The Devil of Scarlet Rain

Chapter 39 - Taking Joy on Others Misfortune

An exquisite carriage guarded by a group of guards was slowly making its way toward the Imperial Palace. It came to a stop, and one of the cavalries pulled closer to the carriage and reported, "My Lord, we will need to take a detour. This path is blocked."

A man dressed in a fine black silk robe lifted the curtain up leisurely with the tip of his fan and asked lazily, "What happened?"

The calvary replied, "This afternoon, there was a huge fire. It had just been extinguished not long ago but the Hei Shi pawnshop was completely burnt to the ground. They are currently cleaning up the area now."

"Hei Shi pawnshop?"

Lifting one of his brows, Yin He immediately leaned out of the window to take a look. The entire scene was extremely tragic as the once majestic building was now reduced to a pile of ashes and smouldering woods. The plain stinky odours of soot were still lingering in the air even though the fire was extinguished for quite some time. The detectives from the local magistrate had arrived and had sealed the area for investigation.

"How did it catch fire?" The cavalry noted that his master seemed more amused than astonished by the news, but he lowered his head and continued with his report dutifully.

"The investigation is still undergoing, but it did not seem to be an accident. The fire was very sudden and spread amazingly fast. Almost nothing could be salvaged from the fire." Then the guard raised his head slightly before saying, "Also, it was reported that there were no casualties from this incident."

Hearing the details, Yin He could no longer pretend to be disinterested anymore as the corner of his mouth lifted instinctively. Such a big fire but no one was hurt? The pair of black pupils glistened brightly as he took a long glance at the scene, as if he wanted to embed the image deeply into his head. After a brief pause, he hummed lightly and instructed the entourage to take a detour.

He dropped the curtain and turned to look at Bai Qin who was accompanying him in the carriage. The charming smile on his face deepened as his eyes narrowed into a beautiful crescent moon shape.

"Good riddance! Done beautifully! He really did not disappoint me!" He praised jovially as he laughed to his heart's content.

Bai Qin was stunned at the sudden change in her master's attitude before she regained her composure. She contemplated for a moment before she realized what he was referring to. Her eyes immediately widened as she asked incredulously, "My Lord, you think... it was done by Zheng Qing Yao?"

She could not believe the well-mannered and reserved Zheng Qing Yao was capable of such brazen act. She had heard the conversation between the rider and Yin He, and knew Hei Shi pawnshop belonged to Xia Hei, but it was not enough of evidence to prove this matter had relation with Zheng Qing Yao. How can Yin He concluded that the fire was set by Zheng Qing Yao?

Yin He saw the uncertain look on Bai Qin and he knew immediately what she was thinking. He let out another hearty laugh as he played with the fan in his hand, and replied nonchalantly, "Don't underestimate him. He might not look like it, but he is completely capable of doing such things. He just needs a little push."

His eyes twinkled excitedly as he continued like a child being given his favourite toy, "Moreover, to set such a big fire but to take such precaution to not cause any casualties... in this world, only Zheng Qing Yao would care about such trivial matters."

Yin He continued to beam with excitement as he recalled the pitiful scene he saw just now. When he thought of the humiliation and losses Xia Hei had to bear from this incident, he exclaimed joyfully, "I just wish I could have seen Xia Hei's face when he heard of this matter. He must be furious to death!"

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Suddenly he uttered a sound and shook his head in regret. He slapped his fan onto his palm exaggeratingly.

"Truly what a waste! I should have left the manor earlier today, then I might still be able to catch the scene of fire!" He muttered to himself.

Bai Qin looked on helplessly at the self-indulgent Yin He who was taking joy from others misfortune unashamedly. While he was busy sniggering, he noticed Bai Qin seemed to have something to say but was hesitating as she played with her hand nervously.

Raising his brows, he asked, "What it is?"

Bai Qin muttered quietly, "It just that... if this is done by Zheng Qing Yao, then I truly did not expect he will take such drastic action to help Meng Yu. He had always been maintaining such a low profile for so many years, even after Zheng Huo Yan had married into the royal family. Why would he go to such length for her, someone he barely knows?"

After a momentarily pause, she added hesitantly, "My Lord, was his action within your expectation? "She peered at Yin He with anticipation.

Yin He revealed a sly smile as he hummed lightly. He leaned back against the carriage wall lazily and drawled, "Well, I did purposely pit him against Xia Hei, but this time, his action did exceed my expectation. Looks like there will be a good show coming up very soon."

With a graceful twirl on his wrist, he flapped the paper fan open, and gently fanned himself.

"Seems like a debtor will come to collect her debt from me very soon." There was a faint smile on his face as he murmured quietly to himself.

The carriage continued to make its way to the Imperial Palace. Not long later, the palace gate was already in sight. When the guards saw the emblem on the carriage, they immediately opened the gate to let them inside. The carriage continued to drive for a distance before coming to a stop. Yin He stepped off the carriage, and notice a familiar carriage parked not far from them. Bai Qin walked over to him and whispered, "Is the Zheng clan's carriage."

The corner of his eyes immediately crinkled when he heard that. With his hand clasp to his back, he took big strides toward the inner harem. The Imperial Palace was extremely huge, but it took him barely half an hour for before he finally arrived at a quiet courtyard with clean and simple decoration, which is totally unlike the rest of the exquisite courtyard of the Imperial Palace. Although the outside of the courtyard was stationed with quite a few royal guards, but in the inside, there were not a lot of servants. It can be seen the owner of the courtyard was someone who did not value extravagant and preferred to enjoy peace and simplicity of life. As soon as the eunuchs saw Yin He approaching, they quickly announced his arrival.

Yin He did not wait for anyone to come out to welcome him as he strode in with familiarity. On his way in, he crossed path with Zheng Qing Yao who was just leaving. Today, he was well dressed in a grey silk robe and white hat, but it did not hide the weariness on his face. It could be seen that he did not have a good night rest at all.

"What a coincidence! You are also here, Lord Zheng," Yin He greeted him with a wide smile on his face.

Zheng Qing Yao greeted him back politely and replied, "I am just dropping by to check on Lady Fang's health. It seems like there is a tremendous improvement since my last visit, so there should not be anything to be worried about."

Yin He nodded in acknowledgement as he replied, "Thanks for your hard work, though I did not expect you to still come over today. After all, you must have been terribly busy these few days." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he emphasized the word busy, but Zheng Qing Yao did not take it to heart. He just smiled back at him and replied dutifully, "It is my duty."

Yin He shook his head disapprovingly as he walked up to Zheng Qing Yao and gave him a few strong pats on the shoulder. "Aiya Lord Zheng, I know it must have not been easy for you, but you must take good care of yourself too. It will be terrible if you have fallen sick yourself!

Zheng Qing Yao opened his mouth to say something, but Yin He cut him off him, "Tonight, you should go home earlier and take a good rest. You never know what will happen in the future, so it is always good to keep yourself in the best shape."

Zheng Qing Yao opened his mouth again, wanting to say something, but was quickly interrupted by the seemingly overexcited Yin He once again, "I shall not delay you any longer. Lady Fang must be waiting for me anxiously. Please excuse me." With that, he immediately waltzed off in good spirit, leaving Zheng Qing Yao mouth agape, and completely baffled by his unusual enthusiasm.