From cute to empress

Chapter 108 Crisis on the Eve of the Celebration

The setting sun cast its afterglow on the golden glazed tiles, gilding the palace with a brilliant glow. However, my uneasiness grew stronger as night fell.

The envoys from various countries arrived in the capital one after another, their presence grand and impressive, a testament to their respective powers. I steeled myself to receive them in the Golden Throne Hall, diligently maintaining the dignity of the Empress. However, the behavior of some of the envoys deeply irritated me.

"I've long heard of the virtuous and powerful Empress of the Great Zhou. Seeing her today, I can see she's truly worthy of her reputation. It's just that..." The Western Regions envoy deliberately dragged out his words, his gaze lingering on the jeweled screen behind me. "My king, in admiration of Your Majesty, has specially presented a hundred Western Region horses and ten hu of night-shining pearls. I hope Your Majesty will accept them."

I smiled faintly and said calmly, "You envoys, thank you for your hard work in coming from such a long distance. I have prepared a banquet to welcome you all."

"Your Majesty, my king has another favor to ask of you," the Western Region envoy insisted. "My king has heard that the Great Zhou possesses a treasure called the 'Exquisite Chessboard,' a rare treasure. I hope to take this opportunity to see it."

I sneered inwardly. This "Exquisite Chessboard" was a relic of the late emperor and held immense significance. How could I show it to anyone so easily? It was clear that this Western Regions envoy had ulterior motives.

I was about to refuse when Minister Liu spoke up, "Your Majesty, the envoys from the Western Regions have come all the way here with good intentions. Why not..."

"Minister Liu!" I interrupted him harshly. "The 'Exquisite Chessboard' is a national treasure of our Great Zhou. How can we show it to others so easily? As the Minister of Rites, don't you even understand this little bit of etiquette?"

When Minister Liu was scolded by me in public, his face turned red and he stammered and couldn't speak.

Seeing my firm attitude, the envoys from the Western Regions could not force me any further and had to retreat in embarrassment.

However, this was just the beginning. Over the next few days, envoys from various countries made unreasonable demands for various reasons. Some asked for gold, silver, and jewelry, some asked for official positions, and some even openly provoked me in an attempt to embarrass me.

Facing these unreasonable envoys, I was filled with rage, but I had to suppress it. I understood that these people were deliberately trying to test my limits, to see how much power I, the empress, possessed.

I turned my gaze to Zhen Youcai, hoping he could offer some advice. However, he remained silent, only looking at me with a worried look.

"My dear, what do you think?" I asked in a low voice.

Zhen Youcai hesitated for a moment, then whispered in my ear, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is a little strange..."

Before he could finish his words, Eunuch Li suddenly hurried in, his face a little flustered. He whispered, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened..." Eunuch Li's face looked exceptionally pale in the candlelight. He lowered his voice and spoke in a hurried tone, "Your Majesty, I... I discovered that Eunuch Li had a private meeting with the Western Regions envoys, and their conversation was very... very suspicious!"

My heart tightened, a sense of foreboding washed over me. Eunuch Li had been with me for years, always loyal. How could he be involved with the Western Regions envoys? "What did they say?" I tried to sound calm, but my clenched fists betrayed my unease.

"Your servant... Your servant dare not listen. I only saw them exchanging something... It looked like a map..." Eunuch Li's voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible.

A map? Thoughts raced through my mind. With the celebration imminent, what could a map mean? Could it be...? My heart sank. Could they be taking advantage of the celebration...?

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Zhen Youcai keenly noticed my abnormality and asked with concern.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "It's okay, you can go down first. Remember not to tell anyone about this."

After Eunuch Li left, Zhen Youcai came to my side, held my hand, and said worriedly, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is of great importance. We must make preparations early."

I nodded, but my heart grew even more restless. Before I could gather my thoughts, Princess Wang, who was in charge of the celebration preparations, arrived again. She frantically knelt before me, sobbing, "Your Majesty, this is terrible! The palace dancer responsible for the song and dance performances has suddenly fallen ill. What should we do..."

I suppressed my anger. Princess Wang and I have always been at odds. She was shirking her responsibilities in preparing for the celebration this time. Now that something has gone wrong, instead of trying to find a solution, she comes to complain first. It's obvious that she wants to laugh at me!

"If you fall ill, just go find the imperial physician instead of crying here. How disgraceful!" I said in a cold voice.

Princess Wang seemed frightened by my tone. She paused for a moment before timidly saying, "But...but...the imperial physician said that those dancers were...poisoned..."

"What?!" I stood up suddenly, my anger no longer suppressed. "Poisoned? How could he be poisoned? Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Who is so bold as to commit such a crime in the palace?"

Princess Wang was so frightened when she saw me angry, but she couldn't hide the barely perceptible smugness on the corner of her mouth.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. First, Eunuch Li met privately with the Western Regions envoys, and now the dancers were poisoned en masse. Everything about this seemed so strange. Was it just a coincidence? Or was someone secretly plotting something?

I looked out the window. Night had fallen completely. The thick darkness was like a huge curtain, covering up all the truth and foreshadowing the coming of a greater storm... I felt a hand gently resting on my shoulder. It was Zhen Youcai. He said nothing, but looked at me with a firm and warm gaze, as if to tell me that no matter what happened, he would be by my side...

The night deepened, yet the palace was brightly lit. My heart, like the candlelight, danced restlessly. Eunuch Li had met privately with the Western Regions envoys, the dancers had been poisoned, and now Princess Wang had added to the chaos. Each of these events seemed to foreshadow something.

"Your Majesty, the wealthy businessman Zhang has been hoarding grain and driving up the price of food. The people are complaining. This matter..." Minister Liu hesitated to speak, his brows furrowed, and he was obviously in a very difficult situation.

"This wealthy businessman Zhang, relying on his wealth, dares to act so recklessly!" I slammed the table in anger, "Does he even have any respect for the law?!"

Zhen Youcai held my hand, signaling me to calm down, then turned to ask Minister Liu, "Can you find out who ordered this?"

"General, the facts have not been clarified yet, but...all signs indicate that this matter is related to...the envoys from the Western Regions." Minister Liu hesitated for a moment, but still said it.

My heart sank. Sure enough, none of this was a coincidence! They were trying to disrupt public sentiment and take advantage of the chaos!

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go and negotiate, and I will make them pay the price!" Zhen Youcai asked with a determined light in his eyes.

I nodded, held his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Be careful."

After Zhen Youcai left, I paced alone in the imperial study, feeling restless. Outside the window, the night deepened, and the wind howled, as if foreshadowing a bigger storm was coming.

A few days later, Zhen Youcai came back, but his face looked very solemn.

"Well?" I asked eagerly. "What did the envoys say?"

Zhen Youcai shook his head and said in a deep voice, "They refused to admit it and even turned around and accused us of framing them. They used this as an excuse to put forward even more outrageous conditions, demanding that we cede territory and pay compensation!"

"This is outrageous!" I slammed the table and stood up, raging. "They are going too far!"

Zhen Youcai supported me and said firmly, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will never let them succeed! I have already joined forces with envoys from other countries to expose their conspiracy. They are now isolated and helpless, and dare not act rashly."

I breathed a sigh of relief and was filled with gratitude towards Zhen Youcai. He always showed up when I needed him most and protected me from the storm.

"Your Majesty, you have worked hard. You should rest early." Zhen Youcai looked at me gently, his eyes full of heartache.

I nodded and was about to return to my bedroom when I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside, accompanied by panicked shouts: "Oh no! Oh no! There's a fire! The celebration venue... the celebration venue is on fire!"

My face turned pale immediately and I grabbed Zhen Youcai's arm...

My face turned pale instantly, and I grabbed Zhen Youcai's arm, my voice trembling: "How could this happen? Why did it suddenly catch fire?"

Zhen Youcai's expression also changed. He held my hand with his backhand and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, calm down first. I'll go and see what's going on." After that, he turned around and walked out with big strides.

I forced myself to calm down, took a deep breath, and ordered the guards behind me: "Quick! Call the Imperial Guards, put out the fire!"

When I arrived at the celebration venue with Zhen Youcai, the fire was already very fierce. The flames shot up into the sky and lit up half of the night sky red. The thick smoke made it almost impossible to open your eyes.

"General!" The captain of the guards in charge of the scene came forward anxiously, "The fire is too big. We have tried our best to put it out, but..."

Zhen Youcai said nothing, but stared intently at the blazing fire before him, his brow furrowed. I noticed that besides anxiety, a subtle coldness flashed across his eyes.

"Can you find out the cause of the fire?" he asked in a deep voice.

The captain of the guards shook his head and said in a heavy tone: "General, it's not clear yet, but the fire spread so quickly, I'm afraid..."

"I'm afraid someone set the fire on purpose," I said in a cold tone.

The guard captain's expression changed, and he knelt hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have failed in my duty..."

"Get up, this has nothing to do with you." I waved my hand, motioning him to get up. "The most urgent thing is to put out the fire and find out the truth."

After a night of intensive firefighting, the fire was finally brought under control, but the festival venue had already been largely destroyed, leaving it in ruins. Standing before the charred ruins, I felt an uncontrollable rage well up in my heart.

Who were they? Who was so bold as to set fire to the palace? What was their purpose?

"Your Majesty, are you okay?" Zhen Youcai walked to my side and asked with concern.

I shook my head, suppressing the anger in my heart, and asked, "Have you found any clues?"

Zhen Youcai's face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "I have ordered people to carefully investigate the scene. The fire started in the warehouse where the fireworks were stored, and..."

He paused, lowered his voice, leaned close to my ear, and said word by word: "We found some...suspicious ashes in the warehouse."

"Suspicious ashes?" My heart tightened. "What ashes?"

Zhen Youcai didn't answer directly. Instead, he took out a small, exquisite brocade bag from his bosom, handed it to me, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, please review it yourself."

I took the sachet and opened it. It contained some black powder. Although I didn't know what it was, my intuition told me that it was definitely not ordinary.

"What is this?" I asked, my voice trembling unconsciously.

Zhen Youcai took a deep breath and slowly uttered two words: "Kerosene."

My pupils shrank suddenly, and a thought flashed through my mind, and I blurted out: "It's...