TNIBFT -Chapter 171 The Great Fire

A misunderstanding?

Shangguan Ning frowned and said impatiently, “What kind of misunderstanding? Wasn’t he the one trying to sell the children? Aren’t the suffering the children endured all caused by him as their father? What are you all standing there for?”

Seeing the little prince taken from his arms, Shangguan Ning was furious.

But by now, it was too late to chase after them.

Duan Qingshan’s figure had already vanished. If they went straight to Ye Tian’s hotpot shop, first, they wouldn’t be a match for the old lunatic; second, openly abducting someone in Daliang would create too much trouble, and the little prince’s identity might be exposed. The emperor certainly wouldn’t allow them to act recklessly like that.

“This time we failed. Next time, Ye Tian will be even more cautious,” Shangguan Ning said, frowning.

Zhao Mingyuan spoke quietly, “My lord, this isn’t a place to linger. The sounds of fighting might attract the palace guards.”

Shangguan Ning nodded, feeling stifled, a nameless anger burning inside her with nowhere to vent. On the ground, Sun Cang’s eye was a bloody mess, one arm mangled. He lay in a pool of blood, struggling to survive.

Shangguan Ning glanced at him and said coldly, “Kill them all. Leave no one alive!”

“And everyone inside the house—kill them too!”

“Yes!”

Several soldiers of the Great Zhou raised their weapons and finished off the struggling survivors with two more strokes.

Sun Cang widened his one remaining eye, so terrified he lost control of his bowels. He gritted his teeth, wriggled on the ground, and stammered, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Who… who are you? I have connections above… Above me, Ye Yunting is our master, the one who ordered us to capture him!”

“Spare me, spare me! If you kill me, my master won’t forgive you!”

“Master?”

Shangguan Ning took the long sword from his subordinate, stepped toward Sun Cang, and sneered as he pressed the tip against Sun Cang’s other eye.

“Ahhh!” Sun Cang screamed in pain as blood gushed from his right eye.

Shangguan Ning mocked, “Tell me, who is your master?”

“How dare you even think of Ye Yunting—speak!”

Sun Cang trembled violently. He had hoped to survive, thinking that invoking the name of his powerful patron would intimidate these men. He never imagined it would turn out this way.

“It’s… it’s the Imperial Uncle! Don’t kill me, or the Imperial Uncle won’t forgive you!”

“The Imperial Uncle of Daliang?”

Shangguan Ning sneered, glaring coldly at Sun Cang on the ground. He continued, “You dare move against Ye Yunting? Never mind the Imperial Uncle’s lackeys, even if the Emperor of Daliang himself were here, he would have to kneel before Ye Yunting. If anyone dares to touch Ye Yunting today, I will certainly kill them without mercy.”

Sun Cang on the ground was dumbstruck.

Who were these people, exactly?

Such arrogance—and Ye Yunting, wasn’t he just the son of Ye Tian from the hotpot shop?

What kind of background did he have?

Before Sun Cang could figure it out, the two bloodied eyes before him seemed to ignite with a fiery red glow. Terrified, he scrambled wildly across the ground. Blood mixed with melting snow, sticky and foul. He wanted to escape.

Shangguan Ning watched him expressionlessly and struck with his sword. Sun Cang fell dead instantly.

“Bang!” came a crisp sound as Shangguan Ning threw down the long sword, inhaling deeply as he pondered how to proceed with abducting the little prince.

Behind him, Zhao Mingyuan said, “My lord, someone is coming.”

Shangguan Ning’s eyes narrowed.

Before long, a Great Zhou spy arrived, accompanied by men bearing an official order. After a brief conversation, they handed Shangguan Ning a letter and departed.

At this moment, in Sifang City.

On the streets, townspeople gathered together, pointing toward a nearby alley. “There’s a fire over there!”

“What a huge blaze! What’s happening there?”

“Water! Someone’s fetching water… hurry!”

On the main street, the townspeople were in a rush. The city guards were already overwhelmed with their duties, one exhausted after another, and few paid attention to the burning courtyard. By the time the guards arrived, they found the courtyard completely burned to the ground. Inside were the corpses of twenty to thirty people; the rest had vanished without a trace.

…

Meanwhile, inside the hotpot restaurant.

Ye Tian felt uneasy. He glanced at the ledger in his hand; today, Tao Lichun was buying his grain at a high price, and Ye Tian was busy calculating costs.

Feeling restless, he tossed the ledger onto the table and looked toward the door.

On the street, many people in cotton jackets, carrying bundles, hurried along under the escort of the city guards.

Among the crowd, the adults looked anxious, while the children’s eyes were timid, glancing around curiously. Thinking of the eldest, Ye Tian asked, “Yuan Heipang, are the dishes ready?”

“They’ve been ready for a while.”

Yuan Heipang had a white towel draped over his shoulder. When Ye Tian asked, he smiled broadly and continued, “Although it’s not as good as what Old Duan makes, Master, a few of us can still whip up some home-style dishes. Now that Old Duan is gone, you finally have a chance to taste our cooking.”

Had Duan Qingshan not found Yunting yet? Or was he still with Yunting over at Tao Lichun’s place?

Ye Tian frowned. “Pack enough for three to five people; I’ll send it to Yunting.”

“You’re worried about Yunting, aren’t you?” Yuan Heipang asked with a grin, then quickly added, “I’ll go right away.”

Yuan Heipang put away the towel he had been using to wipe tables and headed straight for the kitchen.

Before Ye Yunting even entered the restaurant, he overheard the conversation between Ye Tian and Yuan Heipang. His heart warmed. So this is what it feels like to be cared for?

Ye Tian had never shown much concern for him before.

He always wore that teasing, cheeky smile. But now, seeing Ye Tian lower his head to do calculations, the furrowed brows twisted in worry—it must be because he cared about him, right?

If someone had taken him away today, how would Ye Tian have reacted?

He would probably have been sad.

Thinking this, Ye Yunting glanced down at his cotton robe, brushing off the dust so it wouldn’t look so dirty. That way, as long as he didn’t say anything, Ye Tian would never know what had happened today.

He wouldn’t worry for him.

After doing all this, Ye Yunting finally stepped into the hotpot restaurant.

Hearing the footsteps, Ye Tian looked up.

Seeing Ye Yunting return, Ye Tian’s eyes lit up. He dashed out from behind the counter, grinning from ear to ear, and pinched Ye Yunting’s cheeks. “You must be hungry! You little brat—except for eating and sleeping, you never think of home or care about your old father here.”

Ye Yunting furrowed his small brows, tilting his head back slightly to avoid Ye Tian’s hand. “I’m not a child anymore; don’t pinch my face.”

“You little rascal!”

Ye Tian got up, released Ye Yunting, and walked toward the kitchen, shouting as he went, “Old Yuan, no need to pack anything—the eldest is back!”

“Got it!”

Yuan Heipang’s booming voice made the entire restaurant shake.

“Where did you go just now?” Ye Tian suddenly asked. Duan Qingshan, following behind, noticed Ye Tian looking at him. He frowned, about to answer, when Ye Yunting spoke up.

“Nowhere. Someone fell on the way home, and their house was far. I went with Uncle Duan to help them back.”

Ye Yunting’s expression was calm, as if recounting something trivial.

Duan Qingshan looked at the child in front of him with suspicion. Was that really the truth?

Why hadn’t he told Ye Tian?

After all, they had just escaped death.