Chapter 41: Flames

She exchanged a glance with Cui Fufeng, stood up, walked to the door, and asked, "What happened to him?"

"He's crazy! He says Shi Jingning's ghost is haunting him, and he's running around like a madman, trampling over a large area of ​​our flowers and trees!" Liuli gloated over Yang Huaijiang's misfortune and instead sympathized with the gardener. "Old man Wei is so angry! He just cleared the snow and tied up the flowers and trees with straw, and now he has to do everything again."

Qian Deng asked back, "Yang Huaijiang said that Shi Jingning's wronged spirit appeared?"

"Yes, he started the commotion in the west courtyard, running around like crazy, making horrible hoarse noises. We were all petrified! Madam Dingxiang cried out, 'Son, you've seen wrong! Shi Jingning isn't here, he's dead!' She desperately chased after him, but there was no way she could catch him. My cousin was running around everywhere, and now it was dark, so who knew where he had gone!"

Qiandeng didn't expect that such a thing would happen even though they had moved to the front yard. He turned around and looked at Cui Fufeng.

Cui Fufeng quickly packed up his things and said, "Let's go to the west courtyard first to see what's going on."

It was getting late, Qiandeng ordered people to light the lamps, and the group came to the west courtyard.

The courtyard was a mess; the once neatly tended flowers and trees were now in disarray. Entering the house, I saw boxes and crates just brought back from Gutengzhai scattered and toppled over, the floor littered with scattered objects, filthy and grimy. Matron Ge was cleaning up, sighing.

"What happened?" Qiandeng asked knowingly and asked the maids around her to come forward to help.

A tired panting sound came from behind. Lady Dingxiang had disheveled hair and was walking back from outside with difficulty, holding onto the wall.

Upon seeing Qian Deng and Cui Fufeng, she rushed over. "Deng Deng, Fufeng, Huaijiang is in trouble now! He said he sees Shi Jingning's ghost everywhere and wants to kill him! What do you think...what should we do?"

Qian Deng helped her sit down first. Seeing that she had obviously fallen in the rush, her body and hands were covered in dirt and dust, she ordered the maids to bring tea and water, and wrung out a handkerchief to help her wipe it clean. "How could this be? Our Changhua Palace has always been peaceful and quiet. There wouldn't be any evil spirits seeking our lives. Could it be that my cousin is ill and his eyes are blurry and he's seeing things wrong?"

Madam Dingxiang's face turned pale. She quickly wiped her hands and face with a handkerchief and said anxiously, "Let's not talk about this for now. Hurry and tell everyone in the mansion to go and find your cousin first!"

"Aunt Xuanji, gather everyone in the mansion, light lanterns, and go look for my cousin. Make sure to search every corner thoroughly." Qiandeng immediately gave the order. After Aunt Xuanji left, he said to Madam Dingxiang, "Aunt, my cousin looks like this. It seems we need to quickly find a monk or Taoist priest to perform a ritual to dispel his resentment!"

Lady Dingxiang immediately agreed: "Hurry up and invite a few more magicians to come and help Huaijiang resolve the hatred and resentment!"

Seeing her so anxious, Qian Deng asked, "Why are cousin and Shi Jingning quarreling like this now? Didn't my aunt say that it was Shi Jingning who persecuted cousin back then? Why is Shi Jingning dead and coming back to haunt the cousin he harmed?"

"This... wronged ghost, how can we reason with it? We need to find a mage to suppress it first!" Madam Dingxiang refused to give in, still refusing to reveal the details of that day. She said hastily, "Niece, look at what has happened now. Finding your cousin is the most important thing now! Huaijiang is the only root of our Yang family. If anything goes wrong, who will I, your aunt, rely on for the rest of my life?"

Cui Fufeng said, "Aunt, when we ask the masters to perform the ritual, we must first inform them of the grudges and festivals so that they can send the wronged souls away. Otherwise, how can we let them perform the ritual without knowing what's going on?"

"This..." Madam Dingxiang's face was uncertain, and she gritted her teeth, refusing to reveal the details of that night. "Huaijiang did tell me that. Don't I believe what my own son said?"

Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng exchanged glances and were about to speak again when they suddenly felt a red light rising in front of them. They subconsciously turned their heads and looked towards the source of the fire.

A blazing flame rose from the direction of the warehouse. In the darkening sky, thick smoke mixed with flames suddenly illuminated the night sky, which was breathtaking.

"What should I do? I just built a frame for the warehouse, and the planks are still piled on top!"

When Qiandeng arrived, Aunt Yingluo was so anxious that she stamped her feet, not knowing what to do.

Everyone in the mansion was gathered around the burning warehouse, trying to pour water in vain. Unfortunately, the fire was too big, and even a drop in the bucket was of no use.

Jin Tang, who had been busy these days, stood blankly in front of the ruins, watching his hard work go down in flames, feeling helpless and angry.

Qian Deng forced himself to calm down and asked him, "What's going on?"

Jin Tang turned around and saw her, and immediately became furious and aggrieved: "County Lady, it's that Yang Huaijiang! He must be the one who can't stand me working for the palace, so he's deliberately trying to get in the way!"

Qian Deng glanced at the crowd around him, frowned, and asked, "Yang Huaijiang? What did he do?"

"Who knows! Because it was dark, the wooden frames and boards had just been erected, and the lacquer was even more flammable. The craftsmen thought that the progress was already very fast, so they didn't risk lighting the lights to work at night, so they called it a day and left. When we walked outside the courtyard gate, we saw the crazy Yang Huaijiang running towards us, but we didn't take it seriously. Who knew that not long after,..."

A sturdy man nearby chimed in, "It just snowed, and the ground is still wet. How could it possibly start a fire? Look, my lady, all the lacquer we brought in has been spilled. That bastard must have knocked over the paint bucket and set it on fire!"

Because of the lacquer poured on it and the piles of wood in the fire scene, it suddenly crackled and the fire was as fierce as the previous one in the kitchen.

Aunt Yingluo was in extreme pain and tears streamed down her face.

Although the Jin family sent workers to help with the repairs, the wood, lacquer, bricks and tiles were all purchased at great expense. The palace was now in mourning and undergoing renovations, and the already tight financial situation was about to be exacerbated.

Qian Deng patted his aunt's shoulder to comfort her. Then, remembering something important, he turned around and looked around. He asked, "If Yang Huaijiang set the fire, where did he escape to now?"

Jin Tang gnashed his teeth and agreed: "Yes, if we find him, we must teach him a lesson..."

His words suddenly got stuck in his throat. He just widened his eyes and raised his hand tremblingly, pointing at a shadow in the fire scene: "That...that person..."

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger. Amidst the flames and thick smoke, a twisted figure moved several times, as if trying to escape the inferno.

But surrounded by thick smoke and raging fire, the man in the fire could no longer tell where he was going. All he could hear was his hoarse, desperate voice and a strange scream: "Shi Jingning, Shi Jingning!"

The crudely constructed shelves had long been burned to ashes. Following the strange cry, the large logs and bricks stacked on the shelves collapsed, all falling towards the figure below.

Amidst screams, everyone turned around and ran backwards.

This time, with experience, everyone hid behind the stacked materials to avoid being burned by the splashing embers.

Amidst a loud bang, the warehouse that Jin Tang and his group of people had been busy working on for many days, after it had taken shape, was reduced to ruins again.

The stacked wood was still burning after it collapsed. It was so intense that one could not even get close to the fire by pouring water on it. Even from two or three feet away one could feel the overwhelming heat wave and could not get close at all.

Jintang and the workers were dejected, and could only rescue the materials in the yard that had not been damaged. As for the people trapped under the wood, they were already dead, and a moment earlier or later would make no difference.

Aunt Yingluo was so frightened that she forgot even to cry. She came close to Qiandeng and asked in a suppressed panic, "County Lady, was...was my cousin burned to death?"

Qian Deng was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I don't know. We'll have to wait until the fire is out and the body is found."

But everyone heard the hoarse, desperate cry of the man in the fire before he died. That corroded and damaged throat, the distorted tone when it screamed "Shi Jingning", who else could it be but the insane Yang Huaijiang?

Seeing that the fire was beyond saving, Qian Deng ordered a thorough check of the people in the mansion first. After thinking about it, he tried his best to calm down and went to the west courtyard where Lady Dingxiang lived first.