"Didn't Yin Muran say before that the organization would back him up? I've always been wondering what kind of organization would dare to take on such a huge matter and handle it so well that hardly anyone made a big fuss. Yesterday, when Yao Kun said that Zhang Mingzhu was so arrogant that she didn't even put me in her eyes, I thought there must be a close relationship between them."
She had originally thought that this powerful Duke was just involved, but now it seemed that he might not only be involved but could even be one of the masterminds.
"You asked me if I had investigated the families of those missing girls. Of course I did. But few people would say that their daughters were missing. Some were only discovered when Yan Mo went door - to - door to collect information. Some people even refused to admit that their daughters were missing." Huo Qizhou organized his thoughts and replied, his eyes still involuntarily glancing at Shi Muyuan.
The more he looked at her, the more she resembled that little rabbit. That little rabbit had once fallen into a field of white flowers, and he had fished it out with his own hands.
"Refused to admit?" Shi Muyuan tilted her head and happened to meet Huo Qizhou's gaze.
The man's usually cold and aloof face showed some changes at this moment. He no longer seemed so distantly cold, but instead had some barely perceptible emotions. His dark eyes were soft as they met hers.
For a moment, the two were silent.
Shi Muyuan was the first to react and shifted her gaze. What was he thinking? The cold and heartless national teacher actually had such a gentle expression. Would she be silenced?
Huo Qizhou also averted his eyes, and a faint pink tint appeared on the tips of his ears.
"Yes, no matter how we tried to persuade them, they refused to admit that their children were missing. Some even directly said that such a person didn't exist."
"How is that possible? How could a person who had lived with them for more than a decade just be declared non - existent?"
"Some of the missing girls came from poor families. They might not have been abducted by Yin Muran. It wasn't strange for there to be one less person in those families, and the neighbors didn't want to meddle in other people's business."
"So that means they have other ways of abducting people," Shi Muyuan grasped the key point.
Huo Qizhou nodded.
Duke Zhang, Concubine Rui, and the House of Blossoms were the important figures they had discovered so far.
Both Duke Zhang and Concubine Rui were related to the House of Blossoms.
The House of Blossoms had sacrificed two useless pawns to save itself that day.
Concubine Rui had tried to harm her.
But if the House of Blossoms was under the command of the Duke, how did Concubine Rui, who had no powerful family background or influence, get involved?
There seemed to be an invisible thread connecting them. But Shi Muyuan and the others couldn't touch or see it, which was really frustrating.
Thanks to the good habit she had developed while studying in her previous life of writing down her thoughts on a draft paper to solve problems, Shi Muyuan subconsciously grabbed a writing brush and started writing down the things on her mind on a piece of rice paper.
Seeing her crooked handwriting again, Huo Qizhou felt his eyes ache. When Shi Muyuan handed the paper to him, he only glanced at the content briefly and then didn't look at it anymore.
He couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, when you have free time, you can ask the Second Young Master Shi for advice on calligraphy."
Shi Muyuan rolled her eyes at his reaction. Was it really necessary to be so exaggerated?
"Let's investigate the connections between them, or if there are any deals or secrets. After all, these things are what often bring people with ulterior motives together."
"I will send people to investigate their relationships. Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, please rest assured."
Shi Muyuan propped her head up and nodded. The flesh on her cheeks bunched up like a rabbit's cheeks. They looked soft and squishy, and one couldn't help but wonder if they would ooze pink filling if pinched.
"Didn't Your Majesty the Empress Dowager have something else to say?" Huo Qizhou reminded her.
"Yes, I was just about to tell you," Shi Muyuan sat up straight.
Shi Muyuan threw down the writing brush in her hand and subconsciously grabbed Huo Qizhou's white sleeve.
Surprisingly, Huo Qizhou didn't dodge this time. He let her lead him to a pillar. He saw her reach out a small hand and press on an unremarkable pattern. The pattern suddenly sank in. Then Huo Qizhou felt a slight tremor under his feet, and he saw the flat carpet on the ground suddenly sink.
He walked over and leaned forward slightly, wanting to lift the carpet. Before his hand could touch it, Shi Muyuan bounced over and lifted the carpet in one go, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"A secret passage?" He didn't expect that she had actually discovered it.
"Yes, last night I took Twelve and Xiaoxiao down to have a look. So far, we've only found two exits. One is in the forest on the back mountain, and the other is in the capital city, very close to your mansion of the national teacher."
"Is it that deserted house?"
"How do you know?" Shi Muyuan was a bit surprised. Even if it was easy to guess, there was no need to be so quick. It was really jealousy - inducing.
"If it were in someone else's house, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager probably wouldn't be so calm."
Shi Muyuan felt a bit hurt. Why would he assume that?
"Does Your Majesty the Empress Dowager have any plans?"
"Of course. In the future, it will be more convenient for me to go out of the palace to investigate cases. But it might be quite scary if there suddenly seems to be someone in that place. I hope the national teacher can make some arrangements for me."
"I wonder how Your Majesty the Empress Dowager wants me to arrange it."
He had once been curious about that place. After asking around, he learned that it was a house with an owner. But the owner hadn't been seen for many years. He had heard that someone had once had ideas about it but had been scared out of their wits.
Now it seemed that the owner must be someone from the palace.
"Just clean up the things inside. Don't change the outside. Let people still think that it's empty inside."
Shi Muyuan thought that the thick iron bar probably didn't need to be replaced. Anyway, she wouldn't go through the front door. It could be used to block the door. She only needed to replace the furniture inside. Then she could rest there when she sneaked out. The idea of her little base was gradually taking shape in her mind.
"What does Your Majesty the Empress Dowager plan to exchange for it? After all, our relationship is just a deal with a common goal."
Shi Muyuan stared at him in disbelief with wide - open eyes. She had thought that their relationship was good by now. So it was just her being sentimental?
After seeing Huo Qizhou off, Shi Muyuan fell into a daze. She had thought that she could figure out this dog - like man's changes. It seemed that she was still too naive and had thought too much!
Xiaoxiao saw her state and thought she was unwell. She picked up the teapot that had been warming on the stove, stepped forward, and poured a cup of steaming hot tea for her, hoping to soothe her.
When Shi Muyuan picked up the cup of tea, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the cup of tea that she had poured for him at the beginning. Somehow, it was already empty.
She had poured it casually out of courtesy, but she didn't expect that he had actually drunk it.
Did that mean that their relationship wasn't actually that bad?
Shi Muyuan sipped the tea that Xiaoxiao had poured and stared blankly at the cup that Huo Qizhou had drunk from.
Xiaoxiao thought to herself that the Empress Dowager must be possessed!