After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1101 Fire
Dinner was approaching, and Haitang and Haijiao, brother and sister, didn't chat for long before returning to the upper room in the main courtyard to have dinner with their elders.

After dinner, Haitang privately told her grandparents the story of Lu Shen and his son. Hai Xiya and Ma couldn't help but sigh, and they had no objection to the plan of Li's mother and her son to take Lu's mother and son back to the village after the Lantern Festival.

Ma also gave Mother Li a small bag of silver to be used for the expenses of the mother and son of the Lu family in the village. Mother Li had already received the money given by Lu Bainian, so she naturally did not dare to accept it. But Ma felt that Lu Ping'an would inherit Lu Bainian's academic legacy and take care of him in his old age in the future. Maybe he would also inherit Cao Gengyun's knowledge. How could he neglect his life? Naturally, he had to eat and use better. The cost of living in the countryside is not high. This little money is just to make them live more comfortably and to supplement Mother Li. Since Mother Li came to the Hai family, she has been working diligently and attentively, which made Ma very satisfied. She knew that Mother Li was calculated by her ex-husband, so she left her hometown with her children. Now that she has lost her husband and only brought her children back to her hometown, she doesn't know what kind of gossip it will cause. She has more money in her pocket, and she can speak and do things with more confidence.

Mother Li was very moved and kowtowed to Ma repeatedly to express her gratitude. She became even more concerned about this task for the Lu mother and son.

Finally, it was Haitang who persuaded Mama Li and Xiangcao to go back to the courtyard, so that Haixiya and Ma and his wife could rest earlier. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Although Haitang and Second Aunt Hu have already prepared the festival items, there are still some things that need grandmother's attention. The earlier the two elders go to bed, the more energetic they will be for the festival tomorrow.

The Hai family had a good night's sleep, and when they woke up the next morning, everyone looked energetic. Mrs. Hu had already ordered the kitchen to cook Yuanxiao with various fillings. Everyone ate a bowl of it when they had breakfast. It was hot and sweet, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Unexpectedly, not long after the door was opened, a shocking news came from outside. Hai Chang'an and Hai Jiao were so frightened that they didn't even bother to finish their breakfast. They dropped their bowls, went back to the house, changed into their coats, and hurried out.

It is said that a fire broke out in the Sun Mansion in the middle of the night, and the main courtyard where Sun Ge Lao lived was completely burned down. Several surrounding courtyards were also affected. Sun Ge Lao himself and his second granddaughter, Xiao Sun, died in the fire. The fire was not put out until the early morning, and two charred bodies were found in the ruins, which should be the grandfather and grandson of the Sun family.

How did the fire start? Why didn't the servants in the Sun Mansion put out the flames in time? Why didn't the soldiers stationed outside the Sun Mansion discover the fire in time? Were the people who were burned to death really Sun Ge Lao and his second granddaughter? Why did such a big fire happen? Was it an accident or some conspiracy...

All those who heard the news were filled with doubts. People from Shuntian Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple rushed over before dawn. The former also sent a large number of yamen runners to join the firefighting with the people from the Wucheng Bingmasi. Many people thought it was a conspiracy and did not believe that the two charred bodies in the fire were really Sun Ge Lao and his granddaughter. Maybe this was some kind of fake death and escape?

Haijiao returned home in the evening. After visiting his grandparents, he went to his younger sister's yard and whispered to her, "Grandmaster Sun and his granddaughter must be really dead. The two charred bodies are theirs. People from Shuntian Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple have confirmed it. We, the Jinyiwei, also sent a coroner to check, and there is no mistake. This is not some fake death and escape."

Haitang was quite surprised. "What do you mean? Although there were rumors some time ago that Lord Sun wanted to set fire to the house, wasn't it stopped in time? His second granddaughter, Xiao Sun, was driven out by her husband's family and returned to her parents' home to serve him. If he didn't want to implicate this granddaughter, he certainly wouldn't set fire to herself again. How did it start again? Who set the fire?" "It should be Xiao Sun." Haijiao paused. "The surviving old servants of the Sun family said that they heard Xiao Sun quarreling with Lord Sun yesterday. The quarrel was very fierce. She cried and made a fuss. She wanted to seek death and scolded Lord Sun for not dying earlier. Lord Sun was old and sick, and he had difficulty moving. He was furious with his unfilial granddaughter, but he still tried his best to stop her. He ordered the servants to send his granddaughter back to the house and fed her tranquilizers. In the middle of the night, someone heard Xiao Sun get up and leave the house. She went to Lord Sun's room alone in a daze. Not long after, the main courtyard caught fire."

There are only a few old servants left in the Sun Mansion who were released in the early years. Under the grace of the new emperor, they "voluntarily" came back to serve Lord Sun. But such a large mansion must be very tired with only these few old servants to maintain its operation. Although they did not disobey the orders of the old master, in the middle of the night, when they were half asleep and half awake, they saw the young lady moving alone at night. Most people would not think that she was going to set fire to the house, so no one thought of following her to see what was going on. Everyone just went to sleep. When the fire got bigger and woke everyone up, it was too late for them to rush to put out the fire. Fortunately, the old servants lived not close to the main courtyard, and they woke up and escaped before the fire spread. Otherwise, it might not be just the two grandparents and grandchildren of the Sun family who died in the fire.

Several people claimed to have heard the screams of Grandpa Sun and the curses of Little Sun on Grandfather, Father, and Aunt. With these testimonies, the fact that Little Sun set the fire was established.

Elder Sun gave up setting fire for the sake of his granddaughter, but his granddaughter set fire to herself and her grandfather. What exactly is going on here? People from several major government offices are still investigating. It's just that it's the Lantern Festival, and the government hasn't opened yet, and they've encountered such a bad thing. Everyone can't help but feel unlucky. Everyone thinks the case is clear, and as long as they figure out the reason why little Sun set the fire, it will be enough to report to the higher-ups. It's just that during the big festival, no one has the motivation to work overtime. At present, they are still thinking about fooling around for a while, and when the government officially opens, the court reopens after the New Year, and the new emperor and the cabinet formally inquire, it won't be too late to make a detailed report.

Haijiao was close to the water and had already obtained the preliminary investigation results, so he came back to tell my younger sister.

After Haitang heard this, the scene she saw outside the side door of Yingchuan Marquis Mansion yesterday involuntarily emerged in her mind.

She brought up this matter and whispered to Hai Jiao: "Little Sun set fire to herself and her grandfather. Could it be related to this matter? She originally thought that after getting rid of Prince Ji's Mansion, she would be free and find her old love to clear up the misunderstanding. But in fact, there was no misunderstanding. The son of Yingchuan Marquis had already started a new life, with a wife and children, and a happy family. He didn't want to see her again. She was heartbroken and desperate, thinking that all this was caused by her grandfather, Grand Lord Sun, and she set the fire..."

Hai Jiao pondered, "It's possible. I've heard people talk about this Prince Ji's wife, saying that she doesn't have a very good temper... But she knew back then that her father and grandfather wanted to murder her fiancé so that she could marry Prince Ji as his successor. She obeyed her father's orders and married him, so now she's talking about misunderstandings? Prince Yingchuan has already married and has children, so what's the point of her going to him again? Could it be that she still expects him to abandon his wife and children and continue their relationship with her?"

The brother and sister looked at each other, neither of them could understand Xiao Sun's thoughts.

But no matter what, it has already happened. Haitang only hopes that after the truth of this matter is spread, it will not affect the Yingchuan Marquis Mansion, especially the wife of the Yingchuan Marquis's son, Peng Yuqi. She is really an innocent bystander in this matter!