"Miss!" Zi Xuan was stunned when she saw Qin Miao come out of the fire scene, and even subconsciously changed her way of addressing Qin Miao.

  She hastily took off her own outer garment and wrapped it around Qin Miao, crying mournfully: "What's going on, miss? Don't scare me, please don't scare me!"

  "It's okay. Let's go." Qin Miao had lost too much energy, her feet felt weak and she leaned against Zi Xuan, walking towards the gate without looking back.

  Nothing's wrong? Yeah, nothing's wrong anymore... If you don't want to think about it again in your heart, then what else can be wrong.

  "An Wen!" Xie Yun saw her leaving and hurriedly followed up to grab her hand.

  Her hands were still covered with dust, and she must have stuck to it when she was crawling in the house. He held on tightly, and greedily wanted to pull her over. However, Qin Miao suddenly used force to shake his hand off, her head stubbornly turned away.

  She was angry, and she had every right to be. Her husband had abandoned her in a time of need and gone off to save someone else. Anyone would be angry and disappointed. He should have realized that by now, but instead he wanted to explain things away, saying it wasn't as she thought! He hadn't meant to abandon her!

  "I..." Xie Yan tried to grab her arm again, but she dodged him. His hands awkwardly lingered in the air, staring at that lonely yet resolute shoulder, and he was suddenly speechless. He didn't know how to speak up, didn't know how to justify his foolish choice just now, and was even more afraid that she would take it as a given.

  Just as Xie Yun was at a loss, Qin Miao turned around and slowly walked back, once again ignoring him and brushing past his shoulder.

  Qin Miao took a glance at Liao's auntie's arms, where Xingxiang was nestled. A smile suddenly appeared on her ash-covered face. "Xingxiang, you won!"

  No one else understood the meaning of Qin's words, but Xiangxiang did. Her carefully laid plans had succeeded, hahaha, this woman had finally admitted defeat! At that moment, a hint of sympathy flashed through Xiangxiang's mind, pitying this self-righteous woman who would one day taste the bitter experience of being abandoned by a man. Hahaha!

  Qin Miao never thought that he would surrender like this, without any resentment, without any jealousy, only with a heart full of exhaustion.

  Inside Shoroin Temple.

  Yu Lu saw Nian Nian and Zi Xuan bringing Qin Miao back, once again covered in dirt. She was frightened. That small face was deathly pale, and she quickly went up to wrap a cloak around Qin Miao.

  Before she even sat down, Qin Miao said to Yu Lu, "Later, the Rain Suet Hall will definitely look for a doctor again. Yu Lu, send someone to keep an eye on him and find a place outside the mansion to detain the doctor. No matter how much silver is used, I want you to get the truth out of him."

  "Madam, this is...?" The crowd looked at each other in confusion.

  Qin Miao then informed her three personal attendants of her suspicions about Yu Suo Ge. Everyone was shocked.

  "I'm tired, let's boil some water and take a bath."

  Washing away the dirt and fatigue on her body, she felt a slight relief from her physical exhaustion. But what about the fatigue in her heart?

  Qin Miao didn't want to think about it anymore, and she wrapped herself in the quilt, not even wanting anyone to come near her. These past few days had been too eventful, her heart was almost bursting, and she felt like it was going to crack open. She didn't want to see anyone, nor did she want to be seen by anyone.

  The news of the flooding in Yu Suo Ge spread quickly throughout the entire mansion, and naturally it also startled Old Lady Xie who was playing cards with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Yang Yi Yuan. After hearing the report from the servant, everyone was shocked. On such a good day, why did the water suddenly flood for no reason? The maid who came to report was not from Yu Suo Ge or Chao Lu Yuan, but was usually responsible for sweeping the small garden, and had just been temporarily sent to Yang Yi Yuan to deliver the message.

  The old lady heard that Qin Miao was almost burned to death, and the cards in her hand suddenly burst open. Seeing Bao Xin's servant girl stammering and unable to speak clearly, she quickly pulled Xie Wei to Chao Lu Yuan.

  A crowd of people arrived at Chao Lu Yuan in a flurry, only to find the door tightly closed, with several personal attendants guarding the outside.

  "What's going on? Everyone is outside! Where's Anu?"

  Mrs. Li saw Old Lady Xie hurrying over in a fluster and hastily went forward to pay her respects. "The mistress has had a fright and is just resting."

  "What's wrong? Has a doctor been called? What did the doctor say?" The old lady asked, disregarding social hierarchy, tightly grasping Li's arm.

  "Madam, the doctor has examined him and there's nothing seriously wrong. However...the lady is feeling unwell in her heart, wants some peace and quiet, and doesn't want to be disturbed."

  Mrs. Li wiped away her tears and told Old Lady Xie about what had just happened at the Rain Fragrance Pavilion, after which she burst into another fit of sobbing.

  "What nonsense! Where's Brother Huan? Where is he?"

  Xie Wei saw the old lady get angry, so she quickly went up to comfort her. After the old lady had some tea and adjusted her breath, she asked Li Niang again: "Niang, where is my brother?"

  "Just now when we left the Rain Fragrance Pavilion, Master Hou was still there."

  Xie Wei glanced at the old lady, and without saying a word, she quickly ran out. "I'll go find him back!" Until today, she still can't accept the fact that Xie Yan threw Qin Miao into the fire. Her big brother may be cold-blooded, but Xie Wei knows that's just a facade; his heart yearns for emotions and warmth more than anyone else. So Qin Miao's arrival made Xie Wei see hope - this sister-in-law is someone who can ignite the long-sealed spark in her big brother's heart. Big brother, you're so foolish!

  When they arrived at the Rain Fragrance Pavilion, the big fire had already been extinguished, but the smell of burning was still a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, the fire was controlled in time, and only the main house was burned down, while the wing room on one side was still intact, so Xie Xun and Qingxiang temporarily stayed in the wing room.

  "Master Hou, I'm sorry to you. It's all my fault! My child... my poor child..." Qin Xiang leaned against the headboard, her face covered in tears, grasping onto Xie Yun's arm and not daring to let go.

  Liao's aunt stood guard beside her, originally wanting to help Qin Xiang with a pillow, but seeing Xie Yan's gloomy face, she was quite frightened. She could only shrink back in embarrassment, not daring to take another step forward.

  "What's going on?" Xie Yun suddenly found himself caught off guard by the mysterious fire. After calming down, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. It was a good day, with no signs of any sparks or flames, yet the fire started in the main house where there were no open flames. And to make matters worse, Qin Miao was also present. After the fire was extinguished, he faintly smelled the scent of fire oil, which was rarely used in ordinary households but often used during military campaigns.

  His cold, slightly menacing voice had barely escaped his lips when Xiangxiang, who was still sniffling, suddenly stopped making a sound. A chill ran down her spine, and she felt a wave of fear wash over her. But she had been planning this for many days, and the words she was about to say had been rehearsed countless times in her mind. So, in an instant, she steadied her slightly trembling throat and spoke up in a wronged tone. "Today, I was chatting with the mistress when we happened to mention the incident where I bumped into an outsider at the entrance of the Choulou Courtyard the other day. At the time, I saw that man go inside for a long time without coming out, so I had my suspicions and waited on the side. More than half a time later, I finally saw him sneakily heading towards the west corner door. The maid who sent him off seemed to call him something like Qin Er Ye..."

  Xie Xuan interrupted before she could finish speaking. "What's gotten into you, going to watch over the Chao Lu courtyard again and spouting nonsense to Madame?!"

  Qin Xiang's voice was trembling slightly, and she seemed to be hesitating. "I'm afraid that the mistress has a private relationship with that person, if it's true, then your reputation will be ruined!"

  She opened her eyes wide and gazed at Xie Yun with a sincere expression, deep and genuine, making it hard for people to look away.

  "So I want to find the lady and ask her, confront her. You are now in a difficult situation, absolutely cannot be tainted by those dirty things. Even if that person is the lady, I, Xiangxiang, will not allow it!"

  It wasn't until then that Xie Xun finally understood a bit. That so-called Qin Er Ge, the outsider, was actually Qin Miao's sworn brother. He was the man who had argued with him outside the mansion gates and yet treated Qin Miao with such care.

  He withdrew his arm from Xiangxiang's hand, clenching his fist tightly in his sleeve. He didn't dare to think deeply about it, nor did he dare to get entangled in the details.

  "What's with the fire?!"

  Qin Xiang choked again, hung her head and wiped away tears. "I mentioned it to the mistress once, and she got angry. You don't know how terrifying she looked at that time, I was so scared, thinking she wanted to kill me... But unexpectedly, when she was fighting with me, she accidentally knocked over the candle holder in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the house caught fire..."

  Xie Xuan didn't say another word, but stared blankly at Qin Xiang's already tear-swollen eyes, trying to carefully discern the truth from falsehood. But in a daze, he let out a sigh and his whole body felt exhausted.

  Whether it's true or false is no longer important. The woman was already hurt when she left him. What's the point of investigating the truth...

  "Brother!" Xie Wei disregarded the obstruction of the people under the eaves, and rushed into the room. Seeing Qin Xiang half leaning on Xie Yan's side, she saw that he was still occupying her elder brother with a look of deep affection. No matter how good one's temper was normally, it couldn't be restrained at this moment.

  "Xie Xuan, you're too much! What have you done to my sister?! Speak up!" Xie Wei rushed to the bedside and pulled Qin Xiang off Xie Xuan.

  "What nonsense!" Xie Yun saw Xie Wei still wanting to go up and hit someone, and quickly pulled the person away. "Do you know what you're doing? Is there no discipline anymore?"

  Xie Wei saw that Qin Xiang was so pitiful, she couldn't get angry anymore, and shouted at Xie Yan: "Rules? You tell me about rules, what about your own rules? You, for a mysterious woman, ignore your new wife. And, Eldest Sister hasn't even given birth to an heir, but you let her keep the child, do you think Eldest Sister is easy to bully? Xie Yan, you favor your concubine over your wife, where are your rules now?"

  From young to old, Xie Wei had never disobeyed him and had never thrown a tantrum. She was always the obedient little sister in Xie Yan's eyes, respecting and loving him, never scolding him. But today, Xie Wei was really furious, her whole body like a lion with its fur standing on end, and if one thought about it, she looked more and more like Qin Miao's demeanor.

  But Qin Miao hadn't shown his true nature in front of him for a long time. There was no frankness, no infatuation, not even a scolding.

  Xie Xuan doesn't understand why he misses the former Qin Miao, who was full of laughter and anger, especially after seeing her resolute departure...