Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 174

Chapter 174 Fish In Troubled Waters
Although he was hesitant, Lu Zhen still followed Xu Chengzong into the Earl’s Mansion. Presumably, he was the one who opened the way, so the guards inside wouldn’t dare to stop him.

However, what happened afterwards exceeded his expectations. After breaking through the gate, there was no one along the way. There was no one in the front courtyard. Although there were a few people in the second courtyard, they hurriedly ran towards the rear with buckets and other items in their hands. It turned out that apart from the guards in front of the door, everyone in the Earl’s Mansion had gone to the backyard to put out the fire.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen felt even more assured. He immediately walked forward with big strides and kept calling for people to put out the fire. To be honest, if he was bold enough and his hands were dark enough, he could have set a fire to the front yard of the Earl’s Mansion while there was no one around. If this completely messed up the situation, it would be easier for him to accomplish it. However, since Xu Chengzong was by his side, there was no need for him to do such a thing again.

After entering the courtyard for the third time, the number of talents gradually increased. However, the servants of the Count’s Mansion were too busy to care about who they were. When they saw that they had actually set up a water dragon, they hurriedly stepped out of the way. They even pointed at the thick smoke that was still billowing in front of them. They could even see a few flames rising in the backyard and shouted, “Hurry up, the fire over there can’t be extinguished.”

“Alright! Let’s go and put out the fire!” Lu Zhen waved his hand and called for everyone to rush inside. As he entered, he shouted, “Get out of the way. We’ve brought a water dragon to put out the fire.”

These words were really useful. The people from the Earl’s Mansion that they met all along the way quickly dodged the path and let them in without even asking a single question. After all, in the eyes of these people, putting out the fire was the most important thing in the manor. Furthermore, seeing that they were all wearing public uniforms and had directly entered through the front door, there would naturally be no problem.

Just like this, Lu Zhen and his group rushed straight into the backyard of the Earl’s Mansion, which was on fire. It should be a refined house and a warehouse. At this moment, more than half of the small refined house had already been burned down, and the warehouse was constantly emitting flames. Although the people below were still splashing water, it was obvious that they could not extinguish it. Especially the flames that had already spread out from the top. Because they were so far away from the ground, they could not even pour water on them. They could only watch as the flames spread out bit by bit.

Seeing this, an old man dressed in silk clothes with a dignified face and black ash jumped up and shouted, “Someone, whoever dares to go into the warehouse and bring out the boxes inside, Uncle will definitely be rewarded heavily when he returns! If anyone can help set the fire on fire, I will speak to Uncle to protect your future!”

However, the lure of such fame and fortune was limited. Although the servants were still trying to draw water from the well in front of them to save them, none of them dared to rush in to save the property inside as they said, and no one wanted to climb onto the top of the warehouse to put out the fire.

Because just now, after the three encouraged servants rushed in, they did not come out, and the fire seemed to be even bigger than before. Also, a person tried to climb up to the top of the warehouse to put out a fire, but he kicked empty and fell into the warehouse that had been on fire for a long time. There was no sound anymore … The reward was tempting, but he still had to have a life to enjoy it, wasn’t it?

When the old butler saw this, he was even more anxious, but he was helpless. He could only urge the people below to take the risk to put out the fire and raise the price again. However, the people below could not hear him and continued to pour water just like before, coping with their errands.

At this moment, a person cried out, “Move aside, the water dragon is coming!”

Hearing this, the old butler’s old face, which was wrinkled into a chrysanthemum, immediately revealed a trace of joy, “Quick, bring the water dragon in to put out the fire!”

Actually, without his orders, everyone behind him had already made way and let the water dragon in. The thick bamboo body quickly aimed at the top of the warehouse in front of him. Following the shouts of several servants, a large column of water that looked like a white drill flew out and hit the flames on the top of the warehouse.

Immediately, a white aura surged up, and the flames that were constantly rising stopped.

Seeing this, everyone’s spirits lifted. The old butler even waved his hands and commanded loudly, “Quick, spit it out again! This fire has been suppressed!”

The servants behind the water dragon pushed hard again, and another surging water column flew out, suppressing the fire. The servants of the Earl’s Mansion also came to their senses, knowing that this water dragon alone could not really extinguish the fire, so they all rushed forward with basins and buckets filled with water, continuously sprinkling it on top …

However, this fire was truly not small. It was now the wind season. Under the power of the wind, it was not something that could be extinguished by such a small amount of water power. At most, it could only be controlled. As the water in the water dragon gradually ran out, the situation seemed to have turned bad again.

Just as everyone was panicking in their hearts, another noise came from behind, but five more water dragons came in! It turned out that it was the people from the West City Military Horse Division who had finally arrived at this moment. Moreover, they had even more money. First, they had five water dragons.

At this moment, the six water dragons sprayed water columns towards the fire warehouse. The fire was quickly suppressed and gradually extinguished. Only then did everyone in the Count’s Mansion let out a sigh of relief. The old butler cupped his hands in gratitude to the servicemen who were controlling the water dragon. “Thank you all for your help … eh!” Only now did he realize that the people who were fighting the fire in front of him weren’t all in the uniform of the Military Police Division, and that there was a group of people dressed as official servants.

After being stunned for a moment, he forced a smile and said, “Who are these messengers?”

“We are from the Daxing County Yamen.” One of the leading servants hurriedly replied truthfully.

The old housekeeper’s heart was even more raised, “So it’s everyone from the Daxing County Government, but I’ve suffered from you all.” As he spoke, his eyes widened behind him. He saw a guard who was supposed to be guarding the entrance of the manor. He gouged out the other party fiercely. Didn’t he order someone to guard the door before? He actually let these fellows in. If something happened, he couldn’t afford to.

That person had a panicked expression. He pushed forward with all his might, not caring about the current situation. He hurriedly said, “Uncle Fu, it’s not good. That county magistrate Daxing just now brought someone straight to the backyard …”

“What?” The old butler, Uncle Fu, staggered under his feet. He almost fell over. He didn’t care about the scene anymore. He immediately turned around and rushed towards his own backyard. Judging from his appearance, he was even more frightened than when he saw the fire in the warehouse.

The surrounding people were stunned on the spot, especially the generals led by the Xicheng Military Horse Division. When they saw this, they were even more confused. “What is this? Our brother worked so hard to help him put out the fire, yet he didn’t even thank him at all? What kind of backyard did he rush to?”

@ @ @ @

While rushing straight into the Count’s Mansion, Lu Zhen was still looking around and quickly found his real goal this time-the back garden.

Thus, he ordered his subordinates to carry the water dragon inside while he and Lin Lie led the other two into the backyard. Seeing this, Xu Chengzong, who was already curious about his intentions, did not go to the backyard to join in the fun. Instead, he followed him to Hua Garden.

Seeing that Lu Zhen had such a clear goal, Xu Chengzong became even more interested. Although he didn’t ask anything, his eyes swept around the slightly withered garden, wanting to see what was strange about this place that made Lu Zhen willing to take the risk.

However, Lu Zhen’s subsequent actions disappointed him. After entering the backyard, they were also stunned. Especially after Lu Zhen stood still, his gaze swept around like his, searching for something.

However, there were not many things in this garden. Although it occupied a large area and there were a few flower appreciation pavilions, some of the flowers and plants that had previously been fighting for beauty had already been defeated because of the arrival of autumn. Only a few autumn chrysanthemums were blooming in the wind. Apart from that, there was nothing strange about them.

What the hell was he looking for? What could this Guang Ning Bo hide here, instead of putting it in a safer treasure vault? Although Xu Chengzong had a smile on his face, his eyes were filled with doubt as he made a guess.

Finally, Lu Zhen’s gaze landed on a cluster of flowers and trees beside the pavilion. The flowers and trees in this place looked much better than elsewhere. Looking back at the diminishing fire, Lu Zhen no longer hesitated. He pointed his hand at the spot and gave the order, “Dig this place open and take a look!”

The garden was naturally equipped with all sorts of shovels and picks. At this moment, the gardeners ran to put out the fire, but the tools were left on the spot. It was convenient for Lin Lie and the others to pick up the shovels and dig towards the bushes of flowers and trees.

Naturally, those who could be planted on Guang Ning Bo’s mansion were not ordinary, but Lin Lie and the others did not hesitate at all. As they raised their shovels, the bushes of lush flowers and trees were dug until their roots were broken. Then, they were moved to the side casually. After digging a few more times, the soil buried at the roots was also dug open, revealing a large pit.

The few of them dug their way through the pit and swung their shovels as if they were flying. In a flash, they dug a few feet down. However, there was nothing else but mud. This caused the movements of the two servants’ hands to slow down. Even Lin Lie frowned slightly.

Only Lu Zhen remained calm and said, “Continue digging. Since there is a problem here, they will definitely hide the east a little deeper.”

After agreeing, the spades began to dig faster. Seeing this, Xu Chengzong became even more curious. What exactly were they digging for? What kind of shameful things would there be in the Earl’s Mansion?

Just as they were digging until their heads were covered in sweat, the flames on the other side were completely extinguished. Then, footsteps sounded outside the garden, but the old butler finally rushed over …