The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Chapter 353 1 Smiling away grudges

Since it was Zhao Xuan's birthday, a birthday gift for Zhao Xuan was a must. Gu Zhanghua had already made up his mind, but he still planned to give special "care" to the Rongdi King.

To show goodwill, Gu Zhanghua sat cross-legged on the cushion next to Ying Yang. He seemed to be talking to everyone, but in reality, he was staring at Ying Yang with a mischievous smile.

"Today is the Princess's birthday, so we are holding this bonfire party. Since everyone is here to attend, shouldn't we all prepare a birthday gift for the Princess?"

Yingyang was stunned by what he heard, annoyed that he hadn't thought things through. He touched himself, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"That's only right. I do have some jewels in my royal court, but I'm currently penniless, and it's inappropriate to give my personal belongings to the Queen..."

Zhao Xuan, who has never been interested in jewelry, shrugged indifferently.

"I don't care about jewelry or jade. I'd much rather have some hard-earned silver. With silver, we can all eat and drink together. How great is that!"

"Hahaha!"

Mona burst into laughter. He really liked the Princess Consort's personality; she was straightforward and unpretentious, and had a kind of free and easy spirit.

You might call her a little money-grubber, right? Jewelry is definitely more valuable, but she prefers gleaming silver, which makes Mona feel very close to her and down-to-earth, instantly bringing her closer to the Princess Consort.

"I happen to have five taels of silver in my pocket, which I'll give as a birthday gift to the Princess. I hope the Princess won't think it's too little."

As he spoke, Mona took out five taels of silver from his pocket, stood up, walked to Zhao Xuan, and respectfully presented it to her with both hands.

Zhao Xuan didn't mind at all; instead, she smiled and reached out to take the silver.

"Thank you!"

He then shouted something to Ma Si, who was grilling meat.

"Ma Si! Give General Mona an extra chicken leg!"

"okay!"

Ma Si didn't waste any words and immediately agreed.

Before preparing for the dinner in the afternoon, he and his brother Ma San went hunting in the mountains and caught a few pheasants, so their food was plentiful. In addition to roasted whole lamb, they also had a lot of chicken legs.

When everyone heard that Zhao Xuan had given Mengna a chicken leg, they were stunned for a moment, and then they all burst into laughter.

Princess Xian is indeed a straightforward person; her flattery of Meng Na was spot on!

When Gu Zhanghua saw Meng Na taking the lead in handing over silver, and everyone else hurriedly reaching out to take out their own silver, he couldn't help but chuckle.

This has gone off track from his plan. With just one sentence from Zhao Xuan, everyone is almost led astray.

Gu Zhanghua stood up and pressed down with both hands.

"Don't rush to take out your money, everyone. I have a better idea!"

Everyone listened intently.

"Why don't all of you present show off your talents and perform a show for everyone? It could be a birthday gift for the Princess, and it would make things lively for everyone!"

Zhao Xuan immediately clapped enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea! Back when we were in Jiaoyangyu, we often held bonfire parties. Everyone sang, danced, and practiced swordplay. It was so lively!"

She glanced at everyone, her eyes lingering on Li Baiyun and Hu Junfeng, filled with excitement.

"I think it would be better if you two, Master Hu, had your exceptional swordsmanship and Master Li's superb swordsmanship, and gave us a performance on behalf of the Xia Army. What do you say?"

Hu Junfeng and Li Baiyun, of course, wouldn't spoil Zhao Xuan's fun, and nodded with smiles.

Not to be outdone, one of the Rongdi generals shouted loudly.

"Our grassland tribe is most skilled at wrestling, so we can certainly liven things up for everyone!"

Everyone applauded and cheered.

Gu Zhanghua took the opportunity to whisper something in Zhao Xuan's ear.

"How about I draw all the exciting moments from tonight and give them to you as a birthday gift?"

Seeing Gu Zhanghua's confident demeanor, Zhao Xuan belatedly realized what was happening, feeling both surprised and delighted.

"Did you plan all this in advance to have everyone perform, and then draw them all as a birthday gift for me?"

Gu Zhanghua neither admitted nor denied it, but instead asked a question.

"Like it?"

Zhao Xuan nodded frequently, like a chick pecking at rice, which was quite adorable.

"I love it, I love it so much! When we get back, we can show it to Father, Mother, and everyone else! Let them appreciate the scenery of the frontier and share in our joy!"

At this moment, Hao Xiong carried Shi Shu over, spread a blanket on the ground, and then put Shi Shu down.

Shi Shu lay on the blanket, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"I already said I wasn't coming..."

Hao Xiong explained to everyone with a smile.

"He was stabbed in the buttock, and the wound is quite deep, so it's healing slowly. I saw he was feeling stuffy being alone in the house, so I brought him out for some fresh air. Please don't mind!"

Mona lowered his head somewhat guiltily, trying his best to hide most of his body behind Yingyang.

He recognized the man; he was the Prince Xian's guard, and the stab wound on his buttock looked like it was inflicted by him.

Gu Zhanghua had been trying to persuade Shi Shu to join everyone for a get-together, but Shi Shu refused, saying that her injuries hadn't healed yet. Unexpectedly, Hao Xiong still carried her out.

He couldn't help but smile approvingly at Hao Xiong.

"You've thought this through, and you've done a great job!"

Zhao Xuan may seem carefree, but she is actually quite shrewd. She noticed Mengna's awkwardness and realized that the theme of this bonfire party was to play the emotional card with the Rongdi tribe and lay a good foundation for the upcoming peace talks.

So Zhao Xuan winked at Gu Zhanghua, then looked at the wine bowl at her feet.

Gu Zhanghua immediately understood, and together with Zhao Xuan, they picked up their wine bowls, stood up, raised them to everyone, and finally stopped in the direction where the Rongdi people were sitting.

Gu Zhanghua spoke first.

"I respect the Rongdi King and all the warriors. I hope that we can live in peace in the future, that the people of the northern border of my Xia Kingdom can live in peace and prosperity, and that the people of the Rongdi tribe can live in peace and prosperity!"

Zhao Xuan's opening remarks were not as refined as Gu Zhanghua's; she simply raised her wine bowl high.

"There's a saying in our martial arts world: no matter what grudges we had before, a smile can erase all enmity! Come on! Let's drink this bowl of wine, we're all good brothers!"

Seeing that the opportunity was rare, Mona immediately seized the chance, poured half a bowl of wine from his own bowl, walked up to the servant, squatted down, and handed it to the servant.

"I know you're injured and can't drink, but I'll just give you a little something. We'll be good brothers from now on!"

By the light of the fire, Shi Shu recognized the burly man in front of him as the Rongdi cavalryman he had fought against a few days ago.

Now that they've taken the initiative to show goodwill, and with the bigger picture in mind, Shi Shu also knew that the Prince and Princess had been negotiating with the Rongdi King these past two days. So, she smiled, took the wine bowl, and took a sip.

Mona's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back into her stomach.

"Dry!"

"Dry!"

"Dry!"

Led by Gu Zhanghua, Zhao Xuan, and Ying Yang, everyone drank their fill.

Ma San and Ma Si distributed the roasted beef and mutton to everyone, and specially handed a chicken leg that had been roasted first to Meng Na.

"This is a return gift specially given to you by the Princess!"

Mona happily munched on a chicken leg, glancing smugly at Yingyang, as if to say something.

Your Majesty, look! Haven't I made you proud?!

Yingyang could only smile at this subordinate who only possessed brute strength and wasn't very bright.

In his heart, he was thinking that it seemed he would have to increase his offer during the next peace talks. Last time he mentioned that he could exchange a hundred fine horses for a year. How many horses would it take to satisfy the wise king and his wife?

Or, to put it another way, when he proposed a marriage alliance with the Xia princess, did he receive the approval of the wise king and his wife?

A single chicken leg won him the favor of his most loyal and valiant subordinates. And look at Uncle Wang, his mouth greasy and his face glowing; I've never seen him smile so brightly.

Other subordinates were already eating, drinking, chatting and laughing with the Xia people around them.

Yingyang suddenly felt a little tired!

He poured another bowl of wine into his mouth, took a big bite of the roasted lamb leg in his hand, and decided to put all his troubles aside for the time being and eat and drink well first!

He understood the meaning of "a moment of blissful night is worth a thousand pieces of gold"!