Rebirth: Contract Husband Falls in Love with Me-Chapter 527 - 269: Fire Erupts (Part 2)

Su Qing’er was taken aback and quickly pulled Xiaolian as they hurriedly hid in the shadows, rushing towards the back door.

Unexpectedly, the back door was already guarded, illuminated brightly by torches. Su Qing’er and Xiaolian, caught off guard, were apprehended by the landlord right on the spot.

"Oh, you little wretch, you really thought you could escape!" The landlord screeched as he pointed at Su Qing’er and cursed. With a wave of his hand, several people pounced on Su Qing’er and her servant like wolves, capturing them instantly.

"What are you trying to do!" Su Qing’er exclaimed in struggle.

"What do I want to do!" The landlord gritted his teeth and cursed: "You must compensate, of course! You little wretch, your man has run away, what does that have to do with me—taking your anger out on my house! Such a big courtyard, burnt to the ground by your fire, and you still thought to flee!"

"What does it have to do with me!" Su Qing’er, clearly knowing there’s no point in arguing but unwilling to endure the injustice, retorted in desperation: "By the heavens, we were asleep in our room, we didn’t know anything, the fire wasn’t started by us!"

"If it wasn’t you, then who was it?" The landlord sneered.

"How would I know!" Su Qing’er said irritably.

The landlord threw back his head in a loud laugh, spread his hands and said in a bizarre tone: "Don’t know, eh? Then tell me, who should I ask? You were the ones living in this house! If it’s not you, then who should I go to!"

"What’s going on here, what has happened!" The roaring fire had already alerted the patrolling soldiers. The constables from the government office also arrived at this time, organizing people to put out the fire while searching for the property owner.

"Officials, you’ve arrived just in time! This house belongs to me, and this little wretch rented my house, started a big fire, and was about to flee out of guilt. Lucky for me, I was vigilant and caught her red-handed!" The landlord hurriedly stepped forward to speak upon seeing this.

"Officials, it’s an injustice! I did not start this fire, I am being wronged!" Su Qing’er looked pitifully at the chief constable, under the flickering shadows of the fire, her demeanor soft and timid, her eyes as bright and misty as if shrouded in sorrow, appearing ever so pitiable.

Seeing that the constable looked at Su Qing’er with a hint of intoxication, the landlord couldn’t help but silently curse, spat disdainfully at Su Qing’er, and pointed at her, saying: "You shameless little whore, who are you trying to seduce with those coy airs? We have all sorts of beauties in Hangzhou City, do you think the officers have not seen the world? Don’t even think about using tricks to fool your way out! The fire clearly started from the kitchen, it must have been you two who carelessly left embers! Besides, if it wasn’t you, why would you flee? Look, even your belongings are packed; not thinking of going out to extinguish the fire, but heading straight for the back door! Luckily for me, I was quick enough, or whom would I ask for compensation?"

Su Qing’er, turning pale with anger, protested, "You, you’re obfuscating the truth! It really isn’t my fault, I am wronged!"

The landlord sneered, "Then why the guilty conscience? Why flee?"

Lost for words, Su Qing’er muttered after a moment: "I—I was just afraid you would wrongly accuse me and force me to pay compensation that’s why I—"

"Indeed, a guilty conscience of a thief!" The landlord clapped his hands, interrupting her: "If you are innocent, why fear being wronged! The officers will certainly deliver justice! You think they can’t see the truth?"

Su Qing’er was utterly defenseless and began to wish for death. For a moment, she was so impulsively close to revealing Shi Fengju, but luckily she still had a bit of sanity and held back the words.

Not to mention she had no evidence at all, even if she did, could she win against Shi Fengju? If she mentioned Shi Fengju, inevitably they would ask why would he want to harm you like this? Then the fact that she seduced Shi Fengming to abandon his parents and wife and run away from home could no longer be concealed. Both the Shi family and Shi Fengming would suffer great loss of face, and she could never reverse this situation.

Su Qing’er suddenly burst into sobs, crying out "Injustice" over and over again, while the landlord kept sneering at the side, cursing her as "stinking whore" and "little wretch" countless times.

The exasperated chief constable, tired of listening, shouted loudly, "Enough! All of you, come with me. The court will make a clear judgment!" After saying this, he waved his hand: "Take them all away!"

Su Qing’er was shocked. The government officials, without any explanation, started to take them away. The landlord, on the other hand, was all too eager to cooperate, smilingly saying: "There’s no need to trouble you, officers, I will walk on my own! I was just about to ask for the prefectural magistrate to make a ruling!"

As the sky began to lighten, the fire was finally put out, fortunately without spreading to neighboring houses, leaving only this one courtyard burned down. While the neighbors all breathed a sigh of relief, the landlord was jumping with anger, cursing her bad luck.

During the court judgement, Su Qing’er had no choice but to confess and agree to pay compensation. The fire had originated in the kitchen, and the most likely scenario was that she and her servant carelessly left a fire source, and without evidence to prove otherwise, she had to accept responsibility.

The landlord demanded an exorbitant amount, adding up the costs of bricks and timber for reconstruction, decoration, furniture losses, labor, plants, etc., amounting to a total of 1,800 taels of silver. Su Qing’er turned pale with fury, nearly fainting.

Su Qing’er refused to pay so much, only willing to offer 500 taels. Hearing this, the landlord’s eyes nearly shot out flames, his eyes bulging towards Su Qing’er, and of course, he was resolutely unwilling to agree. The two of them nearly broke out into another argument in the court.

This originally simple matter had already tested the patience of the prefectural magistrate, who, seeing both parties were hard to deal with, could not be bothered to mediate, and after listening to their endless noisy disputes, heartily irritated, banged his gavel, made a judgment of 1,500 taels and retired from the court. Although the landlord reluctantly accepted the decision with some regrets and kowtowed his thanks, Su Qing’er, shocked and angry, felt powerless and had no choice but to concede.

Su Qing’er had only a few pieces of jewelry on her person, and cash only amounted to the 100 taels from pawning her hairpin yesterday, which was still far from enough.