Chapter 236 Vanished
Li Daoxuan stepped into the room and saw the mess.

The tables and chairs were lying on the ground in all directions, and the beds were scattered in the corners.

The locked cabinet was roughly pried open, like a strong wind passing through.

The windows of the room were all open, but obviously not blown open by the wind.

There was a burnt spot on the floor, which was obviously caused by fire.

Li Daoxuan walked to the box where he put the package, put his hand on the box for a while, and then, as if he mustered up the courage, he pushed it open with force.

The moment the box was opened, Li Daoxuan's heart sank.

His package was missing.

Li Daoxuan stared at the empty box in a daze. After a long time, he calmed down, slowly closed the box, looked at the window and the door, walked over to take a closer look, and saw that the yellow talisman he had pasted had all been burned to ashes.

Obviously, the dead person that the shopkeeper mentioned was not a simple thing.

Otherwise, if it was an ordinary thief, this talisman would not work.

This talisman is used to protect the house and ward off evil spirits.

It can also bewitch ordinary people, making them lost in illusions and unable to get out.

But if it comes to this, I'm afraid it's not something that ordinary people can do.

"This is unusual." Li Daoxuan muttered, "It must have been done by someone in the same sect."

He was just about to check something else when he heard a commotion outside. He listened carefully and heard someone talking to the shopkeeper.

"Did that man come back yesterday?"

"You're back, sir. You're upstairs. You can take someone to ask." The shopkeeper's voice sounded timidly.

"The officers came so quickly? Or was it just a coincidence that I came back?" Li Daoxuan was a little surprised. He didn't quite believe that the officers from the Yangzhou government office could be so fast.

At this time, shouldn't they still be busy at the government office? How come this group of people followed me right after I arrived at the inn?

Thinking that something was strange, Li Daoxuan walked to the table.

Fortunately, the desk by the window had not been touched, and my writing brush and ink were still placed in front of it.

Picking up the pen and writing a few lines, he patted Gong Youwei in his arms.

"Please pass the message on for me and give this letter to Madam Yao."

"What happened?" Gong Youwei immediately transformed into a human form and asked while holding the letter.

"I'm afraid I've caused trouble." Li Daoxuan said solemnly, "Someone wants to harm me, so you must deliver this letter to Madam Yao."

"I understand. You must be careful." Gong Youwei took the letter and jumped out of the window.

Li Daoxuan sat in the house, waiting for the officer to come.

Not long after, the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs was heard.

The door, which was originally half-closed, was kicked open from the outside, and several officers with the word "soldiers" embroidered on their chests rushed in like wolves and tigers.

One of them had a knife on his waist, stared at Li Daoxuan and asked: "Are you Li Daoxuan?"

"That's right." He nodded.

"You are related to a murder case, please come with us." The officer stretched out his hand to pull Li Daoxuan, but was slapped away by him before he got close.

Li Daoxuan dusted himself off and stood up. He looked at the officer and said with a smile, "Just lead the way, sir. I won't run away."

"Hmph, you kid." The officer had an unpleasant look on his face and snorted coldly, signaling other officers to surround him, and the group walked outside.

When I went downstairs, I saw the innkeeper again, and he looked worried.

After all, he was a guest of my inn. He was involved in a murder when he went out. The impact on my inn would be huge. Who could I go to for justice?

As he walked out of the inn, Li Daoxuan saw the Yao family’s carriage parked not far away.

When the groom saw Li Daoxuan being brought out by the officers, he was also surprised and hurriedly walked closer, but was stopped by someone.

"Stop, what are you doing?"

"What are you doing? How dare you arrest Young Master Li?" the coachman asked with a frown.

He was the coachman of the Yao family and had never been afraid of any officers in Yangzhou.

As the saying goes, a dog in the prime minister's mansion can also take advantage of the power of the master when he goes out. Moreover, the driver knew that Li Daoxuan was a distinguished guest of Madam Yao, and Madam Yao had instructed him to take him back well.

Who knew that he would be arrested by the police not long after he came out. If Mrs. Yao knew about this, she would have skinned him alive.

"What Young Master Li? He is a prisoner now." The officer said arrogantly, "This is Yangzhou. If you commit a crime, you have to go to the government office. Moreover, this kid has committed a murder, so he naturally has to go to the government office."

"What murder?! Are you saying that Young Master Li killed someone?" The driver was shocked and could not believe it.

After all, he didn't believe it because it involved human life.

Young Master Li is well-liked by the lady and is also an educated man. How could he kill someone?

"You guys are mistaken. How could Master Li kill someone?!"

"You're so long-winded. How could it be true that I said he killed someone?" The officer showed the arrest warrant and said, "Look carefully. My master wants to arrest him."

"This..." The driver looked at the document in the officer's hand, which was stamped with the prefect's seal, and was speechless.

According to the "Great Qing Law Code", if someone breaks the law, there are four ways to arrest him, namely "arrest by selection", "arrest in time", "arrest on orders" and "arrest based on tickets".

The document held by the officer is the "arrest warrant" in "arrest according to warrant", which means that these officers have been ordered to arrest and must carry out their duties according to the contents of the arrest warrant.

But he was just a coachman. On ordinary days, he might have some face in front of a few officers, but in front of the prefect of Yangzhou, he was nothing.

It is said that "there is a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door." Not to mention that his master is not the prime minister of the current dynasty, even if he is the prime minister, the prefect is at least a fourth-rank official. How could he allow a coachman to be so presumptuous?

Feeling unhappy, the driver was somewhat helpless, thinking that he had messed up this job, so he called out to Li Daoxuan, "Master Li, don't be afraid. When we go back, we will tell Madam about this, and she will definitely let you out safely."

"Okay." Li Daoxuan nodded and said nothing more.

After watching the driver drive away, he followed the officer to the Yangzhou government office.

Being disturbed by the driver, the officers' expressions towards Li Daoxuan changed. After all, everyone was aware that the carriage driven by the driver was not one that ordinary people could ride. He must be a big family in Yangzhou, and must be rich or noble.

So the leading officer smiled more, walked beside Li Daoxuan and asked with a smile: "Master Li, whose wife is that man talking about just now?"

"From the Yao Mansion." Li Daoxuan looked at the officer with a smile and mentioned the Yao family, and even deliberately praised it as "the Yao Mansion."

The leading officer's face changed and he felt something was wrong.

Who doesn't know that the Yao Mansion is in Yangzhou? I never thought that the person I came to arrest today turned out to be a distinguished guest of the Yao Mansion. If this is true, what will happen after this?
The more the officer thought about it, the more frightened he became, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He swallowed his saliva, wiped the sweat off his face, and said to Li Daoxuan with a flattering face: "I just said too much, I hope Master Li will forgive me. We are small soldiers who obey the orders of our superiors. We have to do this to make a living. I hope Master Li will be magnanimous and not blame me."

"I can forget this." Li Daoxuan looked at the officer with a half-smile, then stopped, stood still, stretched and said, "I am a little tired from walking."

"Hurry, hurry and prepare a carriage for Young Master Li. You bunch of blind people, how come you can't see that Young Master Li is tired?" the officer called out hurriedly. His men were stunned, but then they all came to their senses and hurried to borrow a carriage.

The officer helped Li Daoxuan get into the car, smiling: "Master Li, what do you think?"

"Very good." Li Daoxuan nodded with satisfaction.

"As long as the young master is happy, as long as he is happy." The officer nodded and bowed.

That's how it was. Several officers walked beside the carriage to guard him all the way, while Li Daoxuan sat leisurely in the carriage. It seemed that this had nothing to do with the arrest, but rather it seemed that a group of yamen runners were escorting Li Daoxuan.

Looking at their attitude of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, he didn't know what to say. It has been like this since ancient times.

"Brother officer, may I know your name?" Li Daoxuan felt that the timing was good, so he asked.

The officer hurriedly replied, "Master, you can just call me Wang Dazhu."

"I see that you are not young anymore, so how about I call you Brother Wang?"

"Not worthy, not worthy." The officer waved his hands repeatedly, but there was a hint of joy on his face.

"Brother Wang, can I ask you something?"

"Master, please speak."

"Did Brother Wang bring people to check my room yesterday?"

"Yes, it was me and a few of my brothers who took a look at it." Wang Dazhu nodded.

"Did Brother Wang take the package from my box?" Li Daoxuan asked again.

"A package? What package?"

(End of this chapter)