Chapter 1040: The Sky-High Fire

Zhou Shuren's carriage was running parallel to the prince's carriage, the curtains were drawn, and the prince showed no intention of stopping.

The prince leaned against the carriage window and asked, "Master Zhou, are you leaving the government office and returning home?"

Zhou Shuren was thinking, who knows what the prince is doing today. "Yes, I will go home."

The prince chuckled, "In the past, it was common for ministers of the Ministry of Revenue to live in the Ministry of Revenue. Since Lord Zhou took office, he rarely lives in the Ministry of Revenue. Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites all leave their offices at a certain time."

Zhou Shuren felt guilty, as if he was the one who started it all, but he was confident, "The Ministry of Revenue is very efficient."

The Crown Prince smiled, and the carriage stopped. The Crown Prince said, "I'm here."

Zhou Shuren was stunned, because after getting off the wrong carriage, he saw the mansion surrounded by soldiers. This mansion was well-known in the capital. Unlike the ruins of Rong Mansion, although this mansion was deserted, the buildings were intact.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already gotten off the carriage. Zhou Shuren stretched his neck to look back. The Crown Prince was talking to the generals of the Beijing Guard Camp. Only after they were far away did Zhou Shuren retract his head.

This house was the ancestral home of the Zhang clan. In the past, the entire Zhang clan was confiscated and the house was occupied. After the founding of the dynasty, the family that occupied the house died in the fall of the capital. When the emperor ascended the throne, no one dared to take or live in the house, so it has been abandoned ever since.

On the other side, Chang Zhi and his party arrived at the county seat of Shan County. Chang Zhi got off the carriage and rubbed his waist. "I haven't been out for a long time. I'm not used to the fast pace. It's uncomfortable to change my body."

As soon as Su Xuan left the capital, she was thinking about her son and daughter. After a few days of traveling, Su Xuan no longer thought about anything. "Since I married you, I have never run around. I feel worse than you."

Especially in order to return quickly, the luggage was not much, and the carriage was moving very fast, so the skeleton frame was about to fall apart.

Jiang Sheng also got off the carriage, "We have guests staying here today, Changzhi, let's go in first."

Changzhi looked at the servants and maids working inside and outside, "Don't rush to the guest room, let's eat downstairs first. We haven't had anything hot to eat all day."

Su Xuan couldn't stand the smell on her body, but she thought of the hot soup and struggled, "Okay, let's eat first."

This inn is the best one in the county. There are many people in the inn, and Su Xuan and her group attracted attention when they came in.

Jiang Sheng felt a little uncomfortable. He was not used to being scrutinized by so many people. He looked at Chang Zhi, but Chang Zhi ordered the dishes very naturally and was already holding a cup of hot tea brought by the waiter.

Changzhi sensed his brother-in-law's discomfort, and handed the hot cup to his daughter-in-law first, and then to his brother-in-law, and whispered, "Brother-in-law, you have to get used to it."

He knew that his sister and brother-in-law had no great ambitions, but he still had to get used to some occasions. His brother-in-law had been studying since coming to Beijing, and he and his brothers had never taken him out. But this time was different, as his brother-in-law was with him, and these scrutinizing eyes would always be with him.

Jiang Sheng took a sip of tea and nodded, "I will adapt."

He is not an ungrateful person.

In the capital, Zhou Shuren came back and saw his wife teasing Yuwen, "Did you win today? Or did Yuwen win?"

Zhulan looked at her granddaughter lying there motionless, smiling, "Of course I won. This girl likes sweets. If she doesn't walk around the yard twice, she won't get any candy."

Zhou Shuren looked at his granddaughter with sympathy. She looked hopeless. Before she fell into the hands of his daughter-in-law, she didn't care. But now she is in trouble. Her lifeline is being held. She can only exercise obediently. He touched his granddaughter's head and said, "No one in our family can beat your grandmother. You should just accept your fate."

Yuwen sat up slowly, "Daddy said that grandpa is also afraid of grandma, and the granddaughter listens to grandma."

Zhou Shuren, "......."

These brats often talk about him in front of the children.

Soon the meal was ready, and the Zhou family was preparing to eat when the housekeeper ran over in a panic, "Fire, fire, sir, a huge fire."

Zhou Shuren's heart skipped a beat. "Where is the fire?"

The butler swallowed his saliva and said, "To the west, I wonder whose house it is."

Zhulan heard this and said, "Hurry up and send someone to check it out."

Zhulan then followed Zhou Shuren to the yard. She could see the flames rising to the sky even from her own yard. Zhulan felt distressed but also relieved. Fortunately, she was far away from Zhou's house. The houses were connected to each other and she was really afraid that the whole house would burn.

Zhou Shuren signaled to the boss to move the table over, then stepped onto the table on a chair. After carefully identifying the direction, Zhou Shuren pursed his lips and came down.

Boss Zhou asked hurriedly, "Dad, whose family do you think it is?"

Boss Zhou was terrified as he looked at the fire in the distance. This fire gave no chance for anyone to escape. It was too terrifying.

Zhou Shuren said, "It should be the abandoned mansion of the Zhang family."

Did the prince set the fire? No, without the emperor's order, the prince would not dare to burn down the former Zhang Mansion.

Boss Zhou was stunned for a moment. He knew the Zhang Mansion. When he first passed by it, he wondered who could be so extravagant and how such a large house could be abandoned. Later, after inquiring about it, he dared not even think about it anymore.

Boss Zhou asked in a rather loud voice, "Why did it catch fire?"

When he saw his father looking at him, he quickly closed his mouth. He didn't catch his breath and started coughing continuously.

Zhou Shuren didn't want to talk, "Okay, let's go back and eat."

Everyone in the Zhou family was absent-minded while eating. After going through so much, even the simple Li knew that things were not simple. Although she was not panicked, she felt depressed.

Halfway through the meal, the butler came back to report, "The burning place is the abandoned Zhang's mansion. There are soldiers guarding outside the mansion, so the servants didn't dare to get close."

Zhou Shuren's mind raced, "Are there many soldiers guarding here?"

The butler replied, "A lot. The servants report every few steps there is an officer or soldier."

Zhou Shuren was a little confused as to why the emperor wanted to burn Zhang's mansion. It should have been burned long ago. It was obvious that he didn't want to burn it until now, but now it was burned again. Zhou Shuren signaled the housekeeper to go down.

After dinner, everyone returned to the courtyard. Zhulan asked, "Did you know from the beginning that there were soldiers?"

Zhou Shuren nodded. "When I came back, I met the prince and saw the soldiers guarding the place. I never thought what they were going to do, but I didn't expect it was arson. No one put out the fire. The huge building complex will burn for a day or two."

Zhulan was very scared of the fire. "Now that I see this fire, I can imagine the fire that destroyed the Rong family."

Zhou Shuren hummed, "I just can't understand why the emperor suddenly set the fire."

Zhu Lan couldn't figure it out either. "If we're talking about hatred, it should have ended when the Zhang family was massacred."

Not only Zhou Shuren didn't understand, people in the entire capital city didn't understand. Ever since the fire started, they had sent people to inquire.

When several princes learned that the prince was coming in person, they came in person.

The prince that the prince found in the teahouse, the prince did not waste words, "Father's order?"