"At that time, the old lady led us to confront the princess in Huiyue Center. Mother Zhao was not present. She should be like other servants in the mansion. She just came here after hearing the news and stood outside the yard to guess what happened inside."
Mother Cheng confirmed: "Grandma is right. The slave was also standing outside the yard at that time and saw Mother Zhao."
Li Qingyi continued: "In this case, the old lady ordered the princess to be imprisoned. Only the people in the yard knew why. People outside, including Mother Zhao, obviously did not know the crime committed by the princess. But Mother Zhao actually He directly used the method of imprisoning the servants, leaving the princess and the mistress of the house alone in the house, and locked the door without leaving any room! Isn't it strange? "
Everyone looked at each other in shock.
Mrs. Cheng was stunned: "Did she help the princess?"
The two of them have been waiting in the old lady's yard for about the same amount of time, and their relationship is pretty good. Could it be that Mother Zhao is actually the princess's wife?
Li Qingyi looked at Lian Shuang and asked, "You saw Mother Zhao lock the door with your own eyes, and she has been guarding the door since then and never left, right?"
"No, I haven't left even an inch!" Lian Shuang replied decisively, and then added, "When Mother Zhao sent the meals in, my servant was always guarding the door."
"When you just went in, you said you were the first to go in. In other words, when Mother Zhao went in to deliver the food, you didn't follow her."
Lian Shuang nodded in confusion, "Yes, if there was any movement, I could see the house and the yard when I stood at the door and tilted my head, so I didn't go in. Grandma...is there something wrong?"
"That's wrong! It's very wrong!" Li Qingyi said: "There is no secret passage in this room. Unless Lin can become invisible and go to heaven and earth, how could she disappear out of thin air? Unless... she never left at all from the beginning to the end Been in this room!"
"How can this be?"
Li Qingyi pointed to the door lock and said: "Mrs. Zhao seems to be acting safely, but in fact she is just trying to cover up the fact that there is no one in Jusi Pavilion! Mrs. Lin... I am afraid she ran away before Lian Shuang arrived at Jusi Pavilion. !”
"But..." Mrs. Cheng was shocked, "Lianshuang clearly saw someone behind the screen!"
"It should be that outer skirt! You should still remember the messy bedding on the bed! It was simply placed there as a trap to mislead us!"
"Grandma means that the shadow that Lian Shuang saw was made of quilts and outer skirts?"
"That outer skirt was not left there by Mrs. Lin at all. Someone put the clothes there in advance. Firstly, it was to mislead us that Mrs. Lin had really come in. In addition, it was to let Lianshuang see Mrs. Lin outside. shadow."
Lian Shuang was dumbfounded, "But... the figure was still there after Mother Zhao came out. Until this morning when she went to deliver meals and found that the princess was missing, during this time, Mother Zhao has been with the slave and has not been separated for a moment. She has no time at all. Go and mess up the clothes, quilts and food boxes, and, through the door, the slave heard the sound of cups and plates clattering inside!"
Li Qingyi already knew the mystery, and pointed in the direction where the black cat left just now, "Did you forget that little thing?"
Everyone was startled, and Mrs. Cheng exclaimed: "It's that big black cat! It must have been the big black cat that knocked over the food box. The sound Lianshuang heard must have been caused by it!"
Lian Shuang suddenly realized, "No wonder someone specially sent yellow croaker to the house last night. It was not because the old lady liked to eat it, nor was it prepared for anyone else, but was specially prepared for the big black cat! It seems that it was specially prepared for the big black cat! The princess has already made preparations..."
Mrs. Zhao only needs to use the quilt to circle the food box in the middle. After the big black cat smells the fishy smell, it will get into the quilt and rummage, so the mattress will be messy.
"But the furnishings in the house are simple. We opened the door and went in to check. No one found the cat hiding in the house. Even if we didn't see it, it didn't run away or bark."
Li Qingyi said with a deep look: "This is the most crucial point in Lin's conspiracy to disappear. Did you hear the cat meow just now?"
Several people looked at each other and shook their heads.
"The mute drug is not only for people to take. If my guess is correct, then the big black cat should have been fed the mute drug, and there is no way to scream. Mother Zhao only needs to stun it, along with Lin's She put her outer skirt into the house in advance and hid it. When she went in to deliver food at night, she would wake up the cat, and everything would be done, and..."
Li Qingyi looked at everyone and sighed, "Why didn't Mother Zhao go in to retrieve the food box last night? Didn't she pick up last night's food box when she delivered the meal this morning? She couldn't be too lazy to wait for the princess to bring breakfast After eating, take away last night's and this morning's food boxes together, right? Is there anyone who can serve the master like this? From Zhao's mother's point of view, she doesn't know what the princess has done, so doesn't she have a chance to turn over? ? How dare she neglect the princess like this?"
Chang Ning's head is full of questions, can he still do this! ! !
Lian Shuang had a small green face, "The princess disappeared in the morning. When the old lady brought people to check, the cat's habits were very likely to jump up to the rafters and hide like just now. It was hungry just now. I came down again to look for something to eat, but we happened to bump into me!"
Li Qingyi was also a little helpless, "Open the door."
Lian Shuang opened the door and everyone entered the house again.
Li Qingyi picked up the dirty outer skirt on the bed with his fingers, then threw it down and chuckled, "This is not the one Lin wore yesterday! She had already expected it and prepared it for herself. A way out!"
Lian Shuang was anxious and angry, "Just now after you and the old lady left, Mother Zhao came back and brought food to the slaves. Then seeing that Chang Lan and Chang Ning stayed here, she said that since there were enough people here, she would go back. Check to see if the old lady has any orders... She must have spotted the right opportunity!"
If Zhao's mother didn't come back, Lian Shuang would definitely become suspicious, so she waited for Li Qingyi and others to come to check, and then left before appearing to give Lian Shuang an explanation! At this moment, he said that he wanted to return to Jingyuntang to obey his orders, so he might have run away!
After listening to the explanation for a long time, Chang Ning felt that his brain was itching from stimulation. Before he could say anything, his legs were already moving: "Slave, let's chase him now!"
Li Qingyi let her go and said to the others: "You don't have to stay here anymore. Mother Cheng will go back and tell the old lady the truth. The others will follow me to find Nan Zhu."
Since Nan Zhu said that there is someone who has been keeping in touch with Lin, this person is probably Lin's contact person, so maybe this is the person who is supporting Lin from outside!
*****
In the woodshed, Nanzhu could not sit still.
Last night was probably the most difficult night she had ever spent in her life!
Therefore, when the wooden door of the woodshed opened with a creak, all the pores in her body became much clearer, as if she breathed a sigh of relief.
Waiting for others to decide one's own fate, with nothing to lose, was not a good experience. It was like cutting flesh with a dull knife. She never wanted to experience this kind of heart-wrenching pain again.
Nanzhu raised his head and looked at the person who came. It was Chang Lan, the eldest lady's personal maid.
She hurriedly told the result of her search, "I remembered something, I want to see grandma!"
Chang Lan gave her a cold look, "Follow me."
Li Qingyi had already returned to Fuling Residence and gave the necessary instructions, and Nan Zhu was brought there.
"It seems that you have remembered something."
Nan Zhu knelt down obediently, "Grandma is right. I thought hard and thought of something, which should be useful to Grandma."
Li Qingyi curled his eyes, "If the information you provide is useful, I will definitely fight for a good result in front of the old lady on your behalf."
"Thank you, grandma!"
Nan Zhu thanked her quickly, and then said cautiously: "Every time that person meets the slave, he is very tightly covered. His face is tied with a scarf, his eyes are covered by a hood, he even wears gloves, and he doesn't speak. However, according to the slave's observation, she is only slightly taller than the eldest grandmother, with narrow shoulders. Although she is wearing gloves, her fingers can be seen to be slender, and the only exposed wrist is also very white and delicate. She must be a woman. !”
Li Qingyi's eyebrows twitched, "What else?"
"Also, the slave once smelled the smell of powder on that person. Although it was just a faint hint, the slave was sure that the aroma should be the powder from the deeply fragrant rouge shop! The slave didn't think much about it at the time, but she knew it later. Later I realized that the person was negligent or had something to do and didn't have time to remove the smell."
Deep Fragrance Rouge Shop is one of the best rouge shops in the capital. Whether it is balm or rouge gouache, the fragrance is light and pure and lasts for a long time. It is very popular among the rich ladies from all over the country. Li Qingyi also uses the products from this shop.
"It could also be the smell that was picked up on someone else."
Nanzhu answered cautiously: "I can't be sure, but my nose is still very good, and I think it should be her own smell. Besides, how close does a woman have to be to another woman before she can be tainted with the smell of powder? Or maybe it is? , she often stays in the rouge shop, and she may be infected with the fragrance. If she is in it for a long time, she will easily ignore the smell of her body, or she may not be able to smell it at all."
Li Qingyi's eyes showed a little surprise, he didn't expect Nan Zhu to really be able to explain something useful! Then her efforts this time were not in vain.
"Chang Lan, please immediately ask someone to go to Shenxiang Rouge Shop to find out what's going on. Lin is very likely to be hiding here or staying temporarily!"
Changlan said excitedly: "Yes, I will give you the order now!"
Li Qingyi looked at Nan Zhu, "What else can you think of?"
"Well... her Qinggong should be very powerful. She acts like a ghost, always silently..."
"Can she meet Lin frequently?"
Nan Zhu shook his head: "My slave is not inseparable from the princess day and night. I don't know if she will sneak into the palace at night to meet with the princess. However, it should be infrequent. Otherwise, why would I need my slave to pass news back and forth?"
Li Qingyi nodded in agreement, "What you said makes sense. It seems that this woman is not free..."
