With the flames soaring, the Hou Zhu swaggered off.
Jiang Suizhou grit his teeth and cursed under his breath.
Who gave this dog emperor this horrible idea?! How dare he burn him to death in his bedchamber! Was he going to pass it off as an accident?
Jiang Suizhou turned sideways and ruthlessly severed the rope around his hand using the imperial throne.
Fortunately, they came up with such a method. They didn’t let him die immediately; they even gave him a chance to save himself.
However, the palace was covered in silk and fur. The fire raged quickly and spread out in a blink, forming a sea of fire. The thick smoke rose and made Jiang Suizhou cough non-stop, but he didn’t dare to relax. He clenched his teeth and rubbed the rope on his wrist earnestly.
His wrists were scratched and swollen, while sweat dripped from his forehead. The sweat that dripped on his wounds stung badly, let alone the other wounds on his body, which had reopened due to his vigorous movements. In fact, they were torn and bleeding again.
Jiang Suizhou was shaking all over.
His eyes were blurred from the pain and exhaustion. The only sound left around him was the crackling of the flames, which gradually blazed stronger.
He rubbed the rope back and forth mechanically, no longer able to feel the tension and pain.
The flames spread around the palace, engulfing the embroidered extravagant curtains in all four corners. In no time, the blazing red and red gold vividly intertwined, gradually swallowing the entire palace into a sheet of flames.
He didn’t know how long it took, but he heard a fine snap.
The rope broke. Jiang Suizhou also lost all his strength and collapsed on the throne.
The solid and painful impact finally sobered him up.
It’s done.
Tears unconsciously welled up in his eyes. He got up agonizingly, and without considering anything else, he bent down to untie the rope on his legs. He began to shake uncontrollably. After several attempts, he finally untied the rope.
He stumbled to his feet. While supporting himself with one hand on the throne, he surveyed his surroundings through blurred vision.
Right at this time, fire was blazing everywhere, and flames tightly sealed the main door. Only a small door on the east side, which had just been ignited by the fire, still had some space for him to escape.
Jiang Suizhou ran straight there.
But after taking a couple of steps, he stopped and turned around.
He looked at the imperial desk that crashed to the ground. At this time, the fire hadn’t reached it yet, including the memorials and books that were scattered all over the place.
The letters!
Jiang Suizhou acted without a second thought and turned around. His legs couldn’t support him, so he almost fell on the pile of books.
He desperately rummaged through the documents there.
Those letters from Huo Yuyan must not be burned. Those were the only evidence that could tell Huo Wujiu the truth about his defeat, to tell him that the summer tree behind him was not his fortress, but a tiger’s lair.
This was evidence that Huo Yuyan had harmed him.
Jiang Suizhou’s hands were trembling. He obviously had lost all his strength due to pain, weakness and fatigue, but he drew a boost of energy somewhere somehow. He searched quickly, and soon found the thin pieces of papers scattered on the ground.
By the light of the fire, he read the words on top, and then tucked them tightly into his arms.
He propped himself up on the throne and stumbled to his feet.
But when he looked at that corner door again, it was already surrounded by flames. The wooden structure could not withstand the fire, and after a series of crackles, it crashed and fell into a field of flames.
He had no way out anymore.
Jiang Suizhou braced himself to keep from falling down. However, upon surveying his surroundings once more, he realized that he had no way out.
He clung to the desk, and when he finally couldn’t hold on, he fell to the ground.
He raised his hand and wiped his face. At some point, he shed two drops of tears that trickled down and hung on his chin, cutting a sorry figure of himself.
He thought to himself, Did I just come here for nothing?
The next time he opened his eyes, he didn’t know if he’d already be in the netherworld or back at his desk, facing the ridiculous thesis written by that student.
He also had no idea what would become of this history because of him… As for Huo Wujiu, how would he be different from the original?
His only regret was not seeing the evidence in his arms handed over to Huo Wujiu.
… Perhaps he was feeling a tinge of resentment, too. Before death, he didn’t get to see Huo Wujiu one last time.
This was the first time in his two lives that he felt what love was, and also the first time he felt what unrequited love was.
He closed his eyes.
He instantly relaxed. The adrenaline rush that was overdrawn earlier began to demand his life. He just felt dizzy, and every inch of his body was screaming pain. However, he was so drained that he could barely keep his eyes open…
Just then, a resounding crash echoed.
He glanced up and saw that the beam in front of the palace was finally consumed by the flames and collapsed. It shattered a large part of the roof, revealing the clear blue sky amidst the flames.
Next, it was above his head.
Jiang Suizhou looked at the sky, and after a moment, closed his eyes tiredly.
