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They were all waving at me, saying, "Xiao Jiu, it’s time to come home."

In the dream, it was so quiet it was frightening, those repeated calls for Xiao Jiu to come home were rather chilling.

Shen Chuwei woke from her dream, drenched in sweat, to find that daylight had broken. She sighed, why would she dream such a thing?

After finishing breakfast, Shen Chuwei wanted to go search for Xiao Jinyan, and Xiao Jinyu was heading to the battlefield.

It was his first time going to the battlefield, and he was clearly excited and nervous.

However, when he thought that he was replacing his older brother, the Crown Prince, he was no longer nervous.

Shen Chuwei, holding Xuetuan, rode with Qin Xiao and others to the place where Xiao Jinyan had fallen off the cliff.

The search for Xiao Jinyan continued in several waves without pause, but still, there was no news.

Shen Chuwei leaned over to look down the cliffside, it was too deep to see the bottom; this was where Xiao Jinyan had fallen.

"Crown Princess, His Highness fell from here. There’s a lake below, and we have searched the surroundings many times without finding him," said the junior officer who was part of the search party and was familiar with the area.

Shen Chuwei said, "Take us down to have a look."

"At your command," replied the subordinate.

Under the guidance of the junior officer, Shen Chuwei and her companions took a long walk down to the bottom of the cliff. As expected, there was a lake and it was indeed large.

On the other side of the lake was a river, and it was unclear where it led.

Shen Chuwei followed the river, not forgetting to ask the junior officer, "Where does this river go?"

"It leads to Jisai Town. I have been there to search but didn’t find any trace of His Highness," the junior officer said.

Shen Chuwei, upon hearing this, didn’t give up, "Let’s go have a look."

"At your command," replied the subordinate.

The group rode to Jisai Town, which was called a town but was quite significant, bustling with activity on the streets.

However, some men and women on the street were dressed differently. It was clear at a glance that they were from an ethnic minority, with attire somewhat similar to that of the modern Miao Territory, though with some differences in form.

Shen Chuwei dismounted from her horse, curiously eyeing the people on the streets in their different attire.

As they observed the people on the streets, those on the streets also scrutinized them, also with curiosity.

Shen Chuwei asked the junior officer beside her, "Do you know where those people in different attire are from?"

The junior officer explained, "They are from the Xingmiao Clan, here for the market. They live on the other side of the mountain and don’t belong to any nation, a distance away."

Shen Chuwei nodded thoughtfully, "Oh, so they are essentially an independent small nation?"

The junior officer nodded, "You could say that."

Shen Chuwei curiously asked, "Since it’s a small nation, why haven’t the surrounding countries tried to swallow up the Xingmiao Clan by themselves?"

"The Crown Princess may not know, but though the Xingmiao Clan may be small in population and land size, they are skilled in the breeding of poisonous insects, and even thousands of troops would fear them. That’s why no one wants to try to dominate them and end up harming themselves,"

"At the same time, the surrounding countries will not allow any nation the chance to monopolize the Xingmiao Clan, as it would be disadvantageous to all," the junior officer explained.

Shen Chuwei nodded thoughtfully, the general idea being that they’d rather not gain an advantage for themselves than let their adversary do so.

They had arrived during market time, and the streets were crowded with people.

Shen Chuwei then asked, "Have you searched every house?"

"We have searched everywhere and even offered a hefty reward, but to no avail," the junior officer said.

Shen Chuwei, observing the people on the streets who were mostly ordinary citizens, boldly speculated that Xiao Jinyan had been saved by someone after falling from the cliff and that someone indifferent to substantial reward was either very wealthy or from the enemy’s camp.

That wasn’t right either; if someone from the enemy’s camp had saved Xiao Jinyan, even if they hadn’t written a letter to threaten General Xing immediately, they would’ve used Xiao Jinyan to do so after all this time.

Xiao Jinyan was known for going into battle himself; no one wouldn’t recognize him.

So, was it not the opposing side?

As Shen Chuwei passed a restaurant during lunchtime, hungry herself and knowing the guards following her would be too, she said,

"Let’s go in and have something to eat."

The Crown Princess wanting to eat meant no objections from them, especially since they were hungry too.

Shen Chuwei had a table to herself, and the guards had another.

She ordered some of her favorite dishes and, by the way, requested a steamed fish from the restaurant.

The dishes were served one after another, and Shen Chuwei placed the fish in front of Xuetuan, "Go ahead and eat."

Xuetuan, smelling the fresh fish, licked its lips and began to eat gracefully.

Shen Chuwei picked up her chopsticks and started eating eagerly, glancing out the window every now and then at the bustling street below.

After finishing the fish, Xuetuan licked its lips satisfactorily and then its paws.

Just then, Xuetuan leaped off the chair and ran out of the private room.

Seeing Xuetuan dart out, Shen Chuwei withdrew her gaze and assumed it had gone out to the flowerbeds for a convenience and continued to eat without concern.

Xuetuan did indeed head out for a convenience, squatting in a flowerbed. After doing its business, it jumped down gracefully and composedly from the flowerbed, intending to return when it caught a familiar scent.

The black tip of its nose twitched as it followed the familiar scent.

After a short run, the scent became stronger.

Xuetuan, with its agile limbs, ran to the entrance and detected the scent of its master, happily running toward it.

Meanwhile, back in the private room, Shen Chuwei, nearly finished with her meal, noticed Xuetuan had not returned and frowned. Why had it taken so long today?

She stood up and walked out to the corridor, looking left and right without seeing Xuetuan. Lifting her skirts, she descended the stairs.

At that moment, the restaurant was packed with guests.

Shen Chuwei eyed the hustling servants and customers as she hurried down the stairs.

Behind the restaurant was a garden; Shen Chuwei called out as she reached it, "Xuetuan?"

Usually, Xuetuan would run to her at her call, but its absence meant it wasn’t in the back garden.

Turning around, she walked toward the restaurant’s entrance and saw a flash of white dashing outside.