The Crown Prince was so against Prince of Yan that Hua Changjue had to wonder if the Crown Prince knew something.
It seems that they have to go to the north as soon as possible to assist the King of Yan and prevent the Crown Prince from succeeding.
The third thing is that Qiu Mobai discovered a hidden force that was also secretly looking for the whereabouts of the treasure map, so he asked them to pay attention to safety.
It was also discovered that the two treasure maps in the palace had been lost and their whereabouts were unknown, which was probably related to this group of people.
Hua Changjue got a headache thinking about these troubles. He quickly finished the rice in the bowl, wiped his mouth, and called Manager He.
"Manager He, actually, I came to you today to ask if anyone has gone missing in Huaiqing Mansion recently?"
Shopkeeper He frowned and said, "Yes, more than a dozen people have disappeared since the New Year."
"It is true."
Hua Changjue looked solemn and continued to ask.
"Then is there no one in charge of the government here?"
Shopkeeper He nodded and then shook his head.
"The prefect of Huaiqing Prefecture is named Chen Zhongyan." Shopkeeper He hesitated for a moment and said truthfully, "This Mr. Chen is hypocritical and selfish."
"In terms of appearance, there is nothing wrong with his achievements. But in terms of substance, the things he has done for the people can be counted on one hand."
"As for the missing persons, he just symbolically asked people to look for them, and then he let it go."
"And I found that most of those who were abducted were from ordinary people, or servants of officials or wealthy families."
"Ordinary people have no connections. Officials and wealthy families are unwilling to bother with a servant."
“So, I don’t care about this matter.”
Hua Changjue nodded.
Shopkeeper He asked Hua Changjue curiously.
"Did Lord Hua's family also lose someone?"
Hua Changjue nodded helplessly and told Manager He that four people were missing from his house last night.
"Manager He has been in Huaiqing Mansion for so long. Has he found anything?"
Shopkeeper He nodded.
"To be honest, sir, I didn't notice this at first! It was later that an elderly couple went to the government office to appeal for justice, saying that their two children were missing!"
"I just noticed this."
"Later, more people disappeared! I felt something was fishy."
"But at first I thought it was just a normal kidnapping and selling of people. But later I found out that the children of the old couple returned safe and sound a month after they were missing."
"When anyone asks them, they won't tell you where they were before. If they are asked where they went, they say they can't remember! Moreover, their personalities seem to have changed a lot."
"Then, there are other people who were lost, and they come back one after another! Their appearance hasn't changed, but their personalities seem to have changed!"
"That's when I felt something was amiss, so I asked someone to investigate secretly."
"I've been searching for a long time, but I can't find any clues. The only thing they have in common is that after a certain period of time, they all go to the newly built Taoist temple in the west of the city to worship the gods."
Hua Changjue seemed to be thinking about something, and asked, "Have all the missing people come back?"
Shopkeeper He thought for a moment and said, "There are some who didn't come back. But they are a minority."
Hua Changjue nodded, with some bad guesses in his mind. He asked again, "Where are the children of that old couple now?"
Manager He thought for a moment and said, "I remember that brother is now a servant in the Chen Mansion, and he seems to be following the third young master of the Chen Mansion, Chen Sanxing!"
"And that sister seems to have become a maid in Mr. Pan's house, and seems to be following the Thirteenth Concubine!"
Hua Changjue narrowed his eyes, as if thinking about something.
He talked to Shopkeeper He for a while, and Shopkeeper He also promised to send someone to help find it and inform him if there was any news.
Only then did Hua Changjue leave Ruyi Restaurant.
When he went out, guests had already arrived at Ruyi Restaurant one after another.
He did not wander around, but went straight back to the Li Mansion next to the Hua Mansion, which was where all the people in the Black Wind Village lived.
Soon, Li Zhan and his group came back one after another. But they still couldn't find the person. Hua Lingshu, Hua Lingnan, and Hua Lingpeng were still wearing tattered clothes, like beggars.
Hua Changjue was not disappointed. Instead, he advised them not to worry, because he knew that no one's life would be in danger.
He first told him the news that Manager He gave him.
Li Zhan was surprised, "So there are so many things going on here! It seems that the power behind this cannot be underestimated."
Hua Changjue nodded.
Hua Lingshu then shared their findings.
"I talked to a few beggars and found that they didn't look like real beggars."
"At mealtime, instead of scrambling for food, they stare at the back doors of rich people's houses, as if they are observing something."
Hua Lingnan also said, "We showed our goodwill to them and wanted to beg for food around here, but it seems that they don't care."
"But in our old place, beggars would fight for territory. How could we let others enter our territory?"
Hua Lingpeng frowned and said, "I don't think those people are real beggars."
"It's a bit similar." Hua Lingpeng is the youngest and can't quite explain it now.
Hua Linnan helped him out by saying, "He looks a bit like a spy."
Hua Lingpeng nodded.
Hua Lingshu continued, "I also noticed that they seemed to only stare at the servants. And they were young servants. They didn't seem to pay any attention to the older ones."
"I don't know why this is happening?"
Everyone was silent, not knowing what the conspiracy was and who was behind it.
Li Zhan thought, "How about this? Since we know that there is something wrong with the Taoist temple, the Pan family and the Chen family, let's split up and go take a look."
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