"Shortly after that, Caixiu, the embroiderer maiden, rushed over with a letter in her hand," Shopkeeper Hu's voice took on a more urgent tone. "Crown Prince Consort, I really don't know how things escalated to that point."
"It all happened so suddenly."
"Right there! Those two," Shopkeeper Hu pointed at the two middle-aged men and exclaimed, "They suddenly stormed into Butterfly Pavilion, shouting and causing a ruckus. Then, they started smashing and setting fires everywhere."
"In reality, there weren't many customers left in the shop at that time. Most had already fled when these two began their motion."
"Boss Zhang and Landlord Li were clearly sitting at the entrance. How could they not have escaped?" Shopkeeper Hu expressed his confusion. During the chaos, while he was trying to deal with the unruly pair, he was also assisting the guests in evacuating, so he didn't notice Boss Zhang and the others.
However, much to his surprise, when he turned around again, he saw the two men lying unconscious at the entrance, surrounded by the bewildered group.
"At that moment, the fire had already engulfed them. They were lying unconscious at the entrance. Alongside them were these people who were clueless about what to do," Shopkeeper Hu pointed at the boy, the elderly couple, and the two women and one man.
"We didn't hurt them, we didn't hurt them!" The pair of young and old, along with the women and man, immediately protested.
One of them, a middle-aged man, promptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed. "Crown Prince Consort, please exercise your discerning judgment! These two are my parents, this is my nephew, my sister-in-law, and my elder sister. Thanks to the kindness of the old shopkeeper, we were given a meal. How could we repay his hospitality with hostility and bring harm to the shopkeeper?"
"That's right, that's right," the elderly woman chimed in, sobbing. "We were seated behind the stone railing near Butterfly Pavilion the whole time, enjoying our meal. When we saw the fire grow so large, I told my son to rush over and help."
"When the family rushed to Butterfly Pavilion's entrance, Boss Zhang happened to be running out, so we hurriedly reached out to grab him."
"We had no idea he would suddenly collapse in front of us."
Shopkeeper Hu nodded vigorously. "Exactly, Boss Zhang and Landlord Li were originally seated at the entrance. If they wanted to escape, they could have done so quickly. But for some reason…"
"Rumors about people being trampled to death also spread last night," Shopkeeper Hu added, furrowing his brows. "I'm not sure who started the rumor. One person said it, then ten, then a hundred. Everyone was talking about how Butterfly Pavilion was attacked by a mob and people were trampled to death."
After gaining a better understanding of the situation, Qiao Mu gestured toward the two covered bodies. "Uncover them."
Elderly Lady Zhang immediately objected. "What are you trying to do?"
"Why did you bring her here if you don't want others to see?" Qiao Mu retorted, her tone subtly mocking. "If you don't want people to see, why bring her here in the first place?"
"We need to investigate the matter thoroughly before discussing pensation. Whether it's related to Butterfly Pavilion or not, we still need to find out."
Qiao Mu felt that there was something suspicious about the deaths of these two individuals, especially given the family's inconsistent story.
Elderly Lady Zhang was left speechless by the young stoic's words, her face turning as red as a pig.
Huifeng, unbothered by Elderly Lady Zhang's feelings, stepped forward and removed the white cotton cloth, revealing the charred faces of the two deceased individuals, which were nearly unrecognizable.
"Usch!" The onlookers were so disgusted by the sight that some of them almost vomited, causing them to hastily retreat.
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