Xiao Yunying went to Chen Yuanyao's room and had breakfast prepared.
Both of them were thinking that they shouldn't spoil the other's appetite, so they forced themselves to eat some food.
A short while later, Ling Qi followed Lian Yin in and said, "Miss Xiao, last night the officials on patrol discovered a suspicious carriage. The young master asked me to take you there to see it. Please wait until you've finished eating..."
Xiao Yunying put down her chopsticks and stood up: "I'm full, let's go."
Chen Yuanyao also said, "I want to go too."
Ling Qi advised, "Miss, the young master said to wait at home and he will definitely inform you if there is any news."
Chen Yuanyao pouted, thinking that her older brother probably thought she was in the way.
Forget it, I'm not as smart as Sister Yunying, I wouldn't be of much help even if I went, it's better to just stay home and wait for news.
She is self-aware; in some situations, not interfering is considered helping.
"Sister Yunying, you go ahead, I won't go."
"Then I'll head over first. If there's any news, Yuan Cheng will definitely send someone back to inform you."
Xiao Yunying left the Chen residence and boarded the carriage that Ling Qi had prepared in advance, quickly arriving at the alley where she had noticed something unusual the night before.
Chen Yuancheng was in front of a small courtyard house, helping Xiao Yunying down from the carriage. Seeing that she looked unwell, he asked with concern, "Why do you look so pale? Did you not sleep well last night?"
"How can I sleep? Tell me, what have you discovered?"
Chen Yuancheng handed over a silver lock woven with red rope: "Last night, when the soldiers on patrol passed by this alley, they heard cries for help coming from this direction. When they arrived, they found this old carriage parked in front of this house, the gate of the courtyard was wide open, and there was no one inside."
Nothing suspicious was found in the courtyard or the carriage, except for this silver lock under the carriage, which had a strange character engraved on it.
I noticed these characters looked somewhat like the ones you used to write, so I asked Lingqi to call you over to take a look.
Xiao Yunying touched the words on the silver lock: "This is a gift I gave to the children as a moving gift. Each of the four siblings will receive one."
At that time... my handwriting wasn't very good, and I often made mistakes like missing strokes or short horizontal lines. No one else could write this character, let alone carve it on an identical silver lock. This is Luoyang's.
He must have been here, or been seen by someone who was here last night.
Chen Yuancheng said, "The cries for help that the soldiers heard last night were probably shouted by Luo Yang."
This alley is long and narrow, making it difficult for the carriage to turn around. Perhaps the thieves heard that soldiers were coming and had no choice but to abandon the carriage and leave with only the thieves. Come and take a look.”
He led Xiao Yunying to the side of the carriage: "This carriage has been modified. There is an extra door on both sides, which can be opened by pushing the door panel."
Do you remember what the stall owner said? The children disappeared in the short time the carriage passed by. They must have been caught off guard and pulled directly into the carriage from the side.
As long as no passersby can see from this side, who would imagine that a carriage can abduct people without even stopping?
Xiao Yunying gripped the silver lock tightly and looked at the top of the carriage door frame: "Why isn't there a red cloth tied to this carriage?"
Chen Yuancheng lifted the curtain: "There is a red cloth in the car. I don't know if they untied it themselves or if Luo Yang pulled it off during the struggle."
Xiao Yunying had a sudden inspiration: "It wasn't Luo Yang who dragged them. If I were a kidnapper, to ensure everything went smoothly, even if I had drugged the children, I would have tied them up to completely incapacitate them. Otherwise, it would be too risky."
Ling Qi asked, puzzled, "Then why did they take off this red cloth? Is it some strange custom? Like, something that can be worn during the day but not at night?"
Xiao Yunying thought of something: "They did it on purpose, to create a memorable moment, just in case, as a backup plan."
Ling Qi didn't understand: "Miss Xiao, what is meant by 'memorable point'?"
Xiao Yunying explained to him, "Old carriages are very common, but it's rare to see an old carriage with such a large red cloth tied above the door frame."
Just like the old lady in our village and that stall owner, they described the horse-drawn carriage as an old horse-drawn carriage with a red cloth tied above the door frame.
People generally think that old horse-drawn carriages are too common and not particularly special. When gathering information, they will unconsciously focus on the feature of the red cloth tied above the carriage.
Think back, wasn't this how you led people to gather information?
Ling Qi was taken aback: "That's really how it is..."
Xiao Yunying lowered her eyes: "That's why they tie red cloths—to create memorable moments when they do bad things."
Even if someone accidentally sees them, it doesn't matter. Once they've traveled a distance and removed the red cloth, they'll be driving an ordinary old horse-drawn carriage. If you ask around for carriages with red cloths, no one will have seen them before.
If her guess is correct, these kidnappers are quite clever.
Ling Qi scratched his head in frustration: "Then this lead is cut off. These people are really cunning."
Xiao Yunying said, "I'm not sure if my guess is correct; there might be other reasons."
Chen Yuancheng said, "What you said makes some sense. This courtyard has already been inspected by the officials. Would you like to go in and take a look?"
"I'll go in and take a look."
Several guards were standing watch in the courtyard. Xiao Yunying followed Chen Yuancheng into a room and saw seven or eight wooden boxes on the ground, each large enough to hold an adult woman.
"The people living in this area of the southern city are not very wealthy. Those who have saved up some money have moved out, so there are many empty courtyards."
The courtyard wasn't large, with only five rooms in total. It didn't look like anyone lived there; it was probably just a place for them to rest temporarily.
Xiao Yunying thought to herself, it's not just that they're not rich that they live here. On her way here, she saw that the houses on both sides were dilapidated and desolate, practically slums.
Chen Yuancheng gestured for her to look at the things on the table: "There are these wooden boxes in every room. I also found several large bags of white candles, some firewood, and some hay for feeding horses. There's nothing else."
I've already sent some wooden crates to the carpenters' shops in town to inquire, and I've also sent people to ask if anyone has recently bought large quantities of white candles. We should have news soon.
"White candle?"
Xiao Yunying was puzzled. Here, any household that could afford candles for lighting would definitely choose to use red candles.
Aside from funerals, no one uses white candles for everyday lighting at home; it's considered taboo.
She walked to the table and carefully examined the packets of white candles. She picked off a piece with her fingernail, smelled it, and then broke off one of them.
It was indeed an ordinary white candle, nothing unusual.
She muttered to herself, "Could it be a fake funeral, where they're transporting people out of the city in coffins?"
He then denied the possibility, saying, "No, with so many people tied up, it's impossible to keep using coffins to transport them. The officers and soldiers aren't stupid; they'll get suspicious if it happens too often."
Moreover, apart from white candles, there are no other sacrificial or funeral items such as paper money or paper figures here, indicating that white candles have other uses.
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