Feng Jin tugged at Ling Mohan's sleeve, following him inside. From behind, she carefully reminded him to move lightly, so as not to be discovered again.
The room was pitch black, not a sliver of light visible. Feng Jin took a step forward and her foot caught on something. Had Ling Mohan not grabbed her wrist from behind, she would have fallen straight to the floor.
"So close... so close..."
After standing upright, Feng Jin patted her thumping heart, still shaken.
"Stay put and don't move!"
In the darkness, the man's voice was even more pronounced.
Ling Mohan somehow found a candle and lit it, illuminating the entire room.
"There's really no one here."
The entire room was empty. Even the bedding was neatly folded. There wasn't a drop of water in the kettle, and the desk was covered in a layer of dust. It seemed no one had tidied it for several days.
Feng Jin reached out and wiped a hand's worth of dust from the desk. "Could Feng Yuanping be in trouble?"
Ling Mohan also found the matter quite peculiar. Feng Yuanping wouldn't stay away from his room for such a long time. Perhaps something had indeed happened.
"No... we must find Feng Yuanping..." The more she thought, the more fearful she became. She wouldn't be completely at ease until Feng Yuanping was found today.
Feng Jin calmed down and thought for a long time, still believing that this matter was inextricably linked to Madam Sun.
"Let's go to Madam Sun's room to find him first!"
Ling Mohan nodded and followed Feng Jin out.
Having only been to the Feng family a few times, Feng Jin relied on her memory to grope her way forward. After searching for a long time, she still couldn't find Madam Sun's courtyard.
What was even stranger was that as they walked, they didn't see a single soul. The bustling scene of the past was nowhere to be seen.
Such a prosperous and flourishing mansion was now as desolate as an empty house. Even if it were to fall, the speed of its decline was too rapid.
"There must be at least a hundred people in this manor. Even if they were dismissed, it's impossible for there to be no movement at all. Unless... unless..."
Seeing Feng Jin's words stop short, Ling Mohan asked, "What else have you thought of?"
"I was just wondering if the people in the manor were all locked up, and that's why there's no trace of them?"
Ling Mohan's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's certainly a possibility. But with hundreds of rooms in this manor, where would they have locked them up?"
"I don't know, I'm just guessing."
She was not familiar with the manor. The number of times she had visited could be counted on one hand, so how could she know which room could hide people, or if there were any secret rooms?
Ling Mohan looked at Feng Jin with a suspicious gaze and asked uncertainly, "This is your home, don't you know anything?"
"Nonsense, I was sent to the countryside by Feng Yuanping and Madam Sun when I was little. I was only brought back to the manor the day before I married you. Before I could even explore the manor, I was shoved into a sedan chair and carried into the Ling family. I've only returned a few times recently, and I just sat for a bit before leaving. Do you think I would be that familiar with the Feng manor?"
She gave him a white eye, feeling that everything he said was utter nonsense and of no use.
If he knew where people were hidden in the manor, he would have gone there long ago, instead of running around like a headless fly.
"Let's just search slowly. Maybe we'll get lucky and find them."
All they could do now was to hope their luck was better. Feng Jin searched aimlessly, entering every room to look. She had searched more than half of them and still found no clues.
"If we keep searching like this, we won't find anyone even by morning."
They couldn't continue searching like this. Ling Mohan increasingly felt that there must be a secret room in the manor, otherwise, such a commotion would not have gone unnoticed.
Feng Jin was also tired. She sat on the steps, raised her eyes, and looked at Ling Mohan, asking calmly, "Then how do you suggest we search?"
"There must be a secret room in this manor. Can you guess where it might be?"
A secret room... If only she knew where the secret room was. Feng Jin rested her chin on her hand, staring blankly. After pondering for a long time, she couldn't recall anything useful.
If she had known this day would come, she would have explored the Feng manor properly back then. Now she was completely clueless. The only places she knew were Feng Yuanping's study and the dilapidated courtyard where He Miaoqing had lived.
"Let's go to the study and see if there are any clues."
In this situation, their only option was to go to the study first, in case there was something there.
"Let's go to the study."
When they arrived at the study, Feng Jin began to rummage through cabinets and drawers. It didn't look like there was a secret room.
Ling Mohan walked around the study and tapped on the wall. When he tapped on the north wall, he noticed that the echo sounded distinctly wrong. Tapping a solid wall produced a dull thud, but the sound from this wall was too crisp.
"What's wrong? Is something amiss?"
Seeing Ling Mohan stop and remain still, she walked up to his side and asked.
"This wall is hollow. The secret room should be behind it."
Feng Jin furrowed her brows slightly. Following his actions, she tapped the wall. The echo was indeed wrong, hollow and crisp. The wall behind was truly empty.
"Then where is the switch for the secret room?"
She retracted her hand from the wall, her gaze darting around. She felt over the porcelain objects on the cabinets, but none of them seemed to be the switch for a secret room.
The only peculiar item among the furnishings in the study was a painting of a beauty chasing butterflies hanging on the wall.
Feng Yuanping was not a man who indulged in feminine charms. He had married He Miaoqing for the He family's influence, which would help him rise in status. As for Madam Sun, although he had chosen her himself and doted on her, she could not compare to power. When Madam Sun's actions threatened his interests, Feng Yuanping unreservedly chose his own benefit.
Therefore, seeing this painting of a beauty chasing butterflies in his room struck Feng Jin as very strange. Moreover, the beauty's appearance in the painting looked increasingly familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
"The switch might be behind that painting."
Ling Mohan followed Feng Jin's pointing direction, tiptoed, and took down the painting. Behind it, he saw a stone-carved button switch.
After pressing the button, the cabinet behind them slowly moved aside, revealing a door the height of a person.
"There really is a secret room in this study."
Feng Jin looked at the secret room that had appeared before them in surprise. She had to admit, it was hidden quite discreetly. Who would have thought that the switch for a secret room would be hidden behind a painting?