Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 21 Clues
The wood used by the Bai family restaurant must be very good, as the fire was still burning during the day.

Chen Gu pushed his wheelbarrow and went to take a special look in the morning. Mainly because large wood such as beams and pillars are more resistant to burning, the open flame was not very big, but the heat wave kept spreading around, and the heat could still be felt when standing outside the courtyard wall.

Fortunately, the Bai Family Restaurant occupies a large area and has a yard, so the fire did not spread to other places.

"I heard that this was a deliberate arson!"

Chen Gu looked back and then bowed slightly, "Master Shichun!"

Bian Shichun smiled and continued, "The fire started on the outer wall, and there was a strong smell of liquor. When the guards found the fire, they wanted to get well water to put it out, but an explosion occurred near the well, killing one of the guards and injuring the other.

Hearing the guards' shouts, the people in the restaurant ran out, and another explosion occurred, killing three people and injuring twelve people, ten of whom were guests who stayed overnight in the restaurant.

Afterwards, the people from the Water Dragon Bureau came to put out the fire, but two explosions occurred in succession at the gate of the courtyard, causing many casualties in the Water Dragon Bureau, thus delaying the best time to put out the fire, and the fire at the Bai Family Restaurant eventually got out of control. "

"Master Shichun found out the details so quickly?" Chen Gu asked in surprise.

Bian Shichun smiled and explained, "Each family has people in the government office. It is impossible to conceal such a big thing. I know that this is arson.

Looking at Chen Gu's longing expression, Bian Shichun couldn't help but smile, but he still suspected in his heart that Chen Gu was the one who did it.

The Bai family hasn't offended anyone recently, so this kind of thing shouldn't have happened. After all, this restaurant is very important to the Bai family. Burning down this restaurant is tantamount to forming an irreconcilable feud with the Bai family.

Jiangjin County is an old city. The top ten families have occupied Jiangjin County for hundreds of years, and this county has always been very stable.

We also know that the arsonist sneaked in from the sewer, and judging from the marks at the exit, the arsonist is either a dwarf or a child. This news is only known to the people of my Bian family!"

Alas, my Bian family has to take the blame for this matter again. Last night, the Bai family insisted that the fire was started by someone from my Bian family. Although they could not produce any evidence, they still insisted on it. "

Even other people from the top ten families would not do this. After all, family fights are never about temporary gains and losses. No one can afford to end up with a fight to the death.

Bian Shichun smiled at Chen Ju with a strange expression and continued, "There were so many people and things going on last night that many marks have been destroyed, so the government office doesn't know where to start the investigation for a while.

Bian Shichun paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "The Bai family has offered a reward of five hundred taels of silver. As long as you can provide accurate clues, you can get the full reward. Even if you only provide a suspect, if the investigation proves the case, you can also get a hundred taels of silver."

Chen Gu shook his head and then sighed: "What a pity! It would be so comfortable to live in such a nice house!"

"I live in the west of the city. I woke up in the middle of the night after hearing an explosion and found out that there was a fire here. How could I know who set the fire?"

"But we didn't do it, Xiao Chen, do you know who did it?"

Seeing Bian Shichun sighing, Chen Gu couldn't help but smile and said, "The Bai family knows how to grasp the key points. After all, this restaurant is worth a lot of money. Only by catching big families like you can they make up for their losses."

Destruction is always easier than construction. The fights among the aristocratic families are often only about striving for interests, and they will naturally not do things that harm others and benefit themselves.

Otherwise, today I burn down one of your restaurants, tomorrow you burn down a row of my shops, and the day after tomorrow he burns down one of your manors. Everyone will suffer losses, and if this goes on, it won’t be long before the aristocratic families in other counties will take action against Jiangjin County.

Since it was not done by the local people of Jiangjin County, it must be done by outsiders. However, there were not many migrant populations in this era. Even in Jiangjin County, a port county along the river, with industries such as brown sugar and liquor, there were not many outsiders.

And what is the motivation of outsiders to do this?

After all, there is no love or hate without reason in this world, and there must always be a purpose for doing things.

After receiving the clues reported by the person arranged by his family in the yamen, the first person that Bian Shichun thought of was Chen Gu. After all, the physical marks matched, and Chen Gu had also attacked Bai Wencheng.

The most important thing is that Bian Shichun sent people to investigate Chen Gu, a little beggar who appeared in the city around the New Year and was later taken in as a disciple by Liu Er.

But judging from the last conversation between Bian Shichun and Chen Gu, Chen Gu's temperament is nothing like that of an ordinary little beggar, or even an ordinary person.

The conversation between the two was more like an equal exchange, but Bian Shichun was a descendant of a prominent family and a scholar with a great reputation. Ordinary people would only be submissive when they met him.

Originally, Bian Shichun was not so sure, but now that Chen Gui appeared at the scene pushing a wheelbarrow, Bian Shichun was more confident in his guess.

After all, after a person does something, as long as his safety is guaranteed, he will always want to check out what the situation is and what consequences it has caused.

Just like when a person writes a piece of calligraphy or draws a picture, he will always appreciate it later.

Bian Shichun didn't want to pursue this matter, nor did he want to expose Chen Ke, but he was interested in the thing that exploded last night.

It is quite rare to have explosives that can be hidden so as not to be easily discovered and yet can cause such great destructive power.

Although there were guns and cannons in this era, their power was not very great, or if one wanted to cause such great destructive power, a huge amount would be required.

The explosions last night caused great damage, but according to reports from the government, the size of the explosives can was not large. Calculated based on the number of pottery fragments, it was just a salt can holding one kilogram.

A can that big, even if filled with explosives, shouldn't have that much power.

In other words, Chen Ke had a formula for extremely powerful explosives in his hands.

This is what Bian Shichun is interested in.

Bian Shichun was about to continue testing, but Chen Gu asked first: "Has the matter between Master Shichun and Bai Wencheng been resolved?"

"No, even my ancestor came out in person to negotiate but still couldn't come to an agreement!" Bian Shichun sighed, "It seems like the other party really wants to get rid of my student status this time!"

"You each stick to your own story, which means there is no solid evidence. How can you be expelled from school?" Chen Gu couldn't help but doubt the strength of the Bian family.

Bian Shichun smiled bitterly and said, "Of course not at ordinary times, but recently a big shot who is related to the Bai family is in Chongqing Prefecture, and will pass through Jiangjin on his way back to Chengdu. This person, ordinary people can't afford to offend him!"

(End of this chapter)