The Grand General read the memorial twice, stroked his beard, and sat in deep silence for a long time. The Grand Tutor chuckled and said, "What's wrong with you, old timer? If you have any thoughts, spit them out and let His Majesty and the rest of us hear them."
"What are you rushing for? Haven't your Secretariat already seen the memorial? Why aren't you sharing your thoughts? Hmph, you crafty fox..."
"You—!" Shen Bi pointed a finger at Chen Xingbang, his beard quivering with anger.
"All right, my two esteemed ministers. Grand Tutor, why don't you speak first? How should we handle this matter?" the Emperor intervened with a helpless sigh. Princess Qingyue sat quietly to one side with a faint smile, finding the scene rather amusing.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Shen Bi steadied himself, composed his thoughts, and said, "A matter like this has never occurred in our dynasty. For it to happen now defies all imagination. However, I have looked into cases of missing persons in other countries, and most are the work of human trafficking rings taking desperate risks for profit to abduct children everywhere. Alternatively, it could be some faction raising children from a young age to build up a reserve force and ultimately expand their organization."
"So you're saying it's still human trafficking?" the Emperor continued thoughtfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Shen Bi said, taking a sip of tea before continuing. "The crucial point is that these are children. Our Zhao Country does not have a large population, and the beast tides that strike once every fifty years consume a vast number of our young men, making children especially vital to us. In the past, various prefectures have occasionally reported missing persons, including children, but the numbers were small. To have dozens vanish all at once like this is extremely rare."
Shen Bi took another sip of tea to moisten his throat and went on, "We must step up our efforts on this matter, uncover the cause, and find the missing children. Afterwards, we must issue a decree to protect children from being lost in the future."
Emperor Zhengde and the Princess nodded repeatedly as they listened. The Grand General, Chen Xingbang, also gave a slight nod. "I know about this sort of thing; soldiers occasionally go missing in the army too. In the military, such things are inevitable. Aside from times of war, it's generally considered normal for no more than five men from a single battalion to go missing in a year. If it exceeds five, it must be reported to the Bureau of Military Affairs, which will investigate rigorously. Most of the time, the reason for disappearance is soldiers fighting among themselves out of a desire to win, resulting in death from brawls. They just find a random spot to bury the body and report it as missing to close the case. There's basically no other reason."
The Grand General spoke in a crisp, forceful, and methodical manner.
At this moment, Princess Qingyue straightened up, her bright eyes fixed on everyone as she spoke at a leisurely pace: "Imperial Brother, Teacher, Grand General, the fierce beasts in the Changheng Mountains were just cleared out by cultivators from the Imperial Sword Sect last year. It shouldn't be beasts harming people, and beasts wouldn't target only children anyway. We can rule that possibility out." Princess Qingyue's voice was clear as an oriole's song. She smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear and continued, "There is another possibility: that other cultivation families or martial artist sects secretly snatched the children. Cultivation sects wouldn't seize people; our country only has the Imperial Sword Sect. Every five years, their disciple recruitment practically covers every corner of our realm, and nearly everyone with cultivation aptitude is already taken. As for cultivation families, their cultivation resources are limited, so they can only nurture their own offspring and would never recruit outsiders. Besides, if discovered by the Imperial Sword Sect, their family would face absolute disaster. Therefore, cultivation families should also be ruled out."
That made sense. Both Grand Tutor Shen Bi and the Grand General nodded in succession. Everyone present knew quite a bit about the world of cultivation. The Imperial Sword Sect in Zhao Country was the actual master of the nation's life and death, a fact well known to the Emperor and his court ministers. They also knew that every fifty-year beast tide was resisted by the Imperial Sword Sect alongside the soldiers and citizens of Zhao Country. The Imperial Sword Sect held an immensely lofty position in the hearts of the people of Zhao.
Emperor Zhengde was well aware of these matters. He looked at his younger sister and asked, "Imperial Sister, who do you think it could be then?"
"Imperial Brother, it must be either martial arts factions or other factions within the court. What do you think, Teacher?" Princess Qingyue turned to look at Grand Tutor Shen Bi.
Shen Bi stroked his beard, nodded slightly, and considering the reality of Zhao Country's internal troubles and external threats, he looked toward the Emperor and said with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, it is possible that martial arts factions and certain individuals within the court have colluded to commit this act. On the surface, it appears to be child abduction, but in reality, it may be a smokescreen to confuse the public, disrupt morale, and wear out the imperial court, allowing them to reap the benefits while others fight."
Hearing these words, the Emperor and the Grand General gasped. The Grand General was a military man without a mind for such intricate schemes, but he could still grasp the gist of Shen Bi's words. Bluntly, he blurted out, "These bastards deserve to die! Causing chaos day in and day out without a moment of peace. Your Majesty, shall I send men to round them all up?"
"Round them up? You old fool, you swallow whatever wind blows! Where is the evidence? Don't act rashly and blow this out of proportion!" Shen Bi shot Chen Xingbang a sidelong glance and retorted tartly.
"Then what do you suggest we do? Haven't those people done enough evil things already...?" the Grand General argued bluntly.
"Grand General, don't be hasty. This matter still requires careful deliberation," Emperor Zhengde placated him before turning his gaze to Shen Bi. "Grand Tutor, what should our next step be?"
"Your Majesty," Shen Bi bowed toward the Emperor, "first, we should order the Ministry of Punishments to dispatch skilled and capable officers to investigate this matter. Anbei Prefecture and the other prefectures must render full cooperation to unearth the whole truth. This is our overt path. Second, Your Majesty can secretly dispatch high-level experts from the inner court to conduct a parallel investigation. By deploying both overt and covert measures, we can ensure nothing goes wrong. Furthermore, we should request the Grand General to send a confidential letter to General Feng at Tianfeng Pass, instructing him to closely monitor the movements of the Tianqi Country troops on the opposite side of the pass. Moreover, defenses within Tianfeng Pass must be tightly reinforced and inspections strictly enforced—first, to prevent the missing children from being smuggled out through the pass, and second, to guard against any unexpected incidents."
"Oh, you old fox, are you saying there might be treasonous collusion with a foreign power?"
"Indeed, that possibility exists," Shen Bi replied sagaciously.
"Very well. If there are no other objections, we shall proceed as the Grand Tutor suggested," the Emperor decreed decisively.
"I have no objections and will strictly carry out the orders," the Grand General said, raising his hands in a salute.
"Imperial Brother, aren't we going to visit the patrons at Gongfeng Manor? Can we ask them to provide assistance when the time comes?"
"This... Imperial Sister, the patrons are immortals. That might be very difficult; they do not get involved in the court's affairs. Well, we shall see how things stand when we get there." The Emperor generally preferred to keep the patrons at arm's length and disliked entanglements with them, though obtaining their help would certainly be for the best.
"Very well," Princess Qingyue said helplessly.
Shen Bi raised his hands in a salute and asked, "Since His Majesty and the Princess are visiting Gongfeng Manor, might this old subject accompany you?"
"Your Majesty, take me as well! I'd like to go and have a look," the Grand General chimed in hurriedly.
Seeing the hopeful gazes of his two ministers, Emperor Zhengde had no choice but to nod and agree.
"Very well, we shall all go. However, the patrons are cultivators, unlike us ordinary mortals. You must not commit any rudeness once we are there. If we happen to encounter one with a bad temper, at best you will face punishment, and at worst it could cost you your lives. Of course, since you are both high ministers of the court, you won't lose your lives for my sake, but minor disciplinary punishments will be unavoidable."
Emperor Zhengde recalled the time he had accompanied the Empress Dowager to meet a former patron. On that occasion, a eunuch by the Empress Dowager's side had been slightly discourteous to the patron and was instantly incinerated into ashes by a fireball. The memory still sent a shudder through him.
"Understood, this old subject (this old man) understands," the Grand Tutor and the Grand General chorused, cupping their fists. Princess Qingyue also added, "Rest assured, Imperial Brother. Qingyue will play it by ear, and if it's not feasible, I won't ask for guidance."
"Well, it is getting late, so let's go now. Xiaoxizi, make the arrangements. The Sacrificial Hall is right next to the imperial palace and not far away; we shall travel light without any pomp."
"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go arrange it right away," Xiaoxizi said before scrambling off to make preparations.