Chapter 135 Liu Rumei, dead?
The fire at Qinghui Garden has left Liu Rumei in grave danger.
Surprised?
Or was it man-made?
Ye Mingzhu quickly stood up and gave Sheng Yunche a push: "Let's go check out the situation over there."
Sheng Yunche: "...Okay."
In his opinion, Guan Liuru should die.
But given the current situation, he knew he had no choice but to cooperate. If he stopped Ye Mingzhu from getting out of bed, he feared... she would beat him to death.
Ye Mingzhu rushed to the Sheng residence.
What came into view was a raging fire and billowing smoke.
The servants, their faces filled with anxiety, carried buckets of water to put out the fire, but Liu Rumei and Jinzhu were nowhere to be seen.
With a dazed expression, Yinzhu slumped to the ground, holding the wailing Hao'er. She stared ahead, her eyes half-crying and half-laughing, as if her soul had been ripped away.
"What happened?" Ye Mingzhu asked her.
"Madam, the eldest mistress... she and Jinzhu haven't come out!" Yinzhu cried out upon seeing Ye Mingzhu, "Madam, the eldest mistress is gone, and Jinzhu is dead too!"
"Why did it catch fire?" Ye Mingzhu asked.
"This servant doesn't know." Yinzhu shook her head, looking anxious. "I was supposed to be on night watch tonight, but I don't know why, I felt extremely sleepy and slept very soundly. I don't know anything about anything."
"When I woke up again, I found myself holding the young master in my arms, asleep on the ground in the courtyard. I smelled smoke and heard Jinzhu scream. Fire, fire had already started! But I was too scared to go in and save them... Waaah..."
"Then, there was no sound from inside..."
Yinzhu covered her face and started to cry.
Ye Mingzhu frowned and asked, "What about Liu Rumei?"
"I don't know. I haven't heard Grandma's voice or seen her." Yinzhu shook her head helplessly, her eyes full of confusion.
Clearly, tonight's events had a significant impact on her.
"Alright, you don't need to worry about what's going on here. There's a lot of fire and smoke in here, you should take the child and go find some shelter." Ye Mingzhu softened her voice and gestured for the more composed Ruyi to step forward and take Yinzhu to rest aside.
Looking at the raging fire in front of her, she frowned.
According to Yinzhu, Liu Rumei and Jinzhu perished in the fire.
But why did she feel uneasy?
"My lord, let's report this to the authorities," she said.
Sheng Yunche nodded calmly.
"We must report this to the authorities!" Princess Ronghua rushed over and immediately agreed.
Whether it's a wealthy or humble household, if someone is burned to death in a fire, they must report it to the authorities.
Strictly speaking, this is a matter for the Sheng family.
But neither Jia nor Sheng Huai'an could be seen, so they had to do it on their behalf.
In less than the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the coroner and the bailiffs arrived.
But Ye Mingzhu's unease did not completely disappear until the fire was extinguished and the servants found two charred, unrecognizable female corpses in the burned and collapsed house.
After examination by the coroner, based on the height of the two corpses and the jewelry they were wearing, it was determined that one of the female corpses was Liu Rumei, and the other was Jinzhu.
Based on the analysis of the scene, the preliminary conclusion is that the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion.
Someone must have poured tung oil into the room and then thrown it on fire, which is why the fire that started so quickly was so difficult to extinguish.
Jinzhu had no motive, and initially suspected that Liu Rumei was the arsonist.
But did Liu Rumei commit suicide?
How is that possible?
Even if Liu Rumei is now infamous and there are rumors in the clan that she will be drowned in a pig cage, she would not choose to commit suicide, would she?
Something occurred to Ye Mingzhu, and she walked up to Yinzhu and asked her, "I remember Hao'er had a wet nurse, where is she?"
Yinzhu said, "The wet nurse burned the young master a few days ago. The eldest mistress felt that she was not taking good care of the young master and sent her home. These past few days, Jinzhu and I have been taking care of the young master."
Ye Mingzhu gazed into deep thought.
Sheng Yunche asked her, "Do you suspect that Liu Rumei faked her death as a scheme to escape?"
"Mm." Ye Mingzhu nodded.
"You found evidence?"
“Actually, there’s no evidence.” Ye Mingzhu shook her head and said carefully, “I just feel that Liu Rumei is the type who would rather kill than commit suicide…”
"Furthermore, Liu Rumei has secret guards with her. If she wanted to die, the guards wouldn't just stand by and watch her die, would they?"
"I understand." Sheng Yunche grasped her hand and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I'll help you. Whatever the strange things are, I'll get to the bottom of it!"
"Mmm." Ye Mingzhu looked up at him, squeezed his hand back, and felt a warmth in her heart.
Her hands were slender and fair, while his hands were broad and warm.
With hands clasped together, the chill of the spring night gradually dissipated.
Princess Ronghua, standing not far away, glanced at the two of them, sighed softly, and shook her head with a mixture of relief and amusement.
After understanding the situation, Ye Mingzhu and the other two decided to return to the Duke of Wei's mansion.
A constable hesitated and called out to Sheng Yunche, "Duke Wei, you see... now that you've all left, there's no one in charge here, this..."
"Go find Sheng Huai'an." Sheng Yunche didn't want to make things difficult for him, but he also didn't want to clean up the mess left by the Sheng family.
Since the family split up, the Duke of Wei's mansion and the Sheng mansion have been two separate families.
They could report it to the authorities, but they couldn't possibly clean up the mess for Sheng Huai'an and Jia Shi.
From the moment they arrived until now, Sheng Huai'an and Madam Jia have acted as if they were dead, completely indifferent to the situation, as if the fire didn't break out in the Sheng family mansion and the death wasn't that of the eldest mistress of the Sheng family.
I wonder if those two will continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb after they leave.
...
When Qinghui Garden caught fire, Sheng Huai'an knew about it.
He asked Fu'an to inquire about the situation from afar. After learning of Liu Rumei's death, he seemed to instantly turn into a clay sculpture, his expression blank and his eyes empty.
It took him a while to come to his senses, and he slowly walked back to his study.
I feel heavy-hearted.
He hated Liu Rumei for her hypocrisy, for deceiving his feelings, for ruining his future, and for viciously destroying his reputation.
But upon learning of her death, he felt little relief.
Instead, there's an indescribable emptiness, a feeling that's hard to put into words.
Yes, it's empty.
"Fu'an, go buy me some wine," Sheng Huai'an instructed in a weak voice. "The strongest wine, buy several jugs."
Once you're drunk, your mind stops working, and you feel a bit more relaxed, right?
Then we can pretend that nothing happened, and he can still be the dignified and upright second master of the Duke's mansion, right?
Sheng Huai'an sat blankly at his desk, staring at the inky night outside the window. He drank one mouthful of strong liquor after another, his eyes gradually becoming hazy, and a strange smile appeared on his face. He drank himself into a stupor.
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