The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

At nightfall, on the roof of Changxiangju, Zhao Xuan and Huang Shuo sat on Guo Da's left and right, each holding a jar of Changxiangju in their hands.

Guo Da glanced at the ground, then quickly retracted his neck with a look of horror on his face.

"Old Huang, can you change this old habit of yours? Isn't it good to stay in the spacious, bright, warm and safe private room? Why do you have to go up to the roof to drink? Don't you know I'm afraid of heights?"

Huang Shuo answered naturally: "I don't know."

Zhao Xuan looked at the two brothers who were quarreling from time to time and thought of something.

"Dad, Uncle Guo, how did you get in touch in the first place? Fengcheng and Yanzhou are very far apart, and neither of you knew where the other was."

"It's because of the name of this wine," Guo Da said. "Back then, I only tried brewing one jar. Your master, Old Huang, and I drank it all and thought it was delicious, so we named it 'Changxiangju'. This name is known only to the three of us, and it's also to commemorate your Uncle Wang. Remember?"

Zhao Xuan nodded. "Of course I remember. Right now, my Master and Uncle Wang... they're probably drinking on the rooftop just like us."

Guo Da sighed.

"Everyone was fleeing in all directions. I left Liyang and came to Fengcheng. I first opened a small restaurant, then gradually accumulated capital to expand it. Changxiangju became famous all over the world. I was thinking that as long as your master and Lao Huang were still alive, as long as they heard the name of this wine, they would know it was related to me and would contact me. And three years ago, Lao Huang smelled the aroma and came to me!"

Huang Shuo complained, "Can you please call me Xiao Shuo? Why does Lao Huang Lao Huang sound so wrong? It sounds like the name of an old dog!"

Guo Da pinched his throat and shouted at Huang Shuo in a shrill voice: "Xiao Shuo! Xiao Shuo!"

Huang Shuo shuddered all over and jumped off the roof. Guo Da, who had lost his support, almost fell down, but was caught by Zhao Xuan.

"Uncle Guo, please be careful!"

Guo Da hurriedly and carefully sat down, and suddenly asked with concern: "Is your father going to Qingshan Valley?"

"Yes, he has always wanted to accompany my master."

Guo Da said with emotion: "I also want to go and accompany your master!"

"What? You like my master too?!"

"Does Lao Huang like Xiao Man?"

"Is not it?"

"No wonder……"

Huang Shuo looked at the uncle and nephew who were snuggling together and whispering on the roof, and let out a long sigh. He thought that with Guo Da's company, he could go to Qingshan Valley with peace of mind.

In the secret room of the Prince's Mansion in Chuyang, the capital of Yue State, Tian Yuan and Hu Junfeng sat facing each other and drank.

Hu Junfeng put down his wine glass and asked, "What does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince want me to do?"

"You have been in my palace for over half a year, yet I have never given you any mission. Do you know why?"

"I have already told you the truth. I am willing to serve your Highness with my life. I hope your Highness can retrieve the family heirloom, the Evil-Slaying Sword, for me. I will not hesitate to die!"

"I still need Liang Changping's support. The Evil-Slaying Sword is Liang Changping's lifeblood. I can't fulfill your wish in a short time, but I will do my best. In addition, I truly admire your chivalrous spirit, Hu Yishi. After much deliberation, I have a very confidential matter I would like to entrust to you."

Hu Junfeng was silent and thoughtful.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hu. This matter will not affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries, nor will it harm the interests of the Xia Kingdom. It will not make Mr. Hu lose his reputation as a righteous man. This is just a personal matter of mine."

Hu Junfeng then bowed to Tian Yuan and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Tian Yuan's expression was stern. He said in a deep voice, "More than ten years have passed since the incident, but I increasingly feel that there was a mastermind behind everything that happened back then... If I don't find this person, my position as Crown Prince will be in jeopardy!"

Tian Yuan said this, stood up, walked to the bookshelf next to him, took out a locked iron box, opened the iron box with a small key he carried with him, took out a piece of paper and handed it to Hu Junfeng.

"There's a place called Kunze Town, at the junction of Yue's southern border and the southern barbarians. A small Yue border detachment has long been stationed there. These eight individuals are the roster of those stationed there over a decade ago. I hope you can secretly travel to the Baihuazhou garrison base in the southern border and try to obtain the military records of these eight individuals. Then, go to their hometowns to track down the individuals involved and secretly investigate their current situation! I will reward you handsomely!"

Hu Junfeng thought for a moment and took the list: "I obey your orders!"

In the early spring of the 21st year of Xia Xuanhe, after more than a month of secret investigation, Hu Junfeng finally made some progress after several infiltrations into the archives of the Vietnamese Army's Baihuazhou Military Base. He found the military records of all eight people on the list and immediately went to their hometowns to search one by one. Strangely, he did not find any of them, so he had to return to Chuyang to report the truth to Prince Tian Yuan.

As soon as he entered Chuyang City, Hu Junfeng noticed that the atmosphere in the city was weird. In the once bustling streets, everyone looked frightened and walked hurriedly, and the previous tranquility and peace were no longer visible.

After a brief thought, Hu Junfeng walked into a small restaurant nearby and ordered a bowl of beef noodles. When the waiter brought the noodles to the table, he naturally stuffed a silver ingot into the waiter's hand.

The waiter immediately smiled and said, "What is it that you would like to know, sir? I will tell you everything I know."

"Has anything major happened in the capital recently?"

The waiter whispered in Hu Junfeng's ear, "The Emperor is gravely ill and has been bedridden for several days. It's said that all the imperial physicians are helpless. The First, Second, and Eighth Princes are making a fuss, eyeing the Crown Prince's position covetously. The Crown Prince is facing internal and external troubles, and he needs to devote all his energy to suppressing these princes! Furthermore, within the Crown Prince's faction, General Liang Changping has been clamoring to retake Jinyang City and declare war on the Xia Kingdom. He's already assembled a large army outside Jinyang City, but the Ninth Prince is unwilling to fight. With the two sides at odds, the Crown Prince is having a headache!"

Hu Junfeng couldn't help but sigh: "You know it so clearly!"

The waiter sneered, "These princes have been fighting for years. I've heard so much about it that my ears are almost callused!"

The waiter said this and walked away slowly as if nothing had happened.

Hu Junfeng hurriedly finished his noodles, handed the token to the prince's mansion, and received the prince's secret order to wait in the study.

In just a cup of tea, Hu Junfeng saw Tian Yuan striding into the study with a gloomy face. Hu Junfeng stepped forward and saluted, then took out the archival documents he had hidden with him and handed them to Tian Yuan.

"Your Highness, all eight of our military records are here."

Tian Yuan opened the document and took a closer look, feeling confused and uncertain.

"Strange! They're all farmers? How could they possibly possess martial arts skills?"

"Your Highness, there's something even stranger. These eight people haven't returned to their hometown in over a decade, nor have they had any contact with their families. I was hoping to find some clues, but it's as if they've vanished from the face of the earth, completely gone!"

Tian Yuan paced back and forth anxiously. After a moment, he stopped and looked at Hu Junfeng.

"It seems the only way to hope is to investigate the area around Kunze Town, where the team was stationed back then."

"Your Highness, could you please tell me who these eight people were? What did they do back then that still haunts Your Highness after all these years?"