Lost Property Returned

The moment Pan Yun opened her eyes, she met Tao Ji's eager, inquisitive face.

Seeing that she was awake, Tao Ji's eyes lit up. To avoid disturbing Xuan Miao, he deliberately lowered his voice. "Come here. Where did you pick up this child?"

Having already decided to go with them, Pan Yun naturally had no reason to hide such a thing. "At the gates of She County."

"You really did go to She County." Tao Ji's expression was hard to describe. "Were the two traffickers in the woods near Jiaozhang Port, who had been mauled by wild beasts, your handiwork?"

"You found them too?" Pan Yun nodded. "I did it. What kind of beast mauled them? Did they die?"

She frowned. "It would be bad if they died. I was counting on the authorities catching them and making them confess everyone they had abducted."

"They're not dead," Tao Ji said, "but they're close."

Tao Ji and Xuan Miao had raced all the way toward Datong. Xuan Miao's divination could not be used constantly, so whenever they ran for a while without finding Pan Yun, they had to calculate again. Each time, they discovered she had ended up farther south.

So the two of them turned back to search, stumbling through trial and error, searching, making another mistake, then searching again.

By the time they reached the area around Zhangde Prefecture, they heard of a strange incident between Anyang and She County.

Two traffickers had suffered retribution. Bound up in the wilderness, they were attacked by wild beasts at night. They had barely escaped with their lives, only to run headlong into a troop of officials escorting prisoners back.

These officials were all low-ranking soldiers, with little chance to establish merit. Who would have thought that before they even returned to Anyang, a merit would fall right into their laps?

Runan Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture had recently joined forces to crack down on traffickers. At such a time, catching traffickers was a merit; even finding clues about traffickers counted as one. So when the soldiers saw the words written on the backs of the two men's clothes, they pounced like wolves and tigers and pinned them down.

Merit had fallen from the heavens. Added to that, they had been attacked by wild beasts—one of the men had an arm torn off, and half his face gnawed away. The tale was steeped in legend, and it spread like wildfire around Anyang.

Tao Ji and Xuan Miao, passing by, overheard it and felt something was amiss, so they went to the county yamen to inquire.

Neither trafficker had seen who knocked them unconscious, but both suspected it was one of the young girls they had abducted, a young girl carrying a black cat.

Unfortunately, the county yamen did not believe them.

The County Magistrate and the yamen runners all believed they had encountered bandits. That little girl had most likely fallen into the bandits' hands as well, and her chances of survival were slim.

The county yamen had recently been searching for people around that area, frightening the road bandits so badly that they no longer dared show themselves.

The county yamen did not believe it, but Tao Ji and Xuan Miao did.

The two exchanged a look. At last, they had found Pan Yun's trail.

A thread, once its loose end was found, could be untangled no matter how snarled it was.

They had now grasped that loose end, then followed Pan Yun's tracks all the way here.

After proudly explaining how they had caught up with Pan Yun, Tao Ji warned her, "Even we could find your trail, let alone the Imperial Guards. So you'd best not run around and let them catch you."

An Imperial Guard had disappeared without explanation in the Capital City. It could be a major matter or a minor one. Not only Pan Yun, but even Sanqing Temple needed to be more careful.

Back then, Wang Yong had ridden after Pan Yun through the streets in broad daylight. So many people had seen it, and yamen runners and officials had helped search for her. How could no traces have been left behind?

Fortunately, Tao Ji and Xuan Miao had quietly taken her out of the Capital City, temporarily cutting off her trail there.

Pan Yun had not considered these things before. Now that the two had pointed them out, she began thinking much more. "What was the name of the temple we left from?"

"Tianning Temple," Tao Ji said.

"Won't the Imperial Guards trace you through Tianning Temple?" Pan Yun asked. "When we left, we saw an Imperial Guard enter the plum grove, and you happened to leave Tianning Temple afterward."

"They are monastics," Tao Ji said. "Monastics do not involve themselves in worldly affairs."

Pan Yun looked at him quietly.

Tao Ji returned her gaze in silence.

"Oh." Knowing that Tianning Temple would most likely not expose them, Pan Yun changed the subject and tipped her chin toward the child. "Since you're so good at calculating, find his parents and send him home."

Once he returned to his parents' side, the omen of dying young should be broken, right?

Tao Ji could not see any more information, so they could only wait for Xuan Miao to awaken.

When Xuan Miao woke up, her complexion had improved considerably. She lowered her head and carefully studied the child. Meeting his large, watery eyes, she said after a moment, "An Imperial Scion. Let's go back to Kaifeng Prefecture."

Tao Ji picked the child up.

Pan Yun picked up her black cat and frowned. "What imperial clan child is there in Kaifeng?"

"There is Prince Zhou in Kaifeng," Xuan Miao said.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Tao Ji knew she was a child and surely did not understand, so he explained in detail. "Prince Zhou is the son of the Founding Emperor's fifth son. The late Prince Zhou and Emperor Taizong were both legitimate sons. He is the current imperial clan's grand-uncle, and since they come from the same line, he is considered a very close member of the imperial clan."

So, Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson.

Pan Yun automatically reduced the relationship to its simplest form.

"Did their family lose a child?" Pan Yun asked.

"Since the end of last year, Runan Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture have jointly cracked down on traffickers," Xuan Miao said. "After spring began, the number of officers pursuing traffickers did not decrease but increased. Though there is no definite news, Prince Zhou's Mansion in Kaifeng likely lost a child."

Tao Ji nodded repeatedly, but halfway through, he suddenly froze. Now it was his turn to look bewildered. "Doesn't Prince Zhou have no sons? Where did Prince Zhou's Mansion get a child?"

Xuan Miao glanced at him. "Didn't you hear in the Capital City? Prince Zhou was gravely ill. Thinking of the father-son bond he once shared with his heir, he submitted a memorial asking the Emperor to return Zhu Zijin, the son of the commoner Zhu Youxian, to him as his heir. Because his plea was so sincere, the Emperor released Zhu Zijin, who had been confined in the Capital City, last year and allowed him to return to Kaifeng to visit Prince Zhou."

Tao Ji suddenly understood. He had heard that bit of gossip, but had not taken it to heart.

He looked down at the child in his arms, his eyes filled with sympathy. "Life in great households isn't easy either."

Xuan Miao nodded.

Pan Yun nodded in deep agreement.

She and the child had struggled while traveling north, but going south to Kaifeng was much easier.

Xuan Miao and Tao Ji finally became more generous. No longer insisting on traveling with only their two legs, they first led her by a roundabout route to a small dock and took a little boat downstream.

Then they disembarked at a county town where the gates were not managed too strictly.

After turning to look at Pan Yun for a while, Xuan Miao said, "To enter Kaifeng, you need a household registration and a travel permit."

Pan Yun silently looked at her.

Xuan Miao took her to a pawnshop.

Tao Ji spoke with one of the clerks inside. The clerk then led them to a small room, and before long brought over a stack of papers for them to choose from. "Here, these are all suitable household registrations. Between six and ten years old, boys and girls alike."

Pan Yun's mouth fell open.

Xuan Miao began selecting them carefully. Before long, she picked one out and asked, "Where is the owner of this one?"

The clerk glanced at it, took out a register, and flipped through it. Soon, he found the source. "Zhang Xiaomei, from Xiangfu County in Kaifeng. Born in the ninth year of Xuande, sold into slavery in the fifth year of Zhengtong, died of illness in the winter of the sixth year."

"We'll take hers," Xuan Miao said. "And arrange a travel permit for her as well."

Xuan Miao took out a silver ingot and set it on the table.

After one glance, the clerk closed the register. "Please wait a moment."

He took everything out. Before long, he returned with three sheets of paper. There was not only Zhang Xiaomei's household registration page and travel permit, but also her contract of sale.

Xuan Miao was very satisfied. This way, Pan Yun could be whatever identity she wished.

Pan Yun silently followed them out of the pawnshop.

"Many things can be pawned at a pawnshop," Xuan Miao said. "Naturally, many things can also be bought from one."

"From birth to death?" Pan Yun asked thoughtfully.

"From birth to death," Xuan Miao said with a nod.

Xuan Miao handed all three papers to her. "Let's go. Until we return to Mount Sanqing, you are her."

Pan Yun reached out and accepted them.

With these documents, traveling became much more convenient. They decided to hire a carriage directly to Kaifeng.

With Tao Ji and Xuan Miao present when they hired the carriage, Pan Yun had no use for the documents. But the closer they drew to Kaifeng, the more patrolling officers there would be on the roads. Sometimes, they came forward to inspect them, demanding not only the adults' household registrations and travel permits, but also the children's.

Pan Yun's household registration page came in handy then.

Oh, the child sitting beside her did not need one, because he was too young. Ancient Chinese society had one very strange habit: children's household registrations were often delayed.

Many families waited until a child was five, six, or even seven or eight years old before registering them.

"So a three- or four-year-old child was lost, yet they inspect the registrations of children over seven or eight," Pan Yun said. "They let the people most worth suspecting go just like that. What meaning is there in such a massive search?"

The other two who understood, along with the cat, fell silent. Then they all lowered their heads to look at the child, feeling even more sympathy for him.

The party of four headed straight for Prince Zhou's Mansion as soon as they entered the city.

Standing before Prince Zhou's Mansion, Pan Yun was unusually uneasy. "Are you sure this child really belongs to Prince Zhou's Mansion?"

What if he did not? Being driven out would be a small matter. Being captured and having their identities exposed would be disastrous.

Xuan Miao swept a glance over her, then looked at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji puffed out his chest and strode toward the gates of Prince Zhou's Mansion.

The area before Prince Zhou's Mansion was empty. There was not even a gatekeeper.

Tao Ji stepped forward and banged on the gate.

He knocked for a long time before someone finally came to open it.

Seeing a Daoist at the door, the gatekeeper frowned. "Who are you? What business do you have?"

"Poor daoist Tao Ji, a Daoist from Mount Sanqing," Tao Ji said. "I have come to bring Prince Zhou joyous news."

Perhaps because Tao Ji was a Daoist, the gatekeeper patiently asked, "What joyous news?"

Tao Ji stepped aside and pointed at the child standing beside Pan Yun. "The joy of what was lost being found again."

At first, the gatekeeper did not react. But after staring at the child for a while, his eyes widened. "Th-this... this is the young master of our mansion?"

"Whether he is or not, why not invite your young prince out to take a look?" Tao Ji said.

The gatekeeper was not familiar with the young master. After all, the child had only been in Kaifeng for a short time before disappearing. The gatekeeper had only seen him from afar twice, and half a year had passed. The child had changed somewhat now...

But no matter how much he had changed, there was still some resemblance.

The gatekeeper did not even shut the door. Staggering and stumbling, he ran inside. "The young master is back! The young master is back—"

The ten lucky numbers for this chapter are those ending in 6. Screenshots serve as proof, and the screenshot deadline is before the next chapter is released.