Within a few days, the envoy team to Wu Miao returned to Beijing.

The Minister of Honglu Temple did not even go home, but went straight to the palace to meet the emperor.

"Minister Ma has been in Wumiao for several months. How is the situation there?" After a few days of respite, Emperor Jingming still had not recovered much. He was numb all over. Only the return of the Minister of Honglu Temple and others made him perk up a little.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites did not know about the Crown Prince yet. He was secretly surprised to see Emperor Jingming looking old and tired, so he picked out interesting things in the south to tell him.

The more Emperor Jingming listened, the darker his face became.

So he sent these people to Wumiao just to let them go for fun?

Thinking about the darkness of that period and then looking at the beaming Honglu Temple Minister, Emperor Jingming had the urge to throw the paper of punishment in his face.

Pan Hai saw that the situation was not good and coughed lightly.

The Minister of Honglu Temple glanced at Pan Hai out of the corner of his eye and was startled when he saw Pan Hai shaking his head slightly.

Oh no! I wanted to please the emperor, but I ended up flattering the wrong person.

Come to think of it, how come the emperor has aged so much after not seeing him for more than half a year?

No, when he walked into the palace, the whole palace was eerily quiet, something was really wrong.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites secretly made up his mind and immediately inquired about the current situation in the capital after leaving the palace.

Could it be that he couldn't keep up after only being away from Beijing for half a year?

Seeing that the Minister of Honglu Temple had lowered his voice, Emperor Jingming calmed down a little and asked, "What is the attitude of the Wu Miao people towards you?"

"Reporting to the emperor, the Wu Miao people were very polite to us and did not neglect our hospitality..."

Emperor Jingming listened to the Minister of the Honglu Temple for more than half an hour, but did not hear any valuable information. He said expressionlessly: "My dear Ma, you have traveled a long way. Go back home and have a good rest."

The Minister of the Honglu Temple secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I will take my leave."

After the Minister of the Ministry of Rites left, Emperor Jingming immediately said to Pan Hai, "Go to Kunning Palace later and ask the Queen to summon the Princess of Yan. I have something to tell her."

Pan Hai agreed immediately.

"Ask Han Ran to come in."

During this diplomatic mission to Wumiao, the Minister of the Honglu Temple and others were in the open, and the Jinlin Guards were also mixed in to facilitate secret investigations.

Soon Han Ran came in with a subordinate, who was the leader of the Jinlin Guard who led the team to Wu Miao.

"I have seen the emperor."

Emperor Jingming raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "No need to be polite. Have you found Elder Hua's grandson in Wu Miao?"

Elder Hua, who had run a small shop in the capital for more than ten years, was escaped from the imperial prison, which made Emperor Jingming unable to let it go.

Han Ran's subordinates replied, "Your Majesty, we have not found any trace of Elder Hua's ancestors in Wu Miao."

Emperor Jingming frowned.

There are only two possibilities for not discovering the whereabouts of Elder Hua's ancestors. One is that the Wu Miao tribe knew very well what Elder Hua and his people had done in the capital, and when they saw the envoys from the Great Zhou coming, they hid Elder Hua's ancestors. The other possibility is that Elder Hua's ancestors are still in the Great Zhou.

Whatever the possibility, it didn't make him feel better.

"Is there anything unusual with Wu Miao?" Emperor Jingming asked this question with a bit of dejection in his voice.

Why do things become confusing when it comes to Wu Miao? Will he really gain anything if he sends Jinlinwei to investigate Wu Miao in the diplomatic team?

Emperor Jingming had no hope, but Han Ran's subordinates' answer gave him a surprise.

"Reporting to the emperor, we have been in Wu Miao for several months, and happened to catch up with the Wu Miao triennial grand ceremony of worshipping the gods, but the Wu Miao Saint did not show up."

Emperor Jingming couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

The Wu Miao people were neighbors of the Great Zhou and possessed mysterious powers. Emperor Jingming had long been familiar with some of the Wu Miao customs.

The triennial worship of the gods is a grand event in Wu Miao. The ceremony is always presided over by the great elder of Wu Miao, and the saint serves as the worshipper.

It is indeed very unusual that the saint did not show up on such a grand occasion.

"Go on."

Han Ran's subordinates continued, "Because the Saint did not show up at the sacrificial ceremony, many Wu Miao people seemed uneasy. I even accidentally saw an elder arguing with another elder, questioning why the Saint had been in seclusion for several years and had not been seen for a long time..."

"So, the fact that the Wu Miao Saint didn't show up has made the Wu Miao people uneasy?"

Han Ran's subordinate nodded: "That's right. Although the Wu Miao elders tried their best to cover it up because we were there, the uneasiness seemed to spread. I could clearly feel the Wu Miao people's anxiety, and some even gathered together and clamored to see the Saint."

"Have you found out when Saint Wu Miao stopped showing up?"

"I heard from a Wu Miao girl that the Wu Miao Saint hasn't appeared in public for at least three years."

"What about other anomalies?"

Han Ran's subordinate shook his head: "I am stupid and didn't notice anything else unusual."

Emperor Jingming smiled and said, "You have done a good job. Han Ran, this is a good choice."

Han Ran said hurriedly: "Your Majesty is kind, it just so happens that he knows some Wu Miao language..."

To be a good spy, brute force alone is not enough, one must also study hard. It was worth it that he selected a group of smart young people to learn foreign languages ​​from the people of Honglu Temple two years ago. Finally, their knowledge came in handy.

Seeing that he could not get any more information out of him, Emperor Jingming nodded slightly.

Han Ran's subordinates hurriedly retreated.

Emperor Jingming looked at Pan Hai and Han Ran and asked in a deep voice, "What do you think?"

Pan Hai and Han Ran looked at each other.

After a while, Han Ran said, "I think something has happened to Saint Wu Miao. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable for her not to show up for such an important event as the sacrifice to the gods."

The status of the Wu Miao Saint is equal to that of the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou, or even more important. If the Saint fails to show up, it will not only cause anxiety among the tribe members, but also attract the covetousness of foreign tribes.

"How many of our people are left there?" Emperor Jingming asked again.

Han Ran said hurriedly: "Six people were left behind, but they all turned into ordinary merchants and have not shown up since the beginning."

The Wu Miao people stick together, and their population is small, so if an outsider shows up in their territory, it will be very conspicuous and there is no way to hide it. The best way is to pretend to be a border civilian, so that you have a chance to interact with them.

"Tell them to keep a close eye on Wu Miao, especially on matters related to the Wu Miao Saint, and report any developments immediately."

"yes."

Emperor Jingming rubbed his brows and said, "Pan Hai, let's go to Kunning Palace."

Pan Hai went to Kunning Palace and told the Queen that the Emperor wanted to meet Princess Yan.

The queen was slightly startled and nodded in response.

The Princess of Yan is not like the other princes. It would be too conspicuous for the Emperor to summon her, so it would naturally be more convenient to go through her.

Jiang Si soon received a summons from the Queen.

Yu Jin was a little unhappy: "Why did the Queen summon you for no reason?"

The palace has been quite stormy lately, and he didn't want Asituo to go there.

Jiang Si smiled and said, "You'll know when you get there. Stop looking so gloomy. The Queen wants to see me. Can I refuse?"

Yu Jin pursed his lips and muttered, "Above the Crown Prince is the Empress, and above the Empress are the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. It's really frustrating to think about it."