Chapter 183 Fire

In Fengle Tower, silk and bamboo are boiling.

Land is at a premium on Qinghe Street in the south of the city. The rent for the best shop can cost thousands of gold a year, but it is much cheaper at Rouge Hutong.

The shopkeeper of Fengle Building saved money on rent, but spent all the money he saved on this wooden attic.

The entire attic is made of wood, and the twenty-four flower hours are carefully carved on the beams. Twenty-four beautiful girls were invited to name them after the twenty-four solar terms. At night, especially in summer, the river breeze is cool, The wooden windows are slightly open, and people are laughing and playing in the building. Orioles are singing and swallows are dancing. Downstairs, there are teahouses, paintings, boats, and night markets next to the river. The lights are bright and it is very bright and prosperous.

Although it is not as rich and charming as Qinghe Street, it is more prosperous than ordinary wealthy people.

In the innermost attic on the top floor of Fengle Building, there are agarwood tripods and ancient paintings hanging. Two singers are sitting on their knees, lowering their heads and caressing the Yaoqin. Next to the Chinese tent, beaded lamps, the floor is covered with moon-blue peonies. Patterned rug.

The colorful silk and velvet are fragrant, the threads are soft and the flowers are insignificant. The beauty comes to sing and dance, and the embroidered stockings and skirts disappear with her step.

However, there were no beauties singing and dancing on the embroidered carpet in the room. There was only a disheveled man lying on the ground, with his head and neck leaning on the foot of the couch. There were silver plates, jade pots and cups scattered on the ground, which exuded a refreshing fragrance. The man looked confused. , slumped on the ground, licking his tongue and smacking his lips.

This person is none other than Qi Yutai, the son of the Grand Master.

Qi Yutai came to Fengle Building to "have fun".

Cold food powder is a forbidden item and hard to find. Qi Qing sent someone to keep an eye on him. Fan Fan, the owner of the restaurant on Qinghe Street, always wanted to talk to his family when he saw him. If he went to another place to live happily, he would be unable to move without money as Qi Qing banned his financial rights.

Fortunately, he has a generous and good sister, and the banknote Qi Huaying gave him a few days ago was enough to allow him to have fun in Fengle Building several times.

Today, while Qi Qing had not returned from the palace, Qi Yutai came to Fengle Tower at dusk and took a familiar route to the "Jingzhe" warm pavilion at the end.

The twenty-four hot pavilions upstairs are specially reserved for distinguished guests. The furnishings and decorations are more luxurious than those downstairs. This "Jingzhe" is the hot pavilion where he will stay every time he comes.

There was originally a painting of Awakening of Insects and Spring on the wall. The painting originally showed a beautiful woman leaning against the window and watching the drizzle. Qi Yutai liked it very much. However, I don't know when a new painting was replaced. The clouds and thunder in the painting are moving, just like the spring rain is coming, and there are dragons and snakes tumbling in the clouds. It is different from the cold and tenderness before.

Qi Yutai noticed this in his daze and pointed at the scroll: "When did you change this painting?"

The strings in the room suddenly stopped, and the singer took back her hand and replied respectfully: "Back to you, sir, two months ago, a guest was having a banquet in this room. The wine accidentally spilled on the wall and stained the lines on the wall, so he changed it again. vice."

two months ago…

Qi Yutai suddenly realized that he hadn't come to Fengle Building in the past two months. No wonder he didn't know much about changing the paintings.

In fact, he hasn't been to Fengle Building for a long time.

Since the tribute case, Fan Zhenglian, the judge of the Court of Justice, was inexplicably involved. His father found out that he had accidentally bullied a good woman in Fengle Tower, so he detained him at home for a long time and stopped using him. Money, except for a formal banquet at Yuxian Tower on birthdays, there is no chance to "have fun".

Qi Yutai didn't understand why his father was so worried about a businessman's wife. After hearing about it, he sent people to the bitch's hometown to inquire about her, but found nothing in the end - the family had long since died.

Qi Yutai had no impression of Fan Zhenglian, but regarding this matter, he felt that Fan Zhenglian had done things properly, otherwise he would have caused a lot of unnecessary trouble.

It's a pity that Fan Zhenglian is dead. Because of his death, rumors gradually spread to new things, and no one mentioned the details. As for the businessman's wife who died early, they have long been forgotten.

The businesswoman Qi Yutai could not remember her appearance at first, but seeing the replaced silk painting in front of her made the blurry picture a little clearer.

He remembered that he was in this room that day, with the same bead lamp and the same tapestry. He vaguely saw the woman's face clearly. It was a very beautiful and fair face, beautiful and moving, with a pair of autumn-cut pupils looking at her in horror. Him, she kicked and beat him, but her strength was nothing compared to a grown man. He pressed her on the couch and forced her to look at the picture of beauties enjoying spring hanging on the wall...

The beauty on the wall was crying silently, her eyebrows furrowed.

The beauty beneath him screamed and howled, her tears like broken beads.

In his eagerness, he couldn't distinguish between the painting and reality, as if he felt that he had grabbed the beauty in the painting before his eyes, and he had to torture her until she turned into a dead white painting before he would give up.

Until the other party's struggle gradually subsided, there was only the sound of thin breathing in the room. The beauty in the painting lowered her head, staring sadly at everything in the room, and the drizzle was like silk.

There was a sound of shock and anger, and there was a faint thunder outside. Qi Yutai came back to his senses. He stretched out an assorted enamel cup and poured it over in front of his eyes. The gurgling nectar made his dazed mind suddenly clear for a moment.

"That's not right," he frowned: "How can there be other guests in this room?"

"Jingzhe" is a room specially prepared for Qi Yutai in Fengle Building.

Because he gave a lot of money every time and revealed even the slightest hint of his prominent family background, the owner of Fengle Building did not dare to neglect him. Or maybe the other party actually knew his identity but just hid it.

No one else can enter this room, which is why Qi Yutai can feel at ease here. After all, he doesn't dare to alert the guards of the house when he comes here. He only brings his personal servant with him. If an outsider breaks in during the service, it will be really troublesome. ——That's how the businessman's wife broke in last time. Fortunately, the other party was of low status and nothing serious happened.

It must be that a long time ago, the owner of Fengle Building wanted to make money, so he gave this room to someone else.

Qi Yutai was furious, and he raised his hand and slapped the person next to him on the face: "You bastard, how dare you violate the law!"

Next to him lay a dying beauty, her clothes were half-undressed, her black hair was messy and scattered behind her head, her body was covered in bruises and her face was swollen.

After Qi Yutai takes the medicine, he will always be extremely excited and torment people even harder. He will not stop until he torments people without a good piece of meat on his body. When he is hot-headed, he will not show mercy to others. No matter how gentle and lovable the other person is, in his eyes they are just a tool to calm down his anger and vent his desires.

Throw away after use.

I don't know if it was because of his anger or something else, but the heat that had dissipated seemed to rise again. His eyes were warm and his heart was hot. He kicked the corpse-like person on the couch and said, "Go, get me a pot." Biguang' comes."

"Biguang" is Fenglelou's famous wine, shaped like jasper, with a sweet and fragrant aroma. Delivering the powder with "blue light" makes people feel cloudy and ethereal. Qi Yutai liked it very much.

The beauty on the couch stood up tremblingly, tightened her tight-fitting shirt, with lingering tears, hurriedly wiped her face with a handkerchief, and stumbled out. Qi Yutai still leaned on the couch, poured the remaining wine down his throat, and sighed comfortably.

It's strange to say that even though I was happy to take the drug, I could still control it. For example, my father confined himself at home at that time, and he could endure it without "relaxing" for half a year.

But the last few times have been different, with a hint of addiction. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that he had only taken it once half a month ago, but within half a month he couldn't bear it anymore. Moreover, taking this medicinal powder is slightly different from before, making it even more pleasurable and addictive.

The dazed feeling came again. Qi Yutai squinted his eyes and was about to get the last jar of "Blue Light" in front of him when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

"That's pretty quick." He snorted and reached for the wine cup.

The door "squeaked" and was pushed open.

The person who came in was not the beauty with the wine.

Qi Yutai was stunned.

The person who came was a middle-aged man wearing a honey-colored brocade silk robe, with gold and jade on his waist, a folding fan in his hand, and a huge jade ring on his thumb. He was the most familiar attire of a wealthy businessman in Shengjing Commercial Bank.

Seeing someone inside, the man's expression changed: "Who are you?"

Qi Yutai was stunned for a moment, and then understood.

"Jingzhe" is a room specially reserved for himself by the shopkeeper, and ordinary people will not enter it. This person enters so familiarly and has a natural attitude. In all likelihood, he is the "guest" from before.

The customer that the owner of Fengle Building later tried to please ruined his favorite "Picture of Beauty in the Spring Rain"!

Qi Yutai sat up straight, glared at the person in front of him and yelled: "How dare you break into the young master's house with such a life-threatening bastard!"

"Your house?" The man seemed to have heard some joke. He looked at him and sneered: "Who do you think you are? Do you dare to call yourself young master in front of me? I paid money for this house and gave you a stick of incense. Clean it up quickly." go out!"

Qi Yutai was stunned.

Since he was the son of the Taishi Mansion, he has been treated with great courtesy by others since he was a child. Even the emperor's relatives would give his father some sympathy when they saw him, let alone someone with such an ordinary status.

However, today he went out without any bodyguard, only a boy guarding him downstairs. In Fengle Tower, he never mentioned his name as the Prince of Taishi Mansion. No one bought it for a while, even such a despicable businessman dared to Talk nonsense in front of yourself.

In anger, Qi Yutai slapped the table and stood up. He had just taken too much and his mind was not clear. He staggered for a moment before he stood still. He pointed at the other person and said, "What a loud voice. Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care who you are?" The man said with contempt, pushed open the door and walked in. Before Qi Yutai could speak, he came to pull Qi Yutai and push him out.

As soon as Qi Yutai suffered such humiliation, he was furious. In the past, I always had to restrain my temper because I was taboo about my father's relationship. Today, the guards are not here, the servant is not here, and I have just taken the powder. I still feel the blood all over my body is rushing to my head. I grab it with my hands. A candlestick was thrown at the person in front of him.

Unexpectedly, the wealthy businessman was so flexible that he suddenly turned sideways and the candlestick hit the ground with a "clang" sound. The man became angry, grabbed Qi Yutai's head and banged it against the wall.

Qi Yutai was caught by this man, who had a fragrant ball hanging on his body. As he got closer, he suddenly felt a hint of strange fragrance entering his fontanel. The fragrance was like a centipede, crawling into his head with numbness, making his eyes red. His original three-point anger suddenly became ten-point, and he just wanted to beat this man to death.

The two got into a fight, and the two singers were already trembling with fear, their faces pale, and they rushed outside. The "Qingming" room closest to "Jingzhe" on the wooden attic is still some distance away, and a song "Pipa Ji" is being sung in the hall downstairs——

"If you are having fun, don't ask how the night is. How can a good night be in this scene? When drinking, you must drink. If you have a place to sing, sing loudly..."

The people in the room were in a huddle, and the singer hurriedly stepped across the mess in the room and ran towards the door. Her snow-white dancing sleeves brushed the table, and the unopened jar of "Blue Light" on the table fell to the ground and fell. One smashed into pieces, and juice splashed out for a moment.

In the overturned candlestick, the weak flame suddenly became bright at this moment, and suddenly became bright. A fine woolen rug is inherently flammable, and when it is doused with wine and ignited by fire, it rises like a fiery snake. There were wooden beams and bamboo frames on all sides, making it easier for fire snakes to roam around, so wherever they went, the red light became increasingly powerful.

The two people in the house were struggling inside and did not notice anything strange outside.

Until thick smoke and dust gradually came from outside, and there were faint screams and hurried shouts from outside. The "Pipa Ji" on the stage stopped singing, and someone downstairs shouted: "The water is gone——"

Qi Yutai suddenly came back to his senses. Unexpectedly, the fire in front of him was very bright, and the raging fire rushed towards him with majestic heat.

He subconsciously took two steps back, and his back hit the window behind him. He turned around and wanted to open the wooden window to call for help. His hands grabbed the edge of the window, but it was like there was an invisible wall outside the window and he couldn't push it open.

The windows were locked.

…

"It's gone—"

The entrance to Rouge Alley was crowded with onlookers.

Drinkers on a street were frightened by the sound of a fire breakout in the middle of the night and hurriedly got out of bed. Some of them had not yet put on their trousers. They were wrapped in blankets and huddled under the oilcloth tent where they were drinking tea at the entrance of the alley, looking into the dark night in the distance. The fire is getting brighter and brighter.

A group of shop patrolmen fought their way through the crowd and squeezed in. Shen Fengying walked in the front, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

He was patrolling outside and had already arrived in the city. He was thinking that since today was over and everything was fine, he could go home and rest early. Unexpectedly, only halfway through his explanation, someone came to deliver a message from the fire watch tower. Said there was a fire in Rouge Alley.

He passed by Rouge Alley just an hour ago. The vendors selling snacks had all been driven away. Why was there still a fire?

The sweet dream of getting off work in the morning was immediately ruined. Shen Fengying hurried back with his shop patrolmen while cursing.

At night, the small wooden building stood in the darkness and turned into a mountain of flames. When the wind blew, thick smoke and burnt odor continued to emerge from the top of the mountain, illuminating the alleys as bright as day.

Shen Fengying looked at the fire in front of him, and his heart sank.

When putting out fires, shop patrolmen are most afraid of encountering this kind of wooden attic. Once it catches fire, it will burn until the whole building is reduced to ashes. The people trapped inside are in danger, and so are the patrolmen who go in to put out the fire.

However, it seems that the building is burning from the upper floors, and the fire is heavier at the top than at the bottom. Shen Fengying greeted the shop patrols: "Get the water bag——"

A water bladder made of cowhide will explode when thrown into a sea of ​​fire, and the water flow will extinguish part of the fire. All the patrolmen had put on armored fire vests in advance, and batches of water bags were thrown into the fire.

The door of Fengle Building was wide open, and the girls and the drinkers had taken advantage of the opportunity to escape. In this dark night, at the flower window of the upper attic, a shadow suddenly swayed above, as if someone was knocking hard on the window inside.

Shen Fengying's eyes narrowed, and then his color changed in shock.

"Someone!"

On the top floor of this pavilion, there are still people who have not been able to escape!