Ming Zhu waited patiently until it was dark, and after dinner, she indifferently mentioned Zhao Zhi’s wedding to Biying, saying, “I see that they are all badly busy, there are not enough people, and there is no one to help.”
“There should be enough people.”
“How could it be? We are half a month away, and the red silk still hasn’t been hanged on the front plaque.” Ming Zhu smiled at her, “The intendant isn’t that young anymore, I can’t bear to see him like this, ask the girls to go and help them with the decoration. Anyway, they’re more or less idle here.”
Biying thought about it, “Alright.”
Ming Zhu sent away the people around the courtyard, only Biying was left, then she said, “I want to have a good sleep, don’t wake me up.”
Biying nodded: “Alright.”
Ming Zhu put medicine in the water that Biying was drinking, it was enough for her to sleep for the entire night.
Ming Zhu waited patiently until late at night where she then took out the bag she had prepared, along with the flaming torch she kept hidden before.
(TL’s note : I translate it as « flaming torch », but it’s kind of the equivalent of a lighter, see the picture below)
She changed into the clothes that maids were wearing, disguising herself as a little maid that no one would notice.
Ming Zhu was holding the flaming torch in one hand and with her other hand, she pulled the silk on the side of the bed that would easily burn. She stared at the flaming torch and, hardening her heart, she closed her eyes before setting the silk on fire.
She was ruthless, but Zhao Zhi was even more ruthless.
Zhao Zhi not only wanted her to give birth to a child, but he also wanted to send the child to the palace to raise the child there. All year round, she would not even be able to see her own flesh and blood even once.
She was not willing to live this kind of life again.
She would let Zhao Zhi think that both she and the child were dead.
From now on, they would never see each other ever again.
The sparks set the silk on fire, the fire rippled along the bed and reached the surrounding area, the bed beams and wooden planks all fueled the fire, and in no time, it turned into a scenery where the blaze was reaching the sky.
(57.1)
In the front yard, the night watchman was half asleep in a corner when he suddenly smelled something burning, and before he could make sense of what was going on, he was shaken up by his companion, “Quickly get up! The backyard is on fire!”
The fire was raging, its red light was illuminating half of the sky.
The young man quickly got up on his feet, and looked in the direction of the burning yard, bewildered, “How come there is there suddenly such a big fire?”
Although it was true that the weather had been dry lately, but the hottest days were long gone, there shouldn’t be any fire ah?
His companion shoved a barrel in his hands and slapped him on the back of the head, “Stop thinking about it! Hurry up and go put out the fire!”
If they didn’t put out the fire quickly, the entire building would be burned down.
Ming Zhu hid the bag she had packed in the bushes near the back door. She wiped some ashes on her face, it was dark in the night, and unless one looked closely, it was impossible to recognize her face.
The residence was in chaos, all the people had woken up from their sleep, and were now fetching water to put out the fire.
The back door was usually tightly guarded, but because there was not enough people to put out the fire, and the fire was not getting smaller, therefore, all the manpower that could be used had been called to put out the fire.
Ming Zhu took advantage of this opportunity to silently escape from the back door.
She had learned her lesson this time. She did not go spend the night at an inn, and did not look for a carriage to drive her out of the city during the night either. She had to make Zhao Zhi believe that she was really dead, only that way would work.
Taking advantage of the chaos, she ran to the abandoned city god temple to stay the night, she was alone outside, but stayed alert, she firmly clutched her bag, and kept her silver tickets hidden close to her body, into her underwear. She had made herself look dusty and muddy, so that she wouldn’t attract people’s attention.
In the city god temple, several poor people who begged as a way of living were also staying there at night, there were men and women, there were also refugees with children, each occupying a corner, resting against the walls with a cover on, and no one cared that one more person was staying tonight in this dilapidated place.
Ming Zhu sat on a pile of straw, not daring to fall asleep. Here, good and bad people were mixed together and it wasn’t a safe place in the end. If her bag was stolen by someone, that would be the end of her.
A little girl was sitting next to her, dressed in rags, the little girl was holding a dirty steamed bun in her hand, which she was eating, bite after bite.
There was a hole in the large door of the city god temple, the wind was blowing in at night, making the people shiver from head to toe because of the freezing temperature.
The little girl, who had a dirty face and messy hair, burped after she was done eating the steamed bun, and seeing that she appeared as if she was choking, Ming Zhu kindly handed her a water kettle.
She held the water kettle and quickly drank a mouthful, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The little girl wiped her face and looked at the fire covering half of the sky in the distance, “How come there is a fire over there?”
“Flaming torch”
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