The emperor thought about it carefully. Although Xia Chu was not close to Xiao Yanjun among the other princes, he really didn't have any grudges. Then he smiled and said, "I just saw that you were so special to him." I am unfamiliar, so I ask this question."
Xia Chu knew in his heart that even if the emperor was investigating, it would be nothing more than some minor dispute between him and Xiao Yanjun.
As far as the emperor is concerned, it's all harmless.
Therefore, he was confident in his ability to fabricate things and said, "My mother said that the more handsome a man is, the more he will lie."
The emperor was even dumbfounded when he heard this: "You have never even seen Lan Sheng's face. This lie is not perfect."
Xia Chu made it up seriously: "My mother told me in a dream."
…
Although the emperor knew that he was full of nonsense, he was also attracted by his gags, which somewhat relieved some of the frustrations he had in the morning.
Although he had asked insinuatingly about the prince he liked, he only talked about Xiao Yanjun. But now, among the princes of the Xiao Kingdom, except for Xiao Yanjun, only Xiao Zimu is left...
After Xia Chu finished speaking with the emperor, he went to Yongxin Palace to sit as usual. It happened that Concubine Qi and Xiao Muhong were discussing how to hold a crown ceremony for Xiao Mubai this year. Only then did Xia Chu remember that after the end of the year, It's spring, and Xiao Mubai's birthday is coming. This year is his age, so naturally there will be a big event in the palace.
Xia Chu said goodbye to Concubine Qi, and on the way out of the palace back to the Marquis Mansion, she was a little distracted, thinking about what gift she should give him.
Before he could think of a gift, he was stopped in the middle of the road.
It turned out that Bingwen sent Jiao Shi to the Hou Mansion early in the morning to look for him. He never thought that Xia Chu had entered the palace early. Jiao Shi knew that Bingwen was looking for him in a hurry, so he searched all the way towards the palace and returned at Xia Chu. He was stopped halfway through the house.
"Young Master is waiting for you at Mingxiang Garden." Just as Jiao Shi finished speaking, Xia Chu had already galloped out.
It had been more than a month since he asked Bingwen to investigate. There must have been news, so Xia Chu couldn't wait and put aside the matter of Xiao Mubai's birthday for the time being.
When the raven saw him riding away, he naturally followed him on tiptoe, leaving behind the panting Jiao Shi who had been running all the way. In the blink of an eye, there was no one in front of him, and he was alone with his hands on his hips and breathing heavily...
Mingxiang Garden is the quietest in the early morning, and when summer arrives, the ravens have already followed.
He threw the reins to the raven and walked straight to Bingwen's room. After knocking on the door, he couldn't wait to ask, "Did you find anything?"
After Xia Chu said this, he looked up and realized that the person who opened the door for him was not Bingwen, but a middle-aged man dressed as a servant.
"Are you planning to open another shop? Are you bringing in a new person?" Xia Chu glanced at the boy and asked casually.
"The villain Gan Jin has met the young master." Gan Jin bowed.
Xia Chu waved her hand to signal him to stand up, and walked towards Bingwen and said, "I didn't tell your people that I hate kneeling here and there."
Bingwen smiled and waved to him without saying a word. After seeing him sit down, he poured him a cup of tea and pushed it over before speaking: "In these years, no Xiangdao family has suddenly disappeared."
With a look of disappointment on his face, Xia Chu picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp, then muttered to himself: "No?"
Bingwen gave him another drink, and then continued: "However, there is a clan of the Shanxiang clan that is not an aristocratic family, and disappeared overnight."
"Oh?" Xia Chu saw the narrow smile on his lips and said in an annoyed tone: "Speak quickly and don't show off."
Bingwen refilled a cup of tea for himself and took a sip slowly. Seeing the veins on Xia Chu's forehead twitching, he stopped his teasing look and said, "There is a family named Miao who first entered the capital nineteen years ago. Because of their unique method of making incense, they became famous for a while, but after they became famous, they suddenly disappeared overnight. Because they were not from the capital, many people thought they had returned to their hometown. Apart from regret, they didn't find it too unexpected. "
Xia Chu held his chin with his left hand and knocked on the table with his right hand and asked, "Have you found out where they are from?"
Bingwen nodded: "What a coincidence. The ancestral hall houses a man who once worked as a busboy in the Miao Family Incense Shop."
Just when Xia Chu was about to ask the man if he had said anything, he saw a sly smile on Bingwen's face: "His surname is Gan and his name is Jin."
Xia Chu's pupils suddenly narrowed, and then he turned to look at the middle-aged man who had just opened the door for him, pointed at him, and asked Bingwen: "Is it him?"
Bingwen nodded with a smile, then raised his chin towards him, as if you were going to ask yourself.
"It's the villain." Gan Jin took two steps forward.
"Why did the Miao Family Incense Shop disappear overnight after becoming famous?" Xia Chu was not polite and got to the point.
"He was caught." Gan Jin pursed his lips and replied.
"By whom? Is there a sign?" Xia Chu's tone was slightly excited.
"It was too dark to see clearly, but over the years, I have increasingly felt that the group of people that night should be a group of people more powerful than the official officials." After Gan Jin finished speaking, Xia Chu looked confused.
"I was young back then and didn't have much experience. Now that I'm older and have seen a lot, I vaguely feel that those people back then were very well-trained and well-trained, much like... the Forbidden Army." Seeing his confusion, Gan Jin went on to express his speculation.
Xia Chu sighed: "It's just a guess..."
Gan Jin saw the melancholy on his face, thought for a while and continued: "It's just a guess, but I think that even if he is not a member of the imperial army, he must be an official. Otherwise, who would have such great ability to capture all the Miao incense shops in Chang'an in one night?" Everyone, there was no news on the second day. The villain also happened to go out to drink that night and escaped. When he went back, he was so frightened that he sobered up and didn't dare to say anything next to the haystack. Later, I didn't dare to go there again. If I work in other places, I am afraid of being copied, so I have to make a living by begging and living with the refugees. As time goes by, people will become useless... "
Xia Chu nodded. No wonder he was taken in by Bingwen and brought to the ancestral hall. It was a coincidence. He originally wanted to draw a portrait of Lan Xilin for Gan Jin to recognize, but then he thought about his painting skills.
Forget it, let’s go back and let Meng An draw one...
"Do you know where they come from?" Xia Chu picked up the original question.
"I heard by chance when I was doing odd jobs that they seemed to be from Jiancheng." After Gan Jin finished speaking, Xia Chu's eyes lit up and he immediately looked at Bingwen.
Bingwen didn't wait for him to ask, and ordered Gan Jin to retreat first. Then he turned to Xia Chu and nodded in confirmation: "Yes, Jicheng, the fiefdom of His Highness Prince Jing."
Seeing his calm expression, Xia Chu obviously found out something, so he urged him: "Can you finish it in one breath? You didn't have this appetizing problem before..."
(End of chapter)