Everyone had no choice but to obey Han Yong's order and rushed to the fire scene to try to put out the fire. However, the fire was too strong, and they only poured a few buckets of water symbolically, which did not help at all. They watched the fire completely burn the entire warehouse until it burned to the ground.
At noon, the entire north warehouse was burned to a white ground.
Gu Qian arrived at the manor at noon. At this time, Beicang was already in ruins. Gu Qian inspected the scene with a livid face. After listening to the reports from Lu Fang and others, he left more than ten nursing staff he brought to take over the manor.
Strictly guard the remaining warehouses. He also ordered everyone to stay in the manor and not move without permission, waiting for summons.
In the late afternoon, they took Lu Fang and other stewards and servants back to Wujun County. As soon as they entered the east gate, dozens of guards from the tribe rushed towards them under the leadership of Gu Chang.
"Uncle, you came back just in time. The master of the family learned about what happened at East Lake Manor and specially ordered me to invite you to meet him at Mingjie Hall." Gu Chang came forward and stood beside Gu Qian's mule cart and said loudly.
Gu Qian lifted the car curtain, looked at Gu Chang and the guardians behind him, and said coldly: "Ming Jie Hall?"
"Exactly. The head of the family said that such a big thing has happened, and the culprit must be interrogated in the Mingjie Hall and punished. I specifically asked my uncle to escort the relevant people for interrogation." Gu Chang looked complacent, with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Since the head of the family invited me, why did you bring so many troops to protect the courtyard? Did the head of the house ask you to bring these people?" Gu Qian said in a deep voice.
Buqu is different from Huyuan. The Buqu of a big family are actually private soldiers maintained by the family. In other dynasties, they might be beheaded for this, but in the Jin Dynasty, this was a privilege allowed by law.
It is not a big deal for a large family to have the power to support a private tribe and protect the interests of the family. However, it is a big deal for the tribe to mobilize. Mobilizing the tribe to take action means that the situation is serious. It requires the permission of the family head and important people in the family.
. So Gu Qian has this question.
Of course, at the same time, he was also dissatisfied with the overwhelming situation.
Gu Chang was obviously aware of this and said hurriedly: "Uncle, I brought these Buqu men just in case. I originally wanted to go to East Lake Manor to see my uncle, but the situation in East Lake Manor must be very chaotic now, so Buqu went there
It’s also a way to control the situation. That’s what I meant, not what he meant.”
Gu Qian said coldly: "That's it. But it's not necessary. East Lake Manor has been taken over by my Nanzhai Nursing Home, and the relevant people have followed me back to the city. The tenant farmers are staying in the manor to await the summons. But this matter is probably related to
They have nothing to do with it. Don't change the group easily, as it will make people think that something big has happened to my Gu family. Withdraw immediately, and I will go see the head of the family."
Gu Chang nodded in agreement and sneered in his heart: "Isn't this a big deal? It's impossible to withdraw the song. I'm going to escort you. This time you can't scold me casually. This time you have to
It’s over.”
When Gu Qian arrived at Mingjie Hall, Gu Chun was already sitting behind the table in Mingjie Hall. He was sitting on a Shougong chair, which was a large mahogany chair made by Gu Qian according to the drawings drawn by Li Hui.
Specially given to the owner of the house.
Gu Chun closed his eyes to rest, but his eyeballs were rolling under his eyelids. He was holding two jade balls in his hands and was playing with them.
"Dong Weng is here!" someone shouted outside the long gate.
Gu Chun's eyes opened a slit, and a sharp gaze that was extremely inconsistent with his withered face and body suddenly appeared, but was quickly hidden. He sat up straight, with a smile on his lips.
Gu Qian walked slowly into the Mingjie Hall, bowed his hands and said, "Qianzhi has met the master of the family."
Gu Chun nodded and smiled: "Qianzhi is here, sit down."
Someone brought the maza and put it aside, but Gu Qian did not sit down. He said in a deep voice: "Master, the matter of East Lake Manor... the master already knows about it. Qianzhi should report the situation to the master."
Gu Chun glanced at Gu Qian, sighed and said, "How is the situation? Come and listen."
Gu Qian said: "There was a fire in the manor and a granary was burned down. According to reports, there were five thousand dan of newly harvested millet inside."
"Five thousand stones? What a big loss." Gu Chun raised his eyebrows and said. He was not too surprised because he had already received the report and knew the amount.
"Yes. The loss is huge." Gu Qian said.
"Five thousand stones...that's...enough to feed hundreds of people for a year. What's more, at this time of year, why are you so careless?" Gu Chun sighed.
Gu Qian was silent.
"What happened? Why did the fire happen? Was it man-made or a natural fire? This matter must be clarified. At this time, such a thing happening is by no means a trivial matter. We must investigate and get to the bottom of it. Those responsible...
We must not tolerate it." Gu Chun said solemnly.
Gu Qian bowed and said: "The reason is not clear yet, Qianzhi is investigating the matter. The relevant people have been brought back to the city, and inquiries have not yet begun."
Gu Chun said: "Okay, let's get started. I will ask about this matter with you. You must ask clearly."
Gu Qian said slowly: "Okay. However, the master of the house is ill, so there is no need to work hard."
Gu Chun said loudly: "Qianzhi, don't you realize the seriousness of this matter? When I heard the news, I almost fainted from anger. When has such a serious accident happened to my Gu family? That's five thousand
Stone rice. Moreover, military rations will be allocated and transported to the army soon. I am worried about how to make up for the insufficient amount of military rations. I am about to spend a lot of money to buy it from another county. But who knows, a fire breaks out in the backyard and burns five more
Qianshi, you...you still seem to be indifferent? It's really...puzzling."
Gu Qian sighed and said in a deep voice: "Patriarch, please calm down, Qianzhi is not indifferent. Hey, let's start asking. Do you want Qianzhi to ask, the master of the family?"
Gu Chun said coldly: "I'll ask you personally. I won't bother you."
Gu Qian nodded and said: "Yes."
Gu Chun raised his eyes and looked at the people standing high and low in the hall, and said loudly: "Han Yong, the manager of the South House, came up to speak."
Han Yong hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Han Yong is here."
Gu Chun shouted in a deep voice: "Han Yong, as the manager of Nanzhao, you cannot absolve yourself of the blame for the fire in the manor. If you don't blame it from the truth, how did the fire start? Why did no one find out? What happened?
Serious consequences? Say it! There must be no cover-up."
Han Yong kowtowed repeatedly and shouted: "Master, please calm down and don't let your anger hurt your body. It's not a pity for Yong's death, the health of the family leader is important. Whatever happened here, Yong Yong must report everything in detail and don't dare to hide anything."
"
"Hurry up and say it!" Gu Chun shouted.
"Yes. The thing is like this. Yesterday was the end of the autumn harvest. For more than half a month, the people on the manor worked hard under the stars and the moon, and finally all the new grains were returned to the warehouse. Thinking of the hard work of the people, I made some wine and meat yesterday.
Reward them..."
"Drinking to celebrate? Humph! You dare to let them drink? No wonder something happened." Gu Chun said coldly.
"Master, this matter was reported to Dong Weng. If you don't believe me, ask Dong Weng. Dong Weng nodded, Yongzhi dared to do this. Speaking of which, Yongzhi also didn't think carefully and shouldn't have made this suggestion. I just thought that everyone
It has been too hard for the children for more than half a month, so I just rewarded them while the harvest was over. I didn't expect... ugh!" Han Yong said with a sad face.
Gu Chun frowned and looked at Gu Qian. Gu Qian said in a deep voice: "Master, this matter has indeed been approved by me. After the autumn harvest, it is customary to hold a banquet to reward the tenant farmers and the people below. Besides, if the matter has not been found out, it may not be possible.
The fire was caused by drinking alcohol."
Gu Chun sneered and said to Han Yong: "Keep talking."
Han Yong nodded and said: "Actually, Dong Weng is right. It was the same in previous years, and nothing happened. Yongzhi also said hello beforehand, don't drink too much, and you must not miss anything. Yongzhi also specially warned the people who watch the night.
Don't drink too much, and patrol well at night. But who would have expected such a big thing. The fire started without any warning. When it was discovered, the fire was already on the roof, and there was no way to save it. All we could do was let everyone
People guarded other warehouses and could not let the fire spread. Fortunately, it did not affect other warehouses."
Gu Chun shouted: "You said there were no signs? Could it be that the warehouse caught fire on its own? There was no thunder last night and it was still raining lightly. Could it be that there was a ghost?"
Han Yong whispered: "What the head of the family said is that this is a place that is incredible. What is even more incredible is that after the incident, several people were missing from the manor. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find them."
Gu Chun leaned over and stared at him: "Who is missing?"
Han Yong glanced at Gu Qian and said softly: "At this point, Yongzhi can only tell the truth. Dongweng, such a big thing happened, Yongzhi can't protect that guy anymore. Please forgive me, Dongweng."
Gu Qian frowned and said, "Han Yong, what do you mean by this? Could it be that I want you to protect someone? You know everything and tell me everything. You can hide nothing in front of the head of the family."
Han Yong said hurriedly: "Dong Weng agreed, so Yongzhi told me everything. The head of the family, the missing ones are Li Hui, the deputy manager of the south house, and several guards of the south house. The head of the house should remember Li Hui, who was the one who irrigated the fields in the East Lake Manor last time, and predicted
It's going to rain, and the boy from the Li family who almost wiped out the entire East Lake Manor is Lanzhi's son."
Gu Chun said in surprise: "Is it him? When did he become the deputy steward?"
Gu Qian said solemnly from the side: "Master, Qian was appointed because he contributed water to the East Lake Manor for irrigation. He felt that he had some abilities, so he was promoted to take charge of some matters as a reward."
Gu Chun nodded and said to Han Yong: "Then Li Hui and several nursing staff suddenly disappeared?"
Han Yong said: "Exactly. They were still there last night. They were responsible for patrolling and protecting the manor at night. When they were drinking last night, Yongzhi also reminded Li Hui specifically, telling him not to take it lightly and patrol carefully at night. He also called
After receiving the guarantee, he said that there would be absolutely no mistakes. At a glance, Li Hui was a person that Dong Weng valued highly, so he naturally did his best to repay Dong Weng's trust. But now that he thought about it, they probably didn't perform their duties at all last night.
Otherwise, how could they not have noticed when the fire broke out at night?"
Gu Chun said coldly: "These slaves must be lazy. They are to blame."
Han Yong said: "Master, after discovering the fire early in the morning, Yongzhi went to question them. As a result, they were all gone. A bullock cart was also missing. Yongzhi immediately understood that this matter was probably related to them. They
He must have known that he could not escape the blame, so he took advantage of the chaos and ran away."
Gu Chun cursed angrily: "You dog slave, you want to run away? Where can you run? I will order someone to inform Lu Envoy soon and ask him to issue a wanted notice and inform the surrounding counties to assist in the arrest. He must be captured and brought to justice."
Han Yong said: "Master, actually Yongzhi has another guess, I don't know whether to talk about it or not."