse to commit many unjust acts, and their crimes deserve execution. However, the current emperor is merciful, and those who entered the palace to commit crimes have suffered the consequences of their crimes, and will not be pursued. The rest of the Meng clan members who are outside the palace have also been pardoned from death and exiled to Yongchang. "

After hearing the prince's verdict, all the officials bowed and praised him, saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

"Wise, wise... The emperor is indeed wise..." Si Yao cried and laughed, sitting on the threshold of Shiqian Gate. She knew very well that all the respected members of the Meng family died in this Shiqian Palace. What could the remaining small soldiers and crabs outside do? Moreover, pardoning the death penalty would only mean exile to Yongchang. Isn't Yongchang the territory of the prince's mother, the Bai family?

With tearful eyes, Si Yao once again looked at everyone inside and outside the Shiqian Palace, and suddenly saw Wang Jing.

She understood something at once, and left Shiqian Gate like crazy, ran to Wang Jing, and grabbed Wang Jing's collar with both hands: "It's you! It's you, right? It's you who made the plan behind the scenes... The prince is not that kind of person, it's you who instigated him! You took the opportunity to take revenge! It's you..."

Crying and shouting, Si Yao suddenly collapsed to the ground powerlessly, howling hysterically.

Wang Jing didn't say anything and didn't move, but the hand that had just been holding Tao Ye's arm slowly loosened.

Tao Ye looked at Si Yao who had fallen to the lowest point in his life. She seemed to have forgotten the hatred of the past and her heart was filled with infinite pity. However, she could not do anything but stand there stupidly. It was obvious that Si Yao did not recognize her ugly face with her makeup.

Madam Han walked towards Si Yuan. Shang Yun and Tian Yuan took a step back. Madam Han then took Si Yuan's arm and asked calmly, "This eldest princess...should also be sentenced to death, right?"

When Si Yao heard what Madam Han said, she suddenly got up from the ground. Her mother's shadow suddenly flashed in her mind. She remembered that on the day when she packed a large amount of luggage and moved out of Anshou Palace last time, Empress Dowager Meng gave her two purses, one yellow and one red.

At that time, Queen Mother Meng said to her: "Today is a different day than the past. We may never meet again, and I may no longer be able to protect you. If you are in trouble someday, these two purses of mine may save your life. If you are still a princess when you are in trouble, open the yellow purse; if you are no longer a princess when you are in trouble, open the red purse. Remember, don't take the wrong one."

From then on, Si Yao carried the two purses with him every day and night.

Thinking of this, Si Yao hurriedly took out a yellow purse from his inner garment, opened it, and saw a note inside.

She unfolded the note and saw four words written on it: "Blood is thicker than water."

Si Yuan saw Si Yao opening his purse and became curious, so he walked towards Si Yao.

When Si Yao saw Si Yuan coming, she was immediately terrified. She hadn't figured out the purpose of the note her mother left. Based on her literal understanding, she looked up at Si Yuan in panic and shouted, "You can't kill me. I'm your biological sister! If you dare to kill me, my father in heaven will never forgive you!"

There was silence inside and outside. Si Yuan walked straight to Si Yao, scaring Si Yao so much that he dropped the note on the ground.

Si Yuan leaned over, picked up the note, and recognized it as the handwriting of his younger brother, Xiaozong Si Yu.