Amian was startled upon hearing this and quickly went to check on Wangwang's room.
Xiao Er had a good memory. He recalled that Wangwang had gone out early in the morning after eating breakfast, without any belongings on him, and thought he would be back in a little while.
But he hasn't come back yet.
"I wonder if something happened to her on the way, and she couldn't get away for a moment, which is why she reminded me like this!" Mr. and Mrs. A-Mian were ordinary people, and their first thought in this situation was:
Go report it to the authorities.
"I'll go and inform the Master and the Headmaster, and ask them to come with me. After all, Wangwang is a student of the academy. And Xiao Er, don't worry, it won't take long. If those upright officials ask any questions, just tell them everything."
Amian was worried that something life-threatening was about to happen to Wangwang, so she took out one hundred copper coins and gave them to the waiter.
She gave a series of instructions and ran downstairs, her voice carrying far away: "...Third Brother, go check the scholars' rooms and ask if any of them saw Wangwang this morning or spoke to her. We'll meet at the entrance of Xixiang Courtyard!"
Looking down from upstairs, Meng Chijian saw that Ah Mian soon gathered a group of people (and some who were just there for the fun), and they headed out of the building towards the yamen.
He pondered for a moment, then went to find the scholars as Ah Mian had instructed.
The academy's original plan for today was for all the students to visit the Denggao Pavilion and the main academy. However, many students are no longer in their rooms, and only a few weak or lazy ones are still tidying up.
Scholar A said, "...I got caught in the rain yesterday, and I had a headache when I woke up this morning. I didn't see her."
Scholar B said, "It's broad daylight, the sky is clear, nothing bad will happen. The young ladies are probably out having fun somewhere, they'll be back by evening. Go ask Ji Hengzhi, he lives in the best room at the end of the corridor, he knows the city best."
After asking around, most of the questions were completely irrelevant.
Meng Chijian had no intention of going to find Ji Hengzhi; he planned to go down the stairs on that side and meet up with A Mian.
When they passed by Ji Hengzhi's room, they saw that the door was half-open and not closed properly, and there was something that looked somewhat familiar on the table.
Meng Chijian pushed open the door and, seeing that no one was in the room, walked to the familiar scroll.
With just one glance, a raging storm arose, and a fierce atmosphere emerged.
This painting was clearly torn and crumpled before. The owner of the painting found all the pieces and found a highly skilled craftsman to re-mount, patch, and align them. Except for the cracks, it was repaired to look brand new!
The painting depicts a lively and pretty young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Ah Mian, with two curved sheep horns painted on her head.
They even laughed at my family for being poor and having no clothes to wear.
Recalling those words, Meng Chijian had previously taken this young man very lightly, but little did he know that he was so despicable and had been coveting A-Mian for a long time.
He clutched the painting tightly in his hand, continuing to examine it with a displeased expression.
The woman's body in the painting is actually quite different from Ah Mian's.
There is a small red mole about half a palm's width below Ah Mian's right collarbone.
The waist and legs are completely wrong; they are unnecessarily thin and slender, lacking any charm.
Moreover, there are two or three faint white lines on Ah Mian's kneecap, which are marks left from when she grew too fast.
There was no red mole on the right thigh either.
In short, this painting is a random patchwork of Ah Mian's face and someone else's body.
He took the painting directly to his room and burned it to ashes bit by bit. Meng Chijian did not believe that Ji Hengzhi would dare to go out and look for the painting.
However, after all this, his face remained ashen. Ah Mian probably didn't understand at the time, but he knew perfectly well what kind of feelings this young man had for Ah Mian.
I don't know how many times I've watched it day and night.
Meng Chijian got up, packed the sack and rope into his bundle, slung it over his shoulder, and carried a sharp dagger with him as he walked out of the inn with a gloomy expression.
He prided himself on not being a violent or cold-blooded person, but since Ji Hengzhi loved looking at this painting so much, gouging out his eyes was a reasonable punishment.
Let's turn to two different parts of the story.
When A-Mian and her group arrived at the yamen, the old men, including the head of the yamen, came forward to negotiate. The yamen then dispatched several yamen runners, the leader of whom was surnamed Chen. He rode a horse ahead to clear the way and quickly arrived at Xixiang Courtyard.
Ah Mian was very anxious the whole way and had no interest in looking around. It wasn't until the group stopped in front of a magnificent little building with upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters that they realized it had arrived.
The minor officials, their hands on the hilts of their swords, rushed inside.
"Oh dear! Oh dear—what brings you gentlemen here? You didn't even give me a heads-up..." The woman, waving her handkerchief, was about to exchange pleasantries when a minor official drew his knife with a "whoosh": "Someone has reported to the authorities that you're abducting women in broad daylight!"
"I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense, I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense! I know your esteemed person, how could I do such a heinous thing..."
Xixiang Courtyard is ostensibly a restaurant, with a large stage in the center where beautiful and popular singers and dancers perform on weekdays.
Seeing that no one was on the first floor, and unsure whether Wangwang was in the backyard or on the second floor, Ah Mian called out, "Wangwang! Where are you?"
However, no one answered.
Amian described Wangwang's characteristics in detail to the woman waving the handkerchief.
"It's a misunderstanding! I would have known if you had said so earlier... This, this, come with me! These girls are really a handful!"
Pushing open the backyard door, everyone rushed in—
In the teahouse where people had been tied up, only a bundle of cut hemp rope remained.
"Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on them?!"
The trembling maidservant cried, "I only dozed off for a little while, and when I woke up she was gone..."
"It seems she ran away on her own. It was all a misunderstanding. This morning, this young lady was passing by and bumped into a distinguished customer at the restaurant. Then the customer discovered his purse was missing... So, of course he thought she was a thief, which is why he tied her up. We were just about to report her to the authorities... Since she's escaped, you can look for her elsewhere!"
"Why don't we go back to the inn and wait for her to return?"
"That's fine too..."
Amian thought, Wangwang walks slower than normal people, how could he possibly knock over those pot-bellied drinkers? The owner must be lying.
Taking advantage of everyone's momentary lapse in attention, she swiftly bypassed the servant blocking her way up the stairs to the second floor and leaped up. Chen Limu followed closely behind, kicking open the doors of each room in turn.
Ah Mian called out, "Wangwang? Are you there?!"
"Are you all crazy?!" roared the hangover guest.
Chen Limu kicked open the door to the third room and saw a young woman holding a shard of old porcelain against her throat.
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