“Then we’ll take them!” Hu Mingmei didn’t stand on ceremony and grabbed the three most domineering-looking items.
Despite his utterly impolite manners, Old Man Dugu remained unperturbed and walked away with a smile.
After Old Man Dugu left, Bai Nuo and Hu Mingmei also left the room so as not to disturb Zhang Wu's rest.
By evening, Zhang Wu still hadn't woken up and remained unconscious. Bai Nuo and Hu Mingmei returned to their new home and checked on the Jiang sisters. Jiang San Niang seemed fine, but Jiang Qiao'er was still very weak and showed no signs of improvement.
Bai Nuo suddenly felt that she was having a run of bad luck. How come everyone around her was getting injured one by one? She was almost killed.
It's as if someone is specifically targeting her.
But Bai Nuo couldn't figure out where she had offended her enemies.
"Second Master, Miss, we're too late! The place you mentioned is deserted!" Xia Donglai came in from inside the room to report what had happened that day.
"The person is gone?" Bai Nuo asked.
Xia Donglai nodded. "Not only that little wooden house, but even Manager He has left." Xia Donglai went to the bamboo forest first, and Lu Ying went to Duobaoxuan, but they didn't see anyone at either place. Especially at Duobaoxuan, the manager and waiter had disappeared without a trace. "That little wooden house was just a temporary stop. As for Duobaoxuan, Bai Dalin is still inside, but judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to know anything about it."
Bai Nuo nodded; she indeed hadn't seen Manager He take Bai Dalin to see the so-called master.
But what role did Bai Dalin play in all of this? How did he end up working at Duobaoxuan? What was his relationship with Manager He?
"Something terrible has happened!" Lu Ying rushed in. "Second Master, Miss, Duobaoxuan is on fire!"
"What?" The group was shocked and rushed out to see what was happening. They saw flames and thick smoke rising into the sky in the distance, illuminating the surroundings and making them very conspicuous in the darkness.
Without thinking twice, the group rushed downstairs, grabbed buckets and other items, and ran back to their shop.
They all went to put out the fire, not for anything else, but for their own shop. Their shop was right across from others, and if it caught fire, it might burn down on them. They had invested so much money and effort in Duobaoge. Zhang Wu and Qinghe were still living in the backyard.
When Bai Nuo arrived at Duobaoxuan, he found that nearby residents had brought buckets of water to put out the fire, and even soldiers had come over.
Moreover, Bai Dalin was also there, covered in soot and wearing only an undershirt, indicating that he was sleeping when the fire broke out.
Bai Dalin grabbed a soldier who came to put out the fire and said anxiously, "Sir, put out the fire quickly! Put out the fire quickly! My Duobao Pavilion, my Duobao Pavilion!" Bai Dalin was hoping to rely on Duobao Pavilion to compete with Bai Nuo, but he did not expect it to catch fire.
"Who are you?" the officer asked.
Bai Dalin released his grip, "I...I'm the assistant manager of Duobaoxuan!"
"Deputy Manager?" The soldier looked Bai Dalin up and down, and said suspiciously, "I've never seen you before. Could you be the arsonist?"
"How could I be the arsonist?" Bai Dalin smiled ingratiatingly. "I'm the manager here. If I set fire to my own property, wouldn't I be putting myself in danger?"
"If you didn't set the fire, what are you doing with those things?" the soldier shouted defiantly. "I bet you stole the things, set the fire, and then ran away. Come on, come with me to the county office!"
"Hey hey..." Bai Dalin cried out and struggled, but the soldier had already called his comrades and didn't give Bai Dalin a chance to struggle. He dragged Bai Dalin away.
As usual, Lord Li raised the court, and because it was Bai Dalin, Bai Nuo went to see it as well.
Lord Li was still groggy, as if he had just lain down. Seeing Bai Dalin kneeling below, he became somewhat impatient. "Who is kneeling down there? What has he done wrong?"
The soldier who brought Bai Dalin back reported, "Sir, Duobaoxuan suddenly caught fire tonight. I found a suspicious person there and suspect he is the arsonist."
"Oh?" Lord Li couldn't help but take another look at Bai Dalin.
"My lord, I am innocent! I really am the manager of Duobaoxuan. My house caught fire, and I was heartbroken too. How could I have set it on fire?" Bai Dalin said while kowtowing.
It was the same soldier who spoke again, "If you didn't set the fire, what are you doing with those things?" After saying that, the soldier clasped his hands in a respectful gesture to Lord Li and said, "Sir, I suspect that this person stole something and then set the fire!"
"Open his things and take a look!" Lord Li said.
The soldier yanked the bundle off Bai Dalin's shoulder, placed it on the ground, and opened it. "Sir, please take a look!"
Lord Li peeked out and saw some gold and silver jewelry, as well as some banknotes and the like, but because of the distance, he couldn't see how much money was on them.
"Bring all those papers up!" Lord Li said.
The soldier carried Bai Dalin's entire bundle upstairs, and Lord Li, while rummaging through it, asked, "What's in here?"
Bai Dalin honestly said, "They were all the store's account books and money. Our manager, He, wasn't here when the fire suddenly broke out. I only had time to take out the store's account books and money."
What Bai Dalin didn't say was that he wanted to take the money and the account books and leave, but Manager He had already left, and everything in the room was gone.
Lord Li looked through the document and then checked it against the account book. He found that the money matched the account book, and thus believed Bai Dalin's words.
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