Mrs. Qiao's eyes were filled with tears, and she could no longer see her usual arrogance.
The King of Zhennan comforted him: "Elder Sister, don't be in a hurry. As long as Sister Lan is still in Luoyue City, even if she goes to heaven, I will find her."
Qiao Ruolan has disappeared... Nangong Yue frowned slightly, and couldn't help but think of what happened yesterday.
Nangong Yue's thoughts turned quickly, she stepped forward a few steps, and then said in a blessed way: "Father, my daughter-in-law and sister Fei went to a tea shop outside the city yesterday and ran into Cousin Lan. Cousin Lan told us that she I found a pharmacist to buy medicine, and made an appointment to pick up the medicine today. I don’t know if this has anything to do with Cousin Lan’s disappearance.”
"It must be!" Mrs. Qiao seemed to be grabbing a life-saving straw, and she couldn't wait to reply, "Sister Lan went out early in the morning, she must be going to meet the drug dealer!" Grabbing Nangong Yue's arm, "Shi Zifei, what does that drug dealer look like? Where is he?"
"Auntie, I have never seen that drug dealer." Nangong Yue simply told the ins and outs of the matter, "Father, aunt, and the helper of the tea shop should have seen it, why don't you summon the mansion and ask the painter to draw a portrait It’s also very convenient to find people…”
Mrs. Qiao had lost her mind a long time ago, she only knew that it was okay to say yes.
King Zhennan decisively issued two orders, one was to summon the women who were helping and the painters of the mansion to enter the palace, and the other was to order the guards of the palace to search for people in the city.
That night, the entire city of Luoyue, which was supposed to be under curfew, was in commotion, with countless torches burning and shining.
On every street in Luoyue City, teams of people held torches and patrolled around. The streets, city gates, and towers were full of flames, reflecting like a white night.
The palace guards holding torches beat on the door one by one and searched everywhere.
Although the guards of the palace are not like servants and have no official positions, they are sent by the palace after all. If they want to search, ordinary people will not refuse.
The whole Luoyue City was in a state of panic, only knowing that they seemed to be looking for a young girl and a middle-aged man with gentle features - the identities of these two people must be very important, otherwise they would not have alerted the Zhennan Palace to search overnight.
There are knocks on the door and exclamations one after another. This is destined to be a restless night...
Unknowingly, the night faded and the sky became hazy. The guards of the royal palace worked all night and almost turned the entire Luoyue City upside down, but they still couldn't find any trace of Qiao Ruolan.
Not only the guards stayed up all night, but even the Zhennan Palace was brightly lit until dawn.
"My lord, the person hasn't been found yet." The chief guard knelt on one knee on the ground tremblingly and bowed his head back, because he hadn't slept all night, and there was a heavy shadow under his eyes.
Before King Zhennan could speak, Mrs. Qiao had already shouted hysterically: "Look for it! Keep looking for me! He must still be in the city!" She didn't know whether she was convincing others or herself.
King Zhennan knew that the eldest sister was worried about her daughter, so he didn't care about anything with her. He ordered with a serious face, "Let me continue to look for it!"
"Yes, my lord."
The chief guard bowed his head and retreated, not daring to raise his head at all, and he let out a long sigh of relief until he exited the outer study. It seems that before you find Miss Qiaobiao, you don't want to sleep well!
As soon as the chief guard left, Mrs. Qiao said again: "Brother, the city must be sealed off! No one is allowed to enter or leave Luoyue City! Sister Lan must still be in the city." Her eyes were already swollen from crying, and her heart was terrified Anxiety: Once dawn, the gates of the city will be opened wide, allowing the thieves to escape, so the world will be so big, where will I go to find my daughter!
The King of Zhennan hesitated for a moment. According to Dayu's legal calendar, unless there are special cases such as foreign invasion or mob riots, under normal circumstances, the city cannot be closed at will. The closure of the city is not only the city, but also the hearts of the people. If one is not good, it will cause panic among the people. If it leads to civil disorder, it will not end well.
"Brother!" Mrs. Qiao's tears were streaming down again, and she said hoarsely, "Sister Lan is my only daughter, your niece! Can you just ignore her safety!"
After pondering for a moment, King Zhennan said seriously, "Sister, it is absolutely impossible to completely seal the city. At most, we can only strengthen patrols at the gates of the city, and strictly check the people entering and leaving the city." I hope that suspicious persons can be found from it.
Mrs. Qiao knew that this was the decision made by King Zhennan after he backed down, she agreed with tears, and then said: "Brother, you must order the city gate soldiers to strictly investigate those who enter the city. The only one I can rely on is you. "
The King of Zhennan immediately asked the chief follower to enter the house, and after giving a series of orders in front of Mrs. Qiao, he followed up with good words, and finally persuaded Mrs. Qiao to go back to Qiao's residence to wait for news.
The sky is gradually getting brighter, and it is a brand new day.
However, the people of Luoyue City found that the nightmare of last night was not over yet. This time, not only the guards of the palace, but also patrolling officers and soldiers would pass by from time to time on the street. , the common people were unconsciously affected, shrouded in a flustered and tense atmosphere.
Some people simply choose to stay behind closed doors for fear of getting into trouble, but not everyone can do this. Many poor families who are struggling for their livelihood still have to bite the bullet and go out of the city.
There were two long queues at the gate of the city early in the morning, one for going out of the city and the other for entering the city. No matter whether they were going out or entering the city, they had to be questioned and inspected by the city gate soldiers.
The guards at the city gates received orders from their superiors, and each of them inspected them extremely strictly. Large and small items and even a vegetable basket had to be turned upside down. In order to prevent someone from going out of the city in disguise, a bearded beard was even pulled by the officers and soldiers to make sure it was a real beard, and those young women were carefully compared with a portrait of a girl...
In contrast, the team entering the city was still slightly faster than the team leaving the city. The guards mainly checked to see if there were any suspicious persons who might be accomplices of the kidnappers.
Seeing that the city gate soldiers all looked like ghosts with black faces, the people waiting in line to enter and exit the city were all silent, and they didn't even dare to vent their breath. They could only wait patiently for the team to move forward like a snail.
…
"... Concubine Shizi, the tea shop outside the north city gate was closed today by the order of the prince. Now there are strict inspections when entering and leaving Luoyue City, and the people are very anxious."
Hearing Que'er's report, Nangong nodded slightly and said, "What about the tea shop?"
"Aunt Zhang, the helper, was rewarded with two liang of silver from the cousin. From time to time, she would tell the cousin about our tea shop, but it was just a trivial matter. This time someone came to sell the anti-heat medicine. Went out." Que'er told the news in full detail, "Miss Ribiao arrived at the tea shop half an hour earlier than you, Shi Zifei, and waited for the merchant who came to sell the medicine, and didn't even negotiate the price. , I bought all the medicines directly, and then made an appointment to pick up the medicines yesterday."
Nangong Yue lowered her eyes slightly, and said thoughtfully: "Does the merchant know that the one who bought the medicine is the prince's cousin girl?"
Que'er was startled, shook her head and said, "I don't know." She recalled what the helper said, and said, "When the businessman came, it was Aunt Zhang who greeted him. Others heard him asking if the owner of the tea shop had arrived, and said The girl passed by..."
Nangong Yue was silent for a moment, then opened her lips and said, "This incident is too coincidental, I'm afraid this group of people came after me."
The maidservants looked at each other, of course they would not question Nangong Yue's judgment, Que'er said nervously, "Then servant girl, hurry up and ask Butler Zhu to strengthen protection... Shi Zifei, why don't you call sister Baihui back from the eldest girl? "
Nangong Yue raised her hand, motioning for them to be silent, immersed in her own thoughts.
It's no secret that the Zhennan Prince's Mansion procured heat-relieving medicines in Luoyue City. Of course, it was for the application of medicines in dozens of tea shops in southern Xinjiang.
From the time when someone came to sell anti-heat medicine, he first lured himself out, and then took advantage of selling the medicine to kidnap people.
However, Qiao Ruolan's aggressive behavior made "they" mistake her for him...
If this is the case, it can be said to be a disaster for Qiao Ruolan.
Nangong Yue believes that this speculation should not be far from the truth.
Nangong Yue would not think that she was the one who got Qiao Ruolan involved. After all, she would not be able to take the bait easily if she were the same thing. What's more, with the hidden guards on her side, she wouldn't fall into the passive position of Qiao Ruolan. situation.
It's just... who could it be
Taking such a big risk to act, shouldn't be purely seeking money, could it be... seeking profit
Nangong Yue's eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "Nanliang!"
Could it be that the people of Nanliang tried to kidnap him in vain to threaten Xiao Yi? !
Nangong Yue couldn't help clenching her hands into fists. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was very possible. She asked with dark eyes: "Go and see if the prince is in the mansion, and just say that I have something to see."
Not long after, Que'er reported back and forth, but King Zhennan hadn't returned to his residence yet.
Nangong Yue nodded, went straight to the outer courtyard, called Zhu Xing and gave him instructions to arrange more people to watch.
Zhu Xing accepted his order solemnly and left in a hurry.
The strict investigation of Luoyue City is still going on, and before you know it, it is the time when the scorching sun is in the sky. In the scorching summer, whether it is the soldiers guarding the city or the people queuing up to enter and leave the city, they are about to be burned by the sun, but the tea outside the north gate The shop was also closed, and it was difficult to get a cup of herbal tea. In just one morning, several frail elderly and children collapsed from heatstroke.
In front of the soldiers, the common people dared not speak out, for fear of causing trouble, but once they left Luoyue City, there were endless complaints.
In Maofeng Town, more than a hundred miles away from Luoyue City, a man wearing coarse clothes and carrying two bundles of firewood stopped when he heard someone calling him.
"Li Erzhu, it's so late, why don't you go to Luoyue City to sell firewood?"
"Don't mention it." Li Erzhu said angrily, "I just came back from Luoyue City, and I don't know what happened. I've been conducting a strict investigation early in the morning. I have to check when entering and leaving the city. I have been waiting for an hour. If you can’t get into the city, you just come back. My old lady still needs to take medicine.”
"It's so strict, there shouldn't be any spies, right?"
"Who knows, I heard that the investigation started last night..." Li Erzhu became more and more annoyed as he thought about it, "Those officials like to mess around, it's not us common people who are suffering."
"I said Li Erzhu..."
…
"My lord!" Xiaosi's helpless voice drew Guan Yubai's attention away from the two of them.
The group of them just arrived in Maofeng Town not long ago. This place is not far from Luoyue City. The long journey is really hard. Everyone is a bit dusty. Guan Yubai suggested to pack up and rest here for the time being, and wait until tomorrow morning Then go to Luoyue City.
Maofeng Town is just a small town, and it is a little eye-catching with too many people, so Guan Yubai sent Li Yunqi and the others to find an inn to settle down, while he took Xiaosi and walked there slowly.
Unexpectedly, there was an unexpected harvest.
Strict investigation
Did something happen to Luoyue City
Guan Yubai couldn't help frowning slightly.
"Young master!"
Xiao Si doesn't care about Luoyue City, what he cares most about now is that it's already this hour, and the young master hasn't had lunch yet! After finally being diagnosed and treated by Dr. Lin, the young master's health improved a bit. The ghostly weather in southern Xinjiang is stuffy and hot. If you don't rest and eat well, what if you fall ill again
Poor little four, a warrior who doesn't care about trifles, is about to become an old lady for his son.
Under Xiao Si's burning eyes, Guan Yubai finally took a step forward, and whispered as he walked, "Go and send a message to Feng Xing, let him go to Luoyue City to check."
This time when they came to Luoyue City, Xiao Si was in the light, Feng Xing was in the dark, even Li Yunqi and the others didn't know about Feng Xing's existence.
Of course, apart from these two, Guan Yubai also had some other people, so they followed him even more secretly.
Xiao Si got the order, whistled lightly, called out Feng Xing who was in the dark, and then passed on the message with lips. Not long after they walked away, a young man in his twenties, wearing a strong blue suit, turned out from an alley, he was holding a black horse by his hand, and walked lazily towards the outside of the town .
When he got out of Maofeng Town, Feng Xing immediately flew on his horse, slightly pinched the horse's belly, and the black horse galloped out like a black lightning, leaving only a cloud of flying dust.
Maofeng Town is the nearest small town to Luoyue City, Fengxing hastened all the way, and he arrived outside the north gate of Luoyue City in less than half an hour.
From a distance, he saw a long queue waiting to enter the city, and some soldiers were patrolling closely near the city gate... The situation was obviously unusual.
Feng Xing got off his horse resolutely, led the black horse, and pretended to be on his way to the gate of the city.
Fengxing lined up at the end of the line, and then deliberately sighed: "Hey, the line is so long, it's going to be the year of the monkey." He said to a plump middle-aged woman in front of him, "Sister, you Do you know what happened? I didn’t need to check when I came here a few days ago.”
When Feng Xing smiled, he revealed the dimples on his cheeks, which made people feel good about him, especially those elderly aunts and aunts.
"Yeah, I don't know what's going on today." The middle-aged woman frowned and complained, "I've been waiting for a stick of incense."
An old woman in front heard their conversation, turned her head, and said quietly: "I heard that the palace seems to be looking for two people, and one of them is a girl..."
"Yes, yes!" Another person echoed, "I heard that too, I also heard..." She looked around cautiously, and whispered, "It's our lord's concubine who stole the man, with People eloped?"
The news was really explosive, and a few people gathered around immediately, talking one after another, as if it was true.
They talked lively, but Feng Xing could tell that it was just a rumor, most of them really didn't know what happened.
Feng Xing remained calm, chatting casually with the people around him, while slowly advancing with the team, his eyes still glanced in the direction of the city gate from time to time.
Pedestrians had to be checked, luggage had to be checked, and carriages had to be searched inside and out. Feng Xing waited for half an hour before moving forward.
At this time, there was a commotion in the direction of the city gate, and an old man complained angrily: "It's really bad luck!"
Feng Xing naturally saw it too, and he didn't know which family was driving a board carriage and was about to transport a black lacquered coffin out of the city.
The driver was a middle-aged man with gray hair, and timidly said to the soldiers at the city gate: "Master Jun, this is ordered by a family in Maofeng Town. Hurry up, I'm afraid it will stink."
The soldiers at the city gate also secretly thought it was bad luck, but this time the matter was of great importance and could not be ignored at all.
The city gate soldier frowned and said, "Open the coffin quickly!"
A young man sitting next to the coffin bowed his head and cupped his fists and said, "Master Jun, it's just a coffin, don't you need it?"
"So much nonsense! Go away!" The city gate soldier waved his hand angrily and pushed the young man.
The young man staggered, bumped into the coffin, and accidentally touched the coffin lid with his arm. He heard a "click", and a quarter of the heavy coffin lid was knocked open. From the guard's point of view, one could see at a glance that the coffin was empty and there was nothing.
Bad luck, really bad luck!
The city gate soldier waved his hand impatiently, and said roughly, "Let's go! Let's go!"
"Thank you, Mr. Jun! Thank you, Mr. Jun!" The young man hastily moved the lid of the coffin back. The coachman whipped his horse, and the carriage slowly drove out of the city gate, further and further away...
Feng Xing stared at the carriage going away for a long time, then narrowed his eyes.
The soldiers at the city gate even wanted to check the coffin... It shouldn't be easy, so let's go back and return the son to life first!
"Hey, it's so hot, when will we go! I'd better come back another day."
Feng Xing said helplessly, withdrew from the team, and led the horse back dejectedly.
During this day, many people couldn't bear to line up and gave up entering the city. The soldiers were so busy that they didn't bother to take another look at him.
Fengxing got on his horse and galloped all the way, returning to Maofeng Town not long after.
Following the marks left by Xiaosi all the way, Fengxing arrived outside an inn, followed a big tree, and climbed into a certain guest room.
"Young master."
Feng Xing saluted Guan Yubai with a smile on his hands, his eyes lit up when he saw the cold water prepared on the table, and he drank it down in one gulp, ignoring Xiao Si's disgusted gaze.
Guan Yubai smiled slightly, and asked gently, "Did you find anything?"
Feng Xing put down his glass, and quickly told him what he had seen and heard during this trip, "...Young master, Luo Yuecheng should be looking for a girl. Now at least one hour of queue is required to enter and leave the city. Everything has to be checked, even The coffin was never spared, if the coffin lid wasn't accidentally knocked open, maybe those city gate soldiers would have to push it by themselves!" He spoke dryly, and drank two more glasses of cold water .
Guan Yubai was thoughtful, tapped his fingers on the table lightly, and said after a while: "Is that coffin going to be sent to Maofeng Town?"
"That's what the partner who delivered the coffin said." Feng Xing asked curiously, "My lord, what's wrong with this coffin? There should be nothing inside, otherwise we wouldn't let them go."
"The timing of this coffin opening is too coincidental." Guan Yubai said, stood up and said, "Little Si, let's go down for a walk..."
After Guan Yubai and Xiao Si went out, Feng Xing thought dully that his young master was not the one who wanted to shoot the target, could it be that there was something wrong with the coffin? He quickly jumped out of the window again...
After Guan Yubai took Xiaosi out of the inn, he walked slowly all the way to the entrance of the town, seemingly leisurely, and bought paper fans and dried fruits along the way.
When I reached the entrance of the town, I sat down casually in a tea shop on the street.
The sour plum soup came out in a short while, Xiaosi's ears twitched, and he looked towards the entrance of the town. At the end of the official road, you can see a boarded carriage approaching rapidly, getting closer, and you can see the huge and heavy black lacquered coffin behind the driver.
The carriage slowed down near the entrance of the town, and passed by the tea shop at a leisurely pace, attracting the attention of many people on the road, all pointing and pointing.
Guan Yu looked at the carriage and the coffin on the carriage in vain... His eyes fell on the ruts left by the carriage, and a gleam flashed in his eyes.
After the carriage passed by, Guan Yubai made a gesture of catching up with Feng Xing who was watching a play on the side of the road, Feng Xing nodded, nimbly blended into the crowd, and chased after the carriage...