Zhu Xiu nodded and said firmly: "I have checked repeatedly and carefully. Apart from the servant, there is indeed no sign of the second person's presence in the other courtyard."
Xu Mingyi thought intently.
There must be a limit to the darkness under the lamp, otherwise it would be foolish and daring - if the other party really traps Cousin Qing here, a living person who can resist will more or less make noises that alarm the neighbors.
But if he still wants to be taken to another place, why bother sending him to such a crowded place in the first place?
As for whether Cousin Qing has met with something unexpected, this worst-case outcome is not something we should consider right now.
Xu Mingyi thought about it and felt that something was wrong everywhere. Half an hour later, looking at the dark night outside the window, she called A-Zhu.
"Go find Akui and get two pairs of night clothes and come with me."
While the girl was talking, she had already pulled out the hairpin on her head, scattered her half-twisted hair, took a ribbon from the side, and tied up all the thick black hair.
This villa was the only clue at the moment. If she gave up, it would mean that all clues were cut off. She had to go and see for herself before giving up.
Ah Zhu went to find Ah Kui excitedly.
It wasn't until she saw Akui take out two sets of dark-colored robes from the box that she realized something was wrong - when had night clothes been prepared in the girl's bedroom?
But in view of the principle that "any strange thing happens to a girl, it is not strange", Ah Zhu calmly accepted this fact in an instant.
Watching Ah Zhu accompany his girl out of the house, A Kui was frightened and secretly ran to the ancestral hall in the backyard to burn incense and pray to the ancestors of the Xu family for the girl's safe return.
After dark, most of the lights in Qingyu Fang were turned off, and the bustle of the day was gone.
Several black shadows sneaked into a courtyard quietly.
Zhu Xiu had already come to explore the road during the day. At this time, he easily found the servant's bedroom and poured the smoke that Xu Mingyi had given him into the room through the crack of the door.
Seeing Zhu Xiu turning back, Xu Mingyi gestured to the three of them to separate and look for clues.
She had no intention of alerting others today, so the smoke only caused the servants who knew some kung fu to sleep more deeply, rather than making them truly comatose. If there was really too much noise, it would still wake people up.
There was a lantern left under the corridor. Although the surroundings were not very bright, it was not difficult to identify the general furnishings in the courtyard.
Xu Mingyi entered a study room.
You can vaguely smell the elegant and refreshing fragrance in the room.
After getting used to the light in front of him, Xu Mingyi looked at the incense burner next to the desk.
This aroma is obviously left in the incense burner.
And she seemed to have smelled this extremely light scent of incense somewhere before...
I don't know if it is because she has practiced martial arts since she was a child, but her hearing and smell have been more sensitive than ordinary people since she was a child, and her memory is not bad.
This fragrance is light and cold. Although it is not common, it is obviously used by men.
man……
Xu Mingyi searched in his mind for a moment, and his eyes suddenly changed.
I smelled this aroma that day in Shang Yu Pavilion!
There were quite a few people in the hall at that time, but when it came to men, apart from the waiters in the building, there seemed to be only one who was worthy enough to smell the incense...
The second son of the Xia family, Xia Han.
On that day, the missing cousin Qing was also present.
Xu Mingyi thought of many things in an instant, including the recent promotion.
Looking at the incense burner again, her eyes became colder.
Is this courtyard related to Xia Han?
Even if the human mind is unpredictable and the outside world is untrustworthy, how will a Xia family's legitimate son, who comes from a powerful family, entered the Hanlin Academy as a Jinshi at a young age, has a gentle temperament, a harmonious husband and wife, and whose life is almost perfect, will suffer?
Driven by intention, do you choose to take risks and do such things?
She remembered her father once said that the more superficial people have, the easier it is for them to be careless.
The more serious people there are, the more they know how to act with caution.
No matter how you look at it, Xia Han doesn't look like the former.
Or is it because Xia Xi is acting more and more arrogantly now and wants to attack cousin Qing just for a few quarrels?
But no matter which one it is, everything in front of them seems to prove that Qing's cousin's disappearance has something to do with the Xia family, and the Zhan family is just willing to be driven by others in exchange for benefits.
Xu Mingyi temporarily suppressed many speculations and scanned the study room inch by inch.
After a while, she walked step by step towards the bookshelf against the wall.
On the way here, she and Uncle Zhu had guessed that there might be a secret room in this courtyard——
The layout of the secret room mechanism must have something to cover it.
The bookshelves, paintings, and even the rockery in the courtyard are all worthy of careful inspection.
In the darkness, Xu Mingyi groped cautiously on the bookshelf.
When she touched the edge, she noticed that the wooden grid under her fingers was a little loose. Her eyes changed slightly, and she exerted some force on her hand, but the wooden grid actually sank back with her strength.
"Click——"
A subtle sound like a copper-core door lock being opened reached his ears. The next moment, Xu Mingyi saw that the bookshelf in front of him was divided into two, and slowly moved to both sides, leaving a gap just big enough for one person.
Gap!
Sure enough, there is an agency!
Moreover, such exquisite mechanism skills are time-consuming, labor-intensive and money-intensive, which is definitely not something that just a householder can afford.
The guess in his mind became more solid. Xu Mingyi hesitated for a moment and ducked behind the bookshelf.
In comparison, the trigger point behind the bookshelf is much more obvious.
She raised her hand and unscrewed the copper shaft on the wall next to her, and the bookshelf closed again behind her.
In front of you are the stone steps leading to the underground chamber.
Xu Mingyi walked down step by step, and her vision gradually broadened and became clearer.
This secret room was completely different from what she had imagined.
The place is brightly lit and well-furnished, with tables, chairs, incense burners, tea cups and other items. There are even a few well-maintained and pruned potted pine trees.
And if everything that is so exquisite appears in a place where it shouldn't appear, it will only make people feel very weird.
Xu Mingyi held his breath, put up his guard, and walked inside.
There is a small room on each side of the 'main room', one is separated by a screen, and the other has a lotus-colored curtain.
And if she hadn't noticed anything wrong, there were actually people in both rooms...
Xu Mingyi walked towards the room on the right, walked around the screen, and saw the furnishings that a woman's bedroom should have.
She walked to the bed step by step, reached out and slowly lifted up the hanging smoke-colored bed curtain.
Seeing the bed tent move slightly, the girl sitting with her knees in the tent suddenly opened her eyes wide. She was frightened but did not make a sound. Instead, she trembled and subconsciously hugged her body tightly and buried her head in her knees.
.
"Cousin Qing?!"
Looking at the girl who had her head buried, Xu Mingyi whispered tentatively.
The trembling girl froze, and then hesitantly raised her head after a while.
Seeing the other party's face clearly, the huge stone in Xu Mingyi's heart finally fell.
Cousin Qing is still alive!
"Cousin Zhao...Cousin Zhaozhao..."
The girl looked at her intently, her voice too slow to speak.
Xu Mingyi felt a pinch in her heart and said softly: "Don't be afraid, my cousin is here and I will take you home right now."
Cui Yunqing's eyes suddenly filled with tears.
At this time, Xu Mingyi suddenly heard footsteps approaching here——
