The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Chapter 5: Ice Crystal Chalcedony Flower

The driver looked at the little beggar lying motionless on the ground, turned back and replied to the carriage: "Reporting to the Concubine Shu, a little beggar fell on the road, probably because he was hungry."

Before Xiao Aiyue could say anything, she saw her son put down the cakes, opened the car curtain and got out, so she hurried to follow him.

In front of the carriage, Gu Zhanghua saw the little beggar wearing tattered clothes, with disheveled hair and a face so thin that it was almost skin and bones. He didn't look much older than himself. He looked up at his mother's face pleadingly, stretched out his little hand and tugged at his mother's clothes. The corners of Xiao Aiyue's mouth twitched.

"There are already three chickens, five cats, and seven cages of birds in my mother's bedroom..."

"But he is a man!"

Xiao Aiyue was speechless. She recalled the time when her son brought back the first chicken from the imperial kitchen. When she objected, her son said to her, "But it's just a chicken!"

When she objected to the first cat they picked up, her son told her, "But it's a cat!"

When she objected to rescuing the first bird, her son told her, "But it's just a bird!"

Xiao Aiyue rubbed her forehead vigorously. She looked at the little beggar on the ground and actually felt that her son was right. This time it was a "human"!

“This won’t happen again!!”

Gu Zhanghua's eyes suddenly lit up.

In the carriage that set off again, there was a servant boy named Shishu by Gu Zhanghua, who was eating the cakes that Zhao Xuan gave to Gu Zhanghua in big mouthfuls.

As night fell, the lights in Liyang City gradually lit up, bringing a sense of tranquility and peace. The plaque of Qingfeng Courtyard, illuminated by two lanterns hanging at the entrance, looked hazy and beautiful.

Zhao Xiaoman was bathing. Yulan was helping her fix her wet hair. She couldn't help but scold her, "Miss, you really shouldn't have given the Ice Crystal Chalcedony Flower to Concubine Shu without a second thought. Have you forgotten? It was given to you by General Qin, and it was almost eaten by a giant python! You just made a joke, but General Qin fought for his life!"

Zhao Xiaoman sighed. Of course she remembered it. It was the night before New Year's Eve of the first year of Xuanhe. The most luxurious restaurant in the capital, Liyang, the "Dengyue Tower", was brightly lit and bustling with people. General Qin Shao, who had returned to the capital after a great victory in Fengcheng, held a banquet to entertain his friends and colleagues, and Zhao Xiaoman was among the invited guests.

When she and Yulan had just entered the private room, Qin Shao solemnly introduced everyone present to her. However, in her eyes, there was only Qin Shao. Dressed as a scholar, Qin Shao looked fresh, handsome, and elegant, completely different from the heroic figure in military uniform she usually saw him in. Zhao Xiaoman could not help but stare blankly. At this moment, she heard Qin Shao ask her:

"Well, I mean what I say. As long as we capture Liyang and save Fengcheng from danger, I'll have a drink with you in the Moon Tower!"

"I thought you only invited me."

Qin Shao laughed heartily: "I'll treat you alone next time!"

Later, everyone was having a feast, during which she remembered a legend and asked Qin Shao, "Legend has it that the top of Tianwu Mountain is covered with snow year-round, and grows a rare treasure called the 'Ice Crystal Chalcedony Flower' that blooms only once a century. General, you've been stationed in the northern border for many years, have you ever seen one?"

"There is a legend that this flower can prolong one's life, but I've never seen one. Why, do you want it?"

Zhao Xiaoman pursed her lips and smiled: "If the general can pick it, I will accept it with joy!"

Qin Shao laughed out loud again, and the two of them raised their glasses and drank together.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoman in a daze, Yulan tested the water temperature and said softly, "Miss, the water is cold. Do you want to add some more hot water?"

"No need," Zhao Xiaoman stretched lazily on the edge of the tub before standing up and saying casually, "The flower is useless to me. Xiao Aiyue is a bit conceited, so it's just right to give it to her!"

Yulan pouted, picked up a silk nightgown and put it on Zhao Xiaoman. Zhao Xiaoman pinched the collar of the nightgown, but was a little surprised.

"Why don't you listen to my father? We, the Zhao family, only wear cloth. The silk sold in the official merchants' shops is very expensive, and we also have to avoid suspicion."

"Miss, don't worry. I didn't buy it from a government-run shop, and I wouldn't dare embezzle the caravan's goods," Yulan explained as she dried Zhao Xiaoman's hair, her expression both excited and mysterious. "Butler Zhong bought it at Tianguangji. It was very cheap. I made you two sets of pajamas to alternate between. I'll make you two more sets in a couple of days."

"'Tianguangji'? Why haven't I heard of it? It's also in the west of the city?"

"The shops in the west of the city are open during the day, while 'Tianguang Market' is open at night. On the fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth days of every month, the vendors set up their stalls around five o'clock in the morning. At daybreak, the vendors quickly leave, their stalls and themselves disappearing without a trace. Steward Zhong only heard about it recently when he went into the city to do some household shopping. I went there once, and many of the items there are hot-selling goods that are sold out in our Xia Kingdom, including silk, porcelain, and even the jade hairpins that are a specialty of Yue Kingdom!"

Zhao Xiaoman's expression gradually became serious. She asked, "What day is it today?"

"Thirteen, why don't you go to the market too, Miss? Then take me with you. I want to buy two beautiful hairpins!"

"Sister Lan, I'm not going to buy anything. I have something else to do. You can wear any hairpin in my jewelry box."

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, before five o'clock in the morning, Zhao Xiaoman appeared in Tianguangji dressed in the daily attire of an ordinary woman.

In front of the shops in the west of the city that had not yet opened, the roads on both sides were indeed filled with stalls selling all kinds of goods. There was a constant stream of people coming to the market, some shouting about the goods, some bargaining in low voices, some picking and choosing, and it was a very lively scene.

Zhao Xiaoman took advantage of the little light before dawn and picked up the jade hairpin that Yulan had been longing for from the stall in front of her.

The stall owner immediately introduced: "I can tell you're a connoisseur of goods. This is a top-quality jade hairpin, only one or two ounces of silver."

"A similar style costs five taels of silver at Treasure Pavilion, and they're often out of stock. How many do you have? I want them all."

"There's only this one left. If you come any later, this one will be gone too."

Zhao Xiaoman took out some silver and asked casually, "Where did you get this hairpin? You can make half of it, right?"

The stall owner took the silver and looked at Zhao Xiaoman warily: "I don't know about that. I only sell. Purchasing is my father's business."

After saying that, he turned around and greeted other guests, no longer paying attention to Zhao Xiaoman.

Zhao Xiaoman pondered as she walked towards other stalls. Just then, a commotion erupted in the crowd not far away. The vendors, alerted by the news, quickly packed up their wares and ran into the streets. Zhao Xiaoman was puzzled when she saw a group of yamen runners apprehending the vendors before they could flee, confiscating their wares. Zhao Xiaoman recognized the leader as her cousin, Zhao You, and hurried over to meet him.

Zhao You had also seen Zhao Xiaoman at this time, and he quickly dismounted, bowed and called out: "Cousin, why are you here?"