Ye Tiancheng, holding this question in his mind, took the elevator to the eleventh floor.
He first found room 1201 and then knocked on the door. Although he was here to find Xiao Huli, he wasn't in a hurry. There was no need to rush, and he prioritized his wife and daughter's well-being.
Especially after such a confusing incident, he wondered if Hou Mingzhu had heard the news and what she would think if she had.
Given that Hou Mingzhu also came from a prominent family, she should be aware of the unsavory dealings within their circles and have a good understanding of them. Perhaps the moment Hou Mingzhu heard about this matter, she would immediately understand the motives of those involved.
Ye Tiancheng could tell, just by thinking about it, that Hou Mingzhu's mood wouldn't be good.
However, after Ye Tiancheng knocked, there was no response from the room. He thought that on the Helian family's territory, not many people would directly harm Hou Mingzhu. Moreover, Xiao Huli lived next door, and if anything happened, Xiao Huli would surely react, so there was no need to worry too much about anything bad happening.
Therefore, the lack of response from Hou Mingzhu might mean that she and Ye Qingcheng had already retired for the night and were asleep. In that case, he didn't need to disturb Hou Mingzhu and the others.
Ye Tiancheng stopped knocking and waited by the door for a while longer. Seeing that there would be no response from inside, he turned and knocked on Xiao Huli's door. Fortunately, Xiao Huli was not resting, so Ye Tiancheng successfully got Xiao Huli to open the door.
When Xiao Huli opened the door and saw Ye Tiancheng standing outside, she was slightly stunned before saying, "Big Brother, Sister-in-law and them live next door in 1201."
Ye Tiancheng replied helplessly, "I know, I came specifically to find you."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Xiao Huli didn't ask further questions at the time. Instead, she took two steps back, turned sideways, and let Ye Tiancheng in.
After Ye Tiancheng entered, Xiao Huli closed the door behind him, and they walked further inside together.
This building was likely used by the Helian family to accommodate guests during their banquets. The rooms were decorated uniformly, with a somewhat hotel-like style. The layout of Xiao Huli's room was similar to the room Ye Tiancheng had stayed in before.
After Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli sat down, he got straight to the point and asked Xiao Huli, "Xiao Huli, do you know what happened outside just now?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huli's expression immediately became serious. She shook her head, "No, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"I haven't left the room since I got here to rest."
Ye Tiancheng sighed and recounted everything that had happened before to Xiao Huli.
As Xiao Huli listened to Ye Tiancheng's narration, her eyes widened, and the surprise in her eyes was undeniable. She clearly hadn't expected that Ye Tiancheng would experience such a confusing and speechless incident in the same building not long ago.
After listening, Xiao Huli was silent for a long time. After a moment, she asked Ye Tiancheng, "So, Big Brother, you want me to help you investigate this matter and find Helian Yue's whereabouts?"
Ye Tiancheng nodded, his expression filled with helplessness, "You know the relationship between Helian Yue and Mingzhu. I need to figure out Helian Yue's stance in this matter and what she did.
Otherwise, it will be quite troublesome, and I need to give Mingzhu an explanation."
Xiao Huli understood Ye Tiancheng's predicament perfectly. The difficulty of this matter was probably comparable to the incident with Fatty and Shao Ying before.
"I understand," she said, pondering for a moment. Then, Xiao Huli suddenly said to Ye Tiancheng, "By the way, Big Brother, if you want to know where Helian Yue is, perhaps you can think about it from a different perspective?"
Ye Tiancheng looked confused, "What perspective?"
Xiao Huli said, "First, there are only two possibilities: Helian Yue was either the active party or the passive party in this matter.
So, let's first consider her as the passive party, meaning she was also a victim of the scheme. In that case, the error most likely lies in the room arrangements. After all, Helian Yue was originally likely to be arranged to stay in the same room as you, but she didn't appear.
In this situation, one possibility is most likely: the person executing the orders made a mistake.
Ye Tiancheng frowned and pondered for a moment, "Mistake with the room? You mean, Helian Yue might have been arranged in a different room?"
Xiao Huli nodded affirmatively and then asked Ye Tiancheng, "Big Brother, the room you were originally assigned to, I remember it was on the sixth floor. What was your room number?"
Ye Tiancheng suddenly realized, "My room number was 606. When I moved in, I thought the room number was quite auspicious, so I remembered it even when I was drunk."
The number six could easily be confused.
If the person giving the order did not speak it directly, or if the order was not relayed verbally all the way down, and there was an error in transmission, with someone mistaking the room, it wouldn't be impossible.
Thinking of this, Ye Tiancheng patted Xiao Huli on the shoulder, "You're right, this is also a possibility. We can verify it immediately. If Helian Yue is indeed there, then it proves that your guess is likely correct."
"We need to hurry. That old fox Helian Yi is already looking for Helian Yue, and the servants are searching everywhere. They might find Helian Yue soon. We'd best verify this before they do."
Ye Tiancheng immediately stood up, ready to act.
Xiao Huli followed him, repeating, "Old fox?"
Ye Tiancheng paused after hearing Xiao Huli's voice, then couldn't help but clear his throat, "Ahem, you and that Helian Yi are different. I was just saying about him, saying that he..."
Ye Tiancheng's expression was conflicted, and he explained to Xiao Huli with a troubled look.
Xiao Huli couldn't help but chuckle, "I know."
As they were in a hurry, they didn't say much more at that moment. They both took the elevator and headed to the ninth floor.
After all, their appearance on the ninth floor at this time wouldn't arouse any suspicion. If they were questioned later, they could say they were looking for Fatty, who was arranged on the ninth floor.
It was fortunate that Ye Tiancheng had learned this piece of information from others earlier, and it could now serve as an excuse.
On the way to the ninth floor, Ye Tiancheng noticed that the servants' demeanor hadn't changed much; they were still the same as before. Therefore, they likely hadn't discovered Helian Yue's location yet, which put Ye Tiancheng slightly at ease.
He led Xiao Huli to room 909 and knocked on the door. There was no response from inside. Ye Tiancheng knocked again and waited for a while, still with no result. Just as he was wondering if this possibility could be ruled out, someone approached them.
"What are you doing here?"
It turned out to be a passing servant who saw Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli lingering at the door of room 909 and came over to inquire about the situation.
At this moment, Ye Tiancheng's prepared excuse could be put to use.
Ye Tiancheng replied, "I came to find my friend. I asked others earlier, and they told me my friend Fatty was arranged in this room, so I came to find him. However, no one answered when I knocked. Did I get it wrong?"
"Do you know where Fatty was arranged to stay?"
The servant recognized Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli, so he didn't suspect anything. He then looked up at the room number and replied to Ye Tiancheng, "Oh, it's Mr. Ye. Your friend was indeed arranged in this room."
"He didn't respond, perhaps because he's resting and didn't hear. Why don't you come back later, or if it's urgent, try calling your friend?"
Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli exchanged glances.
This was really Fatty's room? Could it be that they had guessed wrong? But Fatty lived in room 909, wasn't that too much of a coincidence?
Suddenly, both Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli's expressions turned a little grim. Ye Tiancheng tried calling Fatty's phone, but the call was met with a "no answer" prompt. He tried again, with the same result.
Ye Tiancheng hung up the phone with a grim expression. Xiao Huli frowned and then said to the servant who had approached them, "Excuse me, we have something urgent to discuss with this friend. Do you have a key here? Can you open the door?"
"He's our friend, and we're both men. We're very close, and he won't mind if we barge in."
The servant showed a hint of hesitation. He first felt in his pocket. Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli heard a jingle and knew that this person indeed had a key. The servant then said, "I do have a key, but..."
He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You two guests must guarantee that the guest inside will not blame me for opening the door for you. Actually, if the guest inside hasn't locked the door, it can be opened without a key. However, most guests would probably lock it."
Ye Tiancheng nodded upon hearing this and immediately guaranteed, "I can guarantee that he definitely won't blame you. Please try it first."
The servant agreed and took out the key from his pocket to try opening the door. He turned the key and his expression showed some surprise, "Not locked?"
Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli's expressions turned even more grim.
Xiao Huli reacted quickly and immediately said to the servant, "It's not locked, so can the door be opened directly?"
The servant paused his action of opening the door, "Yes."
Ye Tiancheng understood that in this situation, it was the same as when Helian Yi and his men could directly barge into his room.
Ye Tiancheng said, "Then we'll open the door ourselves and go in. After all, we are friends with the person inside, but we're not sure about the current situation inside, and he might have some inconveniences."
The servant immediately nodded in understanding, realizing that Ye Tiancheng and the others didn't want him to go in with them.
In essence, he certainly wouldn't want to get involved, as it could easily offend the guests. However, since Ye Tiancheng and the others were friends with the person inside, the situation was different for them. There was no need for him to insist on going in.
Therefore, the servant replied cooperatively, "Okay."
With that, he was about to leave, and Ye Tiancheng's hand reached for the doorknob.
Just then, another very familiar voice suddenly rang out, "What are you doing here?!"
The person who arrived was Helian Yi, who rushed over with a group of people. However, this time, there were no guests who didn't belong to the Helian family by his side; they were likely all members of the Helian family.
Unfortunately, he was a little late. Ye Tiancheng had already turned the doorknob and pushed the door open more than halfway, revealing the situation inside to everyone present.
At that moment, both Ye Tiancheng and Helian Yi's faces darkened, and Xiao Huli also had a look of utter disbelief. The very thing they least wanted to happen had indeed occurred.