If there really was someone inside, then nothing too serious should happen, right?
Madam Xiang was terrified, thinking about how, if there really was someone inside later, she should apologize and make amends.
Who knew there really was someone.
The steward’s wife pushed open the door with the others and immediately shouted, “Someone! Someone’s fainted, hurry and get people over here!”
The curve at Duchess Cheng’s lips simply could not be suppressed.
Of course there was someone.
She heard the people inside shout, “There’s someone, it’s a young lady!”
Qi Yuan.
It was Qi Yuan.
Duchess Cheng lowered her head, desperately hiding her smile.
The other madams, however, all became anxious and hurriedly crowded forward, afraid that it really was their own daughter or granddaughter who had gone in to change clothes and gotten trapped in the fire.
Who knew that the person carried out had a face blackened with soot, her whole face smoked black, making it impossible to tell what she looked like.
Everyone could not help becoming anxious: “Quick, invite a doctor over! Also, hurry and have people bring water to wash her face clean!”
Madam Xiang hurriedly gave the orders.
At this moment, however, the steward’s wife inside could not help shouting again, “That’s not right! Why is there also a man in here?!”
A man?!
All the madams had originally been bending over staring at the girl. Hearing that there was also a man inside, they all froze for a moment.
A man?
This was the Xiang family’s guest room, and specifically one provided for female guests to change clothes in!
There were not even any male servants here ordinarily; male servants had only come because of the fire.
Then how could there be a man inside the room?
A man and a woman both inside, what had happened in there before this, did it even need to be said?
Everyone could not help looking at one another.
Madam Xiang’s head felt even bigger; she completely could not understand how a fire had suddenly turned into an unsolved scandal.
How had it suddenly become entangled with an illicit affair?!
She stepped forward a few paces and held onto the doorway. “Bring them all out first! Bring everyone out before anything else!”
The steward’s wife hurriedly answered and then dragged the man out.
The man had been stripped completely naked, without a stitch on him, and was thrown onto the corridor.
Everyone cried out in shock, then hurriedly covered their eyes.
Duchess Cheng shouted the loudest: “What exactly is going on?! This is an outrage against decency, simply an outrage against decency!”
Madam Xiang could no longer hear what Duchess Cheng was saying at all now. She only had one question.
Why was she still alive right now?!
How could there possibly be such an enormous mess in the world?!
Who on earth was so absurd as to cause such a thing in her house?!
Absurd! Ridiculous!
She could not help bracing herself against the nearby door as her right eyelid twitched violently. “Who is it?”
Who exactly was doing such a thing in their house?!
Duchess Cheng stepped forward two paces and, with one glance, saw Wen Mingfeng lying on the ground.
The corners of her lips could no longer be restrained, and she almost burst out laughing. She bit down hard on her teeth before managing to endure it. “Oh my, isn’t this, isn’t this Young Master Xie’s classmate?”
Wen Mingfeng knew how to conduct himself and got along well with the people at the Imperial Academy, so naturally he often visited various noble households as a guest. Thus some of the madams recognized him.
At this moment, someone indeed recognized him and nodded. “Yes, this is… Wen Mingfeng, right?”
Madam Xiang frowned. Wen Mingfeng was fair-skinned and delicate, refined and scholarly, quite decent-looking indeed, enough to captivate quite a few young girls.
It was just that she did not know who could be so muddle-headed?
She glanced at the girl lying on the ground wrapped in a blanket and wanted to preserve the girl’s dignity somewhat. “Alright, alright, saving people is more important. We should first send them to a doctor to be examined.”
Duchess Cheng had waited so long precisely for this moment. How could she possibly let the matter end just like that?
She immediately stopped her. “They can’t just be moved rashly, can they? Besides… there are so many noble young ladies here today. Now that something like this has happened, their identities still have to be clarified. Otherwise, wouldn’t every girl who came to the Whole Deer Banquet today fall under suspicion?”
She sighed. “All of us here have girls in our families. How can they bear such suspicion for no reason?”
The others were also reminded by her words.
That’s right!
Their own daughters absolutely could not possibly do such a thing!
And they did not even know Wen Mingfeng!
They definitely had to identify these adulterous man and woman clearly!
Otherwise, if things were vaguely covered up, would not their own children also bear suspicion for nothing?!
What could Madam Xiang do at this point?
Even if she wanted to cover things up, she was outnumbered.
She could only signal the servants to first wipe clean the face of the girl lying on the ground.
At the same time, she could not help sighing.
Everyone stared without blinking. When they finally saw the girl on the ground reveal her true face, all their expressions changed.
They all turned in unison to look at Duchess Cheng.
Duchess Cheng’s mind went blank in an instant. It felt as though countless fireworks were exploding in her head. In that moment she became dizzy and disoriented, staggering backward before collapsing onto the ground.
Feifei’s expression changed drastically as well. Her face immediately turned deathly pale, and she widened her eyes in horror.
How could it be their own young lady?!
Earlier, the young lady had wanted to change clothes and told her to go listen for movements in Qi Yuan’s room, so she had stepped away for a little while.
When she returned again, she discovered that the young lady was already gone.
She had thought the young lady had gone to play hunting deer with the other girls in order to keep herself completely uninvolved.
But how could the young lady possibly be here?!
She was so frightened she could not even speak, scrambling clumsily to help Duchess Cheng up.
The scene was deathly silent. Even Madam Xiang stared at the scene in equal shock, then looked again at Duchess Cheng in disbelief.
What was going on?
Duchess Cheng had been hopping around nonstop earlier as though she already knew something would happen here.
She had thought this matter was related to Duchess Cheng.
Who knew that the one lying here was actually Ling Qiang, Duchess Cheng’s most beloved granddaughter!
What, had Duchess Cheng thought so highly of Wen Mingfeng that she was willing to make the rice already cooked before anything else, taking action first and capturing Wen Mingfeng as a grandson-in-law?!
But even then, it should not have gone this far!
Even if she truly fancied Wen Mingfeng, she could have simply caught a husband after the examination results were released!
Duchess Cheng clutched her own hair tightly with both hands. At this moment, where was any trace of the triumph she had just had?
She had completely collapsed.
That b*stard child!
That b*stard child she had wished she could strangle to death, how could he possibly be in the same room as her own Ah Qiang?!
And be brought out in this state?!
The one lying here was originally supposed to be Qi Yuan!
Yes, Qi Yuan!
It was originally supposed to be Qi Yuan!
So how had it suddenly become Ah Qiang instead?!
It must be Qi Yuan, it was all Qi Yuan, definitely done by that b*tch Qi Yuan!
How dare she?!
How dare Qi Yuan?!
This was incest, she was making Duke Cheng Manor’s bloodline commit incest!
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