The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

As soon as the carriage arrived at the gate of Qingfengyuan, Zhao Xiaoman saw Yulan walking back and forth at the gate with a pout on her face. When she saw her coming back, she immediately came to greet her.

"Miss, Miss! You're finally back! Old Huang and Old Guo insisted on waiting for you to drink with them, and they wouldn't leave even if they tried to get rid of you. It's so late, can't they let us sleep? They just asked me to prepare some snacks for them!"

Zhao Xiaoman carried Zhao Xuan out of the carriage and put the sleeping Zhao Xuan into Yulan's arms.

"So how many snacks did you prepare?"

"I, I didn't fix any of them!"

"Sister Lan, you really know how to judge people by their appearance. I remember the last time Qin Shao came to drink with me, you prepared a whole table full of food."

Yulan was a little embarrassed and explained: "Well, it's a rare occasion, so I won't say anything more. I'll put the young lady back on the bed and do it!"

Zhao Xiaoman watched Yulan enter the house and thought of her father urging her to get married. She suddenly realized that Yulan was one year older than her. In all these years, she had never thought of finding a husband for Yulan. She couldn't help feeling a strong sense of guilt in her heart.

Guo Da and Huang Shuo were doing their own things in the yard. Huang Shuo was practicing sword in the moonlight, and Guo Da was sitting on a stone bench, holding a large wine jar on the stone table, and was in a daze. When the two saw Zhao Xiaoman coming back, Guo Da was the most excited.

"Xiao Man, you're finally back. Come and try my newly brewed wine and see if you can guess what fruit it's made from!"

Huang Shuo silently placed the four empty bowls he had prepared on the table. Guo Da removed the mud seal from the wine jar. Zhao Xiaoman leaned over to the jar, sniffed it, and exclaimed, "Good wine!"

Just as Guo Da was trying to pick up the wine jar, Huang Shuo lifted it up lightly with one hand and slowly poured the wine into the bowl calmly.

Guo Da curled his lips and said, "Yes, yes, if you can do it, come on!"

Zhao Xiaoman was the first to pick up the wine bowl and drink it all, followed by Huang Shuo. Guo Da hurriedly stopped the two.

"No! It's not the way you drink it. You have to savor it slowly, bit by bit! When tasting wine, the key is to savor it!"

Next, Guo Da picked up the wine bowl and started to demonstrate, but Zhao Xiaoman and Huang Shuo both stared at the last full bowl of wine on the table.

"I'll drink for Old Wang!" Zhao Xiaoman said, picking up the wine bowl and drinking it all in one gulp. She wiped the corner of her mouth and said sadly, "Thinking back to the days when we were the four drunkards of Wuwei Escort Agency, Zhao, Huang, Guo and Wang, we were famous all over the capital. Everyone knew us, but now there are only three of us left."

Huang Shuo silently filled the wine bowl again.

Guo Da didn't even bother tasting the wine, just poured it directly into his mouth and said, "I really miss Lao Wang. He's the best at pretending in front of outsiders, always with the words "martial arts master" carved on his face all day long. He's serious and stern, but in private he's the best at making people laugh. Without him around, this wine tastes bland."

Huang Shuo said: "He also plays best with Xuan'er."

"That's right," Zhao Xiaoman looked towards the bedroom, "I guess when you two die one day, Xuan'er won't even shed a tear!"

Guo Da was furious: "Your words are too hurtful!"

Zhao Xiaoman said slowly: "I plan to disband the Wuwei Escort Agency..."

The moon was rising above the treetops, and there was little left of the three plates of snacks on the table. Huang Shuo poured the last bit of wine in the jar to Zhao Xiaoman.

Guo Da subconsciously made an abacus gesture on the table with one hand and burped.

"Let's just disband. I can open a restaurant in the city and provide enough food and drink for my family, but what about the brothers in the other escort agencies?"

"I will make proper arrangements for you, don't worry about that. Old Huang, what are your plans for the future?"

Huang Shuo said, "I'll go back to my hometown, Xiangzhou, with you. Just give me a job."

Zhao Xiaoman was surprised and said, "Isn't that a waste of talent? You are the only lay disciple of the rare Great Taoist Temple."

"I'm just talking nonsense, do you really believe it?" Huang Shuo smiled slightly, "Isn't being a bodyguard a waste of talent?"

Zhao Xiaoman's eyes widened immediately.

"That's because you owe me money! A lot of money! I collected five jars of Drunken Immortal Liquid on that escort mission. I was going to Yue Kingdom to make a fortune and exchange it for silk, but you stole it all!"

"Hadn't I just come down the mountain? How could I know that I had to pay for alcohol? I could drink as much as I wanted on our mountain."

Zhao Xiaoman sneered, "Are you going to stop talking nonsense?"

"Since the money hasn't been paid off yet, I have no choice but to continue wasting my talent."

Guo Da listened to the two bickering, and suddenly remembered something, and asked, "Did you two figure out what fruit the wine was made of?"

"Does it matter?" Zhao Xiaoman poured the last bowl of wine onto the ground. "To Lao Wang... Lao Guo, I think you should name this new wine Chang Xiang Ju (Constant Gathering). When we're both dead, we can get together with Lao Wang every day and drink to our heart's content, just like we used to!"

Huang Shuo made a suggestion: "Change the middle character 'Xiang' to 'Xiang', which means 'fragrant fragrance'. It will sound more like the name of a wine."

Guo Da clapped his hands and said, "Good! The finishing touch!"

Zhao Xiaoman looked at Huang Shuo with drunken eyes, looking him up and down carefully. Huang Shuo felt a little scared. Suddenly, Zhao Xiaoman put her arms around Huang Shuo's shoulders and moved close to Huang Shuo's face. Huang Shuo started to stutter when he spoke.

"You, you, what are you doing?"

"Are you still single?"

"Yes, that's right..."

Zhao Xiaoman patted Huang Shuo's shoulder vigorously and said, "It's settled then! I'll make the decision. I'll marry Yulan to you! We'll have our wedding night tomorrow night!"

Huang Shuo jumped onto the roof in a flash and disappeared in the blink of an eye, without even having time to grab his sword, which made Zhao Xiaoman laugh.

A few days later, the weather was fine and the general Qin Shao was galloping towards Liyang with his personal guards. His eyes were full of excitement and eager desire. Liyang had his most beloved brother, closest friend and most beloved woman in his life. The suppression of the Yancheng Rebellion finally gave him the opportunity to return to Beijing to report on his work.

The guards galloped up to Qin Shao and asked, "General, should we rest outside the city for one night and then enter the city early tomorrow morning?"

"No! Go straight into the city!"

After Qin Shao finished speaking, he spurred his horse and whipped it, and his personal guards followed.

Back then, when Qin Shao followed Gu Li, who was then the King of the Northern Territory, to lead the army in uprising, he was only 25 years old. Now he had just turned 34, an age full of vigor and vitality. He had a handsome face and an elegant figure. He did not look like a general who had fought on the battlefield for many years, but like a suave and elegant young man.

At this time, in the imperial study of the Xia Kingdom's palace, Emperor Xia Gu Li was summoning Zhao Cheng, Ma Baoguo and Yang Liuming.

Gu Li was nearly forty years old, with a friendly and easy-going attitude. He ordered the eunuchs to serve tea to everyone.

Gu Li smiled and said, "Have a taste! This is Yue State's top-tier Golden Hook and Silver Needle. Only you guys are here to give me the pleasure of drinking it. Oh, and that brat Qin Shao, his date should be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Great, great! I never expected him to quell the rebellion and wipe out the remnants of the Chen State so quickly. I summoned you here to discuss how to reward him this time."

Ma Baoguo frowned and was about to speak when Yang Liuming coughed lightly. Ma Baoguo looked at Yang Liuming, who shook his head slightly.

Gu Li pondered, "He's already a general protecting the country... I also granted him a marriage back then, but who would have thought it wouldn't work out! And this guy doesn't like gold, silver, or jewelry; he thinks it's a burden! Yang Aiqing, you and Qin Shao are about the same age, so you can talk first?"

Just as Yang Liuming was about to reply, Ma Baoguo put down his tea bowl, stood up suddenly, knelt in front of Gu Li, and kowtowed three times.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"