The fire at North Juxian Market was only extinguished in the early morning. But strangely, the houses next to the house were all empty. At most, only one or two people were left to look after the houses, so there were no casualties.
What was even stranger was that there were only four people left in the house, and all of them were silent. The Water Dragon Bureau and the Five Cities Warden's Office had seen with their own eyes that no less than thirty men had run out of the house, but now they seemed to have disappeared overnight.
Xu Mao and the others faintly sensed that something was wrong, and hurriedly sent a message to Cao Guo Zhang.
Cao Family.
The servants in the outer courtyard were all sent to do other things by the housekeeper. The housekeeper stood in front of the courtyard door, and did not allow anyone to take half a step closer.
Cao Guo Zhang's face was gloomy as he sat on a chair with a yellow rosewood official's hat. His thumb that was wearing a jade ring trembled slightly, revealing his anger.
Sitting opposite him was a tall and voluptuous girl of seventeen or eighteen years of age with thick eyebrows and big eyes. The girl did not have an outstanding appearance, but her facial features were rather deep. She was wearing a bright red collar with peony flowers blooming on it, which set off her healthy, honey-colored skin. Her slightly curly long hair was tied into a bun. Although she was dressed like a lady from Great Yan's boudoir, she was emanating a stubborn and domineering aura from head to toe. She did not look like the delicate and delicate ladies of Great Yan.
She was the Tatan Princess A Nari.
"Cao Guo Zhang! Didn't you say that the house was the safest place in the world, and that you had arranged everything around it? Why are there only four of my thirty Tatan warriors left, and the rest have all disappeared! "A Nari furrowed her brows in anger," Cao Guo Zhang, you must give this princess an explanation! "
Cao Guo Zhang laughed coldly, "Princess, please calm down. This old man has indeed arranged all the security measures for the residence. I even spent a large sum of money to purchase several residences around the residence as cover. This old man has spent a lot of effort on this matter. Even if Princess Anari can't see it clearly, Young Master Siqin should be able to see it clearly. Princess is so noisy, could it be that you have something against this old man? "
Sitting next to A Nari, Si Qin, who was dressed like a scholar, pursed his thin lips and did not reply. His handsome face revealed a hint of anger.
Cao Guozhang continued, "As for what happened this time, it's obvious that your subordinates were too stupid. Even if they were caught, it's because they exposed their whereabouts. At this time, Princess should be thinking about how to deal with the aftermath instead of yelling at this old man here, right?"
A Nari was even more furious. He slammed the table. "No matter how many arrangements you made, my warriors are all gone now! Back then, there were so many people from the Yan dynasty. We failed to assassinate you twice and lost so many warriors, but I was not angry. Our Tatan warriors are all eagles of the grassland. Even if they die in battle, they will return to the embrace of Tengri. But now? Because of your carelessness, so many warriors went missing before they could even draw their swords, and you still blame the warriors this princess brought for being stupid? "
"Isn't it stupid? If they weren't stupid, why would the house catch fire in the middle of the night? How could they have panicked when they were retreating and ended up being wiped out? Princess A Nari should be angry. If this old man had such useless subordinates, I'm afraid this old man would also be angry. "
"You! I've long heard that you people in the Central Plains don't do practical things and only know how to talk. Today, this princess has seen it for myself! "
"Compared to the princess's incompetence, this old man is a bit inferior. The princess's actions are treacherous, and this old man admits defeat. This old man gave the princess the Spring Painting Garden out of goodwill, but I didn't expect the princess to give it to someone else. This old man hasn't even asked the princess what she meant by this, but the princess is already yelling in front of this old man! "
Seeing that A Nari and Cao Guozhang were at loggerheads, and even implicated the Tatan and Da Zhou, Si Qin hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"Cao Guozhang, please don't take it to heart. Her Highness is only concerned about the lives of these warriors. There is still a long way to go for cooperation in the future, so there's no need to hurt our relationship because of this. Cao Guozhang is right, the most important thing right now is to think about how to deal with the aftermath. "
A Nari had accumulated a bellyful of anger and had nowhere to vent it, but after hearing Si Qin's words, it miraculously calmed down. Although its face was still full of anger, it didn't continue to speak rudely.
Cao Guozhang's gaze shifted between A Nari and Si Qin, and his expression softened slightly. "These people wouldn't have disappeared for no reason. They must have been captured by someone. If it was someone else, then it would be fine, but if they were captured by the emperor's people, then things would be difficult. "
When Si Qin heard this, his hawk-like sharp eyes flashed, but it was immediately replaced by a gentle smile. "No matter who captured them, they're already considered useless, so there's no need to think about it anymore. In Cao Guozhang's opinion, if your country's emperor captured these people, how would he deal with them? "
Cao Guozhang raised his eyebrows. Si Qin's first half of his words meant that if they could be dealt with appropriately, then the missing people could be abandoned and treated as if they didn't exist.
Surprisingly, the way this Tartar talked and acted was somewhat similar to the style of Great Yan.
Cao Guozhang maintained his composure and said, "Young Master Si Qin, there's no need to test this old man. If the emperor were to find out about this matter, then it would be difficult for both of us. However, if we want to deal with this properly, then with Young Master Si Qin's words, this old man knows what to do."
"Guozhang, you're a smart person. It's always refreshing to talk to smart people." Si Qin smiled.
When A Nari saw Si Qin and Cao Guozhang talking cheerfully and wittily, her eyes couldn't help but become infatuated as she looked at his handsome face.
Si Qin's sharp eyes looked over, but when they met with A Nari's eyes, he suddenly withdrew all his sharpness and smiled at her.
A Nari felt as if she had fallen into a pool of warm water, and her entire body became dizzy.
Cao Guozhang took in the two's expressions, but didn't pay them much attention. He called for his confidant and said in a low voice, "Go and call over the people we've arranged in the Five Cities Military Office and the Water Dragon Bureau. Regardless of whether we use coercion, bribery, or even torture, we must make these people spit out valuable information. These days, if anyone has passed by that residence, and if anyone has been acting strangely, don't let a single one of them go! "
"This subordinate obeys." The subordinate accepted the order and left.
A Nari and Si Qin saw that Cao Guozhang had taken concrete action on this matter and were temporarily relieved.
%
At this moment, Qin Yining and Qin Huaiyuan were sitting across from each other in the study of the outer courtyard of the Qin Residence.
Qin Huaiyuan was leaning against the Arhat bed by the window, while Qin Yining was sitting next to the footstool. Father and daughter were eating desserts and drinking tea as they analyzed the day's events.
"I'll hand those people over to father. Father, you can take care of the rest. I won't be involved." Qin Yining raised her teacup and drank a mouthful of hot tea, diluting the sweetness of the desserts.
Qin Huaiyuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Father suspects that you're deliberately dragging me over to deal with the aftermath."
Qin Yining laughed and said, "It is indeed to deal with the aftermath. Even if I capture them myself, I can't deal with them. I still have to hand them over to father. These people will definitely be useful to father. "
Qin Huaiyuan hadn't slept the entire night and was currently somewhat tired. Looking at Qin Yining's radiant and beautiful face, his smile deepened and he wanted to test her.
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