tallest building

Chapter 110 Hidden Clues

The man remained silent for a long time, and Gong Chang'an cowered there, staring at him expectantly, like a little stray dog.

"I won't let you write it. If you try anything funny, all my efforts will be wasted." The man was very suspicious, not even trusting a seven-year-old child.

"Uncle, I wouldn't dare to play any tricks. My life is in your hands."

If you're worried, just tell me what to write, and I'll write it. I just want my parents to see my handwritten letter so they can be at ease; otherwise, they'll be extremely anxious.

Besides, if it's your handwriting that's left behind, wouldn't it be bad if someone recognized it later?
I'm doing this out of filial piety, for my uncle's sake, and most importantly, to save my own life. What do you think?

The man remained silent for a long time, his eyes darting around, clearly considering the situation.

Finally, he said, "Since that's the case, then you write it. But don't try anything funny; I don't tolerate any imperfections."

Gong Chang'an readily agreed.

The man then gave him paper and pen, saying a sentence and having Gong Chang'an write it down.

After I finished writing it, I took it under the lamp and looked at it carefully several times to make sure there were no problems before folding it up.

He put the letter, along with Heming's finger, into a box and then left.

He returned after a long time, bringing some food which he threw to the two guards.

He never came back after that.

Gong Chang'an became even more certain that this person would not let him out; he probably wanted him and Heming to starve to death here.

After all, the weather is hot these days, and if we kill them both, it will inevitably be discovered soon.

But he was not afraid, because fear was useless.

He curled up in a corner of the cage, trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible. Sleeping more would reduce his hunger and allow him to last a few more days.

Meanwhile, back at the Gong family's place, Gong Xu couldn't contain himself and wanted to go find Song Xiang.

“We have no evidence, so going there would just be a mess. Song Xiang isn’t a three-year-old, how could he admit it? Or he might turn around and demand an explanation for Song Xiulian’s death,” Wen Mingqian said. “The important thing now is to find Chang’an. We can deal with the others later.”

"They made all the arrangements in advance, how could they be so easy to find?" Gong Xu was extremely anxious.

"Didn't you realize, sir, that this letter was written by Chang'an?" Wen Mingqian said.

"So what if he wrote it? It doesn't say where he is or who kidnapped him." Gong Xu looked dejected.

"Sir, you might as well take another look." Wen Mingqian handed over the letter in his hand.

"Was he in a hurry when he wrote the letter? His handwriting is a bit messy than usual," Gong Xu said after taking a closer look.

“He added musical notation to the characters. Look at these strokes and lines, aren’t they musical notation?” Wen Mingqian pointed out two particularly obvious examples to Gong Xu.

“That’s true,” Gong Xu said. “Can you figure out what he’s trying to say?”

"Due to space limitations, he didn't write the whole thing. The first line should be from the Song of Su Wu, which says that Su Wu was imprisoned in a cellar. Another line is from the Analects, 'Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me.' Then comes 'I have temporarily found peace for one night.' Putting these lines together, he should be locked up in a cellar somewhere, guarded by three people, and currently safe," Wen Mingqian speculated.

"Has Zhang Ma and the others not returned yet? If they have any more leads, the search area should be narrowed down." Gong Xu's mood improved slightly.

"Master, Madam, Steward Ma is back! He brought that Shao Si back with him." Sang Er's face lit up with joy.

Sure enough, Ma Ping'an then brought Shao Si in with his men.

Shao Si's clothes were quite disheveled, clearly indicating that he had been in a fight.

He was dressed like a poor man who had suddenly become rich, with everything from head to toe brand new.

"Kneel down!" Ma Ping'an kicked him in the back of the knee, and Shao Si knelt down with a thud. "Master and Madam, we caught him at the Sun family's house. He was drinking and gambling with some people! I didn't bring the rest of them back, but I have people watching them!"

"Master and Madam, spare my life!" Shao Si knew that he would be in deep trouble if he was caught, so he kowtowed and begged for mercy.

"Don't beg for mercy yet. If you want to keep your life, you'd better confess honestly." Wen Mingqian's face was cold, as if covered with frost. "Who ordered you to do this?"

"I was desperate and had no other choice but to be misled by others," Shao Si tried his best to exonerate himself.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Ma Ping'an slapped Shao Si across the face, and Shao Si's face immediately swelled up.

"Yes, yes..." Shao Si covered his face, "It was Ma Daguang! A few days ago, I was so broke from losing that I couldn't even afford to eat. He found me, called me brother, and gave me several dozen taels of silver to spend first."

I took advantage of him and thought he was a good person. When I ran out of money and went to ask him for more, he told me that if I wanted lasting wealth, I had to take risks, otherwise someone like me would never get rich in my life.

Naturally, I asked him what his plan was, and he told me that as long as I took your fourth young master out, I would receive a reward of one thousand taels of silver.

"You dog! Isn't this obviously asking you to harm people?! How could you agree to that?" Gong Xu roared angrily.

"In response to the master, he told me that he only asked me to bring the fourth young master out, and that I didn't need to worry about the rest."

He also said he just wanted to make a little money and wouldn't kill anyone. I'm always indebted to people, and besides, he promised such a large sum of money, so I agreed.

Furthermore, he has no past grudges or recent conflicts with your family; he's only after your money..."

"Who is Ma Daguang? Do you know anything about him?" Wen Mingqian asked.

"He's a hanger-on, and he knows quite a few people. He frequents some of the noble families in the capital, but I don't know about the others," Shao Si said.

"Where did you go after you lured that person into your car today? Who were your accomplices?"

"When we arrived at your mansion, only I was there. There was a sleeping potion in the carriage, and the young master fell asleep shortly after entering."

As agreed, the younger man drove the cart out of the city to an abandoned temple, where two men met him. One was in his forties or fifties, and the other was in his early twenties; they looked like father and son. They didn't speak to me, but simply handed me a packet of silver, containing about one hundred taels.

"This is what Ma Daguang told me beforehand. He said I should hide the silver first, and once the matter is settled and things have calmed down, he'd give me the rest of the silver so I could make my way far away." Shao Si dared not hide anything, "I only got less than two hundred taels of silver in total, it's really not worth it..."

"Where does Ma Daguang live?" Gong Xu interrupted him. "Do you know? Tell me the truth, and you'll benefit from it. Otherwise, if anything happens to my son, you won't be alive!"