With the help of the guards and the monks, the fire was finally extinguished.

Fortunately, the fire started from the outer courtyard. When it reached the scripture tower, only the basic scriptures were burned. Most of the remaining authentic works were still preserved.

Despite this, if Gu Nuo’er hadn’t been prepared in advance, she and the empress would have been so helpless and terrified when they were trapped in the scripture tower!

No matter how good Empress Du’s temper was, she could not withstand the influence of such a matter.

She was furious and interrogated A’Yun seriously.

At first, A’Yun refused to admit it and claimed that Mu Shuzhen had framed her.

It was not until the guards found traces of kerosene under A’Yun’s shoes that A’Yun confessed dejectedly.

It turned out that the empress had praised Mu Shuzhen many times and that made her unhappy.

In addition, Mu Shuzhen did not listen to her orders, which made A’Yun, who had always been eager to excel, felt very unhappy.

She thus came up with a vicious plan, which was to deliberately set a big fire while the empress and the little princess were serving Buddha in the scripture tower.

When that happened, not only would she be able to frame Mu Shuzhen, but if the little princess was injured, according to the emperor’s temper, Mu Shuzhen would also not be able to escape death.

A’Yun could even receive countless rewards for saving her masters.

The empress’s usual softness and magnanimity made her feel that this was an opportunity she could take.

The barrel of kerosene that Mu Shuzhen had discovered hidden in the corner had been replaced with water by Wanyin.

However, they did not expect that this was only evidence that A’Yun had prepared for framing Mu Shuzhen.

She also carried a small bamboo tube of kerosene with her to commit this crime.

Originally, the plan went according to A’Yun’s plan, but she never expected that the fire would burn too quickly.

This was because of the Taishi Monastery’s wooden structures. It hadn’t snowed in the past few days either, so the wood wasn’t damp.

When the fire grew bigger, A’Yun became afraid, let alone going in to save the empress and princess.

She was very afraid of death!

If Gu Nuo’er had not pulled the empress to leave by the window in advance, they would probably have gotten a huge shock this time.

When Wanyin learned of A’Yun’s entire plan, she was so angry that her eyes turned red.

She pounced over and slapped A’Yun, leaving a few bloody scratch marks on her face.

“B*tch! The empress gave you food and drinks, but you actually wanted to gain the master’s trust by hurting her and the princess! Why hasn’t the heavens taken you away when you have such foolish and bad thoughts?!”

A’Yun cried and fell to the ground. She crawled over and hugged the empress’s leg. She knew that Empress Du had always been soft-hearted, so she kept crying and begging.

“Your Majesty, this servant knows my mistake. This servant wanted to be valued by you too much, that’s why this servant came up with such a damn idea.

“This servant won’t dare to do it again in the future. This servant is willing to slap myself 30 times. Please calm down and forgive this servant this one time!”

Empress Du lowered her eyes and looked at her coldly. “A’Yun, you’ve committed a heinous mistake. How dare you expect me to still keep you by my side?”

After saying that, she looked at the guards at the side. “After returning to the palace, hand A’Yun over to the emperor and deal with her according to the palace’s rules. I have no objections.”

A’Yun fell to the ground and her face turned pale from fear.

If she were to fall into the hands of the emperor, she would not be granted a quick death.

She had almost hurt the little princess. The emperor would definitely have the Punishment Bureau think of ways to torture her!

A’Yun cried and shouted, “Your Majesty, this servant knows my mistake! Please show mercy!”

Empress Du felt a headache when she heard this. With a wave of her hand, two guards gagged A’Yun and dragged her away.

The empress looked at Wanyin. “Where’s Nuo’er?”

“The princess was worried about Young Master Ye’s injury, so the two of them had already gotten onto the carriage first.”