Chapter 832 - The Unconscious Master And Servant (1/2)

“Since I have known the case, I have to investigate it. Otherwise, it will embarrass me that I, who lives next to you, have nothing to give when being questioned by the Ministry of Justice.” Wen Xichi said in a moderate tone, “You’d better tell me what on earth was going on. It’s better to talk about it ourselves than to go and ask your sisters. Now the Second Miss of your mansion is still missing. If something has happened to her, it will probably be a life-and-death lawsuit!”

As long as the case involved people’s life, it was necessary for an official of the Ministry of Justice on the spot to investigate it, even if there was still no report from a victim.

There were both seriousness and forgiveness in Wen Xichi’s words. It seemed that there were connotations inside.

Shao Hua’an looked at him with a wry smile and said reluctantly, “Okay, I will tell you what you want. Everything I know is all from my grandma. I am not sure whether they are true or not. Some statements may be her prejudice, so don’t take them seriously!”

“Go ahead. I can tell!” Wen Xichi nodded and comforted him to dispel his worries.

Wen Xichi’s solemnity made Shao Hua’an very helpless, then he described what had happened before in Old Madam’s words.

Based on Old Madam’s description, when Shao Jie’er was decorating Shao Hua’an’s bridal chamber, Shao Caihuan and Shao Wanru got there together to find fault with her. The former two argued that the chamber was too small, and ordered Shao Jie’er to choose another. But once a bridal chamber was chosen, it could not be changed at will. However, the two of them did not give up after being refused by Shao Jie’er and even mentioned the First Miss of Minister Zhao’s Mansion in an unfriendly manner.

When the argument was at its peak, people from Minister Zhao’s Mansion arrived there and heard the ill words about their First Miss in the quarrel, which inflamed their anger and caused them to complain it to Old Madam…

“This is the whole thing. Second Sister was punished, because of this, to copy Woman Precepts in this chamber of mine!” Shao Hua’an sighed and said with vexation.

Indeed, it was really a headache.

After hearing Shao Hua’an’s description, Wen Xichi thought for a moment and doubted, “It seems that Second Miss hasn’t done anything wrong, but it is Third Miss and Fifth Miss who have. Why was Second Miss, instead of the other two Misses, punished?”

“You know that my mother is not home now, and so is my eldest sister. So we left the duty of choosing the bridal chamber to Second Sister. It was she who chose this house. Grandma also thought that she had picked a bad one. Although Third Sister and Fifth Sister were also wrong, they just did it for my good, intending to choose a big chamber for me. Grandma punished Second Sister, for she not only chose a bad house but also refused to correct the mistake she had made!”

“What should she do?” Wen Xichi asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe she was once asked to pick another one. But she refused and then was punished to stay here. No one expected that such a thing would happen. It’s really…” Shao Hua’an shook his hand and said helplessly.

The quarrel was started due to his bridal chamber, and an accident happened to his bridal chamber too. But he knew nothing clear. Shao Hua’an was very frustrated that he had lost a house to live in, for it was almost burned out, not to mention that Shao Jie’er was still missing.

More frustratingly, his fiancee’s family would definitely be furious. Shao Hua’an was totally deep in a dilemma now.

“So you’re going to choose another bridal chamber?” Wen Xichi looked at Shao Hua’an, who looked extremely worried.

“It seems so!” Shao Hua’an nodded and said.

“How about offering the choice to Miss Zhao’s family? Give them the right to choose a suitable house as the bridal chamber, as long as it was a vacant one. That might appease their anger,” Wen Xichi comforted Shao Hua’an and said.

“That might be all I can do now!” Shao Hua’an nodded and said.

During their discussion in a low voice, many people were seeking Shao Jie’er. But no one had ever seen her yet, even if they moved the beams in the ruin. Shao Jie’er seemed to have disappeared into the air.

Duke Xing was very anxious and asked someone to rummage through the whole collapsed house, but there was nothing. Shao Jie’er was not there.

Then many people started to shout, “Second Miss! Second Miss!”

That no one was under that ruin meant that Shao Jie’er might be still alive. However, there were still some places that had not been searched. No one could be sure whether she was alive or not.

Shao Jie’er was wakened up by the shouting of her name. She stood up with her hands covering her head, confused, and not knowing where she was. Hearing the sudden cry of “Second Miss” not far away, Shao Jie’er answered subconsciously.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she saw Shao Jing’s excited face. She had never got such attention from her father before.

“Second Miss, it’s really you. Why… why are you here?” An old maid said excitedly. Everyone had thought that Shao Jie’er was dead. Unexpectedly, she was not only alive but also uninjured. Except for some burnt marks on her clothes, other parts of her were well and clean.

Shao Jie’er was in a pavilion, which was behind a big tree outside the burnt chamber.

The tree was huge enough to block half of the pavilion from the wind and rain.

Earlier, everyone rushed over to the chamber to put out the fire, but none of them had ever noticed the pavilion, which was right beside them. No one had seen it because their minds were totally occupied with the fire.

So the truth was Second Miss had fallen asleep here instead of being in the burnt house?