A torch was passed from the guard's hand to Zhao Yuanzuo's hand.
Zhao Yuanzuo held the torch, and the firelight reflected his face red, but it could not warm his chest.
Two flames kept beating in Zhao Yuanzuo's eyes.
Zhao Yuanzuo took advantage of the situation and threw the torch in his hand into Liu E's palace.
The torch hit the ground with a crisp sound and bounced onto the sedan chair worshiping at the door of the palace.
The sedan curtain was stained with sparks and ignited instantly.
The guards of the Chu Palace entered Liu E's palace one by one holding torches.
After a while.
Fires were lit everywhere in Liu E's palace.
The guards from the Chu Palace did not come out, but were like a human wall, blocking the door of Liu E's dormitory.
No matter how Liu E wailed in the dormitory, she remained motionless.
Let the raging flames burn out the gauze curtains around the bedroom, and let the flames on the gauze curtains spread to the beams of the bedroom.
Let the scattered sparks drip down on yourself.
After half a stick of incense.
The fire in Liu E's palace lit up the palace red.
Inside the Chui Gong Hall.
Zhao Zhen stared at Wang Qinruo, who was still breathing, with a cannibalistic gaze, and asked Wang Qinruo in the most vicious tone of his life, "Why are you not dead yet?!"
It was the first time that Zhao Zhen said such vicious words to a minister.
Wang Qinruo vomited blood from his mouth and was speechless.
He weakly took out one piece of blood-stained handwriting from his arms and pushed it in the direction of Zhao Zhen.
He took out some elixir prescriptions and some books on the secret of immortality from his arms, and pushed them in the direction of Zhao Zhen.
"Deng, Deng, Deng..."
Zhao Zhen rushed down the imperial steps angrily and roared angrily: "If you hadn't bewitched my eldest lady, how could my eldest lady have interfered with the Eighth Emperor's uncle's rebellion?
If you hadn't bewitched my eighth uncle, my eighth uncle would not have rebelled.
I don't have to watch helplessly as the eldest uncle blocks the door of the eldest lady's palace and forces her to death.
I finally figured out a way to rescue the eldest empress and calm the eldest uncle's anger.
But it was ruined by you!
Ruined by you!
You treacherous sycophant!
Big traitor!
I was blind and did not kill you earlier!"
Zhao Zhen's roar resounded throughout the Chui Gong Hall.
"Official!"
"Official!"
"..."
A young eunuch rushed into the Chui Gong Hall while Zhao Zhen was roaring.
The threshold of Chui Gong Hall is very high.
The young eunuch ran too fast and was knocked down by the threshold. His nose was broken and two lines of blood flowed out.
But he didn't care.
Instead, he lay on the ground, wailing in horror at Zhao Zhen.
"King Chu! King Chu set fire to the Queen Mother's palace!"
The young eunuch finished this sentence at the fastest speaking speed in his life.
Zhao Zhen's eyes widened in shock.
"Quick! Send someone to put out the fire!"
Zhao Zhen roared hysterically in Chui Gong Hall.
Chen Lin urgently called to the eunuchs in the palace, asking them to rush to deliver the order and mobilize the water dragon to put out the fire.
Zhao Zhen stumbled and ran outside Chui Gong Hall.
After Chen Lin finished giving orders to the eunuch, she followed him out.
Just when Zhao Zhen, Chen Lin and their entourage rushed to Liu E's palace, Kou Ji and the others also rushed to the entrance of the palace.
Saw the palace fire rising into the sky.
The three of them were startled.
"broken!"
The three of them were afraid that Wang Qinruo would cause some trouble in the palace, so they hurried to the palace in a hurry.
Now I see a fire in the palace.
The three of them felt without hesitation that Wang Qinruo had really caused trouble.
Wang Qinruo was the prisoner the three of them were responsible for arresting.
Now the three of them failed to catch Wang Qinruo, and let Wang Qinruo sneak into the palace and cause trouble.
Then the three of them are guilty of dereliction of duty.
Dereliction of duty but not dereliction of duty.
Kou Ji actually doesn't care.
Liu Heng didn't care much either.
But Xue Tian cares.
Xue Tian's face was like an eggplant, green and purple, very ugly.
"Get in quickly!"
Kou Ji had no intention of comforting Xue Tian, so he urged him.
The palace door is locked, and ordinary people are generally not allowed to enter or exit.
But when Kou Zhun was in the palace, Kou Ji often entered the palace at night, and the soldiers of the imperial army guarding the palace gate were also used to seeing him enter the palace in the middle of the night.
In addition, Kou Ji is familiar with their immediate boss Zhu Neng.
Therefore, after Kou Ji made his intention clear, the Forbidden Army officers guarding the palace gate did not embarrass the three of them.
Instead, he sent several Forbidden Army officers and led them into the palace.
When the three people arrived at Liu E's dormitory, they saw Zhao Yuanzuo standing with his back to the burning Liu E's dormitory, holding a sword.
Zhao Zhen stood at the door, roaring at Zhao Yuanzuo with red eyes.
"Uncle, I am the emperor. You are committing murder in my palace. Do you really think that I dare not punish you?!"
Zhao Yuanzuo stared at Zhao Zhen very calmly and said: "You are the emperor, you can. Just like your grandfather in the past, you demoted me to a commoner and sent me thousands of miles away."
Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth and shouted: "I will make your wish come true! I will not only demote you to the rank of common people, but also the people of the Chu Palace, I will demote them all to the rank of common people."
Zhao Yuanzuo smiled calmly and said: "That's good... maybe after they become common people, they will live a more comfortable life than the royal family and nobles. Even if they don't live as well as the royal family and nobles, at least they don't have to fight for power and kill each other."
Zhao Zhen said fiercely: "Get out of the way, I want to lead people in to save the eldest lady!"
Zhao Yuanzuo shook his head.
Zhao Zhen stared and roared: "Chen Lin, capture him for me."
Zhao Yuanzuo was stunned and grinned.
"He looks a bit like an emperor, but unfortunately he is still indecisive."
"You...no one can save you."
When a group of imperial guards rushed towards Zhao Yuanzuo, Zhao Yuanzuo smiled and entered the sea of fire.
Kou Ji and the other three watched blankly as Zhao Yuanzuo entered the sea of fire.
The sea of fire instantly engulfed Zhao Yuanzuo's figure.
The fire became bigger in an instant.
Zhao Zhen didn't need to give any more orders. The eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial guards began to put out the fire with great shouts.
Some of the imperial guardsmen who wanted to make a fortune were ready to rush into the fire scene to save people.
But as soon as he approached the door of the palace, he was forced to retreat by the raging fire.
Zhao Zhen stood there with dull eyes, staring at the burning palace.
A series of water dragons were pushed by the eunuchs and rushed to the front of the palace, spraying water to extinguish the fire.
Water in the imperial garden.
After being whipped, it sank more than a foot deep, and then the flames in Liu E's palace were extinguished.
After the flames were extinguished, only debris was left on the ground.
The door of Liu E's palace was crowded with people.
Concubine Li, Concubine Yang, Empress Cao, etc., all the female relatives in the palace are here.
Queen Cao wept secretly.
Concubine Li twitched in a low voice.
Concubine Yang burst into tears.
The scene was very chaotic.
The Imperial Guard rummaged through the wreckage and found the charred corpse of Zhao Yuanzuo.
However, the bodies of Liu E and the guards of the Chu Palace were not found.
Liu E's bedroom was the place where the fire burned the most fiercely.
Liu E and all the guards in the Chu Palace were probably burned to ashes along with the dormitory.
Xue Tian's hands and feet were trembling, and he wanted to go forward to apologize.
But he was stopped by Kou Ji.
"If you go up now, you are seeking death!"
Xue Tian's mouth trembled and he said in a trembling voice: "If you don't go... you will probably die..."
Kou Ji shook his head and let out a sigh of relief.
"I'll go..."
Kou Ji stopped Xue Tian and Liu Heng and walked towards Zhao Zhen.
"Your Majesty Kou Ji, please visit the official family..."
Zhao Zhen said with dull eyes: "Am I... very cowardly? If I had been tougher and had someone take away the Great Emperor earlier, wouldn't such a tragedy have happened?"
Kou Ji lamented, "According to King Chu's temperament, he will not give up. You can stop him once or twice, but you cannot stop him for a lifetime."
Zhao Zhen whispered miserably: "My eldest lady... is gone..."
Kou Ji opened his mouth, but no words of comfort came out.
Zhao Zhen's eyes were filled with tears and he lamented: "I have demoted the great uncle to a commoner..."
Kou Ji bowed and listened.
Zhao Zhen continued: "As you watched, you helped me bury the great uncle, confiscated his family property, and sent all his children and female relatives to Cangzhou, and you will not allow them to return to the court for the rest of their lives.
Then help me ask the grand master to return to the court and temporarily manage the government on my behalf."
Kou Ji stared at Zhao Zhen blankly, with a look of astonishment on his face.
However, Zhao Zhen did not pay attention to Kou Ji's expression and continued: "I invaded Wang Qinruo, broke into the palace without permission, and murdered my eldest empress and my eldest uncle, and all nine clans were put to death.
Give him the posthumous title of ‘Human Traitor’, engrave it on a monument and set it up in front of his grave.”
Kou Ji suppressed the shock in his heart and said in a deep voice: "What should Wang Qinruo do?"
Zhao Zhen's eyes were red and he said: "I will... chop him alive one by one..."
Don't wait for Kou Ji to react.
Zhao Zhen snatched a knife from the hand of the imperial guard and headed towards Chui Gong Hall with heavy steps.
Kou Ji and Chen Lin were shocked and followed closely behind.
After Zhao Zhen rushed to Chui Gong Hall, he swung his long knife and severely cut off Wang Qinruo's leg.
Blood splashed on Zhao Zhen's face, but Zhao Zhen didn't notice it at all.
Wang Qinruo howled loudly, "Xia Song, you are harming me!"
"Poof!"
Zhao Zhen dropped the knife again and cut off Wang Qinruo's other leg, and then his hands.
Kou Ji stared at Zhao Zhen's murder with an ugly face, not knowing whether he should step forward to stop him.
Chen Lin stood at the door of Chui Gong Hall with a pale face, not daring to move a step.
Kou Jinan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said to Chen Lin: "If you don't stop it... If the official family continues like this, they will become possessed."
Chen Lin trembled, gritted her teeth, and said with a trembling voice: "The officials need to vent...otherwise they will really become possessed..."
Kou Ji was stunned when he heard this and nodded secretly.
Two days.
Zhao Zhen experienced his own uncle sending troops to rebel, his aunt seizing power, his uncle burning his aunt to death, and his uncle being buried in a sea of fire.
Everyone who died had a close relationship with him.
He didn't want to hurt anyone, but in the end, he hurt everyone.
His heart felt like it had been put in a roller and crushed repeatedly.
Kou Ji watched Zhao Zhen hack Wang Qinruo to death, but he still didn't stop and couldn't help but close his eyes.
"What did Wang Qinruo mean by what he shouted just now?"
Kou Ji tried to divert his attention by talking to Chen Lin.
Chen Lin stared at Zhao Zhen's murder without blinking, but she also answered Kou Ji's question.
"Xia Song ran away... and took possession of the horses, boats, money, and people that Wang Qinruo prepared for himself for escape..."
Kou Ji stared and looked at Chen Lin.
Chen Lin said sadly: "Our family didn't catch up..."
Kou Jigang was just about to continue asking Chen Lin for some news when he heard a thud in the Chui Gong Hall.
Follow the sound.
He saw Zhao Zhen lying on the ground, his body covered with Wang Qinruo's blood.
Wang Qinruo had been chopped long ago beyond recognition.
Kou Ji and Chen Lin rushed forward quickly.
Chen Lin hurriedly helped Zhao Zhen up, tested Zhao Zhen's breath and pulse, picked up Zhao Zhen, and said to Kou Ji: "The official is fine, he just fainted. The affairs in the court are between you and the Grand Master.
Thank you for your hard work."
After saying this.
Chen Lin hugged Zhao Zhen and strode away quickly.
Kou Ji lamented, and summoned the eunuchs and maids who were waiting in the Chui Gong Hall to clean up the bloodstains in the Chui Gong Hall, and issued a sealing order.
Kou Ji doesn't care whether it's useful or not.
He only does what he should do.
After the eunuchs and maids cleaned up the bloodstains in Chui Gong Hall.
Xue Tian and Liu Heng, followed by a group of eunuchs, Gong E appeared in Chui Gong Hall.
When Xue Tian arrived at Chui Gong Hall, he didn't see Zhao Zhen. He hurried to Kou Ji and asked, "How is the official family doing?"
Kou Ji was silent for a moment, shook his head and said: "It's all fine with the officials. We have already rested in the palace. Before leaving, please let me invite my grandfather to come into the palace and take charge of the overall situation."
Xue Tian let out a long breath, "As long as the official family is not in trouble, it is fine as long as the official family is not in trouble..."
Kou Ji bowed his hand to Xue Tian and said, "Please come out of the palace and invite my grandfather into the palace."
Xue Tian nodded and said hesitantly: "How did the officials explain the matter of Jiaozi Pu?"
Kou Ji frowned and said, "I will handle this matter properly, you don't need to worry anymore."
Xue Tian nodded and hurriedly left Chui Gong Hall to invite Kou Zhun.
After Xue Tian left, Kou Ji said to Liu Heng: "Xia Song has escaped...send someone to chase him quickly..."
Liu Heng nodded and prepared to leave.
Kou Ji stopped Liu Heng and said, "After sending people to chase Xia Song, go back home."
Liu Heng was stunned for a moment and nodded silently.
Liu Heng knew why Kou Ji asked him to return home.
His father Liu Mei is Liu E's nominal brother. Now that Liu E is dead, he doesn't know whether his father will be sad, but as a son, it is necessary to go back and take a look.
After Liu Heng left.
Kou Ji looked at the place where Wang Qinruo died, let out a long sigh, and muttered: "Xia Song robbed you of the things you needed to escape, forcing you to go to the palace to find Concubine Li to beg for your life, but he broke the official story of stealing dragons and turning phoenixes.
…
It’s really a twist of fate...
Actually, I have many questions to ask you.
For example, how Xia Song stole the things you were trying to escape from.
Since you want to escape for your life, you must have some close friends to help you.
How does Xia Song instigate and seduce your confidants?
For another example, how did you impress Concubine Li and let her help you sneak into the palace?
Another example, why do you insist on being a traitor?"
Kou Ji stared at the place where Wang Qinruo died and asked a lot of questions.
But no one answered.
No one told him that the reason Xia Song was able to rob Wang Qinruo of the things that Wang Qinruo used to escape was because Xia Song helped prepare most of the things.
No one told him that Xia Song and Wang Qinruo had already agreed to escape together after the incident was revealed.
No one even told him that Wang Qinruo had given Xia Song a seal, which could be used to mobilize the palace's manpower. Xia Song relied on the seal to gain the trust of the people in the palace who assisted Wang Qinruo in escaping, and occupied the boat Wang Qinruo used to escape.
Ma and Qian then killed Wang Qinruo's cronies, cutting off Wang Qinruo's escape route and forcing Wang Qinruo to beg for his life from Concubine Li.
If Kou Ji wants to know this, he will probably have to wait until he catches Xia Song.