Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter
The Duchess looked at Su Yueqing slowly.
Today had already been such a long and stressful day, and now all of this was happening.
"Su Yueqing... answer me. Did you really burn down the kitchen?"
Her question made the entire courtyard fall silent.
They all knew that when Lin Meiyun became serious, she was truly frightening.
But Su Yueqing looked completely unbothered by her authoritative voice and cold expression.
She simply shrugged her shoulders.
"If I said I didn’t do it, would any of you believe me?" she asked calmly as her eyes swept across everyone present.
Inside her mind—
[Bunch of hypocrites.]
[You’re asking me that question as if you would actually believe me if I said I didn’t do it.]
[But I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it?]
[What’s the point of explaining anything to a bunch of people who are already doomed anyway?]
"You—"
Lin Meiyun’s expression darkened even more, but before she could speak again, the Duke gently held her arm, trying to calm her down.
He knew better than anyone how short-tempered his wife could be sometimes.
This new daughter-in-law had truly said a lot of unbelievable things since entering the Xi Manor.
Yet somehow...
Everything she said kept turning out to be true.
"Oops. It looks like Sister-in-law has really gotten on Mother’s nerves."
Xi Yunchen spoke with a faint smirk.
Xi Yunhao immediately shot him a warning look.
Xi Lanyin quickly stepped forward and gently held her mother’s hand.
"Mother... maybe Sister-in-law is telling the truth."
She looked toward Su Yueqing before continuing softly,
"The servants could have accidentally left something burning in the kitchen. Things like that can happen."
"We shouldn’t judge her so quickly."
"Please calm down."
Su Yueqing looked at Xi Lanyin for a moment.
Inside her mind—
[Hmm.]
[Looks like she’s the only sensible person among all of you.]
[Now can everyone hurry up and finish this?]
[I still want to take a bath.]
[I smell like smoke, and I feel disgusting.]
Before anyone could say another word, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the burning courtyard.
A guard shouted from afar,
"Young Master is back!"
Everyone instinctively turned toward the entrance.
The next moment, Xi Wenzhe walked out of the thick smoke.
His black robes were stained with ash, and one of his sleeves had been burned slightly by the flames. His expression was as cold as ever, but there was a trace of exhaustion hidden beneath it.
And in his arms...
He was carrying Li Mei.
Her eyes were tightly shut, and her face was covered with soot. Her hair was a mess, and she looked so weak that it seemed she could collapse at any moment.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Even Lin Meiyun stopped speaking.
Xi Ronghua frowned deeply.
Gu Zhen quietly glanced at his wife, already knowing she was about to lose her temper.
Su Yueqing slowly looked up.
Her eyes moved from Li Mei...
...to Xi Wenzhe.
Then back to Li Mei again.
Inside her mind—
[Wow.]
[The hero really went and brought his true love back.]
[Meanwhile, his actual wife almost got roasted alive and had to crawl out covered in smoke.]
[What a touching love story.]
Xi Yunchen immediately coughed into his fist.
Xi Qianqian lowered her head, pretending to adjust her sleeves.
Even Zhao Rui’s expression became slightly strange.
Li Mei slowly opened her eyes.
The moment she saw everyone staring at her, she looked frightened and immediately tried to get down.
"Y-Young Master... please put me down..."
Xi Wenzhe did not answer.
He simply placed her carefully on the ground.
Su Yueqing watched the entire thing quietly.
Inside her mind—
[Oh.]
[He even carried her all the way back.]
[Very considerate.]
[If someone who didn’t know the situation saw this, they would definitely think I’m the maid and she’s the Young Madam.]
Xi Ronghua finally could not hold herself back anymore.
She folded her arms and muttered under her breath,
"Carrying another woman in front of your own wife... what exactly does that look like?"
Gu Zhen quickly tugged at her sleeve.
"Keep your voice down."
She glared at him.
"Why should I?"
"If you ever do something like that, I’ll break both your legs before Father gets the chance."
Gu Zhen almost looked wronged.
"I haven’t even done anything."
"You better not."
After placing Li Mei down carefully, Xi Wenzhe took a step forward.
The moment his feet landed, the air around him changed.
His gaze locked onto Su Yueqing.
Then, without warning, he walked straight toward her.
Li Mei hesitated for a second, then quickly followed behind him with a weak voice.
"Y-Young Master... don’t..."
But Xi Wenzhe did not stop. freewёbnoνel.com
He stopped directly in front of Su Yueqing.
The pressure between them made the nearby servants instinctively step back.
His voice dropped low, cold, and filled with anger.
"Do you know what you have done?"
Su Yueqing looked up at him calmly.
Inside her mind—
[Oh.]
[He’s angry.]
[Of course he is.]
[The moment his little sweetheart gets a headache, he becomes a storm.]
Xi Wenzhe’s jaw tightened.
"You put everyone in danger."
His voice rose slightly.
"If we arrived even a little later, people would have died."
But Su Yueqing only tilted her head slightly.
[And?]
[I also almost died.]
[But no one seems emotionally invested in that part.]
Xi Wenzhe took another step closer.
"You think this is something to joke about?"
His tone was sharp now.
Su Yueqing finally sighed softly.
"I didn’t set anything on fire."
Xi Wenzhe’s expression darkened instantly.
Before he could speak again, Li Mei quickly stepped forward and gently grabbed his sleeve.
"Y-Young Master... please don’t be angry."
She lowered her head, her voice soft and fragile.
"It was probably just an accident..."
Then she turned slightly toward Su Yueqing, her eyes watery but calm.
"The Young Madam probably just... didn’t like the residence."
The words were light.
But the meaning was sharp.
A few servants immediately looked at Su Yueqing.
The atmosphere shifted.
Su Yueqing blinked once.
Then inside her mind—
[Oh.]
[So we’re doing that now.]
[Subtle framing wrapped in soft words.]
[Interesting.]
Li Mei continued softly, almost pitifully.
"So she might have... accidentally burned it down..."
Xi Ronghua immediately frowned.
Gu Zhen looked uncomfortable.
Xi Qianqian whispered,
"That sounds... wrong."
Xi Yunchen murmured,
"It sounds very wrong."
Even Lin Meiyun’s expression turned colder.
But Li Mei only looked more innocent.
