Wang Lin almost instantly composed herself, frowned at the bucket on the ground, and cursed, "Why did you come back here to cause trouble instead of staying in the front hall to watch the fireworks? If you want to kill yourself, that's your business. Why drag us down with you!"
Hearing this, the messenger quickly consoled her, "There's nothing we can do. It's our duty after all. The marquis is, after all, a marquis. We can't let anything happen to him."
"Got it," Wang Lin replied indifferently.
The fire had lit up half the sky. The blaze was so intense, and with the extremely dangerous fireworks adding fuel to the fire, even though the Flame Guards had used professional water carts, there wasn't much water stored in the Third Prince's Mansion. It had already been used up during the previous firefighting efforts.
Everyone had to rush to the moat outside to fetch water. By the time they came back and forth, the fire had flared up again and again, burning for a full two or three hours.
Many servants who were trying to put out the fire were injured by falling debris, explosions, or burns. For a moment, the Third Prince's Mansion was filled with wails of pain.
This sudden fire was even more terrifying than wild beasts.
At first, Feng Jingye had watched the fireworks with a sense of schadenfreude. But later, a chill ran down his spine.
When he first watched the fireworks, he thought they were just flashy and useless. His third brother was good at flattering, always finding such popular things.
But now, seeing up close the power of the exploding fireworks, his opinion had completely changed.
This thing wasn't just for flattering!
If his third brother used these on his secretly stored troops and launched a rebellion, what powerful weapons would he have to counter the fireworks?
Wouldn't his position as the crown prince be in great danger?
Thinking of this, Feng Jingye closed his eyes, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
Feng Jingxuan must die! He had to die! If he didn't, it would be his own turn to die!
He prayed constantly in his heart.
It wasn't until the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon that the fire gradually died down.
The side courtyard was almost completely destroyed, and the surrounding vegetation had also been burned to ashes. The sight was a desolate expanse of black, a miserable and unbearable scene. Everywhere there was the pungent smell of burning, charred black wood, broken stones, and traces of water, looking extremely messy.
By this time, Feng Linche was sitting in a guest room some distance away from the side courtyard, while all the guests had been arranged to stay in the front hall.
Everyone had stayed up all night.
Princess Yunxi had been acupunctured by Zhuo Yi. Exhausted, she had fainted and was now resting in the adjacent guest room. Zhuo Lingxiao had been taking care of her.
Only Bai Yinan insisted on waiting for news at the scene and refused to leave. Wang Lin had to drag her to the water tank and assign a special person to watch over her before she finally gave up.
As the sky gradually brightened, the first ray of sunlight in the morning pierced through the clouds and shone on people with a bit of mist.
Feng Linche was sitting on a chair, propping his forehead with one hand, closing his eyes to rest.
He hadn't slept all night. Feng Jingxuan had always been his most promising son. Now that his life was uncertain, he simply couldn't calm down.
So when he first came back from the fire scene, every time he closed his eyes, it seemed as if he could see Feng Jingxuan rolling in the flames, wailing in pain.
How could he fall asleep?
Moreover, if Feng Jingxuan really died, the marriage alliance with Xiliang would come to nothing. The blueprint he had woven of using the marriage of his children to ensure the stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty would also shatter completely, just like Princess Yunxi's colorful feather robe today. Feng Linche found it even more difficult to fall asleep.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Suddenly, someone shouted loudly outside.
Feng Linche suddenly looked up. Before he could say a word, the Empress Chu beside him had already scolded, "What a disgrace, being so flustered! If you offend the imperial carriage, can you bear the consequences?"
"Let him speak," Feng Linche interrupted in a deep voice.
As soon as the man rushed in, he knelt on the ground, trembling all over like a sieve.
He prostrated himself deeply, his head almost touching the ground. "Your Majesty, the Third Prince, the Third Prince has been found..."
"Found!" The Empress Chu and Feng Linche stood up at the same time, staring intently at the man in front of them.
"How is he? Is he injured?" Feng Linche asked anxiously.
"The Third Prince is... injured..." The man's lips couldn't stop trembling, and he couldn't say a complete sentence.
"How badly is he injured? Hurry up and tell me!" Feng Linche was anxious and shouted sternly.
The man suddenly trembled and kowtowed heavily again. "Your Majesty, when the servants found the Third Prince, he was so badly injured that he only had half a body left..."
"Thud!"
Feng Linche slumped back into his chair.
But it was the Empress Chu who caught the key point in the words and asked, "Half a body? Which half? Are his legs gone?"
The man shook his head.
The Empress Chu was impatient and also shouted sternly, "Then you'd better explain clearly to His Majesty and this palace!"
"Yes, it's..." The man was trembling all over. Every time he said a word, he had to open his mouth and gasp for breath.
He gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind. He shouted, "When the servants found the Third Prince, he only had his upper torso left. Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please accept my condolences! The Third Prince has, passed away!"
"Ah—"
Suddenly, a shrill scream that pierced the eardrums came from the adjacent guest room.
The door was opened, and it seemed as if someone had run out. All they could hear was Zhuo Lingxiao shouting in panic from behind, "Yunxi! Yunxi, where are you going?"
Everything spun before Feng Linche's eyes, and all the sounds seemed to fade away from him.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and said three words.
"Go and have a look."
In the ruins of the fireworks room, there were many people gathered. Everyone was trying their best to move the stones, as if they were trying to piece together Feng Jingxuan's body.
On the open space in front, there was an object covered with a white cloth.
Princess Yunxi had rushed forward first and unhesitatingly lifted the white cloth.
As soon as the cloth was lifted, all the people who had come with her gasped in horror.
It was more like a bloody and messy lump of flesh than half of Feng Jingxuan's body.
It was wrapped in the red robe that Princess Yunxi was most familiar with. The red cloth was completely torn, leaving only a short piece. At one corner of the lump of flesh, several white bones were exposed, and in some places, there were even still wisps of smoke, looking both bloody and disgusting.
Above the lump of flesh, a head covered in soot was connected by a thin layer of skin. The face was covered in blood, the eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the distance, and the mouth was also wide open, as if crying for help.
Even so, one could still clearly recognize that this was the Third Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Feng Jingxuan, who had just become engaged to Princess Yunxi today.
If she hadn't seen the face, Princess Yunxi might have been able to deceive herself that the half of the corpse in front of her wasn't Feng Jingxuan.
But now, Feng Jingxuan's face was clearly in front of her.
He was dead. He had truly died in this sudden fire.