Chapter 7 Burning of the Ancestral Hall

Shen Shu was pushed to the ground in the ancestral hall.

Shen Qiushan coldly remarked, "Reflect on your sins," and then closed the door.

Shen Shu rubbed her sore wrists, stood up, and looked around.

The ancestral hall is located in the northern part of the mansion, so it never gets any sunlight and feels cold even in the height of summer.

Shen Qiushan clearly knew that the Ghost Festival was approaching, yet he still locked her in the ancestral hall. Besides wanting to punish her, he probably also wanted to scare her.

She's a demon crawled out of hell, why would she be afraid of these mud-covered wooden figures?

If they truly had spirits, they should have appeared long ago, when Shen Shu was carried to Prince Cheng's mansion, when she died in the woodshed.

Shen Shu suddenly became furious, picked up a candle and smashed it against the neatly arranged memorial tablets behind her.

If there are ghosts, then let these ancestors come and find her!

"Second Miss! You mustn't!"

A scream suddenly rang out behind me.

It turned out to be the plump old woman whom Shen Shu had summoned from the countryside to invite Wen Lanting, along with Liu Mama.

They had just been instructed to keep an eye on Shen Shu as she was being punished, but they never expected to see such an explosive scene when they opened the door.

Disrespecting the ancestral tablets is a serious offense. If Shen Qiushan finds out, the person will be expelled from the family at best, and beaten to death at worst.

What kind of audacity did this second young lady possess?!

The plump woman hurried forward to straighten the rows of seats.

Seeing that things were going badly, Liu's mother tried to rush out to call for help, "Help! The second young lady has gone mad! She's going to smash up the ancestral hall!"

She rolled her eyes and prepared to slip away.

But the next second, she couldn't speak.

Shen Shu tore down the curtain in the ancestral hall and grabbed Liu's mother by the neck.

As expected, a leopard can't change its spots. Even though Shen Shu had given Liu's mother a good beating before, it didn't completely teach her to be smart.

She could ignore others, but in her past life she had suffered a lot at the hands of Liu Mama, and in the end she was killed by Liu Mama, her "henchman".

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they had a deep-seated hatred. Since Liu's mother was so ungrateful, she didn't need to show any mercy.

Terrified beyond measure, Liu's mother cried out, "Second...Miss...I...was wrong...please...my servant..."

But before she could finish speaking, she breathed her last.

The fat old woman was terrified and dared not move. "Second Miss, spare me! Second Miss, spare me! I promise I will never tell anyone!"

"It was all because Liu Mama was careless while walking... she was strangled to death by the curtain. She deserved it herself, it has nothing to do with anyone else."

Shen Shuli landed and stood up, her face expressionless.

"This is none of your business. I'll let you off the hook since you went to the countryside to invite my mother. Go ahead and complain if you want, or do whatever you want, just get lost."

But this fat old woman, for some reason, just knelt there and kowtowed without running to call for help.

Since she doesn't want to leave, fine.

Then let's watch, let's see how Shen Shu razes this place to the ground!

This time, she climbed directly onto the altar and swept all the remaining ancestral tablets that hadn't collapsed to the ground.

Shen Shu wasn't satisfied yet, so she started pulling at the curtains around her.

The fat old woman turned pale with fright. The second young lady's posture... was she going to burn down the ancestral hall?

Before the fat woman could react, Shen Shu picked up the candle and threw it onto the curtain.

With a "whoosh," the flames shot up to waist height.

Because the ancestral hall is lit with candles year after year, the air is extremely dry, making it very easy for a fire to start.

Shen Shu picked up the memorial tablets and threw them into the curtain, and soon smoke began to rise from them.

Unfortunately, there was no kindling here, so it was impossible to start a big fire instantly. We could only wait for the fire to grow bigger.

The fat woman was still standing there, stunned. Shen Shu stepped forward and said, "If you don't want to die, get out of here."

"Second Miss, why did you do this?!"

Shen Shu said, "The people from the Bogong Mansion treat me like this, trying to make me obediently follow their orders. They'll only do that if I die. They've been unfair to me, so I'm going to overthrow them."

What is there for someone who has already died once to be afraid of?

The firelight behind them gradually intensified, casting a strange glow on Shen Shu's face.

The plump woman was deeply moved upon hearing such bold remarks for the first time. "Injustice... can be overthrown?"

The fat woman was stunned by Shen Shu's words.

The fire grew larger and larger, and Shen Shu disappeared without her noticing.

She finally realized what was happening, turned around, and stormed out the door.

She ran towards the main courtyard without daring to slack off for a moment, shouting loudly.

"Fire! Fire! The Second Miss is trapped in the fire!"

Just as Shen Qiushan had settled Shen Xiao, who had been knocked unconscious, and was about to come out, he heard this shocking news.

Weren't we supposed to make Shen Shu kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment? How did the fire suddenly start?

Could it be that she really is a jinx reincarnated, and even her ancestors can't stand it anymore, so they've manifested to burn her alive?!

What a tragedy!

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and put out the fire!"

When Shen Qiushan arrived at the ancestral hall, the fire had already engulfed the entire building, and none of the servants who came to put out the fire dared to go in.

It’s over!

Shen Qiushan deflated and plopped down on the ground.

Did Shen Shu burn to death inside like that?

How will he explain his promise to King Cheng?

What should be done about the future of the sinking chain?

Lian'er isn't a talented child, and without Cheng Wang's help, his future is probably hopeless.

The princess was also eyeing the Duke's mansion covetously.

If she knew that the person had returned and died within a day...

Who knows what kind of slander they might spread in front of His Majesty, and his official reputation might be damaged as well.

"A bunch of idiots! Put out the fire!" Shen Qiushan screamed desperately.

Unfortunately, the fire had already gained momentum and couldn't be extinguished so easily.

Shen Qiushan's hopes were dashed when the servants carried out Liu Mama's charred bones, claiming they were Shen Shu's corpse, after everything had been burned to ashes.

It seems Heaven is determined to destroy his family.

Only after Wen Lanting saw that the mansion was on fire did the Princess's mansion release the people.

She rushed into the mansion and heard the servants talking about how the second young lady had been burned to death.

Wen Lanting nearly fainted. How could someone just die like that!

If she dies, then all the humiliation she suffered today was for nothing.

Upon seeing Shen Shu's "corpse," Wen Lanting could no longer hold on, kicked his legs, and fainted.

That night, the Bo Gong Mansion was in complete chaos; some fainted, and some died.

Shen Shu smiled contentedly from the tree.

It turned out that when she saw the fire was too big, she had already turned away and found a tree to hide under, which gave her a good view of what was happening in the ancestral hall.

They'll just wait and see how she turns this manor upside down.

…

The next day, Shen Shu woke up in the tree and saw Zhao Mama, Wen Lanting's confidante, directing the servants to hang white banners everywhere.

"I wonder who has died in the household. The Earl's family must take heed of this loss."

Shen Shu suddenly appeared behind Zhao's mother.

"Go away, you blind little bitch, how dare you ask about these things."

Zhao's mother didn't even look up at her, but she paused when she heard Shen Shu's voice. Could it be...?

"A ghost!!!"

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. I didn't kill you, Miss! Don't come looking for me."

Zhao's mother was so frightened that she lost her mind, and a group of maids and servants were instantly terrified and ran around in all directions.

Shen Shu silently rolled her eyes.

So, amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, he swaggered around the park.

Zhao Mama was out of breath from running, and she didn't even care about etiquette. She had just stepped into Wen Lanting's inner room and hadn't even seen the person yet when she started shouting, "Madam, something terrible has happened!"

Wen Lanting was quite exhausted after making a scene all day yesterday and couldn't handle any loud noises.

When he heard Zhao's mother say "Something bad has happened," his heart skipped a beat.

What other bad news is there?

"What's wrong?!" Could there be anything worse than her current situation?

This morning, the Duchess of Qingguo came to inquire about Shen Shu's return to the manor and the banquet, complaining that Wen Lanting had sent an invitation to the princess first instead of to her.

Wen Lanting smiled bitterly. He couldn't bring himself to say that Shen Shu was dead, so he forced himself to say five days later.

Just as she was seeing off the Duchess of Qingguo and racking her brains for a way to reasonably arrange Shen Shu's death, Zhao Mama came to deliver bad news again, which made Wen Lanting very angry.

With a mournful face, Zhao Mama uttered a statement that shocked Wen Lanting: "The Second Miss... she's come back to life!"