Because of Xia Mingming's sudden disappearance and the two ominous signs in the morning, Yu Shu felt uneasy. At night, after Yu Xiaoku and Jing Chen fell asleep, she quietly got up, touched the match on the table, and quietly went out the door.
There was a bamboo lantern hanging in the corridor on the second floor. The dim light shone on the place where Yu Shu left her room. The room she chose was the one in the middle upstairs, and Xia Mingming's room was next to hers.
The corridor was very quiet, and the guards who were patrolling at night were all downstairs. Yu Shu looked outside to make sure there was no one outside, and then she stepped out, closed the door behind her, and walked next door with the help of the wall. She reached out and pushed the door, and with a soft squeak, she went next door.
The room was dark. Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu had come to find Kim Bao a few days ago, so she still had some impression of the furnishings in the room. She felt her way to the table, lit the oil lamp on the table, and the room was instantly lit up.
She walked around the room with the oil lamp, trying to find some clues, but to her disappointment, the room was very clean. Bi Qing must have asked the boatman to clean the room at night after she confirmed that Xia Mingming had left. The quilt on the bed was neatly folded, and the stool on the table was placed very orderly. There was nothing unusual.
She extinguished the oil lamp in disappointment and put it back on the table. She thoughtfully retreated to the door, opened it, and closed it. When she turned around, she bumped into a wall of people. She was so startled that she took a step back and grabbed the door frame in a panic to not fall to the ground.
"What are you doing here?"
Yu Shu looked up and saw Qiu Biao's unfriendly face in front of her. Her mind turned quickly, and she giggled, "I came out to pee at night, but went to the wrong room."
As she said this, she squeezed past him and reached the door of her room in two or three steps. She looked back at Qiu Biao, and without waiting for him to speak, she shrank back into the room and closed the door with a bang.
Qiu Biao frowned as he watched her disappear. He raised his hand to close Xia Mingming's door and walked to Yu Shu's room. He stood there for a while, his ears twitching. When he heard that there was no movement in the room, he turned around and went downstairs.
On the bed, Yu Shu watched as the figure outside the door disappeared before she let out a sigh of relief. She covered her nose with her hand and sniffed, recalling the smell she smelled when she bumped into Qiu Biao. After thinking for a moment, her eyes flashed. Qiu Biao's clothes actually had the fragrance of Xia Mingming's powder. The two of them must have been in close contact today. How could a girl like Xia Mingming get so close to a man, unless it was involuntarily?
In this case, Xia Mingming's sudden disappearance made sense. Assuming that the boatman lied and Xia Mingming did not leave without saying goodbye this morning and did not fall into the river, then there was only one possibility for her disappearance — she was still on the boat and was hidden somewhere.
Yu Shu was very sure that there was something wrong with Qiu Biao. If Xia Mingming was hidden by Qiu Biao, then she must know something.
Lying on the bed with her hands behind her head, Yu Shu frowned. Qiu Biao was the captain of the guards of the caravan. If he had bad intentions, then the people on the boat would be in danger. Maybe the flood mentioned in the divination was this incident.
Should she go and discuss it with Bi Qing?
No, Bi Qing and Qiu Biao were also a bit impulsive. If she told him now and accidentally caused trouble, then she would beat the grass and alert the snake. Moreover, all of this was just her hypothesis. The probability did not mean that it would definitely happen.
It seemed that she still had to find Xia Mingming first.
After thinking for a whole night, Yu Shu woke up early the next morning and woke up Yu Xiaoxiu. She put Kim Bao in a bamboo cage and gave him a few words before leaving.
Yu Shu wanted to find Xia Mingming on the boat. She was afraid that if she made too much noise, it would arouse Qiu Biao's suspicion. So, she used Kim Bao as a cover and searched upstairs and downstairs. If someone asked, she said that her little pet ran away.
Just like that, she felt her way from the second floor to the first floor and wandered around the deck before finally finding the bottom cabin.
Yu Shu met Qiu Biao in the bottom cabin. Qiu Biao had already heard from others that Yu Shu was looking for something. Seeing her looking around, he did not stop her and asked her. Instead, he gave a look to his men.
After a while, Yu Shu found that no matter where she went, there was someone following her. She sneered in her heart, but on the surface, she pretended not to see it and searched the bottom cabin.
Sure enough, she found a suspicious place.
In the dark corner of the entrance to the bottom cabin, in an inconspicuous place, there were two round wooden barrels. The height reached Yu Shu's chest and the lid was sealed. The space inside was enough to fit a person.
The reason she was suspicious wasn't because of the barrels themselves, but because as soon as she approached, someone called out to her, "That bucket is filled with rancid water. When the boat docks, we have to throw it away. Don't touch it. If your hands get stained, you won't be able to wash it off."
Yu Shu's hand stopped half a foot away from the barrels. She turned her head to look at the guard who had been following her since the beginning and then looked at the barrels. Her face revealed a look of disgust. When she turned around, she put her hand behind her back. At an angle that the guard couldn't see, she knocked her fingers on the two barrels. From the vibration that came back to her fingers, she immediately found something different.
Of the two barrels, one was empty.
This discovery immediately made Yu Shu excited. At this time, the guard suggested that she go to the kitchen to look. She took the opportunity to leave the bottom cabin. Before she left, she didn't forget to glance at the two barrels in the corner to remember which one was empty.
After a cursory look around the kitchen, Yu Shu hurried back upstairs. She closed the door and rushed to the window, ignoring Yu Xiaoxiu's questions. She opened the window and stuck her head out to look down.
The entrance to the lower deck was right below. As soon as she lowered her head, she could see the stairs leading downstairs from the deck. There was a guard standing nearby, as well as two shipwrights. A moment later, Qiu Biao brought his men up from the lower deck and headed east.
Yu Shu's nails clawed at the window. She quickly calculated in her mind how she could divert the people near the bottom cabin away so that she could go in and check the barrels.
Her shoulder was patted lightly. Yu Shu came back to her senses. She turned her head and saw Jing Chen standing behind her, dressed neatly. He looked at her with a slightly worried expression. He raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist. Then, he opened it again and shook his palm twice.
After Jing Chen lost his ability to speak, he always relied on writing on Yu Shu's hand to communicate with her. After a long time, Yu Shu felt that it was troublesome. Thus, she figured out a few simple hand gestures and taught them to him. Using them as sign language, it made it easier for him to express some simple meanings.
For example, right now, he was asking her, "What happened?"
Yu Shu shook her head. Looking at Jing Chen's weak body, she felt depressed. If Jing Chen was not injured, then things would be much easier. She could swagger to get Xia Mingming out. If Qiu Biao dared to turn against her, she could let Jing Chen beat him to the ground.
Thinking of this, she suddenly thought of a question. She hesitantly asked Jing Chen, "Let me ask you, do you still remember that you know martial arts?" Jing Chen tilted his head. His eyes were confused. Yu Shu understood his expression. Her face fell. Unwilling to give up, she stretched out her hand and gestured … "Martial arts. It's like this. It's used to fight. You were very powerful in the past. You knew Qinggong, you could walk on walls, and you could even use a sword. Do you remember that you have two swords?"
Jing Chen looked at her expectant eyes. He knew that whether or not he knew "martial arts" was very important to her. He didn't know why he didn't want to shake his head and tell her that he didn't remember. His lips moved and he lowered his head to avoid her gaze.
Seeing this, Yu Shu understood. Although she was disappointed, she didn't want to see him blaming himself for doing something wrong. She smiled and comforted him, "If you don't remember, then don't remember. You treasure those two swords. If you really remember that you lost them, you will definitely be heartbroken. It's better not to remember."
Only then did Jing Chen raise his head. Seeing that there was no reproach on her face, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He took her hand off his shoulder and wrote in her palm, "I will remember." "En."
"En." Yu Xiaoxiu was at the side. When he saw Jing Chen holding Yu Shu's hand, he couldn't stand it anymore. He walked over and forced his way in between them, separating them. He pretended to look outside the window and asked Yu Shu, "What were you looking at?"
Yu Shu shook her head. She returned to the bed and sat down. After thinking for a long time, she decided to discuss with Bi Qing. Xia Mingming had really been locked in the wooden barrel for a day and a night. If he stayed any longer, she was afraid that his life would be in danger. The most important thing now was to rescue him.
"You said that Xia gongzi is locked in the wooden barrel at the bottom of the cabin?" Bi Qing stood up in astonishment and was about to walk out. "Come, let's go see."
Yu Shu hurriedly pulled him back, "Uncle Bi, wait. I haven't finished speaking. If you go there rashly, won't you alert the enemy?"
"Alert the butterfly" Yu Shu was afraid that he would be impulsive, so she simply told him her suspicions about Qiu Biao. "Last night, I saw Captain Qiu. I smelled the fragrance of Xia gongzi's sachet on him. That's why I suspected him. He must have a reason to lock Xia gongzi up. I just don't know what he wants."
After Bi Qing heard this, he angrily slammed the table, "This Qiu Biao, what is his intention? No, I have to ask him!"
He was about to walk out again, but Yu Shu firmly pulled him back. After a lot of persuasion, she made him sit down again.
"Uncle Bi, calm down and think about it. If we go to Qiu Biao now, what can we say? If we really fall out with him, he has twenty guards under him. I'm afraid we'll be the ones at a disadvantage. Why don't we first rescue Xia gongzi and ask him about the situation? He must know some inside information."
After listening to her advice, Bi Qing's face darkened. He thought for a moment and said, "How about this? In a moment, I will gather everyone on the ship to the bow. You take the opportunity to go to the bottom of the cabin to rescue him. After you've rescued him, bring him to your room first.
"Okay." Yu Shu readily agreed.
Bi Qing stood up and said, "I'll send someone to gather them. You go back to your room first. Come out when you hear something."
The two of them went out one after another. Yu Shu went back to her room to wait. After about the time it took to eat a meal, a boatman knocked on the door and said that Boss Bi wanted everyone to go to the bow. He had something to say.
After sending the boatman away, Yu Shu walked to the window and looked down. After seeing that everyone near the bottom of the cabin had left, she quietly led Yu Xiaoxiu downstairs. They went around the back door to the stern, and then from the stern to the bottom of the cabin.
They found something to pry open the empty wooden barrel hidden in the corner. Although it was dark, Yu Shu could still see the figure curled up in the moldy barrel.
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