Chapter 71: Misfortune Beneath the Blossoms
Wang Gege stood silently before the burned blossom tree.
The spring breeze carried the lingering scent of smoke instead of the sweet fragrance of blossoms.
Blackened petals continued drifting from the scorched branches, falling one after another upon the ground.
She remained motionless. Her expression was unreadable.
After a long while, she quietly murmured, "How strange."
Mini’s voice echoed inside her mind.
[Host?]
Wang Gege kept her eyes fixed on the charred tree.
"This is spring. The blossoms are still in full bloom." She frowned slightly, "The trunk isn’t hollow, and the branches aren’t dry."
"So..." She slowly tilted her head, "How did it suddenly catch fire?"
The surrounding servants exchanged puzzled glances.
To them, a fire was simply a fire. But Wang Gege’s very first reaction wasn’t to ask who started it or was it to defend herself. She questioned the fire itself.
"Nothing happens without a cause." She quietly studied the charred tree. "If it burned, then something or someone must have started it."
Her words caused several servants nearby to exchange startled glances.
"Why would Young Madam think so?"
Madam Liu’s gentle voice suddenly came from behind.
She slowly walked over, covering her nose with a handkerchief to block the lingering smell of smoke. Her gaze briefly swept across the charred blossom tree before settling on Wang Gege.
"This old servant has lived for many years and has seen many strange occurrences." She sighed softly, "Sometimes... there isn’t always a reason that ordinary people can understand."
Wang Gege turned to look at her.
Madam Liu smiled faintly.
"After all, wasn’t the Taoist Master here only yesterday? Perhaps..." She let the sentence trail off before shaking her head with a helpless smile, "it is merely a coincidence."
Wang Gege slowly turned to look at Madam Liu.
Her gaze calmly swept over the woman from head to toe before lingering on the gentle smile that never seemed to leave her face.
When she first entered the Xie Residence, she had only wanted a peaceful life.
Don’t cause trouble and respect those who respected her. That had always been her principle.
Unfortunately, courtesy was sometimes mistaken for weakness.
A faint smile slowly appeared on Wang Gege’s lips.
"Really?" She tilted her head ever so slightly. "Then..." Her gaze rested calmly on Madam Liu. "Did Madam Liu ask the Taoist Master to examine your fortune as well?"
Madam Liu’s smile paused for the briefest of moments.
Wang Gege continued before she could answer, "After all... You were standing here too. If someone’s fortune is truly capable of setting a healthy blossom tree ablaze..."
She looked around at everyone present before returning her gaze to Madam Liu, "Wouldn’t anyone standing nearby be equally suspicious?"
The courtyard instantly fell silent. Several servants unconsciously exchanged glances.
That actually made sense. If they were going to blame "bad luck," why should the suspicion fall upon only one person?
Madam Liu’s fingers tightened ever so slightly around the handkerchief in her hand. Her smile, however, remained perfectly composed. "Young Madam certainly knows how to joke."
Wang Gege turned her gaze back to the burned blossom tree.
"Does it sound like a joke?" She crouched down beside the charred trunk, brushing aside a layer of damp ashes with a nearby twig. "Since Madam Liu is free to speculate, why can’t I?"
Before Madam Liu could respond, Qing’er quietly made her way through the crowd.
She stopped beside Wang Gege before lowering her voice until only the two of them could hear. "Young Madam..."
Wang Gege continued brushing aside the damp ashes with the twig, not lifting her head. "Hm?"
"This servant just spoke with one of the Young Master’s guards."
Only then did Wang Gege’s hand pause, "What did he say?"
Qing’er cautiously glanced around before whispering, "He mentioned that about ten minutes before the fire broke out... a servant came to this courtyard."
Wang Gege slowly raised her head. "A servant?"
Qing’er nodded almost imperceptibly, "The guard thought nothing of it at the time. After all, servants often pass through this area."
"But..." She lowered her voice even further, "He couldn’t recognize who it was."
Wang Gege’s eyes narrowed slightly, "I see."
She slowly looked back at the charred blossom tree.
Ten minutes before the fire, someone had been here. Whether it was merely a coincidence or something else, she intended to find out.
After a brief silence, she asked, "Where is Husband?"
Qing’er blinked before replying in a hushed voice, "Young Master isn’t in the residence."
Wang Gege looked up, "He left?"
Qing’er nodded. "This morning, an imperial summons arrived. The Master and Young Master were both called to the palace."
"The palace?" Wang Gege repeated softly.
"Yes." Qing’er continued, "They departed shortly after breakfast. They’ve yet to return."
Wang Gege’s gaze gradually fell back upon the scorched blossom tree.
So, Xie Rong wasn’t here nor was Master Xie. The two people with the greatest authority in the Xie Residence were both absent.
Almost instinctively, her eyes swept across the crowd once more.
Madam Liu.
Xie An’an.
The servants.
An uneasy feeling quietly settled within her heart.
"How convenient." Her voice was so soft that only she could hear it.
Whether the timing truly was a coincidence or someone had deliberately chosen this moment... She would soon find out.
Wang Gege slowly looked around the courtyard once more.
The fire had been extinguished, but the air still carried the pungent smell of burnt wood.
The servants gradually resumed clearing away the scorched branches, though many still stole cautious glances in her direction before quickly looking away.
She quietly took in every expression. Not a single person looked surprised that the blame had somehow found its way to her.
It was as though someone had already planted that thought long before the fire ever started.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the twig she had been holding.
Then, with a soft snap, the twig broke cleanly in two.
Qing’er looked at her worriedly. "Young Madam..."
Wang Gege lowered her eyes to the broken twig before calmly tossing it aside.
"No matter." She dusted the dirt from her hands and slowly stood up. "If someone truly planned this..." A faint smile appeared on her lips, "then they must have left something behind."
Qing’er blinked, "You still intend to investigate?"
Wang Gege looked once more at the scorched blossom tree. "They went to such lengths to frame me. It would be rather impolite of me..." Her smile deepened ever so slightly, "not to return the favor."