The story reappears

Before going to the orphanage, Cheng Yayin first went to the Dali Temple and handed in a handwritten letter. Sure enough, Xue Zhi came out in a hurry after a while.

After the two of them reunited, Xue Zhi rode his horse outside the carriage, unable to suppress the excitement in his tone. "If it's true as my sister-in-law said, there's a victim in the Salesian Home. That would be a ready-made witness. With her help, we might be able to catch the criminal."

Cheng Yayin certainly hoped so, but after rushing all the way here, her mind had calmed down a lot, so she had to pour cold water on him at this juncture, "Master Xue, don't be too happy too soon. First, the girl's experience is just similar, and we can't conclude that she is one of the victims. Second, she is now mentally ill, and I'm afraid we can't get anything out of her. We should go and see her first to find out the details."

When the two arrived at the Salesian Home, it was already dusk and the gatekeeper was about to lock the door.

The dean received the message and hurried over to meet the guest. Before he had time to wonder why Cheng Yayin came to visit again in a few days, he saw a young man in official uniform standing next to her, and his face changed.

"Please forgive me for disturbing you without permission, Dean." Cheng Yayin explained, "This is Xue Sizhi from the Dali Temple. I'm here to ask Miss Lan Xin something. Please lead the way, Dean."

Although the dean was full of questions, he did not dare to neglect the court officials. He hurriedly led Cheng Yayin and Xue Zhi into the courtyard and called a few nannies to bring Du Lanxin over.

While waiting, the dean couldn't suppress her uneasiness and said carefully, "Madam, Lan Xin has always been in the orphanage. We never let her go out. How could she have offended the officials? Is there some misunderstanding?"

Cheng Yayin and Xue Zhi looked at each other. It would be inappropriate to let irrelevant people know about the case, so Xue Zhi explained that they were just asking some small questions and it would be no big deal.

Cheng Yayin and Xue Zhi were placed in the inner hall to wait. A nanny came over to pour them tea, but neither of them had the heart to drink. Cheng Yayin watched the steam rising from the teacup gradually dissipate, wondering why this search was taking so long.

Before he could ask, the nanny who had just been sent to look for someone hurried over and told the director that Du Lanxin was missing.

Cheng Yayin and Xue Zhi both stood up in shock. The dean asked in surprise, "Isn't she usually in her room at this hour? Why is she gone?"

The nanny said the room was empty and she also looked in several places where Du Lanxin usually stayed, but there was no one there.

Everyone became anxious, and all the nannies in the orphanage were sent out to look for the person. Cheng Yayin and Xue Zhi also joined the search, going through every room in the orphanage but couldn't find anyone.

Worried that Du Lanxin had escaped when no one was paying attention, the dean assigned another group of people to search nearby.

Cheng Yayin felt that this orphanage, with its large number of children, was extremely strict about keeping its doors locked. The corner gates were all locked tightly, and the main gate was always guarded by a gatekeeper. Du Lanxin was mentally handicapped, so it was unlikely she could slip out quietly under everyone's watch. She must be inside the courtyard.

But the Salesian Home was so small, where could she hide? Moreover, why did she disappear when she brought Xue Zhi to investigate?

She turned to look at Xue Zhi. He had a frown on his face, obviously thinking the same thing.

Suddenly someone shouted in panic: "The fire is breaking!"

This exclamation interrupted the two people's thoughts, and the orphanage suddenly became chaotic.

Xue Zhi was the first to look for the source of the noise. Cheng Yayin reacted and followed him. Along the way, they saw that the situation was chaotic. Many young children were crying loudly with fear. The nannies were carrying the children in their arms and shoulders as they fled. In the distance, a fire could be seen faintly.

Cheng Yayin asked Lan Yue Yixing beside her to help the nanny escort the child out, and she followed Xue Zhi to the fire. It was the woodshed on the west side of the yard where firewood was stored. Somehow it caught fire, and the whole house was ablaze. The smoke could be felt burning your face.

Nothing happened when I arrived, so how come the fire got so big in just a short while?

Cheng Yayin thought of something and was about to tell Xue Zhi, but he had already taken the basin of water brought by the nanny next to him and poured it on himself, then rushed over and kicked open the door of the woodshed.

The burning door collapsed to the ground, the smoke and dust cleared, and Cheng Yayin saw Du Lanxin in the sea of ​​fire. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.

The dean beside him shouted in panic, "Why is Lan Xin in the woodshed?"

She hurriedly called for help, but Xue Zhi had already rushed in first. Amid the panic shouts of the crowd, he ignored the raging fire, grabbed the unconscious Du Lanxin, and carried her out.

Cheng Yayin was frightened out of her wits by his desperate act. She couldn't let him take the risk alone, so she followed his example and poured a basin of water over her head. Regardless of the scorching heat, she waited for him at the door of the woodshed.

The two of them worked together to bring Du Lanxin out. Xue Zhi ran out of the yard with the person on his back, put her down and checked her breath.

Cheng Yayin's heart was in her throat. Judging from Xue Zhi's expression, he was fine, just unconscious, and his clothes were badly burned.

Looking around again, I saw that due to timely response, most of the children in the orphanage had been transferred outside the home. They were crying in panic. The director and several nannies also came out, their bodies covered in black soot and looking miserable.

But the situation inside the Salesian Home was not optimistic. The houses were all made of wood and could not withstand fire. The place was remote and far away from water sources, and there were few houses around. Relying on the nannies to use wooden basins to transport water stored in the home to put out the fire was simply a drop in the bucket.

Cheng Yayin took a deep breath and immediately said to the director, "Director, please take the nannies and count the number of children who have escaped. If there are still some who have not come out, please send people to rescue them immediately."

He then said to Xue Zhi, "Master Xue, the fire can't continue like this. You are alone and on a light horse, so you can go quickly to the Fire Department to report the fire. As for Miss Du, I don't know how she is doing. I must take her to the infirmary immediately."

Several people quickly took up their duties. After Xue Zhi rode away on his horse, Cheng Yayin saw that the situation outside the hospital was relatively stable, so she and Lan Yue Yixing helped Du Lanxin onto the carriage and went to find the nearest clinic.

When they arrived at the clinic, Cheng Yayin ordered two maids to carry Du Lanxin to find a doctor. She wanted to go with them, but just now in the orphanage, except for Xue Zhi, she was closest to the fire source and inhaled too much smoke. She had not been able to take care of it because of the emergency situation, and she had been shaking in the carriage all the way. Now she felt dizzy and breathless.

Cheng Yayin leaned against the wall of the car to rest, took a few deep breaths, and the clean and refreshing air filled her lungs, relieving some of the discomfort.

I wanted to take a few breaths before going in to meet Lan Yue and the others, but I unexpectedly saw a man on the long street. He was in a panic and seemed to be going towards the fire. He didn't even notice the carriage of Pei Mansion parked on the side of the road.

"Jian Zhu?" Cheng Yayin called him and asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"Madam!" Jian Zhu saw that Cheng Yayin seemed very happy. He searched around her for a moment, but immediately became worried. "Isn't the master with you?"

Cheng Yayin's heart suddenly sank: "What do you mean, he's not in the mansion?"

Jian Zhu shook his head. "My Lord went out this afternoon and bought a lot of Wu's cakes and some small items, saying that he had angered you and wanted to apologize. But when I returned, you happened to be out. My Lord must have been waiting anxiously in the mansion, so he went out to look for you when I wasn't paying attention. I saw that you hadn't returned yet, and I was a little worried, so I wanted to go out and look for you. But when I walked near here, I heard that the orphanage was on fire. I was worried about you, so I thought of going to check it out.

"But since you, Madam, are not at the Salesian Home, then the Master should not be going there either."

"He probably won't go..." Cheng Yayin was uneasy. Suddenly, the ending she had written in her own handwriting came into her mind - Yang Zhilan was buried in the sea of ​​fire, using his life to exchange for Yao Wanniang's freedom...

"Hey, ma'am, what are you doing?"

Seeing Cheng Yayin's sudden change of expression, Jian Zhu quickly got into the carriage and hurriedly said to the driver, "Go back to the Salesian Home." Before he could finish his words, the carriage sped away.

Along the way, Cheng Yayin kept urging the coachman to go faster and faster. The sound of whips rang out in the air repeatedly. The carriage was so fast that it almost left the ground. She had to stick close to the wall to steady her body. She kept comforting herself in her heart that Pei Songsheng would not be so stupid as to rush into the fire, but her violent heartbeat could not be calmed down.

When they arrived at the orphanage, Cheng Yayin felt the scorching heat before she even got off the car. Without waiting for the driver to move the stool, she lifted the curtain and jumped out. She saw that the firefighters from the Fire Administration were already trying to put out the fire. Unfortunately, things did not go as they wished. At night, a wind blew, and the fire grew with the wind, burning even more fiercely than when Cheng Yayin left.

The blazing flames dyed the sky red, illuminating the faces of the nannies and children at the Salesian Home. Temporarily housed under a distant tea stall, their faces stained with ashes and tears, each one in a state of disarray, watched in silence and despair as their former home went up in flames.

Cheng Yayin paused as she passed by, but there were more urgent matters waiting for her confirmation.

Several submarine fire soldiers gathered together, hastily discussing something, as if something urgent had happened. Cheng Yayin's premonition was getting worse. She found the one who looked like the leader and asked, "Sir, did anyone go in just now?"

The man was Si Xuan from the Fire Administration Department. He was extremely busy trying to put out the fire and was filled with anger with nowhere to vent. At this moment, someone bumped into him. He was about to lose his temper, but he saw a young woman. She was soaking wet and there were traces of burns on her clothes, but she still had an elegant demeanor. He knew that she must be of extraordinary status.

Si Xuan barely managed to swallow the harsh words that were about to come out of his mouth, and replied with a changed expression: "Indeed, a young man rushed into the fire scene. He was so fast that we didn't react in time. Madam, are you looking for him? It's too dangerous here. Please go to a safe place and wait. We will definitely take him away..."

Before she finished her words, Cheng Yayin rushed into the fire like the wind, and the several fire-snatching soldiers nearby had no time to catch her.

Si Xuan was stunned for a moment, then immediately beat his chest and stamped his feet, asking people to put out the fire quickly. It was obvious that these two people were of extraordinary status. If something happened under his nose, he would have no chance of getting well.

He looked up to the sky and sighed, "Is it God's will to kill me? Why are these people all rushing into the fire?"