Chapter 319 Accompanying the Crown Prince on Important Matters
The crown prince refused to hug the dirty ball, but instead handed her over to Liang Shi.
Her face is barely clean enough to be poked!
The prince tested the feel of the hand, then quickly withdrew it after a sharp "duang," and asked righteously, "What are you doing here?"
Chiu Chiu felt guilty, her eyes darting around. She couldn't very well say that she crawled out through a dog hole because she was afraid of being beaten. That would be too undignified.
She tucked her hands into her pockets and ignored everyone.
The prince poked the little girl's soft cheek again, "Speak."
Chiu Chiu glanced at him, then declared confidently, "I don't... use... any laws!"
Liang Shi: "..." Little ancestor, didn't you say that quite 'fluently'?
The crown prince was amused by her antics and gave her a hard whack on the forehead. Her fair forehead immediately turned red. Chirp, feeling wronged, covered her head, tears welling in her eyes: "You're bad!"
Crown Prince: "If you don't discipline someone for three days, they'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles!"
Chirp was huffing and puffing, but she was powerless to refute it.
Because that's what her mother said too.
Could it be...?
[Male Mom!]
Crown Prince: What the hell?!
"Liang Shi, escort Princess Roujia back. Tell Marquis Wenyang and his wife that things are not safe in the city lately, and they should not let her go out casually."
The matter of Yan Jiamu has sparked endless debate in the court, and Su Junyao and his son must be having a headache lately. This little guy should probably behave himself.
As Liang Shi turned around while holding her, Qiuqiu hooked her fingers around the prince's clothes and held on tightly, refusing to let go.
The same familiar movements...
The prince sighed, “You’d better give me a good reason, or you must go home.”
Liang Shi was surprised. Did the Crown Prince understand chirping so well now?
Chiu Chiu wanted to protect her bottom, but then she realized that would expose it! So, the clever girl found herself a legitimate reason—"To protect Tiger Mud!"
The prince's lips twitched. "Chiu Chiu is so filial?"
Chuchu: "Mmm!"
"Since Qiuqiu is so kind to me, I can't let you down. Shall we go now?"
Liang Shi was greatly surprised: "Your Highness!"
They came this time because they had found the person who tampered with the grain supplies last time. They used Jin Fengnian as bait and tracked him down. This trip was to bring them all to justice.
Bringing Chuchu along? That's too dangerous!
Your Highness is foolish!
Chiu Chiu opened her arms, wanting the prince to hug her, and shamelessly asked for payment: "Hug Chiu Chiu, and I'll protect you!"
The Crown Prince chuckled: "Protection fees?"
Chuchu gave a loud "Mmm," and declared, "I'm the boss!"
The Crown Prince was somewhat surprised. In just a few days, Qiuqiu's speech had indeed become much more fluent. Although her pronunciation was unclear, it was far more fluent than that of his sister who liked to pretend to be profound.
"Alright, let Boss Qiuqiu protect me today. Liang Shi, send someone to tell the people at the Marquis's residence that Qiuqiu has been taken away by me."
Chuchu was lucky; these people were cunning, and their hiding place was very well concealed. He admitted that he had intended to use Chuchu. However, judging from her excited expression, she seemed to like it.
Crown Prince: Today's merit -1
Liang Shi, as expected of the Crown Prince's confidant, immediately understood his master's meaning. He looked at Chiu Chiu, who was laughing like a child stomping on trumpets, with a complex expression. This kid is just too young!
Chirp: Do you really think I'm stupid?!
Chiu Chiu isn't stupid; it's the one who's truly stupid who thinks she's stupid.
If they dared to arrest her on the street just now, they'll dare to kill her in the future!
What is the little fish's task now?
Hold the thigh!
What could be more powerful than the current crown prince, the future ruler of the country, having such a powerful backer!
[Chirp is super good at finding people!]
The prince's expression shifted slightly. He didn't know when he had suddenly been able to vaguely hear the baby's soft, babyish voice. At first, he thought he was ill, but the voice became clearer and clearer, especially when it was close to the baby.
Finally, amidst Qiuqiu's smug flattery and daily boasting about how great she was, he became certain that he could truly hear her innermost thoughts.
Do you know what we're going to do?
Looking for someone? How did she know we were looking for someone?
Chirp looked up and around, "Everyone here smells of people. What else would I look for but loneliness?"
Humanity?
That nose...
The prince found it amusing, tapped her nose, and chuckled, "Little dog nose."
Chiu Chiu corrected: "Fish!"
The prince was puzzled. Why was this child so convinced of his stone donkey?
Chirp chirp: Accents are killing the little fish!
When Qiuqiu went straight to the Crown Prince's command post, she had no idea that his whole family was frantically searching for her.
The Marquis's residence was located in the most bustling part of the capital, near the East and West Second Streets. Whether one went out the front gate or slipped away through the back gate, someone would see them.
Yun Jinglan immediately led the servants of the manor to search for him, and sure enough, someone recognized Dirty Bun Fatty.
Following the directions of the rouge stall owner, they found Old Zhang, who was sweating profusely with anxiety.
"How could they have gotten lost? Where are they? Where are they?"
How worried her family must be if the child is lost. Old Zhang felt guilty and didn't go home, instead searching the neighborhood. He happened to run into Yun Jinglan, who was also looking for the child.
"Grandpa, I heard you found a child on the street?" Yun Jinglan gestured. "About this tall, all dirty. After cleaning him up, he's barely presentable."
Old Zhang was dumbfounded. The noblewoman in front of him was accompanied by more than a dozen servants; she was clearly someone he couldn't afford to offend. If he were blamed for losing someone's child, he'd be in deep trouble!
Old Zhang's legs went weak and he knelt down, about to kowtow to Yun Jinglan and beg for mercy. Qiu Yue reached out and helped him up, saying, "Old man, my lady is very worried because she is missing. There is no need to be nervous. As long as you can find my lady, the Marquis's mansion will reward you handsomely."
An ordinary person would be overjoyed to hear of the Marquis's generous reward, but Old Zhang was filled with thoughts of utter ruin!
Who in the capital doesn't know about Princess Roujia of the Wenyang Marquis's mansion? I actually lost her!
For the sake of his family's lives, Old Zhang pushed Qiu Yue's hand away and quickly begged for mercy: "Please, Madam, have mercy! The county princess disappeared in the blink of an eye!"
Yun Jinglan was startled: "Old lady, please get up and tell me, where is Qiuqiu?"
Old Zhang recounted the whole story, and the owner of the rouge stall testified that he wasn't a bad person. He wiped the large beads of sweat from his brow, his vision blurring, "The county princess just suddenly disappeared!"
Without anyone noticing!
Yun Jinglan believed this was something her daughter was capable of. The old man had kindly taken her in, and if she couldn't sit still and ended up getting lost, she couldn't blame the old man.
"Grandpa, it's not your fault. But could you please think carefully about which direction Qiuqiu might have gone? Or what happened before he disappeared?"
Old Zhang sets up his stall here every day. Nothing special happens, except...
He reported truthfully: "Business was exceptionally good today. In the blink of an eye, the county magistrate disappeared."
Yun Jinglan had people search everywhere, and when they found that Old Zhang was quite frightened, she gave Qiuyue some silver to appease him.
Old Zhang, having lost someone's child, dared not accept the money and refused. But someone else was eyeing it, and while he was refusing, a young man in black appeared out of nowhere.
"Madam! I don't want this money, please give it to me! I know the whereabouts of the county princess."
Yun Jinglan frowned: "What do you know?"
The young man in black was the same one whose stall Suotu had overturned earlier. His gaze lingered on the money pouch for a moment. Qiu Yue immediately raised her voice, "If you can really provide information about my lord's whereabouts, money is no problem!"
"That's good." The vendor was angry when he thought of Suotu, and he embellished the story of how Suotu chased a child and smashed his stall. "Isn't this bullying? These Turks not only bully us common people, but they also bully the county magistrate. Isn't this just looking down on our Great Zhou and riding on our heads?"
The people around were talking excitedly, and they all seemed to be so indignant that they wanted to rush to the post station and throw rotten vegetable leaves at the Turkic envoy.
Yun Jinglan asked in confusion, "How did you know they were Turkic envoys?"
Vendor: "With that big iron tag on him, I guessed it was him right away. You don't believe me... I have a stall downstairs from Yunxiang Restaurant. The shopkeeper saw it too. Why don't you go ask him?"
Yun Jinglan was afraid that Qiuqiu would fall into their hands, so she had Qiuyue distribute silver and immediately take people to the post station to demand her return!
"Chirp must not get hurt!"
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