Chapter 27 Missing
A golden light suddenly flashed before his eyes, just like a ferocious snake suddenly emerged from the darkness and rushed straight to his face.
Shangluo suddenly screamed, sat up straight, and gasped heavily.
The oil lamp I dared not extinguish before going to bed still glowed dimly, now burned down to a thin pool of oil at the bottom. Outside the window, the sky was brimming with light, the darkest hour before dawn.
Shangluo trembled as he added oil to the lamp, huddled in the corner of the bed, wrapped himself tightly in the quilt, and stared around, as if he was afraid that a green-faced, fang-toothed female ghost would jump out of the darkness at any time and drag him down the slippery river bank.
The flickering lights made him see ghosts everywhere, including the princess's body floating in the water and the colorful fireworks that illuminated the body.
Green, red, purple, and the golden light that shone through the cracks in the rocks and brightened his eyes.
He held the cinnabar bird pendant in one hand and the amulet in the other, chanting the names of Guanyin Bodhisattva and Wuliang Tianzun, the savior of suffering.
Suddenly, a flash of fire pierced his wide-open eyes. He shuddered suddenly, and in that instant, an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he blurted out: "That golden light!"
Although he still didn't understand whether it was a clue or whether it was useful, he subconsciously felt that he must tell the county lady as soon as possible.
But it was not yet bright outside the window. He was frightened and afraid and did not dare to go out. He stayed outside until the roosters crowed at dawn and the dawn in the sky drove away the darkness.
The most dangerous moment seemed to have passed. He endured it a little longer and waited until the sun was about to come out before he opened the door and looked outside.
The trees in front of me are lush and green, and the spring flowers are blooming in the thin morning light. It is beautiful and quiet, and there is nothing unusual.
Shangluo heaved a sigh of relief, stepped out of the osmanthus hall, and walked quickly towards the front yard, holding the amulet in his hand, muttering, "Hurry up, go find the county lady..."
The blossoms of the tree swayed, and the colorful petals moved in the breeze. A few petals fluttered down onto his body and got into his collar.
He was so frightened that he was startled and quickly touched his collar with his back hand.
Just as he grabbed the naughty petal and pinched it between his fingers, his vision suddenly went dark. Someone covered his mouth and nose with a cloth, and a strange smell rushed into his head.
He struggled a few times, but didn't know what was happening. His eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
Although there was a hypnotic incense carefully prepared by Meng Lanxi, Qiandeng did not sleep well that night in the sweet fragrance lingering in the room. While washing up, he was thinking about Princess Gao.
Aunt Xuanji came in from outside, hesitant to speak. Qiandeng asked what was wrong, and she hesitated, "Shangluo's father, Shang Biejia, has returned to the capital to report on his work. Now he and his father have come to see the county lord, saying they want to take their son home."
Shangluo's father was one of Princess Gao's lovers. Qiandeng had no interest in dealing with him, but now, worried about the situation in the backyard, she went along with it and said, "Then let Shangluo and his father go home and stay for a while."
"But... I don't know where Mr. Shang has gone."
Qian Deng was a little surprised: "After Princess Gao's accident, didn't I tell her that except for the young men who had to go to the government office for duty, no one else was allowed to leave the palace unless it was necessary?"
"That's right. The guards said they hadn't seen Young Master Shang leave, but when we checked, his room was empty. Even the meal the nanny brought him this morning was untouched. We searched the surrounding area, but couldn't find anyone either."
Now is an extraordinary period. The murderer who killed Princess Gaoguo is likely lurking in the backyard. His sudden disappearance makes Qiandeng a little worried.
She immediately ordered a thorough search in the backyard, hurriedly ate her breakfast, and went to check in the backyard.
When I arrived at the osmanthus hall, I saw that there was no one there. The breakfast, which had already gone cold, was placed on the table with no signs of being touched.
The bedding in the inner room was not made up and was in a mess at the corner of the bed, with Shangluo's appearance as he hurriedly got out of bed and ran out of the quilt.
"The guard said he didn't leave the backyard?" Qiandeng confirmed with Aunt Xuanji.
"Absolutely not. Didn't the county lady order the backyard to be more strictly controlled? Now the guards are keeping an eye on everyone coming in and out. If Young Master Shang went out, they would definitely notice."
Qiandeng nodded, remembering Shangluo's panicked look yesterday, and pondered: "Could it be that he was afraid, so he went to stay with other young men?"
"That's possible, but why isn't the child hungry? He should at least come back to get food, or ask the nanny to send it over there instead." Aunt Xuanji said, and seeing the messy bedding on the bed, she shook her head helplessly.
She was always tidy and treated Shangluo as her own nephew, so she lifted up the corner of his quilt, straightened it, folded it and placed it at the head of the bed.
Just as she bent over to smooth the bedding, she glanced at the edge of the bed and exclaimed, "Huh?"
Qiandeng noticed her gaze and looked there as well.
There were only a few faint traces of fine carvings on the edge of Shangluo's bed, and the carvings were very new, obviously having been left not long ago.
Qiandeng bent down and looked carefully at the messy carvings.
Those were four words carved on the edge of the bed with fingernails—
Princess, firelight.
The words Shangluo had said to her suddenly flashed through her mind.
When he first discovered the body of Princess Gao, the golden light reflected on and under the water stung his eyes, causing him to have nightmares and sleep erratically all night.
Qiandeng's eyes darkened slightly, and she asked Aunt Xuanji and the maids to go back first, and to invite Cui Fufeng and Ling Tianshui to come over.
When the two arrived one after another and saw the four new words carved on the edge of the bed, they both realized that something had happened.
Just because of the unpleasantness of last night, the two of them checked the engravings one after another, and then checked the situation inside the house without saying a word. They were silent and did not communicate.
"Princess, Firelight." Ling Tianshui stood up and returned to Qiandeng. He looked at the four words and judged, "It seems that Shangluo's disappearance is related to the death of Princess Gao."
"Well, I'm a little worried." Qian Deng felt uneasy, stroking the scar on his brow and saying softly, "After all, there are people with ulterior motives lurking in the backyard, and there might even be the murderer who killed the princess. Maybe Shangluo... discovered something, and that's why he got into trouble?"
Cui Fufeng asked, "Even if he was involved, where did he go? He can't just disappear into thin air, right?"
The guards guaranteed with their lives that Shangluo did not enter or exit through the main gate. Qiandeng could only order more people to search the backyard carefully several times.
The backyard wall is very high, and Jintang had someone repair and paint it some time ago. If there are any traces of climbing, it will definitely leave clear marks.
But the walls inside and outside the courtyard were painted white and intact, and there were guards guarding the front and back doors. Unless Shangluo could fly, there was no way he could escape from the courtyard.
She had a bad feeling in her heart, but she had to face what was coming. She could only let Cui Fufeng and Ling Tianshui search carefully first, and she went back to the front yard to meet Shang Luo's father Shang Nanliu.
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