After a thorough investigation by the Huzhou Yamen, various signs indicated that it was a celestial fire. Because the residents of that market were mostly woodworkers, with large amounts of wood piled in their homes, the fire was exacerbated, leading to an irreversible tragedy.
That's what the official report said, but the rumors brought by numerous merchants traveling to and from the capital did not die down because of it. The carpenters mentioned in the official report were actually textile machine craftsmen residing in Huzhou.
Upon hearing this rumor, Jiang Yifan and Jinrong immediately sensed that this matter was not simple. The fact that an entire market's residents were engulfed by flames suggested something highly unusual.
When Ye Xinyan learned of this, the first person she thought of was Shi Yin. At the end of March, Shi Yin had taken two young craftsmen and two apprentices to Jiangnan for an on-site study to improve the spinning machine.
