Chapter 106: The Cellar

Wen Jing had not felt the pangs of hunger for a long time, but now she was plagued by both hunger and thirst. Drenched in sweat, a sense of despair gradually took hold of her. A strange thought even crossed her mind: if she were to die here, who would perform her autopsy? She had conducted countless autopsies in her life, yet she never imagined that one day she might be the one lying on the dissection table. It was a bizarre sensation.

No, she could not die. Someone would come to save her soon. Wen Jing kept repeating this to herself. She was not one to give up easily; until the final moment, she refused to surrender.

...

At the entrance of the Grand Court of Justice, the Wang family carriage was already waiting. Wang Erlang climbed in, and Ji Changge followed behind the carriage on his black horse.

Wang Xuelin was already waiting at the gate of the Wang estate. When he saw Ji Changge, a flicker of displeasure appeared in his eyes. However, that displeasure turned into a towering rage the moment Wang Erlang stepped out of the carriage.

"Erlang, who beat you into this state?!" Wang Xuelin thundered.

"Grandfather, I am fine," Wang Erlang replied, walking straight inside.

"I will report you for abuse of power!" Wang Xuelin shouted at Ji Changge. He had assumed Wang Erlang was merely detained by Ji Changge; he never imagined his precious grandson would be beaten black and blue. Who else but Ji Changge would dare to do such a thing?

Ji Changge bowed slightly. "I will offer a formal apology in due time. The priority now is to find Wen Qiniang. I ask that you do everything in your power to assist, Master Wang."

"You don't need to tell me that. I have already sent men to search," Wang Xuelin replied, his anger subsiding slightly.

Watching Wang Xuelin storm off, Ji Changge turned to Ding Wu, who had just arrived. "Keep a close watch on Wang Erlang. Do not lose him."

"Rest assured, sir. I understand the gravity of the situation."

Ji Changge walked to the Carp Garden and found Wang Jue still sitting under the pine tree, seemingly lost in thought. Wang Jue did not seem surprised by his arrival, as if he had expected it. He turned to the maid, Xiao Cui, and said, "Xiao Cui, go to the kitchen and bring some refreshments."

Once Xiao Cui had left, Ji Changge asked, "You haven't told me your thoughts yet."

Wang Jue dropped the fallen leaf he was holding, looked up at Ji Changge, and said, "The culprit is a person, not a ghost or a deity. Have you ever considered how he managed to make Qiniang disappear without a trace in the middle of a crowded street?"

Ji Changge fell silent for a long moment before his eyes brightened. "The trunks!"

"Exactly! The trunks intended for the dowry. I have inspected them. One of the trunks contained traces of rouge and powder—it must have been left behind by Wen Qiniang," Wang Jue said.

"But how were the original dowry items removed? There were so many items; it would have been impossible to transport them all in such a short time," Ji Changge wondered.

Wang Jue glanced at him and said quietly, "If it was impossible, then it simply wasn't done. There is only one possibility: what was inside the trunks to begin with was stones, not a dowry."

Ji Changge was startled. If what Wang Jue said was true, the Wen family had substituted the dowry with stones. But upon reflection, Wen Qiran would never commit such an act that would damage the family's reputation. That left only one possibility.

"You mean... Qiniang knew there was a problem, which is why she..."

Ji Changge’s eyes burned with intensity. The fool! She had taken such a risk alone without even consulting him. Did she not know how dangerous this was?

Wang Jue nodded. "She must have been uncertain as well, which is why she resorted to such a desperate measure."

Ji Changge's face turned ashen. He wanted to kill himself. That night, if only he had tried to make her stay a little longer, or asked a few more questions, perhaps she would have told him the truth. But he had said nothing. If he could see her one more time, he would tell her that no matter where she came from or who she was before, the person he loved was the Wen Qiniang of today, not anyone else.

"She must still be in the Wang estate," Wang Jue lowered his voice. "After the trunks were brought in, it would be difficult for the culprit to move Qiniang elsewhere in front of so many people. Besides, the most dangerous place is the safest place. While you are searching frantically outside, Qiniang might be right under our noses."

"The entire estate has already been searched. Could there be hidden passages?" Ji Changge asked.

Wang Jue replied noncommittally, "As you said, she could be anywhere."

"Thank you." Ji Changge bowed and turned to leave. If she was still in the Wang estate, he would dig three feet deep to find her.

Watching Ji Changge's departing silhouette, a bitter smile touched Wang Jue's lips as he pounded his own legs.

Ji Changge saw Ding Wu running toward him with a look of dread.

"Sir, Wang Erlang is gone. I deserve to die!" Ding Wu said, slapping his own face.

"How did you lose him?" Ji Changge roared.

"Wang Erlang went inside to bathe and change. I... I was guarding the door. When there was no sound for a long time, I rushed in and found the room empty. He must have jumped out of the window..."

Ji Changge took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Call all the guards from the Grand Court of Justice. Even if we have to tear the entire estate apart, find those two!"

There was no time. With Wang Erlang gone, he would certainly act soon. If they didn't hurry, they might only find Qiniang's corpse. He needed her alive; he still had so much to say to her.

"Yes, sir!" Ding Wu mounted his horse and galloped away.

Wang Xuelin hurried over. "Erlang is also missing, and we can't find him anywhere. Could he have been kidnapped too?"

"Whether he was kidnapped or he is the one who kidnapped others remains to be seen. But Master Wang, please think carefully—are there any hidden passages or secret rooms in this estate?" Ji Changge asked.

A secret room? A hidden passage? Wang Xuelin pondered and said, "There is a cellar, but it hasn't been used in a long time."

Ji Changge's eyes lit up. "Take me there."

"Follow me."

The lock on the cellar was rusted but not fastened. A servant lit an oil lamp, and Ji Changge took another. As they descended, a foul stench hit them, and a rat scurried away with a squeak.

"This cellar hasn't been used for many years. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten it existed," Wang Xuelin said.

Ji Changge scanned the cellar. It was quite large; it was clear that a great deal of effort had gone into its construction.

"Why was this cellar abandoned?"

"It has been so long, I don't recall," Wang Xuelin replied.

A servant looked at Ji Changge, then lowered his head.

"You, speak," Ji Changge commanded.

The servant glanced at the venerable scholar, Wang.

"Speak."

"I was born into the household. I was only a teenager back then. I often heard my father say the cellar was haunted. One night, I woke up to relieve myself and heard crying coming from the cellar. I was so scared I wet my pants. Not long after that, the cellar was abandoned. Because I was terrified out of my wits, I remembered it clearly."

Haunted? It wasn't a ghost, but a person pretending to be one, Ji Changge thought. This cellar must hold a secret. Someone didn't want others to discover it, so they manufactured a haunting to seal the place off, thinking that would keep the secret buried.

When they reached the end of the cellar, Ji Changge felt a crushing disappointment. Wen Qiniang was not there.

"Master Wang, are there any other cellars or secret rooms in the estate?" Ji Changge asked anxiously.

"No, there are none," Wang Xuelin shook his head.

"Do any of you know of any secret passages in the house?" Ji Changge turned to the servants. They all shook their heads.

Ji Changge felt as if his heart were burning. The Wang estate was massive—were they really going to dig three feet deep? Even with everyone in the estate helping, it would take months to tear the whole place apart.

Qiniang, where are you?

"Rumble!"

The flame of the oil lamp in his hand flickered. Ji Changge's eyes narrowed, and he turned to walk quickly toward the cellar entrance. Wang Xuelin followed close behind.

"No! The stone door to the cellar has been locked from the outside!" Ji Changge shouted.

"What?!" Wang Xuelin, not believing it, pushed against the stone door with all his might, but it did not budge.

"Master, what shall we do?!" the servants cried out in terror, glancing nervously toward the dark corners behind them.

"Who is it? Who dares to scheme against me in my own home? Is there no law left?" Wang Xuelin fumed, his beard trembling.

"His target is not you; it is me," Ji Changge said coldly. It was clear the culprit wanted to trap him here to buy time.