The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

In Gu Zhanghua's bedroom, four palace maids and four eunuchs stood around, ready to take orders at any time. Crown Prince Gu Deming was Gu Li's eldest son, who was eighteen years old this year. He was sitting by the bed and wiping his brother's tears.

"Brother, I understand your sadness, but cats cannot be resurrected. Pili is dead, but at the same time, he has been reborn in another country and is living a happy life."

"really?"

"real!"

"No way!" Zhao Xuan ran in. "My master said that if someone is dead, they are dead. But as long as you think of them, they will appear before you. I've tried it, and it's very accurate!"

Gu Zhanghua looked at his brother, then at Zhao Xuan, thought for a while, and suddenly burst into tears again.

"Gu Qiqi, Gu Lightning, Xiaohong, Xiaohei, Erhuang, Caicai... If they all died in the future, I would miss them every day. If, if, I missed one less, what should I do?"

Zhao Xuan jumped onto the bed and wiped Gu Zhanghua's tears with her little hands: "That's right, then I'll give you a gift, so please don't cry, okay?"

Zhao Xuan handed the dagger that she was holding tightly in her other hand to Gu Zhanghua. Gu Zhanghua pulled out the dagger doubtfully, but quickly put it back in halfway.

Gu Deming stood aside, looking at Zhao Xuan with a mixture of laughter and tears: "How can you give a dagger as a gift? You're so smart!"

Zhao Xuan glared at Gu Zhanghua and shouted, "So do you want it or not?!"

“Yes! Yes!”

Gu Zhanghua quickly put the dagger under the pillow, and Zhao Xuan smiled with satisfaction. She looked at the table next to her, which was piled with various fruits, cakes and flowers.

Gu Deming said: "I gave it to my younger brother."

Zhao Xuan felt a little upset. Could it be that she really gave the wrong dagger?

With the help of Zhao Xiaoman, Xiao Aiyue finally got everything done before Gu Li and Qin Shao arrived. At this time, the four adults were sitting around the tea table drinking tea and chatting, when they suddenly saw the prince leading Gu Zhanghua and Zhao Xuan coming over.

Gu Deming saluted the three of them and said, "Father, Madam Shufei, General Qin, I will return to the palace now."

Gu Li smiled and said, "Don't leave today. Just stay here and have a good meal with father. It will be lively!"

Gu Deming sat down next to Gu Li and smiled at Qin Shao, "Great! I was just looking forward to hearing Uncle Qin talk about the specific details of suppressing the rebels!"

Qin Shao said, "I haven't seen you for many years. The Crown Prince has grown so tall. He is so gentle and refined. He doesn't look like your father, but more like your mother. The Crown Prince will inherit the throne in the future. It's better to leave the battles and killing enemies to us rough guys!"

Gu Li said: "If there is a chance, we should talk to him more. He needs experience now. He can't just pore over books all day long. He also needs actual combat!"

Qin Shao said, "There are children here today, so let's not talk about the fighting and killing. I'll go talk to the Crown Prince alone tomorrow, okay?"

As everyone was talking, they looked towards Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua who were sitting side by side at the entrance of the hall, eating fruit. Unexpectedly, they heard the two arguing.

Zhao Xuan asked Gu Zhanghua: "Do you like the gift I gave you, or the one given by the Crown Prince?"

"I like both."

"No, you have to choose one!"

"To be honest, I still like the one given by the Crown Prince..."

"So you like the Crown Prince more and don't like me anymore?"

"I didn't say..."

"So will you marry the prince or me in the future?"

"Can I marry the prince, too?"

"If you like him, of course you can marry him. I'm not going to be with you anymore!"

Zhao Xuan stood up angrily and Gu Zhanghua hurriedly grabbed Zhao Xuan's arm.

"How about this! I won't marry the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince likes both of us, so why not let him marry both of us?"

Gu Li listened with great interest. Suddenly, he pointed at the two children, turned to Xiao Aiyue and said with a smile, "My beloved concubine, how about I grant them a marriage now to avoid trouble in the future!"

Xiao Aiyue's heart trembled, and she subconsciously knelt in front of Gu Li. She reached out and hugged Gu Li's thighs tightly, shouting at the top of her lungs: "Please spare my life, Your Majesty! Please don't! Your Majesty, have mercy!"

Gu Li looked at Xiao Aiyue in surprise, not knowing what was going on.

"My beloved, your reaction is too big. I granted you a marriage, not a death sentence!"

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaoman laughed so hard that she almost couldn't breathe.

"Your Majesty, this move of yours is practically equivalent to a death sentence in the eyes of Consort Shu!"

"You're still laughing!" Xiao Aiyue pointed at Zhao Xiaoman and accused her, "My Xiaowu has gone astray. He's a sheep in love with a wolf!"

Zhao Xiaoman said proudly: "That also depends on the sheep's willingness!"

Zhao Xiaoman looked at Gu Zhanghua: "Xiaowu, do you like Xuan'er?"

Gu Zhanghua nodded immediately: "Yes, Xiaowu likes Sister Xuan!!"

Xiao Aiyue wanted to cry but had no tears. She just shook Gu Li's thighs hard and shook her head like a rattle.

Gu Li looked at the mother and daughter in silence. Until he was almost done with dinner, Gu Li still couldn't believe that the loving couple in front of him could be the one that Concubine Xiao Shu cried about, a sheep falling in love with a wolf!

After three rounds of drinks, Concubine Xiao took the two tired children to rest first. The prince was also drunk and stood up to say goodbye.

Zhao Xiaoman then said to Gu Li, "Your Majesty, now that General Qin has successfully quelled the civil unrest, would you consider reconsidering opening trade as soon as possible?"

"I have the same idea. I wonder what you think about this, brother?"

Qin Shao shook his head: "Your Majesty, please don't embarrass me. I am familiar with military tactics, but you should listen to Xiaoman when it comes to business."

Gu Li sighed: "Look at the names you two use, one is General Qin and the other is Xiao Man. It's true that the general is interested, but the chivalrous woman is ruthless!"

"Your Majesty, please don't even think about being a matchmaker for us. My relationship with General Qin is over long ago."

Qin Shao was a little anxious and said, "Xiao Man, what are you talking about? I have already..."

Zhao Xiaoman glared at Qin Shao, who had no choice but to wave his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll talk to you alone later so as not to waste His Majesty's time."

"If we can't be husband and wife, let's not become enemies. You two are my right arms!"

Gu Li took one hand from each of them and looked at Qin Shao first:

"Thinking back to the day, you, fearless of any difficulties and dangers, followed me in raising an army under the pretext of 'clearing the imperial court and punishing Qi Kai'. We became sworn brothers and led our army straight to Luyang, capturing cities along the way. But by the time we reached Xiangzhou, the rebel army that had joined from all over had reached 200,000, leading to an extreme shortage of food and fodder. With Luyang right in front of us, we were truly caught between a rock and a hard place. If we advanced, we wouldn't be able to confront the Luyang defenders head-on due to insufficient supplies. If we retreated, I would be the first to bear the brunt of the crime of treason. Furthermore, King Chen was tyrannical, and Qi Kai, as prime minister, was aiding and abetting the tyrant. The country was already in tatters. If the Kingdom of Yue took advantage of the chaos and invaded, the country would surely perish! And at that moment, it was you, Zhao Xiaoman!"

Gu Li turned to look at Zhao Xiaoman:

"At that time, a young girl who was only sixteen years old donated all her family property and resolutely took on the responsibility of raising military supplies. Not only did she call on the people for help, she also successfully persuaded all the major merchants in Xiangzhou, thus resolving the food crisis!"

Qin Shao said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Xiaoman and I will never become enemies. I've been calculating, and I feel like Xuan'er is very similar to my daughter!"

Zhao Xiaoman was furious and said, "You're talking nonsense again! Watch out or I'll beat you up!"

Gu Li smiled and said, "That's right! Xiaoman, I also know that commerce is the foundation of a country. Now that the civil unrest has been quelled, I will discuss in detail with the ministers the specific implementation plan for opening trade."

"My father has already written a report on this matter. I will have him submit it tomorrow. Please take a look first."

"it is good!"

After saying this, Gu Li toasted with the two of them.

Zhao Xiaoman poured wine for Gu Li.

Gu Li was a little tipsy: "It's not easy for the three of us to get together again today. Xiaoman, I'm going to tell you a secret, do you want to hear it?"

"The secret your majesty is talking about must be interesting!"

Gu Li said, "Back then, I arranged for you two to get married, but you two quarreled, then reconciled, and then quarreled again. You went through so much trouble. From then on, you, Zhao Xiaoman, devoted yourself to establishing the Wuwei Escort Agency, vowing to protect the national caravan. Can you guess why I agreed so readily?"

"Of course my bodyguard and I have higher fighting power!"

"You're wrong! My brother-in-law discussed this with me and secretly sent his elite troops to your Wuwei Escort Agency to apply for escort master positions! Now two-thirds of the people in the agency were once my brother-in-law's men. That's why I feel comfortable handing the caravan over to you!"

Zhao Xiaoman was stunned, and then a little angry: "Your Majesty, you look down on me too much!"

Qin Shao said, "This has nothing to do with whether I look down on you or not. This is my suggestion. Since it is something you want to do, I will do it to the best of my ability for you. Only then will I feel at ease."

Gu Li said: "That's what I meant. Safety is the most important thing."

Zhao Xiaoman felt a little guilty and assured Gu Li: "But recently there has been an incident of caravan robbery. But Your Majesty, don't worry, we have a direction to track it down, and there will be results soon."