Liu Yuan scooped out an empty spoonful, feeling extremely disappointed. He looked at the bowl of red bean xiǎoyuánzi that Xun Zhou had not yet scooped out and opened his mouth to try his best to make one last effort: “Master Xun, this is sweet, and the ladies prefer it. You may not like it.”

Upon hearing this, Xun Zhou glanced at the red bean xiǎoyuánzi that Liu Yuan and the others had scooped out cleanly, snorted lightly, and said with a smile: “Since the ladies like it, why did you scoop it so cleanly? Are you all ladies?” As he said that, he picked up a spoon and scooped in.

Liu Yuan touched his nose and said awkwardly: “We can’t waste Master Wen’s hard work!”

After putting a spoonful of red bean xiǎoyuánzi into his mouth, Xun Zhou squinted his eyes in satisfaction: “Then as a senior brother, I can’t waste Sister Mingtang’s painstaking efforts!”

He hadn’t agreed to do the job yet, but he had already started eating.

Fortunately, Xun Zhou, who had eaten on the opposite side, looked at Lin Fei and said, “Are you really willing to help me with this, Lin Shaoqing?”

Lin Fei hummed, and said, “It’s courtesy!”

In that case… Xun Zhou thought about it and agreed.

When Wen Mingtang and others came back after delivering the red bean xiǎoyuánzi, Liu Yuan and others were still sitting in front of the food table in the public kitchen chatting, but Xun Zhou, who was sitting opposite them, had disappeared.

Seeing Wen Mingtang coming back, Liu Yuan hurriedly said, “Thank you so much for your help, Master Wen!”

Wen Mingtang touched her nose and said, “No need to be so polite.”

She saw Xun Zhou running around all day, so the homework should not be difficult for him. Otherwise, he would not have the energy to worry about finding a suitable husband for her.

Her ideal husband didn’t need these people to worry about him! Instead, she could use this time to do other things, such as doing good deeds for the heavens.

…

…

After eating a bowl of red bean xiǎoyuánzi, you could continue to work.

Since Xun Zhou had agreed, he had to plan carefully to lure the snake out of its hole.

Lin Fei walked to the table and sat down, handing the portrait on the table, whose ink had not yet dried, to Bai Zhu: “Go check the origin of this person!”

This portrait was based on the description of the “Slave Trader” by the three abducted women and Second Master Yuan. Lin Fei was not only good at painting the face of the man but also at painting the attitude of the man. He painted the “Slave Trader”‘s demeanor so vividly that several people who had seen him nodded and said, “That’s the man!”

But… no matter how good Lin Fei’s painting skills were, or how well he controlled his expression, everyone felt uneasy when they saw the full beard on his chin.

If this “Slave Trader” had lost his beard, how could ordinary people recognize him just by his exposed eyebrows and eyes?

Bai Zhu took the portrait: No matter what, let’s give it a try!

Most of those who did the business of “young ladies” were related to brothels. During this period, not only Chang’an City but also nearby brothels had to be closely watched.

Besides……

“To be able to hide from so many yamen runners and kidnap people without anyone noticing, this business must be big,” Liu Yuan thought for a moment and said, “No matter where they go, there will be a lot of fanfare. The post station outside the city, the soldiers guarding the city gates, and the nearby checkpoints and fortresses have all been informed. If you find anyone suspicious, report it immediately!”

But these were like looking for a needle in a haystack. It couldn’t be said that they were useless, but they were ultimately a bit laborious and had little effect.

“We still haven’t found the key point!” Bai Zhu frowned and said, “I really can’t imagine…”

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lin Fei’s shout “Zhao You”.

Zhao You’s cheerful response came from outside the door: “Shaoqing Lin?”

Lin Fei looked at Zhao You: “What are you holding in your hand?”

Zhao You held up a cute fox mask and said, “Master Wen gave it to me. She said she bought it during the Lantern Festival, but she took it off when she saw it everywhere on the street. Now that the Lantern Festival is over, she is old enough to not play with these things anymore, so she gave it to me!” Zhao You put the fox mask on his face and asked everyone who was looking at him as if presenting a treasure, “How is it? Isn’t it cute?”

It was cute, but it was funny to see Zhao You, a tall and strong man, wearing a mask that didn’t even completely cover his face.

Besides, If Master Wen was so old, that she had stopped playing this game a long time ago; then weren’t you, Zhao You, older than Master Wen? Was it just the right age for you to play this game?

Zhao You, who had been wearing the mask happily for a while, took off the mask on his face, scratched his arm, sneezed, and walked over rubbing his red nose.

Liu Yuan was about to speak when he heard Lin Fei behind him say, “Show me the fox mask!”

Zhao You said “Oh”, walked a few steps to the crowd, and handed the mask to Lin Fei.

Lin Fei took the mask, glanced at Zhao You who was scratching himself, then lowered his head, and without even looking at the lovely fox on the outside, he turned the mask over and looked at the inside of the mask.

After looking at it for a while, he picked up the mask, put it to his nose and sniffed it, then put the mask down and said to Zhao You who was scratching his arm: “Roll up your sleeves and let me see!”

Zhao You responded and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his elbow with some red spots underneath.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu were stunned by the red spot. They subconsciously glanced at Zhao You’s red nose and asked him, “Officer Zhao, are you like Third Miss Yuan, who can’t eat crabs?”

The difference was that Third Miss Yuan’s condition was more serious and she fainted directly, while Zhao You’s symptoms were milder.

“No!” Zhao You said, patting his chest and saying, “I can eat crabs. I love eating crabs the most!”

How could that be…

Lin Fei explained: “He has rashes when he encounters the pollen of some flowers.”

This was just like the feeling of getting rich after eating crabs. It varied from person to person.

Seeing that Wen Mingtang and the others were fine, they weren’t affected by the pollen, but Zhao You was.

Putting the mask close to his nose and smelling it again, Lin Fei thought for a moment and then said to Zhao You, “I saw Tangyuan and Ah Bing also bought masks that day. They went to the Lantern Festival with Master Wen. They likely bought it from the same vendor. Go ask Tangyuan and Ah Bing to lend me their masks.”

Ah Bing and Tang Yuan wore the mask that day but took it off after walking a few steps. It was fresh to wear during the Lantern Festival, but after the festival, the freshness seemed to disappear suddenly. The mask was still cute, but no one wanted to play with it anymore, so they put it away with Wen Mingtang.

In this way, Zhao You didn’t have to run around to borrow the mask. He just went directly to Wen Mingtang and took the other two.

Lin Fei turned over the three masks and put them to his nose to smell them. He met the gazes of Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu but said nothing. He just said to Zhao You, “Go to the Jingzhao government office. The masks worn by the women who went missing during the Lantern Festival are all piled up in the Jingzhao government office. Go and get them.”

(End of this chapter)

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