The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

When Hao Xiong heard what Gu Zhanghua said, he was the first to jump up.

"I don't agree! If you arrest my sister, what's the point of us even talking about recruiting her? Just arrest them all!"

Dongtian also shouted, "Hao Xiong is right! Your Majesty, you don't have to protect us. Just tell the prefect Wang to kill us all, and that will count as helping us!"

Even the usually indifferent Little Doctor Fairy raised her voice.

"If we're going to be caught, we're going to be caught together! If we're going to die, we're going to die together!"

Only Zhao Xuan remained calm. Capturing her alone would save the lives of hundreds of people in Jiaoyang Valley. She felt this was a good deal. However, Gu Zhanghua was about to go to the Tiandao League to negotiate with Hu Yiba. Would Hu Yiba let her go? She felt it would be very difficult.

Zhao Xuan waved to everyone.

"Shut up, everyone!"

The meeting hall suddenly became quiet, and Zhao Xuan then looked at Gu Zhanghua.

"Your Majesty, the reason Hu Yiba tortured me and Jiaoyang Valley to death was simply because I was the Evil Slayer. So, I think it's useless for you to go to the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Unless you return the Evil Slayer to him, he might let us go. Otherwise, he'll say one thing to our face and another behind our backs. He might agree to your promise outwardly out of consideration for your status as a virtuous king, but then he'll be ruthless to us behind our backs. It's hard to guard against him."

Gu Zhanghua thought about it and became skeptical about his plan.

"But the Evil-Slaying Sword is now in the hands of Liang Changping, the great general of the Kingdom of Yue. It's impossible to get it back."

Zhao Xuan smiled faintly.

"It doesn't matter. When the time comes, I can't think of any good solution. Just capture me and kill me if you want. Cut me up if you want."

Hao Xiong jumped up again: "Sister, I do have a foolproof plan that may not be perfect."

Zhao Xuan frowned and looked at Hao Xiong: "What bad idea did you come up with?"

"Sister! When have I ever given advice that wasn't used in the right way?"

Gu Zhanghua was very curious. Neither he nor the boss could think of a good solution. What could Hao Xiong do?

"Hao Xiong, please tell us your thoughts first, and let us all listen to see if they make sense."

Hao Xiong swallowed and then spoke.

"My plan is this. We all know that the boss is a nobody, but the officials don't know. On the surface, I'm the one who's in charge of the valley. Isn't it said that the bandit leader in Yanwang Village is called the Living Yanwang? That's all about me, not my sister, so I can replace my sister, and all you have to do is arrest me."

Before anyone else could say anything, Gu Zhanghua was the first to deny it.

"This method won't work. Even if the government recognizes you as the boss, Hu Yiba knows that Huang Huacai is the head of Jiaoyang Valley. He's been targeting Huang Huacai all along, and the underworld killing order he issued is also for Huang Huacai. Will it be effective if you replace your sister? Will Hu Yiba let it go? It'll be exposed sooner or later!"

Hao Xiong still wasn't convinced.

"What's the big deal? Let my sister fake her own death, and then Daylily will no longer exist. Then she can go back to Liyang and live peacefully as a princess. Then, Your Highness, you can talk to the prefect and tell him that I've committed a heinous crime and need to be escorted to the capital. Then, you two can work together to find a way to rescue me, right? No matter how powerful Hu Yiba is, can he still lord it over Liyang City? Can he be more powerful than the emperor?"

Little Medical Fairy also stood up.

"I'm going to Liyang with Hao Xiong."

Dongtian also stood up: "I'll go too."

Zhao Xuan's face turned pale as she looked at the three of them.

"Aren't you guys kidding me? The matter of the Evil Slaying Sword has nothing to do with you! This was all my decision! I'm the one who's going!"

Dongtian gritted his teeth and said, "In my opinion, none of us should go. We should just fight them!"

Hao Xiong patted Dongtian's shoulder.

"Don't say such angry words! What should we do with so many elderly, weak, and sick people in the valley? Listen to me, everyone. My sister's identity as the head of Jiaoyang Valley must not be exposed. Otherwise, the drama of the virtuous princess will not be able to continue. Then, those bastards in the Yue Kingdom's envoys will definitely shirk responsibility and blame us for Tian Shiliu's death. That won't be as simple as going to jail. It will be fatal!"

Zhao Xuan, who had been thinking with her head down, looked up at Gu Zhanghua.

"Your Highness, I think it's better to do this. Since you came to Jiaoyang Valley with the excuse of enjoying the mountains and rivers and having a honeymoon, why don't I not go back with you? You can go back by yourself and say that I accidentally fell off a cliff while climbing, or accidentally drowned in the lake while walking by the lake, or died in any other way. Anyway, you can make it up as you like. The short answer is that the virtuous princess died. Then I can go back to being a daylily. I can put on makeup and make myself look unkempt. In short, I can look as ugly as I want. I can confess the crime alone, and no one will ever tell that the head of Jiaoyang Valley is the deceased virtuous princess!"

The more Gu Zhanghua listened, the sadder he felt.

"Could you please stop mentioning death? Things haven't gotten that bad yet! Do you really have to run away with your life?"

"I don't want to die either. Am I faking my own death?"

"Don't even think about it."

"why?"

Gu Zhanghua rubbed his eyebrows and then explained to Zhao Xuan and everyone else.

"The princess must return to Liyang with me. Think about it, everyone. If the princess died, as a normal person, what should I, as her husband, do? I should take care of her funeral, not leave it to others. And yet I'm busy with the Jiaoyang Valley pacification campaign. Does that make sense?"

Everyone nodded frequently.

Gu Zhanghua continued, "But if I'm busy taking care of the princess's funeral and leave the recruitment to someone else, will you be at ease? I'm not at all! If anything goes wrong, all our plans will fail, and everything we're doing now will be in vain!"

Zhao Xuan was immediately persuaded by Gu Zhanghua.

"So what do you think we should do now?"

Gu Zhanghua looked at Hao Xiong and then at Dong Tian.

"If you ask me, the method Hao Xiong just mentioned is the most feasible. However, Hao Xiong shouldn't bear the responsibility alone. It's winter now, and you two will take the blame for the boss. I'll talk to Prefect Wang and have you brought back to Liyang. We'll figure out a solution then."

Zhao Xuan looked at Gu Zhanghua worriedly.

"Can you ensure the safety of Hao Xiong and Dong Tian?"

"I can!"

Gu Zhanghua answered with certainty and mentioned something to Zhao Xuan.

"Last time, I was kidnapped by Hao Xiong and taken to the mountains, and you rescued me again. Later, my secretary and I headed towards the gate of Fucheng. We arrived at dawn. As soon as the gate opened, I saw my second brother leading a group of people to rescue me. I didn't tell him the truth at the time. I only said that I had a good talk with the leader of Jiaoyang Valley and there was a chance of recruiting them. So he knew what I wanted to do most was to recruit Jiaoyang Valley."

Zhao Xuan's eyes lit up.

"So, you will ask Prince Cheng for help then?"

"Yes! And my second brother is in charge of the Ministry of Justice. Hao Xiong and Dong Tian will definitely be imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison. With my second brother taking care of them, there will definitely be no problems."

Hao Xiong slapped his thigh.

"Okay, that's it! I'm fine, Winter, are you okay?"

"That's fine with me. Even if we end up on the road to Hades together, I'll have someone to keep me company!"

Hao Xiong hugged Dongtian and patted his back hard.

"Brothers!"

Zhao Xuan also came over and put her arms around them.

"Good brothers! Don't worry, the prince and I will definitely rescue you and bring justice to our Jiaoyang Valley!"

Hao Xiong let go of Dong Tian and looked at Zhao Xuan.

"Sister, when we passed by Fengcheng this time, the head shopkeeper packed several jars of Changxiangju for you. While everyone is here today, why not take them out and drink them all? We'll have a big dinner tonight! It'll be like a farewell for us two brothers!"