Mojing, the city that never sleeps
Later, when someone else moved into Lan Yao's room, they found some silver coins hidden on her bed, and some people began to feel strange.
If he was really prepared to leave, why wouldn't he take all his belongings with him?
However, the government sent people to inquire in the city, but no one had seen Lan Yao in the city. Perhaps she had left the city early.
Without a result, no one will care about this matter anymore.
The next person to disappear was Xiaoying, who was responsible for trimming flowers and plants in Fangfei Garden.
There are many varieties of flowers planted in the garden, including many exotic flowers and plants that have been transplanted from other places with great effort, and all of them need careful care.
Therefore, Zhang Gusheng did not arrange to hire workers from outside on a regular basis, but instead trained a group of maids in the mansion to take care of the family.
Xiaoying is one of them. She does not have a fixed time for caring for flowers and plants. She usually arranges her daily schedule according to the living habits of different varieties, without having to follow the schedule of the mansion.
The person was discovered missing because a guest came to the mansion that day and said he wanted to taste a pot of precious green chrysanthemum.
It happened that Xiaoying was in charge of this pot of green chrysanthemums. In order to avoid any mistakes, she moved to the greenhouse that night. There was a side room there for people to rest.
The next morning, after noon, the flower viewing banquet had been arranged, except for the main character.
Everyone then remembered that they seemed to have never seen Xiaoying. After going to the greenhouse, they found that the green chrysanthemums were neatly placed on the wooden table, but the person who took care of it was nowhere to be seen.
What was different from the last time Lan Yao disappeared was that this time the guards had returned to normal, and there was no record of Xiaoying leaving with the entry and exit warrant at several exits.
The walls of the courtyard were high, and it was impossible for a woman to climb out alone. It was almost like she disappeared into thin air.
But after all, they just couldn't see anyone, so they didn't feel nervous. They thought maybe they just happened to meet each other. After all, the Yuanwai Mansion was so big, and there were usually outsiders transporting goods in and out.
If you really want to, you can find a loophole.
It wasn't until March 6th, when the third person appeared missing, that things began to change.
The victim was Jinran, who was in charge of purchasing. There were many female relatives in the mansion. In addition to the daily necessities provided to everyone in the mansion, there were always some special items that women needed.
Like rouge, powder, handkerchief rouge and so on.
Jinran was in charge of purchasing these supplies. The next day, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, was the time she was supposed to go out to buy them.
Sisters who knew her well would come to her room after dark. Jinran was the only one who could go out often, and people would often come to her to ask for help in bringing things.
Some would give her money in advance, help bring in snacks and candied fruits, or bring in the latest fashionable rouge.
Some wrote letters home or asked her to help send some gifts back home.
Although it is not good to do other things while doing your own errands, no one will notice if you occasionally do some personal things.
After all, she bought all the goods on the list that the mansion had arranged, and she didn't delay her return, so she wouldn't be in trouble.
That day, several people stayed in her room until very late.
But the next day, the driver who had made an appointment outside the mansion to take Jinran to the city to purchase goods waited on the ox cart for an extra incense stick of time, but she didn't show up.
After saying hello to the security guard at the door and the news spread to Fangfei Garden, everyone realized that Jinran was also missing.
This was the third person who disappeared in the mansion for no apparent reason. Anyone with a quick mind could connect the dots and remember that it always happened on the sixth day of every month.
This is not a good sign. It happened on the same day for three consecutive months. It can't be a coincidence at all.
People in the mansion began to panic, and more and more people took sick leave. The rumor had spread outside the mansion, and some people in the city began to know about it.
It is said that the mansion must have been in trouble with some unclean creature, which caused the women inside to suffer. After being abducted, no trace of them could be found.
The Yuanwai Mansion was troubled by rumors, and some of its businesses were affected. Zhang Gusheng then remembered to report the matter to the government.
Soon, officers and soldiers came to find out what had happened. They questioned the servants in the mansion and posted notices in the city, but they did not find any useful clues.
The intervention of the government was fruitless, and more and more women wanted to leave the mansion, fearing that they would be the next to be infected.
It was Zhang Li who summoned all the female family members one day and said that the head of the family had come up with a solution and would take all the female family members to live in Duxi Temple on the sixth day of next month.
The temple is blessed by the Buddha and monks chant scriptures every day. Even if there are evil spirits, they will never have the courage to act in the temple.
If you fear evil spirits in your heart, you will believe in gods more.
Many people were persuaded by these words and temporarily let down their guard.
Early in the morning on the sixth day of April, a large convoy of people came out from the back door of Fangfei Garden, bypassed the market and headed towards Duxi Temple.
The monks in the temple gave up their own residences. Although it was still a bit crowded, it was barely enough for everyone to live in. Besides, it was easier to feel at ease when they were together.
After dawn, everyone around them breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that this method was really effective. The curse was indeed broken at the place where they burned incense and prayed.
Everyone gathered in the open space in front of the main hall. Before they had time to be happy, the maid who was in charge of the second young lady's daily life ran in in a panic and said that the young lady was not in the bedroom.
Zhang Shutang has been weak since childhood and always sick. She often has to take medicine and rarely leaves her room on weekdays. She does not live with anyone and lives alone in the innermost room in a row of monks' houses.
There are few people walking around there, so it is the safest place.
In order to ensure greater safety, four guards were arranged in front of the monks' door to ensure that no fly would be allowed into Zhang Shutang's room.
After getting up early in the morning, the personal maid found that everyone around her was safe, so she felt relieved and thought about helping the young lady get up and wash.
She brought a basin of hot water to the door and called out a few times, but heard no response from inside.
Perhaps because she slept too soundly, the temple was filled with incense and the scent of burning incense filled the air everywhere. Smelling this fragrance at night really had a calming effect, and even she slept very well.
The maid held the basin in her arms again, used her waist strength to steady it, and pulled out a hand to knock on the door: "Second Miss, Second Miss? Are you awake?"
There was still no sound in the house, it was very quiet.
The guard first felt something was wrong, so he came over and knocked on the door loudly. No matter how soundly the person was sleeping, it was impossible for them not to wake up after hearing this noise.
"Get out of the way." He took a small step back and kicked the door open.
The maid came in first carrying the water, looked around the room, and even dropped the basin in her hand.
With a clang, the water stains were spread far away.
"Oh no, the second young lady is missing!"
Most of the monks in Duxi Temple are ascetics who focus on self-cultivation. There are only enough basic necessities in the house, and you can see everything at a glance once you enter.
She noticed that the quilt on the bed was neatly folded, and there was no sign that anyone had stayed there last night.
When I came out of the lady's room last night, she had not yet gone to bed.
But this disappearance was even more incredible. The guards never left all night, and it was impossible for them to miss a living person.
They didn't hear any sound at all. Could it be that it had escaped into the sky or underground?
The people in the city were already talking about the Yuanwai Mansion, and Zhang Shutang's disappearance cast a layer of mystery over this series of events.
Some people even speculated that Zhang Gusheng had done something to deserve divine punishment, which brought retribution upon his servants and his daughter.
Zhang Shutang’s disappearance made Zhang Gusheng start to take this matter seriously. He didn’t care about those insignificant girls before.
The reason why he chose to take refuge in Duxi Temple was just a means to appease his subordinates.
But now that his daughter is missing, he can no longer ignore it, so he goes to the authorities to report the case.
Unlike the last time he reported to the police, this time Zhang Gusheng spent a lot of money to make arrangements, hoping to use all his military forces to search.
For several days in a row, rows of soldiers searched the city, leaving no alley untouched and turning almost every house upside down.
Soldiers were stationed at the city gates where people entered and exited, and every person and every carriage was carefully searched.
For a full ten days, no clues related to Zhang Shutang were found. Instead, the women in the mansion were frightened and tried desperately to leave.
The mansion was soon deserted, and nearly half of the people in Fangfei Garden were gone. It was almost a mess, and many affairs were put on hold.
Zhang Gusheng had no choice. Such a big mansion still needed to operate normally.
He could only post notices, hoping that someone would be willing to work in his house for a high monthly salary.
After all, there are always people who are not afraid of death and think that they will not be that one percent.
At the same time, on the sixth day of May, which is today, a group of thugs were hired from outside to patrol Fangfei Garden.
Zhang Gusheng originally planned to gather all the female family members in one room tonight and surround them with thugs.
This time, no matter whether the person coming is a human or a ghost, he must keep him.
*
No wonder the patrolling guards' steps were not so uniform. It turned out that most of them were hired thugs from outside and had no systematic training.
There is a cook who cooks, a gardener who takes care of the flowers and plants, a runner who is responsible for shopping, and a young lady in the mansion.
I really can't find any connection between these victims. If I have to say something, the only characteristic is that they are all women.
Shi Yan pressed on: "So what about now? Is Zhang Gusheng really not looking for his daughter anymore?"
Xu Linfeng led the way with a stern face: "Of course we still have to look for it, but since some time has passed, it's not appropriate to make a big fuss about it, so we'll just investigate privately instead."
"Whenever there is a case involving a woman of marriageable age, the Lord will take the initiative to investigate, hoping to find her as soon as possible."
Although no one was found, no body was found either. The families of the three missing persons had never set up memorial tablets even if they had any thoughts in their minds.
Xia Jialian's eyes flickered slightly: "It seems that Mr. Zhang is really a good father."
"The second young lady's boudoir is in front, please."
Zhang Shutang's residence is a two-story building next to an artificial lake.
The ground floor is used as a living and bedroom, while the second floor is open-plan, mostly connected by gauze curtains.
In the spring when the grass is green and the birds are singing, there is an occasional breeze that blows up the gauze curtain. Sitting comfortably on a rattan chair, you can see the most beautiful scenery of Fangfei Garden.
Just as Xu Linfeng said, several servants were cleaning Zhang Shutang's room and wiping the ornaments in the small hall with clean cloths.
Perhaps few people come here, so when they saw a few people appear at the door, the maids raised their heads and looked over with surprise.
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