Zhu Youtang hurried to Renshou Palace.
But seeing Queen Mother Zhou sitting on the edge of the bed in a hesitant way, like an old and helpless old woman, when she saw Zhu Youtang, she took her grandson's hand without waiting for Zhu Youtang to salute.
At this moment, the old lady seemed to have calmed down.
"Emperor, are you okay?"
When the Empress Dowager heard about the fire, she was not worried about anything else. She was concerned about the emperor's safety first.
This made Zhu Youtang both moved and blamed himself.
Zhu Youtang said with a sad look on his face: "Grandma Huang, it is your grandson who has frightened you."
"The Ai family feels relieved when they see you. It's good that everything is fine." Empress Dowager Zhou neither complained nor complained, and she didn't even ask how deep the fire in Qingning Palace was.
I intend to step down for Zhu Youtang.
Zhu Youtang helped Empress Dowager Zhou lie down, but Empress Dowager Zhou kept holding his hand and refused to let go. Zhu Youtang felt that the imperial grandmother was still frightened, but she just refused to tell him in front of him and put pressure on him.
"Royal Grandmother, let your grandson stay by your side and watch you sleep."
"Okay, the emperor is really a filial child. The Ai family, as well as the late emperor, did not misjudge you."
Dai Yi, who followed him in, moved a chair to the bedside. Zhu Youtang sat on it, and his grandfather and grandson held hands.
Regardless of his own difficulties, the emperor stayed by the bedside.
Queen Mother Zhou settled down, closed her eyes, and occasionally opened her eyes to look at Zhu Youtang, with a kind and peaceful look on her face, and fell asleep after a long time.
Zhu Youtang has not left yet. He wants to keep vigil in Renshou Palace.
…
…
Dai Yi and Xiao Jing both exited the hall after Zhu Youtang winked.
Xiao Jing seemed more nervous. As the governor of Dongchang, he was responsible for the failure to put out the fire. After leaving Renshou Palace, he looked at Dai Yi with pleading eyes.
"Ke Gong, don't take that fire too seriously. Didn't you listen to what the Empress Dowager said? As long as everything is fine."
There seems to be a deep meaning in Dai Yi's words.
Xiao Jing said: "That Zhang Gongsheng had already given a warning. There was no one in the palace, so I thought nothing would happen to him. But if the palace is burned down..."
Dai Yi put his hand on Xiao Jing's shoulder and reminded: "Our years are at stake. Don't force it if you can't do it. The key point is that there should be no more fires in the other palaces. Please be careful tonight."
Hearing this, Xiao Jing understood.
It doesn’t matter whether we save the fire in Qingning Palace or not. Anyway, we now know that it was a sky fire. Should we put out the fire early to reduce Li Guang’s guilt?
This fire was forewarned by Zhang Zhou and could not be avoided. If another fire breaks out somewhere else, then you Xiao Jing may really die and you will never be able to apologize.
"I understand, I understand, just do it now."
Xiao Jing also learned to be smart at this time and quickly led people to the direction of Qianqing Palace.
…
…
East Palace, inside Duanben Palace.
Zhu Houzhao yawned, rubbed his eyes, and shouted: "Chamber pot!"
A chamber pot was passed and carried.
Zhu Houzhao was about to get up for the night.
Suddenly I shivered, as if it was too cold, and then I retreated into bed again.
"Hiss...it's so cold?"
When he opened his eyes, he was instantly startled.
But he saw a group of people standing beside his bed, including Liu Jin, Gao Feng, Gu Dayong, Qiu Ju, Luo Xiang and others.
It took a long time before Zhu Houzhao came back to his senses from his confusion: "It's not bright yet, what are you doing standing here? Waiting in line to pee?"
Liu Jin, who was standing at the front, had a sad face. He probably felt that he was a loser tonight, so he said cautiously: "Go back to Your Highness, the palace is carrying out fire prevention tonight, and all the braziers in the palaces have been moved out. I am afraid that you will be cold, so I have to add more." Invite a few people to come, so if there are more people... it will be more popular and warmer."
The heating of the Ming Dynasty Palace basically relied on smokeless red charcoal stoves. There were also some side halls that used the "centipede tunnel" based on the fire kang principle. However, the centipede tunnel after all destroyed the feng shui of the palace. In addition, the existing palace buildings in the Ming Dynasty were built During the Yongle period, the foundations of the main palaces were not touched.
Even in the Qing Dynasty, warm pavilions were added around Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace.
From the Ming Dynasty to the Hongzhi period, there were no such advanced gadgets.
It's okay not to remind him. Once he was reminded, Zhu Houzhao cursed: "Damn it, are you going to freeze to death? Bring me the brazier in."
Liu Jin said: "Your Highness, just hold on for one night. The fire at Qingning Palace has burned down several palaces, and the fire continues..."
Zhu Houzhao was stunned by these words.
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while, raised his head and said, "There's a fire in Qingning Palace? Why does this sound so familiar?"
Gao Feng on the side reminded: "Prince, have you forgotten? It was Zhang Jieyuan who warned His Majesty. Prince, you also said that Your Majesty will chop off his head."
"Is there really a fire?"
Zhu Houzhao's little eyes were shining, and he didn't seem to care about the cold at this time. He jumped out of the bed, jumped to the ground with bare feet, and ran towards the door.
Liu Jin hurried over and asked: "Little ancestor, what are you going to do?"
"I want to go out and watch the fun!"
It's okay if you don't know about this kind of thing. If you know it, can you spare Zhu Houzhao's share?
Several people worked together to stop Zhu Houzhao.
"Step aside!"
Zhu Houzhao was annoyed.
Gao Feng and others quickly took the clothes and put them on Zhu Houzhao. Several people hugged Zhu Houzhao and put on Zhu Houzhao's boots. Zhu Houzhao was almost being carried by others to complete the action of putting on clothes and shoes. Then he landed on the ground. You can run out of the palace.
Zhu Houzhao looked towards the Qingning Palace with a disappointed look on his face: "Where is the fire?"
Liu Jin said: "It has been almost two hours since the fire started, and it is almost dawn. If it is not extinguished, it will probably burn over next, right?"
Zhu Houzhao sniffed hard with his nose and nodded: "It really smells of smoke. Oops, that Zhang Zhou is not simple, can he get what he said? Will someone help him set the fire?"
It was Gu Dayong who said helplessly: "No, many people saw it. It was a bolt of lightning that started a fire."
"Heavenly thunder? It's wonderful! Please explain it to me."
"Your Highness, don't you want a chamber pot?"
"Yes, I'm suffocated to death. Let me urinate this urine first. You guys have your say and it won't affect you."
"Your Highness, you'd better rest early. After the results of this matter come out tomorrow, someone will explain everything to you."
"Have you also learned how to whet my appetite? Believe it or not, I have tricked you..."
"Prince, please be patient. The fire has just been extinguished. The slaves know too little. After you wake up, I will find out more information and will definitely tell you in detail."
…
…
The sky is bright.
Zhu Youtang stayed at Renshou Palace for half the night, and finally came over there. Accompanied by Dai Yi, Xiao Jing, and Chen Kuan, the three eunuchs who were responsible for the ceremony, as well as the eunuch Ning Jin and the eunuch Zhang Yong, Go to inspect outside the Qingning Palace fire scene.
At this time, the Qingning Palace fire scene was still relatively chaotic.
The Jin Yiwei and the eunuchs were cleaning up the mess, including various fire-fighting equipment, as well as half-burned furniture, metal utensils, jewelry... while the palace maid was still doing some cleaning.
There were ruins everywhere after being burned by fire, and smoke was still rising in some places. There was a pungent smell in the air, which made Zhu Youtang unable to bear to look closer.
"Ahem." Zhu Youtang coughed.
"Your Majesty, the dragon body is the most important thing." Dai Yi said with concern on his face.
Zhu Youtang sighed with emotion: "This is God warning me. If the Empress Dowager is still in the palace and cannot be rescued...then I will really become a sinner of the Ming Dynasty. How will the history books evaluate me as an unfilial king?" Wouldn’t it be comparable to Shang Zhou and Sui Yang?”
The emperor felt sorry for himself there.
Several eunuchs around him felt uncomfortable after hearing this.
Although they disagreed with the emperor's words... that is, even if the Empress Dowager Zhou was inside, they would basically be able to be rescued in time after the fire broke out.
"I feel ashamed when I think of the Empress Dowager and her elders. Even though they are full of fear, they still want to comfort me."
Chen Kuan reminded: "Your Majesty, it's almost time for the morning court, and all the ministers are estimated to be entering the palace soon."
Zhu Youtang waved his hand and said: "Today, let's stay away from the morning. Things happen for a reason. Someone tell them. I believe they can understand me."
"yes."
Chen Kuan also felt that the emperor's state was not suitable for going to court at all.
Besides, if such a diligent and self-denying emperor has to miss the day just because of the fire in the Qingning Palace, and the ministers are still chattering, then the ministers are a bit ignorant. The emperor treats you with great courtesy, but you can't make fun of him.
Dai Yi said again: "Your Majesty, now that the fire is under control, should we summon Zhang Jieyuan into the palace... and ask in detail?"
Several eunuchs pricked up their ears.
It seems that no one deliberately mentioned Zhang Zhou and Li Guang about the fire that night. But now that the fire is out and it’s dawn, it’s time to talk about something serious. It’s time to discuss the cause of this. of fire.
Even if it's Skyfire, there should be an explanation, right?
As palace residents, we deeply regret the fire.
But we are full of expectations for what will happen after the fire.
Zhu Youtang said: "Yes, thanks to Bingkuan, if it weren't for him... the consequences would be unimaginable! He saved the little princess, and also saved the empress dowager... I don't know how to reward him. I treated him before... Alas! Dai Yi, go and summon Zhang Zhou for me... I'm a little in a trance now. You go back in two hours, and let me take my time first... How many days..."
At this moment, a childlike voice came from a distance, and the voice seemed very excited: "Father, I'm late! Is there a fire? Put out the fire quickly! Wow... it's so spectacular."
