Chapter Eighteen: Returning Lost Property

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The moment Pan Yun opened her eyes, she met Tao Ji’s curious gaze. Seeing her awake brightened Tao Ji’s eyes, but to avoid disturbing Xuan Miao, he lowered his voice and said, “Come here. Where did you pick up this child?”

Having already decided to go with them, Pan Yun naturally did not hide anything. “I found him at the city gate of She County.”

“So you really went to She County,” Tao Ji said with mixed feelings. “Those two traffickers in the forest near Jiaozhangkou, not far from She County, who were bitten by wild beasts—was that your doing?”

“You found them?” Pan Yun nodded. “I did it. They were bitten by some wild animal. Are they dead?”

She frowned. “If they’re dead, that’s not good. I was hoping the yamen would catch them and get them to reveal all the kidnapped children.”

Tao Ji said, “They’re not dead, but just about.”

Tao Ji and Xuan Miao hurried toward Datong. Since Xuan Miao’s divination skills couldn’t be used constantly, they often had to stop and calculate when they lost track of Pan Yun. Each time, the readings showed she had fallen to the south.

So the two of them turned back to search again—trial and error, searching, then trial and error again.

When they reached the area around Zhangde Prefecture, they heard about a strange incident between Anyang and She County.

The two traffickers had been punished, tied up in a desolate wilderness, and attacked by wild beasts at night. They barely escaped, only to run into a troop of soldiers escorting prisoners back.

These were low-ranking soldiers eager to make achievements. Unexpectedly, before even returning to Anyang, they stumbled upon a chance for merit.

Recently, the prefectures of Runan, Zhangde, Kaifeng, and Daming had united to crack down on trafficking. At this time, not only capturing traffickers but even news of traffickers counted as merit. Seeing the characters on the backs of the two men’s clothes, the soldiers pounced like wolves and tigers, pinning them down.

The merit fell from the sky. Plus, the fact that one man had lost an arm and half his face bitten off by beasts added a legendary touch to the tale, making it spread wildly around Anyang.

Passing by, Tao Ji and Xuan Miao heard this and felt something odd, so they went to inquire at the county yamen.

Neither of the traffickers could identify who knocked them out, but both suspected it was a little girl they had kidnapped—a girl who had a black cat with her.

Unfortunately, the county yamen did not believe them.

The magistrate and the officers thought they had run into bandits, and the little girl was likely in their hands, probably doomed.

The yamen was already searching nearby, scaring local bandits into hiding.

Though the yamen doubted it, Tao Ji and Xuan Miao believed it.

They exchanged a glance and finally found a lead on Pan Yun’s whereabouts.

A single thread, no matter how tangled, can be unraveled once found.

They grasped that thread and followed Pan Yun’s trail all the way here.

Tao Ji proudly explained how they tracked Pan Yun, then warned her, “If even we can find your trail, what about the Embroidered Uniform Guard? You’d better not run around or they’ll catch you.”

An Embroidered Uniform Guard had mysteriously disappeared in the capital, which could be either a trivial or major matter. Not only Pan Yun but even the Sanqing Temple needed to be cautious.

Back when Wang Yong had chased Pan Yun through the street on horseback, so many people saw it, and with officers and constables assisting the search, how could there be no traces?

Fortunately, Tao Ji and Xuan Miao quietly took her out of the capital, temporarily cutting off her trail there.

Pan Yun hadn’t thought about all this before, but now that they pointed it out, she began to consider more deeply. “What was the name of the temple we left?”

“Tian Ning Temple,” Tao Ji replied.

“Won’t the Embroidered Uniform Guard trace you back through Tian Ning Temple?” Pan Yun asked. “When we left, I saw a guard enter the plum grove, and you just happened to leave from Tian Ning Temple.”

Tao Ji said, “They are monks. Monks do not involve themselves in worldly affairs.”

Pan Yun looked at him quietly.

Tao Ji quietly met her gaze.

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“Oh,” Pan Yun knew that Tian Ning Temple would most likely not report them, then shifted the topic, nodding toward the child. “Since you’re so good at divination, why not find his parents and send him back?”

Returning to his parents might break the ill fate of dying young, she thought.

Tao Ji could not glean more information and could only wait for Xuan Miao to wake.

When Xuan Miao awoke, her complexion improved greatly. She lowered her head and examined the child carefully, meeting his moist, bright eyes. After a moment, she said, “Noble bloodline. Let’s go back to Kaifeng Prefecture.”

Tao Ji lifted the child into his arms.

Pan Yun held her black cat, frowning. “Is there any royal family or noble lineage in Kaifeng?”

Xuan Miao answered, “There is the Prince of Zhou in Kaifeng.”

Seeing Pan Yun’s puzzled expression and knowing she was a child, Tao Ji explained beside her, “The Prince of Zhou is the grandson of the founding emperor. The previous Prince of Zhou and Emperor Chengzu were both legitimate sons. He is the current clan’s great-uncle, closely related through the same line.”

In simpler terms, he was Zhu Yuanzhang’s grandson.

Pan Yun simplified the relationship accordingly.

“Did their family lose a child?”

Xuan Miao said, “Since the end of last year, the prefectures of Runan, Kaifeng, Zhangde, and Daming have united to fight trafficking. After spring began, the number of soldiers pursuing traffickers increased rather than decreased. Though there’s no definite news, it should be that the Prince of Zhou’s household in Kaifeng lost a child.”

Tao Ji nodded repeatedly but suddenly paused, his eyes confused. “I thought the Prince of Zhou had no children. Where did the child come from?”

Xuan Miao glanced at him. “Didn’t you hear when we were in the capital? The Prince of Zhou was seriously ill and, recalling his past father-son relationship with his heir, petitioned the emperor to return Zhu Zijin, the son of the commoner Zhu Youluo, to him as heir. Because his petition was sincere, last year the emperor allowed Zhu Zijin, who was under house arrest in the capital, to visit the Prince of Zhou in Kaifeng.”

Tao Ji suddenly understood. He had heard this gossip but hadn’t taken it seriously.

He looked down at the child in his arms, full of sympathy. “Life in a noble household isn’t easy.”

Xuan Miao nodded.

Pan Yun nodded in agreement.

Their journey north was difficult, but traveling south to Kaifeng was much easier.

Xuan Miao and Tao Ji finally relaxed somewhat and stopped insisting on walking. They first took her to a small dock to board a boat downstream.

Then they settled in a county town at a city gate with lax management.

Xuan Miao turned to Pan Yun after a moment and said, “To enter Kaifeng, you need a household registration and a travel permit.”

Pan Yun looked at her silently.

Xuan Miao then took her to a pawnshop.

Tao Ji spoke briefly with the clerk inside, who then led them to a small room. Soon, he brought out a stack of papers for them to choose from. “Here, these are suitable household registrations for boys and girls aged six to ten.”

Pan Yun’s mouth fell open.

Xuan Miao carefully selected one and asked, “Where is this person now?”

The clerk glanced and flipped through a register, soon finding the record. “Zhang Xiaomei, from Xiangfu County, Kaifeng, born in the ninth year of Xuande, sold into servitude in the fifth year of Zhengtong, died of illness in the winter of the sixth year.”

Xuan Miao said, “We’ll take hers. Also, prepare a travel permit for her.”

She placed a silver ingot on the table.

The clerk glanced at it and closed the register. “Please wait a moment.”

He took the documents away and returned shortly with three papers: Zhang Xiaomei’s household registration, travel permit, and indenture contract.

Xuan Miao was very satisfied. With these, Pan Yun could assume any identity she wished.

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Pan Yun silently left the pawnshop with them.

Xuan Miao said, “Many things can be pawned at a pawnshop; naturally, many things can also be purchased there.”

Pan Yun pondered, “From birth to death?”

Xuan Miao nodded. “From birth to death.”

She handed the three papers to Pan Yun. “Come on. Before we return to Sanqing Mountain, you are her.”

Pan Yun reached out and took them.

With these documents, traveling became much easier. They decided to rent a carriage directly to Kaifeng.

With Tao Ji and Xuan Miao present, Pan Yun did not need to use the papers yet. But the closer they got to Kaifeng, the more patrol officers appeared, sometimes stopping them for inspection. They required adult household registrations and travel permits, and also checked the children’s.

This was when Pan Yun’s household registration proved useful.

The little child beside her didn’t need one because he was too young. Ancient Chinese society had a strange custom of delaying household registration for children.

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

Pan Yun remarked, “So those searching are looking into registrations for children aged seven or eight and above, while the missing child is only three or four. They let the most suspicious person go free—what’s the point of this massive search?”

The others and the cat who understood this fell silent, then looked down at the child with even more sympathy.

The group of four entered the city and headed straight for the Prince of Zhou’s mansion.

Standing before the mansion, Pan Yun felt rare unease. “Are you sure this child really belongs to the Prince of Zhou’s household?”

If not, being driven out would be a minor problem, but if they were caught and their identities exposed, it would be disastrous.

Xuan Miao glanced at her, then at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji straightened his chest and strode toward the mansion’s gate.

The mansion was deserted, not even a gatekeeper in sight.

Tao Ji knocked loudly on the door.

After a long wait, someone opened.

The gatekeeper frowned upon seeing a Taoist priest. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

Tao Ji replied, “I am Tao Ji, a Taoist of Sanqing Mountain, here to bring good news to the Prince of Zhou.”

Perhaps because Tao Ji was a priest, the gatekeeper patiently asked, “What good news?”

Tao Ji stepped aside and pointed to the child beside Pan Yun. “The joy of a long-lost child returned.”

The gatekeeper was initially speechless but stared at the child for a moment, then his eyes widened. “Th-this... is our young master?”

Tao Ji said, “If you’re unsure, why not bring out your young master to compare?”

The gatekeeper was not familiar with the young master, who had been lost shortly after arriving in Kaifeng and whom the gatekeeper had only glimpsed twice over six months. The child had changed somewhat...

Yet despite the changes, there was still a resemblance.

The gatekeeper no longer closed the door and stumbled inside, shouting, “The young master has returned! The young master has returned—”