Mojing, the city that never sleeps
Xu Linfeng said with a cold face: "This is the distinguished guest who came to help investigate the young lady's disappearance. You can go down first."
One of the maids nodded slightly: "Okay, Manager Xu, but Xiao Zhi is still cleaning upstairs."
"I'll just go up and inform her. Excuse me now." As he was speaking, he had already started towards the stairs leading to the second floor.
Gao Wenwen watched the maids pack up the cleaning supplies and leave the door one by one. He first glanced around the room and found that there were many rare items inside. It was obvious that they were bought with great care and were hard to find outside.
He bent down and sniffed the bouquet of flowers closest to him. It was very fresh, with dewdrops still on it, and it looked gorgeous and tempting.
I don't know what kind it is, but it smells pretty good.
At first glance, every table in the house was decorated with different kinds of flowers in different colors, which were quite harmoniously matched.
"The person is gone, why put so many flowers? Who are you showing them to?" He shook his head, thinking that this was pure formalism.
Shi Yan took two steps to the side, placed her palm facing up on the bottom of the table, and casually touched the edge of the table. When she lifted her hand, she found that there was not even a speck of dust on her fingertips.
Even the bottom of the table was wiped clean.
Her expression softened. "It's because he values his daughter that he wants to keep the same image as a souvenir. Now I believe that Zhang Gusheng really loves his daughter."
There were footsteps on the stairs, and it was Xu Linfeng coming down quickly again.
The arm holding the sword was slightly tilted outward, which was different from the posture he had when he went up the stairs just now.
His steps were also steadier, and it seemed as if he was deliberately walking in front to protect the people behind him.
She was a maid holding a duster. She was thin, with an oval face and little flesh on her cheeks, which made her eyes look especially big.
After she bowed slightly to a few people, she left like the other maids.
In fact, Zhang Shutang disappeared outside, which had nothing to do with Fangfeiyuan itself.
They came here just to try their luck and hope to find some clues related to the case.
After all, after a series of events happened, it can be inferred that it was not caused by ghosts or gods, but must have been man-made.
If it really was a ghost, there would be no need to go looking for Zhang Shutang who was alone in the room. It could just take someone away from the other female relatives gathered together, and no one could stop it.
But Zhang Shutang just disappeared.
Although the room is closed, there is no guarantee that the visitor has no other options.
The plan to seek refuge in Duxi Temple was not a spur-of-the-moment idea. It was prepared several days in advance and discussed several times with the monks in the temple.
A day earlier, people were sent to clean up all the rooms where female guests in the temple rested.
Perhaps, the person behind the scenes had already decided at that time that the next target would be Zhang Shutang.
But in fact, this is not a wise decision. After all, Zhang Shutang’s identity is different from that of other missing persons, so the result is also different.
Zhang Gusheng is still secretly sending people to search for her, and the manpower and material resources mobilized are many times more than before.
Was it just to keep the curse going that he chose the lone Zhang Shutang?
Or perhaps... in fact, from the very beginning, the other party's target was Zhang Shutang, but in order to make her disappearance not seem so "abrupt", they planned for a long time and used this method.
If more people believe that it was the work of ghosts and no longer have any hope of finding the missing people, it will be easier to deal with subsequent matters.
If you want to kill someone, there is no need to go through so much trouble.
Thinking of this, Ding Can felt that Zhang Shutang, or the three girls who had disappeared before her, might not be dead, but were just imprisoned somewhere.
They had basically finished touring the first floor, and Xu Linfeng took them to the second floor.
Only when I walked onto the terrace covered with gauze curtains did I discover the exquisiteness of this small building.
In comparison, the downstairs was just an ordinary woman's bedroom, nothing special about it. But after going upstairs, the view suddenly opened up.
The breeze blows on your face, and you can see the scenery in the garden through the white and thin gauze curtain, just like a famous landscape ink painting unfolding before your eyes.
As the gauze curtain floats like flowing water, the scenery in Fangfei Garden seems to move as well.
At the best viewing point, there is a soft couch with many cushions on it, and a sunshade canopy above the head. I guess Zhang Shutang usually spends his free time here.
Xia Jialian stood in front of the couch, looked at the entire Fangfei Garden, and then looked further away.
"The distances and heights are different. The scenery here is different from what we saw in the garden."
Xu Linfeng lowered his eyebrows and said, "This was built by the master specifically for the second young lady, so that she can maintain a good mood at home. The doctor said that a good mood will lead to better health."
"That's true." Shi Yan confirmed.
Xia Jialian pointed to a pointed building outside the mansion, still within sight. "It looks like a pagoda, usually found in temples. Is that Duxi Temple?"
"Mr. Xia has a good eye. That is the pagoda in Duxi Temple, called Wanxi Pagoda. It houses the relics of past eminent monks. It is a very sacred place."
Xu Linfeng noticed that Ding Can was silent and his eyes froze. He quickly asked, "Is there any problem?"
Ding Can raised his eyelids. "It just suddenly occurred to me that Manager Xu just mentioned that Miss Shu Tang has been weak since she was a child and doesn't go out often. Does she have any close friends? Are there any outsiders who would come to visit her?"
Xu Linfeng didn't think about it and quickly shook his head: "Second Miss, I don't usually get along with outsiders. I just go out and walk around the city when I feel like it."
When Mrs. Zhang was still alive, she always brought her eldest daughter Zhang Yuntang with her to major banquets. She did have some friends from prominent families.
Zhang Shutang was rarely taken out and didn't like to socialize with others.
After his wife passed away, Zhang Yuntang got married a year later.
Knowing the health condition of the second daughter of Mr. Zhang, any invitations to banquets would only be sent to Zhang Gusheng, and it was stated that the host would not consider it disrespectful even if he did not bring any female relatives.
So when you think about it this way, you know that Zhang Shutang really doesn’t have many friends.
"Where does Miss Shu Tang usually go when she goes out? A rouge shop, a clothing store, or a jewelry store?"
"Neither. The Second Miss doesn't go out very often, but as far as I know, she usually goes to Zhaoxia Tower to listen to music."
"Zhaoxia Tower..." Ding Can repeated silently.
Xu Linfeng continued, "Don't get me wrong, Zhaoxialou is just a famous restaurant in the city. Although it's not the largest, it's the most distinctive."
As a restaurant, it is naturally a place for eating, drinking and chatting. It is not uncommon for some shops to use certain small programs to attract customers.
But Zhaoxialou has put a lot of effort into this aspect. The repertoire is changed every one or two months, and the performers are all dancers from other cities or even outside the Great Wall.
These performers come with a completely different performance style from Mo Jing, as well as novel performance content, and they always attract great popularity to the restaurant.
Zhang Shutang had been stuck in the room for a long time and couldn't walk far, so he longed for the outside world.
That's why I found so many rare items I had exchanged for downstairs just now.
It's no surprise that the songs updated every month attract her attention and curiosity.
Every time she would ask her maid to inquire whether there would be new music being performed at Zhaoxialou that day. With the financial resources of the Zhang family, it was not a problem to book a private room on the second floor in advance.
Going to the restaurant regularly is an obvious exposure. It is not impossible that someone with ulterior motives would take this opportunity to catch Zhang Shutang's attention.
Ding Can had a clue: "Miss Shu Tang wouldn't be traveling alone, would she? Who is her personal maid?"
Xu Linfeng: "That girl left the mansion a few days after the second young lady disappeared, just like everyone else. She's not from here, so I'm afraid she's already thousands of miles away."
This route doesn't work. If I want to continue investigating, I can only go to Zhaoxia Tower again.
Fangfei Garden is very large, but since you only visit a few fixed locations, it doesn’t take much time.
They quickly checked Lan Yao's bedroom, the side room of the greenhouse where Xiaoying lived, and Jinran's residence. So much time had passed, and even the government had searched the place, but they still found no clues.
A few people discussed and decided to go to the city first. Xia Jialian bowed to Xu Linfeng and said, "In that case, we have to go out and investigate some things."
Xu Linfeng tried to persuade them to stay: "The Lord has instructed that you all stay at his residence for lunch. Calculating the time, the Lord will be back in half an hour, and he will be in time to have lunch with you all."
Ding Can smiled and said, "No need. A meal is not as important as the case. We can handle it ourselves. Oh, and please reserve a few guest rooms for us tonight. We will be staying in your house for a while."
Xu Linfeng's face finally showed an expression other than the cold one. He looked at her and Shi Yan with obvious surprise: "Are you two staying at the mansion too? Tonight is..."
According to the previous example, this is when a disappearance will occur.
Those who are still working in Fangfeiyuan are those who Zhang Li has talked to one by one, confirmed to be aware of the missing case, and have clearly expressed that they are not afraid.
They could also say that they chose to stay for the high wages, but why did the two girls in front of them risk their lives? They were just investigating the case, and there was no need to risk their lives.
Ding Can's expression softened. "We both know that tonight is not a safe night for the women in your family. That's why, with us here, the other women can feel more at ease."
Shi Yan took the round fan in her hand and fanned it, causing the strands of hair on her temples to move slightly. She then added, "To be honest, I'm worried that the person behind this won't come to arrest me. I hope nothing will happen to us."
Since the purpose of coming here is to find out the truth, how can I move forward if I don’t really participate in it?
"You two ladies are so righteous, so I won't stay. By the way, when you are investigating cases in the city, if you encounter any shops that refuse to cooperate, you can show me my jade seal. I used to work for the master, and I have been running around the city a lot. Some shop owners will still give me some face."
Xu Linfeng took out a long seal from his sleeve, and with a slight movement of his fingers, the seal split into two. He handed one half to Xia Jialian.
"Thank you." Xia Jialian looked at the half seal. It was cut in a special shape, so even after being separated, it could be put back together seamlessly.
I originally thought that Xu Linfeng was just the security manager of the mansion, but now it seems that he is not as simple as he seems.
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