Chapter 233 Connection
The guesthouse is specially used to entertain foreign guests, and all the people working there are people from the Great Zhou.
"What's that person's name?"
Maid Yu Liu shook her head weakly: "I don't know. I first noticed him when he stuffed the mask into my hand."
Cheng Maoming did not suspect that Maid Yu Liu was lying. Originally, it would have been most convenient to call a few maids who trimmed flowers and trees to let Maid Yu Liu identify the body. However, the news that Maid Yu Liu had been found could not be spread out. The fewer people who knew about it, the better. After thinking about it, he decided to ask Prince Jing for help.
I really can't live without Prince Jing - General Cheng sighed in his heart, and felt a little embarrassed after realizing it belatedly.
Ahem, it’s mainly because Prince Jing is very talented, not because he has a dependent mentality.
"Keep an eye on the man." Cheng Maoming gave instructions and went to invite Qi Shuo in person.
"Have you found the person?"
Cheng Maoming smiled brightly: "Found it!"
Qi Shuo smiled and said, "Congratulations, Grand Commander."
"It's all thanks to the prince." Cheng Maoming bowed and explained his purpose. "Maid Yu Liu said the mask was obtained from a maid who was trimming flowers and trees. If the prince has time, I would like to trouble you to go to Jinlin Guard."
"It's no trouble at all. I'm happy to help the Grand Commander."
Cheng Maoming was deeply moved: "I will always remember the prince's kindness."
Qi Shuo soon saw the imprisoned maid Yu Liu.
"You can tell me what that person looks like now." Cheng Maoming said coldly.
Following the description of the maid Yu Liu, a portrait was quickly completed. The scroll depicted a dark and thin man in his forties.
"Is it him?"
Maid Yu Liu nodded and looked at Qi Shuo with a strange look in her eyes: "Yes..."
After receiving confirmation from Yu Liu's maid, Cheng Maoming handed the portrait to his subordinates and said, "Go to the guesthouse and quietly bring back the person in this portrait."
The subordinate took the order and left.
Cheng Maoming accompanied Qi Shuo out of the interrogation room and invited him for tea.
Qi Shuo cared about the follow-up and naturally would not refuse.
It now seems that the person who gave the mask to Yu Liu's maid is definitely related to the person who gave the mask to "Fake Du Qing".
The two of them waited for an hour.
"General, the person has been brought here." The subordinates' report came from outside the door.
Cheng Maoming put the teacup on the table and said, "Bring it in."
As the door opened, a thin, dark man was pushed in.
"Kneel down!" The Jinlin Guards who brought people kicked him to the ground.
The dark-skinned man looked terrified: "Sir, please spare my life, sir, please spare my life."
Cheng Maoming looked down at the man and asked, "Do you know why I called you here?"
The dark and thin man didn't even dare to look up, and cried out in a tearful voice: "I don't know!"
"I don't know?" Cheng Maoming raised an eyebrow. "Someone reported that you gave something to the missing Yu Liu maid. Is that true?"
The dark and thin man's first reaction was to deny: "I didn't—"
Cheng Maoming slammed the table, his eyes full of viciousness: "Have you forgotten where this is?"
The dark and thin man shuddered and suddenly lost the courage to hide it: "Xiaomin, tell me, Xiaomin, tell me!"
Cheng Maoming picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
The Jinlin Guard undoubtedly had a great deterrent effect on ordinary people. The dark, thin man lowered his head and trembled as he spoke, "I gave a small box to the Yu Liu maid named Bai Ling, but I don't know what was inside, and I never thought she would disappear!"
"I wonder what's in the box?"
"I really don't know, I can swear!" The dark and thin man raised one hand, ready to swear.
Cheng Maoming waited in silence.
Although he didn't believe this, there was no harm in listening to it.
The thin, dark man paused, gritted his teeth and swore a series of poisonous oaths.
"Since you don't know what's in the box, where did you get it?"
"It was... given to Xiaomin by someone whose appearance I couldn't see clearly."
"I don't know what he looks like?" Cheng Maoming sneered, "I'm not satisfied with what you said."
"I really didn't see what that man looked like. He was wearing a bamboo hat, with only his chin showing."
A voice said, "Please describe the man's appearance in detail: height, weight, and what he was wearing. The more specific the better."
The thin, dark man hesitated and looked at the young man who spoke.
Cheng Maoming's face turned serious: "Just say it when I tell you to!"
The dark and thin man did not dare to hesitate any longer and spoke the truth.
"Is that so?" Qi Shuo put down his pen and asked after an unknown amount of time.
The scroll depicts a man in coarse clothes wearing a conical hat with only his chin exposed.
"It's him!" the thin, dark man shouted excitedly with a firm tone.
Cheng Maoming looked at Qi Shuo hesitantly.
Even if I draw it, I still don’t know what that person looks like.
"How did this person find you?" he asked.
"Outside a clinic." The thin, dark-skinned man's eyes were red, and his voice was choked. "My son is seriously ill. I've tried several prescriptions but have no money left. I'm at my wit's end when this man appeared and told me that if I could just give the small box to a maid named Bailing in the inn, he would give me fifty taels of silver."
He kowtowed as he spoke: "I really have no other choice. I can't watch my son die of illness..."
Cheng Maoming remained indifferent to the thin, dark-skinned man's crying: "Did that man contact you again?"
"No."
"Did they say anything else besides asking you to hand the things over to Maid Yu Liu?"
"Just tell Xiaomin to forget about this matter as before."
Cheng Maoming couldn't help but look at Qi Shuo.
If the missing maid Yu Liu could not be found, no matter how much they searched, they would not be able to trace the cause back to the gardener who was behaving normally. Fortunately, the Prince of Jing broke the deadlock with his ingenious pen.
But the gardener didn't see the man's face, so it would be extremely difficult to find him.
"Take the man away and continue questioning to see if he has anything to hide." After ordering his subordinates to take the thin and dark man away, Cheng Maoming decided to go to the palace.
Qi Shuo pointed at the portrait and said, "Grand Commander, do you mind if I take it away?"
"Your Highness, please do as you please." Although Cheng Maoming wondered what the use of such a portrait was, he did not ask any further questions.
Qi Shuo left Jinlin Guard and asked Lin Hao to go meet the fake Du Qing together.
"Is this the person who gave you the mask?" Qi Shuo unfolded the portrait in front of the fake Du Qing and asked straight to the point.
Fake Du Qing took a look and looked a little dumbfounded: "I can't see what it looks like."
"What impression does he give you? Even if you can't see his eyebrows, does the shape of his chin and body resemble the man you've seen?"
After being reminded of this, the fake Du Qing looked carefully.
After a long moment, he slowly shook his head and said, "I only met that person once. If I saw him again, I might recognize him. I can't be sure just by looking at this portrait. His figure is similar."
Worried that his answer wouldn't satisfy the other two and that he'd suffer, the man hesitated and said, "Besides, since he's skilled at disguise, what I see may not necessarily be his true appearance..."
Lin Hao stared at the portrait for a while, then reached out to cover the upper half of his face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
