After being reborn, I became the apple of my enemy's eye.

Chapter 167 All Burned to the Ground

Smoke curled wisps, eaves crumbled and walls collapsed. Yan Yun stood outside the academy, trembling. She watched helplessly as her beloved academy was engulfed in flames. The sound of breaking wooden beams mingled with the roar of the flames, as if tearing her heart apart.

She tried to rush in, but was choked by the thick smoke and had to retreat repeatedly.

Qing'er grabbed Yan Yun's hand to stop her from getting closer.

"Miss, you can't."

The heat from the flames hit her face, burning her cheeks and eyes.

Yan Yun looked towards the academy.

She took Qing'er's hand.

"They...they're still inside!"

She shouted.

Qing'er was also very flustered.

She knew what her mistress was worried about, but it was dangerous inside, and she couldn't let her mistress go near it because of the danger.

Yan Yun looked around at the people around her, preparing to go inside.

Sparks rose again amidst the thick smoke, and Yan Yun stood before the charred wooden beam, his fingertips digging deeply into his palm.

The plaque bearing the inscription "Jingning Academy" that she personally wrote has fallen to the ground and turned into a piece of charcoal.

"Miss Zheng."

Sima Yue suddenly stepped forward from behind.

"You can't go in."

Sima Yue told Yan Yun that he had also rescued several people, who were waiting for her in the courtyard next door.

When Qing'er heard that everyone was still alive, she immediately raised her hand to wipe away the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

She looked at Sima Yue, but immediately turned away when their eyes met.

Sima Yue didn't pay any attention to her. He looked at Yan Yun, but the frivolous look in his eyes towards Qing'er was no longer the same as before.

Qing'er's heart skipped a beat, but she understood that this was just a common occurrence.

Yan Yun was also worried about the people at the academy.

He heard Sima Yue say that the people he had helped save were in the next courtyard.

She immediately followed Sima Yue to the courtyard next door.

Sima Yue pushed open the door.

The people inside were so choked by the smoke that they couldn't even recognize themselves, but the moment they saw Yan Yun, they all rushed out and surrounded him.

He clearly had a lot to say to Yan Yun.

"Miss, you've finally arrived."

After one of them called out to Yan Yun, he lay down to the side and cried helplessly, "It's all because they were useless that the academy was destroyed."

They took all the responsibility upon themselves.

Yan Yun knew perfectly well that it had nothing to do with them.

He just didn't know whether these people were after him or after Zheng Jihua.

Yan Yun took a deep breath and spoke to them to comfort them.

"As long as you are safe and sound."

She finished speaking.

Qing'er looked to the side and asked with some surprise, "Why don't I see Sister Xiao Zi?"

The little purple sister was someone Qing'er met at the academy. When she heard Qing'er speak, Yan Yun looked around the crowd. When she counted and counted, she found that the number of people didn't match up.

The people nearby cried even louder, saying to Yan Yun, "Xiao Zi ran in to put out the fire and never came out again."

Sima Yue whispered that they had found two charred bodies in the academy, in the area where the fire had been gradually extinguished.

Yan Yun heard about the corpse.

I felt grief and indignation.

"How could this happen? Since the fire started, everyone should have been evacuated."

After the fire broke out at the academy, everyone noticed that the fire was growing bigger and bigger. They tried to call them out, but it was too late. The flames engulfed them in the blink of an eye.

It's not that they didn't save them.

Yan Yun turned to look at the academy.

"Sister Ning'er!"

Shu Shu stumbled over, lifting the hem of her apricot-colored skirt, followed by Yu Zhi, whose face was pale.

The two women's embroidered shoes were covered in ash that smelled of burning.

Upon seeing the people around her, Yu Zhi suddenly covered her mouth and said with great concern, "Miss Ning'er, I'm late."

Yan Yun shook his head.

No one could help with such a massive fire.

Hearing news of the deaths of people he knew from them made Yan Yun feel sad.

Sima Yue stood to one side.

"I have already instructed someone to report to the authorities, and we will definitely give Miss Zheng an explanation."

He promised to arrest them.

Yan Yun said in a low voice, "Thank you for your trouble, Third Prince."

Before Sima Yue could speak, Yan Yun looked at the people beside him and said to them, "The academy is gone, but I am still here. As long as I am here, I will not let you be homeless."

Sima Yue said that there was no one in the courtyard where they were staying, so they could stay there.

Yan Yun would not take them back to the Zheng residence.

As for this courtyard, Sima Yue said it was a place to stay.

Shu Shu, who was standing to the side, said, "Sister Ning'er, let everyone come back with me."

Shu Shu opened her mouth.

Yan Yun looked at her and said, "We are all women, so it would be inconvenient for us to go back with you."

Although Shu Shu's intentions were good, children can't make decisions.

Yan Yun thought about finding an inn to settle down first.

Sima Yue, who had been ignored from the side, realized that Yan Yun was not prepared to accept her arrangements. Although she was somewhat displeased, she was also ready to see how Yan Yun would handle the situation.

Before Sima Yue could speak, Yan Yun called out to Qing'er, who was standing nearby, "Qing'er, come with me."

As soon as she spoke, Qing'er immediately followed and went to the front of the academy again.

"Miss, look at this!"

Suddenly, Qing'er reached out and grabbed Yan Yun's sleeve. Amidst the ruins, two charred corpses lay on the ground in bizarre positions, one with its right hand tightly gripping a dagger.

Yan Yun squatted down and reached out to pull out the dagger.

Qing'er, who was standing nearby, said anxiously, "Miss, don't touch it, the fire hasn't gone out yet."

Yan Yun's outstretched hand naturally felt the burning sensation.

But she also knew that one of the two people was not from her academy.

As for the other thin skeleton, it was naturally Xiao Zi from the academy.

She was still clinging tightly to the person in front of her.

Yan Yun closed his eyes and said to Qing'er, "Find someone to give her a proper burial. As for the others, leave them to Sima Yue to deal with."

Since he promised to help me find the murderers, I'll leave it to him.

Yan Yun stood up and circled around the side.

He watched as his academy was destroyed overnight.

Yan Yun's feelings.

Nature is beyond words.

Sima Yue followed.

He comforted Yan Yunli, saying, "Miss Zheng, there's no need to be sad. Once I catch that person, I will make sure he understands the pain as well."

As for the burning of the academy, since Zheng Jihua was not at home, the old lady and her concubines naturally did not care about the academy's affairs. They only sent someone to ask Yan Yun if he was injured.

Knowing the time of the fire and that Yan Yun was not injured, this matter had to wait until the adults returned before dealing with it.

Even though Yan Yun wanted to rearrange the academy, what was lost was lost forever.

The old lady also said that it was not good for a young lady from a wealthy family to show her face in public.

He was tempted again to let Yan Yun stay at the mansion.

Before returning to the Zheng residence, Yan Yun also considered the attitude of the residence.

He told Qing'er that she no longer needed to come back to the manor with him, gave her some silver, and told her to go to the neighborhood.

Although Sima Yue offered them lodging in the courtyard he had prepared, and he genuinely wanted to help them, his kindness was ultimately motivated by ulterior motives.

With no more academy to attend, Yan Yun could only listen to whispers and rumors while at home.

News of Lu Lan's serious illness spread throughout the mansion.