Accidentally dressed as an empress

Chapter 203 Arson

Although she had caught Mr. Li, Yunxiu felt that things were not that simple.

Yunxiu stood in the sealed-off mansion of Mr. Li, watching the busy yamen runners counting boxes of property and pieces of evidence. Her brows were still furrowed, and the doubts in her heart grew stronger.

They succeeded, but perhaps only caught a small fish.

She thought to herself that although Mr. Li was domineering and overbearing on a daily basis, the emergence of many clues and the complex power relations vaguely involved behind the scenes made her feel that this matter might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface.

Mr. Li may just be a scapegoat pushed to the front, and the real mastermind behind the scenes is still lurking in the dark, controlling everything.

Night fell over the prefectural mansion. Everything was silent and everyone was asleep.

At this moment, a black shadow, like a wisp of black smoke and like a ghost, slowly and silently approached the wall of the mansion.

He was dressed in a tight black suit, revealing only a pair of eyes that flashed with cunning light, looming in the darkness.

This man moved with great agility, his figure as light as a shadow. He took advantage of the cover of night and quickly shuttled to the firewood room of the prefectural government.

His footsteps were so light that they made no sound, as if they had merged into the darkness.

After arriving at the woodshed, he quickly took off a leather bag full of kerosene from his back and skillfully poured the kerosene around the woodshed. The pungent smell spread instantly, but was covered by the deep night.

Then, he calmly took out an exquisite tinder from his arms, pursed his lips slightly, blew gently, and the faint spark in the tinder jumped up instantly.

The flickering sparks touched the pile of firewood soaked in kerosene, and in an instant, the flames jumped up. At first it was just a small ball, and then it spread rapidly, greedily devouring the surrounding firewood.

The flames grew stronger and stronger, illuminating the woodshed red, and thick smoke rose up, illuminating half the sky red.

The guard on night watch noticed something was wrong and shouted loudly: "There's a fire! There's a fire in the prefect's mansion!" While shouting, he hurriedly picked up buckets of water and tried to put out the fire.

The arsonist took advantage of the chaos, turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

Yunxiu was awakened by the sudden noise. She quickly put on her clothes and walked out of the room. When she rushed to the woodshed, she saw flames shooting up into the sky. The raging fire was rushing towards her face, and the heat wave was rolling, almost forcing her back.

Her eyes instantly became cold and resolute. While directing the yamen runners to evacuate the crowd, she secretly pondered the purpose of the arson.

"Sir, this fire is very strange. It must have been started intentionally!" a guard said anxiously.

Yunxiu looked at the blazing flames, her brows furrowed slightly. She took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "I know what's going on. Quick, put out the fire with all your might and don't let it spread! Send someone to check if everyone in the mansion is safe and if there are any casualties!"

The guards took orders and rushed to various water sources, carrying buckets and basins, and fought the fire with all their might.

The fire grew more and more fierce, and the flames illuminated the night sky red.

Zhong Yi was awakened from his sleep by the sudden noise and intense heat. He flung his eyes open and leaped out of bed. Without even bothering to straighten his clothes, he hurried out the door, his slippers twitching.

As soon as he stepped outside, a pungent cloud of smoke hit him in the face, causing him to cough a few times. He raised his hand to shield himself from the smoke, his eyes anxiously searching the chaotic crowd.

Soon, he saw the familiar figure illuminated by the fire.

Yunxiu stood tall and straight, directing the guards with a focused expression. Her clothes looked quite thin in the night wind, and her hair was slightly soaked with sweat, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks.

Zhong Yi's heart tightened, and he hurried forward. He quickly took off his coat and draped it over Yunxiu's shoulders, saying with concern, "It's a cold night. Don't catch a cold."

Yunxiu turned her head slightly and saw that it was Zhong Yi. A hint of warmth flashed in her eyes: "Why are you up too? This place is dangerous. You should retreat to a safe place first."

Zhong Yi shook his head: "How can I leave you here alone? I want to deal with it together with you."

With everyone's strenuous efforts, the fire was finally brought under control. The initially fierce flames gradually subsided, leaving only a few remaining fires emitting smoke amidst the ruins. The prefectural government was in ruins, and the charred remains of the buildings emitted a pungent odor.

Yunxiu looked at the devastated scene in front of her and knew in her heart that this fire was no accident. Someone must have done it deliberately to disrupt the peace in the city, or even as a warning and provocation to her.

She turned to Zhong Yi and said, "This fire has ill intentions. It must be related to the recent investigation. It seems that the closer we get to the truth, the greater the danger we face."

Zhong Yi gently held Yunxiu's hand, offering her strength and support. "It's okay. As long as you and I are united, we can see through any conspiracy or scheme. I will always be by your side, protecting you."

Yunxiu looked at the scene in front of her and knew in her heart that this was a warning from the forces behind the scenes.

"Sir, we found this at the fire scene." A yamen runner presented a piece of burnt cloth.

Yunxiu took the piece of cloth and examined it carefully. It seemed that the interests she had touched upon were far more complicated and dangerous than she had imagined.

"Pass the order to strengthen the security. From now on, thoroughly investigate all leads related to this mark in the city. I want to see who is so bold as to stir up trouble under our noses."

Yunxiu was well aware that her own safety was facing severe challenges, but she did not back down and calmly thought about how to deal with it.

First, she carefully selected several of the most loyal and skilled guards to form a personal guard team that followed her day and night.

These guards have all undergone rigorous training and are skilled in close combat and the use of weapons. Whether Yunxiu is traveling, trying a case or resting, they are very alert and always pay attention to any movement around them to ensure that they can respond to any sudden attack in the first time.

Zhong Yi made full use of his expertise in mechanical engineering and meticulously constructed numerous mechanical traps in the prefectural mansion.

He was on the courtyard path, and Zhong Yi connected the trip rope to a sharp spike device, which would cause anyone to trip if it was touched carelessly.

Doors and windows were the focal points of defense. Zhong Yi brought a ladder, climbed up, and hung a trigger-activated alarm bell in a hidden corner. If anyone moved a window at night, the crisp ring would shatter the silence, instantly sending the alarm throughout the mansion.

Next, Zhong Yi planned to place powerful crossbows next to the doors and windows. He first carefully measured the distance on both sides of the doors and windows, and calculated the best shooting angle of the crossbow to ensure that the possible invasion routes could be covered to the greatest extent.

Then, he took out a special crossbow bracket from the toolbox and fixed it firmly on the wall. He tightened every mortise and tenon to ensure that the bracket was extremely solid.

Then, Zhong Yi picked up the heavy crossbow with both hands, gently placed it on the stand, and adjusted the height and level of the crossbow to put it in the best combat readiness state.

He picked up the bowstring, took a deep breath, exerted strength with both arms, and slowly pulled the bowstring, feeling the tension of the crossbow. The sharp arrow was on the string, flashing with cold light.

In the corridor of the mansion, Zhong Yi also installed a powerful spring device in a secret compartment on the wall, connected to a barbed iron caltrop.

If someone attempted to breach the wall and sneak in, triggering the secret compartment, the spring would instantly pop out, and the caltrops would scatter like hidden weapons, making it impossible to defend against them. Zhong Yi carefully checked the sealing and trigger sensitivity of each secret compartment.

Zhong Yi had set up an underwater mechanism beside the garden's pond. If an enemy entered the pond and triggered a hidden silk thread, a hidden crossbow on the shore would automatically fire, sending an arrow slanting out from beneath the water's surface, striking the intruder directly.

After setting up the mechanism, Zhong Yi planned to call the guards and give them training.

"All the guards in the mansion, gather in the courtyard immediately!" Zhong Yi said loudly.

In an instant, the guards, dressed in neat and tidy clothes, walked briskly and quickly formed several rows in the courtyard, all of them holding their heads high and looking straight ahead.

"Everyone," Zhong Yi said in a steady voice, "there was an accidental discharge of a weapon in the mansion last night. For the safety of the prefectural government, I have installed powerful crossbows inside the mansion. These crossbows are extremely powerful, and the slightest mistake could result in injury. The mansion has been busy lately, and while you're on patrol, there's no guarantee you won't accidentally trigger one of the crossbows. This is especially true in narrow places like windows, where danger is more likely to arise."

At this time, a guard couldn't help but ask: "Sir, how powerful is this crossbow?"

Zhong Yi looked solemn. He picked up the crossbow and said in a deep voice, "The arrow shot from this crossbow can instantly penetrate a wooden board several inches thick. If it is fired by mistake, not to mention a person, even a solid wall will be damaged by the arrow." The guards were shocked after hearing this.

Zhong Yi continued, "So, if you encounter this crossbow on your patrol route, you must take a detour and never take any chances."

Another guard asked, "Master Zhong, if we encounter an emergency and cannot evade it in time, what should we do?"

Zhong Yi frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "If it's truly unavoidable, you'll need to use your shield to block it with all your might, and try to keep your body as low as possible to reduce the area you're hit by. But this is just a helpless move; the best solution is still to avoid it in advance."

The guards were all concentrating. Zhong Yi ordered several guards to come forward and personally instructed them on how to correctly judge the safe distance from the crossbows and how to quickly avoid them in an emergency.

Zhong Yi said, "As long as everyone takes precautions, we will be able to keep ourselves and the mansion safe. That's all, dismissed!"

After the installation of the agency, the guards in the mansion patrolled more frequently. However, the weather was calm these two days and no one attacked the prefectural mansion.