Chapter 99 Wu Chuang set fire and fled; the government issued a warrant for his arrest.
The people in the main hall had not inhaled the sleeping gas. When they heard someone shout that there was a fire, they were instantly awakened. Before they even opened their eyes, they rushed out without even having time to take their bags.
"Fire! Help! Run! Water! Quick, get water to put out the fire..."
"Ah! Help! Fire! Someone, please help!"
"I'm on fire, I'm burning up, ahhh... Help! Someone help me..."
Old Liao, along with several escorts and people from the Third Prince's residence, rested in a side room on the second floor.
The heart-wrenching wailing downstairs woke them up.
Old Liao quickly opened his eyes, opened the window, and saw a ball of fire shooting upwards, igniting his eyebrows. Damn it, this was a real emergency! Where did the fire come from? If too many prisoners died, he would be incompetent, and the guards would lose their heads.
Even after extinguishing the fire on his eyebrows, half of them were still burned, and a burnt smell wafted over.
"Damn it! If I find out who did this, I'll kill him!" Old Liao cursed as he directed the retreat. "The fire isn't too big now, get downstairs quickly, don't take anything, escaping is the priority..."
Seeing that Yun Jiaoyue and the other women were dawdling and trying to take things, he decided to ignore them and led the guards down the street.
The third prince was still wearing his inner garment. He hurriedly put on his outer garment and the guards escorted him as he rushed downstairs.
Yun Jiaoyue and her two concubines saw him run away alone with his guards, and they chased after him downstairs, calling out, "Your Highness, Your Highness..."
The group rushed out, then remembered that their belongings were still inside. They wanted to rush back in but were afraid of dying, so they paced around in a panic.
How will we live without money?
They'll die if they eat cornbread every day.
"Quickly, fetch water to put out the fire! Get water to put out the fire! Hurry!"
"There's no water to drink, so where will we get water to put out the fire?"
"My bundle, I haven't even taken it yet, my silver, my banknotes..."
...
Old Liao rushed out and discovered that the fire was being blown in by the wind from the left wing.
The area connected to the main hall is charred. The fire isn't big now, but the people inside heard cries for help from outside, and no one came out. There's only one possibility: they're dead.
Old Liao quickly told the escorts to go in and see if there were any survivors.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the sky above the post station, followed by a light drizzle, then a torrential downpour, which quickly extinguished the fire.
Everyone got soaked and quickly went inside to take shelter from the rain.
Several guards entered the left wing and found that the people inside were unconscious but still breathing and alive. They also saw a hole poked in the door and immediately realized that they had been drugged with sleeping powder and had passed out.
They'll wake up tomorrow, so just let them sleep and ignore them.
Those in the main hall had just stepped one foot into the grave, and even after returning, they couldn't sleep.
Old Liao thought the prisoners had escaped and wanted to set fire to destroy the evidence. He counted the number of people, and all the prisoners were there. In the end, he found that the guards were missing.
Wu Chuang has disappeared!
Old Liao berated the guards who were sharing a room with Wu Chuang tonight, "Are you all dead pigs sharing a room with Wu Chuang? Didn't you notice he's missing? If he's given us all sleeping pills, we're all going to die here tonight."
Everyone else was fast asleep and unaware of what was happening, except for one guard who scratched his head, trying to recall what had happened the night before.
He said loudly, "Uncle Liao, I remember now. I was half asleep when my foot was bumped. I thought someone had accidentally bumped into me while sleeping. I also thought I saw a dark shadow. I opened the door and went out, but I thought I was dreaming and didn't take it seriously, so I went back to sleep."
Upon hearing this, everyone knew that Wu Chuang had set the fire to burn them to death.
The crowd was so angry that they started cursing.
"That damned, vicious constable actually set fire to try and burn us all to death. We have no grudge against him, why would he do such a cruel thing?"
"If I ever see him, I'll beat him to death. He made me choke on the sleeping gas, cough cough cough..."
...
Liao sent someone to report to the nearby government office, issuing an arrest warrant for Wu Chuang on charges of arson and murder.
Everyone in the left wing was sleeping soundly.
When Xiao Xuanwu woke up, he was shocked and excited to find that his wounds had scabbed over. Before going to bed, he was worried that he would be a burden to his family if he couldn't walk the next day.
"Third sister-in-law, my injury..."
Yun Zhaoxue interrupted him, "You're young, your wounds will heal quickly."
Xiao Xuanwu instantly understood that she didn't want anyone to mention that mysterious water.
He immediately knelt down and kowtowed to her to express his gratitude, saying, "Third sister-in-law, you have saved me twice. I will never forget your life-saving grace. From now on, my life belongs to you. I will serve you like an ox or a horse and repay you with my life."
Yun Zhaoxue said calmly, "Get up. I just don't want you to be a burden to me."
"No, Third Sister-in-law, I know that's not what you really think. You're kind-hearted and a good person."
"Stop! I don't like it when people say I'm kind or a good person. Get up."
She doesn't care about being a "nice guy." Some people, once you save them, everyone will know you saved them.
She saves people based on her mood. Xiao Xuanwu is a young man of principle who protects his family even at the risk of being beaten himself, and she admires him greatly.
Yang helped her youngest son up from the ground. "Xiao Wu, you must remember the life-saving grace of your third sister-in-law. You must repay her properly when you have the chance in the future."
"Yes, Mother."
Xiao Xuance folded the straw mat and blanket and put them in the cart. Just as he finished, the sound of gongs rang out outside.
"Bang bang bang!!"
"Get up, get up, come out and line up."
"Achoo, achoo..."
Most of the people in the group were sneezing and sniffling, hissing and hissing...
The four members of the Xiao family had whip marks on their bodies, so they dared not move too quickly to arouse suspicion. They deliberately slowed down and waited until the other two families inside had finished getting ready and gone out to line up before they followed behind.
They were almost the last to arrive.
The people in the main hall couldn't sleep in the latter half of the night and waited in the courtyard early in the morning.
When Madam Shen saw them arrive late, she sneered, "Knowing that your whole family is old, disabled, sick, and weak, why didn't you pack up earlier and make us all wait for you? Don't you have any shame?"
Yang replied, "We started packing as soon as we heard the constables banging the gong, and we arrived within the stipulated time without delaying anything."
"Everyone else has arrived, but your family is the slowest. If you could have arrived earlier, you could have set off earlier and rested earlier at noon."
Yun Zhaoxue felt bad thinking about letting the Shen family go yesterday, and now that she had delivered herself to their doorstep, it was just in time.
"The police didn't say we were late, so who do you think you are? You're just asking for a beating, so I'll grant your wish."
He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed her by the collar, and slapped her across the face. "Smack!"
Another slap followed, "Smack!"
"ah!"
Madam Shen raised her hand and grabbed her neck. "If you dare to hit me, I'll fight you to the death."
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