"So anxious? I've never seen him react like this before!" The man smiled mockingly. "She'll be fine. You know her well! Besides, don't you have bodyguards protecting her?" "But your fourth brother, at least bring your fourth sister-in-law to show her to me, your third brother? I'm about to go back, why don't you bring your fourth sister-in-law to welcome me?"
"I am not your fourth brother!" Nan Xuzong snorted coldly, glared at him, and left the secret room directly, returning to the Marquis's residence.
The man smiled brightly, "I don't believe it!"
The wind blew by, carrying away all the candlelight from the secret room.
At this moment, Ji Wushang sensed several people walking in from outside.
"Go, see if she's awake!" one of them said.
Ji Wushang sensed that a man had come forward to check on her. After examining her for a moment, he said, "She has fainted!"
"Okay, quick, get her to bed!"
"What do you want to do? Is that it?" The somewhat overweight man winked and smirked. "Is that it..."
"Go to hell with your bullshit! Do you even have enough time? The young master will be back soon. If things are exposed, we won't even know how we die!"
"Alright, I can't eat it just by looking at it!" The fat man looked at Ji Wushang and reached out to touch him.
Ji Wushang felt like vomiting, but he forced himself to stay still.
"Save your money!" said the slightly thinner man. "Hurry up, finish this and report back to Aunt Zhao. After that, you can take the money to the brothel and find as many women as you want. What's your rush?"
"Where can you find someone like the Crown Princess?!" The fat man stepped forward, followed by two or three other men. "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up!"
He immediately carried Ji Wushang to the bed.
Ji Wushang sneered. This Aunt Zhao had set a trap for him; shouldn't he return the favor? Otherwise, he'd seem petty!
After taking him to the bed in the inner room, they tied Ji Wushang to the bed!
The men immediately took out several tinderboxes. "Quick!"
Ji Wushang frowned inwardly, noticing that they had all gone outside and there was no one left in the outer room!
Ji Wushang immediately began to bite his rope with his teeth.
"Hurry up and set them on fire!" a man said, immediately setting the books in the accounting room ablaze!
Because these people thought Ji Wushang had already fainted, they did not tie him up tightly, and Ji Wushang untied the ropes after a short while.
She quietly went outside and saw several men setting fire to the outer room, and the flames began to burn.
Ji Wushang was about to turn around and go back to the inner room, jump out of the window and settle accounts with Aunt Zhao, but at that moment, someone covered Ji Wushang's mouth and dragged her into the inner room.
Ji Wushang immediately struggled, and in a flash, she had a dagger in her hand. Just as she was about to press it against the neck of the man in black, the man in black whispered, "Princess Consort, I am Gong Shu!"
"Gong Shu?" Ji Wushang watched as Gong Shu removed his black mask and said, "Quick, come with me, they've set it on fire!"
"Weren't you with Zai Cong? How did you end up here?" Ji Wushang looked at him. "Let's not talk about that for now. Tell me, how good are your martial arts skills?"
"Killing these people is more than enough!" Those who dared to murder the Crown Princess must die!
"If I asked you to sneak into Zhuangshu Garden and kidnap Aunt Zhao to this place, would you be willing?" Ji Wushang looked at the situation outside; the fire had not yet been ignited.
"I will obey the Princess Consort's orders!" Gong Shu replied immediately. He had originally been by the Prince's side, but the Prince had ordered him to return immediately, saying that something might have happened to the Princess Consort. Thinking that things might be tense, he had changed into this night clothes. He hadn't expected that something really had happened!
Ji Wushang took out a small bottle from his pocket. "Here, this is a sleeping incense to help you!"
"Yes!" Gong Shu nodded. "And what about you, Princess Consort?"
"None of these people can be let go, you understand!" Ji Wushang glanced coldly at the people outside. "Her life or death is none of my business; it was these people who set fire to the accounting office!"
"Yes!" Gong Shu nodded immediately. "Princess Consort, shall I escort you back to Moxuan Garden?" Only when she is back at Moxuan Garden will her safety be assured, and only then will the prince not worry!
"Okay. Thank you!" Ji Wushang nodded.
Gong Shu led her into the secret chamber. Ji Wushang was slightly surprised. Was there such a secret passage underground in the entire Marquis's mansion? The two of them circled around to the Moxuan Garden.
After settling Ji Wushang in, Gong Shu immediately vanished into thin air. Ji Wushang was slightly taken aback, as Gong Shu was also one of the secret guards!
A fire broke out in the accounting room. Because the accounting room was located on the east side of the Marquis's residence, it was somewhat hidden and not many people paid attention to it.
The men collapsed silently. Gong Shu had already placed the unconscious Aunt Zhao on the bed. Looking at the ropes on the ground, Gong Shu hardened his heart and immediately tied Aunt Zhao up tightly!
Before leaving, Gong Shu lit a tinderbox and threw it on the bed curtains.
In Nan Xuzong's study, Ji Wushang opened the martial arts manual that Nan Xuzong had given him. It was just some mental techniques, but Ji Wushang was so engrossed in reading it that he studied it as he looked at it.
But we could still hear the commotion from the other side of Dongbian.
Ji Wushang smiled, and at that moment, Gong Shu pushed Nan Xuzong's wheelchair in. As soon as Nan Xuzong saw Ji Wushang, he felt relieved. "Wushang!"
"Cong." Ji Wushang stood up from his desk and walked to Nan Xucong. "Thank you!"
"What are you thanking me for... I heard from Gong Shu that you were actually conscious at the time, so why didn't you leave immediately?" Nan Xuzong looked at her worriedly. Gong Shu had already left and was no longer disturbing the two of them.
“I want to know who did it. Aunt Zhao and Second Uncle have already colluded,” Ji Wushang said.
Just then, a maid rushed in, calling out, "Princess Consort! Princess Consort!"
"They're here. We should go check if they're dead." Ji Wushang said with a hint of mockery. "I was originally planning to drug them so they could taste what it's like to be burnt, then jump out the window and cause trouble for Aunt Zhao. She gave me a big gift, so I have no reason not to return the favor. Gong Shu really did me a big favor, letting Aunt Zhao experience the taste of being burnt too." As Ji Wushang spoke, he made no attempt to ignore the fact that someone had just come to report.
"Mm." Nan Xuzong nodded.
Ji Wushang smiled. "There's going to be a good show. Would you like to join me?"
"Of course." How could we miss such a good show! Nan Xuzong took her hand, and the two walked out side by side.
Upon seeing Ji Wushang and Nan Xuzong emerge, the maid immediately knelt down and exclaimed, "Your Highness and Your Highness's Consort, something terrible has happened! The accounting office is on fire!"
"What?" Ji Wushang was startled and immediately shouted, "Hurry up and send people to put out the fire! How could this happen? Is anyone injured?"
"This servant doesn't know," the maid whispered.
"Quick, go take a look." Ji Wushang immediately turned to look at Nan Xuzong, who nodded and said, "Such an important matter definitely needs to be checked!"
Ji Wushang and Nan Xuzong rushed towards the accounting office.
The accident happened close to sunset, and now the fire was burning bright red, giving the twilight an even more magnificent color. Ji Wushang and Nan Xuzong rushed over.
At this moment, they saw many servants putting out the fire. Ji Wushang wanted to go forward, but Nan Xuzong pulled her back, saying, "Don't go." He didn't want her to take any risks.
Ji Wushang nodded.
"Hurry up! Is nobody inside? How did the fire start? Who discovered it?" Although Ji Wushang wasn't involved, he still wanted to find out who did it, didn't he? He wanted to make a show of it for the servants!
Upon questioning, a maid knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, it was this servant who saw it. This servant was carrying things to the accounting office to bring you tea, but you were not there. All I saw was fire, so I exclaimed and asked the guards in the courtyard to come and help, and then I went to put out the fire."
"Hmm." Ji Wushang nodded. "I went back because I saw no one was bringing tea. I thought I, as the Crown Princess, couldn't command you servants!" Ji Wushang narrowed her eyes. Did this mean someone was sending the servants away? "Why did it take so long to bring the tea?"
"Your Highness, I've been working in the courtyard the whole time. I only stopped when I heard the nanny say that you wanted tea and that it should be sent to the accounting office," the maid said, kneeling and speaking slowly and deliberately.
Ji Wushang nodded. "Which courtyard are you from?"
“When conducting business in the main hall, the servants usually serve in the main hall or in the garden.”
"Hmph, sending a maid from the main hall to serve me tea? That person's dead! Is she waiting for something to happen to me so she can collect my corpse?" Ji Wushang said calmly, "That old woman, do you still remember what she looked like?"
"This servant remembers!"
Ji Wushang nodded, "I'll let you identify the person later. You just wait here for now." Although he knew that the old woman might be killed or that she wasn't even from the manor, Ji Wushang still wanted her to identify the person. At the very least, it would prevent them from causing trouble for a while!
"Yes." The maid nodded.
Looking at the sea of fire, Ji Wushang realized that the accounting office was probably unusable and that building another one was the most important thing.
At this moment, the Marquis, his concubines, young ladies, and even Zhao Yirou all arrived.
The steward's second uncle, Nan Aoyu, also came over and was astonished to see the accounting office burned to such a state.
This is probably about to collapse!
At that moment, Zhao Yirou looked at Ji Wushang's face and immediately shouted, "Ah!"
"What's wrong?" Hearing such shouts, the Marquis's irritable heart exploded, and he immediately roared.
"Where's Aunt? Where's Aunt?" Zhao Yirou only then realized that something was wrong. Shouldn't Ji Wushang be burning in the accounting room? How come he's with Nan Xuzong? And why is Aunt Zhao nowhere to be seen?
"Quickly, go and invite Auntie over!" Zhao Yirou shouted immediately, disregarding her own urgency, acting as if she were someone from the Marquis's mansion!
Ji Wushang smiled, "Isn't Auntie at Zhuangshu Garden? Why is Miss Zhao in such a hurry? What happened?"
Zhao Yirou looked at Ji Wushang and immediately understood. "Uncle! Uncle, there should be someone in the accounting office inside!" As she spoke, she immediately knelt at the Marquis's feet.
Having overheard her conversation with Ji Wushang, the Marquis roughly understood what was going on. "Is...is Rui'er inside?"
Those around gasped. If Aunt Zhao were inside, she would probably be burned to ashes by now.
Just then, a man dressed in a white robe and wearing a black cloak rushed into the accounting room!
The Marquis was surprised and looked at the man's retreating figure. "Jin Xue! No, don't go!"
Nan Jinxue rushed in without saying a word. The accounting room was already teetering on the verge of collapse!
Nan Jinxue rushed in and was shocked to see Aunt Zhao burning on the bed in the inner room... It was a horrific sight! She had already fainted, and it was unknown whether she had stopped breathing!
Nan Jinxue ripped off her black cloak and wrapped it around Aunt Zhao's body, then immediately led her people away.
Everyone looked inside. The Marquis was extremely anxious and immediately shouted to the maid beside him, "Quickly, go and fetch a doctor!"
A maidservant was sent immediately.
Aunt Jin and Aunt Leng exchanged a glance, then both sneered, thinking it best to burn them to death!
Aunt Jin sneered. Didn't Aunt Zhao complain that she hadn't given birth to a son? Hmph, she just said that this morning, and this happened at dusk! She deserved it!
The young ladies were all gloating. After all, Aunt Zhao had always been so arrogant before. It was good that the fire burned down! Moreover, burning down the accounting office would add a lot of trouble for Ji Wushang, and it would be best if it could exhaust Ji Wushang to death!
Just then, Nan Jinxue, carrying what appeared to be a corpse, quickly ran out of the collapsing accounting room.
But at that moment, his foot slipped! He fell to the ground! Aunt Zhao was thrown several meters away by him. At the same time, the burning beams on the accounting room door were about to fall!
☆、182 Third Prince Huangfu Xuan
"Jin Xue!" the Marquis exclaimed, rushing forward, but was immediately stopped by his servants. Liang Mu had already struck Nan Jin Xue in the back, causing her to cough up blood and fall to the ground.
The smoke made it impossible for him to open his eyes.
——
The Marquis's residence was bustling, but the streets were even more so.