At the end of the hour, when Fang Zi'an was sitting in the public room in the front yard drinking tea and working as usual, in the yamen hall behind him, seven or eight miscellaneous servants and small officials were already talking nervously. After talking in a whispered voice for a while, they finally collectively walked out of the yamen lobby, went to the front yard wing, and came to Fang Zi'an's public house.

A few people pushed me and hesitated under the porch. In the end, it was the veteran Wang Jin who brought in a pot of freshly boiled water, and when he was about to refill the tea for Fang Zi'an, he saw this group of chattering guys.

"What are you doing, old horses, old money, old marquis, you are standing at the door and doing what kind of sneaky you are."

"Hey, Brother Wang, it's just right, you give me a bow and ask Lord Fang if he has time, it's inconvenient for Fang to meet us. We'll have something important to report. The old horse smiled.

Wang Jin was a little stunned for a while, but he didn't expect that he, Wang Jin, would also be called brother by Lao Ma one day. Lao Ma, Lao Hou and Lao Qian, these yamen officials, usually don't treat themselves as people.

"If you want to report something, what can you do to report it, you don't usually report things to Lord Fang, don't you all report to Lord Xia, what's the matter today, how do you have to report things to Lord Fang, the sun is coming out in the west," Wang Jin said.

"Wang Jin, don't you know that something happened to Lord Xia. He seemed to be dead. Lao Hou said in a low voice.

"What are you kidding" Wang Jinren was stupid, he really thought that Lao Hou was joking.

"Whoever is kidding you, we've gotten the news. Lady Xia had an accident last night. I'm afraid Lord Fang doesn't know about this yet, so that's why we came to report to Lord Fang. Hurry up and report it, this is not a trivial matter. Lao Hou glared.

"Oh oh oh, yes yes yes. Then I will report it. Wang Jin was so panicked that his heart was pounding, on the one hand, he was shocked by the news, and on the other hand, he felt that this was unlikely. There is a sense of anticipation and ecstasy in the mood for the news to be true, and I don't know what happened.

Wang Jin soon came out, swallowing foam and beckoning to a few people. Lao Ma and the others hurriedly dressed and bowed into Fang Zi'an's temporary public house, and followed Wang into the inner room. They saw Lord Bo Fang, who was sitting behind the table and drinking tea with a teacup.

Master Fang seemed to be a little tired, his eyes were slightly darkened, and his face was a little pale. But his waist is still straight, and his eyes are still sharp and striking. The way he sat there had a kind of majesty, which made the legs and stomachs of Lao Ma and the others, who had suffered the loss of Lord Bo, a little weak.

"The villain will give Lord Fang a salute." Lao Ma and a few others knelt down and saluted.

Fang Zi'an put down the teacup and yawned, waved his hand and said: "You don't need to be polite, Wang Jin said that you want to see me to report important matters, is there anything important in our yamen?"

"Lord Fang, it's really important. Lord Xia is dead! The old horse said directly.

"What" Fang Zi stood up calmly, his voice was a little contrived, and his expression was a little exaggerated. If there was a mirror in front of Fang Zi'an at this moment, I am afraid that he would immediately laugh, because he would see how exaggerated his acting skills were.

"Say it again, I heard you right." Fang Zi'an shouted.

"My lord, it's true. Lord Xia is dead. Last night, a fire broke out at Zhangjia Restaurant on the slope of Wansong Mountain on the west bank of West Lake, killing dozens of people. Lord Xia is among them. Lao Hou hurriedly said.

"How could you be kidding," Fang Zi'an shouted.

"Really, really. Lao Yuan lived outside Yongjinmen, and he saw the fire with his own eyes last night, but he didn't know that Lord Xia died in that fire. The three submarine fire teams stationed in the Kinmen Lookout Tower have all gone to fight the fire. This morning, Lao Yuan learned about the situation from them. It was so miserable that the whole restaurant burned to the ground, and the flames were several stories high. Couldn't put out the fire at all. Our people went in vain. The fire was extinguished this morning. The brothers of the Yongjinmen Hidden Fire Team worked hard all night and withdrew in the morning. It was so miserable that twenty or thirty people were burned to death inside, and they were all burned to charcoal. The old horse quickly explained. x

Fang Zi'an frowned and said, "It's all burned to charcoal, so how do you know that it's Lord Xia who burned to death?"

"Hey, Lord Xia's blade is easy to recognize. Lord Xia's matching knife was brought from the Central Protector Army, and his name was engraved on it. It's not like the knives in our warehouse, they are all casually made. Lord Xia has always had a knife by his side, and he found Lord Xia's matching knife in the fire, and the brothers in the Yongjinmen station recognized it. Can this be fake?" said the old horse.

Fang Zi'an's face turned pale and said, "If that's really the case, it's amazing." Why is such a big thing, the brothers of the Yongjinmen Hidden Fire Team didn't report it, I still don't know anything, why Lord Xia appeared in that Zhangjia restaurant, and how could he be burned to death there, why is this thing so incredible. I don't think it's like a dream. Can't believe it. ”

"Lord Fang, it's not just you, we don't dare to believe it. However, how dare the Yongjinmen brothers and Lao Yuan make such a rumor, they don't want to live anymore, how dare they make such a joke right, they saved the fire overnight, and naturally the report came later. Humblely estimated, Li Tachang will soon come to the yamen to report the matter. Hey, what's the deal. Lao Hou said busily.

Fang Zi'an smacked his lips and paced, looking anxious and at a loss. Suddenly, he stopped, and said in a deep voice, "I have to go and see if I don't wait for them to report it." A few of you, you are guarding the yamen. If this is true, if so many people have died, the people of the Yamen of Lin'an Mansion should already know about it. I don't know if our Shangguan knows. But at this moment, the news has not been confirmed, and I can't report it to Shangguan, so the matter is postponed for the time being, and I will go to see the scene and figure it out. ”

Lao Ma Lao Hou and a few others hurriedly said yes, and Lao Qian, who had not spoken, suddenly spoke: "Lord Fang, don't be in a hurry, but don't make any mistakes in a hurry." You are now the only backbone of our yamen. Our yamen has to rely on you to take care of your affairs, and you have to take care. ”

Lao Ma and Lao Hou cast a disdainful look at Lao Qian, and this dog day began to make a big slap so soon. What's even more hateful is that he robbed him of this first sycophant, but it seems that he is not sincere enough to shoot it again. Despite this, Lao Ma Lao Hou nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Lord Fang is now the pillar of our yamen, so you have to be careful on the road. If that doesn't work, it's better to ask someone to come along. But now Niu Lao Er and they haven't come yet, and they are not afraid of being punished. Otherwise, you can go with an adult. "Old Horse Road.

"Oops! Old Ma, when you say that, I feel a little hairy. Niu Lao Er, they follow Lord Xia's ass every day, Lord Xia burned to death in the restaurant, and a few of them haven't arrived yet, will they all be burned there?" x

Lao Hou's words, everyone in the room suddenly felt cold behind their backbones, and their hearts were hairy. Because it's very likely. After all, the news said that twenty or thirty people died. If it's not true, it's true.

Fang Zi'an waved his hand and said, "Don't guess, I'll take a look." A few people looked at the yamen, and if anyone was looking for me, they would teach him to come to the scene. I went. ”

Everyone hurriedly agreed, bowed down and gave each other off, and Fang Zi'an rushed out of the door in three steps and two steps. After a while, he got on the horse and galloped towards Yongjinmen. x

On the way to Yongjinmen, Fang Zi'an and Li Zhenjiang, the tower commander of the Yongjinmen Defense Army, and his three teams were meeting head-on. These people were going to the Yamen of the Defense Army to report last night's fire.

Seeing Fang Zi'an, Li Zhenjiang and others quickly reported what happened, which was similar to what Lao Hou Lao Ma said. However, Li Zhenjiang told Fang Zi'an that the arraignment officer of the Yamen Criminal Investigation Division of Lin'an Prefecture had arrived at the scene to investigate, because there were too many people burned to death, and a large number of weapons were found in the fire, so this incident aroused the suspicion of the Criminal Investigation Division. It was a major casualty fire and possibly the scene of a brutal massacre.

Fang Zi'an listened to what they said, and his heart tightened slightly. It seems that things may not settle down anytime soon, and I will have to come back to the scene to see. On the one hand, the investigators of the Criminal Division are aware of the progress of the investigation. On the other hand, as the head of the Yamen of the Defense Army, he should have rushed to the scene after getting the news. Otherwise, it would be suspicious.

Half an hour later, Fang Zi'an, Li Zhenjiang and others arrived at the scene. The intersection leading to the restaurant fire has been blocked. After the fire was extinguished, the people also lost interest in watching, so not many people were present. Fang Zian and others revealed their identities and were able to enter the cordon and arrive at the scene of the fire. After Fang Zi'an arrived at the scene, he saw the scene in front of him at a glance, and he also secretly took a breath of cold air.

Last night's fire burned too fiercely. Only a low wing in the front yard remained, but it was not burned down because it was far away, and now it stood alone on the side of the fire, becoming the only house left. And the rest of the yard is already a white field. The entire restaurant was almost burned to ashes. The wooden structure of the main body was completely burned out, and only a few low black walls stood there. Not only that, but even the firewood house in the backyard and a large number of trees closest to it were damaged, and they stood bare in the distance. If it weren't for the fact that it was summer, and the trees were so lush and watery that it was difficult to burn, the entire forest would have burned down.

On the flat ground near the corner of the woods, Fang Zi'an saw a row of black, charred corpses, dug out of the charcoal fire and placed there. When Fang Zi'an frowned and looked at the corpses, a slightly chubby official walked slowly towards Fang Zi'an. div

The Great Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty

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