Chapter 11 Fire Leaves Houses Devastated and People Perish "Miss, something has happened to the Chi family..."
On a dark and windy night, people who had worked all day went to sleep early. All around was quiet, and no one noticed a burst of light coming from the Chi family's house.
After being blown by the wind, the fire is showing signs of turning into a raging inferno.
The fire slowly started in the main house of the Chi family, and in the blink of an eye, thick smoke billowed and flames soared into the sky.
The observation platform, located high in the middle of the city, spotted a fire in Lane 9 and immediately reported it down. The auxiliary soldiers quickly led their men to put out the fire.
Those who are light sleepers in Lane 9 already sensed something was wrong. When they were woken up by the smoke, they didn't care about anything else and quickly woke up their family members.
"The fire has started! The fire has started!"
At the same time, he banged on the copper basin in the house to make noise and wake up more people.
"Everyone, come quickly and put out the fire!"
The people who woke up in the ninth alley spontaneously brought out their own wooden buckets or basins to put out the fire.
Everyone rushed to fetch water from the river and poured it into the Chi family's house to put out the fire, one bucket after another, like fish in a line.
Fortunately, the Chi family lived right by the water.
It is also very convenient to put out fires.
However, the Chi family's house had been burned beyond recognition. The roof beams were blackened with charcoal, and the rest of the house had been reduced to ashes. The fire had also spread to the side rooms, and it was likely that the people inside were in grave danger.
Everyone couldn't help but feel sorry for Chi Yanzhou, the talented son of the Chi family.
Only after the fire was extinguished somewhat did some strong men dare to rush into the side room to check if anyone was still alive.
After pouring a bucket of water over himself, the burly man wiped his face and rushed into the side room.
Is anyone there? Is anyone still online?
The burly man searched and shouted while covering his mouth and nose with his hand. The house was blackened by smoke, and it was stuffy and smelly.
Moreover, his vision was limited at night, so he first checked the side that was burning more badly.
Chi Yanzhou's bed was behind the burly man.
The burly man shouted again, "Is anyone there? If not, I'm leaving."
Chi Yanzhou was knocked unconscious by the thick smoke in his sleep. His consciousness remained hazy, and he could vaguely hear noises around him, but he couldn't wake up no matter what he did.
Until someone broke in.
Chi Yanzhou struggled to regain consciousness. He didn't want to die; a powerful will to live made him gasp for breath and let out a weak, hoarse cry: "There...there's someone, please...save me!"
Chi Yanzhou tried his best to raise his hand, but he couldn't lift it at all; it kept trembling by the bedside.
Hearing the weak sound, the burly man turned his head and saw the small bed he had overlooked. By the light of the fire outside, he saw Chi Yanzhou on the bed, hurriedly ran over, picked up Chi Yanzhou, and rushed out.
"There are still survivors. Brother Yanzhou is still alive. Is there a doctor here?"
The burly man placed Chi Yanzhou on the street outside the Chi family's house and asked if anyone there was a doctor.
No one responded to him; most of the people in Jiuxiang went to Huichuntang, three streets away, for medical treatment.
By this time, most of the fire at the Chi family's house had been extinguished. Apart from the firefighters, the other neighbors who were watching the commotion advised him to quickly take the person to the hospital.
The strong man who saved the person was a kind-hearted man from Jiuxiang, and was known as Brother Shui.
He dared not delay any longer and quickly carried Chi Yanzhou to the nearby Huichuntang.
After he left, the others continued to put out the fire, and by the time the auxiliary soldiers arrived, the fire was already extinguished.
Fortunately, the fire was discovered in time, and no other houses besides the Chi family's were on fire.
Everyone was wondering how a fire could have started out of nowhere.
Some people wanted to go inside the Chi family compound, but the auxiliary soldiers had already surrounded it and started urging them to leave.
"It's so late, everyone go back to sleep. We'll be guarding this place."
The crowd dispersed, leaving the Chi family's home in a state of chaos...
The auxiliary soldiers are inspecting the houses that were burned the most severely, investigating the cause of the fire.
Soon, the auxiliary soldiers discovered that the fire was caused by a candlestick falling over by the bed, which ignited the bed curtains and caused the fire.
They also found Chi's mother lying on the ground. Feeling sorry for her, they covered her with a white cloth and then carried her to the mortuary for safekeeping.
The only victim of the fire was Chi's mother.
——
The next morning, the rooster crowed early.
Xiao Ling, the maid sent by Cui Fuyu to serve the Chi family, was happily bringing breakfast to the Chi family when she noticed something was wrong on the bridge and quickly ran over.
The scene of devastation before my eyes was too painful to look at.
The Chi family's house wasn't big enough for her to stay in, and Chi Yanzhou was kind enough to let her go back to the villa for the night. So she left as evening approached and went back the next day.
Xiaoling walked anxiously to the neighbor's house, knocked on the door, pointed to the Chi family's house, and asked, "Auntie, do you know what happened to the Chi family?"
The old woman recognized the girl who served at the Chi family's house and said directly, "The Chi family's house was destroyed by fire. Last night, the fire alarmed the entire neighborhood."
"What happened to the Chi family?" Xiaoling pressed, "Did anyone survive? Or were they all...?"
Xiaoling didn't say anything more after that. Seeing how badly the Chi family's house was burned, it didn't seem like anyone could have survived.
She asked the old woman with the thought that no one else was alive.
Fortunately, the old lady's reply put her mind at ease.
The old woman told her that Young Master Chi was lucky to have been rescued and was being treated at Huichuntang ahead. She had to hurry back to tell her mistress about this, so she stuffed the food box in her hand into the old woman's hand as a thank you gift and ran off without looking back.
When the housekeeper saw Xiaoling return, he asked in surprise, "Xiaoling, why are you back?"
Xiaoling, without answering the butler, asked directly, "Where is Miss?"
She was panting heavily, covered in sweat, and anxiously grabbed the housekeeper, asking him questions.
The butler pointed to the garden: "They're feeding the koi. What's the matter that's causing such a commotion?"
Xiaoling didn't have time to explain to him and went straight to the garden.
In the garden, a group of koi carp chased each other, trying to eat the fish food that fell on the water's surface, afraid that if they were too slow, they would miss out.
Cui Fuyu slept soundly all night and is now smiling as she feeds the koi by the water, looking completely at ease.
Xiao Ling knelt down abruptly, filled with fear and unease: "Miss, something has happened to the Chi family."
Cui Fuyu was startled by the sudden appearance of Xiao Ling, and his face showed displeasure. He handed the fish food to the butler, straightened his sleeves, and then asked, "What happened to the Chi family?"
After calming down, Xiao Ling carefully chose her words and told Cui Fuyu everything she had found out, emphasizing Chi Yanzhou's matter according to the importance Cui Fuyu placed on it.
Cui Fuyu said, "Since the person is alright, it probably isn't too serious."
Cui Fuyu thought it was just a regular fire, and since Chi Yanzhou was unharmed, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Xiao Ling shook her head and said, "His mother is dead!"
Knowing how important Chi Yanzhou's mother was to him, Cui Fuyu frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Which clinic is he in? I'm going there now!"
This was a time when Chi Yanzhou was vulnerable, so she had to go and see him or keep him company.
When her carriage appeared at Huichuntang in the Ninth Alley, Cui Fuyu waited inside for Xiaoling to inquire about Chi Yanzhou's whereabouts.
When Xiaoling returned, she told her that Chi Yanzhou was not in the clinic.
She wondered: If Chi Yanzhou isn't here, where else could he be?
Is it the Chi family?
Cui Fuyu then ordered someone to drive a carriage to the Chi family, but he still did not see Chi Yanzhou.
Xiaoling went downstairs to ask the neighbors, and the old lady also said she hadn't seen Chi Yanzhou come back.
Chi Yanzhou could not be found anywhere. He had just survived a fire last night and was injured. He was neither at the Chi family home nor at the clinic. Where could he be?
Cui Fuyu thought about it carefully for a while, and suddenly thought of Chi's mother.
The government usually puts unattended corpses in mortuaries. The Chi family did not set up a mourning hall. The soldiers who put out the fire last night must have been there. Chi Yanzhou was sent to a clinic. So how will Chi's mother be taken care of?
Mortuary!
Chi Yanzhou is definitely in the mortuary now.
Cui Fuyu summoned the steward who had come with him and instructed him: "Go and find out which government office owns the mortuary in the ninth alley, then take my token and have the government office issue a document to claim it, and come to the mortuary to find me!"
As far as she knew, taking over a mortuary required paperwork; otherwise, the caretakers wouldn't let anyone take it away so easily.
Chi Yanzhou was in such a hurry that he probably didn't think he needed to get the paperwork done first, perhaps because he was in a bad mood.
The butler nodded and accepted the token, wondering who this Chi Yanzhou was and why his young mistress treated him so differently.
Cui Fuyu was somewhat worried about Chi Yanzhou's condition, so he went to the mortuary in Jiuxiang without stopping.
The carriage came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the mortuary.
A wisp of smoke drifted from the mortuary, and the surrounding area was filled with the scent of incense and candles.
As soon as Cui Fuyu got off the carriage, he saw Chi Yanzhou looking completely lost and dejected.
His hair was a little messy, the hem of his robe was dirty, and his clothes were not as neat as before. He walked forward with a numb and mechanical expression.
He appeared rather thin, and the more you looked at him, the more fragmented he seemed.
Cui Fuyu felt a pang of heartache and thought: I understand the pain of losing a loved one; I imagine he must be heartbroken.
Cui Fuyu stepped forward and took Chi Yanzhou's hands. "Chi Lang, please accept my condolences. Let's go inside the carriage and have something to eat. I've had the steward prepare the documents."
Looking at the other man's red eyes, Cui Fuyu tidied his messy black hair: "It's good that you're alright. How could the Chi family suddenly have a fire?"
Chi Yanzhou stared blankly at her concern for him. This person, who was always strong in front of outsiders, felt a surge of bitterness well up in his heart, and tears welled up in his eyes.
In the blink of an eye, a tear fell, dripping onto the back of Cui Fuyu's hand, as if leaving a brand.
Seeing him like this, Cui Fuyu also felt bad.
She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, gently helped Chi Yanzhou into the carriage, and poured him a cup of hot tea.
“Chi Lang, if you don’t eat or drink, your mother will be sad. Besides, we still need to find out why the Chi family was burned down!”
Chi Yanzhou was somewhat moved and drank the tea in one gulp. He choked and coughed several times because he drank it too quickly.
Cui Fuyu gently patted his back: "Slow down, let me pour you another cup."
After drinking his second glass of water, Chi Yanzhou recalled whether there had been anything unusual last night. He shook his head and said, "The Chi family's house suddenly caught fire. I was not fully conscious at the time. I vaguely remember someone rushing in to save me. When I came to, I was already in the clinic. I have to ask the patrolling soldiers what they have to say."
The Chi family had lived peacefully in Lane 9 for years, always maintaining good relations with their neighbors and having no enemies. But the fire that broke out last night was indeed strange.
He doesn't have concrete evidence yet; it depends on what the officers and soldiers who patrolled last night and the auxiliary soldiers who went to put out the fire find out.
Cui Fuyu pondered for a moment: "Then maybe it really was just a random fire!"
After a long while, the steward who had gone to fetch the documents returned.
The butler stood by the carriage window and respectfully handed over the token and documents in his hand: "Miss, you have received the things. The yamen said that the fire at the Chi family's house was an accident. The fire started when a candlestick by the bed fell over, which caused the fire."
The steward recounted the information he had obtained from the government office.
After Cui Fuyu took the items from the carriage window, he handed the documents to Chi Yanzhou.
After hearing this, Chi Yanzhou's chest heaved violently, and he shook his head, trembling all over: "Impossible, impossible! I clearly blew out the candlestick by my mother's bed before I left, how could it still catch fire?"
Chi Yanzhou clearly remembered that he had extinguished the candlesticks before he left, so this was deliberate, and someone wanted to harm his family!
He became even more agitated at this point, and tears streamed down his face like broken pearls.
Cui Fuyu sighed softly, wiping away his tears with a handkerchief as she tried to calm him down: "Let's go to the Chi family later to see if the murderer left any clues. The most important thing now is to take your mother back and settle her in!"
Chi Yanzhou nodded. The young lady was right. He had to find out the truth and make the murderer who harmed the Chi family pay for his crime in blood.
Chi Yanzhou alighted from the carriage, his fingers gripping the documents tightly, and entered the mortuary in grief.
——
At the Chi family's funeral hall, a small courtyard was set up with white banners hanging on both sides. Chi's mother's coffin was placed in the middle, and Chi Yanzhou knelt in front, throwing yellow paper money onto the brazier.
Funeral music played continuously, and those invited recited auspicious words, wishing Mother Chi good health and a life of wealth and honor in her next life…
After Chi Yanzhou's father passed away, he gradually lost contact with the rest of the Chi family, and his mother's relatives were far away.
Therefore, Chi Yanzhou was the only one left to keep vigil.
Only close neighbors came to offer their condolences.
Chi Yanzhou was worried that the funeral hall would cause trouble for the young lady, so he had her leave when they were at the mortuary.
Cui Fuyu instructed Xiaoling and the steward to stay and assist him, and then had the driver drive him back to the Cui residence!
After everyone had left, Chi Yanzhou, seeing that there was no one around, went alone to the main house and searched for clues among the ruins.
A moment later, he felt something hard on the ground!
Chi Yanzhou excitedly picked it up and wiped it clean; it was a token with a totem.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Me: Little Chi, endure the hardship first, we'll have some sweet moments in a couple of chapters... [doge emoji]
Chi Yanzhou: The young lady's gift (crying)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
