Chapter 238 Fire
Xia Ruwan stayed overnight at the Tang family. Everyone in the Tang family welcomed her warmly and wanted to put all the delicious food in front of her.
As Qin Huiyin's partner and little sister, the Tang family had many opportunities to spend time with her. Seeing her skinny, everyone felt a little distressed.
Xia Ruwan had long known that Qin Huiyin was a good cook, but she was still amazed when she tasted the various delicacies she made.
After dinner, she watched the Tang family playing Mahjong, and she was attracted to it and followed them to learn. At the beginning, Qin Huiyin helped her explain the rules and give her advice, but after three or five games, she, the military advisor, was no longer useful.
In the battles with Li Taohua, Tang Sanye, and Xiang Chuntao, Xia Ruwan lost more than she won. As for the reason, Qin Huiyin knew it all.
At night, Qin Huiyin and Xia Ruwan lay in the same bed. Xia Ruwan fell asleep holding Qin Huiyin.
The Tang family had an extra guest room, but Xia Ruwan wanted to sleep in the same bed with Qin Huiyin. Everyone knew that she was worried, so of course they didn't object and let Shuhui live in the guest room.
In the next few days, Qin Huiyin took her to all kinds of fun things in the countryside, and also prepared various delicious foods for her to nourish her body.
After playing for a few days, Xia Ruwan gained some weight and a smile appeared on her face. She said goodbye to everyone in the Tang family and planned to go back to continue facing her own ending.
Qin Huiyin prepared a lot of food for her and asked her to eat well when she returned.
Xia Ruwan looked at this warm little home and said, "I will come again, please don't think I'm annoying."
"I hate you, I really hate you. Don't be this thin next time you come, or I won't let you in." Qin Huiyin leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, "If your scumbag father doesn't listen, just kick him out. Don't be soft-hearted."
Xia Ruwan nodded heavily: "You are right."
The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the village. The sound was getting closer and closer, and it seemed to be heading towards the Tang family.
When Xia Ruwan heard the sound of horse hooves, she asked the coachman to wait a little longer, to avoid their carriage colliding with the horses that were about to pass by on the country road. They would continue on their journey after the horses had left.
Xia Ruwan and Qin Huiyin were chatting with each other as best friends, and the horse stopped.
The man on horseback was still an old acquaintance of theirs.
"Brother Gong Qi." Qin Huiyin was surprised, "Why are you here?"
Gong Qi looked at Xia Ruwan with a complicated expression: "Miss Xia, please go back to the city quickly. Something happened in your family."
"What's wrong with my family?" Xia Ruwan looked unhappy.
"There was a big fire in your house, and many people were burned to death. As for the others, you will know when you go back and take a look."
"My mother..." Xia Ruwan's knees went weak and she almost fell down. Fortunately, Qin Huiyin next to her reacted in time and supported her.
"Your mother is still alive, but she was burned." Gong Qi said.
Qin Huiyin was worried and said to Xia Ruwan, "I'll go back with you."
Xia Ruwan is now extremely confused, and holding Qin Huiyin's hand is like holding a life-saving straw.
Song Ruize came over, holding a cloak in his hand, draped it over Qin Huiyin, and said, "I'll accompany you."
After the incident in Xiazhuang, Boss Ning went to inquire about the situation and met the injured Mrs. Xia. Mrs. Xia knew that Boss Ning had close contacts with the Tang family, so she asked him to send someone to the Tang family to find Xia Ruwan and bring her back. Gong Qi was most familiar with the people of the Tang family and had been to the village several times, so this task naturally fell on him.
Gong Qi completed his mission and rode back to the city.
Everyone in the Tang family told Qin Huiyin to take care of herself and comforted Xia Ruwan.
Li Taohua took out two bundles and stuffed them all into Song Ruize.
"Such a big thing happened to the Xia family. I don't know how long you will stay in the city. Here are some spare clothes for you. One package is for you and the other is for Yinyin. Keep them all." Li Taohua said, "This package contains the clothes I made myself. I don't know if they will fit you. If they don't, buy two sets of clothes that do fit in the city. I will modify the ones that don't fit when the time comes. Or if you don't like them, you can give them to someone else to wear."
Li Taohua felt a little awkward when she showed her kindness to Song Ruize for the first time. It was rare for her to show shyness as she was always very outspoken.
"Thank you." Song Ruize carried the bag with mixed feelings.
The carriage left.
Song Ruize sat outside with the coachman.
Qin Huiyin and Shuhui accompanied Xia Ruwan.
A few hours later, the carriage drove back to the city.
By this time, the New Year has passed, and many vendors have resumed their business and started to work hard for the new year. Some wealthy families do not want to work hard these days and are still taking a break.
Many people gathered near Xiazhuang.
The driver drove the carriage and shouted: "Make way, the carriage is coming."
"That's the Xia family's carriage." Someone in the crowd said.
"I heard that Miss Xia went to the countryside to visit Mr. Qin to wish him a happy new year a few days ago, and she was not in Xiazhuang. Fortunately, she was not there. If she was, she would inevitably get hurt."
"If such a beautiful girl had a scar, it would be hard for her to get married. But now, I am fine."
"How could there be a fire in such a cold day? Even if there was a fire, it shouldn't have burned so fast that so many maids and servants were burned to death. Fortunately, a servant rushed in and rescued Madam Xia at the risk of death, otherwise Madam Xia would have died in there too."
"The government is already investigating. How can ordinary people like us know what's going on in the rich and powerful's dens?"
As soon as the Xia family's carriage stopped, a government official came over. That person was also an acquaintance, Captain Feng.
"Brother Feng." Qin Huiyin called him sweetly. "Sister Xia has been at my house. I don't know what happened. Where is Madam Xia now?"
Captain Feng glanced at Song Ruize, the flower protector, and said to Qin Huiyin, "Madam Xia was hit by a fallen beam and her back was burned. She is now in the clinic."
Xia Ruwan looked at the ruined Xiazhuang and asked tremblingly, "How many people died?"
"Thirty-five slaves."
"Where is my father?"
"I don't know." Captain Feng shook his head. "We are searching for him."
"In this climate, even if there is a fire source, it is impossible to start a fire. Is this fire man-made?" Song Ruize said calmly, "Is Madam Xia sober? What do you say?"
"Mrs. Xia hasn't woken up yet," Captain Feng said. "However, the housekeeper of Xia Manor said he heard Mrs. Xia and Mr. Xia arguing, and then Mr. Xia went out to drink and never came back. They slept very soundly that day, and when he woke up, the fire was already very big. He called for help everywhere, but 35 people still died."
Captain Feng didn't reveal too much information, but from just a few words, he understood many problems. First, the missing Master Xia never came back, even after such a big incident, he was nowhere to be seen. Second, they were not sleeping normally. If the housekeeper hadn't woken up quickly, I'm afraid more people would have died, or even the whole army would have been wiped out.
"Sister Wan'er, let's go see your mother first, and leave the investigation of the case to the government!" Qin Huiyin said gently to Xia Ruwan.
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