After a night of hard work, until he was convinced that the fire posed no threat, Sun Tu returned to his home in Chongmingfang with some fatigue.
As soon as she opened the courtyard door, she saw Ya'er waiting there anxiously. As soon as she saw him walking in, she immediately shouted: "Third brother," and then rushed over like a swallow in the forest. ." Sun Tu quickly hugged her and patted her back with his hand: "Ya'er, what's wrong with you?"
"Third brother, you didn't come back all night, and there was a fire over there. I was afraid and worried about you..." Ya'er said with some choking. The little girl was really frightened that night. Now that she was relieved, her tears flowed out like a bursting flood, which was almost enough to extinguish the Changxingfang fire again.
Sun Tu suddenly felt guilty. Last night he was only focused on helping people put out the fire, but he actually forgot about Ya'er, which made her feel wronged. At that moment, he comforted her softly: "It's not good that Ya'er is the third brother. I was just helping people put out the fire. If I had known, I should have sent someone to make sure you were safe, but I would have made you worried."
Hearing Sun Tu's explanation, Ya'er stopped crying slightly, and still said a little bit: "Third brother, did you actually save the fire all night last night? Are there any injuries? Let me see..." With that said, he quickly let go of Sun Tu's hand, pushed him further away, and then looked him up and down carefully.
Sun Tu generously allowed him to check, and said: "Don't worry, I'm not injured. This fire can't do anything to me."
After confirming that what he said was true, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked with concern: "Does the third brother know how many families were burned by the fire and how many people suffered?"
"I don't know this now. I have to wait for the government to investigate. I only know one thing now..."
"What is it?" Ya'er asked, blinking her big eyes still filled with tears.
"Then it's time for you to rest. Looking at your bloodshot eyes, you probably haven't slept all night. Hurry up and lie down in your room. Forget about today's homework." Sun Tu said, half hugging Ya'er and walking inside. . Feeling the concern from her third brother, Ya'er felt sweet in her heart, and she was led into her room by him obediently and went to bed.
Sun Tu helped her cover her with a quilt, and after a few words of comfort, the little girl finally calmed down completely. Then exhaustion hit her and she fell into a deep sleep. Sun Tu, however, did not go to bed like she did. Instead, he came to the kitchen nearby. After a long period of busy work, he steamed a pot of steamed buns and brought them out. This was what he had prepared for Ya'er, otherwise she would be hungry when she woke up. It would be uncomfortable.
After finishing all this, Sun Tu did not go back to his room to rest. Instead, he freshened up in the yard and then quietly went out. He knew very well that after this big fire, Kaifeng Mansion would be very busy today. Moreover, there is something fishy about this fire, which is the best entry point for him to intervene in the security of Dongcheng. He doesn't want to miss the opportunity.
So after only staying at home for less than an hour, Sun Tu rode his horse to the Kaifeng government office again.
At this time, the yamen was really busy. Both the servants and the clerks were busy with their own affairs. When Sun Tu entered the door, he happened to meet Sun Fu coming out with documents. When he saw him, he said anxiously: " Sun Dutou, you are here, Tongpan has been looking for you just now."
Sun Tu nodded, then took a few steps and hurriedly arrived at the Judge's Hall. When he got closer, he heard Xue Yuanpeng's urgent voice: "You two, take my post from Kaifeng Mansion and go find the mayors of Jimin, Tai'an and other houses, and ask them to vacate their houses no matter what." Those more than 400 disaster victims, otherwise they will be the only ones to ask questions if something goes wrong."
The two guards in the hall looked embarrassed, but in the end they accepted the order in a low voice and then withdrew. Sun Tu nodded to them, then hurried over, came to the front of the hall, clasped his fists and said, "Sun Tu, the lower official, has met Xue Tongpan."
"Qianli, why are you here so late today?" Xue Yuanpeng frowned in displeasure: "You should know that there was a fire in Changxingfang last night, and I, Kaifeng Mansion, have a heavy responsibility."
"Xiaguan knows. In fact, Xiaguan rushed over last night and helped Zhong Sizheng, who was in charge of the fire fighting at the time, to put out the fire... Xiaguan also just came home from the fire scene and only came here after freshening up." Sun Tudi replied in a low voice.
Xue Yuanpeng was stunned when he heard this. After looking carefully, he found that Sun Tu's eyes were indeed bloodshot, his face looked tired, and there were still traces of smoke on his neck. His expression changed immediately: "There is such a thing. ? So you’ve been saving people’s lives for thousands of miles last night?”
"I don't dare take this seriously. I just tried my best."
"That's really hard on you." Xue Yuanpeng was convinced that as long as Sun Tu did what he said, it would be the credit of Kaifeng Mansion. But then, his expression became solemn again: "Do you know why I am in a hurry to find you?"
"But is it related to the fire?" Sun Tu asked speculatively.
"Yes, the Changxingfang where the fire broke out this time is located in the east of the city. This is where the Japanese officials entrusted all public security matters to you a few days ago. Your responsibility is not small."
Hearing this, Sun Tu sneered in his heart: "You still have the nerve to throw the blame on me? If you hadn't been delaying the matter, I would have brought someone over to run the errand, and maybe this fire could have been avoided." But he didn't dare to say this to his face, so he could only lower his head and clasp his fists: "What the judge said is that the lower official is indeed unshirkable."
Satisfied with his attitude, Xue Tongpuan nodded: "But don't worry, I can always say a few words for you on this matter, and even the governor will not punish you for this. But, But you have to atone for your sins. There must be many people watching this fire, and you have to find out as soon as possible."
"Tong Juan means that the court has handed over this matter to us to investigate and deal with it?" Sun Tu finally understood and asked hurriedly.
"Yes, this was ordered by someone from the Ministry of Justice early in the morning. This case is of great importance. You must find out the cause of the fire as soon as possible and give an explanation to the court so that the victims can rest in peace." Xue Yuanpeng said seriously: "Although now There is no definite figure yet, but it is said that nearly thirty people were killed in the flames last night, and the burned shops and houses are even more insignificant. It has already shocked the government and the public, and I am afraid even the officials will be alarmed."
Hearing this death toll, Sun Tu felt nervous. In future generations, this would be considered a catastrophe. It would be enough for many officials to be held accountable and even lose their positions, right? You must know that this fire occurred in Bianliang, Tokyo, at the feet of the emperor, and its influence was several times greater than elsewhere.
However, he quickly regained his composure and immediately responded with clasped fists: "I obey, I will do my best to find out the truth about the fire."
"Well, this is an opportunity for you. If you can find out the truth, your next errand will be easy to handle. I will also strongly recommend you to the governor." Xue Tongpan gave some encouragement before speaking. He waved his hand to signal Sun Tu to leave.
But Sun Tu did not obey and leave, but suddenly said: "Tong Juan, I wonder if there is any conclusion about letting Xiaguan lead people to directly station in Dongcheng as mentioned before? Now that something like this has happened, if Xiaguan I can still control the place in Dongcheng."
"This..." Xue Yuanpeng didn't expect that he would take the opportunity to mention the matter again. After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Then I'll grant your request. But you don't want to cause more trouble. Tokyo is no better than other places, and I, Kaifeng Mansion, can't do whatever I want. It's arrogant." This is the time to use him, so we can only give him this power temporarily, otherwise he will have to delay this request for a while.
Sun Tu heard the hidden meaning in his words. Apparently the governor had already approved this matter, but he didn't know why Xue Tongpan was stuck here. However, he did not ask any further questions. He only responded with clasped fists again, and then hurriedly exited the hall.
After a while, Sun Tu called Cui Lueshang, Shen Liang, Lu Fang and other subordinates to him, and then briefly repeated Xue Yuanpeng's instructions: "Now we have a heavy responsibility, so don't slack off. We will follow you later. This officer went to Changxingfang to investigate the relevant fire situation on the spot without making any mistakes."
After experiencing Wang Qi's incident, these subordinates have become more submissive. Even Lu Fang did not dare to object openly anymore, and everyone immediately responded in unison. After making some preparations, Sun Tu took these twenty subordinates and left Kaifeng Mansion and went straight to Changxingfang.