Chapter 35 "Continuing from the previous chapter, the night watchman..."

"Continuing from the last episode, the night watchman got into trouble for keeping lost items..."

The gavel fell, and cheers erupted from the audience.

The storyteller, however, did not rush to begin, but waited until he had whetted the guests' appetites before slowly and deliberately telling the story.

...

Recently, the number of missing children in Beijing has been increasing, ranging from ordinary people to high-ranking officials, inevitably causing widespread panic.

Various rumors circulated in the streets and alleys, and after being collected, summarized, and adapted, they were spread from storybooks back to the streets and alleys.

As the situation escalated, every day before dusk, and even before curfew, the doors of every household on the east and west streets were tightly shut.

Even after school, people would spontaneously take turns sending young adults from each family with children home, one by one.

One day, a storyteller in a local teahouse told this story, which attracted a large number of customers to the teahouse. In order to attract business, all the teahouses removed their original miscellaneous stories and followed suit.

Nowadays, whichever teahouse releases the latest news about this matter first is the one that receives both praise and popularity.

Today, a new chapter unfolds at Qimingxuan.

Upstairs in a private room, a group of elegantly dressed young people had booked the entire space. The young man in the main seat, resting his chin on his hand, glanced with a bored expression at the storyteller who was practically weaving tales into a flowery narrative:

"Why is it always the same thing? I'm so tired of hearing my parents nagging about it at home."

“Young Master Du, who doesn’t know that Lord Du had a son late in life, and you are his only heir, so of course he has to keep a close eye on you.” Yang Xing teased with a smirk, then sighed, “But lately, all the storytelling stalls in the capital have been telling this story. The story of the chivalrous thief Yan Shuo outwitting the mountain bandits hasn’t even been finished yet, and there’s nowhere to hear it.”

"Hey, why don't you just hire a storyteller to come to your door?" another person chimed in, offering a sincere suggestion.

"Ahem, there's no teahouse atmosphere at home," Yang Xing explained without batting an eye.

"Hey, I bet you stole your dad's pet bird, but you don't dare ask him for money, do you?" Chen Yuanxuan retorted without mercy, tearing away Yang Xing's fig leaf.

"Wasn't that something you guys encouraged?" Yang Xing tried to take the blame, his angry gaze sweeping over the other three people present, finally settling on Meng Rui, who had been sitting silently in his chair since they came out.

His anger subsided, and he turned to look at his two other good brothers, mouthing the words:

What's wrong with him?

Du Zhihe shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

Chen Yuanxuan, who was always carefree and sitting back in his armchair, was even more unaware of the situation.

None of the three had any clue or could figure it out, so Chen Yuanxuan simply called out to Meng Rui, "Rui Rui."

Seeing that the person didn't react, he picked up a pastry from the side and threw it at the person's forehead.

The red bean cake landed squarely on Meng Rui's forehead, the gentle force successfully bringing him back to his senses, but a sense of desolation still lingered around him.

He picked up the red bean cake that had fallen into his arms and stuffed it into his mouth.

The other three people inside the room exchanged glances, their eyes unconsciously revealing worry.

"Rui Rui, what happened? Tell your brothers." Chen Yuanxuan asked in a casual tone.

Meng Rui swallowed the red bean cake that tasted strangely sweet and astringent today. The thought that Ah Qiong might not even have enough to eat during the days she was taken away made the astringency in his mouth even stronger.

Hearing Chen Yuanxuan's words, he shook his head. Ah Qiong was right. If they rushed forward, they would only get caught.

Chen Yuanxuan clicked his tongue inwardly, not even objecting to being called Rui Rui, which seemed to indicate that something serious had happened, and his expression turned serious.

Seeing that Meng Rui was having difficulty swallowing the pastries, Du Zhihe, who was closest to him, handed him a cup of tea.

The astringency of the tea mingled with the astringent taste in his mouth. Meng Rui took a small sip, then held the teacup containing the clear broth in his hand and remained still.

To avoid the worried looks from his friends, he lowered his gaze, which met his own reflection in the tea.

The reflection in the cup is indistinct, and you can vaguely see the red bean cake crumbs left after the forehead was hit. A red dot lands in the center of the cup, and in the fleeting light, the reflection in the cup seems to transform into another face.

"Meng Rui, if the tea doesn't taste good, then don't drink it." Du Zhihe raised his hand and snatched the cup away. The figure in the cup vanished like smoke, leaving only the reflection of the carved beams.

The atmosphere inside was somber. Meng Rui silently raised his hand to wipe away the crumbs of pastry from between his eyebrows.

Taking the opportunity, Yang Xing changed the subject: "Yuanxuan, look what you've done to someone."

Chen Yuanxuan touched his nose and continued, "Meng Rui, you haven't come out with us for a while. Since we're out today, don't think about anything else." He pushed him closer to the railing, "Let's listen to what stories the storyteller will tell today."

The other two lagged behind. Du Zhihe seemed to remember something from Chen Yuanxuan's words, and pulled Yang Xing, who was stepping forward, aside, and asked quietly, "Meng Rui hasn't been coming out with us lately. Which kid has he been hanging out with?"

After thinking about Du Zhihe's words for a while, Yang Xing vaguely remembered what he was saying and exclaimed in a low voice, "Oh no!"

"Speaking of that young master of the Marquis's mansion, his life has been full of misfortunes..."

The storyteller's voice mingled with Yang Xing's from the audience:

"It's that one from the Yongshun Marquis's residence."

As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Rui, who had regained some energy, suddenly lowered his head and leaned against the railing in front of him.

Chen Yuanxuan swiftly grabbed the former by the collar to prevent him from falling and causing a further tragedy.

Meng Rui stood up in a daze, "I think I'll go home."

The storyteller today not only knows the stories he tells, but he is also a part of those stories.

Two nights ago, Meng Rui and Xie Baoqiong parted ways at the gate of the Hou Mansion. Before going back to his residence to sleep, he was still planning to introduce Xie Baoqiong to his other friends next time.

Little did they expect that they would learn of Xie Baoqiong's disappearance from Meng Si during breakfast the next day.

With a loud clang.

He smashed the spoon into the porcelain bowl, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.

He wiped his mouth and hurriedly said, "How come I didn't know?"

“Last night, the Marquis’s residence sent someone to our mansion to inquire about your situation, but you were already asleep, so they didn’t wake you. They checked with the people who were with you and the coachman before returning home,” Meng Si explained. Then she turned to Madam Meng and said, “Mother, I’ll go to the Marquis’s residence later to check on things.”

"I want to go too." Meng Rui didn't even bother to eat, and hurriedly got up, asking the servant to bring him some clothes to wear when going out.

"Oh, this child." Madam Meng sighed, then said to Meng Si, "If the Marquis's mansion needs manpower, you can take your people with you."

Lord Meng, who was standing to the side of Madam Meng, placed the peeled shrimp he was holding into Madam Meng's bowl and whispered a suggestion: "Madam, my official position is at least half that of an advisor. If we send someone from our household, it will cause rumors of factionalism, which will have a bad influence."

Madam Meng slammed her chopsticks on the table, and Lord Meng immediately stopped talking. He then turned to his eldest son and said, "Si'er, take the servants from your courtyard with you first. If you need more, send someone to the mansion."

"Yes, Father." Meng Si was worried that she couldn't suppress the smile in her eyes, so she deliberately didn't look up at Lord Meng's pathetic appearance. Instead, she put down her chopsticks and left the table: "I'll go check on Rui'er first."

When Meng Rui and Meng Si arrived at the Marquis's residence, some minor officials from the Bureau of Suppression of Evil and the Court of Judicial Review were already standing outside, inspecting the surroundings.

The surrounding streets and alleys were filled with people, all seemingly casually craning their necks to watch the clerks with their badges hanging on their waists as they handled cases.

The carriage could hardly move forward, so Meng Si simply took Meng Rui off the carriage and walked through the crowd toward the Marquis's residence.

When they were still three feet away from the steps of the Marquis's residence, a minor official wearing a headscarf raised his hand to block their path:

"And you two are?"

Meng Si glanced at the waist tag of the minor official, a symbol of his status in the Anti-Evil Division, and introduced him:

"I am Meng Si, son of Meng Zuojianyi, a good friend of Xie Shizi. This is my younger brother, Meng Rui."

The clerk nodded, picked up his pen and wrote a few words on the paper in his hand. Without making things difficult, he pointed around with his pen: "Young Master Meng has also seen that something happened at the Marquis's residence today. I'm afraid they are too busy to entertain guests. Perhaps Young Master Meng could come another day?"

Before Meng Si could explain, Meng Rui, who was beside him, suddenly tugged at his sleeve: "Big brother, those are the lanterns that Ah Qiong and I bought together last night."

Following the direction Meng Rui pointed, both the clerk and Meng Si saw a fox-shaped lantern with its candle extinguished standing in the corner of the steps.

"So you're the friend who went out with Young Master Xie last night. Two of my colleagues went to the two young masters' residence to inquire about the situation, but it seems we'll be disappointed." The clerk said with a sudden realization.

As he spoke, the clerk took out a stack of yellow paper from his pocket, put down his pen, and used his fingers to write several symbols on the paper.

After finishing writing, a faint light flashed across the surface of the yellow paper. Meng Rui glanced at it curiously, but since it concerned his friend, he didn't make a sound to disturb him.

When the clerk withdrew his hand, his forehead was covered in sweat, as if he had exerted a great deal of effort. He casually wiped it away and said, "Then I presume that you two already know what happened at the Marquis's residence."

Meng Si agreed.

The clerk glanced down at the yellow paper again, then said, "This way, please, both of you."

As he led the two into the Marquis's residence, he said to Meng Rui, "Young Master Meng, when you meet the Junior Envoy later, there will probably be a few questions that will require your cooperation."

Upon hearing the clerk mention the young envoy, Meng Rui felt a hidden excitement, but it was quickly overshadowed by his worry for Xie Baoqiong's current situation. He said with a straight face, "As long as you can find Aqiong, you can ask her whatever you want."

The two followed the clerk to the main hall of the Marquis's residence, where they first saw Xie Zhuo sitting in the main seat.

Meng Si's gaze first fell on another figure standing beside Xie Zhuo.

Meng Rui, on the other hand, looked at another lean figure sitting not far from Xie Zhuo.

He was dressed in a black, tight-fitting outfit, with his long, dark hair tied high behind his head. Apart from a badge bearing the insignia of the Northern Envoy Commander at his waist, he wore no other ornaments.

"Sir, the person has been brought here," the clerk said.

The three people inside the room heard the sound and looked up.

Both Xie Zhuo and Xie Rongjing looked exhausted from not having slept all night.

Sitting to the right of the two, the Northern Envoy Rong Feng turned his face slightly, revealing half of his peach blossom face. However, the cold and chilling aura emanating from his eyes beneath his sword-like eyebrows overshadowed the overall impression of his face.

The two Meng brothers behind the minor official were stunned for a moment, then reacted and said:

"Greetings, Lord Xie and Junior Envoy."

Xie Zhu waved his hand, gesturing for the two to sit down, and then ordered someone to bring tea.

"Thank you for coming so early." Xie Rongjing suppressed the anxiety that was faintly rising in his eyes and reluctantly sat down in a seat.

Rong Feng sat upright in his chair without saying a word, silently observing the movements of the people in the room. Then his sharp gaze swept over the two men surnamed Meng, finally settling on Meng Rui.