Exploring the secret passage
"What are you doing here?" Shen Wumei asked Zhu Qinghe.
Zhu Qinghe covered her forehead with her hand and whispered, "Coincidence, coincidence." Cheng Lang, who was beside her, looked at the man in official robes in front of her with some doubt and asked Zhu Qinghe, "Cousin, who is this?"
Cousin? Shen Wumei slightly raised her eyelids and glanced at the tall and elegant Cheng Lang. Cheng Lang had put a lot of thought into his attire for the poetry club gathering today. His royal blue brocade robe accentuated his handsome face, red lips, and white teeth. Many girls in the hall were stealing glances at him with flirtatious eyes.
Zhu Qinghe gave him a brief introduction: "This is Lord Shen, the head constable of the prefectural government. He helped Sai Banxian when he was in trouble before."
"Cousin, you wait here patiently. Lord Shen and I will go upstairs to take a look."
After Zhu Qinghe finished giving her instructions, she saw Shen Wumei stride upstairs. His back looked inexplicably cold. Zhu Qinghe was a little puzzled, but then she thought about it and realized that it made sense. With another incident happening in such a short time, it was natural that he was in a bad mood.
"This is Qinglian Residence." Zhu Qinghe eagerly pushed open the door before Shen Wumei, peeking inside to see if there was any danger.
As a result, Shen Wumei unceremoniously pulled him aside and threw out the words, "Don't block the way."
Zhu Qinghe: "..." What did she do to him? He's got a gunpowder in his mouth.
She hadn't seen him for several days, and when they finally met, he was rude to her and gave her a hard time. Zhu Qinghe's temper flared up too; it was true that being promoted made a difference.
She'd be a pig if she tried to talk to him again, hmph.
Shen Wumei stepped inside, her expression momentarily surprised. It was a very ordinary private room, with a large round red lacquered wooden table in the center, paired with matching wooden stools. The room was decorated in an elegant and simple style, and the gilded incense burner on the small table under the window was still emitting wisps of smoke.
But there was no one there, as if nothing had happened.
Zhu Qinghe and Chen Xiang were also taken aback when they saw the scene inside the room. Zhu Qinghe subconsciously asked, "Where is everyone?"
Shen Wumei looked at her, her expression serious: "Who is it?"
Zhu Qinghe was too lazy to dwell on the previous disagreements and answered seriously, "Naturally, it's the girl who was murdered in this room—Xu Yishu."
Was anyone here before?
“Yes,” Chenxiang quickly replied, “not counting Miss Xu, there are five other young ladies. They arranged to meet Miss Xu here. Miss Xu arrived the latest, and I was the one who led the way.”
Zhu Qinghe nodded quickly: "I can testify to this."
“But,” Chenxiang said, looking somewhat confused, “when Miss Cong ran out earlier, she clearly said that she saw Xu Yishu being murdered with her own eyes, so how come there was no one there?”
Zhu Qinghe frowned as well: "If she's not lying, then the murderer moved Miss Xu."
"But with so many people up and down the building, it wouldn't be easy to move someone away quietly."
"Does this elegant residence have any secret passages?" Shen Wumei suddenly asked.
Zhu Qinghe immediately understood what he meant. It was quite possible that the person was moved through a secret passage, but she guessed that she would have to ask Boss Chen about it.
Since the victim has now disappeared, Shen Wumei couldn't keep everyone at Ya Ke Ju. She asked Mo Wu and the others to take them to register and leave their personal information so they could leave.
Cheng Lang was worried about Zhu Qinghe, so he didn't leave after registering. He saw Shen Wumei and Zhu Qinghe walking downstairs one after the other, and his brows furrowed slightly. Why was Qinghe so close to this Lord Shen?
He composed himself and stepped forward. "Cousin, are you done? Let's go home together."
Zhu Qinghe had almost forgotten about him. Hearing this, she felt a little embarrassed. She had come with him today, but she didn't expect this to happen. It would be bad if this left a shadow on him and affected his studies and exams.
Just as she was about to walk over, someone grabbed her by the back of her collar, and Shen Wumei's cool voice sounded behind her: "She can't leave yet. There are still things to ask her about the case."
Zhu Qinghe secretly rolled her eyes; Shen Wumei really treated her like a subordinate. Cheng Lang's gaze towards Shen Wumei was already quite impolite, and Shen Wumei's gaze in return was as icy as ice.
Zhu Qinghe shivered silently. Was it her imagination? Why did the temperature suddenly seem to drop?
Zhu Qinghe rubbed her nose and coughed lightly to break the stalemate between the two: "Um, cousin, you should go back first. I can't leave before Lord Shen finishes here."
Cheng Lang asked with concern, "Then how will you get back later?"
"No need to trouble yourself, the people I left behind will naturally send her back safe and sound," Shen Wumei replied coolly.
Cheng Lang eventually left, and most of the people at Ya Ke Ju also dispersed.
Shen Wumei ordered the constables to seal the door, then turned around and said, "You come with me to interrogate Boss Chen."
Zhu Qinghe pouted and muttered under her breath, "Is the government office short-staffed? They actually want a weak woman like me to do hard labor."
Shen Wumei had very sharp ears and naturally heard everything clearly. Upon hearing this, she sneered, "A weak woman? Your self-perception is truly absurd."
"Who gave you this misconception, your dear cousin?"
Zhu Qinghe: "..."
"What's wrong with Lord Shen today? He's speaking in such a strange and ambiguous way, it's really baffling."
Shen Wumei: "You've spent so much time with your good cousin, it's no wonder you find me strange."
Zhu Qinghe: "May I ask how my cousin offended Lord Shen this time?"
A soft chuckle rang out, and the two of them turned around at the same time. Chenxiang smiled and said, "You two have such a good relationship."
The two asked in unison: "Who has a good relationship with him/her?"
Chenxiang smiled as she watched them remain silent. They glared at each other and then said in unison, "I'm not familiar with him/her."
Seeing that their attempts to explain were only making things worse, the two of them simply gave up and shut up, then hurried upstairs to take care of their business.
Chenxiang watched their backs for a while, then turned around and went back to the kitchen to work.
As soon as Mr. Chen saw the two of them, he started wiping the sweat from his forehead with a plain white handkerchief. Zhu Qinghe was the first to plop down on the bench opposite him, facing him directly.
Boss Chen stared at her, somewhat bewildered. Shen Wumei walked over and tapped her on the shoulder: "Go that way."
Zhu Qinghe reluctantly moved to the side to make room for him, and after Shen Wumei sat down, Boss Chen felt even more pressured.
"Lord Shen, this matter really has nothing to do with me. Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to harm the young lady of the Xu family, the richest family in the country."
Zhu Qinghe raised an eyebrow. Xu Yishu's family must be rich, but she never expected him to be the richest man in the country. It was truly enviable.
Shen Wumei: "If you are truly unrelated to this matter, I naturally won't make things difficult for you. You just need to answer my questions."
Mr. Chen nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course."
Shen Wumei asked, "Does the Elegant Abode have any secret rooms or hidden passages?"
Mr. Chen thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "There really is one. There wasn't one at first, but then one of the back walls collapsed. When the repairman came, he said that he was very good at repairing secret passages. After a lot of persuasion, I was tempted and built one."
“I used to be a scholar. Later, I went into business and didn’t know anything at first. I suffered a lot of losses. I thought that if a cunning rabbit has three burrows, building a secret passage would give me more ways to survive.”
Shen Wumei: "Please, Mr. Chen, take us to see this secret passage."
The secret passage built by Boss Chen was actually quite spacious, not at all as narrow as Zhu Qinghe had imagined, where only one person could pass through. At least two people could walk side by side without any problem, and if both of them were slender, there would even be plenty of room for them.
Mr. Chen walked ahead, holding an oil lamp, and occasionally reminded them, "Watch your step, you two. It's dark and damp here, and there are many insects, ants, snakes, and rats."
Shen Wumei subconsciously glanced at the face of the person next to her and saw that Zhu Qinghe looked calm and showed no sign of panic or fear.
Seeing him look over, she gave him a slightly provocative smile: "If Lord Shen is afraid, you can hide behind me."
Shen Wumei sneered: "You should worry about yourself first."
Just then, several dark creatures fluttered over. Zhu Qinghe's pupils constricted, and she jumped to Shen Wumei's side, screaming, "Ah—!"
Mr. Chen wasn't frightened by the flying bat, but he was startled by her and jumped so hard he almost dropped the oil lamp in his hand.
Zhu Qinghe, still shaken, looked up and saw Shen Wumei's sharply defined jawline slightly raised, his thin lips holding a mocking smile: "Even the fearless Miss Zhu has met her match."
Zhu Qinghe retorted angrily, "Those are bats! Lord Shen, don't you have anything you're afraid of?"
“Of course I am,” Shen Wumei readily admitted, “but,” a hint of regret crept into his expression, “I’m not afraid of bats.”
Zhu Qinghe was so angry that her teeth itched, but the shudder of fear from when the bat brushed her nose was still there. She gripped Shen Wumei's arm tightly and wouldn't let go: "Lord Shen is wise and mighty, of course he's not afraid, but I'm not."
She has been terrified of flying things since she was a child, especially when they fly towards her. Zhu Qinghe always feels that they will rush into her eyes at any moment, which is really scary.
So for the second half of the journey, Zhu Qinghe clung to his arm and wouldn't let go, so Shen Wumei could only drag her along the way.
"This secret passage leads to a temple in the south of the city," Mr. Chen explained to them.
Zhu Qinghe boldly guessed: "Is Xu Yishu in this temple?"
Mr. Chen shook his head: "Then I don't know. But I don't recall ever mentioning the secret passage at Ya Ke Ju to anyone else."
"I wonder who's trying to harm me this time."
"Don't worry, Mr. Chen," Zhu Qinghe comforted him at the right time. "This matter may not necessarily be aimed at Yakeju; it just happened to be the right time."
"Once our wise and mighty Lord Shen finds the murderer, you and Ya Ke Ju will naturally regain your former good reputation."
Mr. Chen gave a wry smile: "Then I'll take the young lady's good wishes."
Just as the oil lamp was about to go out, the three of them finally emerged from the secret passage. By then, the sun was already half-setting, and it had taken them nearly two hours to traverse the passage.
Not far away, a desolate little temple stands, its reddish-brown buildings appearing and disappearing among the lush trees, bathed in the blood-red glow of the setting sun.
Shen Wumei stepped forward: "Let's go, let's go take a look."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
