Mojing, the city that never sleeps
The melodious sound of the guzheng in the hall suddenly rose several tones and then stopped abruptly.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it, and they noticed that several dancers were already standing on the circular stage, with their swan-necked arms raised, striking different graceful poses in front of them, ready for their movements.
The sound of the huqin was the first to sound, followed by other instruments joining in.
The dancers began to dance at the same time. Their graceful bodies swayed on the stage accompanied by the rhythmic music.
They wore cool and thin clothes, and the large areas of skin exposed looked extremely sexy.
She was wearing a bright red tube top with a beaded necklace wrapped around the bottom. It slid down along her abdomen where her waistline was clearly visible, and fell to her waist, where it was connected to the snaps on the surface of the belt.
There are also very small silver bells hanging on the bead chain. When they move slightly, a series of tinkling sounds are made.
Mixed in with the other musical instruments, it doesn't stand out at all, but rather complements them.
She wore a tubular gauze skirt of the same color, and her long legs were faintly visible under the light.
The movements are bold, but the dancers all wear veils, adding a sense of mystery.
As the music became more and more rhythmic, one of the dancers first opened her arms and walked forward and upward to the edge of the stage, then stepped back on tiptoe.
When she got close to the big drum, she used her hands to jump lightly upwards, just enough to sit on the drum surface. She turned her body quickly again, and with very smooth movements, she was already on the drum surface.
The dancer first bent her body backward flexibly to an angle that was difficult for ordinary people to reach, then quickly turned over and stood up, stepping down with one foot, making a sound like hitting the drum head.
It coincides with the drum beats in the music.
Some of the audience members in the audience stared with their eyes wide open, opened their mouths wide and couldn't help but let out sounds of admiration, and some even whistled.
At the same time, in the innermost private room on the third floor.
Shi Yan looked at the scene downstairs and sighed: "It really is well-deserved reputation."
Even she, a girl, found it beautiful to see a girl with such a great figure dancing in front of her.
"This is so much more advanced than the dancing scenes I've seen in costume dramas." Gao Wenwen was also nearby, and the two of them were huddled in front of a window with a gauze curtain.
But then he tilted his head and thought for a moment: "But Sister Yanzi, according to the ancient people's thinking, wouldn't Zhang Shutang, a young lady from the boudoir, feel that this place is not suitable for her to come?"
I just looked around the restaurant and saw that most of the customers were men. Most of them came under the pretext of drinking, but in fact they just wanted to see girls dance.
There aren't many girls here, and I didn't expect Zhang Shutang to have such leisure time.
"What do you think?" Gao Wenwen asked, and looked sideways, only to find that the other two people in the room were not watching with them, but were in different positions in the private room.
Shi Yan supported herself and stood up, then walked over to Ding Can. "Zhaoxialou's service is so good, it must be cleaned every day. There shouldn't be any traces left, right?"
Ding Can was still looking carefully. "Maybe there are clues there, and they won't disappear with the daily cleaning."
"Wait a moment." Xia Jialian was standing a few meters away from the window. He had good hearing and heard a slight sound of wheels turning outside the window.
After pushing open the half-closed window, he looked into the alley and saw an old man pushing a flatbed cart loaded with hay as high as a mountain, slowly passing through the back door of Zhaoxia Building.
Then he turned the corner and left his sight.
Just as he was about to look away, Xia Jialian's eyes paused and he noticed a few subtle marks on the window frame.
"Is there any problem?" Ding Can noticed that he stood there for a long time.
"Come and see."
Xia Jialian lowered his head and stroked the window with his fingers.
The wooden window frame under my hand has become much more rounded after long-term exposure to wind and sun and daily cleaning with clean water. The surface should be of a smooth material.
But now, several traces of wear and tear can be seen with the naked eye, which look like they were caused by repeated friction in the same position.
It seems to be caused by the rope.
The Zhaoxia Building had very high ceilings. Looking down from where they were standing, it was about seven or eight meters high.
However, there are always gaps between the bricks where you can step in, so you can easily climb up from the alley.
Xia Jialian found a few pieces of hemp rope that had been hooked off in the middle of the scratch, proving his guess.
Although Zhang Shutang did not come to this private room frequently before his disappearance, and there were other people coming at the same time, Xia Jialian believed that the clues that appeared at this time must be something extraordinary.
In addition, the waiter just said that Zhang Shutang usually doesn't like to be disturbed, so no one will come over from the time he enters the private room until he leaves.
Shi Yan touched her chin and said, "Do you think Zhang Shutang took advantage of this time to meet someone? If she wasn't feeling well, she wouldn't have left on her own."
Gao Wenwen answered quickly: "Someone must have come to see her, but she is a young lady from a wealthy family. She can go wherever she wants and see whoever she wants. Why is she so secretive?"
"Ah!" His eyes suddenly widened. "Could it be my lover?"
In ancient times, women attached the most importance to their reputation. Zhang Shutang could not go out often. She had someone she liked but could not meet him openly, so she chose this method to meet him secretly.
But then he denied this speculation: "That's not right, then how did they know each other?"
Zhang Shutang has spent most of her time in Fangfei Garden since she was a child, so there is no possibility for her to meet other men.
"Let's try this method first and see if it works." Ding Can pushed open the door of the box, looked into the corridor, and called a servant who was waiting in the middle of the corridor to come over.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
The servant had just received instructions from the waiter and knew that the person in this room was a distinguished guest of the Zhang family, so any requests must be taken care of immediately and must not be neglected.
Ding Can smiled and said, "You're welcome. I'd like to ask if the store has any straw ropes, I want some that are longer."
Although he was a little confused, the servant tried his best to satisfy and obediently went to the utility room to find a rope that had not been used for a long time and was still covered with dust.
"By the way, do you always stay on the third floor?"
The servant nodded: "I basically stay on the third floor."
"Then do you remember every time Miss Shu Tang came here?"
"Of course, the second young lady of the Zhang family is a distinguished guest of our restaurant. Plus, she always has to book that private room. Occasionally, when it's booked, she simply doesn't come. I was curious at first, but then I heard that the second young lady doesn't like to be disturbed, and then I understood."
Sure enough, Zhang Shutang came to Zhaoxia Building not for the singing and dancing performance downstairs, but mainly for this room.
Ding Can's expression remained unchanged. "Every time Miss Shu Tang arrives in the private room, until she leaves, you never go inside to check on her, right?"
The servant frowned and thought for a moment: "Now that you ask, I remember that the Second Young Lady has never asked us to do things like serving tea and water."
"Do you know the name of the maid who always accompanies Miss Shu Tang?"
The servant scratched his head: "I remember her name was Xiao Zhi."
Xiao Zhi? Ding Can still remembered this person. Wasn't she one of the maids who cleaned Zhang Shutang's room when they went to Fangfei Garden?
When I listened to Xu Linfeng talking about the previous events, he never mentioned that Xiao Zhi was Zhang Shutang's personal maid.
This isn't something that can be casually ignored.
Xia Jialian took the straw rope from the servant's hand and said, "We understand. Thank you."
Several people returned to the room. Xia Jialian first let the straw rope down the window, and Gao Wenwen held the other end in his hand.
He was pacing in the private room, feeling puzzled: "Where is the rope tied? It's impossible for the frail Zhang Shutang and her maids to drag her up."
The possibility that Zhang Shutang is a loli with super strength is almost zero.
Xia Jialian looked around the house in the direction of the window and noticed one of the pillars.
As he walked along just now, he had paid attention to the interior decoration of other private rooms. Not every room has this, and it should be one of the several load-bearing pillars on this floor.
Very strong, good for fixing ropes.
The pillars are made of stone and there is no paint on the surface, so even if a rope was tied, it would be difficult to leave traces on it, and it cannot be traced now.
However, after he tied it a few times, it was able to be fixed in place. After pulling it twice, there was no shaking or instability at all.
Gao Wenwen volunteered: "Let me try! Please watch it carefully for me."
The clothes he wore were convenient for movement. He swung the corner of his clothes to the side, stepped over the railing with his long legs, then grabbed the rope with both hands and swung down with inertia. In just over ten seconds, he landed on the cobblestone road in the alley.
After that, he did not stay for long and climbed up again while he was still in good strength, proving that this method was feasible. As long as the rope was fixed upstairs, there was no need for a second person to drag it.
People who climb the stairs can come and go freely on their own.
For Zhang Shutang, it is not difficult to bring a rope with him when going in and out.
But who could this person who entered and exited the private room be? Xu Linfeng didn't mention this at all, which meant that he probably didn't know.
In other words, Xiao Zhi, the personal maid, did not reveal this situation to anyone.
The reason has not been made clear, and the only way to find out is to ask Xiao Zhi.
After leaving Zhaoxia Tower, the few of them went around to the alley behind, but did not find any useful information there. What they had to do now was to return to Yuanwai Mansion as soon as possible.
As soon as they approached the official's mansion, they saw Xu Linfeng standing at the door with his back straight, carrying a sword. When he saw a few people coming back from afar, he took a few quick steps to meet them.
Judging from the looks of it, he must have been waiting at the door for a long time.
"Why did Manager Xu come out to greet us personally? Is he afraid we'll run away?"
Ding Can's eyes flashed with mischief. She took the half seal from her sleeve and placed it in her palm: "This token has helped us a lot today. Now it is returned to its rightful owner."
Xu Linfeng still had a cold expression on his face: "What the girl said was exactly the opposite."
"What does Manager Xu mean?" Ding Can looked up.
He bent his fingers and took the seal back from Ding Can's palm: "The reason I waited here is because I knew you would come back."
Ding Can's mouth corners turned down a little: "Then I have to thank Manager Xu for his trust."
"Of course I trust you all. I wonder if the detectives have found any useful clues during their investigations in the city today?"
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