The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

After disguising themselves, the father and daughter picked up the cargo pole prepared by Guo Da for them, and confidently left Fengcheng and headed for the small village that Huang Shuo had visited that year.

But not long after leaving Fengcheng, Zhao Xuan regretted it and thought she should have brought Hao Xiong with her.

Hao Xiong is an expert in exploring terrain and road conditions, especially in finding his way.

If you have been to a place once, you can still remember the way after many years. If you have never been to a place, you can know it clearly after just one walk around. But this father and daughter got lost so quickly.

Even Zhao Xuan, who had such good physical strength, felt despair. She suspected that she had encountered a ghost in broad daylight.

"Stop, stop, stop! I really can't walk anymore!"

Zhao Xuan leaned against a half-dead tree that was struck by lightning, panting, and called her unreliable father to stop.

She felt a little regretful and thought she should ask Uncle Guo for a map, preferably with the nearby counties and villages marked on it. But then she thought again, Gu Zhanghua didn't come with her, so who could understand the map, her or her father?

If things go wrong, it might backfire and lead the father and daughter into trouble.

What was originally a simple task of finding a village has now become like a treasure hunt.

A bad start!

"Dad, do you remember the way?"

Huang Shuo looked at the surrounding terrain, puzzled.

"I clearly remember this was a small forest last time. It would take less than a cup of tea to walk through the forest and reach the village. How come it has become a wasteland now?"

Zhao Xuan curled her lips and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Just because there was a forest here more than ten years ago doesn't mean it's still here more than ten years later. You should remember the direction clearly!"

Zhao Xuan suddenly thought of a possibility. She walked forward and pulled Huang Shuo forward a few steps.

"Let me ask you, which direction are we heading now?"

Huang Shuo answered confidently: "Forward."

"What if we take a few steps back?"

"Then it's naturally towards the back."

Zhao Xuan pulled Huang Shuo to the left. Before Zhao Xuan could ask, Huang Shuo said, "This is facing left."

Zhao Xuan pulled Huang Shuo to the right again. Huang Shuo got a little impatient and said, "I'm not stupid! This is to the right!"

Zhao Xuan was completely discouraged now. She felt like she was crying out to heaven and earth for help but no one was helping her.

"I finally understand. It seems that neither of us can tell east from west and north from south. We only know front, back, left and right. I miss our Hao Xiong so much!"

"I have a good idea!"

Huang Shuo suddenly had an idea.

"How about we go back to Liyang and take Hao Xiong with us? I definitely know the way back to Liyang!"

"Yeah!"

Zhao Xuan, who had been disheartened, suddenly perked up, but she immediately remembered what her father had told her: the fewer people knew about this, the safer she would be.

Although she trusted Hao Xiong very much, Hao Xiong could find his way but he didn't know martial arts. His mediocre skills would cause trouble if he encountered danger.

Huang Shuo saw that Zhao Xuan said yes but did not take any action, so he stood there in a daze and asked.

"what happened?"

"Nothing, I think we still have to rely on ourselves! Dad, think about it again, besides the grove, do you remember where else we passed on the way to that small mountain village?"

Zhao Xuan said this, looking around blankly.

Huang Shuo stood beside Zhao Xuan and looked around blankly.

Like two silly geese, one big and one small.

"Xuan'er, I promise you, I'm not mistaken. We must find that grove!"

Zhao Xuan suddenly pointed to a small hill not far away. At this time, she had to try all kinds of treatments.

"Dad, as the saying goes, the higher you go, the farther you can see. Let's go to that little hill and stand on it and look around. Maybe you can remember which direction that village was in!"

"Okay, that's one way."

So, the father and daughter jumped onto the hill and looked into the distance.

Suddenly, Huang Shuo pointed in a direction and shouted excitedly.

"That big willow tree! I remember that big willow tree. There was a big willow tree at the entrance of the village!"

Zhao Xuan looked in the direction Huang Shuo pointed.

"Are you sure? There was a big willow tree at the entrance of that village back then?"

"I'm sure it's exactly the same as what I saw back then!"

Huang Shuo patted his chest and assured Zhao Xuan.

Why is Zhao Xuan so unconvinced? More than ten years have passed, hasn't the willow tree grown taller?

?

Just as the father and daughter were carrying the goods and heading towards their destination, Gu Zhanghua was already in an open area outside Liyang City, directing the construction of a workshop.

Shishu looked at the sky and saw that it was getting late, but Gu Zhanghua had no intention of resting at all. He squinted his eyes and stared at the construction drawings in his hand, then hurried forward.

"Your Highness, it's getting late. Let's go back home. You didn't have a good lunch."

Gu Zhanghua raised his head and looked at the secretary apologetically.

"Yes, you've been suffering with me these days, it's time to have a good meal!"

"Your Highness, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not afraid of hardship! If you're worried, I'll stay and keep an eye on you!"

Shishu said anxiously.

Gu Zhanghua smiled, put away the drawings, put his arm around Shishu's shoulders, and walked towards the carriage.

"Okay, I know our Shishu loves me the most. The princess is not here, so you are taking care of me for her!"

When the secretary heard Gu Zhanghua mention the princess, she asked casually.

"By the way, Your Highness, the princess went to Qingshan Valley to pay homage to her master. She should have returned by then. Why hasn't she returned yet?"

"She has something else to do."

"What's going on? Is it dangerous?"

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to her with her father by her side."

Even so, a trace of worry still appeared on Gu Zhanghua's face. He wondered where Sister Xuan was now and whether she was in any danger.

?

Zhao Xuan and Huang Shuo were quite lucky at this time.

Huang Shuo actually guessed correctly that the big willow tree was the landmark!

Mingshan Village was indeed the small village where Huang Shuo found the three brothers living more than ten years ago.

When they arrived at Mingshan Village, it was dusk. Smoke was rising from every house and children were playing in the village waiting for dinner.

As soon as the two entered the village, they sold a lot of children's toys. Huang Shuo also asked the villagers where the village chief lived.

After knocking on the door of the village chief's house, Huang Shuo stated his purpose, hoping to exchange the goods they were selling for a full meal and a place to stay for the night.

The village chief’s surname is Liu. He looks to be about fifty years old. He is an energetic old man and very talkative.

After chatting for a few sentences, Zhao Xuan learned that the village chief's children all worked in the nearby county town, and now only he and his wife lived in the village.

The old couple were very welcoming and quickly welcomed the father and daughter into the house.

Huang Shuo put down his load and asked the old couple to find some satisfactory goods to pay for their meals and accommodation.

However, Liu's wife fell in love with the sachet hanging around Huang Shuo's waist at first sight. Her cloudy eyes immediately sparkled and she looked at Huang Shuo earnestly.

"Master Huang, the sachet on your waist looks very unique. I wonder..."

Before Liu's wife finished speaking, Huang Shuo understood what she meant. He took off the sachet from his waist and was about to hand it to her, but was stopped by Zhao Xuan.

"Dad! Wait!"

Liu's wife felt a little disappointed, while Huang Shuo's face was full of questions.

"What's wrong? I'll trade this sachet for a meal. It's worth it!"

Zhao Xuan thought to herself, Dad, you are such an idiot!

You didn't even think twice about the sachet Tian Xueyan gave you, and you wanted to exchange it for a meal. When you returned to the palace, Tian Xueyan asked about the whereabouts of the sachet. How are you going to explain to the girl?

Tian Xueyan's sincerity is only worth a meal in her father's eyes?

She really felt sorry for Tian Xueyan's sincerity!

But she couldn't tell her father the truth in front of the village head and his wife, so she had to pretend not to know the truth.

"Dad, you've been wearing this sachet for so many days, it's old and dirty! I have a new one that looks great too!"

As Zhao Xuan spoke, she hurriedly took out the sachet that Tian Xueyan had sewn for her from her bag and handed it to Liu's wife.

"Aunt, look at me! Is this worth a meal?"

Liu's wife took it and took a look at it, then looked at the one in Huang Shuo's hand.

"The plum blossoms you embroidered on it are plentiful outside our village in winter, so they're not rare. But I've never seen anyone embroider the acacia beans on it before!"

"Love Beans? I knew it looked weird, so that's what it's called."

Zhao Xuan looked at the sachet in Huang Shuo's hand and suddenly realized.

The sachet that Tian Xueyan gave to her father has a special meaning!

"That's a special tree species that only exists in Yue Country. It can't be grown in our Xia Country!"

Liu’s wife added.

"Aunt, have you been to Yue?"

Zhao Xuan looked at Liu's wife in surprise. You really can't judge a person by his appearance!