How could that be?
Xie Shu remembered that it had been two hours since he asked Xi Mo to go back and report the news. Even if Xi Mo had missed something on the way, he would not have been delayed for so long.
unless......
A flash of light suddenly appeared in Xie Shu's mind, and he reacted instantly. If someone had already set their sights on them, and Xi Mo was a servant beside him, then seeing Xi Mo leaving Jiang's house alone would be the best opportunity.
Thinking of this, Xie Shu's eyes changed.
Ximo had been by his side for the past few months. In the beginning, it was because of Ximo that Xie Shu was not so confused about the world.
Ximo was still young and lively, and even though Xie Shu was a bit colder than the average person, he still thought Ximo was clever and likable. The two of them were nominally master and servant, but Xie Shu was usually responsible for taking care of and teaching Ximo, so it made sense that he was both the elder brother and the older one.
If Xi Mo gets hurt because of him, how can Xie Shu feel at ease?
It was the first time that Yu Chuxi saw Xie Shu like this. He looked pale and his eyes were serious. Yu Chuxi also guessed something.
Yu Chuxi tightened their clasped hands and said softly, "But what happened to Ximo? Tell me what happened first."
After finishing speaking, Yu Chuxi was afraid that Xie Shu might be too anxious, so he comforted her, "Xi Mo is always smart, nothing will happen to him."
Xie Shu came back to his senses and saw Yu Chuxi's bright eyes looking at him with concern. His heart softened and he patted the back of Yu Chuxi's hand and briefly explained the whole story.
After listening to this, Yu Chuxi thought carefully and said, "There are two roads Ximo can take from Wenqifang to here from Dongshikou. We are in the city center, so neither of these two roads is remote. Even if that person wants to attack Ximo, there are not many places to choose from. I will let the servants of the Yu family go to find someone and notify the constables to investigate. This matter must be investigated thoroughly."
Xie Shu nodded and said, "Thank you, my lord. I will draw a portrait of Xi Mo first and then go find the constables. I will talk to them about this matter and it will be clearer."
After the two men had discussed it, they split up. Xie Shu went to find the constable, and it just so happened that the one who assigned him the task this time was Constable Wang.
Wang Qiang was a little surprised to see that it was Xie Shu. Why did this scholar Xie always cause trouble for him? However, Wang Qiang had a good impression of Xie Shu.
After he solved the case last time, not only did he get an extra salary, he also received a commendation from his superiors. It turned out that Xie Shu had won the favor of the prefect and had a great reputation in Jinling. Naturally, Wang Qiang paid great attention to what he said.
But this time, what Xie Xiucai wanted to report was that his servant was missing, and he had only been missing for two hours...
This put Wang Qiang in a difficult position.
But there was no way, Wang Qiang couldn't refuse, so he had to agree first. Then seeing that Xie Shu wanted to join them, Wang Qiang was reluctant at first, but seeing that Xie Shu was not the kind of person who would give orders, he acquiesced.
The two first came to Jiang's house to collect evidence and investigate, confirm the time Xi Mo left, and then look for witnesses based on his route.
At first, Wang Qiang thought it was just a small matter, and it was hard to say whether the man had escaped. Soon, with his many years of experience in investigating cases, he found something wrong.
Generally speaking, if a servant wanted to betray his master and escape, he must have planned it in advance and would never choose this time. Moreover, this servant was Xie Shu's personal attendant, so the Yu family must have treated him well.
Secondly, as the investigation progressed, another witness was found.
Wang Qiang took the portrait that Xie Shu had given him, and saw that it was completely different from the ones usually painted by the government's painters. Not only were the facial features very clear, but even the contours of the facial features were clearly visible.
This technique is simply unheard of.
When Wang Qiang asked his men to show the paintings to people nearby one by one, not long after, a peddler selling drinks in the streets of Dongshikou saw the person in the painting.
The shop selling drinks means herbal tea. It is now early summer in May and the weather in Jinling is getting hotter. The vendors use a kind of herb grown in Jinling to boil cold water drinks. This kind of tea has the effect of clearing away heat, detoxifying and reducing heat. This product is unique to Jinling and is called Xiangru Drink. It is very popular among the people.
Wang Qiang hurriedly took people to inquire, and the vendor said bluntly: "Just over an hour ago, a half-grown boy who looked similar to the one in the painting bumped into me. I saw some of the food spilled and wanted to argue with him, but since he was not careful, I gave up."
Wang Qiang asked again: "Then did you see clearly which direction the boy went? Was there anyone following him?"
The vendor shook his head and said, "I was so busy with business at that time that I didn't notice this."
It seemed that the clue of this witness was cut off. Wang Qiang was about to take people to find other people to ask, but Xie Shu stopped.
Ximo's temperament has changed a lot now, and he is rarely so panicky and impatient. He must have discovered that someone was following him, and when he was running away in a hurry, he ran into this cold drink stand.
But since Ximo had discovered this, why didn't he take the opportunity to shout for help? Could it be that the man was very close to him and he was too late... And it was still morning, and there were not many pedestrians on the street...
In other words, washing ink is for the same purpose.
Xie Shu looked up and down at the drink stand and asked, "Brother, did he say anything to you after he bumped into you?"
The vendor saw that he was gentle and polite, and after a little effort he recalled, "He didn't say anything else, just apologized, saying that he was in a hurry to leave the city and didn't pay attention."
Wang Qiang overheard something and confirmed it again. Was he not going home? He was going out of town?
Xie Shu had understood by now that after Xi Mo knew that someone was following him, he did not dare to go in the direction of Yu's house anymore, so he turned to go out of the city.
There are many reasons for doing this. In the morning, there are the most people heading towards the city gate, making it convenient for hiding. Perhaps Ximo is not sure about the other party's purpose and wants to use a sleight of hand to test the waters. Or there may be other reasons.
In short, it was easy to determine the direction Xi Mo went out. Xie Shu called the servant who was following him and asked him to notify Lang Jun to look for him in the direction of leaving the city from here.
However, Xie Shu always felt that there was one point that he had overlooked.
At this time, Xie Shu looked at the drink stand and suddenly said, "Brother, can I take a look at this drink stand? I will pay you in full."
What's so ugly about this? The vendor nodded repeatedly.
Xie Shu also said to Wang Qiang next to him: "Captain Wang, look, this drink stand is divided into two layers. The upper layer is Xiangru drink, and the lower layer is covered with ice. Can we hide something in the middle?"
After listening to Xie Shu's words, Wang Qiang understood what he meant. The Xiangru drink needs to be chilled to taste good, but not everyone likes to put ice cubes in it, so it needs to be separated by a layer. Sure enough, after opening the layer, he found a letter.
The letter looked like it was held tightly in someone's palm and blurred by water vapor, but Xie Shu still recognized it at a glance. It was the one he gave to Ximo.
In order to prevent anyone from searching the envelope, Ximo hid the things here in a hurry.
Xie Shu fixed his eyes on it. He put the things away again, but did not leave. Instead, he thought for a while and said, "Brother, after that, has anyone come here to look for something?"
The vendor had no idea what was going on. He scratched his head apologetically and said, "There were quite a few buyers during this period. Since the ice was not valuable, everyone was allowed to add as much as they wanted. So they were just looking for something and I didn't pay any attention."
Xie Shu did not give up. He pondered and said, "Then did your later guests look strange and not from the local area?"
The vendor was just worrying about not being able to help Xie Shu, but finally heard a question he could answer, so he said hurriedly, "Yes, about an hour ago, a customer asked for this fragrant rush drink. I knew at a glance that he was not a local, because the smell of this fragrant rush drink was a bit strange, and he couldn't get used to it the first time he drank it. Some even asked for a refund. He frowned after drinking it, but he stood here for a long time and added a lot of ice before leaving, but he didn't drink much..."
After he said this, everyone else also came to their senses.
Wang Qiang asked about the man's physical features and asked his men to investigate.
Xie Shu then asked, "Did he leave without asking any other questions?"
The vendor nodded affirmatively.
At this time Xie Shu relaxed a little. He originally suspected that this man came back because he caught Xi Mo but didn't find anything, so he came to check. But if that was the case, he would definitely search the place thoroughly like himself, but now it seems that this is not the case.
In other words, there is a certain possibility that Xi Mo was not caught by this person.
In this case, the task of finding Ximo will be left to Langjun. What he needs to do now is to find a way to find the person behind this.
After Wang Qiang asked about the man's appearance, he was still a little unsure. He smiled and said to Xie Shu, "Mr. Xie, I think the portrait you just drew is very lifelike. Why don't I leave it to you this time?"
Xie Shu naturally responded and borrowed a pen and ink from a nearby shopkeeper. Based on what the vendor said, he spent about a quarter of an hour drawing the man's facial features.
When Wang Qiang saw it, he couldn't help but marvel in his heart. This scholar Xie's painting skills are even better than those famous paintings hung in the shops for sale!
Xie Shu didn't understand this kind of professional search for people, so he didn't need to go with them. He could only give Wang Qiang a suggestion. Since this person had targeted Xi Mo at the gate of Jiang's house, he must have appeared nearby.
Then Xie Shu turned back to find Yu Chuxi to see if there was any progress on his side.
At this time, Yu Chuxi also had some news to tell him.
Yu Chuxi's eyes lit up when he saw Xie Shu coming. Seeing that Xie Shu looked calm, he guessed that he was doing well, so he went up to him and told him what happened just now, "Xi Mo left the city more than an hour ago, but he didn't go out alone. He followed an ox cart carrying... goods."
When Yu Chuxi said this, the corners of his lips were raised, and then he flattened his lips and continued: "But I sent people to inquire, that is not the thief's car, but the old man who has to go out of the city every day, so I guess Xi Mo must have jumped on the car in a hurry and followed him out. Now I have sent people to look for him, and I should be able to pick him up soon."
Hearing this, Xie Shu also breathed a sigh of relief. This was the same as what he had just thought. The person who was tracking was not familiar with the road conditions. After failing to catch up with Xi Mo, he thought about going to the drink shop to take a look. However, he was not a local and was not sure of the real situation, so he did not find any clues.
In that case, I can come back soon after washing the ink.
But at this moment, Xie Shu saw that Lang Jun's long eyelashes, which seemed to be drawn with ink, fluttered from time to time, and his dark and bright eyes seemed to be filled with starlight, which was very beautiful. Xie Shu remembered what Lang Jun had not said just now, and could not help but stretched out her hand to gently scratch his snowy nose and said, "What are you thinking about? Is it so interesting?"
Yu Chuxi was caught off guard when he came so close to her, and she didn't expect him to make such an intimate and playful gesture towards her. She was stunned for a moment, and at this moment, Xie Shu's gentle and smiling eyes were looking at her very close.
At this moment, Yu Chuxi's whole body trembled slightly, and her ears felt hot. When she came to her senses, Yu Chuxi suddenly opened her eyes wide and glared at him.
Seeing the clear eyes of the man, which did not seem angry, but rather flowing like autumn water, Xie Shu's heart moved slightly. Before he could say anything, he heard Yu Chuxi snort and say, "It's okay to tell you. It's the car that pours night fragrance every day."
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