The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

The next morning, Gu Zhanghua woke up and did not see Shishu. He put on his clothes and opened the door, only to see three middle-aged women of similar age sitting in the shade of a tree in the yard, doing embroidery.

One of the women saw Gu Zhanghua and immediately stood up and walked up to him.

"Your Highness, the three of us were sent by the Great Master to take care of you."

Gu Zhanghua felt a little embarrassed.

"No, no, I have hands and feet, I don't need you to take care of me."

But the three of them were already busy and quickly brought water for Gu Zhanghua to wash his face. By the time he finished washing his face, breakfast was already on the table.

It was the woman who spoke to him first who handed the chopsticks to Gu Zhanghua.

"Everyone calls me Aunt Wang. If you don't mind, you can call me that too."

Gu Zhanghua took the chopsticks and said, "Thank you, Aunt Wang."

Aunt Wang looked at Gu Zhanghua affectionately.

"He's so handsome! And he speaks so politely! He's so quiet and gentle, and you can tell at a glance that he has a good temper!"

Gu Zhanghua had never been praised so directly by an outsider since he was a child. He felt a little embarrassed and wanted to change the subject.

"Why don't I see your boss?"

Aunt Wang smiled and said, "Our eldest master is always busy every time he comes back! He should be in the meeting hall right now, handling matters in the valley!"

"Then you go ahead and do your work. I'll go take a look after I finish my meal and take a look around!"

Aunt Wang said "OK" with a smile, and went back to her embroidery work under the shade of the tree.

After dinner, Gu Zhanghua asked for the general direction of the council hall and then slowly walked towards it.

Along the way, he saw young men farming, people carrying prey back to the valley from the mountain, children playing in the valley, old people drinking tea and chatting under the shade of trees, and women washing clothes by the stream.

When he passed by Xiao Yixian's yard, he saw Xiao Yixian teaching a few children to read. When they saw him passing by, they smiled at him as a greeting, and he smiled back.

Gu Zhanghua looked around the valley. The farmlands were lush green, the trees were leafy, wild flowers were growing freely in the mountains, and a peaceful and warm smile appeared on everyone's face.

Gu Zhanghua thought of eight words: a paradise on earth, where the years are peaceful and quiet.

Gu Zhanghua arrived in front of the meeting hall and saw that it was just an ordinary courtyard with a blue-gray brick house standing quietly in the bright sunshine.

Inside the meeting hall.

Zhao Xuan stood with her hands behind her back, assigning tasks to Dong Tian and Shi Shu in front of her.

"Dongtian, you will be under the care of the Secretary for the next two days! The Secretary is a top-notch expert beside the prince. You are getting a great deal by having him coach your patrol team! You must learn from the Secretary well! Do you hear me?"

Dongtian repeatedly said, "Don't worry, Boss, we will definitely study hard!"

Shishu patted his chest and made an assurance to Zhao Xuan.

"How dare I disobey the princess's orders? I promise to teach her well!"

When Gu Zhanghua stepped into the room, he realized that when he woke up and didn't see Shishu, he was asked by Zhao Xuan to be the coach of the mountain patrol team.

When Zhao Xuan saw Gu Zhanghua looking relaxed and energetic, she immediately set her sights on him.

"So free? Do you want to find something to do?"

After hearing this, Gu Zhanghua was actually a little excited. Even the Shishu could be a coach, so he should be more capable than the Shishu.

"What can I do? Boss, just go ahead and tell me. I'm all ears."

Zhao Xuan got straight to the point. "We in Jiaoyang Valley don't keep idle people. Everyone must be given the best possible use of their talents. To put it simply, if you don't work, you won't eat. Since the prince is so knowledgeable and talented, he will teach the children to read and write for the Little Medical Fairy. This will also allow the Little Medical Fairy to tinker with her medicinal herbs."

Gu Zhanghua agreed immediately: "Okay!"

Zhao Xuan waved to Dongtian and Shishu, and the two left the meeting hall.

Zhao Xuan then asked Gu Zhanghua: "Can you tell me the details of the recruitment now?"

Gu Zhanghua was confident.

"Jiaoyang Valley is within Fucheng, under the jurisdiction of the Fucheng prefect. His surname is Wang Daoding, also known as Feiyu. We have some friendship, and it's all thanks to you. I gave those two prescriptions to Prefect Wang, and it was he who implemented the specific treatment for the plague, which quickly brought the spread under control. You should have informed him in advance about the offer of amnesty."

"So when are you going to go find him?"

"I'll teach the children these two days, chat with everyone, and learn more about the actual situation in Jiaoyang Valley. Give me three days, and after three days, I'll go down the mountain to meet with Magistrate Wang."

"Okay!" Zhao Xuan high-fived Gu Zhanghua. "It's a deal! Why are you hiding?"

Gu Zhanghua hid his hands behind his back, turned around and ran.

"I'm afraid you'll knock me away with one palm! I'm a man of my words. I'm going to teach the children first!"

While Gu Zhanghua stayed in Jiaoyang Valley, teaching the children and learning about the actual situation in Jiaoyang Valley, Wang Daoding, the prefect of Fucheng, was in a state of panic these two days.

More and more merchants gathered at the gate of the government office, crying out for justice and denouncing Yanwangzhai.

At this time, Wang Daoding was wandering around in the government office when he saw a bailiff running in quickly.

Wang Daoding hurriedly asked, "What's the situation?"

"No, sir. Those merchants crying out for justice won't leave no matter how much we try to persuade them. Furthermore, they've said they're willing to raise funds to help the government send troops to wipe out Yanwangzhai. And they've also said..."

Wang Daoding swung his sleeves and said, "What else did you say? Hurry up and say it! Don't hesitate!"

The yamen runner then spoke in one breath, "They also said that if the yamen still doesn't care about their lives, they will go to the capital to file a complaint. Then everyone in our yamen will be implicated. They will say that we accepted bribes from Yanwangzhai, and the first person to be blamed is you, sir, for harboring bandits!"

Wang Daoding was so angry that he was gasping for breath. He sat on the chair and drank a cup of tea before he slammed the table angrily.

"So I'm not going to do anything about it? I've already told them I've conducted a thorough investigation. Most of the people who've robbed merchants in the past few months are small-time thugs! While Yanwangzhai can't be completely cleared of suspicion, they're definitely not the mastermind! Can't you give me some time to get to the bottom of this whole thing?"

The bailiff wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"You have to believe them! Let me tell you, these merchants are just scared of being robbed! They're practically losing their livelihoods, so how could they not be afraid?"

Wang Daoding calmed his mind. How could he not know the seriousness of the matter? He knew it all too well.

Right now the merchants are furious, and more and more people are gathering. If they are not given an explanation, there may be signs of a crowd causing trouble. If things get out of control and a civil uprising occurs, the nature of the situation will change. As the highest-ranking official in Fucheng, he will definitely have to take responsibility.

Seeing the prefect hesitant, the yamen runner hurriedly asked, "Sir, this is really urgent. Can you make a decision quickly?"

Wang Daoding sighed.

"Alright, call them all back. It seems like nothing we say now is going to work. We should all work together to come up with a plan and resolve the current crisis first!"