Chapter 107 The Marquis's Commoner Wife 17
On the tenth night after Han Yongjin left the mansion, a fire suddenly broke out in the main courtyard where Lady Hou lived. The fire burned half the sky red and illuminated the night in the capital.
By the time the fire was finally extinguished, only one and a half of the six main rooms in the courtyard remained.
The servants pulled two corpses from the ashes. The bodies were burned beyond recognition. One of the corpses had a blackened jade pendant around its neck. After Dongxiao's identification, it was confirmed that this corpse belonged to the lady. This jade pendant was a pair with the one on the Marquis's body. The lady never took it off!
The other corpse, needless to say, was Qiu Sheng's.
Last night it was her turn to be on duty.
The two bodies were burned beyond recognition; if it weren't for the jade pendant, it would have been impossible to tell who was who.
Everyone in the mansion wore a sorrowful expression, but the only one truly heartbroken for Ning Yan was Dong Xiao, who was sobbing uncontrollably.
The news of the death of the Lady of Zhennan Marquis had finally spread. The Ning family rushed to the Marquis's residence. Ning's mother and several sisters-in-law cried their hearts out when they saw the remains of their child.
The men of the Ning family wished they could go back to the beginning, grabbing sticks and driving the matchmaker and the Marquis of Zhennan out of their house, so that their sister would at least still be alive.
Ning Yan's remains were laid to rest for three days before being buried.
The Ning family immediately sold the shop and moved back to Ningjia Village.
The family was despondent for a long time, and they didn't recover until the Marquis of Zhennan came to their door.
Ning's father and mother sat in their chairs without saying a word, treating the Marquis of Zhennan as if he were nothing.
Marquis Zhennan noticed that the two old men seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
Ning Lao Er used to think Han Yongjin was so good, but now he hates him so much. "You still dare to come? My dear sister married you, and it hasn't been that long."
He was gone in less than a year!
"How dare you come to my house again?"
Ning Laoda rushed into the courtyard, grabbed a shovel, and slammed it down on Zhennan Hou's head, yelling, "Give me back my sister! Give me back my sister!"
It's impossible to take a picture of him. Even if the Marquis of Zhennan didn't want to hide, he still had several guards with him!
How can we ensure that Boss Ning truly succeeds?
With red eyes, Ning Laosan hugged his nephew who was going to get a kitchen knife. He felt no sympathy for Han Yongjin, who was unshaven and looking dejected. He even wished he could chop him up!
Lie Feng grabbed the Marquis's arm and advised, "My lord, let's leave first. You've seen it yourself; we won't get anything out of him if we stay any longer..."
Why not investigate directly from the government office?
It was just those people in the mansion who did it. Although the Ning family did live in the capital before, what could they possibly know?
"Father-in-law, brothers-in-law, I will come to your house to apologize after I have avenged Yan'er!"
"Get out! Who wants your apology? If you're so capable, give our sister back to us!"
Marquis Zhennan's lips trembled. He could go to heaven and earth, and even die with Yan'er, but he could not repay this family for giving Ning Yan a living life!
As he walked out of the Ning family's gate, he could no longer hold on and fainted.
Lie Feng quickly grabbed the person and hugged them, "My lord~ My lord...Quickly, go back to the manor immediately, Xiao Si should go back and fetch the imperial physician first!"
The Marquis was already heartbroken by the news of his wife's death, and after traveling day and night for four days, he was already extremely weak. With the Ning family's further torment, his illness would probably not be easily cured.
Just as Lie Feng had expected, Han Yongjin remained unconscious for three days before waking up. Once awake, he called Lie Feng over.
"How's the investigation going?"
Some things, if you want to investigate them, you can find out.
"I asked the servants in the lower courtyard carefully. On the fourth day of the fourth month, the lady was sunbathing in the courtyard. The two concubines, Zhang and Bai, chatted with the lady for nearly an hour. At that time, they sent all the servants away. Dongxiao did not know what the three of them talked about."
After the two women left, the lady's mood became rather off.
I asked the two concubines, and it was a maidservant from Concubine Chu who told me that the lady could not have any more children after her miscarriage, so Concubine Zhang had someone find a prescription to help her recover and send it to the lady.
The old lady's maidservants also specifically told Zhang and her aunt about what happened that night. The two of them felt that the Marquis's direct punishment of Xiangyun was a sign of his love for the lady, so they told the lady about it..."
Han Yongjin squeezed his eyes shut. In fact, he had expected this, because his wife's abnormality was too obvious. But he dared not mention it. He was too afraid that his wife would close her heart and never accept him again.
As fate would have it, the incident still occurred.
He looked at Lie Feng and uttered two words with difficulty: "Continue."
Lie Feng: "The cause of the fire in the main courtyard has been determined. The fire started in the madam's bedroom."
The Dali Temple said the fire was definitely caused by human intervention.
My subordinates also interrogated all the servants in the main courtyard. They were all resting in their rooms when the fire broke out, and they all went out to put it out together. They could all testify to each other that they hadn't gone out that night.
Han Yongjin felt a buzzing in his head. The fire started at 11:45 a.m. The main gate of the courtyard had been closed long ago, and the servants were all in their own rooms. How could an outsider have entered the lady's bedroom?
Moreover, the fire started in the bedroom, while the maid slept on a couch in the outer room.
There's only one conclusion: the lady herself started the fire!
At that moment, Han Yongjin felt as if his heart was being torn apart!
He knew better than anyone how much she loved children. Suddenly finding out she couldn't have children and that her husband had slept with another woman without any explanation, she became fixated on the situation and started ignoring him, even loathing him.
Aunt Bai's pregnancy was the last straw that broke the camel's back!
So much so that, in the end, they chose to leave in such a resolute way...
Lie Feng felt that the lady might have started the fire herself, but there were still things he couldn't understand. The lady liked the two maids, Qiu Sheng and Dong Xiao, very much. Why would she take Qiu Sheng with her to die, and in such a painful way?
He thought about it for several nights but still couldn't figure it out.
"Have Aunt Zhang go to the small Buddhist hall to copy scriptures and pray for the Madam's well-being for a hundred days." As for Aunt Bai, "The other one, once she gives birth, put her under house arrest."
Aunt Zhang may not have done it on purpose, but Aunt Bai definitely did it intentionally.
She won't need to come out anymore after she gives birth.
After lying in the front yard for three more days, Han Yongjin's health finally recovered somewhat, and the first thing he did was go to Aunt Chu's courtyard.
In the past, she would have been overjoyed if the Marquis had come to her courtyard, but today, she had a bad feeling.
She stepped forward cautiously and bowed, "Cousin, you've arrived. Are you feeling better?"
Han Yongjin's cold gaze fell on Chu Yingying's face. "Are you happy? Are you particularly smug now? Now that Yan'er is gone, you can take her place."
Chu Yingying quickly shook her head: "Cousin, I didn't mean that, please don't..."
Han Yongjin didn't want to hear her excuses anymore, so he kicked Chu Yingying's thigh directly. There was a cracking sound, and then Chu Yingying screamed, "Ah, my leg!"
"This is what you owe Madam. I will never set foot in your courtyard again. If you are willing to come into the mansion as a concubine, then stay in this little courtyard for the rest of your life."
After saying that, he didn't look at Chu Yingying again and left the courtyard.
The servants in the Wutong Courtyard were all trembling with fear, and no one dared to make a sound.
The Marquis ignored these people and, upon leaving the courtyard, instructed Lie Feng: "From now on, this courtyard is to be sealed off. Only one maid is allowed to serve Consort Chu. No one else is permitted to visit."
The fierce wind obeyed the order.
Soon, the servants of Wutong Courtyard were dismissed; some were reassigned to other courtyards, while others were sold off.
The extra chapter is complete.
(End of this chapter)
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