"I'm not asking how your search is going. The Princess Consort is asking you where Consort Xiao would set up a secret passage or tunnel in Ningxi Hall if she were to do so," Shang Xiye added.
Without a second thought, Hu Ji replied, "Naturally, it's in this bedroom, and in a place that the Dowager Consort can easily touch, but that she doesn't often come into contact with."
"For example, on the bed?" Ji Fengyao quickly interjected.
Hu Ji nodded and smiled, "The princess is truly intelligent."
“Of course,” the little bandit girl proudly raised her head, but the smile on her face suddenly froze awkwardly. She spread her little hands and shrugged: “But I’ve searched the bed, even the floorboards, and found nothing.”
"May I go and take a look?" Hu Ji asked Shang Xiye for permission.
Shang Xiye nodded.
Hu Ji approached Consort Xiao's bedside, and with his right index and middle fingers together, quickly drew several lines and pointed at the four corners and the middle of the bed: "This bed is indeed fine, but..."
Hu Ji glanced at the innermost part of the bed and saw that the bed curtains were a little loose, as if the maid who helped set up the bed hadn't looked carefully enough and a small part of the inner bed curtains hadn't been pressed down tightly.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, I'm afraid I must go to the bedside to take a look," Hu Ji asked Shang Xiye and Ji Fengyao again.
His approach to inspect Consort Xiao's bed was already a great act of disrespect.
If he were to go to Consort Xiao's bed again, even if Consort Xiao was no longer alive, and it was for the purpose of investigating a case, it would still damage Consort Xiao's reputation.
If word gets out, even Shang Xiye will be gossiped about.
"What time is it? Stop with the formalities. Finding the person is the priority," Ji Fengyao said, pushing Hu Ji directly onto the bed.
Shang Xiye hesitated, then said: "My wife is only doing this for Liu Yunzhao's own good. If Consort Xiao knew this in the afterlife, she probably wouldn't blame my wife too much."
Hu Ji rolled to the innermost side of the bed, and with his index and middle fingers together, he gently traced along the base of the wall, easily finding a small, extremely hidden groove.
With great skill, he hooked it back and then gently pushed it with his other hand, flipping over a wall panel more than a meter long behind the bed.
Hu Ji leaned against the wall panel, revealing the dark entrance to the passageway behind it, and turned to Shang Xiye and Ji Fengyao, saying, "Your Highness, Your Highness, we've found it."
"You really know how to do this, you're awesome!" Ji Fengyao jumped onto the bed with a delighted expression, half-squatting in front of Hu Ji, praising him without reservation.
Hu Ji chuckled to himself, then noticed that the master beside him was practically green with envy with a dark expression. He quickly flattered him, saying, "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness. It's all thanks to Your Highness's excellent training. It's all thanks to Your Highness's wise leadership."
Ji Fengyao suppressed a laugh: "You mean, your prince also taught you the skills of a thief? Then your prince really is a know-it-all!"
Shang Xiye: "..."
This kid probably hasn't been disciplined in a long time; his brain's all muddled up.
He should be given a few dozen lashes later to loosen his muddled brain!
Hu Ji almost cried:
Oh my goodness, Your Highness, please don't harm your subordinate!
Let's leave the matter of the board aside for now.
Shang Xiye asked Wuying and Wuhen to bring torches, and the two of them took the lead, going down the passageway to scout out the situation.
After a while, Wuying's voice, transmitted through sound transmission, came through: "Your Highness, there is indeed a secret room down there, but no one is inside. There is an empty box inside, and the oil lamp is lit with plenty of oil, so the person inside must have left not long ago."
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