Then, Ge Zian told An Yan the purpose of his visit. An Yan was a bit surprised. Although he knew that Sima Tianhai had often transported many sacks out recently, the guards at Sima Tianhai's mansion were so strict that with their martial arts skills, they simply had no way to get close to his mansion.
"Moreover, besides investigating Sima Tianhai's dead soldiers, I have another thing to do this time," Ge Zian said and then looked at Wei Shuxuan. Wei Shuxuan looked at him blankly. "Regarding General Wei Tu... My father suspects that General Wei Tu is not dead, so he told me to come to Qiangfeng Country to investigate."
".....Zian, how come I didn't know about this?" Wei Shuxuan took quite a while to react after hearing this.
"We've told you. You just didn't pay attention," Ge Zian sometimes really had no idea what to do with his childhood sweetheart. "Forget it. I'll explain it to you in detail when we get back."
An Yan on the side watched the interaction between Ge Zian and the cross - dressing woman named "Wei Luo". They seemed to be very familiar? Could this be the childhood sweetheart that Zian had told him about?
"Qingshi, is this the childhood sweetheart you often mentioned, Xuan'er?" An Yan smiled.
Wei Shuxuan was startled. Ge Zian had actually mentioned her to this person? Wei Shuxuan was most afraid of dealing with people like this who seemed like smiling tigers on the surface, because you could never tell what was hidden in their hearts.
".....Yes. Since you already know, there's no need for us to hide anything."
"I just didn't want to expose my identity."
Wei Shuxuan answered the question before Ge Zian. An Yan wasn't angry. There was still a gentle smile on his handsome face. "It seems that Miss Wei Luo doesn't seem to like me very much."
"That's not the case. You're overthinking it."
Hearing An Yan say this, Wei Shuxuan quickly explained, lest Zian and this An Yan fall out because of her.
"That's good. Qingshi and Miss Wei Luo can stay in my mansion."
"Then I'd better obey than decline. Wei Luo and I will stay here tonight."
"Okay. I'll inform the others to come and gather here tomorrow to exchange the information you want, Qingshi."
The two then stayed in the An Mansion. An Yan had applied to Ge Zian a long time ago to come to Qiangfeng Country to collect intelligence. At that time, there were frequent border wars between Yulong Country and Qiangfeng Country. In order to better master the intelligence of Qiangfeng Country, Ge Long'an suggested sending a few confidants to lurk in Qiangfeng Country to gather information. They drew lots, and An Yan got the role of a merchant, so his identity in Qiangfeng Country was a merchant.
Unexpectedly, An Yan's business thrived in Qiangfeng Country. He soon opened several shops within the territory of Qiangfeng Country. Ge Zian had worried before that An Yan might abandon his undercover identity for the sake of his business in Qiangfeng Country, but An Yan proved to them with his actions that he was still an undercover agent of Yulong Country.
"Judging from what you said, this An Yan is quite loyal..." Wei Shuxuan rested her chin on her hand, looking thoughtful.
"I can also tell that you don't seem to like An Yan very much. Why is that?" Ge Zian was a bit curious.
"It's not that I don't like him. I just don't know how to deal with people like this smiling tiger. They seem easy to get along with on the surface, but they have deep - seated thoughts hidden behind their backs. It's a bit hard to figure them out."
"You're overthinking it. An Yan only acts like this towards outsiders. He just always shows this side of himself, so that's why you have this illusion."
"I hope so... I'm going to sleep. You should go back to your room and rest quickly."
When Ge Zian was about to leave the room, he asked Wei Shuxuan, "How about Young Master Xin? Are you really not going to tell him?"
"I'm not going to tell him. I don't want him to worry. He also has many problems to solve on his side."
Originally, Xin Zizhao really didn't know. But after he sent out a message by carrier pigeon and didn't receive a reply, he began to worry a bit. So, he contacted the secret guards who were protecting Wei Shuxuan in Baolan Town.
Seeing the note sent by the secret guards' carrier pigeon, Xin Zizhao was angry, but more worried. Xuan'er had promised him before leaving that she wouldn't do anything dangerous. Unexpectedly, not long after leaving, she actually went to Kele Town alone without even taking the secret guards with her. Xin Zizhao was really about to be mad at her.
However, Xin Zizhao thought of a question. Why did Wei Shuxuan go to Kele Town? Didn't she already figure out the real purpose of abducting young men and the real culprit?
So, going to Kele Town to handle affairs was not her real purpose. Using going to Kele Town as an excuse was her real purpose. If it wasn't Kele Town, then where on earth did she go?
Just as Xin Zizhao was still thinking about this question, he heard the shrill voice of Little Gaozi. "Your Majesty, the Eleventh Prince is asking to see you outside!"
".....Let him in."
Xin Yeheng quickly walked into the imperial study. Seeing Xin Zizhao sitting alone in front of the desk, he said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Emperor!"
"Rise. I wonder what important matter the Eleventh Prince has come to see me about?"
Xin Yeheng originally didn't want to come. But Minister Zhang and Grand Scholar Jin somehow found out about the Empress Dowager's leaving the palace. They forced him to come here to make things difficult for Xin Zizhao and see how Xin Zizhao would explain it. Xin Yeheng had actually thought of a reason to decline them, but Qiha'er forced him to come, so he had no choice but to come.
"Your Majesty, it's about the Empress Dowager. It's rumored that the Empress Dowager has packed her bags and left the palace. Many ministers are quite confused about this. So, they asked your subject to come as a representative to ask Your Majesty. I wonder if the Empress Dowager has really left the palace?"
"Oh? Where did you get this news from? A few days ago, the Empress and I had a quarrel over some trivial matters. In a fit of anger, the Empress went back to her natal family. Does it mean that as the mother of the nation, the Empress doesn't even have the right to go back to her natal family?"
The next day, Wei Shuxuan met a few confidants that Ge Zian had sent to Qiangfeng Country as undercover agents. However, they obviously didn't welcome Wei Shuxuan very much. This didn't matter to her anyway. Ge Zian would still tell her the news later.
Since they couldn't stay in the An Mansion for a long time, they left one after another after exchanging the news. Seeing them leave, Wei Shuxuan quickly stepped forward and asked Ge Zian, "How about it? Did you get the news?"
"Yes. We'll set off later."
"Huh? Where are we going?"
"We're going to tail someone."