Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

"not afraid!"

"There will be dead people in the house, with heads laid out on a table, and you'll have to stay with the corpses for days. Aren't you afraid of that?"

Upon hearing this, Liuli immediately hesitated.

Then, trembling, she asked, "Is it that scary?"

Chi Junlin laughed and said, "That's really true. And at that time, we didn't know what we would encounter, or whether more people would die. We didn't know any of these things."

If something like this happens again next time, should I take you with me?

Upon hearing this, Liuli's face showed a conflicted expression.

Beidou, however, said with great interest, "I'm not afraid, you can take me there."

Chi Junlin couldn't help but chuckle, "If you leave too, who will protect Liuli? She's such a coward."

"I'm not!"

Liuli immediately retorted.

Then, she looked at Chi Junlin cautiously, her eyes filled with curiosity, and asked, "What exactly did you experience at Cangjian Manor? I asked my mother, but she refused to tell me, saying that children shouldn't listen."

I'm not a child anymore! Please tell me, okay?

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin saw the two little girls looking radiant and full of curiosity, and nodded with a smile.

Then he sat down in a chair with Liuli in his arms and told her about the Cangjian Manor murder case, picking out the parts that were suitable for all ages.

The two were filled with exclamations of surprise, feeling as if they were actually there.

Hearing that Chi Junlin had finally exposed Ye Qiancao's conspiracy and completely figured out the ins and outs of the case, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Liuli then asked her, "Ye Qiancao... that witch, did Senior Sister bring her back?"

Chi Junlin nodded.

With a nervous expression, Liuli asked, "I...can I see what she looks like?"

Chi Junlin chuckled, "Why are you so curious about her? Someone as naive as you is the easiest to be fooled by her."

"I'm not stupid!"

Upon hearing this, Liuli became furious and struggled in Chi Junlin's arms.

Chi Junlin laughed and coaxed, "Alright, alright, I'll take you to meet her later."

But before that, there are two more people I want you to meet.

Upon hearing this, Beidou and Liuli looked puzzled and asked, "Who?"

"Di Shanshan and Yan Sijun."

Chi Junlin then said, "You are all the same age, I feel you should get along well."

The two girls exchanged bewildered glances upon hearing Chi Junlin's words.

However, before Chi Junlin could continue speaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

Then came the voice of a scout.

"Your Excellency Lin Jun, I have something important to report!"

Upon hearing the scouts' voices outside, Chi Junlin immediately frowned.

Zheng Gaoda must have warned the personal guards and scouts in Nandu City not to disturb Chi Junlin at Lou Mansion unless there was a particularly urgent matter.

So Chi Junlin put down the glass and went alone to the courtyard to listen to the scouts' report.

After hearing what the other party had to say, Chi Junlin's expression immediately turned serious, and he asked in return, "When did this happen?"

The other person replied, "Just now, a messenger brought this message."

"Got it. I'll be right there."

Seeing that Chi Junlin seemed to have something important to discuss, Liuli and Beidou both looked puzzled and asked, "What happened?"

Chi Junlin smiled and said to the two of them, "It's alright, it has nothing to do with you. You should go find Tong Yan first."

The two exchanged a glance and nodded.

Then, Chi Junlin turned around, frowned, and left.

When Chi Junlin arrived at the Lou residence and was about to mount his horse, he suddenly saw Wenren Tianxia nearby.

Seemingly noticing Chi Junlin's grave expression, Wenren Tianxia immediately asked, "What happened?"

Chi Junlin hesitated for a moment, then replied, "A very important person from the Lou family has gone missing, and I need to help find him."

Wenren Tianxia paused for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he replied directly, "I'll go with you!"

Chi Junlin thought for a moment, then nodded and ordered the scout to bring another horse.

Immediately afterwards, the two mounted their horses.

A lone rider, raising a cloud of dust, galloped towards the outskirts of the city.

Since leaving Cangjian Manor, Wenren Tianxia has been learning to ride horses with Chi Junlin.

It looks quite professional now, and the speed is extremely fast.

However, he was still not very skilled at riding at high speed, and Wenren Tianxia's movements still looked somewhat stiff.

So Chi Junlin slowed down slightly and waited for her.

The two then rode for dozens of miles outside the city and stopped at a fork in the road.

A scout cavalry unit and several couriers were already waiting there, seemingly searching for traces on the ground.

Upon seeing Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia stop their horses, the group immediately clasped their hands in greeting.

Just as he was about to offer his greetings, Chi Junlin immediately stopped him, saying, "Just call me Lin Jun. I'm here to help you find someone. Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Upon hearing this and seeing Wenren Tianxia's figure, the group immediately shut up.

Then the head scout captain stepped forward and said to Chi Junlin, "Reporting... Your Excellency, Miss Yuan Zhaoji has been missing for some time now."

We searched from her last post station all the way to this place, and found that the tracks of carriages and horses ended here, with no other traces. So we sent people to search the surrounding area.

However, to this day, no trace of Lady Zhaoji has been found.

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin frowned and said, "When was it discovered that she was missing, and how much time has passed since then? Tell me the details, and remember not to hide anything."

Chapter 221 People Leave Their Marks

After Chi Junlin asked, several scouts immediately told her the whole story.

In summary, news of Yuan Zhaoji's disappearance reached Nandu at noon today.

Because the post stations in Nandu City received the news early this morning that Yuan Zhaoji had settled in Long County last night.

Including servants, carriages, and guards, there are a total of seventeen people. They are expected to arrive in Nandu today and meet with Chi Junlin.

However, around noon, Chi Junlin urged them on, and several scout cavalrymen headed towards the post station to pick up Yuan Zhaoji and her entourage along the way.

Strangely, no carriages or horses belonging to Yuan Zhaoji were seen along the way.

It wasn't until they arrived at the Longxian post station and asked the postman that they learned that Yuan Zhaoji and her party had already left the county post station long ago.

Since they left early on, the scout cavalry should have encountered Yuan Zhaoji long ago.

But apart from seeing a funeral procession along the way, they found nothing else.

This is strange.

There was only one official road for the dozens of miles from the post station to the southern capital.

Unless Wan Zhaoji and her party deviated from the official road halfway and went to other places, there was no way the scout team could have missed them.

But what reason would Wan Zhaoji have to abandon the official road?

Knowing the gravity of the situation, the scout captain dared not delay. He immediately ordered his men to return to the city to inform Chi Junlin, and also searched along the official road for any trace of Yuan Zhaoji's forces.

With a group of more than ten people and the tracks of carriages and horses, it's impossible for them to disappear halfway through the journey.

But the trail disappeared at a fork in the road here.

The scout captain was completely baffled and had no choice but to send the rest of his men out to look for any other remaining traces.

To put it bluntly, even if Yuan Zhaoji is dead, we need to see her alive or dead!

Otherwise, how can I explain this to the Commander-in-Chief!

But strangely, apart from the trail of white paper money left by the funeral procession, there were no other unusual traces in the area.

The scout captain felt a chill run down his spine, wondering if there were any other ways to find Yuan Zhaoji.

Then they saw that Chi Junlin had arrived here with Wenren Tianxia.

Then, the captain told Chi Junlin everything he had discovered.

Chi Junlin pondered for a moment, then asked, "Where is the Longxian post station?"

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's question, the scout captain replied, "Your Excellency, the post station is not far from here; it's about the distance of half a cup of tea."

"Take me there."

"Yes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group mounted their horses and, led by their captain, galloped quickly toward the Longxian post station.

Before long, about half a cup of tea's time had passed, Chi Junlin saw an ancient and desolate post station standing near the official road.

After dismounting in front of the post station, Chi Junlin immediately asked, "Where are the post station guards?"

As soon as Chi Junlin finished speaking, a scout went in, dragged out a courier, and threw him in front of Chi Junlin.

Upon seeing Chi Junlin, the courier knelt down and said, "I am a courier from Long County. Your Excellencies are wise! Your Excellencies are wise! I truly do not know where the distinguished guest from the capital has gone!"

Chi Junlin looked down and saw that the postman's feet were covered in mud and his clothes were dirty.

His face was deathly pale, and he seemed to know that what happened today was beyond his control, appearing extremely panicked.

Chi Junlin then asked him, "Are you a postman from Long County?"

"It is...it is I!"

"Did you entertain Wan Zhaoji and the others last night?"

The courier looked puzzled, and the scout behind him kicked him, saying, "Fool, it's that noble lady from last night."

Upon hearing this, the courier nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, it was I who entertained them!"

Is anyone else at this post station?

"No... there's only the smaller one."

Were there any other guests last night?

"No...no...Our post station is remote and close to Nanjing. Very few high-ranking officials and nobles stay here. Merchants and officials who come and go usually choose to stay in Nanjing or in a prefecture further away from here. So last night only your entourage stayed here. I remember it very clearly."

"Is there no one else...?"

Chi Junlin frowned and continued to say to the courier, "When did they arrive and when did they leave? Tell me everything you know."

The courier nodded hurriedly, then said to Chi Junlin, "Your Excellency, your entourage arrived at our post station after 7 PM last night, when it was already completely dark."

I originally wanted to persuade them to stay overnight in the southern capital, but it was already late and the city gates were probably already closed.

The distinguished guests did not mind the desolation of the place and decided to stay there.

Seeing that this group of distinguished guests came from the capital and that their guides were of very high rank, I arranged for them to stay in the best rooms in the post station.

At night, they also killed a hen, stewed it into a hot soup, and sent it to the important person.

Then, at dawn the next day, before the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), the noble entourage set off and headed south for the capital. Before leaving, they even gave me five taels of silver as a reward; the money is still here.

But around noon, several soldiers came over and told me that the distinguished guests had not entered the Southern Capital Prefecture at all.

This matter truly has nothing to do with me; I know nothing else. Please, Your Excellency, be wise!

As the courier spoke, he took out five taels of silver and showed them to Chi Junlin.

Chi Junlin took it in his hand, glanced at it casually, and then threw it back into the hands of the courier.

Then she ignored him and turned to walk into the post station.

Wenren Tianxia followed Chi Junlin into the post station.