The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Zhao Xiaoman pulled Zhao You aside and asked, "I just came here to take a look. Did my father send you here because he noticed something was wrong with Tianguangji?"

Zhao You nodded and pulled Zhao Xiaoman to a secluded place.

Zhao You then explained, "My uncle said that the 'black market' has existed throughout the dynasties. During the Chen Dynasty, it was even called the 'ghost market.' Usually, there were brick-and-mortar shops selling goods of unknown origin. Despite repeated bans, it continued to exist. But in recent years, only shops affiliated with government merchants have prospered, while the black market has gradually declined. Actually, this 'Tianguangji' has been around for years, usually selling daily necessities like clothing, calligraphy and paintings, tea bowls and plates, etc. But in the past two months, many precious items have suddenly appeared, most of which come from the Yue Kingdom."

"So my father suspects someone is secretly trading with Vietnamese merchants through other channels, and then selling it through Tianguangji?"

"If that's true, we're in big trouble," Zhao You said, looking at the merchants being arrested by the yamen runners. "We'll have to take these people back and interrogate them in detail to find out the details."

Zhao Xiaoman looked at Zhao You: "Have you taken care of uncle's funeral?"

Zhao You's face was filled with sorrow as he replied, "My father's coffin has been personally escorted back to our hometown by my younger brother, who set off early yesterday morning. Originally, my father wasn't supposed to go this time, but we were short-handed, so he took over. He also said that after returning from this trip, he wanted to ask my uncle for leave to visit our hometown, but who knew..."

Zhao Xiaoman gently patted Zhao You's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "I'm so sorry. I will find the murderer as soon as possible. Go back and tell my father that I will take Xuan'er back to see him tomorrow night."

Just as Zhao Xiaoman was talking to Zhao You, a group of people were secretly gathering in an inconspicuous courtyard in the residential area in the south of Liyang City. The thin man who sold the jade hairpin to Zhao Xiaoman slipped in quietly and locked the courtyard door.

An older man hurriedly asked, "Have you seen the Chen Zixing brothers and Guo Wei?"

The thin man said, "They were all captured by the government. I saw it with my own eyes while hiding in the alley. All the goods we didn't have time to pack up were also confiscated by the government! We really lost a lot today!"

The older man said, "I hope they can follow our prior agreement and try to implicate those high-ranking officials and dignitaries, so that the Ministry of Revenue will be thrown into disarray!"

The slightly chubby man said, "That's right. I collected quite a few! The servants and maids in the families of the officials in the capital are all dishonest. They often steal jewelry and jade from their masters and sell them off."

The thin man said, "The jade hairpin I sold today was sold to the son of the Minister of Rites. He lost money in the casino, but to save face, he asked someone to secretly find me to sell it to pay off his gambling debts. Let them investigate. He didn't get to eat the mutton, but he got into trouble!"

The older man sighed and said, "We're really forced into this! Back in the day, my Zhang family was the royal merchant of the State of Chen, specializing in the timber business. The pillars of the unfinished Changqing Palace were all made from goods we imported from the State of Yue. Now, not only has our business plummeted, but few of us in the family can even afford to eat or wear warm clothes. Besides trading, we don't know how to do anything else."

The short man said, "My family is in the stone business! Back then, most of the stones used to build the imperial mausoleum came from our family. But now the emperor and his wife are both frugal, and officials rarely rebuild their palaces. The goods from the state merchants are enough, but we don't have any business to do. My wife raises chickens and ducks, barely making ends meet, but she always calls me a gigolo. I'd rather die than do anything else."

The older man said, "I think we should quit while we're ahead. If it weren't for that big shot behind the scenes, things wouldn't have been so smooth these past two months!"

The lean man asked, "Who is that person?"

"Very mysterious! I've never met him in person, but his men are very skilled!"

The man with the mustache, who had been silent the entire time, asked with a gloomy face, "What about the surplus goods we have on hand? If we don't sell them quickly, we won't even have enough capital to start the next deal."

The older man said, "The Minister of Revenue is also from a merchant family. I hope he can understand our difficulties. I hope this time he can just do a casual investigation as usual. Once we stop, the storm will pass."

Just as these people were sighing, in a secret room in an ordinary courtyard on the outskirts of Liyang City, a tall man with a slender back was calmly ordering his subordinates:

"Find Zhang Kuo immediately and tell his men to stop their actions. The Ministry of Revenue is serious this time!"

In the capital city of Liyang, continuous spring rain began to fall at dawn that day. At the foot of the mountain in the western suburbs, all the people from the Wuwei Escort Agency gathered in front of Wang Sheng's tomb in a solemn atmosphere.

Zhao Xiaoman took the lead in lighting incense and offering tributes to Wang Sheng. Zhao Xuan followed her, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing at Wang Sheng's tombstone. Zhao Xuan remembered how Uncle Wang used to play hide-and-seek with her, lift her up high, let her sit on his shoulders to pick fruit from the trees, and even took her for horseback rides... But the master said that Uncle Wang had been killed by bad people and had left the place where we lived, and we would never see him again...

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but burst into tears.

Zhao Xiaoman picked up Zhao Xuan and walked aside. Yulan hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe Zhao Xuan's tears. She couldn't help crying herself, and said with some resentment:

"Miss, I told you not to bring the little girl here, but you insisted on bringing her here, and even told her that if she died she would never see you again. How could such a young child bear it?"

Zhao Xiaoman took the handkerchief and wiped Zhao Xuan's tears, saying softly and gently but firmly:

"Xuanbao, don't cry. We'll never see Uncle Wang again, but he lives on in our memories. As long as you can always miss him, he will live in your heart. As long as you think of him, he will appear, right?"

Zhao Xuan sobbed, thought about it seriously, and choked up, "I will miss Uncle Wang."

Zhao Xiaoman, holding Zhao Xuan, walked to Wang Sheng's tombstone again. Huang Shuo, Guo Da and others stood behind Zhao Xiaoman. Zhao Xiaoman bowed three times to Wang Sheng's tombstone again and raised her right hand into a fist.

"Old Wang, don't worry! I, Zhao Xiaoman, swear here that I will avenge you and destroy the robbers!"

Everyone raised their right fists and shouted in unison: "Revenge! Kill the robbers! Revenge! Kill the robbers!"

Zhao Xuan stopped crying and seemed to be infected by everyone's passionate oaths. She raised her little fist and waved it in a daze.

When Zhao Xuan was held in her master's arms and riding towards the capital, she did think of Uncle Wang again, and Uncle Wang really appeared before her, still with that smiling face. Zhao Xuan still wanted to cry, but she was also a little happy.

Meanwhile, in the Xia court, civil and military officials lined up on either side, each with a solemn expression, the atmosphere indescribably subdued. Zhao Cheng lowered his brows, clenched his fingers, and resolutely stepped forward to report to Emperor Gu Li of Xia.

Zhao Chengdao said, "I, your humble servant Zhao Xiaoman, am thoroughly investigating the caravan robbery. I will personally report to Your Majesty once I have uncovered the truth."

Emperor Xia Gu Li was a tall and strong man, and his usually amiable face was now shrouded in a gloomy cloud.

"I'm naturally relieved that Chief Escort Zhao is personally taking action. Until we find out where the robbers came from, the caravan should suspend its journey to Vietnam."

Zhao Chengqing said anxiously: "Your Majesty, this is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution!"

Gu Li frowned slightly, and finally looked at Zhao Cheng.

"Tell me."