Chapter 450 Fire against Water
Qin Wanru came back before the banquet began. There were so many clansmen, and her status was much lower than those of Duke Xing's Mansion. So she didn't need the master of Duke Xing's Mansion to accompany her. Only a few important people who were close to her sat aside. Duke Xing stayed there to talk to her, and none of the women needed to accompany her.
Qin Wanru's current name was Shao Wanru. By the time she returned to her room, it was getting late.
Shao Yuanhao was sent back, but Rui'an Great Elder Princess was worried that he would stay there. As soon as the ceremony was over, she sent someone to take him away. As for Qin Wanru, there were still four rough old women with her.
When Shao Wanru returned to the room, the dinner had already been served, but it was not eaten yet. It was said that Old Madam had invited her, so Shao Wanru went to Old Madam's place with some people.
Old Madam had left very early, so she asked about what had happened after she left. Then she asked Qin Wanru to go back.
When she returned to her courtyard, it was already late. The servant girls prepared dinner. It was a little cold now, and Shao Wanru had no appetite. After taking a few bites, she asked several servant girls and old maids to take some and eat it.
"Miss, the hot water for bathing is ready. Do you want to take a bath now?" Yujie came in and asked. The hot water was indeed brought by the servants of Duke Xing's Mansion and had been prepared already.
Shao Wanru nodded and entered the inner room. She sat down by the side and did not enter the bathtub. The smell of kerosene in the room was thick, but when the door was closed, no one could smell it outside.
Yujie went to the back window, opened it, and looked at the darkness outside. A black shadow suddenly appeared in front of her, which scared her so much that she took two steps back.
It was a guard in black clothes, looking grave. He briefly repeated what had happened.
"We found Wang Shengxue and a woman dressed in the same clothes as Fifth Miss's secretly meeting at a pavilion. The woman was discovered and jumped into the lake. She went ashore and headed this way. A large group of elders from the Shao family was chasing after her. They looked as if they were going to drown Fifth Miss in the pond to protect the reputation of the Shao family's daughters."
"Fire!" Shao Wanru stood up, and her eyes were cold and calm.
Although the situation was a little different from what she had guessed, it was still very close to what she had guessed. They really wanted to kill her.
Yujie hurriedly pulled her out of the room. The guard took out a match from his arms. With a wave of his hand, the match was lit. He threw it on the big carved bed in the room. Immediately, the fire rose into the sky. He took advantage of the opportunity and set fire to other places. Then he moved out of the window. The thick fireworks had lit up the sky.
Standing at the back window of Madam of Duke Xing, Nanny Sheng looked in the direction of Qin Wanru's courtyard and said in a low voice, "Madam, wait a little longer, and she will die!"
There was no one else in the room except for her and Madam of Duke Xing, who was lying on the couch. Hearing Nanny Sheng's words, her face showed a bit of complacency.
"That's the courtyard for An'er to get married in. After so many years of preparation, how can I really let that bitch live there?" She smiled mockingly. She just wanted her to stay for a while so that Rui'an Great Elder Princess could see her affection for Shao Wanru. After the matter was settled today, this courtyard would still be Shao Hua'an's.
"It's a pity that because of her living there the room has gotten dirty!" Madam of Duke Xing pressed a handkerchief to her face and sighed slightly.
"Of course. After this matter is settled, Madam can slowly adjust it. After First Young Master's marriage is discussed, there will be no one mentioning Fifth Miss again after a period of time!" Nanny Sheng said with a smile.
They were all waiting for news of Shao Wanru.
After today's incident, there was no Fifth Miss in Duke Xing's Mansion. After the secret meeting between Fifth Miss Shao and a man, she had lost her reputation. That she was sunk had nothing to do with Duke Xing's Mansion. When the incident happened, the masters of Duke Xing's Mansion were all absent. And the members of the Shao Clan settled this thing. So what if Rui'an Great Elder Princess showed up?
In the end, this matter would not be settled. Could it be false if so many people had witnessed it?
They saw Fifth Miss Shao meeting a man secretly. They saw Fifth Miss Shao jump into the lake and run into the courtyard along with the water stains on Fifth Miss's clothes. Then, they would see Fifth Miss Shao, who had changed her clothes. All sorts of signs indicated that the woman was Fifth Miss Shao. For the sake of the reputation of women in the family, they would have to punish the daughter of the family who had ruined their reputation. This kind of thing would make sense wherever it was put.
Moreover, the most important thing was that this matter had nothing to do with Duke Xing's Mansion. It was the members of the clan who had acted on their own initiative. Because of the wine, few of the members were sober, and some people would secretly make things more serious. It was bound to be successful!
By now, Shao Wanru must have freshened up and changed her clothes. There was no difference between the wet clothes after bathing and the wet clothes when she jumped into the water. Several servant girls in the courtyard had been waiting for Shao Wanru to change her clothes so they could get her clothes wet. Then, the members of the Shao family would find her.
"Madam... Madam... Madam..." Nanny Sheng, who had been staring at Shao Wanru's yard from the window, suddenly screamed.
"What's the matter? Why are you in a panic?" Madam of Duke Xing sat up unpleasantly. She stood up, and walked to the back window. "Did they make the trouble?"
When the fuss was made, it meant that the matter had been done. She had to sleep and rest here, so she couldn't be woken up by others. Today, there were many things to do. As the Madam in charge of internal affairs, she fell asleep early, which was reasonable.
"Fire, it's on fire!" Looking in the direction of the blazing fire, Nanny Sheng broke out in a cold sweat. It looked like the courtyard that Madam had prepared for the First Young Master's wedding. It was the residence of Fifth Miss Shao now. If the fire really broke out, Madam's years of painstaking efforts would be gone.
The furniture there had been saved by Madam for many years and had been slowly accumulated. It could be said that it had been saved for about 10 years. The things inside were also carefully selected by Madam. If it was really burned, Madam would vomit blood.
"What, it's on fire?" Madam of Duke Xing also saw the fire at this time. The fire was so thick in the sky that she could see it clearly even through the window.
"It's on fire. Madam. It seems to be the courtyard where Fifth Miss lives," Nanny Sheng said with a crying voice.
"It's on fire? It's on fire! How could it be..." Madam of Duke Xing swayed and almost fell down. She grabbed Nanny Sheng's sleeve and almost gnashed her teeth as she asked, "How could this happen?"
"I... I don't know. Madam, please... hurry up and put out the fire!" Nanny Sheng stammered, feeling that something unexpected had happened.
"Let's go and have a look!" Madam of Duke Xing turned around and walked out. At this time, she had to look at the fire and the source of the noise, which all indicated that this matter had been made big.
Because she was in a panic, when she walked to the door, Madam of Duke Xing tripped over the threshold and fell to the ground. Nanny Sheng saw that it was not good and hurried to help her up. She said hurriedly, "Madam, Madam, don't be anxious. Maybe it's not there. Let's go and have a look."
"Let's go!" Madam of Duke Xing gasped heavily, pushed Nanny Sheng away, and stumbled out. That courtyard was filled with things that had taken her painstaking efforts to obtain, and it was the best courtyard in all of Duke Xing's Mansion. It was even better than Old Madam's courtyard. All the things inside it were valuable and dignified.
Some of them were selected from Princess Qinghua's dowry. They were all very precious and couldn't be lost!
When several servant girls and old maids outside heard that Madam of Duke Xing came out, they hurried to follow her and went to the place where the fire was raging.
The elders of the Shao Clan were all stunned on the spot. They looked at the courtyard in the firelight in shock. They were all stunned. Was the heavily burnt courtyard in front of them the courtyard where Fifth Miss Shao lived?
"Is that Fifth Miss Shao standing at the gate of the courtyard and anxiously asking the servants to pour water?"
The clothes were still the same ones as in the daytime. And the clothes that the woman in the pavilion had on shared the same butterfly patterns on the sleeves with hers. However, the Shaos knew that this one they saw now was not that one from earlier.
The woman jumped into the water, and her clothes were wet. Even if they were dried, they could not be dry in such a short time. As for Fifth Miss Shao, her clothes were neat and dry, and her whole person was clean. She was definitely not the messy one they had imagined.
"It's not her?"
"Not her!"
"It can't be her. Someone is wearing the same clothes as her!"
"But this... How could it be possible? How could someone wear the same clothes as Fifth Miss's? These kinds of clothes are not worn by ordinary people."
After the shock, they were at a loss. There were so many people from the Shao family who came to catch her in an aggressive manner, but now they found that they couldn't catch her at all. The biggest suspect was Fifth Miss Shao, and it was impossible for her to be the one they were looking for.
Then who was that person?
"The clothes she was wearing were so beautiful, and she dressed like Fifth Miss Shao. Could it be the Miss of Shao's Mansion?" Someone could not help suspecting.
"It's possible. It's very possible!" Many people immediately answered. Not only did they find that they had chased the wrong person, but they also seemed to have been led by someone. All the elders felt ashamed and lost face. They were determined to find such a person to prove their clarity.
"First Miss is not here. Second Miss is here. Third Madam is heard to be ill. Third Miss and Fourth Miss are taking care of her. So the most likely one is..." Someone tried to exclude people. After this, they found that it was Shao Jie'er, Second Miss Shao, who was the most suspicious one.
"That's right. It must be like this. Second Miss Shao saw him talking to Fifth Miss Shao before, and they were in the attic." A woman suddenly remembered things in the afternoon and suddenly realized.
"Yes, yes, yes, it must be like this. It must be Second Miss Shao. When we came here just now, did you find it? The water trail disappeared." Someone proposed a new question.
Seeing the soaring fire, they couldn't help running over. They didn't know when the water trail from the clothes had disappeared.
"Some of you, help put out the fire, and find some people to go back to the original place to look for traces of the water, and find the one by following the water traces!" An older clan elder, who was quite clear-minded, made a decision at once, and everyone immediately agreed.
The Shao Clan split up into two parts. Most of them went to help the people of Duke Xing's Mansion to put out the fire, and a small number of them went to look for that woman.
Seeing such a group of people coming over, Shao Wanru, who was standing in the crowd, hooked her lips slightly and glanced at Wang Shengxue, who was caught. Her eyes were cold and fierce, like a blade, which made Wang Shengxue's face look more and uglier.
If someone looked closely, they would find that he was shaking and almost paralyzed on the ground.
There were only two words in Wang Shengxue's heart now: "It's over!" He didn't even know how to end it now...
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