245 Killing Intent
“Burn the robe.”
When Shang had stopped at the door, Yue Jiaojiao’s heart had been in her mouth, afraid that he would take the oil lamp away.
It seemed that their silence and honesty had weakened the other party’s vigilance, and her look of being about to fall at any moment had made the other party relax.
“Xiangjun, try and see if you can remove the wooden boards on these two windows. I’ll light up the robe and throw it by the window to burn down this room.”
Yue Jiaojiao had already discovered that the structure of the house was similar to that of an inn when she was fumbling around. There were fewer green bricks and more wooden structures.
During the Lantern Festival in the city, the county government would always send officers to patrol the area. First, they were worried about kidnappers, and second, they were worried about a fire happening.
She didn’t know where she was locked up, but from the time she was caught and brought here, she was sure that she hadn’t left Huai County.
Using the light of a lit room as a signal was the only way she could think of to guide Zhao Zhan here.
“Jiaojiao, I’ve removed the wooden boards from the windows.” Li Xiangjun moved quickly. “These people probably won’t expect us to remove wooden boards. These wooden boards were nailed in a sloppy manner and I didn’t even need to use much strength.”
Yue Jiaojiao lit up the robe with an oil lamp and hung it on the edge of the window. When the fire grew bigger and the smoke spread to the entire house, Li Xiangjun opened the door and knocked on it.
“Is anyone there? Help me! The place is on fire!”
“Help! The palace is on fire!”
The two of them coughed so hard that their lungs were about to burst. The person who was guarding the outer room heard the commotion and turned his head to see the room on fire. He immediately rushed over to open the door and roughly dragged Yue Jiaojiao and Li Xiangjun out, one by one.
“What tricks are you two playing!”
“No, if I had any tricks up my sleeve, I would have jumped out of the window and escaped while the fire was still burning,” Yue Jiaojiao stammered. “If you don’t put out the fire, the whole courtyard will turn into ashes. I won’t be able to run away in this state, don’t worry.”
The two guards hurriedly tied them up with ropes and threw them outside. Then, they ran out and shouted for the fire to be put out.
When she had opened the window in the room earlier, she had only discovered that they had been locked in a courtyard. Now that they had been thrown out, Yue Jiaojiao raised her head and used the moonlight to carefully illuminate the place where she was.
The courtyard looked to be only the size of two doors, and the place she had been in was actually an inner room. No wonder the people guarding the door took so long to discover it when the fire lit up. It turned out that the two people had been guarding the outer room.
When Shang — who was waiting in the front hall — heard the noise and the sound of water in the backyard, he could not help but walk over with a dark face. “What are you planning to do?”
“Ah… Shang,” Yue Jiaojiao clutched her chest and let out a heart-wrenching aching sound. “The robe you threw at us accidentally touched the oil lamp and almost took our lives. I didn’t expect you to be so insincere. We only asked for clothes and food from you, and you actually wanted to kill us.”
Shangyu’s expression was uncertain. He turned his head to look at the blazing fire, and his eyes were filled with killing intent.
“It’s normal for a fire to break out during the Lantern Festival. If I didn’t call for the fire to be put out in time, your entire backyard would have been destroyed.” Yue Jiaojiao looked him in the eye without a trace of panic, but her voice was weak and feeble as she leaned on Li Xiangjun’s body. “Shang, is the food ready?”