"Cheng Zhidu always says that when the army sets out, it’s normal to have no news for a month or two. But we aren’t following the eldest young master for the first day. The eldest young master isn’t the kind of person who wouldn’t send messages back. If there’s no news, there must be an obstruction,"

"Besides, it’s already been two months by now. Ah Jin and I were planning to go out of the border to search for people, but the Shanzhou Five Armies aren’t all willing to obey—" Saying this, Xin Yi smiled happily.

Her eyebrows curved, reminiscent of her sharp, pleasing charm from the past.

"It’s good that the Second Miss is here!"

A blood relative, of course, is more justified than a concubine.

Tang Xiaobai stared at her in surprise.

"Second Miss?" Xin Yi felt a bit uneasy under her gaze.

"You’re right," Tang Xiaobai suddenly said, "When the army sets out, they don’t lose contact without reason. If there’s no news, there must be an obstruction—"

"It could be due to unfavorable weather and geography, or it could be someone hindering them."

The missing people must be found, but it has to be done with a plan and targeted searches.

Her goal is to find her father and brother, not to accompany them to their deaths.

...

In the afternoon, Tang Xiaobai had someone set up a desk at the door of the house, spread out pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began to draft a plan.

The summer in Liangzhou isn’t hot, but the sun is scorching.

Tang Xiaobai sat at the edge of sunlight, avoiding the heat while soaking up the warm edge, feeling very comfortable, comfortably sleepy.

She propped her head with one hand while writing and drawing on the paper with the other, her scribbles barely legible except to her.

"Second Miss has been rushing about in the past few days. It’s hard to finally reach here. How about taking an afternoon nap?" Tao Zi advised.

This time, traveling far, Tang Xiaobai only brought Tao Zi, one maidservant, with her; bringing more would slow the journey.

Between her two close maidservants, Cheng Zi is comparatively smarter, while Tao Zi is a bit dense.

She initially considered bringing Cheng Zi, but in the end, she chose the stronger Tao Zi.

Intelligence is secondary; returning safe and sound is most important.

Tao Zi just tends to be more overbearing. When she gets worried, she has to advise her to rest several times a day.

Tang Xiaobai yawned and shook her head to refuse, "I’ll rest early after dinner, it’s fine for now..."

Daytime is when messages come and go most frequently. She feared missing anything if she slept, so she soldiered on a bit longer!

Seeing Tao Zi about to advise again, Tang Xiaobai simply sent her off: "Go find out if there are any ice cubes, and make me a bowl of iced sorbet."

Tao Zi stomped her foot, unwillingly heading out.

As the courtyard door opened——

"Mr. Wenren?"

Tang Xiaobai looked up when she heard the voice and saw Wenren Jia standing at the courtyard entrance, dressed in white, elegant as the moon among clouds.

"Looking for me on business?" Tang Xiaobai stood up to greet him.

Wenren Jia glanced inside and asked, "Isn’t Miss Yingying here?"

Tang Xiaobai was a bit surprised, replying, "She was quite tired after this journey. There’s nothing urgent, so I let her rest," pausing slightly, "Why do you ask?"

Wenren Jia had been very focused on observing the geographical environment this journey, so why was he suddenly interested in her little guard?

"In the past few days, I’ve noticed Miss Yingying practicing martial arts every night and following the Second Miss during the day. Isn’t that too strenuous?" Wenren Jia said with a smile.

Tang Xiaobai’s heart jolted, and she asked, "Which days are you referring to?"

Wenren Jia recalled a bit and said, "Starting from the first day of the month?"

Tang Xiaobai helplessly chuckled, "She lost a fight that day."

On the first night, Yingying couldn’t stop Mo Huan and even knelt before her asking for punishment afterward.

She comforted her a few words at the time, not paying much attention, as being unable to stop Mo Huan was rather normal, unclear from where the little ancestor found the experts Mo Ji and Mo Huan.

Unexpectedly, little Miss Yingying had secretly gotten competitive.

Wenren Jia chuckled, "A diligent girl indeed."

Tang Xiaobai nodded in agreement.

When Princess Ji handed Yingying over, she specially reminded her that Yingying was quite obsessed with martial arts and asked her to keep an eye on her, so she wouldn’t practice to the point of losing her way.

"You’re here just for this?" Tang Xiaobai asked.

"No," Wenren Jia shook his head with a smile, "I have a plan to offer the Second Miss—"

...

"...The army went missing because the messenger can’t return. If the messenger can’t return, it might be due to natural causes or human obstruction;"

"This obstruction could be far, as in blocked by enemy forces thousands of miles away, or close, like spies ambushing at arm’s length..."

Tang Xiaobai listened to each word with increasing enthusiasm.

Wenren Jia’s thoughts weren’t too different from her own.

The messenger not returning didn’t necessarily mean enemy obstruction; it could also be sabotage by a traitor.

By detaining the messenger outside the border, they could create the appearance of her father and brother’s disappearance. Coupled with spreading rumors, it could shake the army’s morale, even prompting actions from Duke Yan’s adversaries at court.

Since that was the case, she needed a plan to test and handle the traitor blocking the messenger.

She hadn’t figured out this plan yet, but Wenren Jia already had an idea.

After listening completely, Tang Xiaobai contemplated briefly before nodding, "Good!"

Wenren Jia glanced at her in surprise.

Tang Xiaobai smiled helplessly, "It’s already May now."

No time to waste; this isn’t the moment for hesitation.

Wenren Jia smiled gently, saying, "It’s best to find someone to impersonate a trusted person of your father or brother."

Tang Xiaobai frowned.

This trusted person must be widely recognized as such.

But if widely recognized, how to ensure they don’t get exposed?

"I... know a little disguise technique..." a girl’s voice came from the side, weak in tone but as clear and beautiful as a warbler leaving the valley.

...

The Liangzhou Inspection Envoy, Xue Shaojian, just arrived in Liangzhou on the second day and proposed going to Shanzhou.

Cheng Zhidu was eager for his departure, showing Xue Shaojian a rare smile.

Joyfully, unexpectedly, the little girl from the Tang family also came saying, "I plan to go to Shanzhou with Mr. Xue!"

Cheng Zhidu’s smile froze, "What are you going for?" Suddenly thinking of Xin Yi, "Is it that woman urging you to go out of the border to find people? Don’t listen to her! Without a military order, going out is desertion subject to penalty!"

Tang Xiaobai shook her head, "Didn’t Uncle Cheng ask me just yesterday to manage the Shanzhou Five Armies?"

Cheng Zhidu choked, saying, "But going like this is too dangerous, the Shanzhou Five Armies aren’t pushovers, what if they don’t listen to you?"

"Seven to eight-tenths of the Shanzhou Five Armies went with my brother, not many are left. I’m going with Mr. Xue! Plus my fourth cousin Gu is there too! Nothing will happen."

Cheng Zhidu was unimpressed, "Even with the Xue’s name, it’s of no use here, same with the Gu’s name."

Tang Xiaobai thought for a while, clapped her hands: "Why not lend me some manpower, Uncle Cheng?"

Cheng Zhidu glared at her for a while, sighed, "If anything happens to you in Shanzhou, how would I explain it to your father? Very well, I’ll go with you!"

...

Cheng Zhidu was waiting to see what means the little girl had to win over the Shanzhou Five Armies. Unexpectedly, the moment Tang Xiaobai saw the Five Armies’ commander, she said——

"I wish to personally go into Turkic to look for my father and brother, you are all my brother’s trusted brethren, who is willing to join me?"

Cheng Zhidu was so enraged he blew his beard.

This little girl, how could she deceive them like this?

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I updated ten thousand today, why is no one praising me?