The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion
Chapter 494 - Listening to Thieves and Running at Night with All Kinds of Flowers [Part 2]
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Passing through the Qinfang Gate, passing through the flower burial mound, passing through the Jiayin Hall.
He saw a Linglong Mountain stone protruding from the sky, surrounded by various stones, covering all the houses inside.
Surrounding the exquisite mountain stones, there was a winding cloud-step stone ladder, and on that stone ladder, a few servants were looking towards this side.
Sun Shaozong frowned and hurried a few steps forward, scolding, "Didn't we ask you to guard the door well? Why are you standing here foolishly?"
The leader quickly reported, "Report to Lord Sun, when we arrived here and talked to Lady Xue's maid, Lady Xue had someone spread the word that there was only one ladder to access Hengwu Garden, so she let us guard outside."
Sun Shaozong looked up and saw that Hengwu Garden was really a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. He didn't talk to these servants and followed the cloud-step stone ladder to the outside of Hengwu Garden. Just as he was about to call for the door, he saw four or five maids holding packages and surrounding Xue Baochai and Ying’er.
After leaving, Xue Baochai calmly said to Sun Shaozong, "We'll have to trouble you to take care of us again, Brother Sun."
As she spoke, she pointed diagonally across the shore and said, "Just now, Ying’er and I climbed high and looked far away. We saw that the lights on the other side of Zhuojin Tower were very neat, and it looks like they haven’t been disturbed."
This woman was indeed intelligent and steady!
Thinking of Jia Zheng's vague words, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but feel a little pleased that he might be able to pair up with her.
However, as a city official like him, he naturally wouldn't be overjoyed. He only sincerely said, “Lady, thank you for your concern for my Sister-in-law.” He then led the master and servants down the cloud and stone stairs.
But Xue Baochai kept a distance from Sun Shaozong except for a few elegant words at the beginning. When she saw Miaoyu and the two little nuns, her beautiful and charming face showed some surprise. She walked a few steps to Sun Shaozong's side and whispered, "Since Lord Sun has brought Abbess Miaoyu here, I believe you have also seen Brother Bao, I wonder if he..."
Sun Shaozong replied, "I first went to the bamboo forest where the thieves were hiding. When I got inside, it was already empty and most likely escorted to the front yard by Zhou Rui, who had taken the lead."
Xue Baochai nodded clearly and suddenly saw the small island diagonally opposite where the Zhuojin Building was located. The lights suddenly dimmed a lot, and she couldn't help but be surprised.
Sun Shaozong also had a sudden thought in his heart. He repeatedly reminded the servants who went to Zhuojin Tower to wait for him to pass before taking refuge in the front yard. Was there something unexpected in the current situation?!
At this moment, Sun Shaozong couldn't bear to think about anything else. He quickly said, "Lady Xue, please walk slowly behind me. I'll hurry over and see what's going on!"
As he spoke, he strode away with a meteor.
Just as he passed the Zhulan Banqiao, he saw a group of people and horses bustling ahead. They were not led by others, but it was Jia Baoyu and Zhou Rui, whom Sun Shaozong thought had already arrived in the front yard.
"Second Brother Sun!"
Jia Baoyu saw Sun Shaozong running alone, followed by another team chasing after him. He was startled and said, "Is it possible that there were hundreds of thieves? Otherwise, how could you flee on their chase?"
Seeing that Jia Baoyu's team was also filled with many women, Sun Shaozong guessed that Jia Yingchun was definitely among them. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned forward to flick his finger on the forehead. He said angrily, "What hundreds of thieves? Do you think this is a war? I saw that the lights suddenly went out in Zhuojin Tower, and I couldn't wait for the servants behind me to rush over."
As he spoke, he asked again, "How could you appear here?"
Baoyu covered his forehead in snowy pain and bared his teeth, saying, "After Steward Zhou arrived at my place, I was afraid that those thieves would trespass in the yard, so..."
Listening to his detailed explanation, it turned out that after Jia Baoyu received reinforcements, he was the first one to think of Sister Lin, so he ignored Zhou Rui's advice and insisted on going to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion to find Daiyu.
Zhou Rui had no choice but to divide some people to protect more than a dozen people and went to the front yard for refuge, while he led the rest of the guards, and accompanied Jia Baoyu to rush to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
As a result, when they arrived outside the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, they collided head-on with the servants sent by Sun Shaozong to support them.
After asking about Sun Shaozong's arrangement, Jia Baoyu naturally refused to leave, so he led his team northward and met Yingchun, Tanchun, Xichun, Liwan, and others.
After hearing this, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but burst into laughter as he saw Baoyu standing tall and waiting for his praise. He slapped him on the shoulder and said, "You did a good job, and you're responsible too."
"Not just a bit."
Xiren interjected from behind, "Lord Sun, you didn't see it. Our Second Master came out of the woods and grabbed a lantern in his hand, arguing to cut off the rear for everyone! If it weren't for us dragging and pulling, what would have happened?"
Although this kid was still indecisive in terms of emotions, he still had some sense of responsibility when facing danger, and he didn't waste his usual guidance.
Sun Shaozong praised him for a few words, then went up to meet Jia Yingchun, and ordered all the masters and servants to count the number of people. After confirming everything was correct, they marched confidently along the main road towards the main entrance of the Grand View Garden.
Along the way, Sun Shaozong especially pulled over Jia Baoyu and asked him in detail about the reason why he ran into the thief.
Speaking of the cause of this matter, Jia Baoyu suddenly became disheartened and hesitated for a while before being repeatedly questioned by Sun Shaozong and revealed the truth.
It turned out that during the night, he woke up half drunk, drank a bowl of porridge cooked with stem rice to nourish his stomach, and was leaning against the soft ground to enjoy the wonderful massage. He saw that Sheyue was waiting hesitantly but came up in the end and took out two pieces of red nails.
Upon seeing the nail, Jia Baoyu knew it belonged to Qingwen and quickly asked where it came from.
When Jia Baoyu heard that it was a broken love item sent by Qingwen, he felt both embarrassed and ashamed. With the strength of the wine, he rushed out and wanted to go to the front yard to find Qingwen to talk to.
At that time, without much thought, he was ready to cross the forest and rush to the main entrance of the Grand View Garden from the Fengyao Bridge.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he ran to the open space in the center of the bamboo forest, he saw a faint glow of fire in the pavilion.
Jia Baoyu instinctively stopped and looked closely, only to find three people sitting around the pavilion, whispering something.
At first, Jia Baoyu thought he was a servant in the mansion, so he loudly questioned what they were doing there. Unexpectedly, the three of them heard the commotion and immediately jumped up from the ground, extinguishing the fire in their hands.
It was only at this moment of getting up that Jia Baoyu could see clearly that the three of them were not only wearing night clothes but also holding a bright steel knife in their hands. He was so frightened that he immediately turned around and ran away.
Upon hearing this, Sun Shaozong secretly exclaimed, but couldn't help but wonder, "If it weren't for this interruption, what would you want to say to Qingwen after you find her? "
"This..."
Jia Baoyu hesitated for a while but only lowered his head in a dejected manner. Obviously, it was just a momentary impulse before and he had not figured out how to deal with Qingwen's matter.
Sun Shaozong sighed silently on the side, too lazy to mention that Qingwen had just wanted to follow in.
As he was walking silently, he suddenly heard someone whispering behind him, "Did you find any clues about the thief, Second Brother Sun?"
Looking back, it was Lin Daiyu standing behind the two, staring at them with eyes full of autumn water. Although her mouth was full of questions, her face was full of determination.
Sun Shaozong raised his eyebrows and asked in reverse, "Why do you say so?"
Lin Daiyu said calmly, "I saw Brother Bao talking about those three people sitting around the pavilion as if they were whispering something. Although your expression remained unchanged, your footsteps paused for a moment. I think it must be because you had something in mind."
***Tch!***
This girl was still so clever.
Sun Shaozong couldn't help but glance at Jia Baoyu and secretly thought to himself that two beautiful women were both attracted to this foolish boy. He didn't know if it was luck or misfortune.
Jia Baoyu, however, misunderstood Sun Shaozong's meaning and excitedly walked forward, shaking Sun Shaozong's arm and saying, "Brother, you can only tell me... and Sister Lin, we will never spread it out!"
He was indeed a foolish kid!
Sun Shaozong shook him off speechlessly and said sternly, "At the moment, I'm just speculating about the pavilion you're talking about. I also went over and looked at it. There were several stones and a circle of soil on the ground, and because I accidentally stepped on it, it was messy, and couldn't distinguish what it was. However, in my opinion, it should be a simple map of this Grand View Garden."
At this point, he deliberately played a trick and asked, "Do you know what this means?"
Jia Baoyu immediately asked, "What does it mean? Ouch!"
The painful cry from behind turned out to be that Lin Daiyu reached out and twisted him, angrily saying, "Aren't you always thinking of solving cases? This is the test of Second Brother Sun for you!"
Jia Baoyu suddenly realized it, scratching his head and pondering, muttering incessantly about things like *"map"* and *"thief in black."*
Lin Daiyu also lowered her head and pondered behind her, walking about a few dozen steps away. Suddenly, she lifted her head with joy and smiled, "I know what this means!"
"Good Sister, don't say it yet. Wait for me, wait for me!"
Jia Baoyu was in a hurry to say good things, while Lin Daiyu covered her cherry lips but still joked, "Our yard is full of valuable household items. If it were just an ordinary thief..."
"I got it!"
Halfway through listening to her, Jia Baoyu suddenly realized and quickly interjected, "If it were an ordinary thief, stealing something casually would be enough. He would never touch the area around the Fengyao Bridge!"
Sun Shaozong nodded. Although the Fengyao Bridge was not far from the main gate, the gate led to the front yard. As for the entire Rong-Ning Mansion, it was located in the core area.
If any petty thieves want to get into the Grand View Garden and make some profit, they shouldn't go deep into the area around Fengyao Bridge.
After receiving encouragement from Sun Shaozong, Jia Baoyu became even more confident and continued, "And they were able to simply draw a map, which shows that they have gone to more than one geographical boundary. Either they are not for the sake of wealth, or their plan is not small. At present, they are just here to explore the way."
At this point, he suddenly became agitated and said, "So, if we don't quickly catch all the thieves, won't this garden become a dangerous place?"