Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 107

Chapter 107: Nothing Remained

At midnight, Jingling City lay wrapped in silence. Then, without warning, a blaze shot upward, rushing straight into the sky and staining the night red.

The constables patrolling the streets struck their bronze gongs, jolting the people across several streets awake. One after another, they threw on outer robes and looked toward the place where the firelight rose. At a single glance, their faces changed. “Is that not the direction of Niyun Pavilion?”

Before long, more than half of Jingling City had been roused from sleep. Cao Yunnian did not even have time to dress properly before he rushed to the foot of Niyun Pavilion.

Some of the people had already begun putting out the fire on their own. Yet the blaze was fierce, and extinguishing it was no easy matter.

Cold sweat covered Cao Yunnian’s forehead. “Where is Miss Mu? Is there still anyone inside Niyun Pavilion?”

“The main door seems to be locked. There should be no one inside…” The person who spoke sounded uncertain. After all, so much had happened recently, and Miss Mu and the others had been living inside Niyun Pavilion all this time.

“No one is good. Good, as long as no one is inside…” Before Cao Yunnian could finish wiping away his sweat, cries for help suddenly rang out from above.

“Help! Help us!”

Cao Yunnian abruptly raised his head. On the third floor, shadowy figures moved behind the flames. Then a window was pushed open, quilts were thrown down one after another, and a rope made of cloth dropped from the window.

All color drained from Cao Yunnian’s face. Mu Yunyao had only just received His Majesty’s reward. If something happened to her now, he feared even his official hat would not remain on his head. He immediately shouted orders to the guards below. “Hurry and save them! Do not let the fire reach the cloth rope. Quickly!”

Upstairs, Mu Yunyao supported Su Qing. “Mother, do not be afraid. Just climb down along the cloth rope. There are quilts spread below, so even if you fall, it will not hurt much.”

“Yao’er, you go first!”

“Mother, hurry. Do not delay.” Mu Yunyao pressed the cloth rope into Su Qing’s hand, then pushed her toward the window. “Si Qin, you go second. Protect my mother well.”

“Yes. Miss, rest assured.” Si Qin nodded firmly, then followed Su Qing down the rope.

Only after seeing Su Qing land safely on the ground did Mu Yunyao release the breath she had been holding in her chest. She then directed Jin Lan and the others to go down.

“Miss, you go first!”

“I am fine. Hurry and go.”

By the time Su Qingwu arrived on horseback at Niyun Pavilion, the fire could no longer be restrained.

Cao Yunnian’s face was deathly pale, his robes nearly soaked through with cold sweat. He kept shouting up toward the building, “Miss Mu, come down quickly!”

Mu Yunyao was the last to leave Niyun Pavilion. The fire was too great; she had no choice but to pour water over herself before sliding swiftly down the cloth rope. Sparks fell past her from time to time. The wound in her palm was rubbed open, sending pain deep into the bone. Just as she descended halfway, the lower end of the cloth rope suddenly caught fire, and the flames raced upward.

Su Qing nearly collapsed in fright. Her cry tore through the night. “Yao’er!”

“Miss Mu!”

“Miss, be careful!”

Mu Yunyao lowered her head and looked at the ground below. Then she bit down hard on her lip, released her hands, and fell.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to curl her body as tightly as possible, hoping to lessen the force of the fall. Yet just as she braced herself for pain, she suddenly dropped into an embrace filled with a cool fragrance.

The moment Su Qingwu dismounted, he saw Mu Yunyao hanging in midair in that perilous state. With no time to think, he rushed below. When the cloth rope caught fire, he was just about to step forward to save her when he saw Mu Yunyao let go and jump. Fortunately, he reacted in time and reached out to catch her. Otherwise, that fall would likely have cost her half her life.

“Miss Mu, are you hurt?”

Mu Yunyao opened her eyes and could not help coughing twice. After confirming that Su Qing and the others were safe and unharmed, she fainted outright.

Su Qingwu’s hands tightened. The person in his arms was in a sorry state, her clothes damp with water, her cheeks stained with soot and ash. Yet he paid none of that any mind. All he sensed was warmth and softness. Her figure was slender and delicate, almost as though boneless. Now that she had suddenly lost consciousness, the full weight of her body rested in his arms, and the strange feeling in his chest deepened without warning.

Jin Lan and Jin Qiao hurried forward and took Mu Yunyao from his arms, calling softly, “Miss, Miss, wake up.”

Seeing that Mu Yunyao’s life was not in danger, Cao Yunnian finally released a breath. But the fire burning in his chest seemed fiercer than the flames before him. “How could a fire suddenly break out for no reason? And everyone was upstairs, unable to come out, yet the main door was locked from the outside?”

The weight in his arms vanished abruptly. Su Qingwu lowered his hands and clenched them into fists. His gaze fell on the main door of Niyun Pavilion, which had not yet collapsed. Through the firelight, he could vaguely make out the large lock hanging on the door, and his face darkened at once.

This time, he had come to escort His Majesty’s reward. In the morning, he had just delivered the rewards to Niyun Pavilion. By night, they had been burned clean by a single fire. How was he to return to the capital and report?

Governor Zhang also hurried over in disarray. When he saw Niyun Pavilion being swallowed by fire, his vision nearly went black, and he almost stumbled to the ground.

Su Qingwu turned to look at him, his voice carrying a faint pressure. “Governor Zhang, this matter must be investigated thoroughly. Otherwise, I truly will have no way to account for it before His Majesty.”

“Lord Su, rest assured. This humble official will certainly investigate this matter until the truth comes to light.” Governor Zhang’s teeth clenched hard. He immediately sent people to search the surroundings and examine whether any traces had been left behind.

When Mu Yunyao woke again, she had already returned home. Su Qing sat beside her, silently shedding tears.

“Mother…”

Su Qing trembled, then quickly wiped her tears away. Joy lit her face. “Yao’er, you are awake? That is wonderful. Mother was nearly worried to death.”

Mu Yunyao sat up. Her palm brushed against the bedding, and the pain made her draw in a quiet breath.

“Your hands and body are both injured. Do not move about. Whatever you wish to do, Mother will help you.”

Mu Yunyao, however, insisted on sitting up. She leaned directly into Su Qing’s arms, ignoring the wound in her hand as she clutched tightly at Su Qing’s lapel. “Mother, I am sorry.”

Su Qing froze. In the next moment, her tears fell even harder. “Silly child. It is enough that you are safe. Do not be afraid. There is nothing to fear now.”

Mu Yunyao only wept without speaking, apologizing to Su Qing again and again. She had no way to tell Mother that the fire had been set by her own hand. She had no way to keep Mother from worrying over her. She could only use this method to soothe a little of the guilt pressing upon her heart.

Su Qing held her close, patting her back again and again as she had when Mu Yunyao was small. “It is over. It is over now…”

Only after a long while did Mu Yunyao gradually steady herself. “Mother, what happened to Niyun Pavilion?”

“The fire burned too fiercely. Everything was burned away.” Su Qing had felt pain over it before, but now that she saw Mu Yunyao safe and sound, those worldly possessions no longer mattered. Instead, she comforted her daughter. “Yao’er, if Niyun Pavilion is gone, then we can open it again. Do not be too sad.”

Mu Yunyao nodded. “I understand. Mother must not be sad either. In the future, I will certainly open an even better embroidery workshop for you.”

“Good. Whatever Yao’er says is good.”

Mu Yunyao rubbed lightly against Su Qing’s embrace. “Tonight, I want to sleep with Mother.”

Su Qing stroked her hair. Hearing this, a gentle smile opened across her face. “All right. Then we shall sleep together.” She, too, had been frightened. Only by holding Mu Yunyao could her heart settle a little.

Mu Yunyao nestled beside Su Qing. The moisture in her eyes slowly faded, replaced by a boundless coldness.

Mother, rest assured. We will rebuild the Niyun Pavilion very soon.

After roughly half an hour, Mu Yunyao’s breathing gradually evened out. Only then did Su Qing slowly open her eyes. She turned her head slightly and looked at her daughter’s peaceful sleeping face. A thick ache crossed her gaze. After a long while, she gently adjusted the brocade quilt over Mu Yunyao, then lay beside her and fell asleep.

Edited by Little Kitty on 09/06/20

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