As soon as Su Xuening spoke, everyone turned to look at Su Renyi.
The people even started pointing and gossiping about him.
"Miss Su, are you implying that the Marquis of Yong'an had the fire set by someone?"
"I'm afraid that the Marquis of Yong'an is afraid that the young master will take his title."
“But his title originally belonged to the eldest son’s family. If it weren’t for General Su’s military achievements, where would his title have come from?”
"Logically speaking, even if General Su is gone, his title should be inherited by his son, not his younger brother!"
"This is the Emperor's decree; there's a lot more to it than meets the eye..."
The moment the emperor was mentioned, everyone's voices immediately fell silent.
Seeing Su Xuening drag him into the matter in public, Su Renyi instantly became furious: "What do you mean I can't tolerate An'er? Nobody wanted Lingxiao Pavilion to catch fire, it was just an accident..."
"An accident?" Before Su Renyi could finish speaking, Su Xuening sneered contemptuously, "Does Second Uncle think we're all fools? The fire started right at the doors and windows last night, and you're telling me it was an accident? Lord Cen just sent people to Lingxiao Pavilion to investigate. They found that tung oil had been poured on the doors and windows of Lingxiao Pavilion. Lingxiao Pavilion was set on fire."
Upon seeing the coke in the hands of the constables, Su Renyi's expression instantly changed.
This Zhong woman, I asked her to handle the matter, and this is how she handled it?
"Ning'er, don't worry. Since someone set the fire, your second uncle will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly and give you and An'er an explanation."
Looking at Su Renyi's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, Su Xuening felt disgusted: "If Second Uncle wants to give an explanation, then he should first explain to Lord Cen why, despite the huge fire at Lingxiao Pavilion last night, not a single master of the Second Branch came out to control the situation! When the servants of the First Branch ran to the Second Branch for help, not a single servant of the Second Branch was willing to come forward to put out the fire! They let the fire at Lingxiao Pavilion burn until dawn, until the Third Prince arrived with the Imperial Guards and finally extinguished the fire!"
Su Xuening's words caused another uproar among the people.
"No wonder the fire burned all night last night; apparently, no one came out to put it out!"
"With such a huge fire, how could the second wife's family pretend not to know? The whole of Kyoto knows!"
"That's right, even the servants won't come out to put out the fire, doesn't that say something?"
"The arsonist must be from the second wife's side. They even told the servants not to come out to put out the fire. They're trying to drive the siblings to their deaths!"
"Perhaps it really is for the title!"
Not only did the common people doubt Su Renyi, but even Cen Jinfeng's gaze towards Su Renyi changed.
Su Renyi, however, remained calm and composed, maintaining his righteous demeanor: "I wasn't in the manor last night and just rushed back this morning. I only just learned about the fire at Lingxiao Pavilion. As for your second aunt and the others, they were probably fast asleep and didn't know about the incident at Lingxiao Pavilion. And those servants who dared to deceive their master, I will punish them severely when I get back!"
Su Xuening looked at Su Renyi with disdain: "My third sister drugged me and framed me. It hasn't even been two days since then, and Yun'an has suffered the same fate. If Yun'an and I hadn't hidden in the water vat yesterday, we would be dried-up corpses today. The second branch of the family is turning a blind eye, while the servants are so audacious as to bully their master. If Second Uncle were truly strict in managing the household, who in the second branch would dare to act like this! Yun'an and I don't believe Second Uncle's promise of severe punishment!"
Su Renyi's face instantly turned ashen, as if it had been smeared with excrement.
Ignoring Su Renyi's ugly expression, Su Xuening curtsied to Cen Jinfeng and said, "Lord Cen, someone from the Yong'an Marquis's mansion is trying to kill my brother and me. I beg you, Lord Cen, to investigate thoroughly and find the murderer for my brother and me!"
Seeing that Su Xuening was clear-headed and organized, Cen Jinfeng couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
What an intelligent and clever woman she was, it's a pity she was caught in such a vortex. If General Su were still alive, she might even have become the empress.
Suppressing his regret, Cen Jinfeng looked at Su Xuening solemnly and said, "Miss Su, rest assured, I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Thank you, Master Cen!"
"grown ups!"
Just as Su Xuening was about to offer her curtsy, a yamen runner rushed in and reported, "The people from the Yong'an Marquis's residence have come to report that the arsonist has been found."
Everyone immediately perked up.
"You found it so quickly!"
"Yes, the case has just been concluded and the person has already been found. That's incredibly fast."
"Who set the fire?"
Su Xuening frowned.
Cen Jinfeng also felt things were going a little too smoothly: "Where is he?"
"He was a servant of the eldest son of the Yong'an Marquis's household. He wrote a confession and then hanged himself. Now the body and the confession have been brought here by the people of the Yong'an Marquis's household, and they are outside," the yamen runner reported, bowing.
"Bring the body in," Cen Jinfeng ordered.
"Yes," the constable replied, and then led several constables out to carry the corpse inside.
The constables placed the body in the main hall and then stepped aside.
"Ah Quan?" Su Yun'an recognized the corpse at a glance, and then shouted in disbelief, "It can't be his, he wouldn't set me on fire!"
Seeing his certainty, Cen Jinfeng asked curiously, "Young Master, do you know him? Could you tell me why it couldn't have been him who set the fire?"
Su Yun'an pouted and said, "His name is Quan. He's the cook in my little kitchen. He's responsible for cooking for me and brewing my medicine. If he wanted to harm me, he could easily put some poison in my medicine and food and kill me without anyone noticing. Why would he go to such lengths to set me on fire?"
Furthermore, Ah Quan was bought for him by his sister, so it's impossible that he was Ah Quan.
Cen Jinfeng nodded silently, thinking that what the young master said made some sense. As expected of the siblings, they were both very clear-headed.
"Sir, this is a confession." The bailiff handed the confession to Cen Jinfeng.
After reading the confession, Cen Jinfeng solemnly handed it to Su Xuening: "Miss Su, please take a look."
Su Xuening stepped forward, took the confession, read it carefully, and then looked up to ask, "What does Your Excellency think of this confession?"
Cen Jinfeng glanced at the corpse on the ground and frowned, saying, "The handwriting is too neat."
Su Xuening also gave a mocking smile: "If he could really write such characters, he could make a living by writing letters and couplets for others. He wouldn't need to be a servant in the Yong'an Marquis's mansion."
Su Renyi caught a glimpse of the words on the confession from afar, and his face darkened.
I thought the Zhong family had finally done something worthwhile, but I never expected them to be so stupid.
The people listening to the trial outside were even more confused by their doubts.
"So, was it this lackey who set the fire?"
"I don't think so. What slave could write such good characters?"
"Yes, that confession is obviously fake!"
"But if it wasn't him, why would he hang himself?"
Su Xuening stared at the corpse's neck, then suddenly frowned and said, "He didn't hang himself!"
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