On lighting the curtain, Shao Jie’er kept setting fire on the stuff around, all of which were inflammable, so they were very easy to light up.

Liuxiang was so stunned by the rising temperature in the room that she let go of her master’s hand. In astonishment, she watched Shao Jie’er setting the fire. This time, she was so scared that both her hands and feet trembled. She, in a daze, just watched what her master was doing.

The fire in the room burned fiercely, and with its high temperature, it had expelled Shao Jie’er’s previous fear. Hearing the sound from behind, she turned to Liuxiang, who was staring at her with eyes like dead fish’s, and said, “Come and help me. Push the combustible furniture here.”

“Miss, Miss!” Liuxiang jumped up and pounced onto Shao Jie’er with inexplicable power, knocking the latter directly down to a cabinet. The oil lamp in Shao Jie’er’s hand fell to the ground and unfortunately lit her dress, which scared her to scream.

“Hurry and put out the fire!”

Liuxiang tried to put out the fire on Shao Jie’er’s dress and asked anxiously, “Miss… what should we do now?”

She was so scared and nervous that she had forgotten the white shadow out of the window.

“Let’s move!” As the house had burnt up, Shao Jie’er covered her nose and rushed out of it as soon as she finally stamped out the fire on her dress. In a daze for a moment, Liuxiang fled with Shao Jie’er at an extremely fast speed.

When they got out to the yard, the wing room had been on fire. Thought standing in the yard, they could still feel the fire and warmth radiating in all directions.

“Miss…” Liuxiang wanted to ask something again.

“Shut up! First make yourself look like you just escaped from the fire, and then find a place to hide!” Shao Jie’er ordered.

She took a few steps forward to the window, intending to get herself on fire. Unexpectedly, as soon as reaching the window, she suddenly heard Liuxiang’s scream coming from behind. When she was about to turn around, she was hit by a heavy blow on her head. Without consciousness, she slowly fainted.

A man wrapped in white cloth showed up. Taking off the white cloth, he turned out to be a black-clad masked person. He held the master and the servant one in each hand and then disappeared into the darkness.

“Excellent! I have met Fifth Miss’s requirements without spending too much of my efforts…”

The house was on fire. The raging firelight shone far away in the night, which immediately alarmed some people who were still awake. The light told them there was a fire somewhere. They shouted loudly and even hit the gong and drum, which woke the whole Duke Xing’s Mansion up.

On knowing the fire, the servants got up at once and helped put out the fire with buckets of water.

The burning chamber was a little remote, but close to the Mansion of the Prime Minister, the people of which had also been alarmed. When the last fire broke out in Duke Xing’s Mansion, Wen Xichi was only an exam candidate, who had nothing to do with things like that. Now he had to go there for he was the Prime Minister.

Moreover, it was his obligation as an official of the Ministry of Justice to handle this kind of public security problem.

When he arrived, Duke Xing’s Mansion was already in a mess, and no one noticed that he brought a few people to help.

When they arrived at the site of the fire, Duke Xing had been there directing people to fight the fire, together with First Young Master Shao Hua’an and Third Master of Duke Xing’s Mansion.

They saw Wen Xichi, knowing that he was here to offer a helping hand. They thanked him and then arranged his people to join the “firefighters”.

“How did it happen?” Wen Xichi frowned and asked as a routine.

“It is still unknown. The fire broke out all of a sudden. All the furniture is inside!” Shao Hua’an answered with an unhappy look.

No one would look good if their bridal chamber was on a fire.

“Who lives here? Are they safe?” Wen Xichi looked at the fire in front of him and asked. He paid attention to people instead of the furniture.

“This is supposed to be my wedding house. No one is living here now, but just now grandma sent a message saying that Second Sister is copying Woman Precepts in it. But she hasn’t been found yet!” Shao Hua’an answered, a little angry and annoyed.

“Still hasn’t been found?” Wen Xichi was stunned and asked at once.

“No, but… there is no one inside… and no one knows where my Second Sister is!” Shao Hua’an also looked anxious.

“I’ll go and have a look!” Wen Xichi said. As he was about to go forward and take a look, he was stopped by Shao Hua’an. “Everything inside has been burned down, and even the beams may collapse. You can’t go in!”

At the moment, a loud voice confirmed Shao Hua’an’s words. The room in the middle just collapsed and splashed some sparks. Many people around jumped and hit the sparks splashed on their bodies.

“It’s too dangerous here. All of you, step back!” Shao Jing said loudly and ordered someone to pull back the people who were close to the house.

The other rooms were not safe anymore. they were about to collapse after the beam of the main room fell off.

No sooner had the servants just retreated far away than the rooms collapsed one after another, with sparks splashing. Fortunately, everyone followed Duke Xing’s order just now and retreated a lot early, so no one was hurt.

Once sure that no other collapses would happen again, Duke Xing ordered his people to get forward to put out the fire again.

“Is this your wedding room? Why did you choose such a place?” Looking at the location and size of the chamber, Wen Xichi asked in confusion.

It was obvious that the size and location of it did not match Shao Hua’an’s identity. In no way did it look like the place where he, the eldest legitimate son, should live.

It was much more appropriate for an ordinary Miss in the mansion. Even a Miss of lineal descent would not live in such a chamber. He, the eldest son of lineal descent, would probably become the heir of the Duke. How could he live in such a place?

“Currently there is no other more suitable place!” Shao Hua’an’s attention was all focused on the fire. So he answered Wen Xichi casually.

“How could there be not? Aren’t there a few big empty houses in your mansion? Aren’t they more decent and suitable than this one?” Wen Xichi was more and more puzzled. He knew a little about Duke Xing’s Mansion. There were not that many masters in the mansion, and many chambers were available. It was strange that he should pick this one.

Shao Hua’an was annoyed, touching his forehead, and said, “Grandma told me to pick one at will, then I just did as told.”

His words made Wen Xichi fall silent. After a long while, he said, “It was too casual!”

“It’s indeed too casual that I picked one like it. I should have paid more attention and chosen a better one at that time. It’s too late to regret it now. There was not only my own furniture but also those given by Minister Zhao’s Mansion. It’s troublesome!” Shao Hua’an said regretfully.

When newlyweds got married, their bridal chamber would be decorated by the groom’s side. But some of the brides’ parents, who loved their daughters dearly, would offer some furniture the brides liked. That was what Minister Zhao’s Mansion had done.

“It is indeed a bit troublesome!” Wen Xichi nodded and said. He also felt that it was not easy to deal with it. It didn’t matter that the bridegroom’s own stuff had been burned in his own home. But he would have to give a formal explanation and apology to his fiancee’s parents since the bride’s furniture was destroyed.

For this reason, Duke Xing’s Family was in a vulnerable situation. Even if the bride’s family raised some other conditions, they had to agree.

After all, Duke Xing’s family had not kept all the furniture from the bride’s side safe!

An aristocratic family like Miss Zhao’s would always prepare the dowries early for their daughters’ marriage, and some of them even had been ready since their daughters were born. Now Miss Zhao’s parents’ painstaking efforts for so many years got burnt, which was hardly acceptable.

“Minister Zhao is a nice man,” Wen Xichi comforted Shao Hua’an and said. The two had been friends for years, so they never beat around the bush and always went straight to the point.

“I can only hope so!” Shao Hua’an said with a wry and hopeless smile, shrugging his shoulders.

In such a big fire, even the furniture left would probably be unusable. The first batch of items that were sent to decorate the bridal chamber had been burned out.

Wen Xichi turned his eyes to the fire again. It had been nearly put out as buckets of water were poured on it one by one. There were only a few flames left. It would not be a big problem anymore.

“Is it possible that someone intends to destroy your newly marital chamber?” Wen Xichi asked as a thought flashed inexplicably through his mind.

Three years ago, the fire in Duke Xing’s Mansion was an arson case, and now it was probably the same.

At that time, it was Shao Wanru trapped in the fire, who had just been admitted back to Duke Xing’s Mansion as the Fifth Miss. And now it was the Second Miss. Was there any connection?

Wen Xichi inexplicably felt that there was a connection between the two fire cases.

“My chamber is not a good one, so I don’t understand why someone wants to destroy it. Besides, there was no one else but my Second Sister, who, according to grandmother, has done something wrong and was punished by grandma to transcribe Woman Precepts in the wing room tonight.”

Shao Hua’an shook his head and said without hiding anything from Wen Xichi.

“Has your Second Sister done something bad?” Wen Xichi repeated his words and looked sideways at Shao Hua’an, believing that there must be something hidden.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just that Second Sister and Third Sister quarreled with each other here today, and the people of Minister Zhao’s Mansion were also involved. Grandmother was bothered by it, so she was very angry and punished Second Sister!” Shao Hua’an tried to make it vague. It was not that he didn’t believe Wen Xichi, but that it was not polite to tell him the details that were related to the reputation of the girls in the mansion, even though Wen Xichi was his good friend.

Wen Xichi was clear in his mind. He had known what kind of person Shao Jie’er was since he was young. Every time they played together, Shao Jie’er never behaved as an agreeable person. She would spare no efforts to flatter people of her higher position. She acted as if she were a humble servant girl serving them, and did whatever they asked without any disobedience.

On the other hand, to those who were inferior to her, she was very harsh and mean. She would ruthlessly trample them with lots of enjoyment.

“Hasn’t the Third Miss been punished?” Wen Xichi keenly grasped the point and asked. As a friend, he shouldn’t ask too much but just took the hint. However, as an official of the Ministry of Justice present, he must continue the inquest.

“In fact, not only Third Sister, but also Fifth Sister was…” Shao Hua’an seemed to be in a dilemma. He stopped as soon as realizing that he had nearly made an indiscreet remark. He pursed his lips and said, “Yuanqing, no more questions, please. I saw no link between the matter of the sisters and the current situation. There is no need to investigate it!”