Just as Lan Zechen had decided to wait for Hong Xiaoduo to wake up and appear before telling her the information he had found, he saw that person snoring as they walked over from the stairs.
"Mom, why are you up so early?" Xiao Yaoguang greeted her happily.
The innkeepers nearby, as well as Lan Zechen and his two servants, all had similar expressions on their faces—"Still early? What time is it?!"
If it weren't for the fact that it was a five or six-year-old girl speaking, they might even have thought she was deliberately being sarcastic.
Hong Xiaoduo walked over and patted Yao Guang's head. She sat down in an empty seat and said helplessly, "I didn't want to get up so early, but I was hungry."
As soon as she appeared, Tianxuan got up, took an oil-paper umbrella, and went out to buy her breakfast. Quan Jinghuai followed her out.
"Xiao Duo, is it convenient for us to talk alone?" Lan Zechen asked.
I'm not sure if what she asked me to investigate is something that can be discussed publicly, so it's best to be cautious.
Hong Xiaoduo nodded and looked at Tian Shu: "Go back to your room and practice your calligraphy."
Once she spoke, Tian Shu naturally led his younger siblings away, and Fei Yan followed suit.
Without Lan Zechen saying a word, Jin Gui and Liu Zhaoqiang consciously moved away.
"The matter you asked me to investigate, this was delivered last night. I'm not sure if it's useful or not, you can see for yourself." After Lan Zechen finished speaking, he took out a large envelope and handed it to Hong Xiaoduo.
"So fast?" Hong Xiaoduo was a little surprised, looking at the heavy envelope in her hand, with a sealing wax stamp on the closure.
Her reaction pleased Lan Zechen, but he still said in a nonchalant tone, "Isn't this what our Duobao Pavilion does?"
"Whether it's useful or not, I won't let the Pavilion Master help for nothing." After saying that, Hong Xiaoduo didn't rush to open it, but put it aside.
"No, girl, you're only getting up now, and you still look like you didn't sleep well. What were you busy with last night? Practicing martial arts?" Lan Zechen couldn't help but ask.
Hong Xiaoduo just smiled and didn't respond. She watched as Tianxuan quickly returned, taking out a bowl of wontons and steaming meat buns from the food box.
After finishing her meal, she didn't linger. She said goodbye to Lan Zechen, picked up her things, and went upstairs to her guest room.
The children are all practicing calligraphy in Quan Jinghuai's room, while in Hong Xiaoduo's guest room, only Feiyan is tracing flower patterns.
Hong Xiaoduo walked to the coffee table by the window, sat down, opened the seal, and took out the contents to look at them.
Feiyan wanted to brew her a pot of flower tea, but seeing her slightly furrowed brows and thoughtful expression as she looked at the paper in her hand, she didn't go over to disturb her.
Hong Xiaoduo had already read the contents of the paper in her hand three times. She had asked the Pavilion Master Lan to help her investigate events that had occurred within a radius of 100 miles centered on Jiaozhou in the past two or three years and were related to boys around ten years old.
There are seven things on the paper in my hand, all of which are related to a boy around ten years old.
There was an eight-year-old boy who was bitten by a dog. Several months later, he went berserk and bit people, and was beaten to death.
There was a nine-year-old boy who drowned after falling into a well; there was someone who choked to death after being caught stealing eggs…
Hong Xiaoduo felt that one of the things in the book should be the answer she was looking for. The reason she was so sure was simple: the book contained not only a description of the boy's appearance, but also a portrait.
This happened in a town fifteen miles from Jiaozhou.
That explains why I had such a strange feeling when I first met that child, and why, even after spending several months together, I still can't feel any closeness to him.
The incident occurred last spring in a town called Xiqing, in a town where a merchant surnamed Feng lived...
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