diskusbooks Chapter 222 Looking for evidence
Chapter 222 Looking for evidence
Li Qingqing and Wu Meng looked at each other, with a hint of surprise in their eyes.
Wu Meng didn't hesitate at all and immediately stepped forward, "I'll go in and take a look first."
He took the tinder and walked towards the door first.
Li Qingqing casually swung her hand and placed the official uniform steadily on the hanger. Then she flashed her body and followed closely behind, slipping into the doorway.
Inside the doorway, a smell mixed with earth and stale air hit me in the face.
The flame of the fire starter in Wu Meng's hand flickered slightly, barely illuminating a few steps ahead.
After the light stabilized, the two looked carefully and found that it was a rammed earth secret passage that could only accommodate two people at the same time.
It seems that Wei Duhu's bedroom is connected to the side of the mountain, and the end of the secret passage is most likely a secret room dug along the mountain.
Thinking that she might soon find what she needed, Li Qingqing felt delighted and quickened her pace.
Suddenly, a panicked cry came from the soldier in the bedroom, "Why is this door open?"
"Someone come quickly! There's an outsider breaking in!"
The voice was hurried and panicked, and it came into the secret passage through the bedroom, sounding particularly loud and harsh!
In an instant, there was a noise.
Li Qingqing and Wu Meng paused at the same time.
"I'll stop them, you go to the secret room and find evidence!" Wu Meng had taken out the soft sword from his waist without knowing when.
He walked around behind Li Qingqing and stared at the entrance to the secret passage vigilantly.
It's like one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot get through!
The secret passage is narrow, so even if the enemy has more people, what can they do? It’s just the right time to block them outside!
The master is injured, so it's a good time to look for evidence. Once we find the evidence, we can find a way to escape from the Protectorate.
Thinking this, Wu Meng urged Li Qingqing to act quickly.
Li Qingqing, however, felt that Wu Meng knew about the existence of a space within her, and that it was Wu Meng who had manipulated the space in the future, allowing her to return to the Great Abyss. Therefore, there was no need to waste energy in a direct confrontation with the soldiers.
"Let's go into the space and hide first!" Li Qingqing suggested in a low voice.
She could already hear hurried footsteps coming towards her. If she didn't hide, she would be discovered.
"No--!" Wu Meng was shocked when he heard this, but it was too late to stop Li Qingqing and he was pulled in by Li Qingqing.
The space shook slightly, but Li Qingqing didn't pay much attention to it. Her space would always give her surprises from time to time, and she was used to it.
"Let's go out after they leave." Li Qingqing ignored Wu Meng and stared at the outside of the space.
Another voice came from afar, "Search carefully, don't let the thief get away!"
As the command was given, light began to appear in the passage.
A soldier holding a torch passed by where the two men had just stood, followed closely by several soldiers holding weapons.
The originally quiet secret passage suddenly became chaotic and the atmosphere was extremely tense.
Li Qingqing saw them walking deeper into the secret passage, and then analyzed the time they entered and exited in her mind.
Not long after, these soldiers came out from the depths of the secret passage, looking obviously much more relaxed.
"What a false alarm!" A soldier breathed a sigh of relief.
"The last time someone broke into the secret room was ten years ago. We have such strict defenses, how could an outsider sneak in again?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers accompanying him immediately speculated, "Could it be that there was a malfunction in the mechanical device, causing the wooden door to open automatically?"
"It's very likely that Lord Wei's official uniform is hanging on the hanger and has not been moved!"
"Go and ask the engineer to come over and inspect it."
The soldiers talked to each other, and Li Qingqing finally understood that someone would enter the bedroom at regular intervals every day to light incense, which was why they discovered the abnormality in the house.
After a while, a voice was heard, "This might be an accident, everyone disperse, and stay alert!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the wooden door slid open and the noise outside gradually faded away.
Li Qingqing listened carefully, and after making sure there was no more movement, she turned to look at Wu Meng, "We can go out--"
"What's wrong with you?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Li Qingqing opened her eyes wide in shock.
The light in the space was bright, and it was seen that half of Wu Meng's hair was actually white.
His face was a mixture of black and white, and he looked haggard. Even his beard was a mixture of gray and black.
It wasn’t like this before!
"Let's—" Wu Meng's voice suddenly became hoarse and low. He was slightly stunned, and then urged, "Let's talk outside."
Li Qingqing moved her mind, and the two of them returned to the dim rammed earth passage.
The entrance to the secret room has been tightly closed from the outside, but it doesn't matter. After getting the evidence, we can find a way to break open the wooden door.
But Wu Meng's change at the moment made Li Qingqing very confused. What happened to Wu Meng in just half an hour?
Wu Meng seemed unaware that his appearance had changed, or perhaps he thought of something from Li Qingqing's surprised look, but he said nothing, lit the fire, and continued to walk deeper into the secret passage.
Li Qingqing knew that this was not the time to talk or discuss, so she followed closely behind.
The two of them walked quickly forward along the rammed earth secret passage.
The secret passage twists and turns, and soon it becomes wider and brighter, forming an open circular hall.
The side walls of the hall are lined with tables and chairs made of rammed earth, and there is even a ventilation grille on one side, through which light shines into the hall.
But no other suspicious objects were found in the hall.
"Let's look for it, there must be a secret room!" Li Qingqing temporarily put aside her curiosity about Wu Meng's sudden white hair.
The most important thing right now is to find evidence and then find a way out.
Wu Meng nodded, walked to one side of the hall, and touched the earth wall with his hand, trying to find something.
Li Qingqing walked to the other side of the hall and began searching.
Because of their previous experience in finding the wooden door entrance, both of them understood that the secret room must be cleverly disguised in the rough earthen walls of the hall.
The inner walls of the hall are relatively solid. In addition to being compacted with rammed earth, they are also finely coated with straw and mud.
After a long while, Li Qingqing finally found a bulge in the corner of the right wall of the hall that had been touched until it was very smooth.
It was hidden by a loose patch of grass and mud, and could not be found without a careful search.
Li Qingqing reached out and pressed it, and the fulcrum began to sink slightly. Then, the wall slowly moved, and a thick wooden door that was almost the same color as the earth wall slowly opened.
This secret room was indeed cleverly hidden. If I hadn't had previous experience, I would have thought that the end of the rammed earth passage was just this circular hall.
The two looked at each other, both delighted, and then stepped into the secret room.
The secret room was large and dimly lit, but one could still see dozens of wooden boxes stacked together, occupying most of the space.
In addition, there are some account books and letters on the wooden display cabinet on one side of the wall, some of which are covered with dust.
Wu Meng quickly stepped forward, picked up the latest account book and flipped through it casually, then his expression became very serious.
"On the 20th day of the fifth month of the 17th year of Dayuan Tiange, five hundred newly forged horizontal swords were produced in exchange for three hundred taels of silver from the Ying tribe."
"On August 15th of the 17th year, two drawings of first-class military equipment were found in exchange for 150 taels of Nansheng gold."
"I'm accepting the agreed upon price of 200 taels of red gold from the Kingdom of Donglin. I'm looking to purchase a set of the Black Fireball formula. The transaction will take place at the border black market at an auspicious time on December 28th. Upon successful completion, I'll pay the remaining 300 taels of red gold."
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