Chapter 550

Cheng Guo Gong Prefecture,

at the stables,

the shed had collapsed and the walls had fallen,

a scene of utter chaos.

The well water used to extinguish the fire had turned into streams, flowing everywhere.

Near the perimeter wall, tung oil was splattered about, igniting many places; charred black traces from the fire were visible everywhere.

In the direction of the main gate,

an official from the Firefighting Brigade, accompanied by the Feng family steward, was walking toward the vicinity of the stables.

Behind the two followed over a dozen subordinates, carrying or shouldering various firefighting tools such as ladders, saws, and thick ropes.

"Official Li, please, this way."

The Feng family steward gestured with his hand.

The Firefighting Brigade official nodded hurriedly with a smile.

Arriving near the stables, this Official Li stepped through the sewage on the ground and began to inspect the scene.

"Sniff, sniff."

Official Li twitched his nose and said, "Th-this is tung oil burning?"

The Feng family steward nodded, still feeling a lingering fear.

Official Li looked down again at the sewage flowing across the ground and said, "Steward Ye, this household certainly uses a lot of water!"

The Feng family steward, still shaken, said, "It is thanks to the few young masters visiting today who were righteous; seeing the fire, they rushed over to help! If it weren't for one young master who had great strength and was incredibly fast at fetching water, it would have nearly led to a catastrophe!"

A look of realization appeared on Official Li's face, and he said, "No wonder! Just now, my subordinates standing on the fire-watching tower saw the size of the smoke and knew something major had happened!"

Looking at the surrounding buildings, the official sighed, "Fortunately, fortunately, it didn't spread."

Near the Cheng Guo Gong Prefecture lived high-ranking officials and nobles of the Great Zhou. Ninety percent of the surroundings were wooden structures; if the fire had grown and sparks had flown wildly, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

This official and his subordinates had to rush to extinguish fires; water and fire are merciless, and one careless mistake could lead to a major disaster.

"Indeed!" the Feng family steward said.

After conversing with the Feng family steward and questioning a few servants who were present at the time,

Official Li inspected for a while and then said to the Feng family steward:

"Steward Ye, look, the panicked horses pulling down the stable shed and the wall actually had a slight benefit."

"That is, the collapsed shed roof was covered in mud; after the roof fell to the ground, it covered a patch of land where there happened to be quite a bit of burning tung oil splattered, which indirectly made the fire much smaller!"

"If that pool of tung oil had caught fire, it would definitely not have been so easy to extinguish."

The Feng family steward nodded repeatedly.

Official Li looked around again, then fixed his gaze on the fodder stack by the wall.

Waving to his subordinates behind him, Official Li shouted, "Come, bring the ladder over!"

"Yes!"

Soon,

some firefighters carried a bamboo ladder over.

"Lean it against the north wall!"

The Feng family's Steward Ye, watching Official Li climb the wall on the ladder, said from the side, "Official Li, we also suspect that the sparks drifted over from the side."

"Hmm."

Nodding, Official Li climbed onto the wall, looked at the other side, and frowned.

While holding the ladder and climbing down, Official Li said, "Steward Ye, I recall the household uses silver-bone charcoal, right?"

"The charcoal used outside is either silver-bone charcoal or just ordinary wood charcoal."

"In theory, ordinary wood charcoal shouldn't have sparks that could be blown this high and drift over the wall to this side."

As he spoke,

while Official Li's gaze swept across, his movement of descending the bamboo ladder stopped abruptly.

After descending another rung, Official Li reached out and pinched a pitch-black object from the top of the fodder stack, which was somewhat charred and covered in water stains.

"Official Li, what is that?!" the Feng family steward asked in surprise, eyes wide.

"Phew."

Official Li blew on the object in his hand and said, "Wood charcoal."

"Wood charcoal? Th-this piece of charcoal, how could it come here? That would require how much—hiss!"

After the Feng family steward and Official Li exchanged a look, they did not continue speaking.

The wind could not have blown this charcoal over, so it must have been thrown by someone.

The events that occurred in the martial arts arena

did not affect the Feng family's banquet today.

In the Feng family's front courtyard,

female servants carrying trays walked in an endless stream from the main kitchen to the various courtyards.

In the hall for receiving guests,

the old Cheng Guo Gong was already advanced in age and could not accompany guests here; the main seat was occupied by the Cheng Guo Gong Heir, who was even older than Gu Yankai.

Marquis Yongyi Xu Minghua stood by the table, holding a wine cup in both hands, and with a face full of smiles, showed the bottom of his cup to the Cheng Guo Gong Heir in the seat of honor.

The standing Cheng Guo Gong Heir also politely showed the bottom of his own cup, then gestured with a smile, "Marquis Xu, please sit."

As he spoke, a Feng family female servant wanted to step forward to pour wine, but was refused by the Cheng Guo Gong Heir with a wave of his hand.

"Xu Wu Ge Xu, you are truly amazing!" Zhang Wu Niang shouted from behind Gu Tingyi.

"Marquis Gu, today's hospitality was inadequate, please forgive me. Second Young Master also suffered today; he hadn't even eaten our food before exerting so much effort."

Gu Yankai stood up, smiled, and raised his cup, saying, "Brother Feng, what are you saying? I saw those few boys helping to extinguish the fire today, and they still seemed to have energy to spare! These boys have vitality like young calves!"

The few dukes and marquises seated at the banquet laughed softly one after another.

"Please."

"Please."

After the two touched cups from afar and finished their drinks, they showed the bottoms of their cups again.

After toasting a round, the Cheng Guo Gong Heir hiccuped from the wine, sat back in his chair, waved to a female servant at the side, and said, "Go, call Zixun over."

The female servant responded and left.

On the other side, at the banquet in the side room,

those seated were mostly those who were already married, such as Feng Zixun of the Feng family, Bo Changxing Fu Boran, Marquis Zhennan Han Jiyun, Xu Zaizhang, Rong Xian, and so on.

Among those seated, there were a few who looked younger than Xu Zaijing.

When the fire broke out just now, they were not playing cuju like Rong Xian, but were accompanying their fathers and brothers in the hall, listening to the dukes and marquises discuss major court affairs.

At this moment, at the banquet, few were speaking; all were focused intently on the one person speaking.

This person was Feng Zixun, who had returned from Beizhou.

"It was also thanks to my wife repairing the secret chamber left by the previous dynasty that allowed us to have a place to hide, otherwise..."

Listening to Feng Zixun's words, which still held lingering fear,

Marquis Zhennan's Han Jiyun nodded at the side and said, "Beizhou was a major town in Hebei during the previous dynasty, and many noble families lived there for generations, which is why there would be such a large secret chamber."

"Jiyun is right!"

"Brother Zixun, what happened after that? When the younger brothers of the Xu and Gu families killed the thieves in Beizhou, what was the situation?"

Fu Boran, who was a scholar and official, raised his wine cup and asked.

Han Jiyun also looked at Feng Zixun with curiosity.

Feng Zixun raised his wine cup, touched it from afar, finished the drink, then looked at Zaizhang, who was smiling at him, and said with a melancholy tone, "Third Brother, it's not that I'm saying this, but it's truly a pity that these two younger brothers of ours are studying..."

Just as he was about to continue,

a Feng family female servant walked over, bowed to the group, and said, "Young Master, the Heir says he wants you to come over."

Feng Zixun nodded, stood up, bowed to the people at the banquet, and said, "Brothers, please wait a moment."

Watching the 'main speaker' leave,

the others turned their heads to look at Zaizhang at the side.

Zaizhang waved his hand with a smile and said, "Everyone knows, with my mother around, Little Five doesn't explain things very clearly at home; let's wait for Zixun to return."

In another room,

the people seated at this table were those who were unmarried and considered children, ranging in age from eight to twenty.

Among them was Xu Zaijing's sworn younger brother, Heir to the Lian Guo Gong, Lu Zezong.

At this moment, Lu Zezong was sitting beside Xu Zaijing, who had already changed his clothes and boots. He was not looking at Xu Zaijing, who was pouring wine for him, but was looking with a worried face at the child of the Qian Guo Gong Yao family, who was about ten years old, not far away.

When the wine cup was about to be filled, Lu Zezong, noticing it, hurriedly reached out to steady the cup and smiled at Xu Zaijing.

Gu Tingye, who was sitting beside the Qian Guo Gong family's child, raised his own wine cup and said:

"Fourteenth Brother, Yao Fourteenth Brother, Brother here won't take advantage of you; you take a sip, and Brother will drink a cup!"

Watching the child's hesitant appearance, Gu Tingye continued, "If you dare to drink a cup, I will tell you more about my experiences in Beizhou City, how about that?"

Qi Heng at the side said, "Second Uncle, Little Brother Yao is too young, don't tease him!"

Gu Tingye waved his hand, signaling Qi Heng not to speak, and continued, "I say, Fourteenth Brother, you aren't afraid, are you?"

As he spoke, Gu Tingye looked wickedly at the people at the banquet and gave Lu Zezong a wink, signaling him to stir up trouble.

Xu Zaijing sighed, looked at the Yao family child who was looking over, and was about to speak,

when the Yao family child looked at Xu Zaijing, stood up from his chair, raised his wine cup, and said, "Gu Pei Erge, you and Xu Wu Ge Xu fought for the country in Beizhou together; this cup of wine is one that Little Brother should toast you both with!"

Saying this, the young Yao Fourteenth Brother raised his cup and finished it in one gulp.

"Th-this... I..."

Gu Tingye looked at Yao Fourteenth, whose face was scrunched up after drinking, and was instantly speechless.

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."

"The gap, this is the gap in how people act and speak!"

Xu Zaijing shook his head while clicking his tongue.

Qi Heng couldn't help but purse his lips to hide a smile.

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking, before Gu Tingye could say anything, he glanced at Qingcao behind him and said, "Qingcao, go exchange for a large bowl."

"Qingcao, bring one more," Gu Tingye shouted from behind.

Qingcao smiled and bowed. Just as she walked a few steps outside, a Feng family female servant stepped forward to inquire.

Soon, Qingcao brought over several silver cups.

Xu Zaijing raised the large silver wine bowl with a handle, looked at the Yao family child, and said, "Little Brother Yao Fourteenth, please."

Gu Tingye at the side hurriedly followed, raised his bowl, and smiled, "Yao Fourteenth, I couldn't tell, you're not big, but you certainly know how to speak."

Yao Fourteenth smiled and scratched the back of his head.

While Gu Tingye was speaking, Xu Zaijing had already shown the bottom of his wine bowl to indicate he had finished.

Seeing this, Gu Tingye hurriedly finished his drink and, like Xu Zaijing, showed the bottom of his wine bowl.

After Gu Tingye finished his wine, the Qian Guo Gong family's child bowed and sat back in his seat.

Qi Heng at the side smiled, nimbly filled his own cup, stood up with the wine cup in hand, eager to try, and said, "Second Uncle Gu, Brother Jing, I..."

"Hey!"

Gu Tingye stood up to stop Qi Heng and turned his head, saying, "Exchange for a large bowl for Brother Heng!"

Seeing the large silver wine bowl handed over, and Qi Heng's somewhat stunned expression, the few children seated laughed happily.

Subsequently, with the Qian Guo Gong family's Fourteenth Brother leading the way, the children who were not lacking in manners toasted Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing with either wine or drinks.

This kept Gu Tingye's smile from ever fading.

And Xu Zaijing, having played cuju, trained panicked horses, and helped put out the fire in the morning,

had consumed his physical energy, and the Feng family kitchen's craftsmanship was excellent, so Xu Zaijing ate and drank, his chopsticks moving non-stop.

At this time,

the Qian Guo Gong family's Yao Fourteenth leaned over to Lu Zezong, and the two children, not far apart in age, whispered a few words.

"Sworn Brother."

"Hmm?"

Xu Zaijing's bulging cheeks moved non-stop; he lifted his chin, signaling Lu Zezong to speak.

"Sworn Brother, Fourteenth says he has something he wants to ask you."

Xu Zaijing nodded a few times, drank some of his beverage to swallow the food in his mouth, and smiled, "Ask away."

"Xu Wu Ge Xu, this afternoon, can I go touch your little Li horse?" Yao Fourteenth said.

"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Xu Zaijing smiled.

Lu Zezong also smiled.

Yao Fourteenth nodded and continued, "Oh! Is that little Li horse a descendant of the fine horse that was bestowed upon you by the Emperor when you were young?"

"Yes!"

"Oh..."

Subsequently, Yao Fourteenth looked at Xu Zaijing, who was preparing to drink his beverage, his eyes turning, and said, "That little Li horse is so tall and strong, does it eat a lot? I heard from the nanny beside me that today it was able to knock other horses flying!"

Xu Zaijing stopped the silver bowl containing the beverage at his lips and nodded, "It does eat quite a bit! But usually, it's my Alan and Xunshu who feed it."

"Oh... then... Xu Wu Ge Xu, what color do you like?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Hearing this,

Gu Tingye, who was eating and watching the two talk, got distracted and started coughing.

Xu Zaijing also hurriedly swallowed the beverage in his mouth, which kept him from coughing.

"Color? Fourteenth, why are you asking this?" Xu Zaijing looked at the child in front of him and said.

Yao Fourteenth looked at Lu Zezong with a bit of panic and said:

"I... I just like Xu Wu Ge Xu and Gu Pei Erge, and I want to know what colors you both like to wear, so I can wear them too in the future!"

At the banquet, the other children, who were small but had big spirits, looked at Yao Fourteenth, who was speaking, with admiration.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Gu Tingye squinted at Yao Fourteenth with an expression that said, 'I know everything you're thinking.'

Leaning close to Yao Fourteenth, Gu Tingye said, "Could it be that you aren't asking on behalf of your..."

Listening to the words Gu Tingye was about to say,

"Cough!"

Xu Zaijing coughed once.

Gu Tingye looked at Xu Zaijing suspiciously, tilted his head, and seeing Xu Zaijing shaking his head slightly, Gu Tingye thought for a moment, realization dawning in his eyes, and said:

"Shouldn't you have asked me first?"

"Oh, oh! Then Gu Pei Erge, what color do you like?"

"Pink!"

Gu Tingye said decisively.

Yao Fourteenth looked at Xu Zaijing again.

"Light green, tender yellow, and deep purple."

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking,

"Oh..."

The children at the banquet nodded one after another.

Lu Zezong had some confusion in his eyes, because Yao Fourteenth and the other children of similar age all had happy expressions in their eyes, as if they had completed some task.

Soon, these children borrowed the excuse of changing clothes to leave the banquet.

In the backyard,

the banquet for the ladies and madams was also set across several tables.

The sounds of talking, light laughter, and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks were endless.

The Feng family's eldest daughter-in-law accompanied the guests with a smile, having spoken countless apologies.

A Feng family steward nanny with a serious face arrived beside the Feng family's eldest daughter-in-law.

After the Feng family's eldest daughter-in-law put down her wine cup, this Feng family nanny leaned into her ear and whispered, "Madam, the official from the Firefighting Brigade says..."

"This servant asked, during this period, it was just..."

Listening to the steward nanny's words, the Feng family's eldest daughter-in-law took a deep breath, which kept her from cursing out loud, and she did not look in any particular direction, letting anyone see the clues.

"Good, I know."

Among the ladies and madams also sitting at this table,

Princess Pingning picked up the serving chopsticks and picked up some food, lost in thought.

And Madam Wu, who was good at observing expressions, had her eyes move, and she leaned over to Madam Sun's ear and said, "It looks like the Feng family has found something out."

Madam Sun nodded lightly, toasted with Madam Wu, and said, "Why haven't I seen your Sixth Son today?"

Madam Wu shook her head and said, "His good brother is having his birthday today, so he didn't come."

At this time,

in the room where the unmarried young ladies were seated,

several young female servants walked in quickly and whispered into the ears of several noble young ladies.

Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi looked at this group of young female servants in confusion.

After the person finished speaking,

Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi held her drink, leaned over to a noble young lady who was a relative, and said, "Little Sister Yao, what's going on? I saw that female servant, wasn't she beside Little Brother Fourteenth?"

Chai Zhengzheng, who was also at the table, the brand-new Rong Feiyan, and Gu Tingyi all looked over in confusion.

"Ah? Nothing..."

After Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi forced the question with a wicked smile, this Yao family young lady whispered a few words to her.

Fifth Da Niangzi returned to her seat.

Looking at the confused Chai Zhengzheng, Gu Tingyi, and Rong Feiyan, she muttered a few words in a low voice.

Rong Feiyan and Chai Zhengzheng's eyes lit up.

Gu Tingyi, however, asked in a low voice with some confusion, "My brother and Brother Jing like these colors, do they still need to ask? Cui Cui Mama Chang knows all about it..."

"You know too?" Chai Zhengzheng asked, looking at Gu Tingyi.

"Yes!"

(End of chapter)