Chapter 107 Arson: The curtain falls on brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Chapter 107 Arson: Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law, the Curtain Falls.

That night, the spring rain fell heavily, with rare thunder and lightning in March. The rapid raindrops struck the ground with overwhelming force, splashing everywhere. The distant lightning flashes were like menacing pale purple claws, striking fear into hearts.

Tian Qin stood by the window, anxiously. Zhaolu, who had gone to the main wife's courtyard to collect the monthly stipend, hadn't come back yet. With rain this heavy, Zhaolu would be trapped in Qiutang Residence. Taking temporary shelter there was fine, but Xian Qiu hated her deeply and might give her a hard time.

The unsettling thunder and rain poured down relentlessly. Tian Qin, for some reason, kept seeing in her mind's eye the tragic death of Zhaolu from her previous life, falling into a well. The ominous feeling grew stronger, and she wished the annoying heavy rain would stop soon.

"Lord is not in the mansion; he has gone to the Chancellery for discussions," Nanny Chen said, draping a coat over Tian Qin. "Lord Zhao is also not in the mansion; he went to drive the carriage for Lord."

Tian Qin's mind was wandering, unable to take it in. Only after a long while did she belatedly let out a distracted "Mm-hmm."

Nanny Chen meant that there was no one in the mansion to protect Tian Qin at the moment. She said gently, "It's just a heavy rain. Zhaolu is not foolish; she knows to take shelter. She might have been trapped in a pavilion halfway. Miss, don't you worry."

Tian Qin's heart was pounding like a drum.

Another half hour passed. The heavy rain did not let up but grew even fiercer. Thunder and lightning "cracked" onto the rooftop, striking straight at the top of one's head, leaving a buzzing echo in their ears.

Tian Qin smelled a faint burnt odor in the damp air, unusually pungent. Braving the fierce wind, she pushed open the window and was horrified to see a glaring fire rising from the direction of Qiutang Residence, tearing apart the dark, thick sky together with the vicious, jagged lightning, making her heart race.

Almost at the same moment, Wan Cui rushed out of breath into the bedroom, gasping, "Miss, something terrible! Qiutang Residence has been struck by lightning and caught fire!"

Tian Qin jolted.

Zhaolu was still in Qiutang Residence.

The ominous premonition that had lingered in her heart since the start of the rain finally became reality.

Tian Qin dressed as quickly as she could in her clothes and shoes, then the three of them ran to Qiutang Residence under umbrellas.

The fierce rain was like thousands of leaden arrows. The oil-paper umbrella was useless for shelter. Everything visible was steaming with gray rain mist. Tian Qin's clothes were wet and wrinkled.

The closer they got to Qiutang Residence, the stronger the burnt smell, mixed with the smell of rain and char. The flames leaped fiercely and arrogantly above Qiutang Residence. The servants and maids running and calling for help were in chaos.

"The main wife's courtyard is on fire! The main wife's courtyard is on fire!"

The shrill cries pierced the deep, rainy night, as if ghosts from the underworld were all emerging together.

Fearing that Zhaolu had died in the sea of fire, leaving no one to prove the truth, Tian Qin stumbled hastily through the rain.

Although the fire was fierce, fortunately, the Xie Mansion's fire brigade was well-trained. The heavy rain provided a natural water source, and the fire was soon brought under control. Xian Qiu, as the greatest victim of the fire, had burns on her back and hands. She was surrounded by several maids wrapped in cotton quilts. A physician hurried over with his medicine box to treat her wounds.

Tian Qin anxiously searched for Zhaolu's figure, knowing that Xian Qiu was inherently malicious and might use this as an excuse to cause trouble.

Soon, good news came: Zhaolu's figure appeared in sight, unharmed. But at the same time, there was bad news: the house servants had subdued Zhaolu with a restraining hold.

Tian Qin was taken aback and ordered, "This is my maid. Let her go."

Zhaolu's face was smudged with black, looking utterly disheveled.

At the same time, Nanny Chen stepped forward to lend support, saying, "Didn't you hear Miss Tian? Release our people!"

The house servants remained unmoved, looking to the main wife.

Wrapped in a cotton quilt, Xian Qiu swayed in the wind and rain, coughing up the smoke from her lungs. Weakly, she said, "Tian'er, this maid deliberately set a fire. She must be sent to the authorities. Don't protect her."

Deliberate arson.

This scene felt all too familiar, similar to when Xian Qiu had falsely accused them of theft in the previous life. Some fates were inescapable.

"Sister, so many people come and go in your courtyard. Why do you single out my maid as the arsonist?"

Tian Qin argued.

Xian Qiu unhurriedly ordered someone to search Zhaolu and found saltpeter, a tinderbox, and other items, all soaked by the rain. "The saltpeter powder on this maid is exactly the same as that scattered around Qiutang Courtyard. That is the most damning evidence."

Tian Qin refused to accept it, retorted with a sneer, "Sister, you are being ridiculous. In this pouring rain, the saltpeter powder has long been drenched and how could it have started the fire? Your room was accidentally struck by lightning, and yet you groundlessly suspect others."

Xian Qiu said, "It is precisely because of the lightning fire that the scheme was hidden. If you want to protect her, it's easy. Explain why an ordinary maid would carry a tinderbox and saltpeter, and appear in my Qiutang Residence on a rainy night in a suspicious manner."

Tian Qin bit her lip. It was too easy to plant evidence on Zhaolu to frame her; how could that be used as evidence? Ever since the wedding night when Xie Tanwei stayed with her, Xian Qiu had hated her to the bone and would stop at nothing to eliminate her, orchestrating such a clumsy frame-up.

"Who says that just because the items appeared on Zhaolu, they are hers? I am living under someone else's roof. In this mansion, so many people and prying eyes make things complicated. It is inevitable that someone harbors a grudge against me. If a servant, in a moment of confusion, deliberately placed the tinderbox and saltpeter on Zhaolu, that is also possible. Sister cannot convict solely based on such insignificant evidence."

Having gone through a lifetime of trials, Tian Qin's courage and eloquence had greatly improved compared to her previous life, allowing her to confront Xian Qiu head-on. Xie Tanwei's long-term favoritism had also fostered in her an air of authority that made Xian Qiu's skin crawl.

"You're just being difficult."

Xian Qiu coughed weakly, playing the victim. Her patience exhausted, she waved her hand dismissively. "Enough, enough. Send her to the authorities. Let them judge whether she is guilty or innocent."

Zhaolu was dragged away by the servants, casting a desperate look at Tian Qin.

Tian Qin resolutely blocked the way. "You cannot send her."

Her voice echoed in the fading rain of the night.

She stood in a standoff with Xian Qiu.

The Lord's long-standing partiality toward Tian Qin was evident to all. Although Tian Qin had no formal status, her words carried inexplicable weight.

If this were her previous life, Tian Qin would never have dared. Now, she encouraged herself in her heart: "I must hold strong, protect those I want to protect, and retreat safely from this devouring mansion!"

Things were at an impasse. The wife had her reasoning, the concubine had hers. The servants faltered in hesitation, and ultimately, only the Lord could decide.

Since the mansion was on fire, people had been sent to inform the Lord on the road. Xie Tanwei arrived at the mansion soon after. Witnessing the mess and charred remains of Qiutang Residence, he found it unexpected yet somehow expected.

He saw through at a glance that the lightning fire was an accidental occurrence, but it was being escalated into murder and arson by someone with a purpose, searching for a nonexistent culprit—a clever yet clumsy exploitation of the situation.

At the same time he arrived, the officials from the government also came.

As a protégé of Xie Tanwei, the government official did not dare to meddle in his teacher's family affairs. After assisting with extinguishing the fire, he waited on the spot, waiting to see what Xie Tanwei would decide. If Xie Tanwei said to arrest, they would arrest; if he said it was an accident, it would be an accident.

Of course, it was best for someone to shoulder the blame for the fire.

Because, according to the theory of heavenly retribution, such an omen as a lightning strike on a house often signified divine punishment—the master had lost virtue, and Heaven had brought down punishment.

If Xie Tanwei, the era's great Confucian, the head of all officials, and a morally flawless man, were to suffer a lightning strike as heavenly retribution, how ugly would the gossip be? What damage would it do to his reputation and political career? His carefully maintained moral image would be destroyed.

Better to find an "arsonist" as a scapegoat, proving it was a man-made disaster, not a natural one.

Xie Tanwei's cold, merciless gaze scraped over the bound Zhaolu on the ground, then lingered on the wet evidence.

A tinderbox, saltpeter powder, a maid from the painting garden, a burned and tearful main wife, an aggressive sister-concubine.

The implications seemed very clear.

To sacrifice a maid compared to being said to have suffered heavenly punishment for hypocrisy—anyone who'd been in officialdom knew which was more important.

He could kill this maid but treat her parents and family well. In that way, outsiders would not say he had been struck by lightning, but would instead be moved by his great benevolence and righteousness, showing mercy even to the arsonist maid.

Xie Tanwei waved his hand and said succinctly, "Take the arsonist away..."

Before he could finish, his arm was suddenly gripped tightly by Tian Qin. Under the flickering light of the torches, her eyes were frighteningly bloodshot, firm and resolute, with an unyielding force not to be underestimated.

Everyone knew the truth: this disaster was clearly a scheme orchestrated by the mistress under the cover of the lightning fire.

"Brother-in-law..."

Her hoarse voice rasped through the rain, begging him to retract his order, not to wrong her maid, and to avoid repeating the tragedy of her past life.

She had begged him many times before, sometimes with calculation and coyness, but this time was different. This time she was truly pleading with her life at stake, just this once. She and her maid could not suffer the humiliation of being unjustly thrown into prison and branded as traitorous arsonists.

In her past life, when Zhaolu was framed, she had knelt and begged him while heavily pregnant. Back then, he had refused. After being reborn, he had always said he wanted to make it up to her but never found the chance. Now was the chance to make it up to her! She wanted fairness, justice; she wanted her maid's name cleared, and restoring her innocence was easy for him.

The scene froze for a moment. Xian Qiu, seeing Tian Qin using her charm again to sway her husband's heart, immediately interfered: "Husband, Tian'er insists on defending a thieving maid who set the fire—perhaps she was the one who ordered the maid to do so. She should be investigated as well."

Zhaolu was Tian Qin's personal maid, and their relationship was particularly close. Tian Qin could not escape involvement. Given Tian Qin's frailty, if she were thrown into prison, she might not survive a single day.

Xian Qiu was reminding Xie Tanwei: now was the time to drive Yu Tianqin out of the household! Fair and square, the perfect opportunity! Her stone disease was cured, and she would bear him a legitimate eldest son. Without Tian Qin, this household would flourish, and they would become a couple to be envied.

Xie Tanwei had long known where to draw the line.

He had already made his ultimate choice between keeping Tian Qin or Xian Qiu.

He could simply let her live or die on her own. Sending her to prison would be too cruel, and there was no need for such ruthlessness.

Xie Tanwei's voice was cold but remained courteous, low enough yet clear to everyone present:

"When your father and mother left the capital, they repeatedly urged me to take care of Tian Qin and give her a stable and peaceful life. Now that she has incited her maid to set fire and committed a grave mistake, I cannot betray that promise and leave her in such misery. Today, I will follow the ancient practice of cutting hair in lieu of beheading, so that she remembers her transgression. As for the loss of the burned tower, the Xie family will bear it themselves, as punishment for me, the brother-in-law who failed to properly guide her."

With that, a cold flash of light shone. He swiftly drew a sword from a constable's waist and cut off a lock of Tian Qin's hair, which drifted to the ground. The sharp blade was inches away from her fair skin, its cold gleam fearsome.

The lock of hair lay quietly in the mud. What had been severed seemed not just a strand of hair, but the bond of ill-fated affection between them over the years.

The absurd love affair between the brother-in-law and his wife's sister had finally come to an end.