After being reborn with my scumbag ex-husband, I became his sister-in-law.

He Yunze looked at the dark cellar, and the hairs on his entire body stood on end.

He was clearly in the middle of a fire, his whole body being scorched by the burning flames, but he felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless ice cellar, his whole body icy cold.

In his previous life, he was the master of the Marquis of Anding's mansion and managed it for decades. The Marquis of Anding's mansion never had a cellar.

This cellar looks like it was just dug.

So, my elder brother... so, from the first day he returned to the capital from the frontier and moved into the Marquis's residence, he slept in a separate room from him.

So that he could hide it from everyone and dig a cellar under his bed?

As He Yunze thought about it, his breathing became more and more rapid, and his face grew paler and paler.

He tried his best to suppress his trembling body, but the next moment, He Yunze's eyes widened again.

Because he saw He Jingyan slowly climb up from the cellar, holding an unconscious person in his arms.

Once he was completely out of the cellar, He Yunze could finally see the face of the person in his arms.

He... he was holding Song Xizhi in his arms!!!

Song Xizhi lay in his arms with his eyes closed, his hands and feet bound, seemingly without any consciousness.

He Yunze's pupils contracted sharply, and he involuntarily took a few steps back, his hands covering his mouth trembling uncontrollably.

She watched helplessly as He Jingyan walked out step by step, about to come face to face with her.

He Yunze shuddered and hurriedly picked up a large rock from the corner.

But for some reason, He Jingyan didn't come out of the house.

He paused slightly, as if he had thought of something. In an instant, he made a decision, picked up Song Xizhi again, and quickly walked into the cellar.

Upon seeing this, He Yunze instantly seemed to understand something. He quickly put down the stone in his arms and ran out of the courtyard without hesitation.

He was incredibly fast. He Yunze had never run so fast in his two lifetimes of studying and serving as an official.

His calves were trembling, but his mind was incredibly clear.

He Yunze knew why He Jingyan did this.

Because he initially wanted to get rid of me, he asked me to move "Song Xizhi's" body out of the mourning hall.

If he had already moved "Song Xizhi's" body out, then in full view of everyone, his brother would not be able to bring out the real Zhizhi.

So he had no choice but to turn back and temporarily put Zhizhi in the cellar.

Panting, He Yunze thought of this and decisively turned into the mourning hall.

At this moment, the roof beams had broken, and there were many flames burning on Song Xizhi's body, as if the person was about to be burned to ashes.

He Yunze didn't care about the fire anymore. He let the flames burn on his body, but he still gritted his teeth and carried "Song Xizhi's" body on his shoulder.

At this moment, He Yunze seemed to feel no pain, only charging forward relentlessly.

He knew that as long as this fake "Song Xizhi" could appear in front of everyone, Zhizhi could not be taken away by him for the time being.

By the time He Yunze carried the corpse to the gate of the Marquis of Anding's residence, he was almost completely exhausted.

He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his bloodshot eyes filled with tears, his entire body covered in smoke and soot, not a single spot on his body unscathed.

"Song Xizhi" was also mostly burned, lying haphazardly beside him.

As soon as He Yunce came out, everyone rushed over to him.

Looking at He Yunce's body covered in blisters, Old Madam He staggered, her voice trembling, "Yunce, Yunce..."

He Yunce swallowed hard, then explained to everyone, "My brother asked me to move my sister-in-law's body out first. He went to find Father, but I don't know if he found him yet."

Upon hearing this, Old Madam He trembled even more violently: "The roof beams of the Marquis's mansion have already collapsed twice, why hasn't he come out yet?"

Madam He was so pitiful tonight, and everyone gathered around her to comfort her.

It's unclear how much time passed, but He Jingyan emerged from the Marquis's residence, covered in soot and flames.

Everyone looked behind him with anticipation.

Old Madam He, Madam Huang, and Huang Suyi hurriedly helped the servants to He Jingyan's side and asked anxiously, "Where is he?"

"Ayan! Where is your father? Where is my son Jianbai? Where is he?"

The Empress Dowager, who had been waiting at the entrance of the Marquis's residence, rushed forward and asked anxiously, "How is the situation?"

He Jingyan glanced at the Empress Dowager, then his voice was filled with sorrow as tears streamed down his face: "We've searched everywhere, but we haven't found Father anywhere!"

"We have no idea where Dad has gone!"

As soon as he finished speaking his sorrowful words, the women's cries grew even more heart-wrenching. Old Madam He suddenly felt dizzy, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.

He Jingyan hurriedly helped him up, his expression full of self-reproach: "Grandson is useless, Grandmother, it is grandson who is useless!"

He Yunze sat on the ground, looking up at He Jingyan's grief-stricken expression, his swollen red eyes filled with mockery.

He Jingyan cried for a while before ordering people to move all the women of the Marquis of Anding's residence to a safe place.

He then began directing his men to put out the fire.

He told his servants not to try to put out the fire at the entrance of the Marquis's mansion, because the wind was blowing from the northwest and they wouldn't be able to extinguish it if they stood in the wind.

He ordered his servants to go to the northwest to put out the fire.

Only He Yunze knew that it was because the northwest direction of the Marquis's residence was exactly where Ximoxuan was located.

Only after everyone else rushed to put out the fire did He Jingyan finally have a chance to find the Empress Dowager.

The two met in a quiet teahouse.

The Empress Dowager sat in her chair drinking tea, her expression somewhat unpleasant. Upon hearing He Jingyan enter, she didn't even lift her eyelids or utter a single word.

As soon as He Jingyan entered the side room, he knelt down before the Empress Dowager.

"Your subordinate has failed in his duties; please punish me, Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager then slowly lifted her eyelids and said, "If you hadn't chosen to turn back back then, the Great Qian Empire would already belong to me."

"Now, if the fire is not extinguished and the bodies from the Marquis of Anding's mansion are not found, you will have no reason to leave."

Upon hearing this, He Jingyan froze and quickly buried his head even deeper.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I have a reason that I must return."

The Empress Dowager slowly put down her teacup and looked at him seriously: "Oh?"

He Jingyan replied, "Because the fire came so suddenly, I thought it was set by Song Xizhi."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's eyelids twitched, and her expression changed slightly: "Song Xizhi?!"

"You hid Song Xizhi in the Marquis of Anding's residence?!"

He Jingyan nodded: "I hid her in the cellar in the courtyard. I thought she had escaped from the cellar, so I immediately went back."

The Empress Dowager's fingers tightened suddenly, gripping the teacup firmly: "And what was the result? How is Song Xizhi now?"

He Jingyan smiled and said, "It wasn't Song Xizhi who did it. When I got to the cellar, Song Xizhi was still unconscious, but there were too many people around to move her out."

The Empress Dowager heard this and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your decision to hide Song Xizhi in the Marquis of Anding's residence is brilliant. Even if Pei Yunyi searched the entire capital, he still couldn't get into the Marquis of Anding's residence."

Upon hearing this, He Jingyan's smile became quite smug.

After drugging Song Xi in the carriage, he stopped the carriage at many shops and teahouses throughout the capital.

He had Song Xizhi and the puppet switch identities in a teahouse, leaving the unconscious Song Xizhi in the teahouse overnight.

Then he instructed people to secretly transport the real Song Xizhi to his room the next day, along with a servant from the Marquis's mansion who was purchasing supplies.

Every shop he set foot in would later be visited by many empty carriages he arranged to travel in different directions from the capital.

The carriage that had the accident left the city gates immediately after he returned to the Marquis's residence, heading north.

After about half an incense stick's time, he ordered another carriage to secretly take a woman and head south.

The second carriage stopped in many counties in the south, then obtained a fake household registration and a fake identity for the woman, and finally sold her.

Seeing He Jingyan's confident demeanor, the Empress Dowager finally nodded in satisfaction: "However, we still cannot be certain who was responsible for the fire at the Marquis's residence. We need to find an opportunity to move her out."

He Jingyan nodded: "I will do it immediately after the fire is extinguished."

…………

On the other side, Song Xizhi was awakened by a burst of thick smoke.

She slowly opened her heavy eyelids and saw a dimly lit cellar.

The cellar was very hot. The entrance seemed to be a mechanism made of black iron. Although the entrance had been sealed with cotton cloth soaked in water, thick smoke still kept seeping out from the gaps.