The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Jiang Song, the governor of Jingdu, who was waiting at the palace gate, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. When he saw Qin Shao coming out of the palace, he immediately came forward and saluted, saying, "General Qin, I am glad to see you!"

Qin Shao asked doubtfully, "What urgent matter could Lord Qin have for me? Is there a rebellion in the capital?"

"No, no! But I think it's more troublesome than rebellion, and His Majesty hasn't woken up yet. General, please give me some advice."

Qin Shao said impatiently: "Speak!"

Jiang Song secretly watched Qin Shao's face and said, "Someone just came to Jingdu Prefecture to report that the Minister of Revenue, Zhao Cheng, was smuggling with the Yue State..."

Qin Shao was anxious when he heard this: "That's nonsense! I think someone is targeting the Zhao family! Master Zhao Xiaoman and her apprentice just disappeared, and now someone is reporting Minister Zhao?"

Jiang Song took a step back in shock before continuing, "I didn't believe it at first, but the informant also implicated several businesses that were involved in a smuggling conspiracy with Minister Zhao. I've already raided them and have indeed seized a large quantity of silk and porcelain, both of which are abundant in Yue! I'm unsure what to do with them now, so I've come to report this to the General. I hope you can offer me some pointers!"

"If it's true! What should we do? You are not familiar with this matter. You come to me, the general. What can I do?"

Jiang Song confirmed: "Do you mean to act in accordance with the law?"

"if not?"

Jiang Song bowed to Qin Shao and said, "Then please, General, come out and lend a hand to this humble official!"

Qin Shao didn't understand: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Song hurriedly explained, "Minister Zhao, the Minister of Revenue, if he stomps his feet, the whole capital will tremble. I'm not high enough to arrest anyone, not to mention a case of this magnitude, which has never happened in the history of the Xia Kingdom! I only have one head on my shoulders..."

Qin Shao's eyes widened: "Are you going to arrest someone else?"

Jiang Song quickly said, "That's right! According to the law, we must arrest the suspect and bring him to justice!"

Qin Shao held his forehead, a headache raging. He asked, "Can you ask someone else for this? Is Imperial Censor Ma Baoguo qualified? He's got that temper, so he'll definitely help you!"

At this time, a sedan chair hurried out of the palace and happened to pass by Qin Shao and Jiang Song.

Qin Shao and Jiang Song looked at Ma Baoguo lying on the sedan chair in surprise. Qin Shao pulled over a young eunuch and asked, "What happened to Master Ma?"

The young eunuch looked at Qin Shao with some fear, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"I'm asking you a question, General? Speak up!"

"It's not... it's not..." the young eunuch trembled, "It's because of you, General, that Lord Ma has a nosebleed and has fainted... He's being sent home!"

Qin Shao was filled with regret and shouted angrily, "Where is the imperial physician? Why don't you ask him to come and see Master Ma!"

The young eunuch trembled even more violently: "The imperial doctors are waiting in the emperor's bedroom!"

Qin Shao's head hurt even more. Seeing that Qin Shao stopped asking questions, the young eunuch hurriedly ran after the sedan chair.

Seeing this, Jiang Song asked cautiously, "General, what should we do now?"

"Arresting him would be too cumbersome," Qin Shao thought, pinching his brows, "but we must stabilize the situation first..."

Jiang Song thought of a way to have the best of both worlds.

"How about this? General Qin leads his troops to seal off the Zhao Mansion first. This will ensure that no suspect inside can escape. Once Your Majesty wakes up, I will then ask Your Majesty to make the final decision!"

"Okay! That's a good idea!"

Jiang Song bowed deeply to Qin Shao: "Thank you very much, General!"

At the Zhao residence, Zhao Cheng slammed the table and stood up. Zhao You immediately tried to persuade him, "Uncle, calm down! I suspect someone is trying to take advantage of the chaos to divert trouble!"

"It's not a guess, it's a certainty! They've framed me, how bold! What does this mean? It means we're almost at the lair of those people! They can't sit still any longer!"

"Uncle, what should we do now?"

Zhao Cheng suddenly looked dejected, and said in a trembling voice, "Xiao Man and Xuan Er are still missing... Crown Prince and Your Majesty... My Zhao family has been embroiled in such a horrible situation again. Could it be... could it be that someone is trying to destroy my Xia Kingdom? Come! Follow me into the palace!"

As Zhao Cheng and Zhao You stepped out of the study, they heard noisy voices outside the house.

A servant ran up to Zhao Cheng in panic and said hurriedly, "My lord, this is bad! Lord Jiang, the governor of Jingdu, and General Qin Shaoqin have led a large group of troops and have surrounded our mansion!"

Zhao Cheng's face was grim, his body swayed, and with the support of Zhao You, he quickly walked towards the mansion gate.

The Zhao Mansion was surrounded by Kyoto Prefecture yamen runners and imperial guards. Jiang Song stood at the door, explaining to his personal yamen runner:

"No one inside is allowed to leave. Ask the people in the mansion to make a list of what items need to be purchased, and you can help them buy them at any time. Don't let Lord Zhao and the people in his mansion go hungry or thirsty!"

Qin Shao praised: "Master Jiang is still very careful."

At this time, Zhao Cheng pushed the door open and looked at Qin Shao: "Qin Shao! Even you don't believe me?!"

Qin Shao smiled awkwardly: "It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that I have no choice! Now that all the people who made the decision are lying down, what should I do?"

Zhao Cheng pointed at the crowd of yamen runners and imperial guards with trembling hands.

"Qin Shao! Are you doing this to prove that I'm guilty of smuggling and harming the country?!"

Qin Shao quickly shirked responsibility: "I didn't say that! It was Lord Jiang who found the solid evidence..."

"What nonsense! My Zhao family has been blessed by the Emperor and has always been upright! How could you possibly frame us? Get everyone out of here!"

Jiang Song said in embarrassment: "Master Zhao, General Qin and I had no choice but to do this. We have witnesses and evidence! I think you should just stay in the mansion for now..."

Zhao Cheng was furious when he heard this. He suddenly rushed to Qin Shao, stretched out his hand to pull out Qin Shao's sword, and put it against his neck.

"Alright! I will die now to prove my innocence!"

Qin Shao reached out to stop him, but it was too late. Zhao Cheng was covered in blood and committed suicide on the spot.

Everyone was stunned.

Zhao You threw himself on Zhao Cheng, caressing his body and crying, "Uncle! Uncle! My Zhao family has been wronged! My Zhao family has been wronged!!"

After crying, Zhao You suddenly picked up the blood-stained sword on the ground and committed suicide with Zhao Cheng to prove his innocence.

Huang Shuo squeezed into the crowd holding Zhao Xuan. Seeing this horrific scene, he hurriedly covered Zhao Xuan's eyes with his hands and turned away.

Zhao Xuan choked up and asked, "I think I saw Grandpa... Is that Grandpa lying on the ground? Is Grandpa also dead like Master?"

"Yes...dead..."

Zhao Xuan burst into tears: "Grandpa! I want Grandpa!"

Huang Shuo hurriedly slipped into a narrow alley, coaxing her: "Xuan'er, don't cry, Xuan'er, don't cry. Uncle Huang will take you to see your Aunt Lan later, okay?"

At night, the city of Liyang no longer had the peace and tranquility of the past. Jiang Songzheng led his men to search Qingfeng Courtyard carefully inside and out.

Jiang Song saw Yulan huddled in the corner, feeling distraught, so he pulled her up and asked, "Have Zhao Xiaoman and Zhao Xuan ever come back?"

Yulan just cried and shook her head desperately. Jiang Song threw Yulan to the ground and ignored her, then ordered the yamen runners:

"Zhao Cheng committed suicide out of fear of punishment! Zhao Xiaoman and Zhao Xuan are suspects in both the Crown Prince's attack and the smuggling case. I must conduct a thorough investigation and not let any clues slip by!"

Jiang Song and the others walked towards the backyard. Yulan collapsed on the ground and suddenly covered her face with her hands and burst into tears, "Miss! Where have you been? How can I live in the future?"