The prefect fell silent upon seeing the woman kneeling below the hall. A barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips, unnoticed by others, but the Fourth Prince happened to see the "smile" in his eyes.

It's really strange that they're not worried at all, but instead seem smug about the series of missing persons cases in their own jurisdiction!

Fourth Master put aside his doubts and continued to watch how the case would be resolved.

"Ding Die'er, you don't even have a portrait of your brother, how can I help you find him? Here's what I'll do: go back and have someone paint a portrait of your brother before you come back," the prefect said, then stood up and announced, "Court adjourned."

Everyone watched with regret as Ding Die'er knelt on the ground. She seemed somewhat at a loss, helpless as her brother disappeared. Let alone a portrait, in the Qing Dynasty, without photographs or the person herself, relying solely on verbal descriptions would be extremely difficult, given the level of portraiture at the time. Unless someone who had seen Ding Die'er knew how to paint, but these were all poor people, and their circle consisted mainly of poor people. Therefore, finding someone who knew how to paint and had seen Ding Die'er's brother would be incredibly difficult.

After Ding Die'er slowly got up from the ground, she slunk out of the yamen. The others had long since lost interest in the spectacle and dispersed, leaving only Fourth Master and the others following Ding Die'er from a distance.

"Miss, please wait a moment~" Li Wei called out to Ding Die'er.

The little girl turned around and saw the man who had encouraged her to beat the drum earlier. She hesitated and asked, "Sir, what can I do for you?"

Li Wei walked up to the little girl and said kindly, "Miss, I just overheard your story, and my master is also inside. He is deeply moved by your search for your brother and is willing to help you find him. What do you say?"

Ding Die'er sized up Li Wei and saw that he had an upright appearance and spoke with integrity. For no reason, she believed him to some extent and said gratefully, "Sir, Die'er and you are complete strangers. Why are you helping Die'er like this?"

Seeing that the little girl was so young yet could speak so eloquently, Li Wei praised her greatly and said, "My master is helping you, young lady, and he naturally has his own plans. But I can tell you that my master is helping you with absolutely no other intentions. It's just that this matter may involve things that you cannot understand."

Although Ding Die'er was only a teenager, she was very decisive. Hearing Li Wei say this, she naturally understood that she might have met a benefactor.

Meanwhile, Fourth Master, Thirteenth Master, and the others had already sat down by the window of a restaurant facing the street. From the window, they could see Li Wei and Ding Die'er.

"Fourth Brother, do you think this young lady might come? Perhaps she still suspects our motives for helping her?" Thirteenth Master said with a smile.

"Li Wei should be able to bring her here," Fourth Master said, and had the restaurant's signature dishes served one after another.

As expected, Li Wei led Ding Die'er upstairs. Thirteenth Master smiled and glanced at his fourth brother, then said to the little girl, "Miss, don't be afraid. Come, why don't you sit down and have a meal together?"

Although Ding Die'er was just a farm girl, she was still wary of sudden kindness and said politely, "Die'er thanks you all for your help. However, Die'er is a little curious. You all don't know me, so why are you helping me like this?"

"It's only because your brother's disappearance is rather suspicious that we want to find out what's going on, which is why we're helping the young lady," Fourth Master said truthfully. Thirteen thought to himself: Fourth Brother, aren't you being a bit too blunt? How could a young lady be happy to hear that?

But after hearing this, Ding Die'er suddenly walked gracefully to the seat designated by Thirteen and sat down. Then she picked up the chopsticks in front of her and began to eat.

These were dishes she had never eaten before, and they all looked delicious, so she started eating them one by one.

Thirteenth Master looked a bit silly, and Fourth Master said to Li Wei and the others, "You don't need to stand here to serve, go sit over there."

It turned out that the Fourth Master had ordered another table for them, which was naturally for Li Wei, Su Peisheng and several guards.

"Miss, are you done eating?" Thirteen asked jokingly when he saw Ding Die'er finally stop eating after wolfing down her food.

"I've finished eating. Sir, please feel free to ask me any questions. Since I've eaten your food, I will answer truthfully. I also hope you can help me find my brother." Ding Die'er was indeed a thoughtful person. Although she was young and of humble birth, she was quite clever.

"Where and when did the young lady's brother disappear? Did he exhibit any unusual behavior before?" Fourth Master asked.

“My brother told me the day before that someone had asked him to do a job, offering a very generous wage, but he would have to leave home for several months and wouldn’t be allowed to come back. My brother thought that my mother wouldn’t agree, so he refused. Afterwards, when my brother went to work in the fields, he didn’t come back, and nothing unusual happened,” Ding Die’er said.

"You said there are other people who have gone missing like this around here?" Thirteen asked.

“Yes, Die’er just feels that this matter is a bit strange. Besides, my brother would never just disappear without a trace. If something happened to him, he would definitely come back and tell Mother.” Ding Die’er said with certainty.

"Does your brother look like your mother? How much does he resemble you?" Fourth Master suddenly asked.

Ding Die'er clearly didn't know what the Fourth Master meant by asking that question, and for a moment she didn't react. Thirteen also looked at the Fourth Master with a puzzled expression.

"They say sons resemble their mothers. If your brother looks like your mother, and you describe him in words, it won't be difficult for me to draw a portrait of him," Fourth Master explained when he saw that neither of them understood.

"I see!" Thirteen suddenly realized.

Ding Die'er also showed an admiring look; how come she hadn't thought of that?

"Moreover, you can also draw portraits of people you know who resemble your missing brother, so the Prefect shouldn't refuse," Fourth Master said meaningfully.

"Well, then I'll have to find a better painter. Thank you for your guidance, sir," Ding Die'er said, frowning slightly.

“You don’t need to invite anyone, there’s a top-notch painter right here, hey, it’s him!!” This time, Thirteen understood what Fourth Master meant and said jokingly.

Ding Die'er suddenly stood up, bowed to the Fourth Master and the Thirteenth Master, and said, "Die'er has met a benefactor. If the benefactor can help Die'er find her brother, Die'er will have no way to repay the benefactor but to serve the benefactor like a slave."

“You’re mistaken, young lady. As I just said, I helped you for my own reasons, so there’s no need for you to thank me,” Fourth Master said.