C76

Xue Longhu's eyes were bloodshot as he watched the four servants carry a stretcher in front of him. The stretcher was covered with a thick layer of white cloth, but he could still tell who it was from the silhouette.

The head manservant anxiously asked, "Master, this was brought out from the palace. Eldest Miss …"

Xue Longhu held back the tears in his eyes and asked with difficulty: "How did she die?"

The servant replied, "The Hall of Supreme Harmony was flooded with water. The twelve palace maids were buried in a sea of fire. Coincidentally, Eldest Miss was also in the hall, so …"

Xue Longhu's finger trembled slightly as he lifted the white cloth. The servant immediately stopped him: "Old master, the face of Eldest Miss has been burnt to the point that it has become unrecognizable."

Xue Longhu took a deep breath, "I know, let me see her again. No matter how terrifying her fever is, I want to see his again."

The manservant responded and took off the white cloth. A charred face appeared in front of him, its facial features were difficult to discern, it was impossible to tell that it was Xue Liuhua. Everyone was so frightened that they turned their faces away, not daring to look at this ghost-like thing again.

Xue Longhu stopped beside the corpse in shock, sized her up, and asked curiously: "Is this the big miss?"

"Yes, old master," the servant nodded, "Her clothes are of the same length as Eldest Miss, and she has the Prime Minister's Mansion emblem on her body." He handed over a charred token that could only show the word 'Xue'.

Xue Longhu did not persist anymore, as a few tears finally fell down his face, "Did you tell this to Madam?"

The attendant said hesitantly, "Madam is lying on the bed."

Xue Longhu suddenly remembered that the poison in the Madam Ye was already deep, and he had completely become a cripple. He had to lie on the bed all day without being able to move or eat, and could only wait for his days to come to an end.

Xue Longhu wiped his tears, "Carry her to the East Garden, let the butler choose a good day to bury her."

Although Xue Liuhua had done many wrong things, she was still his beloved daughter after all. Now that she had ended up like this, it made his heart feel as if it was being stabbed by knives. It was all his fault as a father, she couldn't remind him to be careful before she entered the palace.

"Master," the manservant said gently, "The eunuch by the emperor's side is waiting for you in the study."

The young miss of Prime Minister's Mansion had tragically died in the Imperial Palace. Presumably, the Emperor wanted to pacify him by offering him some gold, silver, and jewelry. Xue Longhu nodded sadly, "I know."

The servants did not even dare to look at the charred corpse, and hastily covered it with a white cloth.

"Sigh," Xue Longhu called out to a servant. "Go and tell Second Young Miss that she has been waiting for Liuhua to return these past few days, and has finally returned."

"Miss," Little Zhui smiled as she came in and bowed to her. "Congratulations Miss, you're about to become the big Miss of the Xue Manor."

Xue Ronghua nodded slowly, then put down the history book in his hand, "Did you send Xue Liuhua's corpse into the palace?"

Little Zhui laughed: "He's here. In order to pacify the old master, the Emperor even sent someone to deliver many things to the palace."

"When Master saw Xue Liuhua's corpse, what expression did she have?"

Little Zhui rolled her eyes, "Master is crying so bitterly."

Xue Ronghua's hands froze. Even if Xue Liuhua committed the crime of killing her sister and her mother, she was still the direct descendant whom Xue Longhu had doted on for so many years. Now that she had suddenly died in the sea of fire and could no longer meet him, she would definitely feel extreme sorrow.

A manservant knocked on the door and said, "Is the second young miss here? The master asked me to come over and tell the young lady that the young lady's corpse has been brought into the mansion."

Xue Ronghua pretended not to know about it, "Corpse?"

The manservant swallowed hard and replied slowly, "When First Miss entered the palace, she encountered a huge fire … "Second Miss, please don't be too sad. Be careful of your body."

"No wonder I didn't see you even after waiting for a long time," Xue Ronghua and Little Zhui smiled at each other, then asked, "Where is the old master right now?"

"The lord is in the study. He is entertaining the eunuch sent by the emperor."

"Oh, then where is the young lady's corpse?"

"The young miss' corpse is lying on the East Garden. Master ordered the housekeeper to choose a good day to bury it."

Xue Ronghua thought for a while, then said: "Alright, I understand. You can go now."

The attendant replied and hurriedly left.

"Miss," Little Zhui asked, "Do you want to go to East Garden to see Eldest Miss?"

Xue Ronghua smiled, "Of course we are going. We sisters will be the ones to send her off."

"But," Little Zhui bit her lips, "The young miss was burned to death, her corpse must have been a horrible sight to behold."

Xue Ronghua took a light sip of tea and said, "No matter how she's burnt, I will go and take a look even if it's just a charred corpse." No matter how it was burnt to, it was still not Xue Liuhua's corpse. She was currently in the palace, standing in front of her own Imperial Concubine Hua.

"Then miss, I'll go with you."

"If you're afraid, then you don't need to go," Xue Ronghua said as she looked around, "Zhu Tong went out to play again?"

Little Zhui said with a smile, "It's not spring yet, that girl went out of the city to admire the flowers."

"You should keep an eye on her," Xue Ronghua said worriedly. "She's just a little girl from Chiron;

Little Zhui laughed: Miss, do not worry, Zhu Tong is poisonous, no one will bully her.

Xue Liuhua suddenly opened her eyes in the darkness. The sound of even breathing came from beside her, and the strong aroma of dragons gradually dispersed, as if someone had brought a piece of soft cloth covered with fragrance to cover her nose.

This was the tenth day since she took off her identity as the young miss of the Prime Minister's family and became Imperial Concubine Hua. She only hesitated for three days before choosing the former. She didn't know why, but in her heart, she always had that strand of fantasy that the Prince Jin would become the next emperor, and then rescue her out.

Furthermore, a trace of ruthlessness flashed past Xue Liuhua's eyes. If the Prince Jin was exposed, then she and the Prince Jin would definitely not end up well, and instead choose to be Imperial Concubine Hua. Not only would they be able to preserve their lives, they would also have the qualifications to deal with Xue Ronghua.

After she had faked her death, she did not want to see her father Xue Longhu again. Xue Liuhua tightly held onto the quilt. Why would that bastard be able to be with the person she loved, while she was forced to sleep with a man who was twenty years older than her at all times?

"What are you thinking about? "So engrossed." At some point, the emperor had woken up and narrowed his eyes.

Xue Liuhua was shocked as she replied gently, "Chenqie just woke up."

The emperor indifferently replied, "I thought you were homesick."

Xue Liuhua took a deep breath and nodded silently.

"You don't have to worry, your father will hold himself back, and he won't be sad for long," The emperor's lips curled up into a smile, "He already adopted Xue Ronghua as her direct daughter."

Xue Liuhua was startled, her nails digging into her flesh fiercely. Her father's heart had indeed been hurt by her poisoning her mother, and the news of her faking death had just reached the Xue Manor when he helped Xue Ronghua to straighten it out.

"Then …" Xue Liuhua's lips could not help but tremble, "Where's Mother?"

"When we sent people to enter the Prime Minister's Mansion, we did not see Madam Ye. She …"

Xue Liuhua's eyes dimmed. She should have died soon after due to being poisoned by a poison like the one found in the osmanthus oil.

"Why?" The Emperor reached out and took her in his arms. "Do you still have anyone you care about?"

Xue Liuhua blinked her eyes, and said with a smile: "This concubine is still thinking about my little sister, isn't she getting married to Prince Duan in the beginning of spring?"

"You have reminded me," the Emperor pondered for a moment. "However, there have been too many things that happened recently. I can see that the Prince Duan and the quasi wangfei aren't ready either. It's better to postpone it."

Xue Liuhua was afraid that she would give Prince Duan and the others a chance to cause trouble, so she hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty said it would be delayed again. Your concubine saw that my sister and Prince Duan were already planning to get married."

The Emperor asked doubtfully, "Is that so? Yesterday, Prince Duan told me that they wanted to delay the marriage date."

"Your Majesty doesn't know, that when a new person is about to get married, they can't help but feel a little shy," Xue Liuhua smiled sweetly. "But this marriage is bound to happen sooner or later, it's best if we take advantage of the warmth of spring when the flowers are blooming."

The emperor thoughtfully nodded, then smiled and caressed her cheeks. "I will ask Prince Duan about this tomorrow."

Prince Duan and Xue Ronghua should get married earlier. Xue Liuhua gritted her teeth. Now that she had the Prime Minister's Mansion, it was already impossible for the Prince Jin to get her. She might as well join the crown prince and form an alliance with him to deal with the Prince Duan together. I hope that the Prince Jin will not be too stubborn towards Xue Ronghua and see this point earlier.

It was indeed Chu Zongge's idea. Xue Ronghua had a faint smile on her face as she walked around the charred corpse. The person lying on the bed was practically made from the same mold as Xue Liuhua, with the same size as her. If she did not know the truth earlier, she really would have thought that Xue Liuhua was burnt to death at the Supreme Peace Hall.

He secretly laughed in his heart. Xue Longhu was crying so much that he did not recognize his.

After Xue Ronghua left the East Garden, he quietly arrived at Xue Longhu's study room.

Xue Longhu's eyes were red and swollen as he flipped through the history book. After flipping over one or two pages, he absentmindedly looked into the distance, his eyes were as dull as dead water.

Xue Ronghua knelt in front of him and raised her voice: "Father."

"Hmm," Xue Longhu looked at her blankly, then opened his mouth with great difficulty, "You're here."

Xue Ronghua forced out a few tears, "Father, I'm going to visit my sister."

Xue Longhu was startled, his red eyes immediately became moist, "You went to take a look …. "She …"

"Big Sis died a terrible death," Xue Ronghua said as she choked with sobs. "It was all my fault.

Xue Longhu sighed: "How could it be your fault? It was an accident after all, none of us expected it."

"Did the emperor say anything about this happening in the palace?"

Xue Longhu shook his head, "I can't think of anything to say, I merely rewarded a few things."

"It's fine if the emperor is like this, but even the Prince Jin doesn't make a sound," Xue Ronghua said as she peeked at his face from the corner of her eyes. "On that day, it was the Prince Jin who brought big sister into the palace."

Xue Longhu asked in a daze, "What? Was it Prince Jin who brought Liuhua into the palace? "

"That's right," Xue Ronghua said as she held back the laughter in her heart. "Father didn't know, so could it be that the people sent by the Emperor didn't mention it?"

"They didn't," Xue Longhu reached out his hands to help Xue Ronghua onto a chair, and looked at her with heavy eyes, "If Prince Jin brought Liuhua into the palace, then there would be a problem."

Xue Ronghua asked in a daze, "What problem?"

"Prince Jin has always been very close to Liuhua, but I have never seen Prince Jin take the initiative to mention Liuhua, so I suspect that Prince Jin has another motive for bringing Liuhua into the palace."

"I thought Prince Jin wanted to marry big sister and become his concubine."

"The way Prince Jin looks at Liuhua is different from the way he looks at you. He has a beautiful woman in his heart, so why would he want to marry Liuhua."

"Then should we go to the Prince Jin to ask around?"