Volume 2: Female Corpse in Monk's Clothes Chapter 74: Familiar Taste
"This is Miss Lu's room!"
Inside the inner house of the Marquis' Mansion, a maid introduced them to Xu Zun and the others.
The boudoir of the daughter of the Marquis's mansion is a private place and cannot be visited by outsiders. Even the last time the constable came to investigate, he was not allowed to enter.
Now, since Xu Zun and Zhao Yu were allowed to enter, it was obvious that the wife of Marquis Changping was extremely anxious and no longer cared about any etiquette in order to find her daughter.
"oh……"
As soon as he entered the young lady's boudoir, Xu Zun discovered that it was different.
But there was a sword hanging on the front wall, and a warrior's armor standing in one corner!
The armor was purple and pink in color, and judging from the protruding breastplate and graceful curves, it was obviously a pair of armor specially made for women!
"this……"
As Wei Beihui was also restrained by etiquette, at this moment, apart from Xu Zun and Zhao Yu, there were only two of Miss Lu's personal maids to introduce him.
One of the maids quickly replied:
"My Lord, Miss Lu is proficient in both civil and military affairs, and is particularly good at swordplay and horsemanship.
"This set of armor was specially made by the Marquis on Miss's fifteenth birthday. Miss liked it very much, so she moved it into her boudoir."
"oh……"
Xu Zun carefully checked the boudoir and saw that there was indeed a martial spirit in the boudoir, which showed that Miss Lu was not a weak and delicate lady.
"You..." Xu Zun pointed at the boudoir bed and asked, "Have you searched this place carefully after the young lady disappeared?"
"Your Excellency," the maid replied, "The Marquis ordered us to search carefully, but found nothing unusual."
The boudoir of a marquis's daughter is naturally incomparable to that of an ordinary family.
The boudoir and the study are decorated in an elegant and luxurious manner.
Xu Zun soon made a new discovery. He saw several calligraphy and paintings on the desk in the study, and next to them were inkstones, brushes and other writing supplies.
Coming closer, he lifted up one of the paintings and examined it. It showed a heroic general in a white robe, with a poem attached to the side:
[I dreamed of returning to the general's camp, and I hated to kill. 】
This poem...
"Wow, so domineering!" Zhao Yu also saw this poem and immediately praised it.
Xu Zun appreciated the painting carefully and found that it was not mature, the brushwork was even a little immature, but the written words also revealed a graceful atmosphere.
"Was this calligraphy and painting made by Miss Lu?" Xu Zun asked.
"The painting was painted by the young lady," the maid replied, "but the poem was not!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun looked at the white-robed general in the painting, then at the domineering poem, and asked, "Who wrote that?"
Before the maidservant could answer, Xu Zun first saw the seal under the calligraphy and painting, which had four words written on it - [Made by Lu Xiaofeng].
What!!?
Xu Zun was dumbfounded. Lu Xiaofeng was out?
Are there also Chu Liuxiang and Ximen Chuxue?
"This poem was written by Miss Lu's classmate, Miss Xiaofeng!" the maid replied.
Classmate?
girl?
It turns out that this Lu Xiaofeng is a woman.
"Miss Xiaofeng's surname is also Lu," the maid continued, "and she was very close to my young lady. Unfortunately... a few months ago, Miss Xiaofeng suddenly left without saying goodbye, and left Shangyuan City with her family..."
"oh?"
Xu Zun raised his eyebrows, seeming to realize something.
"This Miss Xiaofeng..." Zhao Yu asked as if he had discovered the key point, "Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
"This servant does not know, I only know that their family left very suddenly."
"Yes," another echoed, "When the young lady found out, she was really worried and sent people to inquire around. It seemed that she heard that something happened in her hometown, so she left in a hurry.
"But then the lady sent someone to investigate again, but they found nothing..."
"Yes, a few days ago," the maidservant said again, "I heard the young lady mention Miss Xiaofeng. She said she was worried about her safety and wanted Mr. Wei to help find her..."
"Mr. Wei?" Xu Zun asked, "Wei Beihui?"
"Yes," the maid nodded, "It was Mr. Wei. He has many friends in the underworld, so the young lady wanted to ask Mr. Wei for help. But unexpectedly, the young lady disappeared the next day..."
Tsk tsk…
After hearing the maid's story, Xu Zun smacked his lips secretly. He didn't expect that he had once again oversimplified the case!
At first, the reason why he repeatedly asked Ran Lin about the academy and Miss Lu’s age was because he suspected that Miss Lu’s disappearance might be related to love.
16 years old is neither too old nor too young, as it is the time when love begins to blossom.
Since her disappearance has no obvious signs of kidnapping or extortion, could it be due to relationship problems?
However, from what I have seen so far, I find that this Miss Lu does not seem like a sentimental girl, but rather a very manly person.
If it weren't for the love affair, this case would have a different flavor!
This smell is very familiar to Xu Zun, it is the smell of conspiracy...
Next, Xu Zun checked the large number of calligraphy and paintings in the study and found that there was indeed no tenderness or lingering meaning in Miss Lu's calligraphy and paintings. They were basically some grand feelings about family and country, as well as some insights and experiences of Taoist scriptures.
Moreover, many of the calligraphy and paintings were created by Miss Lu Xiaofeng. From the words and paintings, it can be seen that the two Miss Lu indeed shared the same values and had a deep friendship.
After checking the boudoir, Xu Zun, with the help of Taoist Wei Beihui, found a room and began to question all those who were close to Miss Lu individually.
"I am a sedan bearer," one of the bearers told Xu Zun when Miss Lu disappeared, "That day, on her way back from the academy, we walked along the alley at Beiqi Gate as usual...
“But we didn’t expect that when we reached the center of the alley, several men in black suddenly fell on our heads and knocked us unconscious!
“I didn’t even see clearly how many people there were, but they were all very skilled. I just saw blackness before my eyes and I knew nothing!
"Look..." He lifted his collar to let Xu Zun see the palm print on the back of his neck, "It's been five days, and the swelling hasn't gone down yet..."
…
"I'm a guard..." a burly middle-aged man said ashamedly, "The enemy came suddenly that day, and we were not prepared and fell into their ambush..."
As he spoke, the guard also lifted up his collar, allowing Xu Zun to see a needle hole on his neck.
" They used hidden weapons, and I fainted before I knew it. When I opened my eyes again, the young lady had been abducted..."
…
"I'm the young lady's maid," a young girl said timidly, "It was so scary that day. I only saw a few shadows, and then I was punched in the back and fainted!"
Xu Zun was silent for a few seconds, and found that this maid did not lift up her collar for him to check like the others, so he asked:
"Did you follow Miss Lu into the academy that day?"
"I went in!" the maid replied, "I entered the academy, but I couldn't go into the classroom. I could only wait outside the hall."
"What do people talk about in Qinglan Academy?"
"It seems like there are a lot," the maid replied, "There are national codes, Taoist scriptures, some knowledge about women's special examinations, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, the six arts, etc...."
Because the Queen Mother was in power, in the fourth year of Xianyuan, Daxuan opened a special examination for women for the first time. As long as one could pass the examination, they would have the opportunity to enter the capital and become a female official.
"So, young lady, was there anything unusual on that day?"
"Abnormal?" The maid recalled carefully and shook her head repeatedly, "It's exactly the same as usual, there's nothing unusual!"
" Has your young lady ever told you what's on her mind?" Xu Zun asked again, his eyes flashing with ferocity, which was a bit scary.
"What's on her mind?" The maid hurriedly lowered her head and whispered, "Nothing on her mind, right? Oh... it seems that if there is anything on her mind, it is that she has not been able to find Miss Lu Xiaofeng?"
Next, the maid told Xu Zun about Miss Lu Xiaofeng's situation, which was the same as what the previous maid had said.
"Oh..." Xu Zun thought for a moment and asked, "Then... do you think your Miss Lu has signs of youthful rebellion?"
"This... um..." The maid was dumbfounded and asked weakly, "What is youth rebellion!?"
