Jia Lian took on the attitude of being late for work in his previous life and ran all the way to the back door of Rongguo Mansion.
Xing'er had already followed his instructions before leaving the house and had separated the two young men who were staying at the back door for the night. He was anxiously waiting for Jia Lian by the door.
As soon as he heard someone double-clicking the door panel four times outside, Xing'er knew that the person coming was Jia Lian, so he quickly opened the door quietly without asking.
Jia Lian just whispered "Good boy" and ran away again.
Xing'er used to help Jia Lian with some personal things, but the second master Lian, who was always famous for his lust, couldn't help but go out and steal something.
At this moment, seeing him running back wildly without even wearing a coat, he chuckled: This must have been an affair, and he must have been bumped into by another man when he came back.
Patting the money in his arms, Xing'er felt very proud;
Since the two boys last night took the opportunity to gamble, there is no need to share even one penny of the two taels of silver given by the second master today. It all belongs to you, Mr. Xing!
Jia Lian had just returned to the study and was still breathing. He was wiping his face with a handkerchief when he heard someone outside the yard rushing to report:
"Second Master and Second Grandma, it's terrible, the Tianxiang Building in Dongfu is on fire!
Butler Lai over there sent someone to say that Uncle Zhen was also injured and asked the second master to come and help."
Jia Lian let out a sigh of relief:
What a blessing! If I came back a little later, it would be hard to explain where I had gone in the middle of the night.
He deliberately asked in shock:
"It's not bad! Can the fire be saved?"
I picked up a coat and put it on myself, opened the door and left the house.
Sister Feng also woke up and asked loudly in the main room:
"Did anyone get hurt? Did you lose anything?"
Jia Lian said to Sister Feng through the window:
"You're not feeling well. It's important to rest first. I'll go over to Dongfu to see for myself now."
Ping'er immediately came out of the house, holding a big cloak in his hand, and rushed over to put it on Jia Lian:
"Second Grandma is afraid that Second Master will lose his clothes in a hurry."
Then he whispered in Jia Lian’s ear:
"The second grandma asked me to remind the second master that not everything they do may come to light, and the second master should be aware of it."
Jia Lian felt warm in her heart, gently squeezed Ping'er's hand, and whispered:
"I accept your love from both of you."
.
Jia Lian immediately ordered Lai Da to take the dragon chariot from Rongguo Mansion, and the group rushed to Ningguo Mansion.
Jia Zhen was injured, and Jia Rong, the little outcast, was used to being a coward. It was Jia Lian who took command. In addition to putting out fires, he also had to keep a close eye on the door to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation to rob or steal.
Fortunately, the fire in the isolated garden of Tianxiang Tower did not affect the other houses in Ningguo Mansion. Everyone worked together to put out the fire, and finally the fire was gradually extinguished, and only the second floor and above of Tianxiang Tower were burned.
Jia Lian called Lai Da and Lai Er, the two housekeepers, and took people to check the cause of the fire. Sure enough, not long after, his two brothers came back with pale faces, reporting that the fire was caused by the candles in Tianxiang Tower, and they also found a body.
The charred corpse could no longer identify the male or female, so he asked Jia Lian if he wanted to report it to the official.
Jia Lian sneered in his heart:
Humph, report to the official? I'm afraid that what Jia Zhen is most worried about at this time is the report to the official. If he allows Zuo to check carefully and ask about the situation of everyone in the house, then he will really end up in a bad way.
At this time, the treating doctor said that Jia Zhen had regained consciousness, and Jia Lian hurried over, leaving only one sentence:
"This matter must be decided by Uncle Zhen himself."
.
Jia Zhen was seriously injured. After waking up, she was still confused for a while. When she heard about the fire in Tianxiang Tower and the discovery of the charred corpse, her face changed greatly with shock.
Jia Rong, on the other hand, followed behind with his head lowered and said nothing, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
Jia Zhen ignored him and asked everyone to leave, leaving Jia Lian alone to discuss.
He was dizzy and couldn't get up, so he pulled Jia Lian to sit on his bed and asked anxiously:
"Lian Er, did you see Brother Rong's daughter-in-law when you came in?"
Jia Lian cursed in his heart: This pervert would not delay his estrus even after being beaten to death!
But there was only a puzzled look on his face:
"I didn't see her today, I only saw Brother Rong here. I think she is still in her room and it is inconvenient to see people. Brother Zhen, don't worry. I will ask Brother Rong to go and have a look."
Jia Zhen grabbed Jia Lian's arm and said in a low voice:
"Wait!
I'm worried that the person burned to death in Tianxiang Tower is Brother Rong's daughter-in-law."
Jia Lian shook his head deliberately:
"Brother Zhen is worrying too much.
What are Brother Rong and his daughter-in-law doing at Tianxiang Tower in the middle of the night?
I think it's not necessarily a little girl in the house who went to Tianxiang Tower to steal something at night and knocked over the candle.
Should I report it to the official and ask for help to check it? I'm still waiting for Brother Zhen to make the final decision."
Jia Zhen covered her head and was silent for a long time before letting out a long sigh:
"Lian Er, you don't know something.
Tonight, I had some disagreements with your sister-in-law Zhen, so I sent her home angrily. I was so upset that I kicked out all the servants.
It happened that Brother Errong also had a quarrel with his wife today, and he moved out to live in the study out of anger.
Feeling depressed, I went for a walk in the garden and saw Brother Rong's daughter-in-law going up to Tianxiang Tower alone from a distance. I didn't pay much attention to it, but when I turned back, there was a fire on Tianxiang Tower. I wanted to go up and have a look at Brother Rong.
Was my daughter-in-law upstairs? She ran too fast and fell down.
Lian Er, I'm worried that Brother Rong's daughter-in-law accidentally spilled a candle on Tianxiang Tower and died... like that."
Jia Lian mentally pointed his finger at himself:
Come on! Second Master Lian is a man of gods! Zhuge’s calculations back then were nothing more than this!
He had known for a long time that Jia Zhen had evil intentions, so he would definitely find a lot of reasons on his own and believe that the charred corpse was Qin Keqing. A big quilt covered everything.
Jia Lian deliberately frowned and shook his head:
"Oh, there are some unexplainable troubles here."
Jia Zhen was so anxious that she beat the bed repeatedly with her hands and sighed:
"Alas - my family is unfortunate, my family is unfortunate.
If such a troublesome thing happens, if the newspaper officials break it down, they can find out clearly, but outsiders do not know the details and make rash guesses, not to mention how much gossip will be caused."
Jia Lian was waiting for his words, so he followed his words and said:
"Brother Zhen is right. This fire and the loss of life are already a lot of trouble, so we should not cause more trouble."
Jia Zhen saw that she had persuaded Jia Lian, and further lured Jia Lian into the trap:
"It's just... I just have to give the Qin family an explanation."
Jia Lian was confident, but shook his head and waved his hands:
"What can the Qin family do? There is only one poor official in the capital. The elders in the family and the younger ones may not be able to cause trouble. Give him a few more taels of silver and he will have everything."
When Jia Zhen saw that Jia Lian had indeed fallen into the trap, she quickly took advantage of the situation and threw this hot potato into Jia Lian's arms:
"Good brother, you are always the best at getting things done, so I will leave it to you to help me handle this matter. I beg you to help me get it right.
As long as you go along with it, brother, I will remember your kindness all my life, and I will definitely repay you well in the future."
Jia Zhen's heart was in turmoil. Seeing that Jia Lian agreed with great embarrassment, she was afraid that he was unwilling to try his best to appease the Qin family and was unable to figure out how to sell him a good deal first.
Jia Lian saw the timing and said:
"Brother Zhen, there are a lot of things happening in your house now, and there is no one who can handle them neatly.
I think it’s better to ask the guy in my room to come over and cook for you.”