Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 728: The Duke’s Perfect Counterattack in the Trial (1)_1

Chapter 728: Chapter 728: The Duke’s Perfect Counterattack in the Trial (1)_1

On the 14th of November, in the zi hour, a huge fire broke out in the depths of the Ministry of Justice’s Prison, destroying three old cells. Fortunately, only one suspect involved in the examination fraud case was imprisoned in the deepest part, and the fire was discovered in time by a patrolling Prison Head, who led the jailers to extinguish the blaze and rescue the suspect who had been fainted by the heavy smoke.

Not daring to take the matter lightly, the Prison Head immediately reported the cell fire. After an overnight inspection by the Head of the Department of Justice, a fire match stick left by the arsonist was found in the cell. Other prisoners also confirmed that they had heard noises outside the cell and mistook them for the patrol of jailers, paying no mind to it. Before long, the cell caught fire.

The Head of the Department of Justice interrogated thirty jailers overnight. All the jailers claimed that they had not entered the cell at the zi hour and all had alibis for not being present at the scene when the fire broke out, leading to the preliminary conclusion that the fire was arson, and it was suspected to be related to the recently widely rumored examination fraud case.

Once involved with the examination fraud case, it was not something that a mere Head of the Department of Justice could handle. Without waiting for dawn, he went to the Shilang of the Ministry of Penal Affairs’ residence and recounted everything that happened.

After listening to the report, the Shilang of the Ministry of Penal Affairs washed up, changed his clothes overnight, and hurriedly reported to the Minister of Criminal Justice. Smelling something unusual, the minister did not wait for the early morning court session that would begin in another two hours, but, bearing the starry night, rushed to the imperial palace to seek an audience with Emperor Huian.

After hearing the full account of the incident, Emperor Huian’s Dragon Face showed great anger and commanded the Ministry of Penal Affairs to cooperate with Jingzhao Mansion to thoroughly investigate the arson case, apprehend the real culprit, and punish them severely.

Compared with the Ministry of Penal Affairs, which was in disarray due to the fire, Lord Wei Yuan House under the moonlight appeared unusually quiet, exuding an ineffable sense of beauty.

Since the second son of the Hou Mansion, Xiao Ruiqing, was expelled from Jing City and sent back to his ancestral home, Lord Wei Yuan, Xiao Xiong, had completely fallen out with the Marquis’s Young Master, Xiao Ruiyuan. Although they had not reached the point of severing father-son ties, the two were already estranged.

Three days after his beloved son was driven out of Jing City, Xiao Xiong even moved with Lady Wei to a rural estate in the Suburbs of the Capital and did not return for several months. Externally, he subtly indicated that his eldest son was unfilial, driving out his half-brother and forcing his biological father and stepmother to leave the house to live elsewhere.

The high society of Jing City was well aware of the discord among the main members of Lord Wei Yuan House. In comparison to Xiao Xiong, who had a title of nobility but was otherwise undistinguished, these people preferred to get close to Xiao Ruiyuan, who was rising rapidly and promising. Who cared if he was unfilial? Especially after Chu Heng was cured of poisoning, the number of people trying to ingratiate themselves with Xiao Ruiyuan had been countless.

Many families with age-appropriate daughters plotted to connect with Xiao Ruiyuan, the sought-after son-in-law. Visitors who came to discuss the matter were stunned to find that they could not even enter Lord Wei Yuan House. Even if they did get in, they could not see Xiao Ruiyuan himself, who was said to be Emperor Huian’s capable aide and had been sent by Emperor Huian to Jingshan Villa to protect the Crown Prince, and rarely returned to the mansion.

Although Xiao Ruiyuan had heard of the calculating ways of these people, he couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. In his heart, only the woman he liked was the future Lady of the Hou Mansion.

At this moment, Xiao Ruiyuan had not yet gone to bed and was sitting at his study desk, listening to An Jiu report the fire incident at the Ministry of Justice’s Prison. Hearing that Mo Qingze had been fainted by the heavy smoke, his face darkened, and a trace of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes as he stared at An Jiu.

Sensing his master’s displeasure, An Jiu inwardly lamented and quickly knelt down to admit his guilt, "I failed to protect Mr. Mo; it was my dereliction of duty. Please punish me, my lord!"

No one had anticipated that King Heng and others would resort to such a move. Although he had discovered it in time and captured the arsonist who had failed to escape, Mo Qingze being fainted by the smoke was a fact. His failure to protect was a real letdown of his master’s trust, and punishment was deserved.

Xiao Ruiyuan looked coldly at An Jiu and said in a deep voice, "Considering your merit in catching the arsonist to offset your misdeed, I will spare you this time. Let it not happen again!"