As a top soldier, Ning Ye had seen the cruelest scenes of war, but at this moment, the small corpse in front of him made his heart restless.
It was obvious that the other person was just a child, but under the scorching heat of the fire, the young body had been completely charred and curled up. Heaven knows what kind of pain he had endured.
The incessant cries of anguish pulled Ning Ye back to reality. Behind him were the people he had recruited, many of whom had lost their families in the fire.
Hu Laosan said with a grim face, "Sir, I have checked the surrounding area and there are traces of kerosene. It is basically confirmed that someone did this on purpose, and the amount of kerosene placed in each place is extremely large."
Ning Ye's face remained calm, but his fists clenched tightly. "These beasts! Come at me if you have a problem, what kind of skill is it to attack these unarmed people!"
"Sir, do you know who did this?"
Ning Ye said coldly, "I have never provoked anyone before. The only one is that guy surnamed Huang. I never expected him to be such a heartless bastard."
Hu Laosan hesitated before saying, "Sir, this kind of thing should be quite common, right? I'm afraid only you, sir, would get so angry about something like this."
Ning Ye was momentarily dazed upon hearing this. Was it that, apart from himself, no one else really cared about the lives and deaths of these people?
The refugees around them were crying, but it was because the dead were their loved ones.
The reason why Hu Laosan and others actively put out the fire was only because of their own orders. If they hadn't acted on their own initiative, how many people would have stepped in to help?
In ancient times, human life was the least valuable thing. It's likely that when Huang Shan did this, all he was thinking about was disgusting himself, and nothing more.
Ning Ye rubbed his face. "Old Hu, relocate these people and give each of them ten taels of silver as compensation. Get this done as soon as possible."
"Does Your Excellency have any other instructions?"
"That's all for now. Remember not to let them cause any trouble. I will give them an explanation for this matter."
Hu Laosan felt that Ning Ye's worries were completely unnecessary. They were just a group of refugees; what trouble could they possibly cause?
But since Ning Ye had given the order, he had to do it. Even if he didn't go back to sleep today, he had to take his men with him to ensure that nothing would happen to these refugees.
Ning Ye rode his horse back to the mansion. After returning, he did not eat dinner but went straight to his room. Sensing something was wrong, Lin Qinshu carried a bowl of porridge and also went to her room.
"Husband, has something happened? You don't seem to be in a good mood."
Ning Ye sat on the edge of the bed with a gloomy face. "The village is gone, and this time twenty-eight people died."
Lin Qinshu was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what Ning Ye was talking about.
"They are treating human life like dirt. Why don't we tell Lord Wang directly about this? I believe he will not stand idly by."
Ning Ye shook his head and said, "Without any evidence, even Lord Wang can't do anything, let alone a young master with power."
Lin Qinshu said softly, "Husband, life and death are unpredictable. This matter may be hard for you to accept, but we must still look forward."
As she spoke, Lin Qinshu gently stroked Ning Ye's temples, slowly massaging them.
“This time it was my oversight. I thought he had simply given up on his threats and hadn’t made any moves for a long time, so I didn’t pay attention. Who would have thought something like this would happen?”
“Husband, no one is perfect. It is impossible for one person to do everything perfectly. You cannot be blamed for all of this.”
Ning Ye didn't speak, but quietly enjoyed Lin Qinshu's massage. He understood the reasons, but he still couldn't accept it for the time being. After all, some things are ingrained in one's bones and are not so easy to change.
Seeing that Ning Ye didn't speak, Lin Qinshu stopped talking and instead hummed a light and gentle tune to soothe Ning Ye's heart.
The next morning, Ning Ye left home early. The place he went to was none other than the county government office. Of course, he didn't come there to ask Wang Mingyuan to uphold justice, but rather to find out what kind of people the Huang family was.
Xu Sanguan was still leading the way for Ning Ye. It had been a long time since Ning Ye had seen Xu Sanguan, and he seemed to have aged a few years. Ning Ye knew that this was not his imagination.
"Master Xu, has something been bothering you lately? You seem quite tired."
Xu Sanguan yawned and said, "I have a lot of things to do lately, but they have nothing to do with you. But the adults are also very tired. If it's not important, I suggest you don't bother them."
Ning Ye smiled and said, "I wouldn't come unless it's something important, so I really have to ask you about this, sir."
This time, the meeting didn't take place in the small garden as before, but rather in Wang Mingyuan's study. In ancient times, many people considered the study a very private place, and would never allow anyone to enter unless they trusted them.
Before going in, Ning Ye made a point of tidying up his clothes. Although they were all clean and neat, well, it's always good to pay a little more attention to one's appearance.
After everything was prepared, Ning Ye pushed open a door and entered. Inside the room, Wang Mingyuan was writing a piece of calligraphy.
As Wang Mingyuan wrote, he said aloud, "Your sudden visit makes me feel like you might give me a difficult problem today. I don't know if I'm right or wrong."
"If you don't want to hear it, I don't have to say it, but I believe you will still make me say it."
Wang Mingyuan wrote the last stroke, looked up and said, "They're just some refugees who were randomly confiscated. Is it really necessary to care so much? Are you going to play the role of a benevolent official again?"
Ning Ye knew that nothing that happened in Qingyuan County could escape Wang Mingyuan's notice, and the other party also knew exactly what he wanted to ask today.
"My lord, these people are still human lives in my eyes, so I cannot pretend I didn't see them. Moreover, these people died because of me, so I have an even greater responsibility to take care of this matter."
Wang Mingyuan sighed and said, "The Huang family's backer is not me. Although it is such a remote place, they have a student from Qingshan Academy. I hope you can understand which is more important."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
