The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Zhao Xuan regained some of her childish nature in front of Guo Da. She shook Guo Da's hand, smiled, and her eyes curved into crescents.

"You gave me those ten jars of Changxiangju, and you let me divide them up on the wedding night. Everyone in the mansion got one, and we drank so hard that I almost lost my mind! But I won over this group of people. Now I have the final say in the Xianwang Mansion!"

Guo Da said teasingly, "Oh! It seems the virtuous king is quite spoiled with you!"

Zhao Xuan raised her head proudly. "I'm popular, brave, righteous, and approachable. I win people over with my virtue."

Guo Da laughed heartily: "You're right. As long as you are happy, Uncle Guo will be relieved."

Zhao Xuan asked with concern, "How is my father?"

"Don't worry, I'm alive and well!"

"Well, if you want to go see him again, tell him that I'll go see him after I finish what I'm doing. But don't tell him about Jiaoyang Valley, for fear that he might overthink it and get sick again."

Guo Da raised his hand and touched Zhao Xuan's hair.

"Good boy, I know you are filial. Your father has protected you for ten years. Now it's Uncle Guo's turn to protect you!"

Zhao Xuan rubbed her head in Guo Da's hand like a well-behaved kitten.

"I know. I have something important to discuss with you."

"You said."

Zhao Xuan restrained her smile and lowered her voice.

"Uncle Guo, I've discovered that shortly after the diplomatic mission was attacked, Crown Prince Tian Yuan of Yue secretly came to Liyang to meet with Emperor Xia, but we don't know exactly what they discussed. Do you think this incident is related to the attack on the diplomatic mission?"

Guo Da frowned and asked, "Is the source of this information reliable?"

Zhao Xuan nodded solemnly. "It's absolutely reliable! There were five people present at the time: Xia Di, Tian Yuan, Ma Baoguo, Qin Shao, and Yang Liuming. These words were spoken by Ma Baoguo himself, so they are absolutely correct."

Guo Da was in deep thought, and suddenly thought of something.

"Xuan'er, now that you mention it, I remember something. Maybe there's some connection between the two?"

"You say."

Guo Da stroked his short beard and recalled: "Do you know Jinyang City?"

Zhao Xuan shook her head: "I haven't heard of it."

"Yes, you were so young at the time, and something unexpected happened. It was like the sky was falling. Then you lived in seclusion with Huang Shuo in Heyan Village for many years. Huang Shuo was a calm and reserved person who didn't care about worldly affairs. There were many things you really didn't know."

Guo Da touched Zhao Xuan's hair lovingly again before continuing.

"This story begins over twenty years ago. At that time, King Chen was tyrannical. The current Xia Emperor Gu Li and General Qin Shao led an uprising and overthrew the Chen Dynasty. Jinyang City was the southernmost city of the Chen Dynasty, bordering the Kingdom of Yue. The Xia Kingdom was newly established and had a lot of work to do. Who knew that the Kingdom of Yue would take advantage of the opportunity to attack Jinyang City? The Xia Kingdom was unable to cope with itself, and Jinyang City fell and became a vassal of the Yue Kingdom."

"Uncle Guo, I understand."

"But what happened later was a little strange," Guo Da said, taking a sip of water. "Not long after the attack on the diplomatic mission, the Xia Kingdom recaptured Jinyang City, which had been occupied by the Yue Kingdom for many years, without even a single soldier!"

Zhao Xuan concluded, "You mean, the Kingdom of Yue most likely offered up Jinyang City on its own initiative?"

Guo Da said, "I'm wondering if there's some secret deal going on between the Crown Prince of Yue and Emperor Xia? And is it related to Jinyang City?"

Zhao Xuan couldn't understand. "What does the Yue Kingdom want? What benefits do they want from Emperor Xia in exchange for a city?"

Guo Da stood up and paced back and forth in the room, thinking.

"It's hard to say, but it's definitely something that's life-threatening. That's the entire Jinyang City, with over a hundred thousand people living there. It's as wealthy as our Fengcheng. How could the Yue Kingdom just give it away like that? Impossible. There must be something extremely secretive and important behind it!"

Zhao Xuan asked hurriedly, "What could it be? Could it be related to the attack on the diplomatic mission? After all, the Crown Prince died because of it, and Emperor Xia still hasn't recovered from it. He hasn't seen Xiaowu in years."

Guo Da looked at Zhao Xuan.

"Maybe. Without evidence, we're just guessing. Xuan'er, you're grown up now. I want to take advantage of the time tonight to talk you through some of the past. Do you know what your master's main purpose was when he went on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Yue?"

Zhao Xuan thought for a moment and said, "My father mentioned it to me a few times. It seems to be related to the trade bill between Xia and Yue countries?"

"Yes. Your Master and the Crown Prince were attacked along the way, so the trade bill was considered a failure. But only a month after the incident, I remember clearly that Emperor Xia suddenly issued a decree for trade with Yue, and Yue was very cooperative. Come to think of it, it's been over a decade now, and the two countries have been trading, with no fighting on the border. Why do I always feel like Yue suddenly became very friendly to us after the attack on the delegation?"

Both of them fell silent suddenly. The candlelight flickered, sometimes brighter and sometimes dimmer. Zhao Xuan cut off half of the candle wick.

Guo Da walked quickly to the table and sat down.

"Xuan'er, I'm sure the content of the secret talks between Crown Prince Tian Yuan of Yue and Emperor Xia was, firstly, related to trade between the two countries, and secondly, related to Jinyang City!"

Zhao Xuan spoke frankly: "But I'm still a little confused."

Guo Da patiently explained, "Two months ago, General Liang Changping of the Yue Kingdom suddenly marched upon Jinyang City. I found this strange and inquired privately. It turns out that Liang Changping has always been brooding over the loss of Jinyang City. He took advantage of the rebellion of the Rongdi tribe in the north to recapture the city. Now, combined with the clues you have found, Tian Yuan must have wanted to resolve some very difficult issue before he decided to return Jinyang City. Thinking about it this way, it is really possible that, as you said, certain people in the Yue Kingdom were involved in the assassination of the diplomatic envoy."

Zhao Xuan gritted her teeth and clenched her fists unconsciously.

"Uncle Guo, you still remember that poison arrowhead, right? I've drawn a diagram and asked someone to identify it to see if it was made by the Vietnamese army!"

Guo Da held Zhao Xuan's fist and patted it soothingly.

"After all, more than ten years have passed. There's no need to rush. First, you should take care of the matter of Jiaoyang Valley with the virtuous king. We will investigate this matter slowly."

Zhao Xuan slowly unclenched her fists, narrowed her eyes, and made a summary.

"Uncle Guo, now at least we have pieced together the events before and after the incident. Before the embassy was attacked, the Xia Kingdom had two major unresolved issues: trade with the Yue Kingdom, and Jinyang City was still in the hands of the Yue Kingdom. But after the embassy was attacked, the Yue Crown Prince Tian Yuan secretly came to Liyang to have a secret meeting with the Xia Emperor. After the meeting, the two countries resumed trade in a friendly manner, and the Xia Kingdom peacefully took back Jinyang City. Therefore, the Yue Kingdom must be involved in the attack on the embassy, ​​and the five people present at the meeting must have known the truth. But they just pushed the bandits from Jigong Mountain to take the blame. It's really scary to think about it!"

Zhao Xuan felt a chill down her spine. She and Guo Da looked at each other and both felt the seriousness of the matter.

At this time, Guo Da really wanted to persuade Zhao Xuan not to investigate further. Although Zhao Xuan was now the virtuous princess, as soon as he found out some clues, it would implicate a wide range of people, including the political situation in the court. He was really worried about Zhao Xuan's safety, but he also knew that Zhao Xuan's personality was exactly the same as Zhao Xiaoman's. She was stubborn and courageous, and would not give up until she achieved her goal. It was useless for him to persuade her, so he could only try his best to help her.

"Another thing also makes sense. When Yue returned Jinyang City, Liang Changping kept harboring resentment in his heart. That's why he found an opportunity many years later and wanted to take Jinyang City back. At that time, the Emperor of Yue was seriously ill, and Crown Prince Tian Yuan was in power. He must have been unwilling to engage in further conflict with Xia, which is why the marriage between Xia and Yue came about."

Zhao Xuan scoffed, "Marriage? How can marrying off to the Xia Kingdom from afar be considered a good thing? That's why the Yue Kingdom sent the unknown Tian Shiliu to marry into the Xia Kingdom. Tian Shiliu died of illness, and that's when I got the chance to marry in her place."

Guo Da sighed: "It's really hard for you. If your master were still alive, he would be so distressed."

Zhao Xuan stood up, walked to Guo Da and hugged him.

"Uncle Guo, I miss my master."

Guo Da hugged Zhao Xuan, stroked her back, and sighed, "I miss her too."