Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 429 Doomed

Yan Liang nodded: "Lord Hu is a benevolent man. I still have two young children who have been quite frightened today. I will go to the back to say goodbye to them and comfort them. Would you be so kind as to grant me this request?"

The centurion pondered, "You may go, but we must accompany you."

Yan Liang nodded, turned around on the spot, picked up his sword, and went to the back.

Downstairs at Nian'en Tower, Uncle He and his two wet nurses were indeed waiting in the corridor with a pair of young children.

Yan Liang squatted down and hugged them, whispering a few words in their ears.

Uncle He nodded with tears in his eyes.

The centurion surveyed the surroundings and found that there were walls on all sides, and even the gates were locked, so there was no way out.

Yan Liang turned his head, then patted Uncle He's trembling arm, stood up, and led a child into the building one after the other.

The centurion stared intently.

But the moment he took a step to follow, a burst of flames erupted with a bang! A wave of heat surged forth like a tidal wave!

"Back off!"

The garrison troops immediately retreated three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and then quickly surrounded the enemy from all sides.

But the fire quickly grew larger, the air was filled with the strong smell of lamp oil, and tongues of flame danced like snakes, constantly probing outwards.

The garrison troops found it difficult to even stay in place, let alone get close.

The young prince of Guang'en, who had stormed in, rushed over and saw that the small octagonal building was on fire on all sides. The north wind blew in, and the flames spread to the eaves of the neighboring building!

"My lord! Yan Liang is inside!"

Faced with complaints from those around him, the centurion panicked and was at a loss.

The heir of the Earl of Guang'en quickly circled the corner tower, finally stopping at the entrance: "Surround it completely! Send more men to keep watch. If he dares to escape, kill him with a flurry of swords!"

Inside the corner tower, the jars of lamp oil that had been moved in and piled up on all four sides yesterday had long since flowed into rivers and turned into a sea of ​​fire.

When Yan Liang had the lamp oil moved here yesterday, it was just a fleeting thought; he never expected it would come in handy now.

The fire was currently unstoppable, but funeral processions were placed under all eight windows to block the flames, so even though the heatwave was intense, the flames did not get close.

"Let's go!" Yan Liang pushed He Bo aside, tossed him a key, and then ran up the stairs in a few steps: "This is the key to the door leading to the back garden! While the fire is still burning, hurry up and unlock it. I'll go upstairs to distract them, and then we'll get out of here!"

He Bo said, "Young Master! I'm afraid we're all doomed! Please allow this old servant to stay with you!"

"We'll hold on as long as we can! Why give up before the very last moment?!"

He roared on the stairs.

Uncle He cried out "Young Master!" and the children cried out "Father!" But Yan Liang did not stop. Instead, he gripped his long sword tightly and ran towards the corner tower!
"Look, it's him!"

The garrison soldiers, who were blocking the area from a distance, pointed at the figures on the upper floor and shouted.

The heir of the Earl of Guang'en stepped forward, raising his knife and pointing it at him: "Yan Liang! We are ordered to arrest you, yet you dare to resist and commit suicide? Be careful, you will be punished by being whipped after your death!"

Yan Liang laughed loudly upstairs, then pointed his sword at them and said, "You used to be too afraid to utter a sound when you saw the Yan family, but now that my empire is about to collapse, you're kicking me while I'm down!"
"This wealth and glory is a bottomless abyss; you can all become its lackeys!"
"I, Yan Liang, will not play along!"

After saying that, he raised his foot and kicked over a pile of lamp oil that was lying to the side.

The flames that reached up the stairs touched the fuel and excitedly summoned thousands of companions! They were like the starving people in the south who had fertile fields but could not eat, who had finally found food and greedily licked up every corner.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, half of the building collapsed. The garrison soldiers below quickly retreated, clearing the entire courtyard.

Yan Liang staggered through the flames to the back window, his red eyes watching as He Bo and his party, who had taken the opportunity to quickly run towards the back garden with two children, slowly raised his sword to his throat.

The sword blade, reflecting the firelight, hissed as it sliced ​​through the throat, and blood splattered onto the clothes.

He had seen a lot of blood, but this was the first time he had ever seen his own.

He knelt on the ground, looked down at the brocade robe he was wearing, dusted it off, and tried to straighten his back.

A sachet fell as he moved. He picked it up, looked at it, squeezed it, and then threw it into the fire.

Looking at the corner tower that had turned into a sea of ​​fire, the heir of the Earl of Guang'en could still see Yan Liang's shadow at first, but later he could not see him at all. He turned to the person next to him and asked, "Since you brought children inside, why can't we hear the children crying?"

The centurion snapped out of his daze and immediately shouted for his men to follow him: "Chase after him!"

……

Yan Qu personally supervised the execution of his two younger sisters before leaving the main room.

When he reached the courtyard gate and heard no response from the old lady, he turned back and opened the door.

As light and shadow spilled into the room, he quickly pulled his raised right leg back!

Yang lay on the ground, her hair disheveled, her eyes wide with anger, and she was already lifeless.

She was all alone, and all her jewelry and ornaments had been stolen.

Several bloody scratches appeared on his wrists and face, while his long fingernails dug into the ground, leaving seven or eight deep scratches.

Yan Qu let out a wail and dared not approach any further. He looked up into the room and saw that all the cabinets and chests were open, gold and silver jewelry were scattered all over the floor, and the windows and doors below the back window had been smashed off.

He angrily shouted "Someone come here!" but no one responded. Instead, many servants who were busy escaping complained that he was blocking their way and yelled at him to get out of the way.

Yan Qu had never been treated with such humiliation before.
He grabbed someone and tried to intimidate them, but instead got punched in the face several times. Finally, the person spat out a mouthful of phlegm, kicked him away, and left!

Yan Qu got up and realized that the Imperial Guards were right there on the other side of the door. He cursed "bastards" and took a step forward, but then he discovered that his knee was dislocated.

He felt a sudden panic, no, he was extremely panicked!
After looking around, he chose a passageway and rushed in!

The courtyard on this side of the passageway was also full of people!
They were all women and servants busy trying to escape!

For the first time, he realized that his father had taken in so many concubines in the inner quarters, who had given birth to so many illegitimate children!
Now, wherever they are, the government has become the destination, and they are everywhere!
Where should he go?

His grandfather was imprisoned, his grandmother was dead, and his parents had long since passed away. He also had no wife, and now he had no one to lean on.

He looked around, and suddenly a huge fire broke out to the west!

It's in the direction of Nian'en Building!
"It's the eldest young master with his son and daughter!"

Someone nearby was wailing and crying. These heartless servants in the manor, while they don't respect him, the Third Young Master, are certainly loyal to their eldest brother!

No, brother?!
The place that caught fire was the eldest brother's?!

He struggled forward a few steps on his single leg, but collapsed to the ground halfway there!

Brother!

His all-powerful older brother!
He's dead too?!
So he really was saying goodbye to me just now?
So what should he do?
Is he all alone now?