Yutangge, located on the street in Lingfeng County, is a place where people come and go. The manager and the waiters are all quite experienced.
Even with all their experience, the most powerful person they had ever met was the county magistrate, the highest-ranking official in the county.
How could they have ever seen such a grand scene? At this moment, in the Jade Hall Pavilion, everyone stood trembling with their heads bowed in a corner of the hall, not daring to breathe loudly, for fear of disturbing the distinguished guests before them.
They would steal glances at the man sitting in front of the main hall from time to time. He had an exceptionally handsome face, with beautiful features and a gentle, refined demeanor. He was truly the most handsome man they had ever seen in their lives.
One of the managers of Yutang Pavilion was a relative of Su Yi, so that person brought Su Yi and a group of guards to Yutang Pavilion to rest.
Su Yi sat on the throne in the main hall, his hand supporting his forehead as he pretended to doze off. He had been traveling for three days and three nights without sleep, except for eating and drinking. Finally, on the evening of the third day, he arrived at Lingfeng County.
He completed the journey, which would normally take five days, in just three.
Along the way, even the secret guards who were always out on long journeys to gather information could hardly catch up with Su Yi.
Ling Feng and Ling Yu were even worse; when they first arrived at Yutang Pavilion, their legs trembled so badly they could barely control them, as if their legs didn't belong to them at all.
Ling Feng was showing several portraits to the large, dark crowd standing in front of the hall.
But nobody remembers it.
Ling Feng stepped forward and said to Su Yi, "Master, they all say they haven't seen it."
In the afternoon, a bodyguard said that an old woman had seen Mu Jin and Nangong Min in a village not far from Lingfeng County.
They learned that Mu Jin and Nangong Min had stayed at that family's house. Hearing that there was a river lantern festival in Lingfeng County, Mu Jin was very interested. After saying goodbye to the farmer, she and Nangong Min went to Lingfeng County.
Just then, a bodyguard returned with several merchants.
The guard said, "Master, these two merchants said they saw Miss Mu at the River Lantern Festival that night."
Su Yi opened his eyes, raised his head, and looked at the two trembling merchants kneeling in front of him.
Su Yi looked at one of them and said, "You go first."
The man was selling masks. He didn't know who this ethereal-looking man was, but he was definitely someone that ordinary people like them couldn't afford to offend.
He said tremblingly, "I am Wang Wu, a mask seller by the city gate. The two men who painted the portrait bought two fox masks, one black and one red, from my stall that day. After that, they left, and I have never seen them again."
"And what about you?" Su Yi asked, pointing to another vendor.
The man was so frightened that he kowtowed to Su Yi several times. He didn't know what Su Yi did, but he knew that kowtowing to important people was always the right thing to do.
“Li Si, a humble man, sells river lanterns by the river. That night, two men wearing fox masks, one black and one red, bought two river lanterns from my stall.”
Su Yi scoffed, "Wearing masks, how do you know it's the two of them?"
Li Si hurriedly said, "I am not lying. After these two bought river lanterns from my stall and released them into the river, they took off their masks and hugged each other. I got goosebumps when I saw that. Two grown men hugging each other without any regard for others. So I have a deep impression of them."
"Hugging each other?"
Su Yi immediately clenched his fists, his casual smile vanishing, and asked again, "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"
Li Si didn't know what he had said wrong. Just moments ago, the person in front of him was speaking to him with a relaxed smile, but why did his face suddenly turn gloomy?
Li Si quickly kowtowed again and said, "I swear I am not mistaken. Both of those young masters are extremely handsome. I guarantee that I am not mistaken. They are the people in this portrait."
Su Yi stared coldly at Li Si in silence for a long time before scoffing and saying to Ling Feng beside him, "After giving them the reward, let them go back."
Wang Wu and Li Si accepted the reward, kowtowed to Su Yi repeatedly to express their gratitude, and then left.
Ling Yu suddenly noticed the manager of Yutang Pavilion below, whose face was slightly pale and who seemed hesitant to speak. He walked up to the manager and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
When the shopkeeper suddenly heard Ling Yu ask him a question, his legs trembled so badly that he knelt down with his head down and said, "My lord, please forgive me. I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."
Ling Yu snapped, "Speak quickly!"
The shopkeeper felt he had met with terrible luck that day. His cousin, who worked in the capital, suddenly appeared at his Jade Hall Pavilion, saying that he and his master were passing through Lingfeng County and wanted to rest for a while. He even offered one hundred taels of silver.
Thinking that he would not only get money, but might also get to know influential people in the capital, he readily agreed.
He never expected that these people would be so important. He truly regretted coming to his maternal grandmother's house. How could he possibly be worthy of such people?
When Wang Wu mentioned that the two men were wearing fox masks, one black and one red, he couldn't help but think of the two men who guessed the winning numbers correctly on the night of the River Lantern Festival.
Just as he was thinking that saying more would only lead to more mistakes, and was about to remain silent, he was surprised to find that these people had such sharp eyes that they seemed to be able to see right through him.
"On the night of the River Lantern Festival, the prizes for my Jade Hall Pavilion were indeed guessed by two men wearing one black mask and one red mask. One of the men won the prize, which was a fine white jade hairpin and a jade rabbit lantern."
The shopkeeper swallowed again and said, "The man wearing the black fox mask took out the fine white jade hairpin he had won from the brocade box and inserted it into the hair of the other man wearing the red fox mask."
"At the time, I felt something was strange, but the people present cheered loudly for the two of them, and gradually, I didn't feel anything was wrong."
After the shopkeeper finished speaking, Su Yi remained silent. The hall was deserted and eerily quiet.
It wasn't until the guards outside returned one by one to report that Nangong Min and Mu Jin had bought dry food, tents, and clothes in the city that Su Yi, whose face was growing increasingly gloomy, slowly asked.
Where is she right now?
"The guard said that Miss Mu and her guard left Lingfeng County on the second day of the River Lantern Festival. Judging by their pace, they should have reached Zhishui County by now, and it will be another four or five days' journey to Nangong Shenzong."
Ling Feng and Ling Yu, who were standing by, were shocked when they heard the series of information about Mu Jin from these people.
Judging from this, something must have happened between Mu Jin and Nangong Min in just a few days to cause their relationship to develop so quickly. This is a pace that their master couldn't catch up with even if he ran his legs off!
Just as Ling Feng and Ling Yu were filled with shock, they heard Su Yi suddenly laugh.
It was hardly a laugh; it sounded like something was stuck in his throat, his voice hoarse and low, sending chills down one's spine. Then they heard Su Yi say...
"Good! Good! Good! I was worried about her for nothing!"
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