Time passed and the season changed. The cold season ended. The snow has melted, and trees and early flowers are pushing through the ground. Jiang Xiao Tian stood at the pavilion with his gaze looking towards the flower that has begun to sprout. His hand clenched on the piece of paper in his hand tightly. Earlier today, his men brought him investigation reports.
After months of investigating, his men could not find out the link between Chancellor Chen and the envoy from Western Zhou. It seemed that other than the time he saw Chancellor Chen's man, Xiao Bai together with Tang Xin near the port months ago, they never had any other interaction. There was no movement from Chancellor Chen's side.
Just now, another report came back. The group that went to search for the lost tribe met another dead end.
Not long ago, they received news that one of the descendants of the tribe escaped the calamities and escaped to Qian Rong. They received a few clues, but once they followed the leads, it took them to another dead end. It was as if the descendant they were looking for has disappeared from the earth.
Jiang Xiao Tian has been tracking after the Nanlin Tribe for years under the Emperor's command. The Nanlin Tribe live in seclusion deep in the forest of Sui Country. Because they were mostly associated with poison and practices of magic, a lot of people feared them. However, the number of people who would look for them was not small either. Some of them would look for them to cause harm, and some would seek them to cure.
Before the tribe disappeared, it was said that the Nanlin Tribe had a dispute with the imperial family of Sui country. Because of this, the Sui gathered their army and massacred the entire tribe. None of them were spared, even the kids and the elderly.
When they first found out that the Princess was poisoned, and Han Zhenting had suggested to the Emperor to search for the Nanlin Tribe. As long as someone could figure out what kind of poison was in the Princess' body, it will be easier for them to heal the princess. However, because they know nothing about the poison, they could only search for those rare herbs.
Jiang Xiao Tian snapped out of his thought when he sensed that someone was approaching him. He placed the paper on the fire and watched it burned. Seconds later, Jiang Xiao Xian entered the room. "Elder Brother, you're home," Xiao Tian greeted.
Jiang Xiao Xian nodded. "I only came back to change my clothes. I'm heading out again to inspect the hunting ground when I saw you here."
Jiang Xiao Tian looked at his brother's haggard face. Due to the approaching Spring Hunt, Xiao Xian has been working day and night without much rest. Right now, his clothes looked neat and clean. However, there was a small white spot on his shoulder. "Elder Brother, it seems that you may have to change your clothes again," Xiao Tian spoke as he pointed towards the white spots.
"What?" Xiao Xian frowned when he saw the white spots. A few months ago, his wife, Wen Ji gave birth to a healthy baby boy. After he changed to new clothes, Xiao Xian visited his son and played with the baby for a while. His son must have spit out some milk when he was carrying him.
Xiao Xian took out a handkerchief and wiped the stains. He noticed the ashes on the table and quickly understood what Xiao Tian was doing there. "Any good news?"
Xiao Tian forced a smile. "I may have to go away again after Mingyue's wedding."
"Where are you going this time?"
"I don't know yet." Xiao Tian stood up to clear the ashes on the table. "I heard Her Highness has been practicing riding and archery recently. How is Her Highness archery skill?" he tried to steer the conversation away before Xiao Xian asked him questions he could not answer.
Xiao Xian thought over it and replied, "It's not bad. I suppose with her current skill; she may catch something. Even if she did not catch anything, that's not bad too. The princes will try to catch something for her. After all, they are joining the Spring Hunt to impress the princess."
Jiang Xiao Tian chuckled at his brother's answer. The smile on his face gradually disappeared. "Keep your eyes close on Chen's family," Xiao Tian reminded. "If anyone wanted to hurt the princess, they will find a chance to do so during the Spring Hunt."
"As for now, the hunting area is under my watch. No one could go in or out before the Spring Hung commences. Don't worry. I will make sure nothing bad will happen during the Spring Hunt," Xiao Xian said. "I still wanted to keep my position as a General."