"What's wrong?"
"Your Majesty brought up the Escort Agency Case case again in court today. Centurion Sir said that you and I will lead a team to Tianmu Bamboo Forest immediately to investigate the case. Especially you, if the investigation isn't clear within the deadline, your previous slaying of Lü Tianyang will be held against you."
"Where is the Grandmaster Realm expert you invited? Have they arrived?" Lu Zhenghai was curious.
He no longer cared about a Grandmaster Realm combatant; not only did he have Aunt Yan, but he was even in the Grandmaster Realm himself.
"The other party is already waiting at the Imperial City's North Gate to rendezvous."
Lu Zhenghai nodded: "Commander Lin originally said he would take me to visit Deputy Commander Yu's home today, but it seems it will have to be postponed again."
An incense stick's time later.
Chief Lu's Squad Leaders Qian Sheng, Zhou Hu, Liu Quan, and Wei Xing were all present.
Zhao Black Pillar and his 10 lieutenants were not accompanying them on this trip.
Then, several Squad Leaders under Chief Huang, as well as all their subordinates, also arrived.
A total of nearly 100 people.
They were a mighty, orderly force, each wearing a flying fish robe and carrying a xiuchun saber.
At a glance, their aura was imposing.
Because Tianmu Bamboo Forest was a bit far, a full 167 li, everyone rode horses.
Within the entire Great Yu Dynasty, every prefecture had a Embroidered Uniform Guard Garrison.
The Imperial City's Embroidered Uniform Guard Garrison was the largest among them.
The Imperial City's Embroidered Uniform Guard Garrison had nearly ten thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard, but only a thousand warhorses were allocated.
A thousand warhorses were quite good; many of the Garrisons in the prefectures below only had a few dozen warhorses.
These thousand warhorses were usually only ridden by officials such as Squad Leaders, Banner Commanders, and Centurions; lieutenants were not qualified.
Today, however, because they were on a mission and it was very far, and this mission was also being watched by the Emperor, lieutenants were temporarily assigned warhorses as well.
Lu Zhenghai and Huang Xiu led nearly a hundred Embroidered Uniform Guard towards the Imperial City's North Gate.
Along the way, they had to pass through several streets.
Wherever they went, there were various looks of awe and fear.
People on the streets, whether pedestrians or those doing business, all automatically made way.
Lu Zhenghai slightly raised his head, feeling somewhat pleased.
No wonder everyone wants to be an official; this feeling, whoever tries it knows.
Set a small goal: become Deputy Commander in one year, and Commander within three years, hahaha... Half an hour later.
They arrived at the Imperial City's North Gate.
"Chief Huang, where is the Grandmaster Realm expert you invited?" Lu Zhenghai asked.
Chief Huang was a bit bewildered; it was agreed they would meet at the North Gate, so why was no one there?
Just then, "Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." a carriage drove up and stopped in front of Lu Zhenghai and Huang Xiu.
"Bai Shiqi, who Chief Huang had arranged, couldn't make it due to an unforeseen circumstance. I will be taking his place for this mission."
A voice came from inside the carriage, a woman's voice.
The voice was very pleasant, but it wasn't purely delicate or ethereal; there was a hint of heroism in it.
Chief Huang's face almost turned black; just as he was about to question, a Grandmaster Realm aura emanated from inside the carriage.
Two sheets of paper also shot out from the carriage, landing in front of Chief Huang.
Chief Huang grabbed the two sheets of paper and examined them.
One was an employment contract from Tianyuan Pavilion, the largest mercenary organization in the Imperial City.
The names signed on the employment contract were Bai Shiqi and Huang Xiu.
Bai Shiqi was the expert Chief Huang had hired to accompany them on this trip.
He had drawn 1,800 taels of silver from the Garrison as expenses to hire Bai Shiqi.
Chief Huang recognized this mission employment contract; it couldn't be faked.
As for the other sheet of paper, it was a mission transfer letter.
The names signed on the mission transfer letter were Bai Shiqi and Third Miss Yu.
Third Miss Yu should be the name of the mysterious woman inside the carriage.
The surname Yu was the national surname of the Great Yu Dynasty, but that didn't mean ordinary commoners couldn't use it.
In this regard, the Imperial Family of the Great Yu Dynasty was quite enlightened.
"This humble woman is not talented, but I am already at the Third Layer of Grandmaster Realm, while Bai Shiqi is only at the First Layer Grandmaster Realm. It is your Embroidered Uniform Guard who profits from my accompanying you on this trip," the woman inside the carriage spoke again.
Chief Huang's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Lu Zhenghai for his opinion.
But Lu Zhenghai remained silent, his expression instead looking strange.
Chief Huang hesitated repeatedly, but finally agreed: "Then I shall trouble Third Miss Yu."
Lu Zhenghai was a bit speechless.
Princess Mingzhu, what the hell are you doing?!
Yes, he was certain that the mysterious woman inside the carriage was Princess Mingzhu.
He remembered her voice; Princess Mingzhu hadn't changed her voice at all.
And... Third Miss Yu?
If he remembered correctly, Princess Mingzhu was the third-ranked princess among all the princesses.
Although she was the only legitimate princess, she was indeed the Third Princess Yu.
As for Princess Mingzhu's real name? Few people knew it; Lu Zhenghai certainly didn't, but Mu Wan definitely did.
"Go, head to Tianmu Bamboo Forest at the fastest speed!" Chief Huang ordered, and they set off.
Indeed, Princess Mingzhu's carriage was not slow; it easily kept up with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Clearly, the horses used for Princess Mingzhu's carriage were of a very high grade.
Inside the carriage.
Princess Mingzhu wore a white brocade robe.
It wasn't women's clothing; it was new men's clothing specifically bought for her.
She had also specifically tied her hair into a high ponytail.
Of course, at a glance, it was still obvious that she was a woman.
After all, she was too beautiful; her peerless beauty was truly striking.
She also had no intention of disguising herself as a man or anything.
It was simply because wearing men's clothing would be more agile if there were any fights.
In front of Princess Mingzhu was a small table.
On the small table were exquisite pastries, and... and a saber.
A black, thick, inwardly sharp saber that exuded a faint, unsettling and fearful Qi.
"Princess, what virtue and ability does Lu Zhenghai possess that you would give him this saber as repayment? This saber is a heaven grade low rank item, worth one to two million taels of silver..."
Heaven-Grade Low Grade weapons, how many are there in the entire Great Yu Dynasty?
Sitting opposite Princess Mingzhu were her Maidservants Qiu Hen and Summer Lotus; it was Qiu Hen who spoke, her face filled with distress.
"He saved my life, of course I must repay him," Princess Mingzhu said with a smile:
"Moreover, this saber is a xiuchun saber, the personal saber of the first Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, from shortly after the Great Yu Dynasty was founded eight hundred years ago."
"After the first Commander died, this saber has been hidden in the Great Yu Dynasty's treasury."
"This saber has been collecting dust for hundreds of years; it can't keep collecting dust forever."
... "Princess, you are truly generous. To get this saber, you even went to the Imperial Palace to beg His Majesty. Only because His Majesty dotes on you could you obtain this saber; other princesses wouldn't be able to get it," Summer Lotus sighed: "If I had known that the reward you were giving was this saber, it would have been better to just give 1 million taels of silver directly."
"Look at your money-grubbing face, giggle, giggle..."
Princess Mingzhu raised her hand and pinched Summer Lotus's slightly chubby face.
Summer Lotus: "Princess, if you were just giving this saber, you could have sent someone to deliver it. Why did you go to such great lengths to replace that Bai Shiqi and come on this trip yourself?"
A hint of curiosity and anticipation flashed in Princess Mingzhu's beautiful smile:
"Gao Shihan's death and Nanny Yi's death were both very strange, difficult cases to investigate, but Lu Zhenghai figured them out, and in a very short amount of time."
"I specifically looked for the case files to review, and the more I read, the more I felt that Lu Zhenghai was a detective among detectives."
"It has piqued my curiosity a bit."
"I'm taking this opportunity to see firsthand how Lu Zhenghai investigates cases."
"Also, Father seems to attach great importance to the Escort Agency Case case, so my coming along can also be considered helping Father share his worries."
... At this point, Princess Mingzhu's exquisite face suddenly turned serious: "Qiu Hen, Summer Lotus, you are not allowed to tell Mu Wan that I am accompanying Lu Zhenghai to Tianmu Bamboo Forest today, do you hear me?"
"Hehe, are you afraid Miss Pei will misunderstand that you want to snatch her man?" Qiu Hen said with a teasing look.
"Hmph, I'm not interested in men. No man is as good as my little kitty Snowball..."
Princess Mingzhu snorted, a bit haughty, then her mood dropped by three points.
Stinky Snowball, your mommy misses you so much that I dream of you when I sleep at night. Where are you?
About two or three hours later, "Stop and rest for two incense sticks' time!" Chief Huang suddenly shouted.
One hundred and sixty-seven li was a bit far, so a short rest in the middle would be more conducive to the speed and efficiency of their ride.
After stopping to rest.
Princess Mingzhu's carriage drove up beside Lu Zhenghai.
"Young Master Lu, please come into the carriage for a chat," Princess Mingzhu said.
Lu Zhenghai was a bit speechless.
He really didn't want to have any contact with Princess Mingzhu... I saved your life, and got no benefit at all. I might as well have saved a dog.
He, Lu Zhenghai, had always been the one to take advantage of others; when had anyone ever taken advantage of him, Lu Zhenghai?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, yet he couldn't do anything about Princess Mingzhu, so of course he didn't want to see her.
"No time for a chat," Lu Zhenghai said coldly.
"Giggle... No time for a chat? Then I won't give you your reward!"
Princess Mingzhu's charming yet slightly heroic voice was full of playfulness.
Lu Zhenghai's expression changed, a mix of surprise and delight. With almost no hesitation, he directly ducked into the carriage.
Not far away, Huang Xiu had a look of questioning reality on his face.
What did he see???
Holy cow.
Brother Lu got into that mysterious woman's carriage?
Although in the Great Yu Dynasty, because it was a high-martial ancient era, not a low-martial ancient era, the separation between men and women was not extremely strict.
But a woman's carriage was also a relatively private place, not that easy to just enter, right?
The key was, along the way, he hadn't seen Lu Zhenghai and that mysterious woman exchange any words!
And then he just... just got into the carriage?
Brother Lu's skill with women was legendary; he won over Pei Muwan in a few days, who else could do that?!
But it couldn't be to the point where this mysterious woman, whom he had never met or spoken to, would fall for him, could it?
It's too outrageous!