Chapter 66 Misfortunes Never Come Singly

Jiang Yi saw a guard running over in a flurry and immediately knew something grave had happened.

"Master, this is terrible! The warehouse is on fire!"

Hearing that the warehouse was ablaze, Jiang Yi felt a wave of foreboding, having worried all along that someone might take advantage of the situation to commit arson.

"Have any of you seen my wife?"

Deeply concerned for Shen Rong's safety, he broke into a run toward the warehouse.

As he drew near, he saw the entire structure engulfed in towering, raging flames. The villagers of Funiu Village were pitching in to help put out the fire, but with the strong wind blowing that day, the flames were spreading with terrifying speed.

"Have any of you seen my wife?"

Not spotting Shen Rong among the crowd, Jiang Yi's heart hammered with anxiety.

"The mistress went inside the warehouse and hasn't come out. Then the fire broke out all of a sudden."

The patrolling guard lowered his head in fear, keenly aware of his dereliction of duty.

"Master, I am sorry! We failed to guard the warehouse properly. Please punish us!"

"Put out the fire first, we'll talk later."

Jiang Yi grabbed a bucket of water from nearby and drenched himself with it, followed immediately by a second bucket. The surrounding people were stunned into silence.

Before anyone could stop him, Jiang Yi dashed straight into the blazing warehouse.

The warehouse was vast and filled with billowing, choking smoke. Bending low, Jiang Yi searched anxiously for Shen Rong.

He kept his posture low to inhale as little smoke and dust as possible, determined to find Shen Rong and get her out quickly.

After searching for what felt like an eternity amid the chaos, he finally found an unconscious Shen Rong lying near a row of shelves.

Jiang Yi caught the distinct, lingering scent of soul-stupefying incense in the air, and within moments, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

Scooping Shen Rong up horizontally into his arms, he sprinted toward the exit.

The smoke inside was so thick and acrid that it was impossible to keep his eyes open. Fortunately, Jiang Yi's memory was sharp enough for him to retrace his exact steps.

Seeing Jiang Yi emerge from the inferno carrying Shen Rong, the crowd let out collective sighs of relief.

"Investigate this thoroughly! Someone committed arson deliberately. If I find out who is behind this, I will show them no mercy! Ride the fastest horses to Hanyang City and fetch a doctor immediately!"

Seeing the numerous burns on Shen Rong's body, Jiang Yi felt a searing pain in his heart. Even if every single warehouse and workshop were to burn to ashes, he wouldn't care in the least. In Jiang Yi's eyes, Shen Rong was irreplaceable and paramount.

Someone had planted soul-stupefying incense inside the warehouse, causing Shen Rong to inhale it and lose consciousness. This act had thoroughly enraged him.

Carrying her to the office, Jiang Yi immediately set about administering first aid. He applied ointment to her burns to prevent infection. Once the wounds healed and formed scabs, without top-tier scar-removal medicine, the marks would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Shen Rong's left cheek was severely burned, and her breathing was dangerously faint.

Once inside the office, he shut the door firmly. Jiang Yi needed to perform artificial respiration and cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her. It was only basic emergency treatment, but he prayed she would hold on.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

"Xiao Yi, it's your aunt. I'm coming in."

Wu Shimiao had heard that Jiang Yi had rushed into the burning warehouse and managed to rescue Shen Rong. She pushed the door open, stepped inside, and closed it behind her, only to see Jiang Yi performing artificial respiration on Shen Rong.

"She's unconscious right now. Kissing her like this... doesn't quite seem appropriate."

"You've misunderstood. I'm not kissing her; I'm giving her artificial respiration."

At a time like this, Jiang Yi was hardly in the mood for romance, though he understood how it might look to an outside observer.

Wu Shimiao walked over to Shen Rong, taking in the extent of her severe burns.

"She must have been drugged with soul-stupefying incense, which kept her unconscious, and her injuries are heavy," Wu Shimiao murmured, her brows furrowed.

"I've already sent someone on horseback to Hanyang City to fetch a physician."

Neither Shuangma Township nor the surrounding villages had any resident doctors. At this hour, the gates of Hanyang City would long since have been closed, and they could only hope the guards on duty would take pity on their special circumstances and open the gates.

"I'll go fetch some hemostatic ointment and blood-activating pills. Hopefully, they'll be of some use to her."

Opening the door, Wu Shimiao employed her lightness skill, darting back to the Jiang residence to retrieve the medicine.

A short while later, she returned with the remedies. Pouring a brown pill from a white porcelain vial into her palm, she gently placed it into Shen Rong's mouth.

"These blood-activating pills have certain healing properties. I used them when I was injured in the past. I just hope they work for her."

"If they have healing properties, they will definitely help. Thank you, Aunt!"

Jiang Yi expressed his heartfelt gratitude; this greatly increased Shen Rong's chances of survival.

"There's no need to be so polite. This is all I can do. I just hope the physician from Hanyang City arrives quickly, and that Xiao Rong recovers soon."

Pouring a cup of water, Jiang Yi helped Shen Rong swallow the medicine.

Another quarter of an hour passed before Shen Rong coughed weakly and slowly fluttered her eyes open.

"My head... hurts so much, and my body is in agony."

Having suffered severe burns, the pain racking her body had not subsided.

"Thank goodness! You're finally awake!"

A wave of intense relief washed over Jiang Yi, accompanied by a deep, crushing sense of self-reproach. He had nearly lost his virtuous wife, and the mere thought of it terrified him.

"Husband... I'm sorry. I've brought you trouble."

"Don't say that. You did nothing wrong. Someone was trying to harm me, and you got caught in the crossfire."

Jiang Yi harbored no blame toward his wife. After all, he had gone to inspect the warehouse himself to ensure there were no hidden hazards.

"Shortly after I got to the warehouse, I smelled a peculiar fragrance. It wasn't the scent of soap. When I woke up just now, I saw you and my aunt... and my body hurts so badly."

Shen Rong shifted slightly, wincing as a sharp wave of pain racked her frame.

"You were scalded by the flames, and the wounds are still fresh. Aunt applied some hemostatic ointment, and you'll heal in time."

About another hour later, night had fallen completely.

Jiang Yi brought Shen Rong back to their home just as the guard returned with the physician from Yongjitang.

The warehouse had sustained catastrophic damage, though the blaze had finally been extinguished. Jiang Yi instructed the guards to inform the villagers to come to the Jiang estate tomorrow to collect a monetary reward for their meritorious service in fighting the fire.

He also vowed to investigate the arson thoroughly, with Li Dongyang sitting firmly at the very top of his list of suspects.

The physician the guard had managed to bring back was a middle-aged man named Sun Chengji. He possessed exceptional medical skills and was renowned throughout Hanyang.

"Doctor Sun, thank you for making this arduous trip. My wife suffered severe burns from a fire. Please, do everything you can to treat her."

Treating Sun Chengji with utmost respect, Jiang Yi held out a teacup, urging him to take a sip first.

"Please, have some tea, Doctor Sun."

Sun Chengji accepted the cup and drank deeply.

"Take me to see your wife."

Jiang Yi led Doctor Sun into the inner chamber, where Shen Rong lay resting on the bed. Despite taking the blood-activating pill and having her wounds treated with ointment, her condition had not improved significantly.

To avoid disturbing the treatment, everyone else waited outside the room.

Earlier, a guard had mentioned to Jiang Yi that tonight happened to be Qin Lu's turn on duty at the city gate. Upon hearing that Shen Rong had been severely burned and needed a doctor, Qin Lu had shouldered the risk of severe punishment and opened the city gate, allowing the Jiang family guard to pass through.

"I owe Qin Lu a favor. If he ever needs help in the future, I will never refuse."

Anyone who had ever extended a helping hand to Jiang Yi was etched permanently into his memory.

After examining Shen Rong's wounds, Doctor Sun furrowed his brow deeply.

"Her external injuries are quite severe. Fortunately, the ointment was applied in time, preventing the wounds from worsening further. While I can treat these injuries, the scars will stay with her for the rest of her life."

Sun Chengji spoke candidly to give Shen Rong time to mentally prepare. Scars on other parts of her body could be hidden beneath clothing and remained unseen by others, but facial scars were nearly impossible to conceal.

Given that Shen Rong was still very young and naturally beautiful, she would undoubtedly care deeply about a scar on her face.

"I leave my treatment in your hands, Doctor Sun. As for the scar on my face... as long as my husband doesn't mind, neither do I."

Though she naturally hoped the scar could be erased so she could present her most beautiful self to Jiang Yi, her primary concern was already set at ease.

"You are still young; you must keep your spirits up."

Having treated many patients who fell into despair over lingering injuries and disfigurement, Doctor Sun offered a comforting word.

Meanwhile, a boiling rage gripped Jiang Yi. The warehouse fire was undoubtedly linked to Li Dongyang. If he chose to swallow this insult and stay silent, others would only assume that Jiang Yi was easy to trample upon.