Chapter 392 The Palace of Heavenly Purity is Gone

If it was the day when the snow had just stopped and the full moon was in the sky, with white shadows spreading below and bright silver flowing above, Ou Zanghua would get off the carriage and look up to see her walking towards him with a smile on her face. Between the moonlight and the snow, she was the third kind of beauty.

"Why did you come out?" Ou Zanghua walked over quickly, held Liu Qing's hand, and used his strong internal strength to dispel the cold for her.

"I saw that my husband hadn't come back yet, so I wanted to come out to pick him up!"

Liu Qing looked at her husband with a smile, and felt relieved when she saw that there was no worry between his brows.

She took Ou Zanghua's hand and walked towards the Ou Mansion, saying in a gentle tone: "Dad and Mom have arrived, Qingji has eaten his fill and went to bed early."

Ou Zanghua walked beside Liu Qing, listening to her chattering, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Stepping into the backyard of the house, the scene before my eyes was very warm.

Liu Zhengfeng and Madam Ouyang sat firmly in the main seats. They were both graceful and complemented each other. They were happily chatting with Master Dingxian and Qu Yang. On Madam Ouyang's right hand side was a cradle, and Aokiji was sleeping soundly in it.

On the other side, Xiang Danian and Mi Weiyi were chatting happily, their words were mingled with hearty laughter and occasional clapping. Liu Qin was between the two of them, staring at the pot of sweet wine without blinking.

Yue Lingshan and Qu Feiyan are another beautiful sight. They sit side by side in a corner, their faces filled with youthful vitality and innocent joy.

Seeing Ou Zanghua and Liu Qing coming in together, Old Liu waved his hand and immediately announced that the dishes should be served. The New Year’s Eve dinner at the Ou Mansion then began.

The next ten days were all rest days. Except for a few invitations that Ou Zanghua could not refuse, he stayed at home with his family for the rest of the time.

It was not until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, that Emperor Zhengde, perhaps because the imperial farm made too much money, had the idea that "I can finally make something big."

He decorated the imperial city in a poetic and picturesque way. Colorful lanterns were hung high on the city walls, making the entire Forbidden City look like a red sky full of bright and dazzling brilliance, giving it a sense of prosperity.

In addition, the Jinyiwei were ordered to distribute candles on the street to promote a universal celebration.

For a time, the capital city was lit up with all kinds of lanterns blooming in succession, vying with each other for splendor, making the night look like a dream, and it was extremely lively.

However, Emperor Zhengde still felt that it was not enough, so he directly "set up felt curtains along the eaves" in the Qianqing Palace where he lived. In fact, he set up a large tent inside the Qianqing Palace and brought candles into it. The flickering candlelight in the hall complemented the lights outside, creating a private space that was both warm and mysterious.

Emperor Zhengde ordered his men to bring in the prepared wine and meat. He half-lay in the middle and said to Queen Xia excitedly, "Queen, just wait and see. In a few years, when my Great Ming soldiers have made great progress in internal cultivation and external defense, they will be able to lead their troops to conquer all corners of the world and let the light of the Great Ming shine upon the world again!"

Queen Xia smiled on her beautiful face and said softly, "I believe in Your Majesty."

"Hahaha"

Emperor Zhengde laughed loudly, then shook Empress Xia's hand and said cheerfully, "When that day comes, I will definitely take Empress Xia's hand and go to the vast grasslands together. Under the blue sky and white clouds, in the real Mongolian tent, I will let Empress Xia experience the grandeur of the grasslands."

Queen Xia's eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement, saying, "Okay, I want to see the grassland too!"

"Haha, there's no need to keep the Queen waiting for long."

Emperor Zhengde was smiling and making promises to Empress Xia. At this moment, a young eunuch accidentally kicked over a candle. The fire spread rapidly, mercilessly devouring everything around it, even the solemn Qianqing Palace was not spared.

In an instant, flames rose into the sky like a violent beast, tearing the night sky apart and emitting an eerie red light.

Ou Zanghua was in his backyard, lighting lanterns with Liu Qing and Yue Lingshan. When he saw the fire in the imperial city, his expression changed and he immediately said, "Qingqing, everyone stay in the mansion, don't go there!"

"Okay." Liu Qing responded, and turned around to see Ou Zanghua had already walked out of the backyard.

The three great masters of the Sword Sect, Dan Qingsheng, and Tu Bi Weng appeared together. Before they could speak, they heard Ou Zanghua say, "The five of you stay in the mansion. If any lawless person sneaks in, kill them without mercy."

"Yes!" The five of them bowed and responded at the same time, and then divided into four groups. Feng Buping guarded the entrance to the backyard alone, Cong Buqi and Cheng Buyou wandered around the periphery, Dan Qingsheng guarded the front door, and Tu Bi Weng watched the back door.

Ou Zanghua asked Mu Gaoweng to bring a horse. After he got on the horse, he galloped towards the direction of the imperial palace.

Except for Ou Zanghua, all the court officials living around the Forbidden City received the news, and all the families and men rushed out, some on horseback, some in sedan chairs, and some even ran on foot.

When Ou Zanghua rushed to the Meridian Gate, he found that Yang Tinghe was also riding a horse and galloping towards him.

"Master Yang!" "Minister Ou!"

The two men simply greeted each other, and in the blink of an eye, many more court officials arrived. Everyone followed Yang Tinghe consciously, waiting for the boss to speak.

When Yang Tinghe saw that Fei Hong and Liang Chu had arrived, the three of them got together and discussed for a while, and decided to let Yang Tinghe and Ou Zanghua enter the palace first via the hanging basket.

The reason for choosing these two people is that Yang Tinghe can calm the situation, and Ou Zanghua is young enough and has martial arts skills, so he can play a greater role at a critical moment than a pure civil official.

As for why not just open the palace gates and let everyone in?

That’s because of the strict system of palace access management, which divides the palace gate management into two parts: day and night.

During the day, the guards' main task was to check the identities of people entering and leaving the palace, and to let people in by checking the bronze medals they carried.

At night, the management system is more stringent. In addition to arranging corresponding guards during the day, a system of closing and locking doors is also added.

Each palace gate is equipped with a corresponding general who holds the key to the palace gate. When the designated closing time comes, the generals will lock the palace gate and hand the keys to the key chief of Jingyun Gate.

The Chief Key Officer does not just have to get the keys to all the palace gates, he also has to check whether the locks and keys of each palace gate correspond.

After checking everything, the key manager will put all the keys in a box and lock the box.

In this way, the key officer's task for the day is completed.

So if you want to open the door now, you have to find the key master first.

By the time we find Chief Si Key, who knows what is going on inside the palace?

The guards at the Meridian Gate lowered a hanging basket, and Yang Tinghe stepped directly in, and the guards pulled him up.

Ou Zanghua's figure was graceful, like a flying swallow in the clouds. With the surging of his inner strength, he tapped the city wall lightly with his toes three times in a row. Then, in the interweaving of light and shadow, he leaped onto the city wall gracefully and easily.

Yang Tinghe came out of the hanging basket and saw Ou Zanghua climbed the city wall before him. He said with emotion: "Minister Ou's martial arts are truly amazing."

"Mr. Yang, you are too kind. It's just a trivial skill." Ou Zanghua bowed slightly and said calmly, "If I hadn't communicated with the guards first, I would have been shot by the crossbow if I had just flown up like this."

After hearing this, Yang Tinghe nodded and said nothing more.

The two of them, escorted by a team of guards, ran all the way to the outside of the Qianqing Palace. Looking at the palace in flames, their faces changed: "Where is His Majesty?!"

At this time, the eunuch Lu Fang, who was in charge of the seal of the Duzhijian, walked over quickly. After seeing the two people, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lao Yang and Minister Ou, don't worry. The two emperors have come out safely."

"Two?! The Queen is here too?!" Yang Tinghe breathed a sigh of relief at first, then his eyes widened with anger.

"This, this." Lu Fang smiled awkwardly and asked, "Today is the Lantern Festival. Isn't it normal for the emperor and empress to celebrate together?"

Yang Tinghe was immediately amused and asked, "Where is Your Majesty now?"

When Ou Zanghua learned that Emperor Zhengde was fine, he began to look for his boss. Based on his understanding of his boss, he knew that in such a big scene, the boss would not retreat and would definitely stay somewhere and watch the show.

Sure enough, after looking around, I saw that figure on the Qianqing Gate in the distance.

As everyone ran over, they just happened to hear Emperor Zhengde exclaiming, "What a great fireworks display!"

Ou Zanghua silently made way, and Yang Tinghe walked up with a gloomy face.

Emperor Zhengde turned his head and saw Yang Tinghe's ugly face, and he knew that he had let something slip. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Mr. Yang and Mr. Ou are here too! Alas, how did the Qianqing Palace catch fire?"

Yang Tinghe bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the fire here is raging. Please move to the side hall for shelter to ensure your health."

(End of this chapter)