Green Mountain-Chapter 693 - 549: Burn It All

9 to 11 PM.

A hundred steps outside East Rongmi Lane, Jin Zhu sat in a noodle shop leisurely peeling garlic, complaining, "When I was at the Pigeon Level, I was assigned to surveil the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. When I reached Hai Dongqing, I was assigned to monitor Official Hu. It's so hard to make it to the Twelve Signs, and I'm still being assigned to surveillance."

Heavenly Horse, sitting across the table, slowly peeled garlic, ignoring Jin Zhu's complaints.

Jin Zhu threw the peeled garlic on the table, glanced at East Rongmi Lane, and saw Xuan Snake standing under the eaves of Huitong Hall, resting with his eyes closed. This made him feel a bit better.

But he continued to complain, "There's a national mourning right now, how can a noodle shop not close at 9 to 11 PM? If someone really wants to assassinate the An Nan Envoy, those assassins aren't fools... How exactly did the Empress die? You're one of the Top Three; you must know something, tell me."

Heavenly Horse still ignored him.

Jin Zhu was undeterred, leaned forward, and lowered his voice, "Has the candidate for Commander of the Jiefan Guard been decided? With Lin Chaoqing, a spy under Wu Xiu, the Emperor may not allow him to continue commanding the Jiefan Guard. If the Jiefan Guard returns to the Prime Minister, the choice of Commander is crucial. Tell the Prime Minister, that kid West Wind isn't bad, he'd definitely be obedient as Commander of the Jiefan Guard."

Heavenly Horse still did not respond.

At this time, a waiter in the noodle shop brought two bowls of steaming spicy noodles to the table.

Jin Zhu took a bite but then called the waiter over: "Come here, come here!"

The waiter, puzzled, came closer: "What is it, Guest?"

Jin Zhu slapped him on the back of the head: "Guest my ass, is this the spicy noodles you make? Tastes like rusty iron, the oil temperature wasn't right, all raw oil flavor. The ginger and scallions were added too early, all burned, and the minced meat is like dumpling filling, all clumped together with no chewiness."

The spy disguised as a waiter whispered, "Sir, we usually don't cook... I saw Mr. Heavenly Horse enjoying it."

Jin Zhu turned to find that Heavenly Horse had already finished a bowl.

He pushed his spicy noodles toward Heavenly Horse and slammed the chopsticks on the table: "Go make it again. If you can't make an edible bowl tonight, you don't need to sleep."

However, at this moment, when Jin Zhu slammed the table, the table couldn't bear the weight and collapsed, scattering bowls and chopsticks everywhere.

He looked up suddenly to see Heavenly Horse holding chopsticks, expressionlessly looking at him.

The spy shuddered, "Sir, I'll prepare another bowl for you right away."

When the spy cautiously left, Jin Zhu was still in doubt.

Heavenly Horse glanced at him, threw the chopsticks on the ground, and used hand signals to ask, "Ascend to the second floor?"

Jin Zhu hesitated for a long time and used hand signals to ask Heavenly Horse, "Have you ever seen any Executive Officer ascend two floors quickly?"

Heavenly Horse was unconcerned, using hand signals to reply, "Like fish crossing the river."

Jin Zhu's expression was complicated, "What about three floors?"

Heavenly Horse thought for a moment, "I count as one, the person on Huangshan practicing Heavenly Phenomenon Technique counts as one, Deputy Director Xu Shu of the Observatory counts as one, Chan Zhao of Kujue Temple counts as one, General Hu Junxian of Guyuan counts as one..."

Before he finished, Jin Zhu's expression changed again, "What about four floors?"

Heavenly Horse thought for a moment, "Martial Temple Mountain Master Lu Yang counts as one, that young Supervisor Hu Junyan of the Observatory counts as one."

The next moment, Jin Zhu bitterly asked, "What about five floors?"

This time, Heavenly Horse was also stunned and used hand signals to ask, "Seeking Dao Realm?"

Jin Zhu shook his head, "No, half a step away."

Heavenly Horse seemed pensive.

"Not good, that kid is planning something big," Jin Zhu suddenly got up and walked out, taking large strides around Huitong Hall, both wanting to find Chen Ji and fearing to find him.

When he returned to the noodle shop, Heavenly Horse signaled through the window, "What happened?"

Jin Zhu anxiously signaled back, "That kid ascended the floors for the first time, went straight to three floors, then killed over a hundred Heavenly Strategy Army members at Dragon Gate Inn; he ascended the floors for the second time, went straight to four floors, then chased down and killed Liao Zhong in Changping; today is the third time, he ascends straight to five floors, unknown what he's planning now. The court intends to arrange Princess Bai Li to marry the King of An Nan, I fear he'll go all out..."

Heavenly Horse raised an eyebrow, signaling, "The Innate Realm only has eight floors, how can he ascend to twelve?"

Jin Zhu stood there, muttering, "Oh my god, it indeed is... how can he reach twelve floors? No matter, I'll go for another walk to prevent him from really coming to kill the King of An Nan."

When he circled back again, he saw Chen Ji sitting in the noodle shop, eating the newly made spicy noodles from the waiter.

With uncertainty, Jin Zhu walked into the noodle shop, "What are you doing here?"

He sat down across from Chen Ji, lowered his voice, "Kid, there are at least fifty or sixty spies outside Huitong Hall. If you go to assassinate the King of An Nan now, it's a death wish. Listen to your elder brother, go back."

Chen Ji finished the spicy noodles in a few bites, put down his chopsticks, "Who said I'm here to kill the King of An Nan?"

Jin Zhu was stunned: "Then why are you here..."

Before he could finish speaking, the distant sound of drums and bells from the Forbidden City reached them. Heavenly Horse looked at Jin Zhu, who exclaimed in surprise, "The bell at Wuying Hall and the drum at Five Phoenixes Yanchi Building, there's a fire in the palace!"

Chen Ji didn't pay attention to this. He took a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Jin Zhu: "Do me a favor, follow what it says on the paper."

After saying this, without waiting for Jin Zhu's refusal, he rose and walked into the night.

...

...

At this moment, outside Cining Palace, a female servant was running and shouting: "There's a fire, quickly call the eunuchs from the Emergency Bucket Department!"

Someone was supporting the Empress Dowager as they walked out. A team of little eunuchs ran over, someone holding a bucket, drawing water from two enormous copper 'Taiping Water Jars' placed in front of the palace gates, and rushing towards Cining Palace with the water.

Another team came carrying six cannon-like water buckets, drawing water with pistons from the Taiping Water Jars and spraying it onto the fire with pistons.

As the Empress Dowager passed by the court ministers, she urgently said, "Quickly remove the Buddha statues, Buddha bones, and Buddha teeth from inside, they must not be burned. If they are, you will all be buried with them."

Upon hearing this, the little eunuchs gritted their teeth, poured some water over themselves, and rushed into the main hall to rescue the Buddhist treasures.

The Forbidden City had caught fire before; even parts of Cining Palace and the Imperial Extreme Hall had burned before. The eunuchs practiced fire drills on the first and fifteenth of every month, so it wasn't complete chaos.

Several Jiefan Guard arrived before the Empress Dowager, respectfully kowtowed to her, and then stood up to ask a female servant: "Empress Dowager, may you be safe... Where did the fire start?"

The female servant hurriedly replied: "It started at the moon platform first, strangely enough, there are only a few copper incense burners there, and no one was near them at night. How could the fire have started?"

The Jiefan Guards exchanged glances, remaining silent.

Footsteps echoed on the palace path, and the Jiefan Guards turned to see Wu Xiu approaching with two other Jiefan Guards.

The Empress Dowager asked sternly: "Hu Junyi is dead, does he also want to get rid of me? Has he forgotten what's carved on the Filial Piety and Brotherly Love Stele in front of Renshou Palace, forgotten the ancestral rites of the Zhu family!"

Wu Xiu, composed, bowed and clasped his hands: "Empress Dowager, please remain calm. A few days ago, the Observatory submitted a memorial stating that recently the Mars Star is offending the Ziwei Star in the west, indicating the possibility of a fire in the palace, this is the will of heaven. The court ministers will dispatch Jiefan Guard to Cining Palace for security, and once this matter is settled, we will thoroughly investigate the cause."

...

...

In Yikun Palace, Consort Xue sat alone on the floor of the dimly lit main hall. Moonlight streamed through the windows, reflecting Consort Xue and the high colorful brackets on the gloriously reflective green gold bricks from the Suzhou Imperial Kiln.

A green gold brick transported from the Suzhou Imperial Kiln, a two-foot brick could be exchanged for four hundred catties of grain, warm in winter and cool in summer. The entire Yikun Palace was paved with green gold bricks, with pearl curtains hanging and glass cups placed.

Lowering her head, Consort Xue looked at her reflection on the green gold bricks, her hair disheveled, her clothes untidy, no longer the assertive and radiant figure from a few days ago.

She gazed at the blurry shadow on the brick, intermittently humming the lines of a southern opera "The Tale of the Pipa": "What is the meaning of long-lasting friendship, in the end, blood becomes rouge adorning the tent, onstage actors finish their act and exit, offstage the guest wipes clean their face and starts again..."

As she hummed, a distant, indistinct commotion began to rise, at first a vague disturbance, then the sound of running footsteps, followed by a heavy and urgent thumping penetrated through the palace walls, filtering faintly through.

It was the sound of the drums from Five Phoenix Platform, the bells from Wuying Hall.

Consort Xue suddenly lifted her head, her dazed eyes gaining focus. She listened, the sound growing clearer and more pressing.

A female servant called out: "There's a fire!"

Consort Xue's chapped lips moved, initially in confusion, then she staggered to her feet, clutching the cold bricks, rushing to the window to look outside. The night sky of the Forbidden City was painted with a flickering orange red.

Cining Palace and Yikun Palace were only a little over ten yards apart.

"There's a fire! Hahaha, Cining Palace is on fire!" Her laughter echoed in the empty Yikun Palace, rebounding off the painted beams and columns.

Consort Xue suddenly exhausted all her strength, pounding her hands on the heavy window frame, shouting at the flames, "Burn! Burn Renshou Palace, burn Fengxian Hall, even the heavens can't bear to see it anymore and have come to claim the debt of this deep palace!"

She turned and walked back into the dim Yikun Palace, opening her arms wide: "Hurry and burn over here, burn Yikun Palace, burn all these golden cages, glass cups, pearl curtains, burn everything you rewarded me with, deceived me with!"

Yet at this moment, the main hall dimmed for a second, as if something had obscured the moonlight outside the window.

Consort Xue turned back warily, seeing a black cat crouching on the window frame, calmly watching her.

She exclaimed in fear: "The Empress's cat? You're here to avenge her!"

The next moment, Wu Yun raised its paw and slashed in mid-air, a moonlight-like Sword Gang sliced through the air, cutting across Consort Xue's neck, splattering a splash of blood onto the green gold bricks.

Consort Xue fell heavily to the ground, struggling to look up at the window frame where the black cat had been, but it was already gone.