My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

The next day, in the capital of Zhenguo, it seemed like a peaceful day.

The impending war did not affect the daily lives of ordinary people in the capital.

As long as the war doesn't reach the capital, people should eat and drink.

However, in the early morning before dawn, a fire suddenly broke out in the Muyin Lane in the west of the city, where all kinds of people gathered.

The fire burned more and more fiercely, lighting up the entire sky red and alarming the entire capital city.

The fire started from the Tiegu Gang's headquarters and soon spread like wildfire, engulfing the entire Muyin Lane.

Since the houses in Muyin Lane are particularly concentrated and contiguous, and most of them are old wooden houses, the fire could not be controlled once it started.

Moreover, Muchin Lane was a place where day and night were reversed. The fire broke out in the early morning, when the residents had just gone to bed and were sleeping soundly. Many people were buried in the thick smoke and fire without even being able to cry for help.

The imperial court and Jingzhao Prefecture dispatched a fire brigade of hundreds of people, and the fire was not put out until that evening.

But the entire Muyin Lane has been reduced to ashes.

This fire alarmed Cui Qimo because the losses were too heavy and the casualties were too great.

"Your Majesty, according to preliminary investigations, more than three hundred people died in the fire and countless were injured." The newly appointed Jingzhao prefect Xiang Qingshan's voice trembled as he reported to Cui Qimo after the New Year.

He was wondering why his luck was so bad. On his first day in office, he encountered the fire at Xiangxi Lake during the Lantern Festival, which was still unsolved. Now, less than two months later, he encountered this incident again.

Could it be that I am lacking fire in the five elements?

"I give you two days to find out the cause of the fire!" Cui Qimo was anxious and angry. He ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to go to the scene to comfort the victims, and ordered the imperial guards to maintain order on the scene.

"The Iron Bone Gang's more than one hundred years of history ends today." Outside the fire scene, Cui Hongqi looked at the ashes and chaos in front of him with cruel coldness in his eyes, "This is the end of betraying this king!"

After saying that, he started coughing violently.

Zixuan reached out and patted him hard on the back.

Cui Hongqi waved his hand, "It's okay, it's just the smell, it's a bit pungent."

"There are too many casualties, and I'm worried about what might happen..." Zixuan was a little worried.

Cui Hongqi sneered, "Muyin Lane is nothing but a bunch of lowly people. They died for me because their ancestors had done good deeds. I can rest assured that you will not leave any clues behind. No matter how hard my father investigates, he will not be able to find anything on me."

After a pause, he asked, "Have all the folk doctors in the counties near the capital been notified?"

"According to the time, we can enter the city early tomorrow morning."

"After arriving in Beijing, we will properly arrange for them to be settled and immediately start treating the injured. Keep a low profile. Those foolish doctors will tell others that I paid them to come to Beijing for disaster relief. We don't need to publicize this kind of merit ourselves."

"clear."

"Go back. I believe I can have a good sleep tonight."

"Your Highness, do you want to send that Hua guy tonight..." Zixuan asked.

"No rush. Lock him up for another night and let Meng Nan interrogate him tomorrow. He is more suitable for this kind of thing than you."

……

At the same time, in the most luxurious brothel in Xuanyuan Street, in the exquisitely decorated room, Li Mo sat at the table, drinking tea slowly.

Du Zheng, who was sitting opposite him, had recovered greatly from his injuries, except that some of the cuts he had made on his body had not yet completely scabbed over.

He rarely saw Li Mo look so serious.

"A few days ago, Lord Ye looked for you three times but didn't see you. Finally, he couldn't help but take action." Li Mo said.

Du Zheng nodded. "I still underestimated his viciousness. He actually implicated more than 300 innocent lives. All in all, they all died because of me."

Li Mo raised his eyes to look at him, wanting to say something to comfort him, but felt that no matter what he said, it would be futile.

It was indeed Du Zheng who implicated these people.

Finally, he slowly spoke, "Even if it's not you, as long as the Iron Bone Gang cannot be used by him, he will destroy it."

"You don't need to comfort me. Over the years, everyone in Muyin Lane, even the worthless life, has been protected by me, Du Zheng. This is my territory, and I have sworn to protect them all." Du Zheng found it ironic that it was these people he protected who lost their lives because of him.

He was more worried about Hua Lao Er. Lord Ye's men couldn't find Du Zheng, so they tied up Hua Lao Er and said that they beat him half to death on the spot.

I wonder where Hua Lao Er is now? How is he doing?

Du Zheng believed that Hua Laoer was loyal to him, but Hua Laoer was involved in almost all the affairs of the Tiegu Gang, especially the time when he disguised himself as himself to deceive Lord Ye.

It would be terrible if he revealed everything under coercion or inducement.

Li Mo: "He won't, don't worry, big brother."

"Brother, do you remember how we met?" Li Mo suddenly asked, his expression and tone quite sad.

"How could I forget? It's been twenty years. That was the thirteenth year of Qingfeng, and the late emperor was still alive." Du Zheng's eyes relaxed and raised slightly. This memory made him calmer and gentler.

He remembered that it snowed particularly heavily that winter. As far as he could remember, he had never seen such heavy snow in the capital.

That year, he was only eleven years old and had not yet been adopted as the son of the old gang leader. In other words, he was not yet the successor to the leader of the Tiegu Gang.

But at the age of eleven, he had already made a name for himself in the gang.

Because he is shorter than other children of the same age, he looks only eight or nine years old.

It is precisely because of this appearance that he is often overlooked, and because of his cleverness and intelligence, he can always obtain more information than others.

Du Zheng remembered that day, he returned to Muyin Lane after finishing his business outside the city.

Before entering the city, the snow had not been cleared and was almost up to his knees. The heavy snow was still falling.

He walked arduously in the snow, feeling somewhat lonely because there was a rumor in the gang that the gang leader wanted to identify the candidates for adopted sons, and he was not among them.

He grew up in the gang and had made many contributions despite his young age. He felt that the gang leader was in his prime and could wait a few more years before adopting a son. By then, the gang leader would have made more contributions and would have more hope.

He had no problem with the gang leader, he just felt a little regretful.

The snow was so deep that his tiny figure looked extremely small in the vast snow.

He hadn't slept for two days and two nights. He was severely exhausted. Every step he took was difficult. When one foot stepped into the snow, it seemed as if he had to use all his strength to pull it out and take the second step.

Yes, after another kick, he couldn't pull it out and he stumbled and fell into the snow.

He tried to get up, but fell down again.

Only then did he realize that his right foot was being held tightly by someone.

A small hand stretched out from the snow and tightly grasped his right foot.

There was no person in sight, only a hand. This hand was pale and thin, like a ghost's paw.

Little Du Zheng was just startled, but not afraid. He didn't believe in ghosts and gods since he was a child. He killed someone when he was six years old. At that time, the other party's blood splashed on his face, but he was not afraid. Now he would not be afraid of a little ghost's claws.

He was just a little angry, so he pried the little hand apart with all his strength and then stepped hard on it.

You mean the devil's claw? I'm going to crush you to pieces.

But the snow was too thick, which cushioned the force, and the little hand just sank into the snow with pain but was not injured.

Little Du Zheng didn't have much physical strength to begin with, and he was not a soft-hearted and kind-hearted child, so he didn't want to pay any more attention to it and continued walking forward.

But as soon as he took a step, the hand reached out from the snow and grabbed him.

"Looking for death!" After Du Zheng fell flat on his face, he struggled to get up and dug through the snow.

He would not be able to quell his anger unless he killed this evil claw.

But when he dug through the snow, he was stunned.

What came into view was a child of about five or six years old, who was very pretty.

Even though he was so pale from the cold and was dying, and even though his facial features had not fully developed, one could already imagine how stunningly beautiful this child would be when he grew up.

Du Zheng slowly put down the dagger in his hand, thinking: If this little girl grows up another seven or eight years, if she is taken to the brothel of the gang, with her beauty alone, I don't know how many dignitaries she will charm, and I don't know how much information she will be able to find out. By then, the credit will be attributed to him, Du Zheng.

At worst, it would be a good idea to raise a child bride. After all, I am not tall and strong enough, what if I can't find a wife in the future?

The little girl closed her eyes, her long eyelashes covered with snow, and trembled slightly.

Although she was in a semi-comatose state, her instinct for survival prompted her to hold Du Zheng's feet tightly with her hands. She opened her mouth and uttered two vague words, "Save... me..."