Daily life in the academy

Bai Zhi was stunned by the two enthusiastic calls of "Big Brother". She couldn't remember when she became so familiar with a certain child.

Yan Qingchen reminded from the side: "This is the boy you sent to deliver the letter that day."

"Ah~ He's cleaned up. I didn't dare recognize him at first." Bai Zhi exclaimed, but then asked with a hint of doubt: "Have you decided to adopt him?"

Yan Qingchen looked at Butler Shen, who smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed. "Young Master, I've been childless all my life. When I saw Xiao Shi that day, I loved him very much. This child also got along well with me, so I asked the prince to take charge and adopt him as my adopted son."

Bai Zhi never thought that her actions would actually help a child find a home. She thought that the days of being imprisoned were worth it. She touched Xiao Shi's head and said, "Xiao Shi, you don't have to worry about food and clothing here. You must listen to Butler Shen from now on."

Xiao Shi nodded vigorously: "Xiao Shi will be very good."

...

When Bai Zhi finally lay on the familiar bed in Jingyuan, all the uneasiness in her heart faded away. Her mind was in a mess. She wanted to know what happened to the arrested woman, An Ziqian's current situation, whether the Minister of Rites' Mansion was implicated, and Wenzhe... He didn't show up this time, so what happened to their family.

But she was so tired that even after taking a short nap in the carriage on the way back to the palace, she could not resist the overwhelming sleepiness and soon fell into a deep sleep.

That night, Bai Zhi slept very soundly. Before falling asleep, she wondered if she could dream again of that figure whose true face she had never seen, but... She had no dreams all night long.

After the servants helped her wash up, they took her to have dinner with her masters.

When Princess Ning saw Bai Zhi, she came forward and pulled her to sit next to her: "Azhi, you have suffered a lot these days. Come, eat more to replenish your body."

Soon, Baizhi's bowl was filled with all kinds of food. It was a bit heavy to eat so much so early in the morning, but it was hard to refuse the enthusiasm of the elders, so she could only suppress the questions in her heart and have breakfast honestly.

While Baizhi was eating, Yan Qingchen was being scolded by Ning Wang's wife, and Ning Wang was also affected. Baizhi lowered her head lower and lower as she ate, and she wanted to bury it in the bowl, for fear that the father and son would hold a grudge against her.

Yan Qingchen ate slowly, as if he had become immune to Princess Ning's words. In fact, he had been keeping an eye on Bai Zhi's movements. When he saw that his bowl was empty, he immediately stood up, brushed his sleeves and said, "Azhi, don't you have many questions? Come on, follow me to the Wen Mansion."

Hearing the key words, Bai Zhi stood up reflexively: "Okay, Brother Yan, let's go." Then she thought of Princess Ning beside her and hesitated: "Aunt Rou, then... I'll go with Brother Yan first."

Princess Ning glared at her son, but when she turned to look at Bai Zhi, her smile immediately returned to her face: "It's okay, go ahead."

After getting the approval, Yan Qingchen didn't say anything extra and walked out, and Bai Zhi followed him at a trot.

Although Bai Zhi was full of doubts and wanted to understand the current situation, she was also very worried about the situation of Wenzhe's family. However... since Yan Qingchen could take her to the Wen Mansion as if nothing had happened, it meant that the plot of the original book should have been changed.

In the carriage, Bai Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yan, can you tell me what happened after I was captured? And how did you find us?"

Now that they were alone, there was nothing to worry about.

Yan Qingchen nodded to the teacup in front of him. Bai Zhi filled it for him. He took a sip and spoke slowly, "That day you sent Xiao Shi to deliver a letter. The key information only mentioned the West Market and the brothels. But the West Market is so big, there are dozens of brothels of all sizes. We really have no clue."

Three days ago, the Ministry of Justice

In front of Wenzhe were the identity files of all the missing women, including their facial features and the movements of each woman before she disappeared, pieced together from recent interviews and inquiries.

Integrating all the information, these women have several things in common. One is that they are all girls between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, and the other is that they all have outstanding looks.

As for their whereabouts, they are very confusing. They are found in every market town, and at first glance there is no sign of overlap.

If others had seen such a large amount of information, they would have been dizzy long ago, but Wenzhe was very good at extracting information. He carefully compared the behavior of each woman before she disappeared, and he actually found a clue.

At least three of the women had been to the same rouge shop in Xishi, called Linlang Rouge.

Wenzhe had just finished instructing the officials of the Ministry of Justice to investigate Linlang Yanzhi when he saw Yan Qingchen and Mu Bailian coming in hurriedly from outside.

"Azhe, it's bad, Azhi is missing."

"What? What happened?" Wenzhe quickly put down the case file in his hand.

Yan Qingchen's usually somewhat cold voice unexpectedly took on a touch of urgency today. "Before midnight yesterday, a little beggar came with a message from Ah Zhi, saying that if he wasn't at the tavern today, something had happened. He also said that this disappearance might be related to the brothel, and asked us to focus our search on the brothel."

Mu Bailian: "We just came from a tavern, and Ah Zhi is indeed missing."

Wenzhe frowned, "Have you asked the owner of a tavern if there was anything unusual before Ah Zhi disappeared?"

Mu Bailian shook his head. "I asked. The curfew was lifted last night, and the tavern was doing good business. The proprietress just said he hurriedly said something and left. Everyone in the tavern is so busy that we really don't know where he went."

Yan Qingchen added, "Ye Yanliang was also working in the tavern yesterday. He said he saw Ah Zhi escort a couple out of the tavern, and then he ran out in a hurry."

Wenzhe's face was serious. "I've found some clues now. Since Ah Zhi sent someone to deliver the message, it means he must have accidentally learned something. But the situation was urgent and he didn't have time to contact us. Since he gave us the clues, there must be something wrong with the brothel in West Market." After a pause, he said, "Perhaps... Think about it again. Did he say anything before he parted with you?"

Mu Bailian spread his hands and said, "I left early and didn't go into the city with Ah Zhi."

After saying that, he looked at Yan Qingchen and asked, "Brother Yan, what about you?"

Yan Qingchen did not answer. His eyelids were drooping, making it impossible to see his expression at the moment. Wenzhe and Mu Bailian looked at each other and asked silently: What's wrong with him?

Mu Bailian curled his lips and shook his head: How dare I ask about Brother Yan’s affairs?

Suddenly, Yan Qingchen said, "Bai Lian, follow Azhe in the investigation. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

After saying that, he ran away from the Ministry of Justice, leaving the two of them looking at each other in bewilderment.

Interjection:

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