Upon hearing that Su Xuening was going to report to the authorities, Su Renyi immediately became anxious and stepped forward to stop her: "Ning'er, let's talk things out. It's a family matter, and everything can be discussed. There's no need to alarm the government."
Xuanyuan Yu frowned and advised, "Ning'er, don't be willful..."
"Willful?" Su Xuening looked at Xuan Yuan Yu in disbelief, almost laughing out of anger: "You put out this fire yourself, and this fire almost killed me and Yun An. Do you think I'm being willful?"
Sensing Su Xuening's suppressed anger, Xuan Yuan Yu felt a little apprehensive and stammered, "I'm just worried that there might be some misunderstanding. Reporting it to the authorities rashly would damage the reputation of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion."
Hearing such blatantly biased words towards the second wife, Su Xuening felt no disappointment, only mockery.
Xuanyuan Yu became even more nervous, swallowed hard, and pulled Su Xuening aside, saying, "Ning'er, believe me, I will definitely find out the truth and give you an explanation."
Su Xuening didn't even glance at him, disgustedly shaking off his hand and carrying Su Yun'an off the bed.
Seeing that they were really going to report to the authorities, Su Renyi became anxious and hurriedly stopped them: "Ning'er, there must be some misunderstanding. We absolutely did not harm you and An'er. Give us some time to find out the truth."
"The truth is already in our hearts. Uncle can't even fool himself, so why would he try to fool me!" Su Xuening said coldly, then took Su Yun'an and went outside.
Unable to stop them and still worried, Xuanyuan Yu could only follow with the Imperial Guards.
Seeing that Su Xuening had actually taken Su Yun'an out of the mansion to report to the authorities, Su Renyi was so angry that he turned around and slapped Zhong Shi.
The sharp "snap" not only stunned everyone, but also left Madam Zhong completely dumbfounded: "Lord Marquis?"
Su Renyi glared at her angrily: "You dare say that what happened last night had nothing to do with you?"
Zhong looked away guiltily.
Last night's fire was indeed her doing. She had intended to kill two birds with one stone: burn Su Xuening and Su Yun'an to death in Lingxiao Pavilion, so that no one would compete with Ling'er for the Third Prince, nor with her son for the position of the Marquis of Yong'an's heir.
But I never expected that those two bastards, Su Xuening and Su Yun'an, would be so tough! Neither of them died!
"Hurry up and take care of everything," Su Renyi glared at Zhong Shi and scolded her in a low voice.
Without saying a word, Zhong left with her people.
Meanwhile, Su Xuening led Su Yun'an towards Shuntian Prefecture.
The two men's disheveled appearance, along with the imposing presence of the Imperial Guards behind them, instantly attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
"Aren't these the eldest daughter and young master of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion? How did they get into this state?"
"I heard that the Yong'an Marquis's mansion caught fire last night. It seems that it was his eldest daughter and young master who were burned."
"How come they were taken away by the Imperial Guards? Shouldn't they be the victims?"
"We're here to put out a fire; they're going to the Shuntian Prefecture to report a crime," a member of the Imperial Guard interjected after overhearing their conversation.
The people became even more curious upon hearing this.
"Is there no one at the Yong'an Marquis's residence to put out the fire? Why do we need the Imperial Guards to do it?"
"The weather isn't dry these days, so this fire is strange. It might be man-made!"
"No wonder the young lady went to report it to the police. It's just a pity that such a beautiful face of hers has been ruined like this. I'm afraid it will leave a scar in the future!"
"And the young master, how come he's injured on his face too? His face is probably ruined now."
Listening to the whispers of those people, Xuan Yuan Yu glanced at Su Xue Ning's face several times with concern.
Ning'er's facial injuries are so severe, I don't know if they can be healed.
Su Xuening didn't care about her face at all; what she cared about was what the people were saying.
She injured both her and Yun An's faces for two reasons: first, to protect herself from Xuan Yuan Yu, and second, to make a big scene.
Since the Zhong family dared to set fire to their house and kill them, this matter absolutely cannot be left unresolved!
The Shuntian Prefecture government office was not far from the Yong'an Marquis's residence. After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group arrived at the entrance of the Shuntian Prefecture government office.
Su Xuening walked up to the big drum, picked up the mallet, and struck it hard.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Hearing the drumbeats, the people on the street all flocked over out of curiosity.
Soon, some yamen runners came out, intending to lead the person who had beaten the drum to appeal for justice inside. However, they were quite frightened when they saw so many imperial guards, and when they saw Xuan Yuan Yu, they ran back immediately.
Before long, Cen Jinfeng, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, led a group of yamen runners out to greet him: "This humble official pays his respects to the Third Prince."
"No need for formalities!" Xuan Yuan Yu raised his hand to them.
"Thank you, Third Prince." Cen Jinfeng stood up and asked cautiously, "What brings you to Shuntian Prefecture today, Third Prince?"
“It’s my cousin who’s here to report this to the police,” Xuan Yuan Yu said, looking at Su Xue Ning.
"Miss Su?" Cen Jinfeng only then noticed Su Xuening. Seeing the burns on her face, he immediately thought of the fire at the Yong'an Marquis's residence.
After glancing at Su Yun'an, who was also burned, Cen Jinfeng said solemnly, "Let's go into the government office first."
Su Xuening led Su Yun'an into the government office.
Since the matter concerned Xuan Yuan Yu and the Yong An Marquis's residence, Cen Jin Feng originally wanted to conduct the trial behind closed doors, but the people at the gate were all crowding around, and the yamen runners couldn't drive them away, nor could they use force.
Cen Jinfeng had no choice but to hold a public trial.
"I wonder what grievance Miss Su has suffered?"
Su Xuening, holding Su Yun'an's hand, replied, "My brother's room caught fire last night. I suspect someone deliberately set the fire to kill my brother."
Cen Jinfeng frowned: "Miss Su, do you have any evidence to support your claim?"
“Yesterday, when I rushed into the fire to save my brother, I found that the fire was most intense at the doors and windows, which means that the doors and windows were the source of the fire. If someone did not deliberately set the fire, why would the doors and windows catch fire first?” Su Xuening said calmly, and then suggested, “Sir, you can send someone to the Lingxiao Pavilion of the Yong’an Marquis’s Mansion to see if the doors and windows have been doused with tung oil.”
Cen Jinfeng gave a wink to the two constables beside him, and they immediately understood and went to do it.
The Yong'an Marquis's residence was very close to the Shuntian Prefecture government office. Before long, the two returned, carrying several pieces of wood that had been burned to charcoal: "Sir, this is the threshold of the main house of Lingxiao Pavilion. It has been burned to charcoal. There is indeed a smell of tung oil on it."
As soon as the constable said this, the crowd of onlookers outside erupted in uproar.
"Tung oil was really poured on them! This proves it was arson on purpose!"
"This is really going to kill people! These two siblings are so pitiful!"
"Without fathers and mothers, how can they not be bullied? If General Su were still alive, who would dare to bully them like this?"
"quiet!"
The commotion outside grew louder and louder, so Cen Jinfeng had no choice but to strike the gavel, and the noise outside finally subsided a little.
Cen Jinfeng smelled the charred remains; even though they were charred, the tung oil smell was still very strong: "It does smell of tung oil. Does Miss Su know who deliberately set fire to Lingxiao Pavilion?"
As Cen Jinfeng was asking questions, Su Renyi squeezed through the crowd at the entrance into the main hall.
When Su Xuening saw Su Renyi, her eyes suddenly reddened: "Second Uncle, the title of Marquis of Yong'an is already yours. Why can't you tolerate Yun'an? Yun'an is still so young. He won't fight you for the title!"
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