The capital city of Yongding is located in the northern part of the Great Zhou. Almost every winter, there is a snow season that lasts for at least a month. During this time, the world is covered in ice and snow, and the plants wither away. As a result, the nobles and officials in Yongding have nothing much to do for entertainment.
It wasn't until the end of the previous dynasty that the then - emperor, in order to make his favorite concubine smile, planted red plum trees all over Longshan.
Only then did the winters in Yongding City become lively.
As the sky gradually darkened, the crowd on Longshan began to disperse.
A little girl in a pink jacket and skirt, with delicate features, was still hopping around in the plum grove, picking red plum blossoms. Whenever she managed to reach a branch of plum blossoms, she would hand it to a younger - looking boy behind her.
She reminded him, "Xiaojiu, you must hold them tightly. If you drop these plum blossoms, Sister Zhao won't play with you anymore!"
The little boy's dark and bright eyes sparkled like stars. Tiny snowflakes clung to his long, thick eyelashes. He rubbed his red nose and nodded vigorously, saying, "Sister Zhao, don't worry. Jiu'er will surely protect the plum blossoms well!"
"Fortunately, Brother Five secretly brought us out. Those annoying followers aren't here. We must pick a lot of beautiful red plum blossoms today and show them to Father and Mother when we get back!" the little girl said excitedly, tilting her head back.
"And Jiu'er's mother!"
The little girl patted Xiaojiu's head. "I know, I know. Our Jiu'er is the most obedient and filial." As she said this, she spotted a plum tree in full bloom. She only had time to shout, "Protect the plum blossoms!" before running forward without looking back.
Xiaojiu hugged the plum blossoms and took short, quick steps, trying hard to keep up.
Not far away, a young man who had been admiring the plum blossoms alone turned his gaze back and just happened to see this scene. He quickly rushed forward to chase after them.
For some unknown reason, a group of people suddenly swarmed into the plum grove, where the crowd should have been dispersing. These people were laughing, dancing, and chatting. Some children were running around and bumping into each other. The happy conversations and the children's noisy voices mingled together, forming a wall of sound.
The young man had to dodge left and right, struggling to make his way through the crowd. By the time he finally got through, Xiaojiu was nowhere to be seen.
His heart sank suddenly, and his brows knitted tightly. "Qilin."
A man in black landed on the ground and knelt down, responding, "Your Highness."
"Where is Prince Nine?"
Qilin lowered his head. "Just now, when Prince Nine went to look for Princess Seven, a group of people suddenly appeared. Prince Nine got lost in the crowd. Qilin... Qilin wasn't vigilant enough and didn't keep up..."
"Useless!" the young man said angrily, looking ahead. "Immediately seal off Longshan. Not even a bird is allowed to fly out. Thoroughly investigate the origin of that group of people just now."
"Yes!"
"Call Princess Zhaoming and escort her back to the palace."
"Yes!" Knowing the urgency of the matter, Qilin didn't dare to waste a moment. He got up to call for the little girl, Princess Zhaoming.
The young man was in a turmoil of emotions. He thought that he shouldn't have brought Xiaojiu and Zhaoming out in the first place.
Xiaojiu was the son of Concubine Lian, who was the most favored by the emperor. If anything happened to her only child, wouldn't Concubine Lian come after him? If Zhaoming returned to the palace but Xiaojiu didn't show up, the emperor would surely find out. By then, not only would he be punished, but his mother would also be implicated.
Thinking of this, the young man quickly called out to Qilin, "Wait! Don't send Zhaoming back to the palace. Instead... send her to the Minister of War's mansion first."
Princess Zhaoming was the youngest daughter of Consort Zhao and the granddaughter of Minister Zhao. Only by leaving Zhaoming in the care of the Minister of War's mansion could he search for Xiaojiu with peace of mind.
At night, Longshan was extremely cold. The north wind, carrying the snow on the trees, howled through the mountains, leaving people with nowhere to hide.
The young man carried Zhaoming into the carriage and patiently comforted her for a few words before watching the carriage drive away.
Longshan had completely lost its daytime liveliness. The snow reflected the sky, so it wasn't completely dark. However, the cold seeped into one's bones, and no matter how thickly one was wrapped, one still felt cold all over.
The young man's heart sank deeper and deeper. At this moment, he didn't feel the cold in the mountains at all. As time passed, sweat even began to break out on his forehead.
He even started to wonder if he should go to Qin Mu, the magistrate of the capital. His own manpower was limited. With an extra helping hand in the search, the chances of finding Xiaojiu would increase.
"Prince Nine!"
In the ice and snow, this shout was particularly clear. The young man was shocked and quickly looked in the direction of the sound.
A man in black was running towards him, carrying a small body in his arms. The young man rushed forward quickly. The child in the man's arms had a red - frozen face, and there were still tears in his eyes.
Wasn't this Prince Nine?
As soon as Prince Nine saw him, he burst into tears, "Brother Five! Brother Five! Jiu'er is so scared!"
The young man nervously checked Xiaojiu's body. Only after confirming that he wasn't injured did he let out a sigh of relief. He motioned to the man, "Hurry and invite Doctor Chen to the Minister of War's mansion. We'll go to the minister's mansion and pick up Zhaoming on the way."
The man in black didn't dare to be negligent. He carried Xiaojiu into the carriage and then rode another horse ahead.
Sitting in the warm carriage, Prince Nine gradually stopped crying. The young man wiped his tears and gently asked, "Where did you go?"
Prince Nine rubbed his big eyes. There were still tears hanging on his long eyelashes. Because he had cried so hard just now, he was still sniffling.