A piece of Japanese incense

Every inch of the courtyard trembled in the flames, the air was filled with the smell of charred wood and burning incense, and the ancient pine and cypress trees groaned in pain in the flames.

I touched the gem and opened the door to the tunnel.

A cloud of gray-black smoke came towards us, with a scorching temperature, mixed with sparks and dust, rolling and swirling in the air.

My eyes were stinging from the smoke, so I picked up a wooden bucket from the woodshed, filled it with half a bucket of water and hung it over my wrist. I covered my mouth and nose with my wet dress, and when the thick smoke dissipated a little, I groped my way into the tunnel.

I touched the wall with the back of my hand and didn't feel any heat, so I thought to myself that the fire had not yet spread underground. The further I went in, the more tearful the smoke became.

Relying on my memory, I explored and came to the secret room. The light inside was dim, and I walked into the secret room while calling the names of Aban and Butler Wang.

Only an old candle stood quietly on the candlestick, the flame flickering, sometimes rising, sometimes falling, as if telling the story of its impending extinguishing. The candle wax slowly flowed along the wax body, like the tears of time, recording every bit of the past.

"Aban! Are you here?"

"Butler Wang? I'm Ah He!"

There was no response, so I pressed the mechanism on the stone wall and opened the stone door.

The scene before me horrified me. Aban was bandaging the wound of Butler Wang. Butler Wang was lying weakly on the bed, his face as pale as paper, his forehead covered with fine beads of sweat, and the bandage on his chest faintly showed bright red bloodstains.

"Aban! You are really here! What happened! Come with me and leave here!"

Ah Ban's lips were cracked, and the moment he saw me, a tear quietly slipped down the corner of his eye. The crystal clear drops of water seemed to carry endless heaviness and sorrow, slowly sliding down his resolute face.

"Ah He! You, save my father!"

I reached for Butler Wang's pulse, but it was so slow and weak that I could hardly feel it.

"Hurry up and carry him on your back. I'll take you away from here!"

"Miss Zhi..."

Butler Wang opened his mouth slightly, trying to capture the last bit of life in the air, but could only make intermittent, almost inaudible moans.

"Please stop talking! Ah Ban, help Butler Wang up!"

Steward Wang suddenly grabbed my hand, as if he was gently touched by a mysterious force. At that moment, his breathing became strong and steady, a faint blush appeared on his pale face, his fingers trembled slightly, and his voice was clear and emotional:

"Miss Zhi, Ban'er is the son of the current crown princess. He was considered a monster because he was connected to the princess' back when he was born. I am Wang Zude, the deputy eunuch of the Eastern Palace. Twelve years ago, I was ordered by the crown princess to throw the body of the young emperor's grandson, who had just had his flesh and skin cut off, off the cliff. When I was about to throw him, the emperor's grandson opened his eyes. I couldn't bear it, so I found a pregnant woman in the city and raised him."

"Dad! Stop talking! Dad..." Ah Ban was already sobbing.

Steward Wang clenched Ah Ban's hand, his chest rising and falling more and more difficult, accompanied by heavy gasps: "Eight years ago, I was ordered to kidnap the daughter of the prince consort, Zhi Yihe..."

My eyes widened in shock and I unconsciously grabbed the wooden board at the head of the bed.

"Because I was afraid of being delayed too long on the road, I went to the peasant woman's house to take a look at the emperor's grandson, which led to him sneaking into the carriage and going to Queshan with me. I wanted to leave the girl behind and go, but on the way back, I found that Ban'er was missing, so I went back to look for him, and as a result, all the secret guards of the Eastern Palace knew about Ban'er's existence."

My body instinctively took a step back and squatted on the ground: "It's you! Why did the Crown Princess want to kill me?!"

Butler Wang's limbs were no longer driven by consciousness and were spread out powerlessly on the bed.

Butler Wang suddenly stood up and grabbed my hand, shouting excitedly: "Miss Zhi, this is all because of you! No matter when and where, you must..."

I gasped as Butler Wang collapsed back onto the bed. Every breath he took was a struggle, like the last cry of life fighting against death:

"There are eight bodies under the cypress tree in the backyard. I killed them all for the skin on Baner's back. The one on the far west, near the pond, is the last one. His figure is most similar to Baner. Dig him out, move me and him to the backyard, and let him..."

Butler Wang's breathing became heavier, and Ah Ban opened his mouth wide, as if he could not bear so many sudden changes.

"Let him die for Ban'er one last time..."

Butler Wang loosened his grip on my hand, his eyes half-closed, the light in his pupils gradually disappeared, and as the last ray of light dimmed, his eyes gradually lost focus, leaving only an abyss-like void.

"Dad!" Aban roared loudly, and the grief-stricken cry woke me up from my thoughts.

The faint candle in the secret room rose with the last wisp of smoke. The candlelight that had warmed countless nights finally went out quietly with a silent sigh, leaving behind a room of silence and a faint residual warmth.

The secret room became dark and smoke slowly drifted in. I knew that now was not the time to be sentimental.

In the darkness, I pulled up the grieving Ah Ban who was lying on the body of Butler Wang, touched his ear, and shouted with all my might, "If you don't want your father to die in vain, come with me and take him away from here!"

I pulled Aban and crawled out of the tunnel in the dark.

The flames dyed the night blood red, and the heat waves distorted the air, making the scenery in front of the eyes blurry.

I wanted to take deep breaths of fresh air, but I didn't expect the fire to spread so quickly that even the usually indestructible stone walls cracked under the high temperature, as if the earth was trembling in the face of the raging fire.

The air was thick with the smell of smoke and ash, suffocating with the acrid smell of burning wood.

"Girl! You're okay! That's great!" Yuyi ran to me with tears in her eyes and hugged me tightly.

"Didn't I tell you not to come in..." I coughed a few times and blew my nose with my sleeve, leaving a black mark on my sleeve.

Yuzhu and Yutuan also ran over. I took the kettle and gulped down several gulps of water.

Aban, who was lying on the ground next to him, was still crying. I threw the kettle to him and said to Yuzhu and the others:

"You arrived just in time. Find something handy and dig up the body by the pond, west of the cypress tree."

Yu Zhu asked again in disbelief: "What is that?"

"Dig! The body! You heard me! Before the fire reaches this open space! Hurry!"

Yuzhu and Yutuan quickly went to find tools and started digging at the edge of the pond.

Yuyi sniffed the butler Wang's breath and said in astonishment: "Miss! He..."

"Girl! We found it!" Yutuan shouted loudly.

"So fast!" I ran over to check.