Chapter Fifteen: Strange Words and Actions

  Two men with knives came, sneaking over from the stone piles by the river and hiding in a small grove to spy on the people in the vehicle.

  The convoy, being a noble's procession, had guards on high alert. With dozens of people patrolling in three circles inside and out, the two men were discovered as soon as they approached. They were reported to the leader of the guards, who initially thought they were just petty thieves or blind rascals, intending to catch them and teach them a lesson before letting them off. But when they were captured, it was unexpectedly found that they wore uniforms identical to those worn by the servants of the Jian Nan Marquis's household, which had been seen earlier!

  The leader of the guards knew it was a serious matter and immediately reported to the prince.

  The king's face looked very bad: "What has been found out?"

  "Under interrogation, the two of them were separated and questioned. One of them was stubborn and only said that they had accidentally passed by, saw a crowd on this side, and out of curiosity took a few more glances. As for the knife on him, it just happened to be brought along. However, the other person couldn't withstand the beating and confessed that they were ordered by the steward of the Duke of Jianan to come here. Earlier, our people went to find the duke's fleet and said that they had rescued someone who fell into the water. They were ordered to come and find the rescued person and kill them by any means necessary. According to the man, their steward had explicitly stated that when handling matters, they should avoid drawing attention to themselves, but if they encountered obstruction from merchant groups, they could slaughter freely, as long as they didn't leave behind any evidence of the duke's involvement, the duke would ensure their safety."

  The king sneered: "Guarantee their safety? Who gave him the guts?! The Duke is wise all his life, how can he have such a cruel and inhumane son?"

  The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was off. First, Jian Nan Hou had denied that anyone in his household had fallen into the water, and then he had secretly sent someone to kill the person who had been rescued. Connecting this to the fatal knife wounds on the bodies of the boatmen, he could only come to one conclusion: the murder was likely connected to Jian Nan Hou!

  He couldn't help but feel restless and immediately sent someone to find his wife: "Ask the queen, has that county lady woken up?"

  The subordinate reported that he had never woken up. He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then gave another order: "Bring that little girl over."

  Zhaoyi slept for a while, but didn't sleep soundly. As soon as it got light, she woke up and sat in the carriage in a daze. The surroundings told her that everything from last night wasn't just a dream - she really had fallen into the water and been rescued by someone. Now were her grandmother and brother okay? What about her father and mother? And what about Pearl Auntie and Autumn Leaf? Uncle Jiannanhou's hatred for their family of humble means had actually reached the point where he wanted to kill them all, young and old, weak and strong. How would they be able to live in the future?

  She took a deep breath and clenched her small fists. No matter what, Jian Nan Hou had gone too far, and she didn't need to be polite anymore. As long as she escaped danger and got the chance to meet with officials, she would definitely report him! What did it matter if her uncle was the eldest son of her grandfather or that he had inherited the title? Her father was also a biological son of her grandfather! Even if she was just a little girl, didn't she still have a grandmother? Her grandmother had suffered so much, and surely wouldn't let this grudge go unspoken? As long as Jian Nan Hou's crimes were established, the younger branch of the family would no longer have their title to protect them, nor would they have money or power. Only then could her family live in peace!

  Zhao gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

  Yanxia heard the noise, lifted the curtain and poked her head in, saw that she was already up, smiled and said: "So early awake? Why not sleep a little longer? Your grandmother and brother are still sleeping, but they have taken their medicine and are much better."

  Zhao Da Xi: "Really?" Then asked: "Did you save anyone?"

  Yanxia paused for a moment: "The people who went out to search and rescue haven't come back yet, I don't know either. I'll go get you some water to wash up." She put down the curtain and left, soon returning with hot water and towels to attend to Zhao, washing her face, rinsing her mouth, then going to fetch her breakfast.

  But she came back empty-handed, her face very solemn: "Zhao little girl, I'll take you to see our master." Then rewrapped Zhao in the small quilt and carried her off to another horse carriage.

  Zhao had also been curious about who the owner of this horse-drawn carriage was. The fact that she slept in a horse-drawn carriage overnight, which was actually sat by a young maid, showed that although Yunxia dressed simply, the decorations inside the carriage were absolutely incompatible with simplicity. Even a 13 or 14-year-old little maid could sit in such a good horse-drawn carriage, and the identity of the owner's family must be either rich or noble.

  As she was carried into the large carriage, her first thought was: "What a big and luxurious carriage, twice as big and luxurious as the previous one!" Her second thought was: "Handsome guy, even more handsome than my new dad, and with this demeanor, he must be a noble or aristocrat. Which royal family could he be from?"

  The handsome guy leaned against the headrest, staring at her without saying a word. Zhao didn't know what to say either, should she pay respects? But she didn't know what identity he held, nor did she know how to pay respects, then she remembered that she was still just a little girl, and not knowing the proper etiquette was also reasonable, so she relaxed and continued staring at the handsome guy with her big round eyes.

  But the handsome guy has been silent for too long, Zhao felt a bit uneasy, turned her head to look around, and found that Yunxia had already left, there was no one else in the carriage, should she take the initiative? After all, he is her lifesaver.

  She sat up straight, looked at the handsome boy and said loudly: "It was you who saved my grandmother, brother and me, thank you. Can you help me again? My parents also fell into the river, I don't know if they are safe, and our family's servant..." Her voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible. The handsome boy looked at her with a really strange gaze, was she acting too out of line? Was it possible for such a young child to act so coquettishly in this era?

  The handsome guy looked at her uneasy appearance and suddenly smiled: "What's your name? How old are you?"

  "My name is Zhao," she replied in a low voice, "I'm two years old this year."

  "Is that so?" The young man raised an eyebrow, "But I seem to recall... the second daughter of the Duke of Jian'nan was only past her first birthday after the duke's passing?"

  Zhao's heart felt empty, but on the surface he still pretended to be confused: "Yes, after passing the first birthday is two years old!"

  The young man was taken aback and lost his smile. These words were indeed true: "At your age, you are surprisingly clever. I'm afraid even a four or five year old child is not as quick-witted as you. I have never heard of such a thing in the capital, it's truly a remarkable event."

  Zhao lowered his head and explained in a small voice: "Why did you hear... I've been at home all along..."

  The king thought that if it were a boy, being so clever at the age of Zhou would be normal for fame to spread, but for a girl to have such a good name is not very meaningful. Moreover, after the death of the Duke, the Zhao family has been in mourning, who would give this little girl fame?

  He thought he was thinking too much, shook his head, and asked seriously: "Last night you mentioned to Cao's mother about the time I fell into the water, can you tell me again?"

  Zhao blinked, cautiously repeating what he had said the night before, but Wang Ye shook his head: "It's not just that. You're so clever, you must know more than that, right? Did you know that I sent guards along the riverbank last night to search for other people who fell into the water, and they found several boatmen who had crawled ashore with fatal knife wounds? And yet, the Jian Nan Hou Fu's fleet denied anyone falling overboard. Just now, my guard caught two thugs lurking around with knives, and it turned out they were from the Jian Nan Hou Fu, saying they came to find the person who was rescued."

  Zhao's face changed, and he clenched his fists, sitting up straight and speaking seriously: "I don't know about this matter, but yesterday evening my father was unwell, and when the wind and rain came, my grandmother told my uncle to stop the boat and anchor for the night. But my uncle didn't allow it and continued sailing. One of my grandmother's maids, Spring Grass, went down to the lower cabin to get something and never came back. My wet nurse went to look for her and encountered a suspicious person with blood on his face, carrying a knife as he emerged from the lower cabin. After he left, my wet nurse went down to the lower cabin and found that Spring Grass had been killed, and the lower cabin had been pierced by many holes, letting in a lot of water. My grandmother asked someone to seek help from my uncle and his crew, telling them to anchor the boat, but not only did they not stop the boat, they even sped up and left. Our boat later capsized, and many people fell into the water. My wet nurse put me on a wooden board, and another maid named Autumn Leaf rescued my grandmother and brother and brought them over. She said she would go back to rescue others but was never seen again. As we drifted downstream with the current, we saw my uncle stopping the boat at the shore. My wet nurse swam over and shouted for help, but they used a paddle to hit her into the water. My grandmother covered my mouth and wouldn't let me cry out because if I did, I would be killed!"

  The king's expression was solemn. Although Zhao was young, her words were well-reasoned and obviously precocious, with a high degree of credibility. Combined with the suspicious behavior of Duke Jianan, he could confirm that he was involved in this bloody case. Although he had long known that the current county princess was not the birth mother of Duke Jianan, a stepmother was also a mother, and Zhao Zhuo was his younger brother. Such unfilial and unrighteous behavior, wanting to put his mother, younger brother, and nephew to death, was too much for Duke Jianan!

  The king looked at Zhao Ze again: "Do you know why Jian Nan Hou hated your grandparents and parents so much?"

  Zhao hesitated for a moment: "It seems like... Old Lady Qian, my paternal grandmother, wanted to be buried with my grandfather, but my grandmother wouldn't allow it; also... after my grandfather passed away, my uncle kicked my grandmother, my parents, older brother, and me out of the house and into an old courtyard. Later, when we divided the family property, my uncle only gave my father 1,000 mu of land and 500 taels of silver. My parents were very angry, but my grandmother said that as long as we could live a peaceful life, money wasn't a problem; also..." She furrowed her brow, "Chuncao... she saw my uncle's son, Ze Ge'er, enter his younger brother's room alone, and after he came out, his younger brother died. His mother said it was because my grandfather couldn't bear to part with his youngest grandson, so he took his younger brother away, which was a blessing for the younger brother. But my grandmother said that my grandfather would never harm his own children or grandchildren, he loved us very much... Ze Ge'er's mother begged my grandmother not to tell anyone about this."

  The king was stunned: "You..."

  Zhao shrunk his neck: "They think I'm still young, often talking about many things in front of me..."

  The king was somewhat amused and saddened, thinking of his own son. He suddenly felt a sense of melancholy: "Sometimes in front of children, one really can't be too careless!" He looked at Zhao with a different gaze, the more he looked, the more surprised he became. Even if there was early wisdom, being able to fully understand others' words wasn't something an ordinary child could do. Could it be that there were people in this world who truly received heaven's favor?

  He gently patted Zhao's head: "Good child, I understand everything, don't worry, I'll help you find your parents, and your grandmother and brother will be fine too." He called in Yanxia: "Take her to the young master's place, let the kids play together."

  Crown prince? Zhao? Staring at this handsome guy, thinking that he is a prince?

  Yanxia took her to another horse carriage, slightly smaller than the handsome guy's one, but still much larger than Yanxia's. Inside the carriage, a three or four-year-old boy was leaning over a small table reading a book, and when he heard the noise, he looked up.

  The first thing Zhao saw was his eyes, which were as deep and mysterious as black agate, yet inexplicably clear.