A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 102: The Dyeing Workshop Burns

Qile City was peaceful and tranquil in the middle of the night. After the night watchman in the city rang the third watch, a fire suddenly broke out in the south of the city. Before anyone could discover it in time, the fire grew stronger in the blink of an eye. Then someone shouted, "The fire broke out! The fire broke out!"

It was just dawn at the hour of Mao. When the gate of Qile City was opened, a man covered in charcoal black ran into the city crying. Before the soldiers guarding the city could react, the man disappeared into the streets of the city, and the family dogs barked all the way.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The knocking sound on the door outside Li's Mansion broke the silence nearby. The lights inside Li's Mansion were suddenly lit up and people's footsteps were hurried.

"Why did the water leak out of nowhere?"

Li Xingyuan hurried out of the bamboo garden with an anxious look on his face, and Butler Fang who followed behind him also frowned:

"The guy who came back couldn't explain it clearly. We have to ask Manager Liu."

"What else can I ask? They must have been drinking and being lazy again, and accidentally let a mouse blow up the oil lamp!" After hearing the housekeeper's answer, Li Xingyuan cursed angrily.

Not long after, a carriage drove quickly from Li's Mansion to the outskirts of the south city. By this time, the sky was gradually getting brighter. The dyeing workshop on the outskirts of the city that had been attacked by fire had now turned into a charred ruin. Thick smoke was still billowing in the sky. Several shop workers were in a miserable state. They squatted in front of the ruins and sighed gloomily, not knowing what to do.

The carriage stopped in front of the dyeing workshop. Li Xingyuan got off the carriage and looked at the ruins in front of him with great sadness. The dyeing workshop that had been run by the famous Li in Jiangnan for a hundred years was burned down overnight.

"Master, I'm sorry for not being able to take care of the cloth shop!" A thin old man, his body blackened by charcoal fire, knelt at Li Xingyuan's feet and burst into tears.

The other guys also knelt down behind the old man with trepidation, wiping their tears silently.

"Stop crying! I haven't cried yet, why are you all crying? Is crying useful? Can you cry this good cloth shop back?" Li Xingyuan, who was already heartbroken, became even more furious when he saw the people acting like daughters under his feet. He scolded them so angrily that the people kneeling on the ground dared not even breathe.

"Manager Liu, are there any other dyes that can be used?" Li Xingyuan suppressed the anger in his heart and regained his sanity to deal with the mess in front of him. There would be plenty of time to hold people accountable in the future.

"Master...the fire was too big...so we...saved a few bags of indigo and...and gallnut..." The thin old man who was still kneeling at Li Xingyuan's feet replied nervously and hesitantly.

Li Xingyuan felt dizzy when he heard this, but fortunately he was supported by the butler beside him in time.

"The fire is too big? What were all of you doing when the fire was small? Gathering together to drink again?" The huge warehouse originally stored hundreds of bags of dyes purchased in the past two days, but now there are only a few bags left. Li Xingyuan could no longer hold back his anger.

"Master, I swear to God, although I, Old Liu, love to drink normally, I also know that I have a heavy responsibility as the new goods have just arrived. I haven't dared to drink a drop of alcohol in the past two days for fear of missing out on important things. The fire last night was indeed strange. The fire grew bigger in the blink of an eye. We... we have no choice!" Manager Liu was so anxious that he was trembling all over because he was wrongly accused. He looked up at Li Xingyuan and couldn't help crying again.

When Manager Liu finished crying, the servants behind him all started to defend themselves to the master. For a moment, the noise was so loud that no one could hear a word. Li Xingyuan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with a headache.

"Everyone, please get up first. The master will investigate the cause of the fire. The most urgent thing is to solve the problem at hand. You should all check if there is anything that has not been burned, and look around to see if there is anything suspicious." Seeing that the master's headache came back, Butler Fang hurriedly spoke up to comfort the person kneeling on the ground.

After hearing what Butler Fang, who was beside the master, said, everyone reacted and hurriedly stood up and dispersed to check around the ruins.

"Manager Liu, can you tell me what's so strange about this fire?" When Li Xingyuan saw that Manager Liu was about to leave, he forced himself to hold back his headache and asked again.

"Master, the most strange thing about this fire is that the source of the fire is in the warehouse!" Seeing that the master was calm, Manager Liu was no longer nervous and replied directly.

"The warehouse is a place for storing dyes, and candles are strictly prohibited... Could it be that you accidentally left sparks from the torches while patrolling?" Without waiting for Li Xingyuan to speak, Butler Fang asked hurriedly with a frown.

"Butler Fang, you don't know that when we patrol the warehouse at night, we always carry lanterns. We never dare to use torches directly, for fear that sparks from the torches will splash into the warehouse." Butler Liu shook his head and denied it.

"This place is indeed strange. Warehouses have always been important places. You are all old people, so you must understand it." Li Xingyuan also regained his composure at this time. He continued to rub his trembling head and sighed.

"Yes, yes, and we took turns to guard it last night. Somehow the fire inside spread to the roof beams, and we didn't have time to put it out at all." Hearing the master say this, Manager Liu became even more excited and quickly echoed.

"Master, there are several footprints behind the dyeing workshop!" At this time, a waiter in the distance suddenly shouted towards Li Xingyuan.

Upon hearing this, the three people in front of the carriage strode towards the waiter with curiosity.

"These footprints are new, sir. It seems that the fire might have been man-made." Arriving at the back of the dyeing workshop, Butler Fang squatted down first to examine the footprints of varying depths in front of him.

"Man-made?" Li Xingyuan felt a splitting headache again. The only person who dared to burn down his famous Jiangnan Li Ran Cloth Shop, apart from the bandits, was the missing Zhao family father and son. It was he who caused the Zhao family to be destroyed, and now... could the cycle of cause and effect have begun?

"Master, let me help you go back home first." Seeing that Li Xingyuan looked pale and dazed, Butler Fang hurriedly stood up and supported him, while walking towards the carriage.

"Since the fire was man-made, you should go to the government office later and tell Lord You that it is possible that the father and son of the Zhao family have appeared." Li Xingyuan returned to the car, covering his head that was about to split open, and still did not forget to instruct Butler Fang outside the car.

"Don't worry, master. Go back and have a good rest. I'll take care of this matter." After comforting Li Xingyuan, Butler Fang turned around and told Dashi, who was driving the car, to send the master back home and then quickly call a doctor.

Dashi did not dare to slack off at all. He responded to the housekeeper's instructions one by one before slowly driving the carriage back to the city.

Butler Fang watched the master leave, then gave some instructions to Steward Liu and hurried to the government office.