noffsinger Chapter 214 Ling Huan is in danger
Chapter 214 Ling Huan is in danger
Zhen Huan nodded: "Sister is right, but we can't take it lightly."
An Lingrong was a little worried: "Huan'er, sister, I always feel that there is a turbulent undercurrent beneath this calm, and it seems that a greater danger is brewing."
Zhen Huan held her hand and said, "Lingrong, don't scare yourself. As long as the three of us work together, we can resolve this crisis."
Concubine Hua snorted disdainfully, "Those rats only dare to do little things in the dark. If they dare to come out in the open, I will make them pay!"
A few days later, Zhen Huan was embroidering in the palace when her personal maid, Jin Xi, ran in in a panic, "Your Majesty, something bad has happened outside the palace!"
Zhen Huan raised her head, her heart tightening. "Why are you so frightened? Tell me slowly."
Jin Xi gasped and said, "My Lady, I heard that the spice shop of Miss An's family is on fire. The fire is raging, I'm afraid it's very dangerous!"
Zhen Huan stood up suddenly: "What? How could this be? Does Lingrong know about this?"
Jin Xi shook her head: "I haven't informed Little Master An yet, I'll report to Her Majesty first."
Zhen Huan thought for a moment and said, "Don't tell her yet. I'll go and see what's going on. You guard the palace gates and don't let any news leak out."
Zhen Huan hurried to An Lingrong's residence, only to find An Lingrong admiring the flowers in the courtyard. Seeing Zhen Huan approaching, she greeted her with a smile, "Huan'er, how come you have time to come here today?"
Zhen Huan forced herself to remain calm. "Lingrong, I came to see you. Are you doing well these days?"
An Lingrong asked doubtfully, "I'm fine, Huan'er, are you hiding something from me?"
Zhen Huan hesitated for a moment, but decided not to say anything for now: "No, it's just that I haven't had a good chat with you for a long time, and I miss you."
An Lingrong smiled: "Huan'er, you are always so considerate."
Zhen Huan sat with An Lingrong for a while, but she was still thinking about the spice shop, so she left first on the pretext of having something to do.
After leaving the room, Zhen Huan immediately ordered the eunuch beside her: "Go outside the palace to find out the details of the spice shop fire and report back quickly."
The young eunuch took the order and left. Zhen Huan returned to her palace, anxiously waiting for news.
Soon, the young eunuch returned with a report: "Your Majesty, I have learned everything. The fire in the spice shop is very strange. The people nearby say that the fire started suddenly and spread very quickly, as if someone had deliberately set it on fire."
Zhen Huan's face darkened. "As expected. It must be the work of those who are against us. But why would they target the spice shop?"
At this moment, Concubine Hua also rushed to Zhen Huan's palace: "Huan'er, I heard that Lingrong's family's spice shop caught fire. Is it true?"
Zhen Huan nodded: "Sister Hua Fei, I'm afraid someone is doing this deliberately and wants to attack us from outside the palace."
Concubine Hua angrily said, "These people are so despicable! How dare they act so brazenly."
Zhen Huan pondered, "Sister, let's not make it public yet, so as not to alert the enemy. I want to go see Ling Rong. I'll tell her about this sooner or later, and we can discuss countermeasures together."
Hua Fei said, "Okay, I'll go with you."
The two of them arrived at An Lingrong's palace. An Lingrong saw their solemn expressions and felt uneasy: "Huan'er, sister, is there something wrong with you?"
Zhen Huan took a deep breath and said, "Lingrong, you need to calm down. Your mother's spice shop is on fire. It's said that someone deliberately set the fire."
An Lingrong was struck by lightning, her face pale. "What? How could this happen? Are my mother and Concubine Xiao all right?"
Zhen Huan comforted him, "We don't know the details yet, but we will find out as soon as possible. Don't worry too much."
An Lingrong's eyes were filled with tears: "That spice shop is the hard work of my mother and me, how could it be..."
Hua Fei said, "Lingrong, don't cry. We will find the mastermind behind this and make them pay."
An Lingrong gritted her teeth and said, "If I find out who did this, I won't let them go!"
Zhen Huan said, "Lingrong, let's calm down first. This matter may be related to the struggle in the palace. We need to take a long-term view."
An Lingrong tried to calm herself down: "Huan'er, you're right. But where should we start?"
Zhen Huan said, "Let's start with the people around the spice shop and see if anyone suspicious appears. Sister Hua Fei, could you lend me some of the people in your palace?"
Concubine Hua said readily, "Of course. I will also ask Songzhi to keep an eye on the palace and inform me if there are any clues."
So, Zhen Huan and Concubine Hua arranged people to start investigating the spice shop.
A few days later, the investigators returned with a report: "Madam, my lady, we have discovered that several strangers were lingering around the spice shop the night before the fire, behaving suspiciously."
Zhen Huan hurriedly asked, "Can you see their appearance clearly?"
The man replied, "It was too dark. I could only vaguely see that they were wearing black clothes. They looked like people from the underworld."
An Lingrong frowned. "People from the Jianghu? How could we have a grudge against someone from the Jianghu?"
Zhen Huan thought for a moment: "Perhaps someone hired them. Let's check if anyone has any dealings with the Jianghu people."
Hua Fei suddenly asked, "Could it be the same force that opposed us before? They couldn't defeat us in the palace, so they wanted to attack us from outside the palace."
Zhen Huan nodded: "It's very likely. We can't miss any clues."
At this moment, the Emperor heard about the fire in the spice shop and came to visit An Lingrong: "Noble Concubine An, I heard that your mother's spice shop met with misfortune. Please don't be too sad."
An Lingrong bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will definitely investigate the truth and ensure that the criminals do not go unpunished."
The Emperor said, "I will also instruct the Jingzhao Yin to assist in the investigation."
With the emperor's support, Zhen Huan and others became more confident. They continued to investigate and found that the strangers were related to a mysterious organization, which seemed to be in collusion with a minister in the court.
Zhen Huan said, "It seems there's a lot of water behind this. We have to be careful."
An Lingrong said, "No matter who it is, I will seek justice for the spice shop."
Hua Fei said: "That's right, we must eradicate them completely."
However, just as they were about to get to the truth, the mysterious organization seemed to sense the danger and began a new round of attacks on Zhen Huan and others.
First, Zhen Huan was almost hit by a flying stone in the imperial garden. Fortunately, the palace maid beside her reacted quickly and pulled her away.
After An Lingrong learned about this, she rushed to Zhen Huan's palace and said, "Huan'er, are you okay? They must have done this!"
Zhen Huan was still terrified: "I'm fine, Lingrong. They wanted to warn us and make us stop pursuing."
Hua Fei said angrily: "The more they do this, the more we cannot retreat."
But then, something happened in Concubine Hua's palace. One of her favorite pieces of jewelry mysteriously disappeared, and in the jewelry box was a threatening note: "If you continue to investigate, you will be killed without a burial place."
Concubine Hua was so angry that she tore the note into pieces: "How dare they threaten me! I will teach them a lesson!"
Zhen Huan looked at the note and said in a deep voice, "They are desperate. We must be more cautious and at the same time speed up the investigation."
An Lingrong said, "Huan'er, sister, I'm worried they might come up with even more cruel methods."
Zhen Huan said, "We should strengthen the guards around us and be careful when entering and leaving. I don't believe they can get away with it forever."
So, Zhen Huan, An Lingrong and Hua Fei continue to hold on amidst the numerous crises in the palace, and engage in a thrilling battle with the unknown dark forces. Whether they can win in the end is still unknown.