The fire in the bridal chamber had been put out. The disheveled Ximen Xiaoyue was supported by her maid and stood outside the door, waiting for someone to carry her in a sedan chair and take her to another wing for treatment.
All three of them had burns. Although not serious, they all looked extremely miserable. Ximen Xiaoyue in particular had a lot of her hair burned, her eyebrows gone, and half of her face was burned red. She looked extremely pitiful.
Prime Minister Xia was furious and ordered people to investigate the cause of the fire.
Although the oil barrel at the door was burned, it was made of iron and was still there after the burn.
"My Lord, someone set the fire on purpose." The servant came forward to report.
"I naturally know that someone set the fire, so I asked you to investigate who did it." Prime Minister Xia was so angry when he saw the beautiful Ximen Xiaoyue burned like this.
The city patrol officer came over, checked it out, and said, "Prime Minister, it seems that both sides were set on fire. I will formally hand this matter over to the government office and the Ministry of Justice for investigation."
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Xia was stunned, with a hint of unnaturalness flashing through his eyes. "The fire in the side room must have been an accident. The two fires should not be confused."
The patrol officer shook his head. "No, Lord, although we haven't found any clues yet, the fires on both sides started not far apart, and there are obvious signs of arson here. It's possible that the arsonist was trying to make a feint to the east and attack in the west. The arsonist was really going to target Madam Xia, not Butler Xia from the side room."
After all, only a servant butler died in the fire, and no one would murder a butler like this, especially on the day of the prime minister's wedding.
Prime Minister Xia had a gloomy face. He finally understood why the arsonist left the oil barrel behind. He deliberately left clues to tell everyone that today's fire was not an accident, but a carefully planned attack.
There are traces of arson here, so naturally it has to be handed over to the government office for investigation. Once it is handed over to the government office, everything that happened today will be linked together. Of course, the fires on both sides will also have to be investigated together, and by then, many things will no longer be concealed.
He really couldn't imagine how Xia Zian escaped. Xia Quan died in there. Moreover, she said that Liang was still alive. Even if she could escape alone, what about Liang? Could she take Liang with her? She was not stupid. How could she not know that Liang was the mastermind who framed her this afternoon
When Murong Jie and others arrived, the fire in the bridal chamber had been completely extinguished. The city patrol officer came forward to report the situation and said that an oil barrel had been found and that the fire was deliberately set.
Murong Jie glanced at Zi'an calmly and said, "Since it was arson, we will do as you say. Investigate it thoroughly and don't let the bad guys harm the prime minister of our Great Zhou."
When he called him a bad guy, he was almost gritting his teeth. Zi'an lowered his eyes, held his breath, and pretended nothing happened.
However, Su Qing and Xiao Tuo's eyes were all turned to Zi'an.
Zi'an raised his head, looked at the two of them helplessly, sighed softly, and turned his eyes away.
"Look at her innocent look?" Su Qing whispered in Xiao Tuo's ear. Xiao Tuo took a look and hummed, "How shameless."
Murong Jie coughed lightly, walked over to look at Ximen Xiaoyue's miserable face, and asked, "Madam, are you okay? Do you want me to ask the imperial physician to come out of the palace to treat you?"
Ximen Xiaoyue held back the pain and bowed, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine."
She raised her eyes and looked at Zi'an beside Murong Jie, her face darkened. Prime Minister Xia had just told her that Xia Zi'an and Liang had escaped, and the fire did not kill them.
Of course, she didn't guess that Xia Zian was the arsonist, but she hated Xia Zian and naturally didn't want her to see herself in such a miserable state.
Prime Minister Xia said, "Your Majesty, if you allow me, I really want to ask the imperial physician to leave the palace."
He hated Murong Jie to the core, but if an imperial physician came to treat him, perhaps his injuries could be healed as soon as possible.
Murong Jie said, "Madam, since you are a First-Rank Lady personally appointed by the Empress Dowager, and now that you are injured and it is your wedding day, I will show you special mercy and order someone to invite the imperial physician out of the palace."
Having said that, he gave orders to have his oral instructions passed on, and ordered the imperial physician to leave the palace to treat Ximen Xiaoyu.
After giving all these instructions, he took Su Qing and Xiao Tuo away.
Zi'an personally escorted them out of the house. Before Murong Jie got on the carriage, he said to her, "Isn't it time for you to go pick up your mother?"
Zi'an remembered that Yuan was now in Yuan's mansion, and he didn't know whether Prince An had left.
"Okay, I'll go back to the house and give a few instructions and then leave." Zi'an said, and ordered the people in the mansion to prepare the carriage first, and she returned to Xiazhi Garden.
The City Patrol had already formally invited people from the government office to come over and investigate the surroundings. Prime Minister Xia left Aunt Cuiyu here to watch over the situation, and when the sedan chair arrived, he carried Ximen Xiaoyue back to his Xiaoxiang Garden.
The doctor who was invited earlier also arrived and treated Ximen Xiaoyue's burns.
The burn area is not large, but because there are injuries on the face, burns will most likely leave scars.
When the doctor talked to Ximen Xiaoyue, she broke down and cried on the spot.
She always believed that a woman could keep a man mostly because of her looks. If she lost her looks that she was proud of, how could she keep the prime minister
She just felt that her life was about to be ruined.
Prime Minister Xia consoled him, "These doctors have limited medical skills. When the imperial physician leaves the palace, perhaps the situation will be different."
When the doctor heard this, he bowed and said, "Since the Prime Minister has already invited the imperial physician, I will take my leave."
After saying that, the doctor picked up his medicine box and left.
People who study medicine are somewhat arrogant and cannot tolerate others insulting their medical skills. This is their bottom line.
"Get out!" Prime Minister Xia was also angry. After what happened tonight, he had been holding back his anger because he had many suspicions in his heart that could not be confirmed. This feeling of suspecting everyone but having no evidence almost brought him to the brink of collapse.
After the doctor left, Ximen Xiaoyue stopped crying and looked at Prime Minister Xia, "Who do you think set the fire?"
Prime Minister Xia asked, "Did you hear anything in there?"
"No," Ximen Xiaoyue thought for a moment, "but the arsonist locked the door, so the fire must have been aimed at me. Who has such a great hatred for me? Apart from Xia Zian, I really can't think of it. However, Xia Zian should have been exhausted from escaping at that time, and she couldn't have set the fire by herself. Could it be that the Regent helped her?"
Prime Minister Xia shook his head. "No, the side room was on fire at the time, and the Regent and Su Qing and Xiao Tuo all went in to put out the fire. The guards they brought with them were all on the scene to put out the fire, and no one left."
"Where are the servants in the mansion? Are there any she bribed?" Ximen Xiaoyue asked.
"No, except for Xiaosun and Nanny Yang, there is basically no one in the mansion that she can order around. Moreover, Xia Quan has already mobilized all the servants in the mansion to handle the wedding banquet. When the fire started, everyone in the mansion came to put out the fire."
"Madame Yang?"
"The person sent by the Queen has already accompanied Yuan Cuiyu out of the mansion and is not in the mansion today."
"Will he come back secretly? The people in the palace are very powerful."
Prime Minister Xia shook his head. "It's impossible. Today, the people guarding the door are not the gatekeepers, but the guards. And both the front and back doors are guarded. If she comes back without anyone knowing, she can only climb over the wall. But an old maid who doesn't know kung fu can't climb over the high wall of the Prime Minister's Mansion and get in."
Ximen Xiaoyue was a little discouraged, "Then do you have any doubts in your heart?"
Prime Minister Xia was silent for a moment, "Xia Zian!"
(End of this chapter)