The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

The next day, Tian Shang came to the imperial study after the morning court session to review memorials. He sat at the desk somewhat absent-mindedly.

He tossed and turned last night and couldn't sleep. He still hadn't figured out how to deal with the fake princess. He knew very well that Tian Shiliu's death was caused by many factors, and the reason was that she was weak since childhood.

He also understood that the substitutionary marriage was a coincidence. Now that the fake princess and the wise king had come to explain the truth, he would not be kept in the dark for the rest of his life. Although he had made some contributions, he had certainly worked hard.

He was unwilling to let this matter pass lightly. If he wanted to impose severe punishment, he had to expose the identity of the fake princess. The thought of the ministers looking at the fake princess's face like a licking dog made him feel overwhelmed.

As Tian Shang was thinking, he stood up and walked to the window, staring at a ginkgo tree outside the window in a daze.

He seemed to have just seen the ginkgo tree in front of the window today. The sunlight shone on the golden leaves, leaving mottled shadows.

He turned around and looked at the birdcage hanging in front of the window, which was now empty.

He fed the green parrot every day, and the parrot could only say four words: "Long live His Majesty."

But it was not until yesterday when the parrot was killed by the poison gas blown by the Little Medical Fairy that he seemed to truly feel that the parrot had once lived in his world.

Ever since he was old enough to understand, he has been struggling on the brink of life and death, and then he worked tirelessly to stand at the pinnacle of power. All he cares about is profit.

As a human being, his life was stagnant.

He could not remember what the queen looked like. She had been married to him for ten years and had given birth to two daughters for him. When he saw the queen, he knew that she was his woman. But when he turned around and tried to recall the queen's face, it was already blurry.

There were also a few concubines in the harem, and he had not set foot in their bedrooms for a long time, so he had no interest in them.

It’s really ridiculous to think about it. My father has many princes, but those who are currently alive and those who have died seem to have been cursed. None of them gave birth to sons, only daughters.

Tian Shang was wondering, to whom would he pass on the throne he had obtained through such despicable means?

He admitted that he was a shameless person who disregarded his integrity and would do anything to gain power.

But he won in the end!

The two people he cared about the most were his mother, who was now living out her days in Fengxiang Palace, oblivious to worldly affairs, and his sister, Tian Shiliu, who had been tortured by illness all her life and had now returned to dust.

After a night, he was no longer angry, but occasionally thought of his sister, and felt a needle-like pain in his chest. Wang Huai was right, with a great cause in sight, love between young people was nothing more than that.

Now is the time to think about how to use the fake Tian Shiliu, the real virtuous princess, to help himself.

Shi Xiaofu quietly walked into the imperial study and saw Tian Shang standing with his hands behind his back, looking out the window. He seemed to be isolated from the world and immersed in his own world.

Shi Xiaofu was a little scared. He was afraid of His Majesty who was like a lone wolf, but when he thought of His Majesty's order that he must report immediately when Ye Wei arrived, he still took the courage to report.

"Your Majesty, the leader of the Imperial Guard, Ye Wei, requests an audience."

Tian Shang didn't look back, his body remained motionless, and he uttered a word in a hoarse voice.

"pass."

Ye Wei strode into the imperial study and saluted Tian Shang.

"His Majesty."

"I asked you to monitor the princess and her husband. Have they made any unusual moves?"

Ye Wei opened his mouth with a strange expression on his face. On the way into the palace, he had been racking his brains over how to report back in a way that would accurately express what he had seen last night.

He hated himself for being such a rough guy. He couldn't think of any fancy words, so he had to use something easy to understand.

"Your Majesty, they are very happy."

Tian Shang turned around suddenly, as if he didn't understand what Ye Wei meant.

"Very happy?"

"Yes, I am very happy, just like an ordinary young couple living a happy life, eating, playing and sleeping."

Ye Wei explained with a wry smile.

This situation was completely beyond Tian Shang's expectations. Shouldn't he be nervous and afraid after being suddenly placed under house arrest? Worried about his own safety? How could he be happy?

This made him so angry!

Tian Shang turned around and looked at Ye Wei with a frown, wanting to get an answer from him.

Ye Wei thought about it and realized that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger. He was afraid that if he said something that did not suit the emperor's wishes, he would be angry. The emperor was obviously extremely dissatisfied with the fake princess and her husband's indulgence in pleasure.

Then he should act even angrier!

"Broken jar, broken jar!"

Ye Wei seemed very indignant and waved his arms symbolically.

"I would venture to speculate that the fake princess and her husband are like being stranded on a deserted island, their lives and fortunes completely controlled by Your Majesty. A day of happiness is a day of unhappiness, so it's best for them to choose to be happy."

Tian Shang was upset. He always felt that things would not be so simple. On the surface, he had the power of life and death, but in a place he had no idea about, it seemed as if there was an invisible hand plucking the strings of fate.

Is it God's will?

At this time, Shi Xiaofu reported to Tian Shang again.

"Your Majesty, Dean Liu Huinian of the Chuyang Academy has come to see you! He is waiting outside the door!"

"The teacher is here!"

A rare smile appeared on Tian Shang's face. He waved at Ye Wei, motioning him to leave, and said to Shi Xiaofu.

"Please come in quickly!"

Ye Wei bowed and retreated. Shi Xiaofu went out and soon brought in an old man over 70 years old.

The old man's hair and beard were all white. He came to Tian Shang with the help of a young man.

The moment he saw Tian Shang, the old man's face was full of smiles and he was about to kneel down to Tian Shang. Tian Shang hurriedly held the old man's arm.

"Teacher! I told you, you don't have to kneel when you see me!"

"That was in the past. When Your Majesty was still the Ninth Prince, I could refrain from bowing. Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne and become Emperor, how can I break the rules?"

Tian Shang helped Liu Huinian to sit down and smiled slightly.

"Teachers always have too many rules. When I was a kid, I was naughty and got spanked a lot. My palms still hurt when I think about it now!"

"Your Majesty, please do not mention this matter again. I was too harsh on you then."

Shi Xiaofu served tea to the two of them, and Tian Shang sat down opposite Liu Huinian.

"If it weren't for the teacher's patient guidance, I wouldn't be so familiar with state affairs today. I will always be grateful to the teacher."

Liu Hui looked at Tian Shang carefully and felt quite emotional.

"You, my child, may seem serious on a daily basis, but you are actually very loyal and righteous! Think about it, we, the teacher and the student, haven't seen each other for over three years."

"Yes, I wonder why you're here today, Teacher? How are the preparations for the song and dance competition going? Is there anything I can help you with?"

As Tian Shang spoke, he looked with interest at the young man standing behind Liu Huinian, who lowered his head respectfully.

"Teacher, who is this? Your new disciple?"

Liu Huinian and Rong Youyan touched their gray beards and glanced at the young man.

"He's the leader of one of the participating teams, and a close friend of mine, regardless of age difference! I'd like to take him in as my disciple, but I'm afraid the temple isn't big enough for such a great figure!"

The young man was very considerate and bowed to Tian Shang.

"Junior greets senior brother!"

Tian Shang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. This newly-minted name was really rare.

"I've never been called Senior Brother before, and you're the only one. Which team do you represent?"

"Xiaguo Moon Landing Tower."

As soon as the man finished speaking, Tian Shang stopped smiling.

Mentioning Xia Guo at this time was really a bummer, and this person had just called him senior brother, and he had tacitly agreed. It felt as if he had walked into a trap set in advance, and did it voluntarily.

Liu Huinian seemed to be completely oblivious to Tian Shang's displeasure and continued talking freely.

"Your Majesty, this conference is truly packed with talent! Last year, when it was held in Song, there were only ten teams from the three kingdoms combined. This year, in our Yue Kingdom, we have a whopping thirty teams!

May your Majesty be blessed! So we've made some adjustments to the schedule. We can't finish the competition on New Year's Eve, so we've divided it into preliminaries and finals, with the finals on New Year's Eve!"

"Thanks to the teacher's personal efforts, this is how we can truly demonstrate the greatness of our country!"

Tian Shang was not interested and said perfunctorily.

"Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and has encountered such a grand event. We are blessed by your Majesty!"

Liu Huinian took out an invitation from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Tian Shang.

"I have heard that the virtuous king and princess of Xia are currently in our Yue Kingdom. I would like to invite the princess, who is well versed in music, to be a judge for the competition. This is the invitation letter I have written personally. I wonder if Your Majesty would approve it?"

Tian Shang opened the invitation and took a look at it, but did not comment.

"Princess Xian..."