good season

Zhao Yunnuan went to see Zhao Tinghan and told him everything about Fan Qiuyun's relationship with the Third Prince and her current position as a lady-in-waiting in the palace.

Although they were relatives, before Fan Qiuyun and her father came to Liangdu, not only Zhao Tinghan, who had grown up in the capital, but also Zhao Yunnuan only knew that the Nie family and the Fan family were related by marriage. As for which branch of the family they were related by marriage, she did not know.

Zhao Yunnuan said, "Now it seems that the old princess must have arranged a marriage for the Nie family. Because the second master of the Nie family suddenly passed away, they needed to observe mourning and had no eligible women to marry into. So the Nie family brought in the Fan family. Although the Fan family had left officialdom, they were wealthy. If the Nie family had arranged this marriage, it would have brought them a good income and allowed them to eat, drink and have fun for several years."

Zhao Tinghan's gaze was deep. Fortunately, her younger sister had already arranged a new identity for Xiaotang and brought her to the public, confirming her status as a future princess. The Fan family father and daughter could only return empty-handed.

However, if they had arrived a month or two earlier, Xiaotang's identity would still be unclear. Given the Fan family's methods, they would definitely have stirred up trouble. In addition, with the Nie family interfering, although they might not be afraid, they would still have attracted a lot of trouble.

Thinking of all this, Zhao Tinghan felt even more grateful to her two younger sisters. Without her younger sister, Meng Xiaotang would not have been able to come to Liangdi smoothly, and without her older sister, Meng Xiaotang would not have been able to gain a foothold in the circle of noble ladies in Liangdi and then marry into the Liang Prince's Mansion smoothly.

"My younger sister is in the capital now, and so are you. After you arrive in the capital, you will inevitably run into Fan Qiuyun again. Although she is now with the Third Prince, she will still hold a grudge against the Liang Prince's Mansion. You two should be careful in the capital in the future."

Zhao Tinghan paused, then said, "If she is a threat to you, hiding is not the solution. You must suppress her completely. Pick more men from the Imperial Guard, preferably those who are good at fighting alone."

Zhao Yunnuan understood Zhao Tinghan's meaning. They would not provoke Fan Qiuyun, but if Fan Qiuyun dared to provoke them, they would kill her if they could, and suppress her if they couldn't, leaving her and the people behind her powerless to fight back.

Zhao Yunnuan would not refuse Zhao Tinghan's kindness. Although blood is thicker than water, her elder brother was the ruler of a region. He still had Liang, the Liang Prince's Mansion, and his own wife and children. As long as she was unmarried, she was still a member of the Liang Prince's Mansion. No matter how much her elder brother gave her, it was not too much.
But once she gets married, she can't rely on her parents' family for everything. It might be okay once or twice, but if it happens too often, the bond will eventually wear thin.
So now, no matter what her elder brother and sister-in-law give her, Zhao Yunnuan accepts it gladly, because she knows that accepting it now and asking for it after marriage are different things.

The more money the better, the more shrewd the better.

The next day, just as Zhao Yunnuan was about to go to the Imperial Guard to select people, her maid came to report that Master Murong from Baihe Mountain had arrived.

The one who arrived was Zhao Shiqing's master, and Zhao Yunnuan dared not be negligent and personally greeted him.

Murong Linlang's charm remains unchanged; she is still breathtakingly beautiful.

Zhao Yunnuan remembered that when she first met her ten years ago, she looked exactly the same as she does now. So many years have passed, but time seems to have stood still for her; she is still young and beautiful.

"Master Murong, Happy New Year!" The Liang Prince's Mansion had sent New Year's gifts to Baihe Mountain long before the New Year. Although Zhao Shiqing was not on the mountain, the New Year's gifts for Murong Linlang and the rewards for the villagers were never missed.

"Happy New Year, Princess."

Murong Linlang clasped her hands in a salute to Zhao Yunnuan, and then said to the people following behind her, "You have all met the First Princess."

Zhao Yunnuan had noticed that Murong Linlang had brought several people with her. She narrowed her eyes slightly and recognized the person walking at the front!

Shen Guanyue!
Xiao Zhen's younger brother, Xiao Yue!
Besides them, there was a young couple whom Zhao Yunnuan had met before. The man was named Wei Ren and the woman was named Jian Deng. They were both orphans adopted by Murong Xiang and his wife. Murong Linlang taught students alone on Baihe Mountain. Murong Xiang was worried about his daughter, whose martial arts skills were mediocre, so he let Ren Deng stay by her side. A few years ago, when the two got married, Zhao Yunnuan even sent a congratulatory gift.

However, their apparent identities are Murong Linlang's maids and servants.

At this moment, Wei Ren was holding a child in his arms, while Jian Deng was holding the hand of an older child.

Murong Linlang explained to Zhao Yunnuan that the one she was holding was Ren Deng's own child, while the older one was Niqiu's younger brother, Xiao Bao.

Zhao Yunnuan had only seen Xiaobao once before, when he first came to Liangdu. But children grow up so fast, and he looks different every little bit. Now she couldn't recognize him anymore.

Zhao Yunnuan was puzzled. In recent years, Murong Linlang rarely came to the Prince's Mansion. Why did she not only come this time, but she also brought her whole family with her.

Murong Linlang cut to the chase: "Princess, I heard you're recruiting people to go to the capital. What do you think of us?"

Although Zhao Yunnuan's recruitment of people was not public knowledge, the Murong family was aware of it, because among the people Zhao Yunnuan was bringing to the capital were members of the Murong family, and they were recommended by Murong Xiang.

Zhao Yunnuan nodded: "That's right."

Murong Linlang said with a smile, "Then what do you think of me? Me, plus Wei Ren and Jian Deng."

Zhao Yunnuan was taken aback, never expecting that Murong Linlang had actually recommended herself.

Don't ask why Murong Xiang didn't recommend his own daughter. Do you even need to ask? Of course, it's because his daughter's martial arts skills are lacking.

Zhao Yunnuan suddenly thought of Zhao Shiqing and immediately understood. She asked, "Master Murong, are you missing Qingqing?"

Murong Linlang rolled her eyes: "I don't miss her at all. That little ungrateful girl has been gone for so long, she didn't even come back for the New Year. I've wasted my time teaching her."

Listen to that, still being stubborn. It's just that when he saw that Zhao Shiqing didn't come back for the New Year, he couldn't sit still. But she works for the Liang Prince's Mansion. If she wanted to go to the capital to find her apprentice, she had to inform the Liang Prince's Mansion first, so she brought her whole family here.

Zhao Yunnuan's gaze fell on Xiaobao, who immediately understood: "Princess, I miss my brother. I want to go to the capital to find my brother, and I also miss my loving aunt."

Zhao Yunnuan looked at Shen Guanyue again. She remembered that her sister had said that Xiao Zhen's younger brother had caused a lot of trouble in the capital, so his brother sent him to Liangdi. However, since he was an illegitimate son, they were worried that he would have a hard time in the Xiao family, so they paid him money to stay temporarily in Baihe Mountain.

"Shen Guanyue, are you also going to the capital? Did your brother agree?"

Shen Guanyue blinked her excessively beautiful peach blossom eyes: "I'm not going. I'll stay on the mountain and take good care of the house."

Zhao Yunnuan nodded, "That's alright."

She said to Murong Linlang, "After the first month of the lunar calendar, I will have a few people going to the capital. If Master Murong misses his little sister, he can go with them."

Little sister would be so happy to see Master.

Zhao Yunnuan seemed to see her younger sister grinning, laughing carefree. Just thinking about her younger sister's smile would make her feel happy.

Murong Linlang was delighted to hear this: "Okay, set a date when they leave, and we'll come over then!"

Zhao Yunnuan said, "If my little sister knew that Master Murong had been there, she would be very happy."

Before Murong Linlang could speak, Shen Guanyue interrupted, "Princess, please don't tell the Second Miss yet. Master Murong wants to give the Second Miss a surprise."

Although the boy was a bit rude, Zhao Yunnuan didn't have time to take it to heart. Then she heard Murong Linlang say, "That's right, we shouldn't tell her yet."

Zhao Yunnuan thought about it and agreed, but when she wrote to Zhao Shiqing, she still mentioned that Master Murong missed her and would be coming to the capital soon.

At this time, Zhao Shiqing had not yet received Zhao Yunnuan's letter, nor did she know that a big surprise was about to await her.

She was standing on the street with a loach.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, shops on the street gradually opened for business, and Xiuxiu went to buy materials for disguise early in the morning.

Although the disguise appears to involve applying makeup, the cosmetics used are actually homemade, and Xiuxiu went to a shop she frequented.

But Xiuxiu hadn't returned by noon. Just then, Aunt Ji finished cooking and was heading home, so Zhao Shiqing asked her to ask if Xiuxiu was still at the shop when she passed by. Unexpectedly, not long after Aunt Ji left, she hurried back. She asked the people at the shop, who said Xiuxiu had arrived just as they opened, bought some things, and left, saying it was the fifth day of the lunar new year and she had many things to do at home, so she needed to go home early.

Zhao Shiqing panicked upon hearing this and immediately took the loach and went out to find Xiuxiu.

They found several pieces of ochre lying on the ground not far from the shop.

Zhao Shiqing had seen ochre being ground, and today Xiuxiu also bought ochre from that shop!
The group inquired around the area, but unfortunately no one had seen Xiuxiu. Just then, Zhao Shiqing saw two little beggars walking over, bickering and playing.

Her eyes lit up; she recognized the two little beggars—they were there when she was eating chicken in the dilapidated temple that day.

She walked over and said, "Do you still recognize me? That day in the dilapidated temple, I even chipped in to treat you to beggar's chicken."

The two little beggars stared at her with wide eyes: "Huh, you look familiar, but how did you turn into a woman?"

Zhao Shiqing: "I just changed today. Do I look alright?"

Little beggar: "Great! You look so beautiful as a woman."

Zhao Shiqing asked, "I'm looking for someone."

She described Xiuxiu's height and appearance, then pointed to the spot where the ochre had fallen and briefly recounted what had happened.

The two beggar boys patted their chests and said, "Brother, no, sister, leave this to us. The boss said, brother, no, sister, if you ask us to do something, we'll definitely do it well."

After saying that, the two of them ran off in a flash.

A short while later, they ran back: "We found out that a girl was passing by here this morning when a man carrying a load came towards her. The load bumped into the girl and knocked her down. Just then, two women came by and told the man not to leave. They grabbed him and together they took the girl to the clinic."

Zhao Shiqing frowned. This tactic sounded a bit like human trafficking.

"Do you know which clinic it is?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

The little beggar shook his head. They were asking about beggars too. When they heard the commotion, the beggar came over to watch, but was chased away by the two women. Later, when the beggar came back, all of them had disappeared. From this, it was deduced that they had taken the girl to the clinic.

Zhao Shiqing remembered there was a clinic nearby. Before she could give any instructions, Mudskipper rushed off. He returned a moment later, shaking his head: "That clinic didn't have a single patient today, let alone a young woman."

Zhao Shiqing's heart pounded. Xiuxiu was no ordinary girl; she was also a survivor of a family annihilation case.

Zhao Shiqing didn't know if this was simply a case of human traffickers abducting a girl, or if the people of the mountain sect were eliminating the root of the problem.

She had no idea whether reporting it to the authorities would be of any use.

"Whether it's useful or not, let's report it to the authorities first."

Many families would keep their daughters missing from the news to the authorities, fearing it would damage their reputation.

But Zhao Shiqing wasn't afraid. What did reputation matter? Nothing was more important than her life.

Mudfish went to report to the authorities, while Zhao Shiqing called Xiao Guai and rushed home to tell Zhen Wuduo about it.

Zhen Wuduo immediately gathered his guards and ordered them to go out and search for people.

But just as everyone was preparing to leave, a voice suddenly came from outside. Zhao Shiqing's ears twitched. Was that Xiuxiu's voice?

Xiuxiu actually came back on her own!
Seeing Xiuxiu alive and well, Zhao Shiqing breathed a long sigh of relief.

However, upon closer inspection, one can still see that Xiuxiu is different from usual.

She was a skillful girl whose hair was always neatly combed, but now it was a mess, and her clothes were torn in several places.

Zhao Shiqing hugged Xiuxiu tightly: "Are you alright?"

Xiuxiu shook her head: "It's nothing, it's nothing. I was kidnapped, but luckily someone saved me."

It really was a kidnapper!

Zhao Shiqing patted her and said to Wan Ruyi, "Aunt Ruyi, please accompany Xiuxiu to change her clothes first."

She then asked Lingbo to give Xiuxiu some pearl powder to calm her nerves.

A moment later, when Xiuxiu sat down in front of them again, her hand holding the teacup was still trembling.

Clearly, this girl was quite frightened today; she was surprisingly calmer than most girls her age.

Xiuxiu recounted her experience that day. After she was knocked down in the morning, the two women appeared and, without giving her a chance to speak, had the man carrying the load take her to the clinic. Then she lost consciousness. Looking back now, she thinks she may have been drugged.

When she woke up, she was already on the main road. She shouted loudly, but as soon as she shouted, the three men realized she was awake and immediately covered her mouth. Just as they were about to give her another sleeping potion, the mule cart was stopped by a horse-drawn carriage in front.

Zhao Shiqing hurriedly asked, "Who saved you?"

Xiuxiu said, "I was very lucky. I happened to run into some government officials. The carriage belonged to the government. At that time, some people dressed in official robes pulled the driver down. I took the opportunity to bite the hand of one of the old women. As soon as the old woman let go, I shouted for help. The officials lifted the curtain and I was rescued. It was the government officials who brought me back. I didn't want to cause trouble, so I only asked them to take me to the alley ahead and I walked back by myself."

Zhao Shiqing asked, "Do you know which government department they're from?"

Xiuxiu nodded: "They are from the Ministry of Revenue. There are several carriages. The one that saved me was full of yamen runners from the Ministry of Revenue. They said that the officials in front heard someone shouting for help and sent them to stop the carriages. I asked which official it was, but they said they dared not say without the official's orders. I've decided that I will make some snacks myself and send them over. If I can't see that official, I'll give some to the yamen runners who caught the bad guys."

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "It's good to repay kindness!"

Hearing from Xiuxiu that the constables had already sent the coachman and the three human traffickers to the capital, Zhao Shiqing felt relieved. Although it was a false alarm, if no one from the Ministry of Revenue had happened to pass by, Xiuxiu would have had a hard time getting away.

“You kids, and Zhang Ye, none of you are allowed to go out alone from now on, understand?” Zhen Wuduo said.

Shen Wangxing quickly replied, "No need to count me in. I'm neither a girl nor a child."

Zhen Wuduo: "You're no good either. Haven't you heard of black kilns? If we send you to a black kiln as a slave, you'll never come back alive."

Shen Wangxing shrank back in fright, "I'm so scared!" (End of Chapter)