The truth of the disappearance
An Hongdou and Wu Linglong led Qiu Yu and Dong Xue out the door. To make their movements easier, the four of them changed into men's clothing.
The group arrived near the residence of the person who had caused the disturbance and found a tea stall to rest. The place was crowded and noisy, and before they could even ask, they heard people talking about it.
"Have you heard? The Shen family, who live in this alley, has lost their daughter!"
"Lost it? I heard she went to that famous place that only hires female apprentices to learn a trade!"
"It's gone, really gone! This morning the Shen family went to that apprenticeship class to ask for him, but they couldn't find him."
"Was the person lost in the apprenticeship class? I always said I'd never heard of a place that only hires female apprentices. Who knows what kind of business they might be doing behind the scenes! My wife was even thinking of sending our daughter there, but thankfully I stopped her."
Sensing something was amiss, An Hongdou quickly intervened, asking, "Are you sure it was lost in the apprenticeship class? I heard she ran away from home."
An Hongdou's words drew the attention of everyone around her.
"How did this brother know that?"
"Ahem, it's not convenient to go into details about this," An Hongdou said mysteriously.
"Is he just talking nonsense?" one of them questioned.
"Whatever you think is what it is, but I'm not making this up. If you don't believe me, go ask her neighbors. Were there constant arguments coming from her house before Miss Shen disappeared?" An Hongdou said calmly.
Seeing that she spoke with confidence, everyone fell silent.
After a while, the person who had questioned them earlier spoke up to a man dressed as a peddler next to him and said, "I remember you often delivered goods to the Shen family? Do they often have arguments at their house?"
"If you ask me suddenly, I wouldn't remember either. You know, I sell groceries on the streets every day, and I visit so many doors, how could I possibly remember every single one?"
"Quickly think back, if you remember, I'll treat you to this tea today," a sycophantic voice teased.
"I really can't remember! But I do remember one time when I went to deliver candles, I met a man dressed as a scholar at the back gate of the Shen family."
"What's unusual about that person?"
“He lingered at the back gate of the Shen family for a long time. When he saw me go up to knock on the door, he suddenly panicked and bumped into the load I was carrying as he ran away.”
"Maybe it's a thief?"
"The Shen family sells writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Maybe some poor scholar wants to buy on credit?"
With their attention diverted, everyone began to speculate. An Hongdou and her group took the opportunity to leave.
"Where do we go next? Shall we ask the Shen family's neighbors?" Wu Linglong asked.
"Let's go to Shen's shop first and see if we can find any clues about that scholar."
After asking around, the four of them arrived at Shen's shop.
The Shen family's shop was cleverly located.
It's not close to any of the local academies, so the rent is low.
To the left of the shop was a bookstore, and to the right was a painting shop, both of which employed scholars year-round. Poor scholars could earn some extra income by copying books and painting, and then buy paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones from the Shen family's shop to support their studies.
Of course, the tools for copying books and making paintings were mostly obtained from the Shen family nearby.
An Hongdou first pulled Wu Linglong into the bookstore. She casually flipped through a few handwritten books, hoping to find something.
"Gentlemen, what kind of book are you looking for? Just let me know," the shopkeeper greeted them warmly.
“I’m not looking for books. I have some books at home, many of which are rare copies. My grandfather is worried that they will be lost in the future, so he wants to find a reliable person to copy them. Someone recommended this place to me, so I came to take a look first,” An Hongdou said seriously.
The shopkeeper took it very seriously. "You two are in luck! My shop has many scholars in cooperation with us. The calligraphy of those who copy books is excellent, and some of them have even passed the imperial examinations!"
"Oh? Even scholars come here to copy books?" An Hongdou was somewhat surprised.
Qingyin County is remote, and students have always been eager to take the imperial examinations to leave. Few who pass the examinations and become scholars are willing to stay.
Those that remained naturally became sought-after by local private schools and academies.
Teaching may not bring great wealth, but it's enough to make a living, and it's more respectable and stable than copying books. An Hongdou never imagined that there would be scholars who would continue copying books.
"Those who pass the imperial examination normally don't want to come back to copy books anymore. But there are always exceptions. That scholar was able to pass the imperial examination thanks to our employer. He is grateful and willing to continue helping to copy books," the shopkeeper explained.
"Didn't he go out to continue his studies and pass the imperial examinations?" An Hongdou asked.
"Perhaps he hasn't saved enough for tuition yet? By the way, young master, the fee for hiring a scholar to copy books is much higher than that for an ordinary scholar. Moreover, he just took a lot of books back from here to copy a few days ago, so if you want to find him, you'll probably have to wait."
An Hongdou and Wu Linglong exchanged glances, instinctively feeling that this scholar had a story to tell.
"It would be an honor for our family to have a collection of books if we could hire a scholar to copy them. No rush, I'll wait a bit," An Hongdou said.
The shopkeeper responded enthusiastically, "Young master, why not reserve a seat at your residence? I'll send someone to pick up the book when it's your turn."
"Please wait a moment, shopkeeper. We didn't see the real scholar today. What if you take the book and have someone else copy it, but charge the scholar's price?" Wu Linglong questioned.
The shopkeeper quickly replied, "Young master, you jest. Businessmen rely on integrity to survive, and I would never dare to do such a thing. If you two don't believe me, you can go out and ask around. This shop has been passed down for two generations, and I've been the shopkeeper for over ten years!"
An Hongdou seized the opportunity to speak up: "It's not that we don't trust you, shopkeeper, it's just that it's rare to see a scholar willing to copy books. Could you please tell us who this scholar is and what his relationship is with the shop? That way, we can put our minds at ease."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper told the truth: "To be honest, gentlemen, this scholar is Cheng Shusheng, who just passed the last examination. His full name is Cheng Lixue. He comes from a poor family and has been competing with other scholars for work here in order to earn money, which has led to many disputes."
"It's true that he was lucky. Once, the owner came to the shop to pick up a book. He appreciated his calligraphy and saw that it was not easy for him to study. He felt sorry for him and asked us to give him some easy but high-paying jobs. He also bought some paper and ink from the Shen family's shop next door to help him out."
"Fortunately, Cheng Shusheng is a grateful person, and now that he has made it, he has not forgotten to repay his employer's kindness."
After listening to the shopkeeper's words, An Hongdou changed the subject and continued, "Speaking of the Shen family shop, shopkeeper, I recently heard that the Shen family lost their daughter. Do you know anything about this?"
"I've heard a little about it; it seems she went to some kind of apprenticeship program."
"The two shops are so close together, has the shopkeeper ever seen that Miss Shen?"
"Not only have I met her, but that Miss Shen is also a kind-hearted person. When she came to buy books from me, she knew that scholars were struggling and even helped them out!"
Seeing that they couldn't get any more information, An Hongdou and her group made an excuse to leave.
Back at the mansion, An Hongdou and Wu Linglong sorted through the collected information.
“Shen Fanghua, the eldest daughter of the Shen family, will be coming of age in three months. Her family has started preparations long ago and has also begun looking for a husband for her.” An Hongdou sorted out the information of the missing girl.
“Because it was her first child, the Shen family doted on her, which is why they haven’t been able to find a satisfactory marriage partner for a long time,” Wu Linglong added.
"Hongdou, I can't figure out why she would run away from home. Could she have run into some bad people?" Wu Linglong asked, resting her chin on her hands with some worry.
"No, Linglong. Although the rainy season has brought many troubles to the county, it has also led to increased patrols. If there were a murder, someone would have reported it to the authorities long ago."
"Moreover, the county's population is relatively stable, so if they really abducted this girl, they wouldn't have anywhere to sell her," An Hongdou analyzed.
"How could she suddenly disappear? She couldn't have eloped with someone, could she?" Wu Linglong said casually, rubbing her hair.
Upon hearing this, a brilliant idea flashed in An Hongdou's mind.
“Linglong, I remember someone saying during the day that he saw a young man who looked flustered and walked in a hurry at the back gate of the Shen family.”
"Ah! Could it be that he took Shen Fanghua away?"
"I can't be sure without evidence, but I wonder if there might be some connection?"
"Then how do we know who that man is?"
An Hongdou guessed, "The shopkeeper mentioned during the day that Miss Shen was helping the scholars who came to the shop to take jobs. Do you think it could be one of them?"
"Isn't it said that shop has been open for many years? How many scholars must there be? How do we find it?"
"The person who could make Shen Fanghua give up her comfortable life and leave home must have some ability."
Wu Linglong suddenly realized: "You're right! Tomorrow we'll start by looking for those whose names we can recall, like that scholar Cheng Lixue!"
“Let’s not alert them yet. I have an idea. Tomorrow, I’ll have Qiuyu and Dongxue go and say that their elders are in a hurry. They’ll ask the shopkeeper and Scholar Cheng to discuss whether they can temporarily put aside their current work and let us copy their work. They can even offer a little extra money,” An Hongdou said.
"If the shopkeeper agrees, we'll go to the shop and wait for him while he gets the book, and then investigate him a bit."
Early the next morning, Qiu Yu and Dong Xue went out.
An Hongdou and Wu Linglong continued to prepare for the porridge distribution, while also waiting for news at the mansion.
"Madam, the shopkeeper has agreed. He said he'll go to discuss it with Scholar Cheng after lunch. Dongxue is waiting at the shop. I'll come back to let you know. Will you be going later?"
“Go, Hongdou, let’s go to that scholar’s house and find out what’s going on,” Wu Linglong said.
An Hongdou nodded, changed into men's clothing with Wu Linglong, and went out together.
After everyone gathered, they followed the shopkeeper to Cheng Lixue's house.
"Shopkeeper, didn't he change his residence after passing the imperial examination?" Wu Linglong asked as she noticed the road was getting more and more remote.
"Young master, you jest. Passing the imperial examination isn't like becoming rich overnight. How can you expect to move into a new house right away?" the shopkeeper said with a smile.
"If you find this unacceptable, sir, you may return to the shop and wait for news," the shopkeeper added.
“Since we’re already here, I’ll go with you to show my sincerity!” Wu Linglong replied.
The group stopped in front of a low house, and the shopkeeper went up to knock on the door.
There was no sound coming from inside the house.
"Is it just bad luck that Scholar Cheng isn't home?" An Hongdou asked.
"That shouldn't be the case! Scholar Cheng is always diligent; he's either reading or copying books all day and rarely goes out. I've never been disappointed when I look for him." The shopkeeper scratched his head, puzzled.
"Besides home, where else does the shopkeeper usually look for him?"
"Besides his home, there's the academy, but he passed the county-level imperial examination on his own, so there's nothing else the academy here can teach him," the shopkeeper explained.
Seeing that everyone was waiting, the shopkeeper went to knock on the doors of the neighbors.
"Are you looking for Scholar Cheng? He hasn't returned for several days."
"Do you know where he went?" the shopkeeper asked hurriedly.
"He's always been aloof and arrogant, he'd never talk to us much. He's probably off studying or taking exams somewhere again!" After saying that, he ignored them and closed the door.
"Oh no! He took those books! How am I going to explain this to the book owner?!" The shopkeeper panicked instantly.
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