As soon as Xu Zhuohua said these words, the doctor realized that the Xu Zhuohua in front of him was no longer the Xu Shuhua who had been at the mercy of others.
The methods used on concubines were ineffective against Xu Zhuohua; fabricated charges could not suppress her.
Moreover, since Cheng Muyun was injured at the Xu family's home, the Cheng family will definitely hold them accountable, and it's clearly not acceptable to push Xu Zhuohua out.
According to Xu Zhuohua, Xu Jixiao, the eldest son who kept getting Cheng Muyun drunk all night, is the more suspicious.
Everyone remained silent, pondering how to protect the Xu family.
Xu Zhuohua continued to question, "Shouldn't the First Madam be investigating properly now to find out what caused the fire? Why did it have to be the young marshal who was injured? Give the young marshal a proper explanation, otherwise the entire Xu family will not be able to escape responsibility!"
The First Madam's lips trembled with anger, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Xu Shih-nong then stepped forward, saying, "Shu-hua is right. We should first find out the cause of the fire, instead of blaming each other."
The First Madam kept her head down, while Xu Zhuohua secretly waited to see her make a fool of herself.
What other causes could be found?
The fire was started by the Xu family. Now, investigating the cause is just a way to decide who to scapegoat.
Last night, Cheng Muyun reminded her that she was definitely not the scapegoat, and now it was just a matter of seeing how the Xu family would handle the situation.
Thinking about it carefully, the Xu family is really stupid. When they set the fire, didn't they think about what would happen if Cheng Muyun was actually having sex with her inside the house and they didn't have time to react and were burned to death?
Is the Xu family really that short of dowry money? They're willing to risk Cheng Muyun's safety.
Is it because Xu Zhuohua is an adopted daughter? They don't want to pay.
Xu Shinong and his wife were gone for an unknown amount of time, and they were not prepared for the plan to fail. They dawdled until noon before returning home looking dejected.
Xu Zhuohua guessed that neither of them was particularly cunning, and this was probably their first time harming someone, so they had little experience.
In fact, as long as the two of them don't put up a stubborn resistance and offer some money to settle things, and follow Cheng Muyun's wishes, there won't be any problems.
However, neither of them were the smooth-talking, quick-witted type, and they didn't know the reason behind it.
A servant brought over a black incense burner and threw it at Xu Zhuohua's feet.
Incense ash was scattered all over the ground, making it look dusty, and some of the charcoal ash stuck to the incense burner was knocked off.
Xu Zhuohua recognized it at a glance; it was the same incense burner in her room. She had asked Xinghua to put it out because she thought the smell was too strong.
The First Madam, with her head held high, pointed at Xu Zhuohua and said arrogantly, "You scoundrel! Isn't this incense burner from your room?"
They still want to pin the blame on Xu Zhuohua!
Xu Zhuohua was speechless; she couldn't even lift him up.
“Madam, I’ve only been home for a day and I’ve already experienced the forced marriage. I have no time to pay attention to these trivial matters.”
Xu Shi Nong, displaying the authority of the head of the household, said sternly, "This incense burner was found in the ruins of your house, and it was this object that caused the fire."
Xu Zhuohua really wanted to give the couple a hoe each.
"How can you prove that it caused the fire, sir? Do you think I don't know what a tiny spark of incense ash could burn to?"
Xu Zhuohua spent his time in the temple, burning countless incense sticks. He had seen all kinds of incense. Even if he threw such a small incense burner into a pile of firewood, it would only burn a black edge at most.
"I'm afraid you've never burned incense before, sir. If you want to start a big fire with this incense burner, you'll need someone to fan the flames."
Xu Shinong felt a little guilty, but she had already been put on hold, so she stuck to Xu Zhuohua and gave the First Madam a look.
The couple were quite in sync. The First Madam immediately spoke up, saying, "Isn't it you who's stirring things up? You didn't want to marry Cheng Muyun, so you came up with this plan to kill Cheng Muyun and then drag the Xu family of more than forty people down with you."
Xu Shi Nong said, "What a vicious heart! After praying for blessings for so many years, you are still deeply sinful!"
The servants of the Xu family in the courtyard all looked at Xu Zhuohua with strange eyes.
Xu Zhuohua could control his emotions when it came to other things, but when this was mentioned, his body trembled uncontrollably.
A bitter feeling welled up in my heart, and memories of the nunnery flooded back.
Twelve-year-old Xu Shuhua sat on a prayer cushion, drowsy. Because it was a prayer for redemption and blessings, she could not rest for a moment. Every day from 3 a.m. to noon, she would kneel and copy Buddhist scriptures after lunch.
Over the past six years, Xu Shuhua's copied Buddhist scriptures have filled an entire meditation room.
Resentment, grievance, anger, and a bitterness that soared to the heavens.
"What right do you have to say that!" Xu Zhuohua stood on the steps, her burning rage threatening to engulf everyone in the courtyard. "You're the one with a vicious heart! You're the one with heinous sins! Your entire Xu family deserves to die!"
Xu Zhuohua's reaction shocked Xu Shinong. He knew better than anyone that Xu Zhuohua was innocent and that she was sent to the temple for Xu Minghua's sake.
The First Madam pointed at Xu Zhuohua: "Look, you've admitted it yourself. You just wanted to harm the Xu family. The Xu family fed and clothed you, but you didn't repay them at all!"
Xu Zhuohua walked down the steps one by one. "Is that so? How did the Xu family raise me? I didn't start working as Xu Minghua's maid when I was four years old. I was a young lady in name only, but a maid in reality. Maids at least get a monthly salary, but what about me? You just want to take advantage of me and leech off me, and you even want to use the debt of raising me to blackmail me!"
"No way!"
"I won't marry him!"
Xu Zhuohua really wanted to kill these people at that moment.
An eerie silence fell over the courtyard; no one had expected Xu Zhuohua to say such things.
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