Chapter 38 Treasure
But she was tightly embraced by a sweet and soft little cub.
The wolf's fierce, eerie green eyes peered behind it.
Xie Mianmian said softly, "Don't go, they will kill you."
The wolf dragged the child a few steps forward. It was no pushover; it was going to fight to the death today.
The guard shooting arrows in the distance said, "Your Highness, there seems to be a child behind that wolf."
The Third Prince waved his hand impatiently and said indifferently, "Kill." How could a wolf be with a child? Could it be a wolf cub it raised? Oh well, it doesn't matter.
Wait, a child! Could it be the Xie family's youngest daughter?
The third prince was about to stop them, but the guard's arrow had already been shot.
In a flash, he thought, if I die, so be it.
The arrow was fast and was about to hit the wolf, but it was still entangled with Xie Mianmian and seemed unaware that an arrow was coming at it.
Upon seeing this, the seventh prince leaped forward and blocked the child.
"Whoosh!" Another arrow shot from the side at great speed, piercing through the arrow flying towards the wolf and falling to the ground with a thud.
"Phew~" For a moment, all three parties secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Huaijin spurred his horse and galloped towards Xie Mianmian. Seeing that the child was alright, his tense heart finally relaxed.
He dismounted, nodded to the Seventh Prince, picked up Xie Mianmian with one hand, and checked the child's condition.
"Third Brother found me! I'm alright, hahaha."
Seeing that the child was in good spirits and seemed to be having a lot of fun, Xie Huaijin didn't know whether to be angry or amused.
Then came the sound of men and horses behind them.
Xie Linyuan rode over on horseback and saw Xie Mianmian jumping around, his icy expression gradually melting away.
Xie's father, who was standing to the side, loosened his grip on the reins and suddenly felt a chill; he was covered in cold sweat.
At the very back, the emperor, heavily guarded by his guards, sat upright on his horse and said, "It's good that we found the child. Oh, Xiao Qi, what are you doing here?"
The seventh prince bowed to the emperor and said, "Your subject just happened to be passing by."
Xie Huaijin, carrying the child, walked toward the Third Prince and said coldly, "Third Prince, if I'm not mistaken, the arrow that was just shot at my little sister was fired by your guard."
The Third Prince was taken aback. "Is that so?"
He glanced at the guard and secretly gave him a look, "Tell me, if it really was you who did it, I will never forgive you."
The guard immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to Xie Huaijin and the others, "Young Master Xie, please spare my life! I was blind! I was hunting wolves and didn't see Miss behind the wolves!"
The Third Prince was so angry that he cursed the guards, and then said to Xie Huaijin, "When we get back, I will definitely teach him a lesson and make him apologize to the Xie family."
Xie Huaijin coldly watched the master and servant in front of him singing in unison.
Xie Mianmian, who was in his arms, suddenly spoke up: "Third Prince, have you caught those two thieves?"
General Xiao, standing beside the emperor, was startled. "A thief has infiltrated the mountain? Please tell me the details, Your Highness."
The Third Prince was immediately drenched in sweat. How could he possibly explain that all of them, despite their numbers, failed to catch the thief, and that he himself had been punched hard by the thief?
He said gently to General Xiao, "I have inadvertently discovered the thieves' tracks and am currently pursuing them."
Xie Mianmian felt something was off when she heard this. The Third Prince wasn't wrong, but something was strange about it. The child couldn't figure it out and scratched his head in frustration.
All she could say to General Xiao was, "Mianmian knows they are tomb raiders, and they even dug a huge pit!"
"Oh?" The Emperor found it amusing. "Then how about Mianmian takes us to see it?"
Xie Mianmian didn't know the way, so she immediately looked at the Seventh Prince. The Seventh Prince shook his head, indicating that he had also forgotten, but he was sure it would know. He pointed to the wild wolf beside him.
Xie Mianmian stroked its head, and the wolf's paws gripped the ground tightly.
"Little wolf, take us to the deep pit, okay?"
The wolf gave the child a deep look, then silently turned and led the way.
The group followed the wolves to the deep pit, where they saw the giant ship that was half-buried.
"A miracle!" a guard murmured.
"Could this be the legendary tomb of the Azure Nether King?"
Someone next to him slapped him hard, "Whose grave would be a ship?"
"Then how did this giant ship end up stranded on the mountain?" The man scratched his head, looking puzzled.
General Xiao waved his hand, signaling the guards to go and investigate. "Your Majesty, according to the records of the ancient geomantic map, a great river flowed through this place a thousand years ago. It is likely that the boat sank into the river by accident at that time. Hundreds of years have passed, and the landscape has changed drastically. The riverbed at that time has become the Qinglong Mountain we see today."
"Hmm," the Emperor hummed in agreement.
At this moment, the captain of the guards who had been sent to search returned and reported, "There were no thieves down there, but we found many boxes at the bottom of the ship."
The guards carried up five large boxes in pairs. The boxes were sturdy and well-made, and even after a thousand years, they had not fallen apart.
General Xiao walked over and opened them one by one, revealing golden and silvery hues to his eyes.
After checking and finding no traps or poisons, he bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, please take a look."
The emperor walked slowly, and the crowd followed behind him, eagerly peering into the box.
The box was filled with all sorts of gorgeous and precious gold and silver jewelry, dazzling and making everyone's eyes light up with gold, leaving them stunned in place.
The third prince was surprised, followed by endless regret. Not long ago, he had collapsed in the nearby woods, completely unaware of the deep pit, thus wasting this golden opportunity.
His eyes were filled with greed and hatred. If he had discovered it earlier, he could have secretly hidden it away. Then he wouldn't have been bound by money anymore. Alas!
The Emperor was overjoyed. "Excellent!" With a wave of his hand, all these treasures were confiscated and added to the national treasury.
He took a round, translucent, milky-white bead, walked up to Xie Mianmian, handed the bead to the child, and said, "Mianmian behaved very well today. She didn't cry when she got lost, and she escaped unscathed when she encountered a thief. This is a reward from your uncle. Please accept it."
Children love receiving gifts, especially rewards, as they symbolize a child's honor.
Xie Mianmian accepted the beads with both hands and smiled sweetly at the Emperor, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Huang. Mianmian is so happy."
Xie Huaijin, a playboy from the capital, stared wide-eyed at the bead. If he wasn't mistaken, it should be a luminous pearl.
He reached out and touched the bead; it felt warm and smooth to the touch, radiating a slight warmth—it was actually a warm stone.
Xie Huaijin's pupils dilated. This was a rare warm stone luminous pearl, probably worth a fortune in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
With this bead, my little sister won't have to wear thick, bulky clothes in winter anymore, and she won't have to worry about getting cold. Maybe she won't even need to turn on the lights in her room.
Thinking this, Xie Huaijin couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
If even a single bead inside is so precious, there must be many treasures inside.
In front of the treasure chest, the Emperor was talking with General Xiao, and the two of them would occasionally glance at Xie Huaijin.
After the conversation, General Xiao walked up to Xie Huaijin and said, "Here is the Emperor's decree. Xie Huaijin, the third son of the Xie family, receives the decree."
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