Bai Banxia didn't expect him to leave in such a hurry, but couldn't catch up. He simply stayed where he was and helped the lantern boss treat the wound on his hand. He asked someone for paper and pen and wrote a prescription for him.
On the other side, Qi Zhen reached a deserted place and called Po Lang to come out.
When he was just putting out the fire, he saw Po Lang disguised among the crowd.
"Tell me, is it Yin Shan who did it?" Qi Zhen's face was very cold, as if it was about to freeze.
"I don't know, do you need me to investigate?" Po Lang replied.
Qi Zhen stared at him and scrutinized him, "You were there just now and weren't involved?"
Po Lang showed a look of surprise, "My subordinates are my master's personal guards. I only obey my master's orders and will never be sent by anyone else."
Qi Zhen's expression softened, "I don't care how the two of you play, but I don't want to see anyone making fun of people's lives."
"I don't dare," Po Lang said.
Qi Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, "Go and find out who did it. If it's someone from Yin Shan, tell him. I hope it's the last time."
"Yes." Po Lang didn't say anything else, he accepted the order and disappeared into the night.
When they first put out the fire, Qi Zhen found some clues, such as kerosene, which should not appear on the lantern stalls and noodle stalls. It can be seen that someone did it deliberately.
But it was concealed, as if the fire was a natural disaster, and when combined with the previous earthquake, it could be said to be another divine punishment.
It is true that the current emperor has an unfair reputation, but if he wants to create public opinion among the people and cause casualties and losses to innocent people, what is the difference between killing his brother to seize the throne?
I hope it wasn't Yin Shan's fault, otherwise if he calls Po Lang to warn him, it won't be of much use.
After Bai Banxia wrote the prescription for the lantern stall owner and explained the precautions, Qi Zhen finally returned, carrying a few lanterns in his hand.
On his left hand were a rabbit lantern and a carrot lantern, but they were obviously not the two before, because Bai Banxia could see that the rabbit lantern was slightly larger than the previous one.
What he is carrying in his right hand is a fairy lantern. The lamp has eight sides and is very beautifully made. There is a fairy painted on each side, with different shapes, appearances, and clothes, but they are all fairy beauties without exception.
He said that this lamp must be the stall owner’s treasure.
"Have you gone to find the lantern stall from before?" Bai Banxia was a little surprised. She was originally regretting that the lantern she wanted to give to Xiaocao was gone, but Qi Zhen actually guessed what she was thinking.
Qi Zhen nodded slightly, "He was not burned over there, but he was about to close the stall. Fortunately, I got there in time."
He handed the fairy lantern to her, "This is for you, I don't know if you like it?"
"I like it, I must like it!" Bai Banxia said with a smile.
Qi Zhen also had a smile on his lips, "Go back and give these two to Xiaocao. I'll hold them for you first."
"good."
The people nearby had already made arrangements, so Zhou Hai invited two people to check the scene together to see if they could find any clues.
But the fire was almost done, and the scene was chaotic, leaving no evidence at all. In the end, everyone had no choice but to return to the county government office.
"Coach Qi, did you find anything before?" Zhou Hai asked. Unknowingly, he had great respect for Qi Zhen, even though he was white and not very old.
Qi Zhen nodded, "The reason the fire burned so quickly was because someone sprinkled kerosene on the lantern stall, as well as the ones next to it, but they were all burned later."
Zhou Hai was surprised, "Did someone do this deliberately?"
"We're not sure yet, but rumors will definitely spread, so you have to pay more attention." Qi Zhen added.
Zhou Hai's brows were knitted together and he lowered his head. He didn't know what he was thinking, but just by looking at his expression, you could tell that he was very annoyed now.
Bai Banxia and Qi Zhen looked at each other, and both felt that it was no longer their business to take care of, so they said goodbye, and Zhou Hai personally sent the two of them out of the county government office.
Before the two of them had gone far, they saw a man dressed as a boy rushing towards the county government office anxiously.
"Whose family is in trouble again?" Bai Banxia shook his head and sighed, "Zhou Hai is really annoyed. We can't take care of everything. Go to the stall to find your parents quickly, otherwise they will worry."
Fortunately, the Bai family stall is some distance away from the street of the Lantern Festival, otherwise Bai Banxia and the others would have been worried.
"Well, let's go faster." Qi Zhen put his arms around Bai Banxia's waist and led her forward.
"I can walk on my own. Do you think I'm not good at qinggong and walk too slowly?" Bai Banxia asked him with an angry look.
Qi Zhen chuckled, "No, I just want to take you there."
Bai Banxia's heart skipped a beat unsatisfactorily. Did he just want to hold her waist?
She seemed to understand what he meant, but she was a little confused, and her face turned red.
At the county government office, the boy ran in and gasped: "Master, the young lady was kidnapped, the old man was also knocked unconscious, and the thief left this letter."
"What?" Zhou Hai was startled and grabbed the letter, his hands trembling slightly with anger.
Being so arrogant on his territory is a direct declaration of war, right?
By the time he finished reading the letter, his face was already extremely dark.
"Sir, what did the letter say?" Zhang Tie asked worriedly.
Zhou Hai didn't say anything and handed the letter to him. Zhang Tie opened it and saw that it read:
Zhou Hai, if you want your daughter's life, come to the town by yourself at noon tomorrow to deliver her to the temple, otherwise, your daughter's body will be collected.
Signed: Luomei Pavilion.
The three characters "Luomei Pavilion" are also painted with fallen plum blossoms. If you look carefully, the plum blossoms are as red as blood, but they are not painted with blood. They should be a special kind of paint.
"This is Luomei Pavilion..." Zhang Tie showed a solemn expression.
Zhou Hai showed an angry look, "Luomei Pavilion is a killer organization, but it has never been an enemy of the imperial court. Why would you deal with me?"
"I will pretend to be an adult tomorrow and go to the appointment." Zhang Tie said with his fists clasped.
"No!" Zhou Hai's voice became a little darker, "Luomei Pavilion said it exactly. I can't risk Mei'er's life. This letter was prepared before the captors, which means they have already investigated it clearly. I'm afraid there are already people in my house.
Their people."
Zhang Tie also knew that what he said was right, but he couldn't help but worry, "Isn't it the same as a sheep entering a tiger's mouth when you go to an appointment alone?"
"Since they asked me to go, they must have something to interview, and they won't kill me. Otherwise, they could just assassinate me. Why go to such trouble?" Zhou Hai patted Zhang Tie on the shoulder, "I will do it tomorrow.
Go alone. If I don't come back in the evening, you will report it to Du Inspection and report it to the court. Don't act impulsively."
"Sir..." Zhang Tie couldn't bear it, but he had no other better way.
On the other side, Bai Banxia had already joined Bai Tian and the others. Both of them were stained with smoke and dust from fighting the fire, and looked a little disgraced. The parents felt distressed for a while, and pushed the cart back to Baoshan Village.
When the family members talked about the fire, Bai Banxia and Qi Zhen had a tacit understanding and did not say that anyone deliberately caused it. They only said that it was probably caused by dry weather. Fortunately, the fire was put out in time and there were no casualties.
