Half an hour later, everyone returned to the gate of Da Ci'en Temple. Without asking, they knew that no one was found.
The round-faced girl's eyes were swollen from crying, and her voice was hoarse. "Could she have left already?"
Xu Jiang became anxious and hurriedly asked the servant who had accompanied the two sisters to go back to the mansion to inquire. He was also to look along the way to see if Lan Jing had returned. If he still didn't see him, he would go back to the mansion to inform his parents.
"Let's look carefully again. If we still can't find it, we can ask the monks in the temple for help. They are familiar with the temple and can find it more easily than we can."
Everyone then dispersed and continued to search.
Yuan Yanyan rarely walked so much, and her legs and feet were sore at this time, but seeing that everyone was anxiously looking for someone, she endured it and went with Xu Jiang to search every corner of Da Ci'en Temple.
Seeing no one in the temple garden, Xu Jiang wanted to look for her in the various temples and palaces. However, since it was the day of the lighting of lanterns to worship the heavens, the temples and palaces were guarded to prevent tourists from trespassing.
Disappointed, Xu Jiang thought of Mo Ming and asked a monk who was guarding the temple to ask him to find Mo Ming. The monk agreed, found someone to replace him, and sent a message to Mo Ming.
"Amitabha." Xu Jiang thanked him profusely, then pulled Yuan Yanyan to a stone platform nearby to sit and wait.
As soon as Yuan Yanyan sat down, she couldn't help but stretch her legs and rub them. Xu Jiang hurriedly massaged them for her and coaxed her, "You've suffered a lot today. I'll have the maid and the servant take you back later."
Yuan Yanyan shook her head. "I won't leave. I want to stay with my sister. I won't feel at ease if I don't find my sister Lan Jing." She took Xu Jiang's hand and asked her to sit down. "Sister, you should rest for a while too. My feet don't hurt anymore."
No one was found. The stone platform was covered with thorns, and Xu Jiang couldn't sit down or rest for a moment.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the monk came hurriedly with Mo Ming. Mo Ming heard that someone was missing, asked about the appearance, characteristics and location of the missing person, and hurriedly called two young monks to inform the master of the temple and ask them to arrange for the monks to help find the person.
Xu Jiang said gratefully, "Thank goodness for you. Thank you very much."
Mo Ming bowed and said, "We are old friends, why are you being so polite to me? Besides, if someone gets lost in a temple, it is the temple's responsibility to help find them."
Xu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and said to him, "I see there are still quite a few patrol guards in the temple. I'll go ask them for help. Please tell the monks in the temple that if they find someone, please lead them to the temple gate. There will be someone there to meet them."
Mo Ming nodded, "Go ahead, I'll look around too."
The two said goodbye for a while, and Xu Jiang came to the front yard. She saw people from the Dali Temple in the crowd, and hurriedly pulled Yuan Yanyan over.
Two patrol guards saw two women, one large and one small, blocking their way. They wanted to shoo them away, but one of them saw that they looked anxious, as if they were in trouble. He pulled his colleague aside and asked Xu Jiang, "What do you want?"
Seeing that he spoke politely, Xu Jiang knew that he was easy to talk to, so she stared at him and told him the whole story.
Finally, he begged, "My sister rarely goes out and can't speak. Plus, we're few in number and unfamiliar with this place, so it's really hard to find her. That's why I'm asking for your help. Could you please show some mercy and ask the patrols to help us look for her?"
The easygoing patrolman frowned upon hearing this. "How could you be so careless? You brought this person out without even keeping an eye on him. There are tens of thousands of people coming and going tonight. If this person gets lost, how will we find him?"
Another patrolman also said: "We are on duty tonight, and it is not appropriate for us to leave our post without permission. How can we help you find someone?"
"The imperial court ordered officials to patrol the area, presumably not only to prevent unrest but also to protect the people. Now that my sister is missing, if we simply consider our duties, it's the duty of the officers to help find her." Xu Jiang first explained the situation logically, then appealed to their emotions. "I understand that officers are working hard on their duties during the holidays, and I didn't want to burden you. However, human lives are at stake, so I have no choice but to shamelessly trouble you two. I beg for your help. If you find her, we will light a perpetual lantern for you, present a plaque of merit, and inform everyone."
As she spoke, she bowed solemnly to the two men. Seeing that she spoke in an orderly manner, the two officers softened their hearts.
Seeing that he seemed to be relenting, Xu Jiang took out Lou Yunchun's badge and handed it to the soft-faced patrolman, whispering, "My lords, I have some friendship with Lord Lou. Lord Lou once told me that if I ever run into trouble, I can use this badge to ask for help from the Dali Temple patrolmen."
The patrolman took the badge and looked at it, his heart pounding. He quickly looked around, fearing that Lou Yunchun had sent these two women to inspect them. After looking around twice and seeing no one, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The two men pondered the badge for a while, then glanced at Xu Jiang a few times. Finally, they suppressed their curiosity and said to Xu Jiang, "As my lady said, protecting the people is also our duty." Moreover, there was a living devil hanging over their heads. The patrolman returned the badge to Xu Jiang and said, "Don't worry, my lady. I will immediately inform the patrol brothers and dispatch more people to help."
Xu Jiang hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you very much, both officers!"
The officer lowered his voice and whispered, "If you find the person, please ask Madam to speak well of us brothers in front of Lord Lou."
Xu Jiang nodded, "Sure."
The two patrolmen discussed it, leaving one on guard while the other went to fetch the missing person. Soon, more than twenty patrolmen arrived. Each of them wore the official uniforms of the Dali Temple. They first looked Xu Jiang up and down, then asked for the missing person's name, appearance, and characteristics. Then, they divided into several teams and went into the temple to search for him.
Xu Jiang returned to the temple gate to meet up with Song Yi and the others. When she arrived at the gate, she saw only two maids waiting there, and she knew that they had not found the person yet.
She told the maids to tell the people who came back later that she had asked the monks in the temple and the patrolmen to help find the person, and asked them to wait here for news after they came back and not to run around anymore.
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