Chapter 16 Great Fire: Whose Corpse?

Chapter 16: The Great Fire – Whose Corpse?

Jiang Yueyi awoke with a start. Zi Zhu, who was on duty that night, had also woken up and quickly helped Jiang Yueyi up from the bed.

By this time, Cui Mei and several others had rushed in. The inner courtyard instantly fell into chaos, with shouts ringing out everywhere.

Before anyone who knew the situation could come to report, Jiang Yueyi walked to the window and saw flames leaping, half the sky already burning red, with thick smoke billowing.

The fire was clearly starting from Xingyun Courtyard.

"How did it get this bad?" Jiang Yueyi exclaimed. "How did the fire start?"

Just then, a steward stumbled in, his face covered in soot and ashes. "Madam, there's a fire in the front courtyard. The weather has been dry these past few days, and tonight the north wind picked up. Once the fire started, it spread out of control. It's already spreading toward the inner courtyard. You need to find another place to take shelter, quickly!"

Jiang Yueyi suddenly remembered what Qi Hao had said to her that night. She grabbed the steward and demanded sharply, "Where is the Master?"

"Master... Master is still inside..." The steward was nearly in tears. "The men will surely rescue the Master. Madam, please leave quickly!"

In an instant, the fire grew even more intense, carried by the wind straight into the inner courtyard, threatening to consume everything.

The baby in her belly seemed startled by the great fire as well, kicking Jiang Yueyi several times in a short moment, causing her abdomen to ache.

Jiang Yueyi naturally couldn't stay here waiting for Qi Hao to be rescued. She held her belly and, accompanied by her maids, left through the side gate, making her way all the way to Feng Shi's Shuyu Pavilion.

Feng Shi had already been roused. Upon hearing that something had happened to Xingyun Courtyard, she was nearly frightened out of her wits. When she saw Jiang Yueyi finally arrive, she rushed over and tightly grasped Jiang Yueyi's hands.

Even for someone as composed and dignified as Feng Shi, Jiang Yueyi could feel her hands trembling incessantly, cold without a trace of living warmth.

"How is it over there?" Feng Shi asked Jiang Yueyi in a trembling voice, constantly craning her neck to look behind Jiang Yueyi. "Hao'er hasn't come yet?"

Jiang Yueyi's heart sank. She steadied herself, but couldn't muster a smile. Feng Shi looked at her with earnest anxiety, and Jiang Yueyi couldn't help but feel pity.

"Mother, it's cold outside. Let's go back inside first and talk there." Jiang Yueyi gave a hint to the maidservants attending Feng Shi, signaling them to support her inside, but Feng Shi saw through it immediately and slapped away the maid's hand with a sharp sound.

"What exactly is going on? Where is Hao'er?" Without stopping to scold the maid, she kept staring at Jiang Yueyi, pressing for answers.

Seeing that she couldn't evade Feng Shi, and knowing in her heart that what happened over there couldn't be hidden, Jiang Yueyi thought for a moment before finally speaking: "The fire started in the front courtyard. The Master... hasn't come out yet."

Feng Shi's eyes rolled upward, but she managed to hold on, though her face had turned deathly pale. She ordered two armchairs to be brought into the yard and pulled Jiang Yueyi to sit down with her to wait for news.

One after another, people were dispatched to Xingyun Courtyard, but no news of Qi Hao came through. Every time Jiang Yueyi looked up at the eaves, she saw the night sky stained red by the flames.

The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, but Jiang Yueyi remained silent from the moment she sat down. In her mind, the words Qi Hao had spoken to her kept circling endlessly.

She had a premonition. Qi Hao was going to leave.

But where could he go?

She sat blankly for what seemed like an eternity, when suddenly a cry came from outside: "The fire is out!"

Jiang Yueyi felt as if she had awakened from yet another dream. She stood up abruptly, and beside her, Feng Shi had already walked up to the messenger, asking urgently, "Where is Hao'er?"

The messenger knelt on the ground, silent for a long time. Finally, he only pointed behind him toward the courtyard gate, and began to sob.

Feng Shi's body swayed. She grabbed Jiang Yueyi, who had just come beside her, and said, "Come, let's go see."

By this time, the sky was gradually growing brighter. The morning at the Chengping Bo Mansion should have been filled with the chirping of birds, but today there was no sound, as if even the insects and birds knew what had happened in the night.

The fire in Xingyun Courtyard had been completely extinguished. Since it had started in the front courtyard, the courtyard gate was charred black, the door panels completely burned, and half the lintel had collapsed, with soot and ash swirling in the air above.

Zhou Congshen was directing the servants to tidy up the area. He had arrived at Xingyun Courtyard when the fire first started the previous night and had been busy there most of the night, looking haggard. When he saw Feng Shi and Jiang Yueyi approaching, he hurried over.

Before Zhou Congshen could speak, Feng Shi's tears had already fallen. "What has happened to Hao'er?"

Zhou Congshen licked his dry lips, glanced at Feng Shi and Jiang Yueyi behind her, and said, "The body is temporarily placed in a clean room in the inner courtyard. Aunt, where would be suitable for the wake..."

"What did you say? Whose body?" Feng Shi could no longer maintain her composure. She clutched tightly at her own clothes, as if she couldn't breathe. "Whose corpse? Where is Hao'er?"

She turned back and pulled Jiang Yueyi forward. "I'm old and my hearing isn't what it used to be. You listen. What did he say?"

Jiang Yueyi's ears were ringing, as if bells and drums were pounding, the sound lingering. Her legs felt weak, and she nearly stumbled as Feng Shi yanked her forward. Luckily, Zhou Congshen was quick and steady, catching her arm firmly to keep her from falling.

Zhou Congshen, being more composed, couldn't bear to let Feng Shi force Jiang Yueyi to speak any further. He steeled himself and said to Feng Shi, "Aunt, Cousin was trapped in the front courtyard study when the fire broke out. The flames surrounded the area tightly, and he didn't escape."

This time, Feng Shi made no sound. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Zhou Congshen ordered the servants to carry Feng Shi to a nearby room to rest. When he saw Jiang Yueyi still standing there, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. "Sister-in-law must not have slept all night either. You should go rest with Aunt for now. I'll handle things here. Don't worry too much."

Jiang Yueyi shook her head. Her heart felt like a stone was lodged in it, heavy and suffocating. It wasn't exactly grief—it was more like being in a dream, without a solid place to land.

After a moment's thought, she said to Zhou Congshen, "I want to go in and see him."

Zhou Congshen sighed again but didn't stop her. Instead, he gestured for her to follow him.

Even though the fire had scorched everything and smoke lingered, as soon as Jiang Yueyi stepped inside, she felt an eerie chill, as if this was no longer the Xingyun Courtyard where she had lived for so long but another world entirely.

The front courtyard was nearly reduced to rubble. The study was especially badly burned, completely unrecognizable. Everywhere were broken walls and ruins, even the courtyard walls had collapsed.

Jiang Yueyi walked carefully, one hand protecting her belly, while Cui Mei, who was supporting her, took a heavy fall first.

Hearing Cui Mei's fall, Zhou Congshen turned back and extended a hand to Jiang Yueyi. "The path ahead is treacherous, with broken wood and debris. If you don't mind, I'll lead you through."

Jiang Yueyi no longer placed much weight on the propriety of men and women touching. Without a word, she placed her hand in his, letting him guide her around the difficult spots.

The inner courtyard was slightly less damaged than the front, but still much was burned, everything covered in black char.

Qi Hao's body was temporarily placed in the eastern wing, which had been his residence in the inner courtyard. Due to the wind direction and orientation, this room had suffered the least damage from the fire and was relatively intact and clean.

Jiang Yueyi saw a white cloth covering Qi Hao's body and was about to step forward, but this time Zhou Congshen stopped her, shaking his head. "Don't look."

"I must," Jiang Yueyi said gently, removing his hand.

So Zhou Congshen went ahead of her and, after a moment's hesitation, carefully lifted the top corner of the white cloth.

A charred, shriveled face was exposed raw before Jiang Yueyi's eyes, just like the burned trees she had seen along the way.

It was impossible to tell this was Qi Hao.

Zhou Congshen quickly replaced the cloth and sighed to Jiang Yueyi, "It's burned this badly. I couldn't even recognize him."

Afraid that Jiang Yueyi might collapse, he carefully watched her expression. An ordinary woman would have been heartbroken to see her husband burned like this, but Jiang Yueyi, whether because she was too shocked or for some other reason, had a heavy face but remained fairly composed.

After leaving the eastern wing, Jiang Yueyi stood at the door without moving. She finally asked Zhou Congshen, "Is this really the Master?"

Zhou Congshen's heart skipped a beat. He immediately replied, "Yes. He was the only one sleeping in the study at the time."

Jiang Yueyi closed her eyes and nodded. When she opened them again, she said, "Where is Xing An? Call him here."

Xing An was brought to Jiang Yueyi, supported by two people. When he saw her, he wept even more bitterly, as if he wanted to die right there alongside Qi Hao.

Jiang Yueyi waited until Xing An's sobs gradually subsided before asking, "What exactly happened with last night's fire? You serve the master, you tell me."

Xing An wiped his eyes and nose, his voice hoarse, quacking like a duck: "The master never liked us to keep watch in his room, so last night he slept alone, just as he has for so many years..."

From Xing An, Jiang Yueyi roughly learned the full story of the fire at Xingyun Courtyard. The fire started from Qi Hao's study—probably a spark from the candle burst out, and with the dry weather, accidentally ignited the papers and books inside. Qi Hao was frail and afraid of cold, and had just used a charcoal brazier last night. Once the fire started, it was unstoppable. By the time Xing An and the others discovered it, the fire inside the room was already raging out of control; they tried several times to enter and rescue him but failed.

"The fire spread too fast, there was simply no time," Xing An said between sobs. "And yesterday the old lady sent over some charcoal. The portion the master was to use was placed nearby in the front courtyard. The charcoal was of the finest quality—it caught fire easily, so the front yard burst into flames in no time."

After Xing An finished his tearful account, before Jiang Yueyi could say anything, Zhou Congshen grew impatient and had him taken down again. He then advised Jiang Yueyi, "My cousin has always been weak in body. If someone else had been caught in the fire, they might have found a way to escape on their own. But my cousin—he likely passed out from the mere smell of smoke. Life and death are fated; no one is to blame."

After a long moment, Jiang Yueyi finally nodded: "I understand. Thank you, cousin. I will have to trouble you to handle the affairs of the household from here on."

With that, she took Cui Mei's arm and walked outside.

Zhou Congshen watched her light, swaying steps, and only after she was completely out of sight did he remember that he had forgotten to escort her out.