The thought, like the venom of a snake or scorpion, directly jolted through Shen Qingfeng's internal organs.
Before his eyes, the statue of Xing Tian blazed fiercely. Shen Qingfeng felt completely chilled inside. The hubbub around him seemed to be deliberately ignored. He stood there motionless like a stone statue, his eyes extremely cold. Slowly, he turned his head and looked at King Xia Jie and Queen Qi standing on the high platform.
Due to the distance, the two of them were originally out of the danger zone. Facing the burning statue, they just stood there as if watching a good show.
Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth tightly. His hatred for King Xia Jie welled up like a surging flood. His eyes were fierce, and a killing intent gradually emerged.
Right below the stone statue, Xia Chuli also stood there blankly, staring blankly at the golden statue blazing in front of him.
He knew that he had fallen short of success. This sacrifice was like dancing on the edge of a knife for him. One wrong step would lead to an abyss. But now, a fire had burned everything to the ground.
He clenched his hands tightly. Jealousy and hatred welled up in his eyes, and his heart suddenly ached badly. He had been experiencing this feeling frequently recently. Suddenly, a voice in his mind began to clamor. His eyes darkened for a moment, and then, as if he had figured something out, he became so calm that it made people feel uneasy.
In front of him, the golden statue began to distort under the intense fire and made a creepy "clucking" sound.
Among the fleeing crowd, there were also screams of those who were hit by the falling parts of the distorted golden statue. Lu Yan struggled to push forward against the flow of people. Through the surging heads, he saw that Shen Qingfeng still stood there, as steady as a mountain, below the statue. Above his head, the statue of Xing Tian had already been deformed by the fire and was hanging above Xia Chuli and Shen Qingfeng at a dangerous angle.
"Qingfeng!!" Lu Yan shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the noise.
The statue was not made of pure gold. The stuff inside couldn't withstand long - term burning. Wherever the tongues of fire swept, the statue had already made a hoarse sound as if it was about to collapse.
Lu Yan's pupils shrank sharply. He shouted at Shen Qingfeng, "Qingfeng!! Run!!"
Lu Yan pushed forward forcefully, charging straight ahead. Unexpectedly, just as he rushed forward, the dragon bone of the statue suddenly made a cracking sound of death. Then, the already distorted golden statue broke in the middle, and half of its body fell directly.
And below it, Shen Qingfeng and Xia Chuli were still standing.
"Qingfeng——!" Lu Yan's eyes were on the verge of splitting in an instant.
Shen Qingfeng had his back to Lu Yan. Whether he heard the sound of the statue breaking or Lu Yan's roar, he suddenly trembled all over, obviously reacting. Lu Yan was overjoyed for a moment, but then his heart sank to the bottom.
He saw that Shen Qingfeng didn't run towards him but ran in the opposite direction. He grabbed Xia Chuli and then flew back in a hurry.
The statue was already in mid - air. Lu Yan let out a loud shout, exerted force on his feet, and leaped forward suddenly. He rushed to the back of the two of them and protected them as they ran forward at full speed.
That moment seemed to last forever. Lu Yan didn't know that he could run so fast. When the statue crashed down just behind him, his legs couldn't stop trembling.
He looked back at the burning behemoth that had fallen only one foot behind him. A sense of fear welled up in his heart, and cold sweat instantly soaked his whole body.
He didn't dare to think about what would have happened if he had been one second late. Just thinking about it made Lu Yan feel cold inside. He lowered his head and looked at Shen Qingfeng and Xia Chuli in his arms. He paused for a moment, with mixed feelings in his eyes, and then silently let go of his hands.
Shen Qingfeng gasped for breath. He looked up at Lu Yan and then at Xia Chuli. He was also extremely scared, but in that moment just now, he had already thought everything through clearly. He asked, "Are you guys okay?"
Lu Yan stood aside silently. Xia Chuli also lowered his head and bit his lips. Just as Shen Qingfeng was about to say something, he found that although they had escaped to a safe place, the looks in the eyes of the people around them had changed.
Because there was a certain time delay in the collapse of the golden statue, there were not many injured people, and no one died. So most people started to laugh at Xia Chuli.
The crown prince was presiding over the sacrifice, but the ancestral statue suddenly caught fire.
This kind of unexplained "ominous omen" was the most likely to arouse public indignation and suspicion.
This move was intended to kill Xia Chuli directly!
Shen Qingfeng could easily guess who was behind this move. In this life, he was supposed to protect Xia Chuli and help him ascend to the throne, but the other side had suddenly given him such a "big gift".
Shen Qingfeng's expression turned solemn. He sharply caught the sight of Xia Yonglin standing not far away.
He saw that Xia Yonglin was smiling, looking as if he knew everything. His eyes swept back and forth between Shen Qingfeng and Lu Yan, and then he hooked the corner of his mouth as if he understood something.
"Feng'er!" Shen Shiqiu rushed over in a hurry and grabbed Shen Qingfeng's hand at once. He said anxiously, "Are you injured?"
Shen Qingfeng shook his head. He gave his father a reassuring look but didn't have the strength to say more, because the imperial guards had surrounded the four of them at some unknown time.
Lu Yan's eyes darkened. He stood in front of the others, protecting the three of them behind him. He said harshly to Tian Che, who led the troops, "General Tian, what does this mean?"
Tian Che was originally a little afraid of Lu Yan, but since he was following King Xia Jie's order, he gained some confidence. He said, "Your humble servant is ordered by the king to arrest His Highness the Crown Prince and take him back to the palace for investigation." He waved his hand, and on one side, several soldiers had already dragged Shen Yu over, who was screaming. Since Shen Yu knew martial arts, there were a total of four soldiers holding him.
Shen Yu's face was extremely dark. He was dragged out and looked up at King Xia Jie still standing on the high platform. He shouted loudly, "This fire was not caused by my negligence! I hope the king will investigate clearly!"
King Xia Jie's face was as cold as frost. He stood with his hands behind his back and said nothing. Beside him, Qi Yan's smiling face actually looked hideous.
Chen Qi, who was also standing on the high platform, stepped forward and said in a shrill voice, "The king has ordered the Second Prince, Xia Yonglin, to investigate this matter. All relevant people should cooperate with the Second Prince's investigation!"
Xia Yonglin, who was standing aside watching the show, hooked the corner of his lips. He straightened his clothes and walked over slowly. He coughed lightly. Just as he was about to speak, he met Xia Chuli's suddenly raised eyes. He had never seen Xia Chuli look at him like this before. That look in his eyes carried a cold and sharp light, which made the words on the tip of Xia Yonglin's tongue pause for a moment. For a while, he couldn't speak. But that look only lasted for a moment, and then Xia Chuli lowered his eyes and stood still quietly.
Shen Qingfeng didn't see Xia Chuli's look, but when he saw Xia Yonglin walking over pretendingly, he stepped forward and said sharply, "Since it's the Second Highness who is going to investigate, it should be the Discipline Department that arrests people. What does it mean for the imperial guards to arrest people directly?"
Chen Qi on the high platform sneered and said in a shrill voice, "Humph! Shen Qingfeng! Do you want to defy the imperial order?!"
Shen Qingfeng shouted, "Your Excellency, please investigate clearly. Your humble servant is not defying the imperial order. It's just that it's the duty of the Discipline Department to investigate matters in the ancestral temple. How can the imperial guards, who are not good at this, be in charge?"
Chen Qi let out a strange laugh and said, "Shen Qingfeng, this sacrifice is of great importance. A mistake could lead to a serious crime and cost one's head. Everyone knows that your Shen family has a friendship with Shan Chenghuai, the chief official of the Discipline Department. Your such a request, aren't you trying to bend the law for personal gain?!"
This eunuch was really bold to say such things in front of all the officials. Although everyone was shocked, they all knew that it must be King Xia Jie's intention behind Chen Qi, so no one dared to speak.
After hearing this, Shen Shiqiu was so angry that he stamped his foot and was about to prove his innocence on the spot, but was stopped by Shen Qingfeng with one hand. Shen Qingfeng said loudly, "Your Majesty, please investigate clearly. If I bend the law for personal gain in this matter, let me die a bad death!"
Lu Yan trembled all over and suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Qingfeng, with a complicated look in his eyes.
As soon as these words were said, Shan Chenghuai, who was originally among the officials, stepped out firmly, kowtowed three times to prove his innocence, and the officials from the Prime Minister's Mansion also stood up to speak for the Shen family. For a moment, Chen Qi was a bit embarrassed.
Finally, King Xia Jie broke the deadlock. He waved his hand and said, "Since both sides have different opinions, this matter will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice. Gu Mingde!"
Gu Mingde, the chief official of the Ministry of Justice, stepped out and clasped his fists, "Your humble servant is here."
After hearing this, Shen Qingfeng secretly thought it was bad. He knew that King Xia Jie must have his reasons for making such an extraordinary decision. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice is in charge of civilian affairs. How can it be involved in matters of the ancestral temple?!"
King Xia Jie's eyes darkened. He looked at Shen Qingfeng coldly and said, "I've made up my mind. Do you still have any objections?"
Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth and said unwillingly, "But Your Majesty, this..."
King Xia Jie interrupted Shen Qingfeng and turned to ask Xia Chuli, "Crown Prince, do you have any objections?"
Xia Chuli hadn't said a single word from beginning to end. When he was pointed out by King Xia Jie like this, he showed no sign of nervousness at all. Instead, he slowly raised his eyes and swept a glance at Xia Yonglin, who was standing beside him smiling proudly. With just one look, he made Xia Yonglin's smile freeze on his face. Then he calmed his emotions and looked at King Xia Jie. His voice was calm, "Replying to Father, I have no objections."