spoiled brat

Chapter 16. Eliminating Evil (Part 16)

“It’s on fire!!!”

A series of clanging sounds echoed through the streets and alleys. It was unclear which household's servants were banging gongs and drums, running around and shouting at the top of their lungs, as if afraid that any family might miss the news.

His loud shout startled everyone in the neighborhood, who all came out of their houses. They were all shocked to see the blood-red flames on the horizon, as red as the setting sun, and cried out, their faces pale, "Quickly, call for help to put out the fire!"

The area south of the city is inhabited by wealthy families, each possessing immense wealth.

No matter how rich you are, you can't make a wooden house fireproof, because everyone is afraid that the fire will spread to their own house.

When one place is in trouble, help comes from all sides. Every household sent servants and men to fill water with jars, buckets, basins, ladles, and bowls to put out the fire. But the fire was strange; the more they tried to put it out, the stronger it became.

Huang Qian stood outside the noisy crowd, being jostled by people who came to help put out the fire. Suddenly, he was patted on the shoulder, just like last night.

"elder brother."

It was Xiao Duo again, this time in a different outfit.

The old clothes, which smelled of kerosene, had already been buried by Xiao Duo.

He wiped the dust off his face and said seriously:
"Miss Xie is still alive."

"How capable do you think you are to fool me?"

Huang Qian had already guessed that Xiao Duo was faking it, and sneered, "I personally went to her funeral hall to pay my respects. If she were alive, would Lord Xie have bothered with her funeral arrangements?"

He pushed Xiaoduo away and was about to leave, but when he turned around, he froze in his tracks.

It was Azhuo, Xie Shu's former personal maid.

“Young Master Huang, Miss is indeed still alive,” A-Zhuo said, enunciating each word clearly. “The master gave her to Zhao Si as a way to win her over. But Zhao Si is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and he actually…”

Before she could finish speaking, the firefighters behind her, having seen something, shouted:
There are still people in the fire!

"Who's still inside...? I've never heard of anyone living in this abandoned house..."

"This... seems to be two people..."

Looking through the half-collapsed gate, one could see Zhao Si, covered in blood, struggling to crawl out, occasionally gritting his teeth as he tried to kick away what was behind him.

On his obviously dislocated right leg, a emaciated person was tightly wrapped.

The man was covered in wounds and had already fainted from the pain, but he used the iron chains on his body to forcibly bind himself and Zhao Si to death.

Either Zhao Si can help her escape to safety, or the two of them will perish together in the fire.

"Help!" Zhao Si cried out in despair.

He usually associated with many wealthy families, and most of his servants had seen him before, so there was no reason not to save his life.

It's unclear which servant was so blind, but they actually wrapped themselves in a wet blanket and rushed into the fire, dragging him and Xie Shu, who was wrapped around his legs, out together.

Having narrowly escaped death, Zhao Si was still shaken and vented all his resentment on Xie Shu, who had already fainted.

"You bitch, you almost killed me!"

Since no one knew who this foul-smelling woman with chains was, he disregarded the stares of others, grabbed Xie Shu's hair with one hand and choked her neck with the other, intending to strangle her to death.

Perhaps out of resentment, Xie Shu, who should have died long ago, opened her eyes weakly. She struggled with all her might, but as she suffocated, her strength gradually drained away, and she could no longer resist Zhao Si.

Zhao Si gripped her neck tightly in his palm, and the sky gradually turned gray, just like when she was forced to hang herself many years ago.

"Miss!"

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream rang out from outside the crowd. Azhuo rushed to her side and pushed Zhao Si away with all her might.

Ah Zhuo held her tightly in her arms and said loudly to the crowd:

"This is Xie Shu, the county magistrate's only daughter! She was defiled by Zhao Si and became pregnant. The magistrate openly forced her to commit suicide, but secretly..." Before he could finish, the onlookers began chattering:

Who is Xie Shu?

"When did the county magistrate ever have a daughter?"

"That's right... I remember the Xie family only has a young master..."

As time passed, servants came and went in the wealthy households in the south of the city, and who would still know that a person had been dead for ten years?
Azhuo felt herself freezing over little by little. She had endured for so long and wanted to atone for her sins.

But now things have changed. Those she harmed are now ghosts living on earth. She can no longer clear Xie Shu's name, nor can she atone for her sins.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Si laughed arrogantly, making no attempt to hide the contempt and smugness in his expression:

"You're just crocodile tears! Now you have the nerve to come here and whine? What a pity... everyone just takes your filthy words as utter nonsense!"

He pointed at Azhuo and said to the crowd:
"Gentlemen, this bitch and that beggar started the fire together, and they almost burned down all the houses in this area! Arrest them and report them to the authorities!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd had some doubts, but since they couldn't find the culprits, they decided it was better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, and they all stepped forward to try and tie up the two men.

But then they heard the clatter of hooves and the clatter of armor outside the crowd; it was Huang Qian leading his father's troops.

From afar, he shouted loudly, "Stop it, all of you!"

Even officials are afraid of soldiers, let alone ordinary people.
The crowd dispersed like water, creating a path for Huang Qian and his soldiers.

Despite his gambling habits, Huang Qian never neglected his martial arts skills.

He walked up to Zhao Si, whip in hand, his gaze like a knife cutting into Zhao Si's flesh:

"Zhao Si".

Zhao Si knew he was the county magistrate's dog, while Huang Qian was the county lieutenant's son, so he couldn't afford to confront him head-on.

So he suppressed his inner turmoil and respectfully said:
"Young Master Huang... Young Master Huang."

Huang Qian pointed to Xie Shu, who was trembling with her head buried in A Zhuo's arms, and said hatefully:

"I'm asking you, who is she?"

Cold sweat poured down Zhao Si's forehead, pattering onto the ground.

"She is...she is...I don't know where she came from, she's a beggar."

"is it?"

Huang Qian sneered, gave a wink to the men behind him, and several armored soldiers with swords strode forward:

"Young Master."

"Tie him up!"

Zhao Si was considered a strong man among ordinary people, but compared to soldiers who had actually been on the battlefield, he was nothing.

Several soldiers swiftly tied Zhao Si up and pressed his head to the ground.

With mud in his mouth, Zhao Si knew he probably wouldn't survive this ordeal, and shouted recklessly:
"Young Master Huang, do you really not consider Lord Huang's feelings at all? Why make things so ugly!"

There's a rule in official circles: before beating a dog, you have to discuss it with the dog's owner.

Although those below were unaware of Zhao Si's connections, anyone of a certain rank in Qingyang County knew that this vicious dog Zhao Si was associated with the county magistrate, and that beating him was tantamount to slapping the county magistrate in the face.

Zhao Si thought Huang Qian would have some reservations and wanted to say a few more words to him, but unexpectedly a foot full of hatred landed on his head, wishing it could crush his head.

Huang Qian gritted his teeth and said, "Get a knife and skin this beast alive to feed the dogs!"