Chapter 100 – Prince An Harbors Rebellious Intent

Zhao Qingshu was startled and immediately rescued Princess Anping from the blue flames.

Although the fire hadn’t consumed her entire body, it had just so happened to burn her face.

He wanted to grab a quilt to extinguish the flames on his sister, only to find the boudoir had been completely emptied.

With no other option, he stripped off his outer robe and wrapped it around her head, smothering the fire.

Most of Princess Anping’s hair was burnt off, and a large portion of her face was scorched.

Zhao Qingshu turned to the maid behind him and roared, “Quick, go get the imperial physician!”

After the maid ran off, he quickly carried his sister out of the burning room.

He found the maids kneeling under a tree.

In a deep voice, he asked, “You were standing guard out here. Didn’t you hear anything?”

Of course, the maids didn’t dare admit that they had heard something but chose to ignore it.

“Your Highness, this servant didn’t hear a thing.”

“You didn’t see anyone go in or out?”

“No.”

Zhao Qingshu looked at the thick smoke billowing from the boudoir, fury surging to its peak.

“Ghost Bandit!”

Just as he spoke, Princess Anping came to, still trembling from the shock.

“Please spare me, I don’t want to die! I’ll give you all the money—I’ll give you everything!”

Zhao Qingshu could tell she had seen the “Ghost Bandit,” and his tone immediately softened.

“Anping, it’s your brother. Don’t be afraid.”

The familiar voice soothed her frazzled nerves.

The fear in her eyes faded slightly as her consciousness returned.

She threw herself into Zhao Qingshu’s arms, crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. “Brother, I… ah! It hurts!”

Just speaking tugged at the burn on her face, making her grimace in pain.

“My face… it hurts.”

Zhao Qingshu grabbed her hands to stop her from touching her wounds.

“Don’t be afraid. The physician will be here soon. Anping, first tell your brother—did you see the ‘Ghost Bandit’?”

Princess Anping’s body began trembling again, her eyes filled with terror.

“Yes. He said if I didn’t behave, he’d… he’d rape me and then kill me. Brother, you don’t know how ugly he was—his smile was disgusting!”

In reality, the man Ye Chutang disguised herself as wasn’t ugly—just a very average face.

Of course, when compared to Qi Yanzhou, it didn’t hold a candle.

Zhao Qingshu continued to ask, “Was he a man or a ghost? What was his build? What did his face look like? What else did he say to you?”

Princess Anping had been too frightened at the time to look directly at the “Ghost Bandit,” so she didn’t remember any details.

She tried hard to recall and scratched her head instinctively.

But all she got was a handful of black ash—burnt remnants of her hair—that smeared all over her face.

She stared in disbelief at the black powder in her palm, eyes rolling back as she fainted.

---

After leaving the Blossom Courtyard, Ye Chutang followed the directions Princess Anping had given and used her earth ability to sneak into the northwest stables.

Behind the stables was a storage room for fodder, and beneath that, a secret chamber.

Inside the chamber were piles of gold and silver—and a large stockpile of grain.

These two things together instantly conjured a word in her mind: rebellion.

Ye Chutang used her powers to sense the area and quickly discovered a large number of weapons buried beneath her feet.

“Well, what a shock,” she muttered.

Clearly, anyone who was just one step away from the throne harbored the thought of rebellion in their heart.

Pretending not to notice the hidden weapons, she left them where they were—a ready-to-detonate landmine—while taking only the gold, silver, and food.

Then she headed for the wine cellar in the main kitchen.

Today was the birthday banquet for Princess An, so the kitchen should’ve been bustling. But at this moment, it was completely deserted.

Not only had the Prince An’s staff gone off to fight the fire, even the imperial chefs had been called away.

Which worked out perfectly for Ye Chutang.

The kitchen was stocked with top-quality ingredients. She swept them all into her space.

She didn’t even spare the spices, dishes, or cooking pots.

Once the kitchen had been thoroughly looted, she moved on to the dry goods storeroom.

She packed up the goods—along with the shelves—and took everything.

Beneath the storeroom was another wine cellar.

The moment Ye Chutang opened the door, a rich aroma of wine wafted out.

Prince An loved to drink. The cellar was filled with vintage wines, and he had bought even more famous local wines for today’s banquet.

The place was practically bursting.

Ye Chutang shamelessly swept everything into her space, even the empty jars.

In the southern corner of the cellar, there was a hidden space.

Inside were two large chests of gold, silver, and jewels—rewards from the late emperor when Prince An had established his own residence.

The chests were sealed behind a brick wall.

Prince An had intended to give them to his daughter as a dowry, which was how Princess Anping knew of them.

Ye Chutang used her earth powers to pull the two chests out and cheerfully stored them away.

With that, she had emptied out Prince An’s residence.

Before leaving, she lit the kitchen and the woodshed on fire.

Then she returned to the ice cellar in Prince Chen’s residence.

Qi Yanzhou had yet to wake, but the red tint in his hair had faded—his fire poison had been suppressed.

After feeding him a pill for internal injuries, she quietly transferred him back to his study.

Before leaving, she made a bit of noise to alert the servants so they’d find him.

Then she tunneled back into her room at Ningchu Court and checked her merit points.

What she saw nearly made her jump in shock.

She had used her earth abilities so many times today, and each time had been a significant energy drain.

Ye Chutang assumed she’d burned through most of her merit points—but instead, she had nearly 100,000 more than before!

If Qi Yanzhou hadn’t taken a hit for her (even if she didn’t really need the saving), he wouldn’t have been injured by the shadow guards, and wouldn’t have almost died from the poison.

Saving Qi Yanzhou was a way to repay the favor—and to think she earned so much in return!

“I don’t even dare to imagine how many points I’ll get if I cure his fire poison…”

This was a huge opportunity—and she was determined to take it!

Muttering softly to herself, Ye Chutang lay down on the bed to rest.

She was so exhausted from all the action, she fell asleep instantly.

---

At this moment—

The entire Prince An’s residence was practically engulfed in flames.

Prince An didn’t know whether to search for people in the guest courtyard or to fight the fire in the various wings.

Thankfully, among the guests today was the commander of the military police. He quickly deployed a battalion.

The soldiers tackled the fire while the residence staff searched the ruins for survivors.

The Capital Prefecture and Dali Temple also got involved, investigating the whereabouts of Qi Yanzhou’s group—and the fire.

Every official was questioned separately, but all were cleared of suspicion.

The guest courtyard was thoroughly searched.

Only bloodstains and dismembered limbs were found.

But none of the remains belonged to Qi Yanzhou, Qin Muyun, or Ye Chutang.

The three had simply vanished!

Some began speculating.

“That courtyard’s destruction—no way it was caused by human effort. Must be the ‘Ghost Bandit.’”

“But why would the ‘Ghost Bandit’ take those three? He can’t possibly be after their good looks, can he?”

“There were throwing knives, swords, grappling hooks all over the ruins—looks like a fierce battle took place.”

“Why would the ‘Ghost Bandit’ come to Prince An’s residence? What really happened in that courtyard?”

Prince An felt a splitting headache as he listened, his gaze falling on the pale-faced Qin Zheng.

“Prime Minister Qin, can the guests be dismissed?”

Qin Zheng had no reason to make them stay and nodded.
“Let them leave.”

The guests, all unsettled by the day’s events, quickly bid their farewells.

What if the “Ghost Bandit” came back and turned them into body parts?

Ye Jingchuan didn’t leave.

Though he had shown little concern for Ye Chutang’s disappearance, he didn’t actually want anything to happen to her.

After all, the lives of Kong Ru and his two sons were in her hands.

And his path to becoming a marquis—also depended on her.

“Prince An,” he said, “I’d like to have a private word with you.”