Chapter 57 Chapter 57
Qi Zhen's scream was hoarse and suppressed, and he pressed against the broken stones for a long time.
For so long, when he held the charred corpse in his arms and raised his head, his empty and desperate eyes were washed red with tears, which was extremely dazzling.
Seeing Qi Zhen's appearance, Qi Zhen's mother felt extremely complicated.
There was even some hesitation for a moment, not knowing whether this situation was good or bad for Qi Zhen.
The fire in Guanyue Tower was extinguished. Qi Zhen held the charred corpse, his eyes full of emptiness and hopelessness, staring at the ruins of the fire scene.
Empress Qi Zhen saw the pain in her eyes and hesitated several times whether to tell him the truth about the fire.
After careful consideration and weighing, I still didn’t mention it.
The surrounding palace guards were still cleaning up the fire scene. Qi Zhen hugged the charred corpse tightly in his arms and unconsciously watched the people coming and going.
The fire in Guanyue Tower was extremely intense, causing countless deaths and injuries. One corpse was carried out from the ruins, but there was no trace of compassion in Qi Zhen's eyes.
Yes, how can you feel compassion?
At this time, Qi Zhen was afraid that all the slave guards of Guanyue Tower should be buried by Shen Linglong.
Although most of the dead bodies were severely burned by the fire, they were never as burnt as the one in Qi Zhen's arms. They were so burnt that their appearance was completely unclear.
Yes, they just rushed to save Qi Zhen after Qi Zhen stepped into the fire scene. They didn't even go in to save Shen Linglong, so naturally they wouldn't be burned like she was.
Among the many intact corpses, only one was burned into a charred corpse.
Qi Zhen's eyes fell on the charred corpse, and his eyes were slightly startled for a moment.
When Empress Qi Zhen saw this, she spoke at the right time and said: "This is the palace servant who is responsible for serving Miss Shen Er today. After the fire broke out, he went in to rescue people. They were all burned like this in Guanyue Tower."
This charred corpse was actually the corpse that Qi Zhen’s mother had prepared earlier and thrown into the Moon Viewing Tower. Since she finally decided to hide the matter from Qi Zhen, she naturally had to hide the true whereabouts of the palace man.
He kept the truth about the fire in Guanyue Tower secret.
Therefore, he specifically mentioned that the charred corpse was that palace man, so that Qi Zhen could investigate the Yue Tower fire in the future and not find that palace man.
Qi Zhen looked at the equally charred corpse and remembered that he had asked a palace servant from Guanyue Tower to take care of Linglong's daily life.
That palace man has now disappeared.
It turns out he died here.
There were so many people in Guanyue Tower, but this one palace man was the only one who went to save Linglong?
Qi Zhen put his hand full of hot burns to his forehead to cover up the cruelty in his eyes.
He said in a low and cold voice: "Bury this palace man with a rich burial."
The huge fire in Guanyue Tower and the news that Qi Zhen had stepped into the fire had already alarmed the previous court. Zheng Jingyan, the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion, rushed to the palace after learning the news.
As soon as he entered the palace, he hurried to Guanyue Tower.
As soon as he arrived near Guanyue Tower, he was shocked by the embers of the fire and the desolate Qi Zhen in front of him.
Zheng Jingyan is Qi Zhen's close confidant and his best friend since childhood. He grew up with him and has never seen him look so desolate.
This is Qi Zhen, Qi Zhen who has always been conceited and arrogant.
Even when the reserve position was abolished, no matter how depressed he was, he was never like this now, with eyes full of darkness and no light at all.
When Qi Zhen's mother saw that Zheng Jing's banquet had arrived, she relaxed a little and signaled the eunuch in charge to come to Zheng Jing's banquet and briefly explained the current situation.
The eunuch in charge told Zheng Jingyan everything he knew. The more Zheng Jingyan listened, the more frightened he became.
He really could not have imagined that Shen Linglong would die so suddenly in the fire.
If we go by what the eunuch said, the charred corpse Qi Zhen is holding in his arms at this moment should be Shen Linglong.
Zheng Jingyan's eyes fell on the charred corpse, and he felt something was wrong, but for a moment he couldn't tell what was wrong.
Qi Zhen was so filled with pain and hatred that he never noticed anything was wrong. Although the corpse in his arms was wearing the red gold anklet, it was actually not consistent with Shen Linglong's stature. However, after the skin and flesh were burned away by the fire, it looked like it was the same as before.
Shen Linglong is about the same height.
But the fire had dried out the skin and flesh, so the body was different from the ordinary body no matter what. How could the body after the fire be the same as the normal body when it was intact?
As soon as Zheng Jing's banquet guests arrived, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but seeing Qi Zhen's extremely distressed look, he was so anxious that he couldn't think of anything, so he had to suppress the doubts in his heart for the time being.
Qi Zhen had just said that he would bury the palace servants who were burned to death in the inner hall together with Linglong. He raised his eyes and looked at these servants and secret guards in front of him. He could not suppress his suppressed tyranny no matter what.
Zheng Jingyan saw that he had a strange look on his face and started to persuade her: "It's a pity that Miss Shen died. We should worry more about what happened after her death. There must be mourning and honor after death, and all funeral rituals must be carried out. Today's fire is very strange. What's going on behind the scenes?"
No matter what, a thorough investigation is needed, and Miss Shen’s death cannot be left unknown.”
Zheng Jingyan's words originally wanted to use Linglong's funeral ceremony and her death to persuade Qi Zhen to cheer up, but his words made Qi Zhen's eyes turn blood red even more.
Zheng Jingyan said that Shen Linglong died in a pitiful manner. Yes, Shen Linglong died in such a pitiful and miserable way, which was no less than in her previous life.
He tried his best, but in the end, he had to end up like this.
Why is fate always so cruel? It allows him to get a glimpse of the secrets of the world and let him know the past, but makes him lose his love again.
His eyes fell on the palace people coming and going again, and his heart became even more violent. He hugged the charred corpse in his arms even more tightly. His eyes were blood red, his voice was cold, and he opened his lips and said: "Through a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire in Guanyue Tower, we can't find out.
The reason is that all the palace guards in Guanyue Tower were buried with him today."
Qi Zhen's voice was cold and indifferent, and there was no hint of hysteria.
But everyone knew that under his words, he was suppressing the emotions that caused him to collapse.
Qi Zhen was not a tyrant, he always attached great importance to reputation and rules.
Nothing could be more cruel than being buried with someone else. Qi Zhen, regardless of his reputation and the criticism of his courtiers, wanted to do such a cruel thing as being buried with someone else. This shows just how broken his heart was.
As soon as these words of burial came out, most of the servants around him collapsed and fell down, fearing that their lives would be decided here.
Although the secret guard was still standing barely, his face was pale, and his heart was even more worried than those of the palace servants.
They understand Qi Zhen's methods and temperament better than the palace people, and naturally know that once Shen Linglong dies, this matter will definitely be a fatal situation.
Even if he finds out the cause, he will not escape death.
When Miss Shen Er died, the secret guards bore the brunt of the blame for poor care.
They originally thought that Miss Shen's status and unknown descendant were of no importance in Qi Zhen's heart, so if she died, she would die, nothing would happen.
But Qi Zhen's behavior today really shocked them.
Qi Zhen's behavior today made it obvious that he would never let them go.
Now a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire will only give them a chance to redeem themselves and make meritorious deeds. At most, it will prevent the incident from harming their families.
As for their lives, even if the cause is thoroughly investigated, they will inevitably be buried with Miss Shen for their incompetence.
Queen Qi Zhen listened to this and panicked in her heart.
She really didn't expect that Shen Linglong's death would cause Qi Zhen to react so greatly.
Burial?
Qi Zhen personally abolished the custom of sacrificial burial when he was young, but now he wants to do it himself?
As soon as the matter of the funeral started, those officials were afraid that they would slander Qi Zhen even more with their words and writings.
What's more, she knows the truth about the Guanyue Tower fire all too well, and these secret palace guards will definitely not be able to find out.
"Zhen'er, you can't be buried. The queen mother knows how sad you are, but Miss Shen is dead. Death is like a light being extinguished. Living people can only look forward. If you die here because of a nameless person, People in the palace killed so many palace people and secret guards, how should the history books discuss you? Zhen'er, you need to think twice about this matter." She tried her best to keep her voice gentle, suppressing the impatience in her heart, and persuaded Written by Qi Zhen.
But Qi Zhen couldn't listen to these persuasion.
On the contrary, it was her words of "dead man with no name and no identity" that hit Qi Zhen's heart.
Yes, why do these people despise Shen Linglong? Why didn't they save her? Why did they watch her die here?
It was simply because of her low status, no name and no status, and the slaves were extremely powerful that they worshiped those who were superior and despised those who were inferior, so they did not save her life.
Qi Zhen lowered his eyes and looked at the charred corpse in his arms, feeling guilt and regret in his heart.
He thought that by erasing her existence, he could take her away from the palace safely and safely in the future, but he never thought that erasing her existence and not giving her a name would be seen as contempt or humiliation in the eyes of others. Never cherished.
It will also make others feel that Shen Linglong has a low status, can be humiliated by others, can die easily, and her life is insignificant.
Qi Zhen's throat was so astringent that he couldn't say anything.
Qi Zhen's mother looked at Qi Zhen who didn't reply, and she didn't know that he wouldn't listen.
She looked at her son and sighed repeatedly in her heart. She looked into the embers of the fire, and then her eyes fell on Qi Zhen and the charred corpse in his arms. She sighed and said softly: "Zhen'er, even if you don't care, On the other hand, Shen Linglong's death was pitiful. If you committed murder because of her, wouldn't you be adding more debt to her? From the mother's point of view, it would be better to spare the lives of these people and let them go and work for Miss Shen Er. Guarding the mausoleum and chanting sutras and praying every day can be regarded as cultivating blessings for Miss Shen Er in the next life."
Qi Zhen's mother persuaded him earnestly, but Qi Zhen's expression became even colder and colder.
"Guarding the mausoleum? How worthy are they?" Qi Zhen smiled coldly, picked up the charred corpse in his arms, and walked towards the imperial palace.
He said they were worthy? So he was not talking about himself.
They all had a share in her death, so how could they deserve to guard her tomb?
She died in the fire. Even though the palace and the secret guards failed to protect her, the culprit was Qi Zhen himself.
It was he who trapped her here, and it was because of his fault that the palace guards looked down upon her and regarded her life as nothing.
It was because he had not treated her well that others thought that Shen Linglong was just a plaything kept in the palace, an insignificant thing that would die when it dies.
Qi Zhen cannot absolve himself of the blame for Shen Linglong's death.
She died because of his fault, how could he not feel any pain, regret or hurt?
Qi Zhen felt a headache and was heartbroken, so he stood up holding the charred corpse in his arms.
With the embers of the fire flying behind him, Qi Zhen held the person in his arms and barely managed to keep his body steady as he left the boundary of Guanyue Tower and walked towards the Imperial Palace.
Qi Zhen was seriously injured. He is able to stay awake now, but he only relies on his thoughts to hold on.
He kept walking and walked towards the imperial palace step by step.
With every step he takes, his consciousness will fade a little, and a lot of his energy will be released.
Chapter completed!