The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Three days later, after many discussions with his ministers, Emperor Xia finally issued an edict to send a friendly peace delegation to the Kingdom of Yue, appointing Crown Prince Gu Deming as the chief envoy and Zhao Xiaoman, the chief escort of the Wuwei Escort Agency, as the deputy envoy. The delegation was to depart in half a month.

A few days later, in the back garden of the imperial palace in Chuyang, the capital of Yue State.

Emperor Tian Yizheng of Yue and Crown Prince Tian Yuan accompanied them to appreciate the flowers.

Tian Yi is about fifty years old and slightly plump, while Tian Yuanze is about twenty-five or twenty-six years old and is calm and steady.

Tian Yi looked at the flowers in the garden and said, "Xia Kingdom must have been desolate by now, withered branches and fallen leaves. Only my Yue Kingdom still has this garden full of vibrant spring colors. Prince, do you think Xia Kingdom has another purpose in sending this friendly delegation?"

"Your Majesty, since the Battle of Fengcheng eight years ago, the Xia Kingdom has been newly established and in need of reconstruction. We have been closed off and strictly guarding the country. Although our country wants to retake Fengcheng, we have not found a better opportunity. This time, the Xia Kingdom sent an envoy, and it was the Xia Kingdom's Crown Prince Gu Deming who personally came. I believe that the Xia Kingdom does have the intention of establishing friendly relations with our Yue Kingdom. I am willing to accept your order and be responsible for receiving the Xia envoy."

Tian Yi remained silent and asked, "What's Liang Changping been up to lately?"

"I have always served as a lieutenant general under my son, and have been conscientious in fulfilling my duties."

"You're not trying to avenge your previous humiliation? Are you going to fight Qin Shao to the death?"

"I haven't heard him mention it in the past two years."

Tian Yi then turned to Tian Yuan and said, "Back then, your mother was seriously ill. In order to let her pass away in peace, you were made Crown Prince at the age of ten. Now, more than ten years have passed, and I don't think you've made much progress in recent years. On the contrary, your brothers have become more powerful and have come to me to complain, saying that you are unworthy of your position. I am not convinced!"

Tian Yuan quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Father, please calm down. It is my fault that I have not done my job well and have disturbed you!"

"I've also heard that Zhao Xiaoman, the deputy envoy of the Xia Kingdom, is a difficult person. Your ninth brother is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and if Zhao Xiaoman dared to bribe him, let alone other spineless people!"

"I will check it out immediately!"

"The Xia Kingdom is no longer the Chen Dynasty of the past. There's no guarantee of victory if we go to war with it. On the contrary, it's easy to give the other side a handle. The Xia Kingdom is mobilizing its forces this time to gain a good reputation among the people of the Qiankun Continent. We, the Yue Kingdom, cannot afford to show weakness."

"I understand! We will deal with them on the surface, but we will keep a close watch on them in private. Even if the Xia Kingdom delegation has other motives, we will not let them succeed!"

Tian Yi then looked at Tian Yuan who was kneeling on the ground, waved his hand and said, "Get up!"

The capital of the Xia State, Liyang.

Ever since Zhao Xuan learned that her master was going on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Yue, she has been acting like a spoiled brat in all kinds of ways, with only one goal in mind: to go with him!

Their methods include but are not limited to: not eating well, not sleeping well, not going to school, rolling on the ground and crying...

She couldn't hit him or scold him, but Zhao Xiaoman knew that this mission was of great importance and she couldn't be careless. In the end, Zhao Xiaoman had to threaten Zhao Xuan by making the master and disciple sleep in separate beds, and only then did she calm down.

But soon, Zhao Xuan began to pester Zhao Xiaoman again, asking her to go to the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival Lantern Festival. Zhao Xiaoman was busy preparing gifts for the mission and had no time, so she sent Yulan and Butler Zhong to take Zhao Xuan on a night tour of the Lantern Festival.

Zhao Xuan immediately told Gu Zhanghua the good news. Gu Zhanghua wanted to go, but as always, his mother wouldn't allow it! Gu Zhanghua could only stare at the window, watching the streets outside the palace illuminated by brilliant lights, imagining Sister Xuan's excitement and joy.

At this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling him. Turning around, he saw the prince holding a lantern in the shape of a little rabbit, looking at Gu Zhanghua with a smile.

"Xiaowu, this is for you!"

Gu Deming handed the little rabbit lamp to Gu Zhanghua, who hurriedly took it and looked at Gu Deming with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Prince Brother!"

Xiao Aiyue, who had been sighing, finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Gu Deming gratefully:

"Prince, thank goodness you came and brought the lanterns, otherwise Xiaowu would have been sad all night! It's all that crazy little Zhao Xuan's fault! She brought up the Lantern Festival out of the blue! Important things must be said three times! My son is a prince! A prince! A prince! How can he be like her? Showing up in public like a wild girl!"

Gu Deming smiled and didn't respond.

Xiao Aiyue asked again: "Why don't I see the second and third brothers?"

"Second brother is still practicing swordsmanship, and third brother is being punished by father to kneel."

The corner of Xiao Aiyue's mouth twitched, and she asked cautiously, "What has the Third Brother done this time? What made your father so angry?"

"that is……"

Gu Deming hesitated to speak, but seeing Xiao Aiyue's determination to get to the bottom of things and not give up until she got the answer, he continued, "She ran off to a brothel."

Xiao Aiyue exclaimed, "Oh my God! He's only twelve years old!"

This time, it was Gu Deming's turn to twitch his lips. He said, "Your Majesty, you're overthinking it. Third Prince was just curious and took a look around. He didn't do anything."

Xiao Aiyue smiled wryly, "Really? That's good, that's good! But your father is still very wise. He took precautions before it happened! Well done for the punishment!"

Gu Deming picked up Gu Zhanghua, who was grinning foolishly while holding the lantern, and nodded politely to Xiao Aiyue: "I'll take Xiaowu to the back garden to enjoy the moon."

When Xiao Aiyue heard this, she immediately started spinning like a top, commanding the palace maids and eunuchs serving around her.

"Put a coat on the Fifth Prince to prevent him from catching a cold. Bring him a cup of warm water so he doesn't get thirsty. Bring him some pastries in case he gets hungry. And... you! You! And you! What are you all standing there for?! Hurry and get ready! Follow up!"

Not to mention that the brothers Gu Deming and Gu Zhanghua were surrounded by the crowd and went to the back garden to watch the moon. At this time, Chaoyang Avenue, the widest, largest and most lively street in Liyang City, was already crowded with people.

Zhao Xuan's hands were held tightly by Yulan and Butler Zhong, one on each side. She couldn't run around the street freely, and she was already impatient. Suddenly, her eyes rolled and she burst into tears.

Yulan and Butler Zhong were both startled and their hands loosened. Zhao Xuan took the opportunity to slip into the crowd and ran towards the stall she had always wanted to take a closer look. Zhao Xuan desperately grabbed the adults' legs and bravely moved forward towards her goal. After squeezing around, she finally reached her destination.

Zhao Xuan stared at the brilliant Tenglong lantern, her mouth wide open as she exclaimed, "What a beautiful lantern!"

But not far away from the crowd, Yulan and Butler Zhong were in a panic. They shouted Zhao Xuan's name and looked for her everywhere, but there was no trace of Zhao Xuan.

In the bustling street, Yulan panicked and asked Butler Zhong in tears, "What should we do now? We lost the young lady!"

"You keep looking, I'll go back and call more people!"

Yulan stamped her feet in anxiety.

"If that doesn't work, have the young lady tell General Qin and the master too, and have the garrison and the government dispatched. We'll definitely find him!"