Chapter 22: The Imperial Library, Lin Sheng, checks the classics. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"...
Wen Yu was talking to Song Linsheng when she was interrupted by the sound of someone washing an inkstone. She hurriedly turned around to see what was going on.
"Wash the inkstone?" Wen Yu's voice revealed a hint of surprise.
Xiyan lifted his robe with one hand, bent his other hand in front of him, ran in hurriedly, and in a few steps he was in front of Song Linsheng and Wen Yu.
"Sir." He was busy but not chaotic. He saluted Song Linsheng before continuing to speak:
"Sir, I have gone to the address you gave me, but I haven't seen the lady named Zhibai."
Song Linsheng and Wen Yu exchanged a glance and asked Xi Yan, "What about his family?"
"I knocked on his door for a long time, but no one answered. I asked the neighbors nearby, and one of them told me that there were no lights on in that house last night..."
Xiyan took a breath and continued, "I guess no one was home all night."
Song Linsheng frowned. Chen Mian was currently in the government jail, so naturally he was not at home. But why did his wife Zhi Bai Niangzi not come back all night?
"Is it really Chen Mian's residence?" Song Linsheng asked.
"Of course." Xi Yan pulled out a piece of paper from his bosom and presented it to Song Linsheng and Wen Yu. "I checked carefully, and it's exactly this address."
This was copied from the household registration book by Song Linsheng for Xiyan, and it was undoubtedly Chen Mian's residence.
"Besides, I have verified it with many friends and neighbors, and everyone says that the lady of this family is indeed called Zhibai." Xiyan's words completely dispelled Song Linsheng's doubts and confirmed the fact that Madam Zhibai had inexplicably not returned.
After listening to what the two of them said, Wen Yu understood the general idea. It was indeed a mystery that a pregnant woman with limited mobility could go missing when her husband was in prison and did not return home all night.
"So, where would Lady Zhibai go?" Wen Yu expressed the common doubts of the three of them.
"It doesn't matter where we go, I'm just afraid..." Song Linsheng took the paper from Xiyan and held it in his hand.
"I'm afraid something bad might happen to Lady Zhibai..."
As soon as Song Linsheng finished speaking, Wen Yu slapped his forehead and said, "That's right! Chen Mian was clearly unwilling to speak just now because of Madam Zhibai. Madam Zhibai is in danger!"
"Xiyan, go find Mu Jingli quickly and ask him to help you send the yamen runners to find Zhi Bainiangzi."
"Yes!" Since it was related to the errands in the mansion, Xiyan immediately agreed and hurried to find Lord Mu.
"Then let's go help!" More people meant more strength. Wen Yu was terribly anxious. Song Linsheng had just arrived in Jiangyang Prefecture and had encountered such a life-threatening case. He couldn't afford to be careless. Lady Zhibai and the child in her belly were real women and children. Nothing could happen to them.
Wen Yu rushed forward, intending to follow the inkstone wash, but just as he took a step, he heard Song Linsheng calling from behind:
"Don't worry, Madam Wenyu."
"Don't worry? If you're not in a hurry now, when will you be in a hurry?" Wen Yu turned around and grabbed Song Linsheng's arm. "Let's go! Sir Song! Hurry, hurry!"
Song Linsheng didn't check for a moment and was supported by Wen Yu. He staggered forward two steps before stopping.
"Madam Wenyu! Madam Wenyu!" Song Linsheng's voice was so urgent that his tone changed. "You and I have other tasks!"
Wen Yu stopped exerting force when he heard the sound and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Song Linsheng suddenly lost his support, and under the influence of inertia, his body bounced back uncontrollably, almost falling.
"Song Linsheng!" Wen Yu reacted and immediately reached out to pull Song Linsheng, but it was too late. In her panic, her skirt got caught and she lost control of her body, falling towards Song Linsheng.
Song Linsheng was already unsteady on his feet, and seeing Wen Yu about to fall, he quickly stretched out his arms in a semicircle, ready to catch Wen Yu.
I'm sorry! Song Linsheng!
Why is it that when you're with me, you're always in trouble and have endless bad luck? Wen Yu muttered to himself, "What a sin, what a sin."
She closed her eyes tightly and fell down with gritted teeth.
"Bang!" There were two muffled sounds, and they both fell to the ground. Song Linsheng didn't even utter a sound, but Wen Yu, who was lying on top of him, shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Ouch!" Her head! Her legs! Her newly grown arms! Wen Yu thought with heartache.
Song Linsheng lowered his chin and saw Wen Yu's hair whorls swaying back and forth, mumbling something incoherently. He didn't know how to warn her, so he simply lay down where he was.
After a moment of silence, Wen Yu didn't hear any other movement, so he tentatively opened his eyes and looked around.
When her little head turned back to the center, she finally saw Song Linsheng beneath her. He was wearing a sky-blue undershirt, his white neck protruding from the collar. From his smooth skin rose a prominent Adam's apple, as if he had walked from an endless plain into a towering mountain range.
Wen Yu couldn't help swallowing.
"Madam Wenyu, are you ready to get up?" Song Linsheng's voice came faintly from above Wenyu's head. Although the distance was not far, Wenyu felt that the voice was far away.
It was as if a ray of spring rain fell into Wen Yu's heart, which was as smooth as a mirror, and woke her up immediately.
"Ah!" Wen Yu hurriedly stood up, lifted her skirt with both hands, and stepped away from Song Linsheng.
When he walked to the side, he hurriedly went to help Song Linsheng. What would he do if his thin body was damaged?
"Are you okay, Song Linsheng?" Wen Yu looked Song Linsheng up and down. "Where are you hurt?"
Song Linsheng stood up and exhaled. After a moment of calm, he bent down and brushed the dust off his robe with his sleeve, brushing it back and forth three or four times before stopping.
"Madam Wenyu." Song Linsheng smiled helplessly, "Don't climb high to avoid falling. If you are not on flat ground, you can ignore your steps."
Wen Yu was filled with embarrassment. She had no idea what Song Linsheng was saying. All she heard was something about falling or not falling, and her head was buzzing.
"I...I..." Wen Yu clutched her dress with both hands, not knowing what to say. Escape underground? She could! Could she escape underground in front of Song Linsheng?
Song Linsheng bent down slightly and raised his hand to free the hem of Wen Yu's skirt from her grasp. The moment he let go, the fabric that Wen Yu had clenched into a ball unfolded, like a blooming flower, and the wrinkled marks on it became the patterns of the flower's leaves.
"Are you injured?" Song Linsheng asked softly.
"No...no..." Wen Yu stuttered, still unable to utter a complete sentence.
He thought that was unlikely, so he made a cushion of flesh on the ground first. When Madam Wen Yu fell down, he tried his best to protect her, preventing her from falling on the bluestone ground beside him.
"Since you are not injured, Madam Wenyu, please come with me on my mission." Song Linsheng put one hand behind his back and stretched out the other hand, making a "please" gesture.
Wen Yu was both embarrassed and annoyed, and rushed forward, leaving before Song Linsheng.
Song Linsheng followed slowly, cleared his throat, and said jokingly: "Madam Wenyu, watch your step!"
Wen Yu did not respond. After hearing Song Linsheng's words, she quickened her pace and ran out of the door.
"Madam Wenyu! Linsheng hasn't told me where he's going yet!" Song Linsheng became happier and quickened his pace to catch up.
Jiangyang government office, government finance department.
An entire wall of the room was made into a bookcase, with layers of account books and documents arranged according to their categories. A wooden ladder leaned against the cabinet, not yet folded up, indicating that its owner often used it to go up and down to access books.
"Is this the job you mentioned?" Wen Yu looked at the mountain of books, account books, and government records on the table, and his throat seemed to be choked by something hard to dissolve, neither rising nor falling.
Back in the day when she was in the Temple of Spring, what she hated most was reading poetry, books, and classics!
"That's right!" Song Linsheng raised his head from another pile of books, and tilted his body slightly to reveal half of his face so that he could look Wen Yu in the eye.
"Mr. Mu has probably gone out with Xiyan, so the two of us can borrow his government office!" After saying that, Song Linsheng buried his head in the books again.
The Prefecture Finance Hall contains documents, classics, and household registers from the past of Jiangyang Prefecture. From major matters such as water conservancy and engineering defense to minor matters such as anecdotes from the local community, all matters concerning Jiangyang Prefecture are recorded and included in the book.
"Oh!" Wen Yu suddenly had an idea. "You deliberately sent Master Mu away!"
Song Linsheng shook his head, and then thought about how Wen Yu couldn't see him through the book, so he explained: "Although I am from Jiangyang, I am not Xiyan."
"It's still possible to ask him to go to Chen Mian's residence according to the address." Song Linsheng raised his hand and took out another volume. As he flipped through it, he continued, "But what if he was asked to search for a woman he had never met in this huge Jiangyang Mansion without any clue?"
“Isn’t that like looking for a needle in a haystack?”
Wen Yu nodded, thinking it made some sense. She also opened a book beside her and flipped through it. This book looked familiar, similar to the one she had seen in the main hall just now.
"That's why I asked him to seek help from Mu Jingli. Mu Jingli has been in Jiangyang for a long time and I think he is familiar with all the streets and alleys."
Wen Yu paused as she turned the pages of the book. "It wasn't that long."
"Hmm?" Song Linsheng's voice came from the pile of books.
"Master Mu, he hasn't been in Yangjiang Prefecture for very long." Wen Yu stood up and walked to Song Linsheng's side, pointing to a certain page in the book she had just opened. "Look, he's only been here for a year."
Song Linsheng's expression was calm, not at all surprised. The contents of the booklet in Wen Yu's hand were exactly the same as the one he had just read in the main hall. He had also read the part about Mu's experience.
"One year is enough." Song Linsheng replied.
Wen Yu seemed to be lost in thought, and then said "Oh" in a half-understood manner, and asked again: "Then what are we looking for here?"
What are you looking for?
Song Linsheng closed the book he had just read and put it aside.
It's not exactly what I'm looking for, but since I'm going to investigate the Chen Mian case, then the matter of the Yuanshui River mentioned by Lord Jia must also be thoroughly investigated.
He planned to go through all the files of Jiangyang Prefecture roughly and then go for an on-site investigation so that he would not be at a loss when the time came.
"The fault in the Chen Mian incident is not his own." Song Linsheng explained to Wen Yu.
Jia Ren wanted to arrest Chen Mian, but the blame didn't lie with Chen Mian himself. What was that? Before Wen Yu could ask further, she heard Song Linsheng continue:
"It's not that Chen Mian committed a crime and was arrested, but the difficulty of the Yuan River required a criminal."
"Are you so sure?" Wen Yu raised her eyebrows. She didn't think Song Linsheng was a person who would make random guesses without any evidence.
"I guessed."
Song Linsheng's words made Wen Yu not know how to respond, and she was stunned on the spot.
Seeing that Wen Yu had been silent for a while, Song Linsheng stopped what he was doing and turned his head to look at Wen Yu.
Her eyes flickered, revealing a hint of disbelief, which made Song Linsheng laugh out loud, and the dimples on his face became deeper and deeper.
"Madam Wenyu, who says Linsheng can't guess?"
Song Linsheng lifted the scroll and gently rubbed the tip of Wenyu's nose. The scent of ink followed the pages and entered Wenyu's nose. Wenyu's mind was completely attracted by his dimples. She only heard Song Linsheng say:
"We just need to make bold assumptions and carefully verify them..."
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