Wishful Things

Zhu Xiu nodded, and said firmly: "The villain has repeatedly checked carefully, and apart from that servant, there is indeed no sign of a second person in the other courtyard."

Xu Mingyi pondered deeply.

There must also be a limit to the darkness under the lamp, otherwise it would be foolish and bold—if the other party really trapped Cousin Qing here, a living person who would resist would more or less disturb the neighbors.

But if you want to take it to another place, why bother to send people to such a crowded place in the first place?

As for whether Cousin Qing had already encountered an accident, the worst outcome was not something that should be considered now.

After thinking about it, Xu Mingyi felt that something was wrong everywhere. Half an hour later, looking out the window at night, she called Azhu.

"Go to Ah Kui and get two night clothes, and go out with me."

While the girl was speaking, she had already pulled out the hairpin on her head, loosened her half-up hair, took a ribbon from the side, and tied up all her thick black hair.

This other courtyard is the only clue at the moment, if she gives up, it will mean that all clues are interrupted, and she has to go and see for herself before she can give up.

Ah Zhu excitedly went to find Ah Kui.

It wasn't until she saw Ah Kui taking out two sets of black robes from the box that she realized something was wrong—when did the girl prepare night clothes in her bedroom?

But in view of the principle of "it's not strange for any strange things to happen to girls", Ah Zhu accepted this fact calmly in an instant.

Seeing Ah Zhu going out with her daughter, the terrified Ah Kui secretly ran to the ancestral hall in the backyard to burn incense, begging the ancestors of the Xu family to bless the girl's safe return.

After nightfall, most of the lights in Herring Square were turned off, and the bustle of the day was gone.

A few black shadows sneaked into a courtyard silently.

Zhu Xiu had come to explore the way during the day, so he easily found the servant's bedroom, and poured the smoke that Xu Mingyi had given him into the room through the crack of the door.

Seeing Zhu Xiu turn back, Xu Mingyi gestured for the three of them to split up and look for clues.

She didn't intend to scare the snake today, so the misty smoke was just to make the servant who knew some kung fu sleep more soundly, not a real coma, if there was a big commotion, it would still wake people up.

There is a lantern under the porch. Although it is not bright, it is not difficult to recognize the general furnishings in the courtyard.

Xu Mingyi entered a study room.

In the room, one can faintly smell the elegant fragrance.

After getting used to the light in front of him, Xu Mingyi looked at the incense burner next to the desk.

This aroma is obviously left over from the incense burner.

And this extremely faint scent of incense, she seems to have smelled it somewhere before...

I don't know if it's because of martial arts since she was a child, her sense of hearing and smell has been more sensitive than ordinary people since she was a child, and her memory is not bad.

This fragrance is light and cold, although it is not common, it is obviously used by men.

man……

Xu Mingyi searched in his mind for a moment, and his eyes suddenly changed.

It was that kind of fragrance that I smelled in Shangyu Pavilion that day!

There were quite a few people in the hall at that time, but when it comes to men, apart from the clerks in the building, there seems to be only one person who has the status to smoke this incense...

The second son of the Xia family, Xia Han.

On that day, the missing cousin Qing was also there.

Xu Mingyi thought of many things in an instant, including the matter of Zhan Qian's promotion not long ago.

Looking at the censer again, her eyes became a little colder.

Is this other courtyard related to Xia Han?

Even though people's hearts are unpredictable and they are untrustworthy outside the district, how would a son of the Xia family who was born in a wealthy family, entered the Imperial Academy as a Jinshi at a young age, has a gentle temperament and a harmonious husband and wife, and his life is almost perfect? Driven by intention, will you choose to take risks and do such things?

She remembered that her father once said that the more superficial people have, the easier it is to be unscrupulous.

And those with heavy thoughts, the more there are, the more they know how to be cautious.

Xia Han didn't look like the former either.

Or is it because Xia Xi is acting more and more arrogantly now, and wants to attack Cousin Qing just for a few quarrels?

But no matter which one it is, everything in front of him seems to prove that the disappearance of cousin Qing has something to do with the Xia family, and what the Zhan family did was just willing to be driven by others in exchange for benefits.

Xu Mingyi suppressed many speculations for the time being, and scanned the study room inch by inch.

After a while, she walked step by step towards the bookshelf against the wall.

On the way here, she and Uncle Zhu guessed that there might be a secret room in this courtyard——

And the layout of the secret room mechanism must have something to cover it.

The bookshelves, picture frames, and even the rockery in the courtyard are all worthy of careful inspection.

In the dark, Xu Mingyi cautiously groped on the bookshelf.

When she touched the edge of the frame, she felt that the wooden frame under her fingers was a little loose, her eyes changed slightly, and she exerted some force with her hand, and the wooden frame sank back along with her strength.

"Crack——"

A subtle sound like a copper-core door lock being opened came to his ears, and the next moment Xu Mingyi saw that the bookshelf in front of him was divided into two, and slowly moved to both sides, leaving a space that happened to be big enough for one person. Gap!

Sure enough, there is a mechanism!

Moreover, this kind of exquisite mechanism technique is time-consuming, labor-intensive and money-consuming, and it is definitely not something that a mere Zhanjia can afford.

The guess in his heart became a bit more solid, Xu Mingyi hesitated for a moment, and stepped behind the bookshelf.

In contrast, the trigger point of the mechanism behind the bookshelf is much more obvious.

She raised her hand and unscrewed the copper shaft on the wall next to her, and the bookshelf closed behind her.

In front of you are the stone steps leading to the underground chamber.

Xu Mingyi walked down step by step, and his vision gradually opened up.

This secret room was completely different from what she had imagined.

It can be said to be brightly lit, and the layout is exquisite and thoughtful. There are a few tables, chairs, incense burners, tea cups and other things. There are even a few well-maintained and pruned pinescape potted plants.

And all these delicate and appropriate things appearing in places where they should not appear will only make people feel very weird.

Xu Mingyi held his breath and raised his guard, and walked inside.

There is a small room on each side of the 'main room', one is separated by a screen, and the other is hung with a lotus-colored curtain.

And if she didn't realize that she was wrong, there were actually people in these two rooms...

Xu Mingyi walked towards the room on the right, walked around the screen, and saw the furnishings that women's bedrooms should have.

She walked to the bed step by step, stretched out her hand and slowly lifted the hanging smoke-colored bed curtain.

Seeing the light movement of the bed curtain, the girl sitting with her knees in the tent suddenly opened her eyes wide. She was frightened but didn't make a sound. Instead, she trembled and subconsciously hugged her body tightly, and buried her head in her knees. .

"Cousin Qing?!"

Seeing the girl with her head buried, Xu Mingyi whispered tentatively.

The trembling girl froze, and raised her head hesitantly after a while.

Seeing the opponent's face clearly, the huge stone in Xu Mingyi's heart finally fell.

Cousin Qing is still alive!

"Cousin Zhao... Cousin Zhao Zhao..."

The girl looked at her fixedly, her voice was unbelievably slow.

Xu Mingyi twitched in his heart, and said softly: "Don't be afraid, my cousin is here, and I'll take you home."

Cui Yunqing's eyes immediately filled with tears.

At this time, Xu Mingyi suddenly heard footsteps approaching here——

Thanks to the cat in Schrödinger's box, "___Smiling Rewards.

And, Zanilia618, Dynamic Cat, Jing Guoping, Vanilla Kuoluo, Butterfly Dance づ Heaven, ali1234, Yan Zhihu 1, Landscapes and Songs, ujfj, liuminsk, Snow ⑨ Gongzi, Xiaoyu Luyangyan, McDull Ai Xiaodu, the real god master, singing songs, reading three poems, Chu Qinghan, Qu Liangmu, OPPO Xiaomin, boring pork belly and other cute tips (the number of words is limited, so I have compiled so many temporarily, thank you Everyone!)