Chapter 45: Reality is Far More Explosive Than Fiction

The next day broke bright and clear, with a brilliant sun casting its glaring light over a vast expanse of scorched earth, making the fire-ravaged area look even more desolate and tragic.

Constables from the Bianliang Prefecture were meticulously searching among the charred and blackened ruins.

Qin Fuyu, the chief constable of Bianliang Prefecture, stood with his hands on his hips atop the heavily burnt bricks and stones, sighing deeply.

This estate belonging to the Cao family was completely ruined.

"Chief, a total of twelve charred corpses have been found in the estate. They are burned beyond recognition and their identities cannot be verified, but I just questioned the village head, and there were exactly twelve people permanently stationed here to watch over the estate," a constable reported, running over drenched in sweat and saluting.

Qin Fuyu nodded. "Have you found the cause of the fire?"

The constable's expression changed. "We found traces of a large amount of lamp oil at the base of the estate's outer walls. It appears to be deliberate arson."

"Have you asked when the fire broke out?" Qin Fuyu inquired.

"Late in the afternoon yesterday."

"Then why did you only come to Bianliang Prefecture to report the case this morning?" Qin Fuyu's expression turned cold.

The constable explained, "This place is rather remote and belongs to the Cao family. No one within a radius of many miles dared to approach it. When the fire started, no one dared to come and look. It wasn't until dawn that the commoners discovered something was wrong and reported it to the village head. The village head rushed to the Bianliang Prefecture without wasting a single moment to report the crime."

Qin Fuyu was an extremely shrewd man. Having served as a minor official in Bianliang Prefecture for nearly ten years, he had cultivated a pair of eyes that saw right through the ways of the world.

This residence belonged to Cao Heyong. When he served as the Minister of Military Affairs, no one dared to touch this property; even after he was demoted to Vice Prefect of Dengzhou, still no one dared to touch it.

Yet now, someone had deliberately set fire to it here.

He pondered and asked, "When did Lord Cao and his party arrive, and when did they leave?"

"I asked the village head. Lord Cao arrived at the estate around nine o'clock the night before yesterday, rested for a night, and left around seven yesterday morning."

Qin Fuyu closed his eyes momentarily.

Those who set the fire did not come for Cao Heyong.

"Also," the constable continued, "we found a well in the west courtyard. The rim of the well was covered with splashed water stains, and there were footprints all over the ground, which we have already taken impressions of."

With that, he handed over a few thin sheets of paper.

Qin Fuyu examined them. "They look like the footprints of the same person. How badly was the west courtyard burned?"

"The west courtyard was also burned through completely, and the courtyard wall collapsed. These footprints were left by someone who climbed out of the well after the fire was extinguished and scaled the wall to escape."

Qin Fuyu stared expressionlessly at the two sheets of paper. "It seems that when the fire broke out, besides the arsonist, there was also a survivor here." He paused slightly. "Find that person."

"Understood." The constable neither complained nor hesitated, accepting the order immediately.

This showed how deep Qin Fuyu's authority and prestige were in his daily work, where his word was law.

The city of Bianliang remained as prosperous as ever. That distant fire far outside the city had burned twelve humble lives to death, dealing a fatal blow to twelve families.

Qin Fuyu and his party galloped into the city on horseback, brushing past a carriage that was moving at a leisurely, unhurried pace.

The carriage stopped in front of the first house at the entrance of Banyan Tree Alley.

Hearing the knock on the door, Song Shiyu and Li Yunnan hurriedly went out to greet them.

The moment they saw the person inside the carriage, both of them were startled. They quickly paid the carriage driver and carefully helped the person out of the carriage.

"Second Brother, what on earth happened to you? Why are your feet covered in blisters? Where are your shoes? Where did your shoes go?" Looking at Li Xubai's miserable state, Li Yunnan was on the verge of tears.

"Don't cry, Yunnan. Isn't Second Brother fine? Second Brother wants to eat bamboo shoots fried with quail from the Fan Tower." Li Xubai gulped down several large bowls of water to soothe the burning pain in his throat caused by the smoke and fire, speaking in a hoarse voice.

Li Yunnan nodded. "Alright, Second Brother, rest for a moment first. I'll go buy it for you."

Li Xubai caught his breath, soaked his feet, picked up a sewing needle, and carefully pierced the blood blisters on his feet.

Song Shiyu sized Li Xubai up for a moment. "You almost got burned to death? Weren't you out keeping watch? Did you get discovered?"

"You bet I did. I almost got roasted into a piece of charcoal." Li Xubai shuddered with lingering fear. "I was nearly discovered by the fellow surnamed Cao, so I hid under the bed the whole time and didn't dare to come out. I only came out after the fellow surnamed Cao had left. Who would have thought that a group of people would then arrive and set fire to the courtyard? Fortunately, I was clever and hid in the water well, otherwise I would have been turned into a charred corpse."

Song Shiyu was puzzled. "You mean Cao Heyong and the others had already departed before this group of people went to burn down the estate? Why would they do that? Isn't that completely redundant?"

Li Xubai shook his head, unsure how to explain the matter to her.

Song Shiyu asked again, "Did you find out who that concubine was? Did you see her in person?"

Li Xubai secretly cursed his luck. How was he supposed to tell Song Shiyu about this?

He thought for a moment and said, "Let's put that aside for now. On my way back, the carriage driver told me an interesting story. Let me tell you about it."

"......" Song Shiyu was utterly speechless; she had never met someone so unreliable.

"The driver said that in Lin'an Prefecture, there were two sworn brothers of different surnames, one surnamed Guo and the other surnamed Yang. The wife of the one surnamed Yang was as beautiful as a flower, and she caught the eye of a corrupt official. The corrupt official engineered a plot to exterminate both families, sparing only the Yang family's wife, and staged a perfect hero-saves-the-beauty drama. Later, the Yang family's wife married that corrupt official and even gave birth to the posthumous child of Master Yang. The corrupt official even raised that posthumous child as his own son." The more Li Xubai spoke, the more guilty he felt. While secretly apologizing to Master Jin Yong in his heart, he continued to fabricate stories to Song Shiyu.

Song Shiyu frowned. "Is this story you're telling from a play?"

Li Xubai was quite surprised. "Why do you ask that?"

Song Shiyu replied, "If you were to say that Lady Yang was drop-dead gorgeous and the corrupt official was moved by lust, I would believe that. But if you expect me to believe that the corrupt official regarded Master Yang's posthumous child as his own flesh and blood and raised him to adulthood, you could beat me to death and I still wouldn't believe it. Once that corrupt official wiped out both the Guo and Yang families, he would never have left behind a posthumous child of the Yang family."

Li Xubai felt as though he had met a kindred spirit and became extremely excited. "Right, you are so right! If you cut weeds without uprooting them, the spring wind will make them grow again. If it were me, let alone a posthumous child, I'd split the ancestral tablets of both the Guo and Yang families right down the middle, scramble the yolks of their eggs, and pour boiling water over their ant nests three times. I am a selfish villain; I can live with a guilty conscience for the rest of my life, but I can never live in constant fear for the rest of my life."

Song Shiyu burst out laughing. After laughing for a while, she suddenly looked at Li Xubai with a solemn expression. "You've laid the groundwork for so long, so just spit it out. I can handle whatever it is."

Li Xubai raised an eyebrow. "Talking to a smart person is always easy." Without the slightest hesitation or concealment, he chose his words carefully and said, "That so-called concubine of Cao Heyong is your biological mother from your past life, Lady Gu Yunxingruo, who was just bought away from the Yunyi Workshop the other day. The night before last, I was hiding right under their bed."