The old nurse had finally managed to drag four young servants in from outside. But when they returned, they found that the fire had already reached a corner of Shen Miao's room. Lady Shen was crying and pounding on the door, yet there was no response from inside.
As soon as she saw the people coming, Lady Shen immediately shouted, "Hurry! Hurry! Come quickly and break the door down! My Miao'er is still inside!"
The young servants didn't waste any time. They used their arms and bodies to ram the door again and again. But they only saw the doorframe wobbling for a while, and the door remained unbroken.
Lady Shen watched anxiously from the side. Tears streamed down her face continuously. Coupled with the dirt on her face and body, she looked extremely disheveled. There was no trace of the dignity of a noble lady left.
The fire was getting stronger. Nearly half of the house was on fire, but the servants still hadn't broken the door down. Seeing the fire getting bigger and bigger, Lady Shen was so anxious that she didn't care about anything. She took a few steps back, then ran forward at full speed and charged towards the door.
Lady Shen put all her strength into this charge. Half of her body hit the door, and she immediately felt a piercing pain. But fortunately, the door finally opened this time.
The door fell backward into the room. Lady Shen also fell on top of it. Regardless of the pain in her body, she reached out her hand and shouted, "Miao'er!"
The old nurse beside her immediately helped her up. Gui Xiang and Gui Zhi also rushed into the room.
Inside the room, Shen Miao was still lying on the bed with her eyes tightly closed. Gui Xiang patted her hand several times, but she didn't show the slightest sign of reaction.
Gui Xiang was greatly shocked. She carefully put her hand under Shen Miao's nose to check her breathing. After confirming that she was still alive, she and Gui Zhi carried Shen Miao out together.
Once out of the room, Lady Shen immediately rushed forward and hugged Shen Miao. "Miao'er! Miao'er!"
But Shen Miao didn't show any reaction. Lady Shen was extremely shocked. She pinched Shen Miao hard on the philtrum. Shen Miao stirred restlessly for a moment and then stopped moving.
Lady Shen knew that something strange was going on today, but the situation was urgent. She could only think about it later.
Gui Xiang led some people and dragged the two maids in Shen Miao's room out. Like Shen Miao, they were also unconscious and didn't show any sign of reaction.
It was almost dawn when the wind died down. With the help of the neighbors, the servants of the Shen Mansion finally managed to put out the fire that had burned for half the night.
By then, the parts of the Shen Mansion from the south to the east that had been burned by the fire had turned into a pile of ruins. Half of the Shen Mansion had been burned down that night.
At dawn, Shen Zhuo dragged his exhausted body. He thanked the neighbors who had helped last night and then told the servants to tidy up the mansion.
In the West Courtyard, everyone looked gloomy. A good home had been burned down by half overnight. Anyone would be unhappy in such a situation.
Shen Miao was still lying in bed and hadn't woken up yet. Lady Shen had been staying by her side to take care of her.
In the main hall now, except for the steward reporting the losses caused by the fire last night, the others just sat there quietly.
In the main hall, Old Lady Zhu hadn't slept all night. She had been frightened for half the night. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her face was sallow and colorless.
Lady Liang was sitting in her seat. Besides looking exhausted and pale, there was also anger on her face.
She knew that her mother - in - law, Old Lady Zhu, was going to teach Shen Li a lesson on behalf of Lady Shen. She had also heard the conversation between her mother - in - law and her sister - in - law about setting fire to kill Shen Li.
She was even more dissatisfied. After last night, although the fire had started, half of the family's property had also been burned down.
Finally, Shen Miao woke up. Opening her eyes and seeing Lady Shen sitting by her bed, she didn't even think about whether it was appropriate or not. She immediately blurted out, "Mother! Is that bitch Shen Li burned to death?"
Lady Shen looked at Shen Miao's expectant eyes. She hesitated for a moment and didn't say a word.
Although the fire had started from the South Courtyard last night, all the signs indicated that Shen Li was probably fine.
"Mother? Why aren't you saying anything?" Seeing Lady Shen not saying a word, Shen Miao anxiously grabbed Lady Shen's arm. But she accidentally touched the place where Lady Shen had been injured when ramming the door last night.
"Ahh! Miao'er, let go!" Lady Shen took Shen Miao's hand away and carefully rolled up her sleeve. Sure enough, there were large patches of bruises on her arm.
"Mother! What's wrong with you? This... this isn't my room either!"
Only then did Shen Miao notice that the place she was in was a bit strange. It was definitely not her room in the Shen Mansion.
Lady Shen had been pampered since childhood. She had never suffered such injuries. Just now, when Shen Miao grabbed her hard, a cold sweat broke out on her back. Before she could catch her breath and speak, she heard a familiar young girl's voice from the main hall outside.
"Grandfather, Grandmother! I'm late. I didn't know that such a big thing had happened in the mansion last night." Shen Li said in a voice full of apology and looked sincerely at Old Lady Zhu.
"Humph! There was such a big commotion last night. How could you not know? I think it's false that you didn't hear. You were probably too scared and deliberately hid!"
Lady Liang was already angry. Although she also blamed Old Lady Zhu and Lady Shen, they were still family. But now seeing Shen Li standing there safe and sound, not even a scratch on her, she couldn't help but scold first.
Shen Li frowned and looked at Lady Liang with a puzzled expression. "What did aunt just say? Why would I hide for no reason?"
Seeing Shen Li's blank look, Lady Liang felt annoyed. She decided to shift the blame and blame Shen Li for the fire last night. "Don't you understand what I'm saying? The fire last night started from the South Courtyard. Now you're the only one living in the South Courtyard, and it's close to your yard!"
"I think it was you who set the fire last night. You were afraid of being blamed by us, so you hid last night!"
These words of Lady Liang reminded Old Lady Zhu. Although she didn't know why Shen Li's room hadn't caught fire last night, fortunately, the fire had started from the South Courtyard. She could just let Shen Li take the blame.
Thinking of this, Old Lady Zhu also perked up and said, "Li'er, although you're not my real granddaughter, I've always treated you like my own child. If you have any dissatisfaction with our Shen Mansion, you can just speak up. Why did you do such a thing as setting fire!"
A look of disbelief appeared on Shen Li's face. "Grandmother, aunt, what are you talking about? I didn't set the fire last night! I don't know anything! I went back from grandmother's place yesterday and went to bed early!"
"I don't know why, but I suddenly slept so soundly that I didn't hear a single sound! This has never happened before!"
Old Lady Zhu's face changed for a moment. Although she knew that Shen Li was not easy to deal with, she thought her plan was well - arranged and that Shen Li couldn't find any flaws. So she also said with a straight face, "Li'er, there are no outsiders in this room. Just tell the truth."
"We're all family. Even if it was you who did it, we won't blame you!"