readytorunbook Chapter 41 Fire
Chapter 41 Fire
Jiang Mian glanced at him guiltily and asked, "What is it?"
Although she tried her best to lower her voice, it was still clear that she was a woman.
The waiter smiled politely, gestured for the guest to leave, and said, "This shop does not accept female customers. If you wish to go in and look for someone, please feel free to tell me to help you."
The doorman at Zuiyin Tower was naturally sharp-eyed, and she couldn't hide her disguise as a man from the truth.
Jiang Wan was embarrassed and didn't know what to do. Just as she was about to back down, Ning Zhi suddenly approached: "My little brother here is new to the capital and wants to broaden his horizons. I hope... you can make an exception for him."
His expression was gentle, his words were unhurried, and he gently removed the servant's hand from the road.
The servant felt a weight in his hand, looked down, and saw a golden object fall into his palm.
He then calmly put it away, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Please, young master."
Jiang Mian walked in and whispered to Ning Zhi, "What did His Highness just give him?"
Ning Zhi chuckled: "Just a piece of gold."
A piece of gold? It was that easy to bribe?
Jiang Wan pouted, thinking to herself, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have made things so awkward with Xiao Hengzhi last time."
Thinking of this, she subconsciously looked around, but couldn't see Xiao Hengzhi anywhere.
Ning Zhi noticed her distraction and asked, "What are you looking for?"
Jiang Wan frowned: "Didn't Xiao Hengzhi just come in with us?"
"I hadn't paid much attention to that, but Young Master Xiao should be fine on his own."
After Ning Zhi finished speaking, seeing her somewhat worried look, he added, "Perhaps there were too many people and they got separated. If Miss Jiang is worried, I will have Lu Fang go and look for them."
Jiang Wan nodded and continued walking inside.
......
The building was bustling with activity, filled with melodious music and a constant stream of guests, some raising their glasses in celebration, others engrossed in the opera performances on stage. Today, with the lantern festival, the corridors were packed with people.
Jiang Mian paced back and forth, her gaze searching the building, but it never landed on the stage.
Ning Zhi noticed her unusual behavior and asked softly, "Miss Jiang doesn't seem to be here to listen to music. Are you looking for something?"
Jiang Wan replied softly, "Does Your Highness still remember when you saved me on the lake?"
“I remember. You said someone tied you to a boat and forced you to jump into the lake.”
“That’s right, but Your Highness doesn’t know that I was kidnapped because my horse was stolen on the way, and I had no choice but to stop in the town. I suspect that someone deliberately planned all of this.”
"But what does this have to do with Zuiyin Tower? This place looks like just an ordinary restaurant for watching operas."
Jiang Mian shook her head: "Besides me, there were other women who were tied up on the boat at the time. I talked to a girl named A-Yun and learned that they were all going to be sent to Zuiyin Tower. I suspect that this place is not only a theater, but also where they were imprisoned."
Ning Zhi asked thoughtfully, "So you want to go in and explore?"
Jiang Wan nodded: "If we can find A-Yun, we might be able to find more clues."
Ning Zhi laughed and said, "That's easy. Go ask the owner, or order a few courtesans, and see if anyone knows A-Yun."
"It's no use. The owner of Zuiyin Tower changes his property every fifteenth of the month. We won't get anything out of him, and we might alert him. Besides, those girls on the boat probably weren't sent here to work as prostitutes..."
She recalled the women on the boat; they were all different in figure, none of them particularly beautiful, and their expressions were wooden, devoid of any feminine charm, unlike those who had been specifically chosen to entertain guests.
"If she's not a prostitute, why was she sent to Zuiyin Tower? What is she supposed to do there?" Ning Zhi asked.
Jiang Mian frowned, she was also completely clueless.
As they pondered, the two strolled along leisurely.
Suddenly, a servant pushed open the door, leaving it a crack. Ning Zhi peeked inside a few more times, his eyes widening as if he had noticed something.
"Miss Jiang, look over there..."
Jiang Wan followed his gaze and saw an open wooden plank on the ground, next to which was what looked like a pit, which looked very strange.
Jiang Mian became suspicious and, taking advantage of the noise of the crowd and the fact that no one was paying attention, slipped inside in the blink of an eye.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a long staircase leading down into the ground, its destination unknown.
Jiang Wan had a hunch that something was amiss.
"Shall we go in and explore?" Ning Zhi asked.
Jiang Wan nodded. Now that things had come to this point, she was determined to find out the truth.
Ning Zhi responded and first stepped down the stairs, holding onto the wall. The space between the walls was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and Jiang Mian followed closely behind.
But the stairs were short, only a dozen steps to the bottom, and the further you went in, the more you could smell the damp and rotten odor, and even the sound of footsteps seemed particularly dull.
After walking through the passageway, they arrived at a very spacious place, which seemed to get wider as they walked, but it was very dark. Fortunately, Ning Zhi had brought a candle beforehand.
Jiang Wan felt a sense of anticipation, as if she were about to unravel a mystery.
Finally, the space at the end of the secret passage opened up, but the scene before her stunned her.
It was an abandoned cavern, with crooked and broken stones, covered with cobwebs and collapsed bricks, showing no trace of anyone having been there.
She looked around but found nothing suspicious.
Jiang Mian looked around in disappointment: "Is it just a useless path?"
Ning Zhi frowned: "Before the abandoned path was abolished, it must have been used. It seems that Zuiyin Tower is indeed not ordinary."
Just as the two were deep in thought, a hurried sound of footsteps came from behind them.
Lu Fang suddenly rushed over and whispered a few words in Ning Zhi's ear. Ning Zhi's eyes flickered slightly, and she turned to look at Jiang Wan: "Lu Fang just saw Xiao Hengzhi at Zuiyin Tower. He went into a private room and looked hurried, as if he had discovered something. Why don't we go and take a look?"
Jiang Wan nodded without the slightest hesitation: "Let's go."
The two went out the way they came, but just as they rounded the corridor and were about to approach the room, a pungent smell of burning suddenly wafted out.
Jiang Wan froze for a moment, then her expression changed drastically. Before she could speak, she heard someone shout from downstairs:
"The water is gone! The water is gone!"
"Make way! There's a fire!"
......
Flames erupted, and the smell of burning filled the air instantly. The crowd on the corridor was thrown into chaos, with pushing, screaming, and running noises filling the air.
Soon, the burning curtain fell, and the market outside was thrown into chaos.
"Make way!"
Several vendors shouted anxiously, but were swept away by the crowd and stumbled about. People around them no longer cared about others and scattered in all directions.
Once the lantern shop catches fire, the flames spread rapidly along the stall. Even though it is right next to the river, the large number of people blocks the road, preventing the transport of water.
The surrounding crowd panicked and ran in all directions. Ning Zhi dragged Jiang Mian outside and saw that Zuiyin Tower was already engulfed in flames, with flames raging out of the windows and thick smoke filling the surroundings.
Her heart pounded, and she looked around anxiously: "Where's Xiao Hengzhi?! Xiao Hengzhi—!"
However, with people running around everywhere, her voice was immediately drowned out.
Ning Zhi reached out to grab her, but missed, and saw her rushing against the crowd again.
"Jiang Mian! Come back quickly—!"
He shouted loudly, but the thick smoke obscured his vision.
"Your Highness, hurry up and leave! You can't be hurt!" Lu Fang looked at him, and the surrounding guards came out one after another to escort Ning Zhi to a safe place.