The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

In the tent of the commander-in-chief of the Rongdi tribe.

King Yingyang of Rongdi, lying on the couch, slowly opened his eyes and saw the flickering candlelight in the tent. It was already dark, and he forced himself to get up.

Uncle Bogu, who was waiting nearby, supported Yingyang and said, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You are finally awake!"

Ying Yang leaned against the couch, his right arm bandaged, and asked, "How long has the king been unconscious?"

"It's been nearly three hours. The crossbow arrow that shot you was heavily poisoned! That's why the king fell unconscious instantly!"

"Bring that arrow to me, king!"

A guard nearby hurriedly brought over a tray with a bloody crossbow arrow on it.

Ying Yang picked up the crossbow and looked at it carefully. Suddenly, Ying Yang held the crossbow towards the candlelight and looked at it carefully again. He saw a small word "Shang" engraved on the arrow!

Ying Yang handed the broken arrow with the word "Shang" engraved on it to Borg Gu.

"Uncle Wang, look!"

Borggu took it and looked at it carefully, then looked at Yingyang in confusion.

"Your Majesty, this is..."

Ying Yang gritted his teeth and said, "This word 'Shang' is the clue! Moreover, I have never seen an arrow like this before! It definitely didn't come from the Xia army! Immediately order a blueprint to be drawn based on this arrow pattern. Not even the slightest mistake can be made! Immediately send people to the three kingdoms of Xia, Yue, and Song to secretly search for the owner of this crossbow. If we find him, I will cut him into pieces!"

Borggu hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Yes! Your Majesty!"

"And..." Ying Yang sighed, "Our army suffered heavy losses this time. Send out the order to return to the royal court tonight to rest and recuperate. One day, I will fight Qin Shao to the death!"

In the tent of the Xia army camp.

Qin Shao stared at the candlelight on the table, recalling the arrow that had grazed his ear during the daytime battle, and looking back to see the Rongdi King Yingyang covering his arm with a horrible expression as he fled in embarrassment. He couldn't help but mutter, "Who is secretly helping me?"

At this time, two lieutenants walked into the general's tent. Qin Shao hurriedly asked, "Ma Da and Ma Er, have you found any trace of your benefactor?"

They both shook their heads at the same time.

Ma Dadao, who looked more muscular, said, "We've searched the area in the direction you mentioned. There are signs of people trampling on the grass behind a huge rock, but other than that, there are no other clues."

Ma Er speculated, "Could it be that a chivalrous man happened to be passing by and saw the injustice and came to the rescue?"

Qin Shao waved his hand: "Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. It's tiring. If we are destined to meet again in the future, we will definitely meet again! The Rongdi tribe has been defeated this time. Just thinking about it makes me happy!"

Ma Er clenched his fist and said, "That Rongdi King is truly treacherous! He actually launched a sneak attack! Such despicable behavior!"

Qin Shao said seriously, "The battlefield is ever-changing. He was able to come up with this plan and almost succeeded. He is indeed a good opponent!"

The capital of the Xia State was Liyang.

Concubine Xiao Aiyue in the palace has been feeling mixed emotions these days.

At first, she was overjoyed to hear that her son had been canonized as the Virtuous King by His Majesty's decree; but immediately she was worried and sad because her son had left the palace and lived in a separate house, which meant that it would be difficult for the mother and son to even see each other; then she heard that His Majesty had decreed that her son should marry the Princess of Yue State, and she would have an inexplicable daughter-in-law out of thin air. She was anxious and uneasy, and hurriedly asked around for information about the Princess of Yue State, but there was no definite news at all.

On this day, Xiao Aiyue was pruning rose branches in the garden to relieve her worries. When she heard her maid report that His Royal Highness Prince Cheng wanted to see her, she had an idea and immediately went to the main hall.

Just as Gu Jiancheng picked up the teacup, he saw Concubine Xiao Shu hurried in.

Before he could put down his teacup and salute, Concubine Xiao Shufei had already walked up to him and looked at him as if he had seen a savior.

Gu Jiancheng hurriedly put down the teacup and bowed, "Madam Shufei..."

Xiao Aiyue immediately waved her hand: "No need to be so polite! It's great that you can come, Prince Cheng! I finally met a reliable person. Have you heard about Xiaowu's marriage?"

"Your Majesty has appointed me to oversee all wedding matters. I..."

Xiao Aiyue patted Gu Jiancheng's shoulder hard.

"That's great! Then you must know what the Princess of Yue looks like. How old is she? How tall is she? Is she fat or thin? How much does she weigh? Is her skin white? Are her legs long? Is her birth date compatible with Xiaowu's? Is she favored in the palace? Which queen gave birth to her? And..."

"Your Majesty! I know nothing about what you want to know..."

Xiao Aiyue stared at Gu Jiancheng with wide eyes and stomped her feet in anxiety.

"How can that be? Even if this marriage is granted by His Majesty, we still have to be prepared in advance. If the Princess of Yue Kingdom doesn't please Xiao Wu, I will have to immediately prepare a few concubines for him! Don't you agree?"

"Mother, this..."

Xiao Aiyue looked Gu Jiancheng up and down, feeling a little envious and jealous.

"Think back then, you were so lucky! You married Ma Zhenzhen, the daughter of Censor Ma, a woman you knew well, a woman of good character and appearance, and a woman of profound learning! Of course, a well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a hungry man! If you were suddenly asked to marry a princess from Song or Yue, a princess you'd never met or even heard of, wouldn't you have asked around beforehand?"

Gu Jiancheng was speechless: "That's right... Then I will try my best to find out for the Empress!"

Xiao Aiyue waved at Gu Jiancheng: "Okay! Then go ahead!"

"Yes!"

Gu Jiancheng hurriedly turned to leave, then suddenly turned back, somewhat helplessly:

"Your Highness, since you interrupted me, I've completely forgotten why I came to see you. I just came from the Fifth Prince's residence. I originally wanted to discuss wedding arrangements with him, but the housekeeper said that he and his secretary had disguised themselves and left for a long journey. I don't know where they went. Has the Fifth Prince ever mentioned this to you?"

Xiao Aiyue jumped up and said, "Going away again? He didn't tell me! This son has grown up and no longer cares about his mother. If he gets married and has children in the future, he will completely throw me, his mother, to the horizon!"

Gu Jiancheng's mouth twitched when he heard this.

"Your Highness, you've strayed off topic again... Fifth Brother isn't that kind of person. Your Highness, please don't misunderstand him. However, has he mentioned anything to you during his visits to the palace these past few days?"

"What are you talking about? Let me think..."

At this time, Qing'e, who was serving beside her, reminded her softly.

"Your Highness, didn't His Royal Highness the Xianwang tell you the other day about Yanwangzhai? And how many of the disaster victims were innocent?"

Xiao Aiyue slapped her forehead.

"Oh, right! Look at my memory! Your fifth brother came to pay his respects to me yesterday. I saw he looked worried, so I asked him what happened. He said that not everyone in Yanwang Village was a bad person, and there were many innocent victims! Right! That's roughly what he meant!"

"You mean Yanwangzhai? Could it be that the fifth prince went to Yanwangzhai? This is going to be a big trouble!"

Xiao Aiyue asked hurriedly, "What is Yanwangzhai? Why does it sound so creepy? Will Xiaowu be in any danger?"

Gu Jiancheng hurriedly bowed and took his leave.

"Your Majesty, I will take my leave now!"

Xiao Aiyue chased after him for a few steps and shouted to Gu Jiancheng, "You're leaving now? Will Xiaowu be in danger? And don't forget to help me find out about the Princess of Yue!"

Gu Jiancheng said without even turning his head: "Don't worry, Madam! I've got it all down!"

Seeing that Gu Jiancheng had walked away, Xiao Aiyue turned to look at Qing'e.

"Why do I feel so uneasy? Could something really have happened to Xiaowu?"