Chapter 18 Return of Lost Property
As soon as Pan Jun opened her eyes, she met Tao Ji's inquiring face.

Tao Ji's eyes lit up when he saw her wake up. In order not to disturb Xuan Miao, he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Come here. Where did you pick up this child?"

Having already decided to go with them, Pan Yun naturally would not hide such a thing and said, "I picked it up at the gate of She County."

"You really did go to She County," Tao Ji said in a cryptic manner, "There were two human traffickers bitten by wild beasts in the forest of Jiaozhangkou, not far from She County. Was it you who did this?"

"Did you find them?" Pan Jun nodded and said, "I did it. They were eaten by some wild beast. Are they dead?"

She frowned. "It's not good if they die. I was hoping they would be caught by the government and confess all the people they kidnapped."

Tao Ji said: "Not dead yet, but almost dead."

Tao Ji and Xuanmiao ran all the way to Datong. Xuanmiao's divination could not be used all the time, so they kept running and couldn't find Pan Yun, so they decided to calculate. They found that she fell in the south.

The two of them went back to look for it, and they continued to try and error, searching, trying and error again, and searching again.

When we found the area around Zhangde Prefecture, we heard that a strange thing had happened in the area from Anyang to Shexian County.

The two human traffickers suffered retribution and were tied up in the wilderness and attacked by wild beasts at night. They finally escaped, but ran into a group of soldiers who were escorting prisoners back.

These officers and men were all low-level soldiers and it was difficult for them to achieve anything. However, they did not expect to achieve something before they even returned to Anyang.

It just so happened that Runan Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture and Daming Prefecture were jointly fighting against human trafficking. At this time, let alone catching human traffickers, even having news about human traffickers would be considered a meritorious service. So when the soldiers saw the words on the back of the two men's clothes, they rushed up like wolves and tigers and pinned them down.

The credit came out of nowhere, and when they were attacked by wild beasts, one of the men had one arm torn off and half of his face bitten off, it was a legendary event, so it became a hot topic in Anyang area.

Tao Ji and Xuan Miao, who were passing by, overheard what was said and felt suspicious, so they went to the county government office to inquire.

Neither of the two human traffickers saw who knocked them out, but they both suspected it was a little girl they had kidnapped, who had a black cat.

Unfortunately, the county government didn't believe them.

The county magistrate and the bailiffs all thought that they had encountered robbers on the road, and that the little girl had most likely fallen into the hands of the robbers as well, and was feared to be in great danger.

The county government has been looking for someone nearby recently, and the bandits there have been frightened to such an extent that they dare not come out recently.

The county government didn't believe it, but Tao Ji and Xuan Miao did.

The two looked at each other and finally found Pan Yun's trace.

No matter how tangled a thread is, it can be untangled as long as the end of the thread is found.

They now had the clue and followed Pan Yun's trail all the way here.

Tao Ji proudly told how they caught up with Pan Yun, and then warned her: "Even we can find your trace, let alone the Jinyiwei, so you'd better not run around and let them catch you."

A Jinyiwei disappeared inexplicably in the capital. This could be a big or small matter. Not only Pan Yun, but even the Sanqing Temple had to be careful.

When Wang Yong was riding a horse and chasing Pan Yun in the street, so many people saw it, and there were yamen runners and officials helping in the search, how could he not leave any trace?
Fortunately, Tao Ji and Xuan Miao quietly took her away from the capital, and her trace was temporarily cut off in the capital.

Pan Yun had never thought about this before, but now that they had pointed it out, he began to think more. "What was the name of the temple we left?"

Tao Ji: "Tianning Temple."

"Will the Royal Guards not find you from Tianning Temple?" Pan Yun asked, "When we left, we saw a Royal Guard entering the Plum Forest, and you happened to leave from Tianning Temple."

Tao Ji: "They are monks, and monks do not participate in worldly affairs."

Pan Jun looked at him quietly.

Tao Ji looked back at her quietly.

"Oh," Pan Yun changed the subject after knowing that Tianning Temple would most likely not recruit them, and raised his chin towards the child, "Since you are so good at fortune-telling, then figure out his parents and send him back."

If he returns to his parents, the possibility of his early death should be resolved, right?
Tao Ji couldn't see any more information and could only wait for Xuanmiao to wake up.

Xuan Miao woke up, her complexion improved a lot. She lowered her head and looked at the child carefully, meeting his big, moist eyes. After a moment, she said, "Noble, let's go back to Kaifeng Prefecture."

Tao Ji picked up the child.

Pan Yun picked up his black cat and asked with a frown, "Are there any royal family members in Kaifeng?"

Xuanmiao: "There is King Zhou in Kaifeng."

Seeing her confused face, Tao Ji knew that she was a child and must not know, so he explained in detail: "Prince Zhou is the son of the fifth son of Emperor Taizu. The former Prince Zhou and Emperor Taizong are both legitimate sons. He is the uncle of the current royal family. Because they are from the same lineage, they are considered to be very close royal family members."

He is Zhu Yuanzhang’s grandson.

Pan Yun automatically changed to the simplest relationship.

Pan Yun: "Did their family lose their child?"

Xuanmiao said: "Since the end of last year, Runan Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture and Daming Prefecture have jointly fought against human trafficking. Since the beginning of spring, the number of officers and soldiers chasing human traffickers has increased instead of decreased. Although there is no definite news, it should be the case that the child was lost in the Zhou Palace in Kaifeng."

Tao Ji nodded repeatedly, but suddenly stopped midway, and it was his turn to be confused. "Isn't the King of Zhou childless? Where did the child come from in the King's Palace?"

Xuanmiao glanced at him and said, "Didn't you hear in the capital that when Prince Zhou was seriously ill, he thought of the father-son relationship he had with his adopted son and submitted a petition to the emperor requesting that Zhu Zijin, the son of commoner Zhu Youji, be returned to him as his adopted son. Because of his sincerity in his request, the emperor released Zhu Zijin, who was imprisoned in the capital, to return to Kaifeng to visit Prince Zhou last year."

Tao Ji suddenly realized that he had heard this gossip but didn't take it to heart.

He looked down at the child in his arms, his eyes full of sympathy, "Life in a high-class family is not easy either."

Xuanmiao nodded.

Pan Yun nodded in agreement. It was hard for her and her child to walk north, but it was much easier to walk south to Kaifeng.

Xuanmiao and Tao Ji finally became more generous and no longer insisted on walking on their own two legs. They first took her to a small pier and took a small boat downstream.

Then we settled in a county town where the management of the city gate was not very strict.

Xuanmiao turned around and looked at Pan Yun for a while before saying, "To enter Kaifeng, you need a household registration and a travel permit."

Pan Yun looked at her silently.

Xuanmiao took her to the pawn shop.

Tao Ji came out and talked to the waiter inside, and then the waiter led them to a small room. After a while, he brought a stack of papers for them to choose from. "Here, these are all suitable household registrations, between the ages of six and ten, both boys and girls."

Pan Jun opened his mouth wide.

Xuanmiao carefully selected them, and soon picked out one and asked, "Who is the owner of this one?"

The waiter took a look, took out the booklet and looked through it, and soon found where she came from, "Zhang Xiaomei, from Xiangfu County, Kaifeng, born in the ninth year of Xuande, sold herself into slavery in the fifth year of Zhengtong, and died of illness in the winter of the sixth year."

Xuan Miao: "I want hers, and help me get her pass."

Xuanmiao took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table.

The clerk took a look and closed the booklet. "Wait a moment."

He took all the things out, and soon brought back three pieces of paper. They included Zhang Xiaomei's household registration page, travel permit, and her indenture contract.

Xuanmiao was very satisfied. In this way, Pan Jun could have whatever identity he wanted.

Pan Yun walked out of the pawnshop with them in silence.

Xuanmiao said: "Many things can be pawned at a pawn shop. Naturally, many things can also be bought from a pawn shop."

Pan Jun thought, "From birth to death?"

Xuan Miao nodded, "From birth to death."

Xuanmiao handed all three pieces of paper to her and said, "Let's go. You are hers until we return to Sanqing Mountain."

Pan Jun reached out and took it.

With this thing, traveling would become more convenient, so they decided to rent a car and go directly to Kaifeng.

Tao Ji and Xuan Miao were there when Pan Yun rented the car, so he didn't need this thing. But the closer they got to Kaifeng, the more officers and soldiers would patrol the road. Sometimes they would come forward to check, not only asking for the adults' household registration and travel permits, but also the children's.

Pan Yun’s household registration page came in handy at this time.

Oh, the child sitting next to her doesn’t need to, because he is too young. There was something very strange in ancient Chinese society, that is, the household registration of children would be delayed.

Many families will wait until their children are five, six, or even seven or eight years old before registering them.

Pan Yun: "So, the missing child is a three or four-year-old, but they want to check the household registration of children over seven or eight years old, and just let the most suspicious person go. What's the point of mobilizing such a large force to search?"

The other two people and the cat who understood were silent, then they all lowered their heads to look at the child and felt even more sympathetic towards him.

As soon as the four of them entered the city, they headed straight for Prince Zhou's palace.

Pan Yun stood in front of the Zhou Palace, feeling a little nervous: "Are you sure this child is really from the Zhou Palace?"

If they are not, it would be a small matter if they are beaten out, but it would be terrible if they are caught and their identities are exposed.

Xuanmiao glanced at her and then looked at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji straightened his chest and walked towards the gate of Prince Zhou's palace.

The gate of Prince Zhou's mansion was empty, there wasn't even a gatekeeper.

Tao Ji walked up and knocked on the door.

I knocked for a long time before someone came to open the door.

The concierge who opened the door saw a Taoist priest and couldn't help but frowned, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Tao Ji: "I am Tao Ji, a Taoist from Mount Sanqing, and I have come to congratulate Prince Zhou."

Perhaps because Tao Ji was a Taoist priest, the concierge patiently asked, "What's the good news?"

Tao Ji turned sideways, pointed at the child standing next to Pan Yun and said, "What a joy to have found something that was lost."

The concierge didn't react at first, but after staring at the child for a while, his eyes widened, "Hey, this, this is the young master of our palace?"

Tao Ji said: "Whether it is true or not, wouldn't it be clear if you ask the little prince in your house to come out and take a look?"

The concierge was not familiar with the young master. After all, he had just arrived in Kaifeng when he was lost. The concierge had only seen him from a distance twice. In half a year, he had changed a little...

But no matter how it changes, the other party's shadow is still there.

The concierge didn't even close the door, and ran in stumblingly, "The young master is back, the young master is back——"

　The ten lucky numbers for this chapter are numbers ending in 6, as evidenced by the screenshots, which are taken until the next chapter is released.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)