Now, in the final analysis, the situation is unclear. Even if Hong’ye doesn’t know of Kongfu, she might have accomplices. Therefore Liang He acts rather carefully.
Liang He takes the flint from a grotto on the wall of the tunnel, which is still warm. It must have been used by someone not long ago. Liang He can’t help but sigh. He sure has come late again.
Groping to the candlestick on the wall, Liang He finds that the candle has burned out and there is a thick layer of dust on the candlestick.
Without too much thinking, Liang He takes out a spare candle from the nearby grotto. Since he has been in the tunnel for a while, Liang He feels that his eyes gradually adapt to the darkness. It is not that difficult to find the candle.
It is not handy to light the candle in his hand, Liang He blows towards the candlestick to remove the dust, and then puts the spare candle on it.
Not knowing if it’s his illusion when he blows the dust, Liang He smells a slightly sweet and greasy aroma.
Liang He stops to sniff more carefully, but he smells nothing at all. It just seems to be his illusion.
Now that he doesn’t find anything, Liang He won’t linger here. After lighting the candle, he looks deeper into the passage.
It’s all dark except for the small space lightened by his candle. So he doesn’t intend to continue tracking.
On the one hand, it is not necessary for him, the Crown Prince, to do such a thing. On the other hand, Liang He worries about Yan Ling, who is left alone up there.
As for checking the tunnel together with Yan Ling, it is more impossible. No one knows about this tunnel. What they might encounter is totally unknown. Then why should he ask Yan Ling to take the risk?
“What’s it like down there?” Getting no response from Liang He for a seemingly long time, Yan Ling cannot suppress her worry and asks.
Liang He hears her question and answers, “I’ll go up now. And we’ll talk about it later.”
Hearing Liang He is coming up, Yan Ling feels a real relief.
While Yan Ling and Liang He searched in the room, they made a lot of loud noise in the room. So when Liang He comes up, he sees two more people in the room — his two subordinates who have formerly let Hong’ye escape.
“You two go down the passage to track her. Be careful.” Liang He gives order to them while sitting down in a chair nearby, sorting his clothes which are a little messy.
“Yes, sir.” They take the order and immediately go into the channel with no more words.
In fact, what Yan Ling doesn’t know is that the two men are seemingly calm but are still rather worried. Of course, it’s not because they are afraid that something might be hiding in the tunnel.
To tell the truth, they are senior guards who have been following Liang He for many years. They have experienced all kinds of dangers before and they don’t care about such a tunnel at all.
However, what confuses them is the attitude of their master when he spoke to them. Liang He has always had clear and strict rules about reward and punishment.
This time they are clear of their mistakes. First of all, they let a girl who is physically so weak as to have the strength to lift a stone, slip away under their eyes. Second, they found nothing when searching for the clues.
It’s OK if she really disappeared in the thin air. But the tunnel they didn’t find was found by Liang He, which is really embarrassing.
According to their experience, even if Liang He doesn’t punish them severely, the reprimand would be inevitable.
But today… Liang He just let them go on to track the suspect as if nothing had happened.
Is this the so-called atoning for their failures by accomplishing some important tasks? On thinking like that, they suddenly and obviously become more serious about this case.
“Did you find anything?” Yan Ling hands her handkerchief to Liang He and asks.
However, as soon as the handkerchief is handed out, Yan Ling regrets. Because Liang He used this handkerchief to wrap her injured finger before, there are spots of blood stains on it.
Thinking of Liang He’s obsession with cleanliness, Yan Ling feels that she has done a stupid thing, which makes her feel upset.
However, her hand has been stretched out and the handkerchief has also been handed over, even if Yan Ling regrets, can it still be taken back?
The answer is yes, of course. But Yan Ling isn’t able to make it. Just when she is about to take it back, Liang He has taken the handkerchief directly from her hand and wipes the sweat off his forehead.
“I didn’t find anything. This tunnel must be used frequently. The candlesticks are very clean except the first one…”
Before Liang He finishes, he notices Yan Ling’s surprised eyes. He is stunned at first and then realizes why.
Liang He smiles carelessly and says, “I’m not a lady from the wealthy families. How can I be so delicate? Even if I feel uncomfortable, it will never be for you. ”
Yan Ling feels a little uneasy to hear this, and then feels a little bit of joy which is not easy to detect in her heart. After all, she has always been special to someone in no matter what aspect.
“Hong’ye must have escaped from here, that’s for sure. But what is strange is… why is there a tunnel in Imperial Censor Bai’s Mansion?” Yan Ling feels a little awkward and begins to talk business to change the topic.
Speaking of this, Liang He also furrows his brows and says in a deep voice, “Everything in this channel is well prepared, so it must have existed for a long time.”
“In that case, should we go to ask Imperial Censor Bai? After all, this is his territory.” Yan Ling presses her eyebrows and says helplessly.
Liang He nods and then shakes his head before saying in a deep voice,”It is definitely necessary to ask him. But according to my experience, Imperial Censor Bai may not know anything about the tunnel like us. Otherwise… ”
“That’s not for sure. Maybe Imperial Censor Bai is her accomplice. Imperial Censor Bai, as the head of the family, should have known about it since there has been such a big turmoil in his mansion.” Yan Ling seems to still mind that Imperial Censor Bai accused her of murdering. When she says this, she still feels a little uneasy.