Prince Yi was a scholar. He and his younger brother, the late Emperor, were indeed brothers. However, Prince Yi was born of a concubine, not the Empress, and thus the throne was beyond his reach. Despite this, he was not an ambitious man. On the contrary, he was very fond of his younger brother and dedicated himself to protecting the kingdom for him. When the dynasty’s borders were unstable, Prince Yi fought alongside Grand General Ji to repel enemies on the frontier. After Grand General Ji passed away, Prince Yi stationed himself permanently at the border to deter enemy nations. His sudden return to the Capital City now was not merely due to the warning from the Celestial Dao. Naturally, it was also because his beloved imperial nephew was approaching his twenty-fifth birthday yet remained without a consort. Furthermore, rumors claimed he was still a virgin, a matter of great concern to Prince Yi. "Is that girl the Eldest Princess whom His Majesty personally ennobled from among the commoners?" Prince Yi asked the Empress Dowager, looking at Xiaosuisui, who was being carried by Dafeng. Empress Dowager Xiao nodded. "Exactly. She is the Eldest Princess personally invested by the Emperor, with the title Chang Rongshun Shunhe. Imperial Brother, this child, she..." The Empress Dowager hesitated, wondering whether to tell her elder brother about this little girl’s special qualities. However, she then heard Prince Yi remark, "This child is quite remarkable!" "Naturally!" the Empress Dowager said proudly, a look of ’that’s my family’s child’ on her face. Suddenly, her gaze shifted to Prince Yi. "Imperial Brother, have you met this child before?" "I have! Just before I entered the Palace, this child thrashed several arrogant bullies. Her lightness skill is also quite good." "Arrogant bullies?" Empress Dowager Xiao was astonished. This Suisui knows how to stand up for the wronged too? "Yes! It was at a pharmacy. They seemed to have stolen something from a young man. When the young man went to ask for it back, they beat him half to death. Suddenly, a tiny girl descended from the sky and gave those people a thorough beating..." Prince Yi recounted to the Empress Dowager exactly what he had witnessed in front of Li’s Pharmacy. The Empress Dowager was overjoyed. "Excellent! That’s the true spirit of our Royal Family!" Prince Yi’s mouth twitched. So, beating people up is the Royal Family’s spirit? The Empress Dowager is laying the praise on a bit thick! And she’s flattering her own Royal Family at that! 「In the Imperial Study」 "Are you certain there’s a Gu Insect in Xie Yingying’s body?" the young Emperor asked Ji Youzhi, surprised. Ji Youzhi affirmed, "There’s no mistake!" "The Xie Family truly is connected to Nanjiang!" murmured the young Emperor. "Have you found that Mr. Wu?" Ji Youzhi shook his head. He had searched high and low throughout the Capital City, practically turning it upside down, but hadn’t found even a shadow of Mr. Wu. "After interrogating the Lin Family, I immediately went to search for this Mr. Wu. All I found was Xie Yingying, unconscious in a small farmhouse outside the city. Mr. Wu himself had long since fled." The young Emperor’s expression was grave. "You must find this Mr. Wu for Us!" Ji Youzhi nodded. "Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will definitely find a way to locate him. He is most likely connected to the Gu Insect case from eleven years ago!" "The Gu Insect case from eleven years ago... was it truly related to the Xie Family?" There were very few clues about the Gu Insect case from eleven years ago. For eleven years, there had been no new information regarding the whereabouts of old General Ji and the Eldest Princess. If not for the sudden reappearance of Gu Insects connected to the Xie Family, he feared this matter might have been forgotten forever. "Although there’s no direct evidence pointing to the Xie Family," Ji Youzhi continued, "in terms of timing, only this Mr. Wu appeared around that critical period." From a chronological standpoint, this Mr. Wu and the Gu Insects involving Xie Si and his father were not only present at that specific time but had appeared in the Capital City even earlier. Ji Youzhi was confident that as long as he could continue investigating, he would definitely uncover the full truth! ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel•fire.net As Ji Youzhi was thinking this, he heard a bird’s chirp, followed by the cheerful laughter of his precious niece. "Dafeng, Feifei... Feifei..." Ji Youzhi couldn’t help but rub his ears, puzzled. Strange. Have I been away from home for so long that I’m starting to hallucinate? I actually heard Suisui’s voice!