Chapter 12 Who's Gone Mad? The Fish's Gone Mad

Xie Mianmian sat on her horse, swaying back and forth as she strained to look at both sides of the bridge, only to see red ribbons fluttering in the wind on both sides.

Xie Huaijin pressed the child down and whispered, "Don't move, did you grow a tail on your butt?"

Xie Mianmian, having failed to find a solution, could only turn to the system for help: "Little Bucket, where could the explosives be?"

The system guided her: "The bridge is only so big, and if it's not on either side, where could it be?"

Xie Mianmian was afraid the bridge would explode immediately, so she put her index and middle fingers together and pressed them against the solar system on both sides, turning her little head around as fast as she could.

"Ah! I've got it, it's under the bridge!"

System: "Congratulations, you answered correctly."

Upon hearing this, Xie Mianmian quickly put her hands together and muttered, "Little fish, swish your tail and help Mianmian destroy the explosives~ wet all the explosives under the bridge with water so they can't explode."

Xie Huaijin stroked the child's head and pulled him back into her arms. "What are you babbling about, little one?"

Suddenly, a loud splashing sound came from under the bridge, making a lot of noise.

The onlookers on both sides pointed to the bottom of the bridge and exclaimed in surprise, "The fish have gone mad!"

Xie Huaijin raised his right hand and made a gesture, and the group immediately stopped. He then called over a member of the Imperial Guard to go under the bridge to see what was going on.

The Northern Rong delegation had not yet crossed the bridge when they noticed something amiss. A burly Northern Rong man rode up on horseback and taunted, "What's wrong? Are all the people of Great Zhou so cowardly and afraid of trouble?"

Xie Huaijin remained expressionless, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "It is my duty; please have the delegation wait a moment."

Soon, the Imperial Guard returned from his investigation and whispered a few words to Xie Huaijin.

Xie Huaijin's expression changed at first, but he quickly returned to normal. He gave a few instructions and then waved his hand, signaling the team to continue moving forward.

The man hiding in the shadows couldn't wait any longer. Seeing that his plan had been exposed, he hastily devised another scheme. He took out a poisoned needle from his sleeve and blew it into the two horses several times.

Lieyan, who was walking on the bridge, suddenly let out a painful howl, kicking its hind legs incessantly. Xie Huaijin could only hold the reins tightly with one hand and hold Xie Mianmian with the other as they bounced on the horse's back.

The black horse of the northern Rong man next to him also started jumping wildly as if he were going mad.

Xie Mianmian hugged the horse's neck tightly, soothing its face, "Lieyan, what's wrong?"

"Mianmian, I feel like I've been pricked in the butt, it hurts so much!"

"Flame, don't move yet, let me help you look for it."

Despite the excruciating pain, Lieyan tried his best to calm down.

Xie Mianmian twisted her body backward and reached for the spot Lieyan had indicated. She indeed felt a sharp protrusion, and with a forceful pull, Lieyan let out another scream.

She held up the needle for her third brother to see. Xie Huaijin's pupils contracted. He took the poisoned needle, examined it carefully, and then wrapped it up gently.

On the other side, the burly man was thrown off by the crazed black horse, which was about to trample him.

At this moment, Xie Huaijin leaped onto the mad horse, yanked the reins with his left hand, and the horse neighed loudly, raising its front hooves high. The man quickly rolled away.

The boy's long, slender feet were firmly planted on the horse's saddle, his strong waist pressed against the horse's back, adapting to the horse's ups and downs.

He reached behind him with his right hand and finally found the protruding silver needle. He pulled it out forcefully, and the black horse slowly stopped its restlessness.

"Wow!" Cheers and applause erupted from the nearby crowd, interspersed with occasional exclamations of surprise.

"That man is amazing! Incredible!"

"I was like that in my younger days!"

"I wonder whose young man he is, and whether he is married or not?"

That night, the spirited young man appeared in the dreams of countless people.

Xie Mianmian sat on Lieyan's back, hugging the horse's neck, proudly raising her head to accept the people's praise, feeling honored.

Xie Huaijin dismounted and returned the horse to the man, saying, "We will give the delegation an explanation later."

The man clenched his right fist and pounded his chest in a gesture of respect from the Northern Rong people. “Thank you for saving my life. You are truly a hero among young men. Your horsemanship is excellent. Let’s have a contest later.”

"It's a deal." Xie Huaijin raised his fist and bumped it with the man's.

After a series of close calls, they finally arrived safely at the palace. The people from the Ministry of Rites were all relieved; the situation they had just witnessed was truly terrifying. Fortunately, Xie Huaijin managed to keep his composure, otherwise, it would have been a disgrace to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Xie Huaijin instructed the Imperial Guards to keep a close watch on the delegation, while he took Xie Mianmian to the Ministry of Justice to find his elder brother.

The Ministry of Justice, the side hall of the Department of Cautious Punishment.

Xie Huaijin took out a black cloth package and placed it on the long table. When he unfolded it, he saw that it contained a package of explosives that had been soaked with water.

With a grave expression, he said to his elder brother, "Someone has placed explosives under the bridge we must cross."

Xie Linyuan frowned, his long, slender fingers carefully examining the explosives on the table.

"Fortunately, the fish under the bridge were unusually active, which soaked the explosives, otherwise..."

Xie Huaijin was puzzled by the fish's madness, but he continued to talk about the anomalies he had discovered during his investigation: "Someone used the red ribbons tied to the bridge as cover to run an extremely long explosive fuse. The explosive went through the entire bridge, and the fuse head was finally found in a hidden place on the shore."

"As long as that person secretly lights the fuse after we've all crossed the bridge, we're doomed. Not only might we endanger the onlookers, but there are also many high-ranking officials and important envoys from the Northern Rong on the bridge..."

If anything goes wrong, the Xie family will become the enemy of the entire Great Zhou and the Northern Rong!

Xie Huaijin's face was tense. "When the thieves realized that their plan had failed, they shot poisoned needles into the horses, causing them to go berserk and nearly trample a Northern Rong man to death."

He then took out a silver needle wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket, opened it, and placed it beside Xie Linyuan.

Xie Linyuan silently picked up the silver needles and examined them carefully under the sunlight.

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Linyuan said, "Making explosives requires a large amount of saltpeter, which is strictly controlled. It would be easy to find clues if we checked."

"As for this poisoned needle, it is mostly used by people in the martial arts world, which can be verified."

Upon hearing this, Xie Huaijin breathed a sigh of relief. With his elder brother around, what mystery couldn't be solved!

"Luckily, my little sister was here today; she was the one who discovered the poisoned needle immediately." Xie Huaijin lifted Xie Mianmian up by her armpits with both hands. "Mianmian is truly my lucky star!"

Xie Huaijin kissed his little sister's cheek twice.

Hahahaha~

Xie Mianmian giggled as her arm was pinched, and the originally dull and oppressive Shenxing Division was filled with the sound of a child's silvery laughter.

Xie Huaijin put the child down. "Alright, you should go to school now. You can't neglect your studies."

It was too dangerous around him; he was afraid, afraid that he couldn't protect her.

"don't want!"

"I don't care if you want it or not." Xie Huaijin cupped his hands to his elder brother, grabbed the child by the collar, and strode away.

Even after walking a distance, Xie Linyuan could still hear the siblings bickering from time to time. He sighed and thought to himself, "These kids are so carefree. Oh well, if the sky falls, I, as the eldest brother, will hold it up."

Several days later, Xie Mianmian returned to Wenhua Palace after a long absence and sat next to the Sixth Princess.

The sixth princess glanced at her and said, "So you've finally decided to come back?"