He and Leng Linjiang squatted down in unison and looked at the ground inch by inch.
This room seems ordinary at first, but upon closer inspection, every detail is luxurious.
The floor is not paved with the water-polished blue bricks that ordinary people use, but narrow strips of golden nanmu that are polished, smooth, and waxed.
The light of the red candle flows on the floor, one layer of golden light and one layer of red light, just like the setting sun spreading over water, it is quite a scene of half river melting gold and half river red.
This kind of flooring is beautiful, but it has shortcomings.
The biggest disadvantage is that it is expensive.
In addition, it is not resistant to dirt. A thin layer of dust is stained after just a few steps, and someone has to follow behind to keep mopping the floor.
When Han Changmu and Leng Linjiang walked in, they didn't notice the special ground. They didn't deliberately step down, so they left very light footprints on the floor as expected.
After the two squatted down, they could distinguish the footprints of five people. Two pairs of large footprints belonged to them, and the other two pairs were smaller. One pair of footprints was messy from the door to the basin shelf. Turning back to the door, the other one walked from the door to the basin shelf, then walked to the bed, and finally stopped at the door in a panic.
Han Changmu moved his eyes to look at the two maids lying at the door. These two pairs of footprints belonged to these two people.
The other pair of petite footprints just crossed the threshold and did not enter the room. They apparently stood inside the door and looked in for a few times before retreating.
Han Changmu thought of the maid who came to the front yard to report the news.
As expected, the footprints were hers.
Then this is wrong, where are the bride’s footprints?
Leng Linjiang also noticed something was wrong and hissed: "Did the bride float in?"
Han Changmu pursed his lips and said nothing. He had checked the details of Mrs. Shen. The palace maid in Yeting was later released from the palace for unknown reasons, married a gentleman named Shen, and opened the Shen family restaurant. Within two years, Shen After her husband died, she ran the wine shop alone.
He didn't know what Mrs. Shen's maiden name was, which mansion she was from, or what crime she was convicted of when she was admitted to Yeting. It seemed that some of the records of the year she was admitted to Yeting were deliberately erased, but he still found out some things. Yes, Mrs. Shen and Yao Yao entered Yeting in the same year and month. They were also in the first year of Yong'an, and they were only a few days apart.
Madam Shen is twenty-nine years old this year, which means that she was thirteen years old when she entered Yeting, while Yao Yao was three years old.
His gaze suddenly became piercing. The biggest case in the first year of Yong'an, which involved the most people and the widest range of people, was the case of the Chen family and the Fang family. In that case, the people of the Fang family, whether they were women or men, were all involved. Everyone above the age of four was beheaded, and everyone below the age of fourteen was exiled. It was impossible for them to be imprisoned in Yeting.
Then, the only female relatives left in Yeting are those from the Chen family.
Thinking of this, he suppressed his surging heartbeat and walked a few steps in the room. The general situation became clear to him.
Nothing here has been touched much, except that there is an extra stick of incense in the incense burner and a basin of water missing from the copper basin.
Yes, there is also a new bride and her footprints missing.
He looked around again, his eyes fell directly on the tightly closed window, paused slightly, and walked over quickly.
With a "squeak" sound, he reached out and pushed open the window.
The window lattice was wiped clean, there was no dust at all, and naturally there were no fingerprints left.
He leaned forward and looked out. Leng Linjiang was holding a lantern and lighting it next to him.
Under the window is a piece of soil with several flowers and trees planted. At this season, the green leaves are already covered with branches.
Perhaps it was because it had rained a few days ago that the ground was a little damp.
He raised his eyes and looked outside, and found that the wet soil was limited to the small area under the window, while other places were semi-dry.
The same piece of soil shows two distinct colors, one dark and one light.
Han Changmu sneered, closed the window with a bang, walked to the copper basin, stretched out his hand and wiped it in the basin.
The copper basin was dry, but it was stained with water. It was obvious that it had been filled with water not long ago.
He put his fingers under his nose and sniffed.
It smells like powder.
The smile on his face became thicker and colder, making Leng Linjiang shiver.
Han Changmu walked to the door, met Wang Zhen's eager eyes, his eyes flashed, and asked: "Is Mrs. Shen's dowry still there?"
Wang Zhen turned to look at the housekeeper.
The housekeeper said hurriedly: "When the accident happened, I asked someone to check it out. The dowry boxes are all there and have not been touched. And no big things have left the house today."
Han Changmu nodded.
Wang Zhen asked anxiously: "Master Han, what happened inside?"
Han Changmu thought for a while, took out the handkerchief from his sleeve, opened it to reveal the lingering fragrance, and asked Wang Zhen: "Master Wang, could you please identify it, is this the incense commonly used in your house?"
Although Wang Zhen is a civil servant, he is actually a rough man and his family is not rich. If his ancestors were rich, why would they send Wang Gui to the palace as a chamberlain? The Wang family has no sense of elegance from the very beginning, let alone discernment. What kind of spices are there? Even the commonly used incense, he couldn't name a few.
He stared at the shapeless lingering fragrance and said with a grimace: "My lord, I can't smell it. If there is anything wrong with this fragrance, please tell me."
Han Changmu nodded, feeling quite unbearable: "There is a very heavy mandala in this fragrance. This kind of flower has the effect of intoxicating drugs."
With these shocking words, Wang Zhen swayed. He really suffered too many blows tonight.
His face was gloomy and ugly, and he could barely control his voice from trembling: "Master Han, Master Han means that someone stunned the maid and kidnapped Ah Chen!"
Han Changmu did not comment, but pursed his lips and said, "Wake up the maids first. I have something else to ask them."
Wang Zhen nodded and ordered people to help the two maids down, trying to wake them up as soon as possible before sending them back.
The night was already very dark, and the surroundings were astonishingly quiet, not even the chirping of insects could be heard.
At this hour, there is a curfew in the city, and the guests who did not leave in time will not be able to leave even if they want to.
However, with such a big bustle, I'm afraid no one really wants to leave.
At this moment, Wang Zhen didn't have time to find out which of the people who stayed behind really wanted to help, and which ones really wanted to watch the fun.
But it was not easy to let so many people stand outside to enjoy the cool breeze. Wang Zhen cheered up and invited everyone to move to the flower hall to serve tea.
Although such a big thing happened, the servants and maids in the mansion still served tea, snacks and hangover soup in an orderly manner. The housekeeper led a group of people to the guest room to clean up. With so many people staying in the mansion, it was always difficult to Need a place to stay the night.
After a while, Wang Zhen calmed down a bit and was no longer as panicked as before.
If you are kidnapped, find it back. As long as the person is still alive, it won't be a big deal.
He looked steadily at Han Changmu, his voice trembling slightly: "Master Han, according to what you have seen, Ah Shen, is she still alive?"
Han Changmu slowly took a sip of tea and said, "I will not be able to make a conclusion until my servant wakes up and I have spoken to you."
No one spoke anymore in the flower hall, and it became quiet for a while.
The night wind blew through the window lattice, making a low whine.
Within a moment, the housekeeper led the two maids who had woken up and entered the flower hall.
The clothes on these two people had been changed, but their hair was still wet and dripping with water.
The method of awakening the two of them was obviously a bit crude, but it was also the most effective.
The two of them were shivering from the cold and fell to their knees in the flower hall, their lips turned white and they kept murmuring.
Wang Zhen nodded slightly towards Han Changmu: "Master Han, just ask."
Now he didn't have any fear of embarrassment, so he simply revealed everything in front of so many people, and established the victim's character firmly.
Han Changmu originally thought that Wang Zhen would let him question him in private, but he didn't expect that he would ask him in front of so many people.
I wonder if Wang Zhen really has nothing to do with others and is open and selfless and not afraid of questioning, or is it because his confidence is so deep that he is not afraid of being asked?
He coughed slightly and asked quietly: "Are you two maids on duty outside the new house tonight?"
The two maids already knew that something was going on in the house and that the bride was missing. They were so frightened that they nodded tremblingly: "Yes."
Han Changmu asked again: "What happened tonight, please tell me carefully."
The two maids looked at each other, their lips twitching, and they were so frightened that they didn't know where to start.
Han Changmu paused for a moment and pointed at the slightly shorter maid: "Speak first."
The maid shook hard, kowtowed, and her voice became even softer, as loud as a mosquito: "Sir, after the master left the bridal chamber, the maid heard the lady calling for someone in the room, so the maid hurriedly took the food. Go in with the copper basin and wait for the lady to wash herself."
Han Changmu was keenly aware that there was something wrong with what he said, and frowned: "Are you sure it's Mrs. Shen calling someone in the room?"
The short maid was stunned, hesitant and unsure.
At this moment, the tall maid trembled and said: "Mistress, I remember, it was when I heard some movement in the room that I asked the lady if she wanted to wash up, and then the lady called all the maids. Go in, the maids, they just came in with water to wait on you."
Han Changmu narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "So, what did you see when you entered? Is there anyone else in the room?"
The two maids immediately shook their heads and said in unison: "No, the lady is the only one in the room."
Han Changmu nodded: "Continue."
The tall maid had calmed down a little at this time, her voice was no longer shaking so much, and her words were somewhat coherent: "The maids put away the washing things, but the lady did not move or speak. The maid felt that Something was wrong, so I walked over to see the lady, but she still didn’t move. The maid got scared, so she pushed her gently, and she fell down.”
As she spoke, she covered her mouth and cried in horror.
