To Hold One’s Joy

  Chapter 490 Progress

  She was seventeen years old when she died as Princess Qingyang, and if counting the time since she woke up, she was exactly nineteen years old, the same age as Miss Wang.

   And Miss Luo is seventeen years old this year.

  Luo Sheng didn't think it was a coincidence.

  What she wants to know most now is the specific birthdays of the other four missing women. If it is also on the seventh day of July, people will have to think about it.

   "Miss Luo?" Seeing Luo Sheng's serious expression, Miss Wang called softly.

  Luo Sheng came back to his senses and looked at her.

  Miss Wang Er bit her lip, suppressed her uneasiness and said: "Miss Luo, as long as Mr. Lin has news about my sister, please let me know. I...I'm not afraid..."

  Her face was pale, her eyes were full of worry, but her expression was firm.

  Compared to her sister who was so confused and disappeared, she would rather know the result.

   "Don't worry, Miss Wang, I will let you know if there is any news."

   "Thank you, Miss Luo." Second Miss Wang wiped her eyes and stood up, "If there is nothing else, I will go back first, maybe there is news about my sister at home..."

   Saying so, she didn't have any confidence.

  If family members could find it, they should have found it a long time ago. How come there is no news yet.

  Now she only hopes that a miracle will happen, or that Mr. Lin is really as powerful as people say.

  After the second girl Wang left, Luo Sheng sent someone to the Ministry of Criminal Justice to deliver a letter to Lin Teng.

   When it was almost noon, Lin Teng walked into the wine shop.

  Luo Sheng asked Lin Teng to sit down at a table, and asked, "Master Lin, are you done?"

  Lin Teng nodded: "I called the four bitter masters to the Yamen to ask about the situation."

   "Master Lin hasn't eaten yet. The restaurant is closed at noon, and the food is usually relatively simple. Would you like to have a bowl of fried noodles first?"

  Just now, Xiuyue was preparing the ingredients for fried noodles, and Lin Teng came just in time.

   Because of his nephew Lin Shu, Luo Sheng inevitably treated Lin Teng with the mentality of an elder. Seeing that his eyes were blue and unable to hide his fatigue, Luo Sheng suppressed his question for the time being.

  Lin Teng was about to ask about Miss Wang, when he heard the noodles, he nodded subconsciously: "The noodles are good."

   After speaking, I was taken aback, looking a little embarrassed.

  He is so focused on his errands, he will not be disturbed by a bowl of noodles.

  Luo Sheng was already instructing Hongdou: "Go to the kitchen and have a look. If the noodles with fried sauce are ready, bring them here."

  Red Dou turned around and went to the back, and soon brought a bowl... No, a bowl of Jajiang noodles came in.

  The little maid quickly walked up to the two of them, put the noodles with fried sauce in front of Lin Teng, and said crisply, "Master Lin, eat the noodles."

  Lin Teng looked down at the porcelain basin in front of him.

  The porcelain basin is made of fine white porcelain, painted with blue plum branches, topped with diced meat and shrimps soaked in yellow sauce, as well as bean sprouts with heads and tails removed, tender radish sprouts and other seasonal side dishes.

  The aroma of the meat sauce penetrates into the tip of the nose along with the steaming heat, making people salivate.

   "Master Lin, eat while it's hot, and talk about business after eating."

  Lin Teng wanted to say that he couldn't eat a bowl, but he swallowed his words silently under the stimulation of the aroma, and started to eat.

  Although he comes from a scholarly family, he has been dealing with cases all year round. When he is busy, he doesn't even have time to eat, so he naturally doesn't pay attention to elegance.

   After Luo Sheng drank a cup of tea, Lin Teng also ate up a pot of fried noodles.

  The young man who had a full stomach realized that he was embarrassed.

   Oops, I forgot about it as soon as I ate the delicious fried sauce noodles...

  Lin Teng looked at Luo Sheng with a hot face, and felt a little strange when he touched his gentle gaze.

  Why does Miss Luo look at him a little... kindly?

  This discovery made Lin Teng momentarily forget what he wanted to say.

  Luo Sheng handed over a cup of hot tea, and took the initiative to bring up the topic: "I asked Miss Wang about her birthday."

   "When?" When it came to business, Lin Teng immediately put all the messy thoughts behind him.

  Luo Sheng said word by word: "On the seventh day of the seventh month."

  Lin Teng showed no surprise.

   "Are the four missing girls that Mr. Lin asked, do they have the same birth date as Miss Wang?"

  Lin Teng was silent for a moment, then nodded: "That's right, it's the seventh day of July."

   "Is this not an ordinary disappearance and trafficking?"

  Lin Teng did not answer, but said: "This case is a bit complicated, I will investigate it carefully. Miss Luo, don't ask too many questions, so as not to cause trouble."

  Hongdou couldn't listen anymore, and rolled her eyes over: "Master Lin, why are you like this, you didn't dislike it when you ate noodles with fried sauce just now, but now you think our girl asks too much."

   Isn’t this crossing the river and demolishing bridges?

   Being run over by the little maid, Lin Teng deeply understood the meaning of the phrase "cannibalism".

  He couldn't help but look at the girl sitting opposite.

  Luo Sheng smiled: "It's fine if Master Lin finds it inconvenient, don't take Hongdou's words to heart."

  Lin Teng was even more embarrassed when he heard this.

   After eating a bowl of noodles with fried sauce, he also asked him to send a letter to Miss Wang. It was really inappropriate for him not to say anything when it was his turn.

   After deliberating for a while, Lin Teng said: "It involves a specific birth date, which is often related to belief in ghosts, gods and evil ways..."

  Luo Sheng took a sip of tea with lowered eyes, and pondered: "The four missing women and Miss Wang have quite different backgrounds. How did the other party get their birth date?"

   "I'm going to the household department in the afternoon."

  The Ministry of Households is in charge of household registration. It is undoubtedly the most convenient place to start from here if you want to find a woman whose birth date in Beijing is the same as Miss Wang and others.

   This is why Lin Teng didn't want to reveal it to Luo Sheng at first.

  It would be fine if the missing women had similar backgrounds, but they ranged from official families to poor and lowly servants, and the targets were not in the same circle. It is not easy to get information such as birth dates.

  He even wondered if the perpetrator was working in the household department to have such convenient conditions.

   "I hope Mr. Lin will have good news soon."

   "Thanks to Ms. Luo's good words, I'll take my leave first." Lin Teng got up to leave, his expression froze when he saw the clean basin, "Come out in a hurry, let's keep the accounts first."

  How much is such a large pot?

   While panicking, Luo Sheng smiled slightly: "Master Lin is too polite, before the restaurant opens, how can you collect money for entertaining Master Lin for a simple meal?"

  When Lin Teng heard this, he felt ashamed and happy, thanked him and left in a hurry.

  The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Punishment are both together. After Lin Teng passed by, he found a familiar official and asked to check the household registration information.

  The little official was taken aback: "Master Lin wants to see the household registration register?"

  Lin Teng heard the strangeness, and asked, "Could someone have checked it?"

  The little official said casually: "A few days ago, our lord servant ordered someone to come and pick it up."

  The household registration roster is cumbersome and boring, and the people responsible for the records are petty officials like them. The adults only need to know the total number regularly, and rarely look at the roster in person.

  Lin Teng naturally knew this too, suppressed his racing heart and asked calmly, "Which Lord Minister is it?"

  (end of this chapter)