Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Did An An discover something? ...

Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Did An An discover something? ...

When Cheng Yian returned home, the person who was most happy was the old lady.

"Mother is so angry that she can't stop talking."

A tall, plump woman handed the old lady tea with a smile.

The Third Madam went to the kitchen to take care of the lunch, and the one who stayed here to serve was Cheng Yian's stepmother, the Second Madam Miao.

The old lady is fifty-five this year, and she is old enough to enjoy her life. However, because her grandfather passed away early, her sons are not very successful. She has to work hard for the whole family, and her face is full of wrinkles. Today, she finally smiled and held Cheng Yian's hand and refused to let go.

"I've only been married for two days, but it feels like a long time."

When Cheng Yian was born, the old lady had passed away and was left alone. After Xia passed away, the old lady took Cheng Yian in and raised him in her own room. The two of them have depended on each other for seventeen years and neither of them can live without the other.

The old lady's words brought tears to Cheng Yian's eyes. To the old lady, it was only a few days, but to Cheng Yian, it was five years, which meant they were separated by life and death.

She lay in the old lady's arms and sobbed.

A girl of about sixteen or seventeen was sitting below Cheng Yian. Seeing the two being so intimate, she pursed her lips slightly, half jealous and half dissatisfied.

"My second sister is my grandmother's sweetheart. The remaining three of us are no match for her."

The person who spoke had a pair of pretty red eyes. She was Cheng Yian's stepsister, the third lady of the mansion, Cheng Yiqian.

Her words resonated strongly with the remaining two girls.

The eldest master has a pair of twin sons and an unmarried eldest daughter. The eldest daughter is only one year older than Cheng Yian. She is eighteen this year and her name is Cheng Yiqing. She was also raised by the old lady. She has both parents and is the eldest daughter. She is also beautiful. Logically, she should be more pleasing to the matchmaker than Cheng Yian.

She sat at the lower left and drank tea silently.

The remaining one is the daughter of the Third Elder, the Fourth Miss Cheng Yimei. She is a well-known fool who is ignorant of worldly affairs. However, the grandmother particularly loves Cheng Yian and can see it.

When Miao saw this, she glared at her daughter.

"Your sister is married and will belong to someone else's family. She can hardly come back a few times a year. You should be happy that she is coming back today. Why are you so jealous of her?"

It sounds like she's defending Cheng Yian, but in fact, she's hinting at Cheng Yian not to go back to her parents' home unless necessary.

When Cheng Yiqian heard this, her eyes sparkled and she said to Miao,

"Mom, since my sister won't be home often in the future, can I live in her yard?"

As soon as these words fell, the room fell silent.

Miao glanced at the old lady secretly and saw that her face darkened. She gave her daughter a few glances and then kept silent.

The old lady favored Cheng Yian to such an extent that she gave him the courtyard with the best scenery in the mansion.

At first, both the First Lady and Mrs. Miao were dissatisfied. The First Lady thought that the throne should be given to her daughter, the eldest daughter Cheng Yiqing, while the Second Lady, Mrs. Miao, thought that the throne should be given to her daughter Cheng Yiqian. The Third Lady thought that since you two couldn't agree on it, why not just give it to her daughter Cheng Yimei?

The old lady explained, "An An doesn't have a mother who loves her, so I have to favor her a little."

These words were not convincing at all, and the eldest lady believed that Cheng Yian had stolen the limelight from her daughter. On such a festive day as the return visit to her parents' home, she even claimed sickness and did not show up.

Since Cheng Mingyu had assigned the marriage to the fourth branch, it was the eldest daughter, Cheng Yiqing, who should get married according to the order of seniority. However, because the old lady favored Cheng Yian, a good marriage fell on the head of an orphan. The first lady was so angry that she gnashed her teeth. If she had not thought that this marriage was a sure thing, she would not have rejected several other good marriages, causing her daughter to still be unmarried and become a laughing stock.

The old lady couldn't help shaking her head as she looked at her daughters-in-law and granddaughters who were full of complaints.

They all blamed her for being partial, not knowing that this marriage was destined to be Cheng Yian's from the beginning.

She did this because she put all her energy into building a better future for the entire fourth branch.

The old lady disdained to explain and just spoke directly.

"An An is married nearby, so it's better for her to come back often during the holidays."

The implication is that the yard should be left to her.

The room suddenly became quiet, and the interest in a wonderful return banquet was gone.

After lunch, Cheng Yian coaxed the old lady to close her eyes for a while, then returned to her own room.

Come out from the corner gate of the old lady's yard, walk east along the stone path and cross a winding stone bridge. Follow the stream at your feet and you will see peonies all over the ground and autumn chrysanthemums like clouds. The winding path leads to a wide platform next to the water, surrounded by flowers and trees. It is a very beautiful view. Going back through the hall is the main courtyard.

Cheng Yian stood on the stone bridge for a long time, his eyes fixed on the entrance to the hall, without saying a word.

How did she divorce Lu Xusheng in her previous life?

It was given by her stepmother and stepsister.

One year after getting married, one day the grandmother suddenly became seriously ill. No one knew what the old lady said, but some bad rumors spread. Miao became like a madman, and soon after, something happened.

A sachet she had embroidered in the past was found in Fan Yulin's study, and a love poem written by Fan Yulin was left in her room.

When Cheng Yian heard about this at Lu's house, he was so angry that he trembled.

Her sachet was clearly kept in a box in the lady's room by the housekeeper. How could it be with Fan Yulin? She had never received any poems from Fan Yulin.

It was later proved that this was the work of my stepmother and stepsister.

The maid who stayed at home never married off, so she worked for her stepmother and was easily bought off.

The matter is not complicated, but the impact is extremely bad.

Soon there was a lot of talk in the capital, saying that she and Fan Yulin were in love with each other, but Lu Xusheng intervened and ruined their good marriage.

In this kind of situation, people just follow the crowd and make groundless accusations, which only make things worse the more they argue.

All the criticism was directed at Cheng Yian.

Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang, refused to listen to her explanation and pointed at her and scolded her, accusing her of being unruly and bringing shame to the Lu family. She intended to force her to divorce and marry Mrs. Wang's daughter instead.

At that time, she had just experienced a miscarriage and was heartbroken. She was oppressed by her mother-in-law and was suffocated. Considering the reputation of Cheng and the Lu family, she proposed a divorce to Lu Xusheng. Lu Xusheng agreed without hesitation and successfully persuaded the emperor to cancel the engagement.

So she returned to the Cheng family.

But the stepmother's purpose was not limited to this. She thought that she had snatched the marriage that should have belonged to Cheng Yiqian and insisted on marrying her daughter to Lu Xusheng instead. She even held the grandmother's hand and wrote a letter of renewal of marriage. The grandmother was so angry that she became speechless. Fortunately, the incident alarmed the eldest house, and the eldest master of the eldest house, Cheng Mingyu, rushed back from other places. After learning about what happened, he decisively sent Miao and Cheng Yiqian back to their hometown and confined them. He also explained the matter to the outside world, and the so-called letter of renewal of marriage was never sent out of the Cheng Mansion.

But Cheng Yian's reputation has been ruined, and the Cheng family's reputation has been damaged. What should they do?

Fan Yulin took the opportunity to ask for her hand in marriage. My grandmother and the eldest son of the royal family worked together and announced to the public that she had died of illness to preserve her reputation. At the same time, they secretly accepted Fan Yulin's proposal and allowed the couple to return to Yizhou to live.

After that, she never returned to Beijing after her grandmother passed away. Only Cheng Yiyan sent someone to send her some money every month to ease her longing.

When she returns to this house again in this life, her first priority is to completely destroy it so that no one else has the opportunity to frame her.

Now that you've been reborn, why should you be so cautious? Why should you look ahead and behind? Just go for it and burn yourself to ashes.

Rulan had already prepared scented oil and candles, and Cheng Yian planned to take advantage of the opportunity of taking a nap to "accidentally" burn down her room.

Cheng Yian sent the two maids who were originally guarding here out, and took Rulan into the inner room. Everything was ready. Cheng Yian took the fire starter and lifted the curtain from the inner room.

A slender figure stood in the middle of the hall.

Lu Xusheng looked around, sniffed lightly, and then frowned, "What are you doing?"

Cheng Yian was startled and quickly put the things in his hand

He hid behind himself and asked,

"Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Before coming, we discussed having lunch and then asked Lu Xusheng to leave.

Lu Xusheng looked straight into her eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes were like two clear pools of water with ripples. Perhaps she felt uncomfortable with his gaze and looked away.

He suddenly discovered that Cheng Yian was very kind and simple.

She doesn't scheme against others and will feel guilty if she does something bad.

After a moment, she felt that she was losing momentum, but she still stiffened her neck and glared at me again.

"You go back first!"

Her cheeks seemed to be covered with red clouds.

Very cute.

Why didn't he protect her in his previous life?

Lu Xusheng stretched out his broad palm.

"Give it to me."

Cheng Yian was stunned.

Lu Xusheng was a man who had been fighting for many years, which made him naturally sensitive to danger. In connection with his past life, he guessed what Cheng Yian was going to do, and glanced behind her.

"Give me the tinder."

Cheng Yian slowly took out the fire starter and stared at him suspiciously, "What are you going to do!"

Lu Xusheng pulled the fire starter over and said with a smile, "Silly girl, it's better if I carry the pot."

His wife was trying to clear away the stumbling blocks from her past life and divorce, so how could he not add fuel to the fire?

Cheng Yian let out a sigh of relief.

That's right. If she burned it, it would probably cause a lot of trouble. Her grandmother, father, stepmother, and everyone would denounce her. If that person was Lu Xusheng, even if the Cheng family was dissatisfied, they would not dare to show it.

"Okay, thank you for your help then."

Lu Xusheng raised his chin and said, "Go out, I won't let the smoke fumes irritate you."

Facing such considerate Lu Xusheng, Cheng Yian was not quite used to it, and he took Rulan out with a red face.

The master and servant walked to the wide platform. Cheng Yian looked back at the embroidery building, feeling a little worried about Lu Xusheng.

She originally thought that after Lu Xusheng's rebirth, the two of them knew each other well and there would be some gap between them. But now she found that rebirth also has its advantages. Look, he charged into the battle line and she had nothing to do with it.

Grandma was still resting, and Cheng Yian had nowhere to go, so he found a place nearby to wait.

On the way, Rulan was still muttering, "Girl, it's better to burn it. After burning it, Miss Third won't be worried about it anymore."

The little girl said this, but her face was filled with pain.

Cheng Yian laughed, knowing that Rulan had misunderstood. He rubbed her forehead and said nothing.

Setting fire to the granary was a common occurrence for Lu Xusheng. Not only did he want to burn it, he also wanted to do it quietly so that by the time the other party found out it was already too late.

Cheng Yian waited in the flower hall for a long time but saw no movement. By the time chaos broke out in the mansion, the fire was already beyond extinguishing.

Lu Xusheng set the fire very skillfully, burning all of Cheng Yian's old things without causing any trouble to other courtyards.

Thick smoke filled the sky and flames blazed above the fourth room of the Cheng mansion. The servants used the stream outside to put out the fire, preventing it from spreading. The two maids who were guarding the house escaped in time and knelt outside the stone bridge, crying loudly.

All the masters in the mansion rushed over.

The eldest master was worried that Cheng Yian and Lu Xusheng were in there, so he quickly ordered his servants to check on them and also sent people to look for them everywhere.

The sleeping old lady was awakened. When she heard that Cheng Yian's room was burned, she was so anxious that her blood rushed to her head. She first asked if there were any casualties. When she learned that Cheng Yian and his wife were not in the room, she breathed a sigh of relief, and then slammed the bed angrily.

"Someone, bring the third girl here!"

"Rebellion, rebellion!"

The only person who could have burned down Cheng Yian's yard could have been the stupid Cheng Yiqian.

Poor Miao and Cheng Yiqian were still feeling regretful and angry about the burning house when they were tied up by the maid and taken to the upper room.

The old lady didn't have time to ask any more questions, and she angrily scolded the mother and daughter. Miao was hit by the old lady's cane several times, and she could only whimper in pain, feeling very aggrieved, "Mother, I'm really not your daughter-in-law, I'm really not your daughter-in-law, I was thinking about it too late, how could I burn it? No matter how stupid I am, I won't do such a wicked thing that will destroy the Great Wall..."

The old lady leaned back in her armchair, gasping for breath.

They had no idea...how serious the consequences of burning this yard would be...it was more than just a lady's house.

The old lady was heartbroken.

After a while, all the old men and ladies in the mansion came to the upper room, all of them were covered in dust and dirt. It was not auspicious because a disaster had happened on the day of the return visit.

Someone told the old lady, "The fire is almost out. There are only empty frames left inside. I'm afraid there is nothing left of An Niang's old things..."

Someone said, "It doesn't matter if the things are burned, as long as the people are fine."

Some people were furious and shouted, "Bring the maid who is looking after the house here and find out who did this!"

It was the eldest master who said this. Before he finished speaking, Lu Xusheng walked in leisurely from the hallway, covered in dust and with a guilty look on his face.

"I apologize to the old lady, master, and ladies. It was my son-in-law who accidentally poured the lamp oil during the lunch break, causing this disaster..."

When the eldest master and others heard that Lu Xusheng was in the embroidery building, they were all frightened and surrounded him, looking him up and down.

"Auntie, you are not hurt, are you?"

It's a blessing that no one was hurt. Who can blame Lu Xusheng for his mistakes?

Not only that, the eldest master and others were terrified and lost all their smiles.

Before leaving, the old lady called Cheng Yian over and scolded him,

"An An, why did you leave your aunt alone in the yard?"

Cheng Yian explained, "My granddaughter thought about not making sweet-scented osmanthus cake for you for a long time, so she went to the kitchen and left you to rest in the yard. Who knew that autumn was the season when things became dry and humid, and something like this would happen..."

Cheng Yian also pretended to be scared and tucked his eyes.

The wonderful return banquet ended in tragedy.

The fire alarmed the eldest son's family. After Lu Xusheng and his wife returned, the eldest son's housekeeper came to inquire and said he wanted to find out the cause of the fire.

Of course, the old lady would not allow others to interfere in her family affairs, and she used the excuse that it was her aunt's fault. A married woman burning her daughter's room seemed to be breaking up with her family, which was not a good sign. The old lady felt as if she was shrouded in a haze, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She quietly ordered someone to go in and investigate, and there was news at night.

There are traces of fragrant oil in the four corners of the house.

It was obvious that someone did this deliberately.

Who would be stupid enough to murder their own daughter and son-in-law in their own house?

The first person the old lady thought of was her son Cheng Mingyou.

He is the only one who has this motive...

The old lady called someone to her room at night.

Cheng Mingyou was so angry that he knelt on the ground and cried out in injustice.

"I don't like them, but I don't necessarily want to kill them. One of them is the prince of the Duke's Mansion, the other is the second-rank assistant of the Governor's Mansion, and the other is the wife of the prince of the Duke's Mansion. If I dare to kill them, the entire fourth branch of the Cheng family will be buried with them. My son is not stupid enough to be in such a situation."

"As for that girl, if I really wanted to harm her, I would have strangled her to death long ago. Why would I wait until today?"

This is quite reasonable.

After thinking about it, there is only one possibility left.

It was done by Cheng Yian and his wife.

When this thought came to her mind, the old lady was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. She quickly sent all the servants away, leaving only her trusted nanny.

The old nanny took her into the inner room to rest.

The old lady sat down on the couch and looked at the old lady sharply.

"If it was really her, why did she do this?"

The old nanny said gloomily, "I just sent someone to interrogate the two maids who stayed behind. They all said that after Rulan entered the yard today, she acted sneakily and didn't let them in to serve..."

This confirms my guess.

The old lady trembled all over, "Do you think she knew something and burned down the embroidery building on purpose to show that she had cut all ties with the Cheng family?"

Seeing the old lady's terrified face, the nanny knelt down at her knees and held her cold hands tightly.

"No, you and I are the only ones who know about this in the entire Fourth House. It is impossible for me to betray you. Besides, the girl was not unusual when she left. You raised her. She is very pure and kind. Her face shows all the slightest signs of her behavior. If she knew about this, how could she have hidden it from you..."

The old lady closed her eyes deeply.