Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

After the young man came in, Lin Zhong asked, "Have you found the person?"

The young man shook his head: "We didn't find the person, but we found a personal maidservant of the princess. That maidservant is in a city not far from us, and she said she's waiting for us."

Xiao Ce asked instinctively, "Where is he?"

I regretted it as soon as I asked.

This is Dragon Tiger Stronghold. Even if someone is here, they cannot come up.

The young man replied respectfully, "Your Highness, the person has arrived and is downstairs. However, I have already given you a preliminary assessment. The Princess Consort was not in any danger; she simply encountered an urgent matter and left."

"The reason we left that maid here is so that she can come and deliver a message when you need her."

After listening, Xiao Ce said to the young man, "What did you want to say? Did you ask?"

The young man shook his head awkwardly: "That maid said that he won't say anything unless he sees your prince in person!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce nodded, which was in line with Yin Pan'er's wary personality.

Xiao Ce then said to Lin Zhong, "Uncle Zhong, I'll be going down now. Anyway, I already know the situation here!"

Lin Zhong nodded: "Your Highness, I'll go down with you."

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "No need, just stay here. Remember what I told you: science is a gradual process. We're just lagging behind for now. As long as we work steadily and surely, I believe we can definitely catch up with them, it won't be a problem!"

Lin Zhong nodded in understanding. "Your Highness, I understand!"

"Don't try to force things. We have to do things step by step! Otherwise, we'll just waste time by taking detours! Also, don't keep everyone so tense. People are like rubber bands; they can't be kept taut all the time. If they're always taut, they'll break easily! I'm not in a hurry, so you don't need to be either. I have ways to deal with those people outside!"

Xiao Ce saw Lin Zhong readily agree, but when Xiao Ce was inspecting the research room earlier, he noticed the slogans there, which made him seem very nervous.

Even now, Lin Zhong is still nervous.

Lin Zhong nodded to Xiao Ce and then saw Xiao Ce off.

After they had walked a few steps, Xiao Ce suddenly remembered something else.

"Oh, right, Uncle Zhong, there's something else I wanted to tell you! You can start looking into it now."

Lin Zhong looked at Xiao Ce curiously: "What is it, Your Highness? Please tell me..."

Xiao Ce said, "That's a warship!"

Lin Zhong was taken aback at first, then asked Xiao Ce, "A warship?"

Xiao Ce said to Lin Zhong, "That's right, warships? Our Xiao Kingdom doesn't have its own navy, does it?"

Lin Zhong shook his head and said, "Your Highness, our Xiao Kingdom does have a navy, but it's mostly located in the coastal areas of Jiangnan. Although we have one, it's not very professional... Do we really need to go to sea?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "The Slavic people reached the heart of the Central Plains without going through us, which means they must have come by sea... This means that if we want to fight them in the future, we will be prepared!"

"Don't let the other ships arrive while we're still stuck with our current dilapidated boats."

Lin Zhong nodded: "Your Highness, do you have any requirements for our warships?"

Xiao Ce said to Lin Zhong, "It has to be an ironclad warship..."

Xiao Ce couldn't explain it in a few words, so he said to Lin Zhong, "I will have someone send you my requirements and the picture set later."

Lin Zhong nodded.

As they were talking, Xiao Ce left Dragon Tiger Stronghold.

The formation of the navy is something that can be said to be both urgent and not urgent.

After all, the northern desert is surrounded by land on all sides.

To train a navy, one must occupy a piece of coastal land.

However, it's never wrong to start researching it first.

After going down, they were led by the guards.

A short while later, Xiao Ce saw a maid.

Xiao Ce recognized the maid at a glance.

She accompanied Yin Pan'er all the way from Kyoto to the northern desert.

She was Yin Pan'er's most trusted maid; the two had grown up together since childhood.

As for what his name is.

Before Xiao Ce could speak, the maid bowed to him.

"Meet the prince."

Xiao Ce said to the maid, "Get up. What's your name again?"

The maid was taken aback, but not surprised.

After all, it's normal that someone like Xiao Ce wouldn't know her name.

If Xiao Ce knew this, it would be quite strange.

She respectfully replied to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, my name is Xiao Yue."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Where is the Princess Consort?"

Without saying a word, Xiaoyue took out a letter from her pocket.

"This was given to me by the Princess Consort to give to the Prince personally. Perhaps it can clear up the Prince's doubts."

Without saying a word, Xiao Ce accepted the letter.

After opening the letter, I started reading it.

After watching for a while, Xiao Ce's brows furrowed.

The letter didn't contain anything very complicated.

She simply told Xiao Ce that she had something she absolutely had to do.

Furthermore, she told Xiao Ce that she was safe and that no one was holding her hostage.

The letter then went on to explain the affairs of the Northern Desert King, followed by descriptions of the personalities of various officials and their appointments.

As for where she went? And what she did?

The letter made no mention of it.

Reading this letter is as good as not reading it at all.

However, the only thing that can be said for sure is that he is not in danger.

After all, the letter contained some coded language indicating that she was perfectly safe and had not been coerced.

After reading it, Xiao Ce asked the maid Xiao Yue, "Didn't Yin Pan'er decide to come to Dragon Tiger Stronghold in the first place? Was she just coming out to cover her tracks?"

The maid Xiaoyue shook her head and said, "Your Highness, no, we had decided to come to Longhu Village. However, when we passed through Yue'an City, a child came to deliver a letter. After the princess read the letter, she went with the child."

"And the princess forbade any of us to follow, so none of us went because of her insistence."

After hearing Xiaoyue's words, Xiao Ce frowned slightly, instantly becoming interested, and asked Xiaoyue, "A child? What kind of child?"

Xiaoyue pondered for a moment: "He looks like an ordinary child, nothing strange about him."

"What about the guards? Didn't they come with us?"

Xiaoyue nodded: "Because it was the Princess's order, we naturally had to obey. Later, after the Princess returned, she seemed to be preoccupied. She seemed to have not slept all night, and then wrote this letter overnight. She instructed me to wait here and not go anywhere... I could only come out when Your Highness came to see her. If she didn't come to see me, I didn't need to look for Your Highness..."

Hearing Xiaoyue's words, Xiao Ce asked with a look of surprise, "Where are you going? What are you going to do? Didn't she say a word to you?"

Xiaoyue nodded.

Xiao Ce immediately looked curious and surprised...

He then asked, "Didn't you say when you'd be back?"

Xiaoyue shook her head again: "Your Highness, it wasn't said... that the Princess Consort left alone. We wanted to follow, but she refused us all. She refused very decisively; I've never seen her like this before."

Xiao Ce rubbed his head, knowing that Yin Pan'er wasn't the kind of person who was brainless.

After Xiao Ce put the letter away, he went to have someone inquire at the border.

He didn't linger and immediately took Xiaoyue back to Kyoto.

The next day, Yin Weiyong saw Xiao Ce return alone, which he found strange.

Xiao Ce then gave the letter left by Yin Pan'er to Yin Weiyong.

After watching for a while, Yin Weiyong also looked puzzled.

"Where could she go? She cares deeply about the entire Five Counties of the Northern Desert, how could she bear to leave..."

Xiao Ce had been thinking about this the whole way: "It's clear from the letter that she wasn't coerced. But we're not stupid, are we? I suspect she was tricked by someone she knows!"

Yin Weiyong looked puzzled: "Pan'er isn't some naive, sheltered girl. I've heard about many of the things she's been handling here. She's shrewd and calculating... how could she be so easily fooled..."

After a pause, Yin Weiyong said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, what you said makes sense. In the northern desert, if Pan'er doesn't want to leave, no one can take him away!"

Xiao Ce nodded, though he already had a guess in his heart.

"What if it's someone she trusts, and they give her a reason she can't refuse?"

After Xiao Ce spoke, Yin Weiyong almost blurted out, "Nie Bing?"

After listening to Yin Weiyong's words, Xiao Ce nodded.

It seems they all thought of the same thing; Nie Bing said she was going to infiltrate his ranks.

But in the end, there was no further news...

Xiao Ce thought about it all the way, and this was the only possibility.

"Your Highness, you also guessed it was Nie Bing? I haven't asked you yet, but I haven't seen Nie Bing since I arrived here... Where is Nie Bing?"

Xiao Ce briefly repeated Yin Weiyong's explanation.

Yin Weiyong fell silent: "The Hidden Dragon Organization...won't Pan'er be in great danger?"

After a moment of silence, Xiao Xiaoce said to Yin Weiyong, "Pan'er isn't a brainless person. She must have her own reasons for doing this."

Seeing that Yin Weiyong still looked nervous, Xiao Ce said to him, "Father-in-law, don't worry. I will send people to search secretly. She will be safe."

Yin Weiyong glanced at Xiao Ce and nodded.

“Your Highness, you’re right… However, Pan’er is sometimes too sentimental. I’m afraid she’ll be burdened by those sentiments. According to you, Nie Bing is also a very calculating girl.”

Xiao Ce didn't continue the conversation. Now that things had already happened, dwelling on it wouldn't solve anything.

"Father-in-law, all we can do is send people to look for him as much as we can... We still need to continue on our side. Han Da and the others are back, right?"

Yin Weiyong nodded.

Xiao Ce said to Yin Weiyong, "Now that Yin Pan'er has left, I'll leave this place to you."

Seeing that Yin Weiyong was about to refuse, Xiao Ce quickly said to him, "Father-in-law, please don't refuse me... Do you know what the five prefectures of Mobei represent to me? I need someone I can absolutely trust, and you are that person."

Yin Weiyong didn't mince words. After a moment of silence, he asked Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, where are you going?"

"I need to go to the Turkic region!"

Yin Weiyong asked with some surprise, "Turks?"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "That's right, the Turks. Actually, I sent someone to ask the guards on the way to the Central Plains. There are visible sentries and hidden sentries... visible sentries are those who enter and exit legitimately, while hidden sentries are those who enter and exit through special channels."

"After they discovered it, they didn't shut it down! After all, it's better to guide than to block. Rather than blocking the passage, they arranged for people to control everyone coming in and out. Anyone who posed a danger would be secretly arrested."

"They usually just turn a blind eye to smuggling goods, hoping to catch the big fish. But the people over there say they didn't see the princess go out..."

Yin Weiyong asked, "Did you see any suspicious people come in? The people from the Hidden Dragon organization you mentioned?"

Xiao Ce said with absolute certainty, "No, they said with absolute certainty that there was no."

Yin Weiyong asked curiously, "Then how did Nie Bing get here? Did she grow wings and fly in?"

Xiao Ce shook his head, then said, "If the people at the border are absolutely certain, then there's only one possibility..."

Seeing Xiao Ce pause, Yin Weiyong added, "You mean, from the Turkic side?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "That's right. Didn't you say the Slavs went to our Central Plains? I suspect they went by sea. Since they could reach Xiao from the Slavic countries by sea, they must also have a way to reach the Slavic countries from Xiao..."

Yin Weiyong nodded: "So, you suspect they didn't head towards the Central Plains... but rather..."

Before Yin Weiyong could finish speaking, Xiao Ce said, "That's right, I suspect they're heading to the Slavic countries... Although I don't know what Nie Bing said to Yin Pan'er that made her go so resolutely, it must be for my benefit and for the five prefectures of Mobei. Otherwise, Yin Pan'er wouldn't have risked her life herself. Therefore, I've decided to go to the Turkic Khaganate to investigate..."

Yin Weiyong nodded in agreement: "Then, Your Highness, are you preparing for war?"

Xiao Ce shook his head at Yin Weiyong: "Of course not... You're right, now is not the time to start a war... We need time! We won't start a war, but the Turks can. That's why I trained the Turks and made them independent; they can act as our proxies!"

"Once I get there, I'll command them to fight the Slavs. This will also give me a better understanding of these Slavs! As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!' If the Turks can hold them off, then you'll have the advantage when you go to negotiate with them!"