The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Gu Li picked up the handkerchief to wipe Xiao Aiyue's tears and tried to persuade her kindly.

"My beloved, think again about the sisterly friendship you once had with Xiaoman. You were constantly worried and sighing all day long, and it was Xiaoman who would come to the palace from time to time to tell you stories, buy you gifts, and finally give you such expensive flowers."

Gu Li reached out and touched Xiao Aiyue's nose.

"She knows you love beauty! Now that Xiaoman is gone, and she has no children, she only has Zhao Xuan as her apprentice. If we don't love her, who will? You always say that Xuan'er bullies Xiaowu, but I see that Xiaowu is happy to be bullied!

Now that they've finally become husband and wife and have been through so much together, haven't you noticed that our Xiaowu has grown up? Isn't he more calm and responsible than before? You should be happy for them both!

"I just...didn't think it through..."

Xiao Aiyue was filled with mixed emotions. His Majesty was absolutely right. Sister Xiaoman had passed away, and Zhao Xuan had already married her son. Why was she still concerned about Zhao Xuan's identity?

She regretted it deeply at this moment. It was indeed a bit too much to ask her son to write a letter of divorce in a fit of anger.

"It doesn't matter if you didn't figure it out at the moment. It's not too late to figure it out now! You just have too much energy!

Ever since Ming'er had the accident, our family hasn't held a family dinner for more than ten years. Tomorrow is the family dinner on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. You must prepare a few tables of good wine and delicious food for me!

Bring back Cheng'er and his wife and their little grandson, Feng'er's whole family, Xiaowu and his wife, and the friends who accompanied them to Yue State this time. In short, you can do whatever you want, call back everyone who can come back to celebrate the festival!

I want to enjoy a lively family dinner like we used to have! Do you think this arrangement is okay?"

Xiao Aiyue stopped crying after hearing this, but became extremely excited instead.

"Great! I'll take care of it all!"

Gu Li took out the divorce letter from his arms and handed it to Xiao Aiyue.

"Then take a look at this divorce letter..."

Xiao Aiyue hurriedly snatched the divorce letter, tore it into pieces in a few seconds, and threw it into the brazier next to her.

The flames suddenly jumped up and instantly burned the paper to ashes.

"Your Majesty, please give me some face and forget about this matter immediately. When you want to eat something delicious, I will go get some paper and pen to write it down!"

Gu Li looked at Xiao Aiyue running away in small steps and couldn't help but shook his head helplessly.

"She's already in her thirties, but she still acts like a child. There's really nothing I can do about her!"

?

Early the next morning, the court was held in Yonghe Hall.

After the routine discussion of daily affairs, Gu Li did not announce the adjournment of the court as usual. Instead, he stood up from the dragon throne and looked solemnly at the ministers in the hall.

"I have something else to tell you today, my dear ministers. I'm sure you all still remember the attack on the diplomatic corps in the ninth year of Xuanhe. The deputy envoy, Zhao Xiaoman, and her apprentice, Zhao Xuan, have been missing for many years. After years of investigation, the truth has now been revealed."

As soon as Gu Li finished speaking, intermittent noises suddenly rang out in the hall. Gu Li waited quietly for everyone to gradually accept the news before speaking again.

"Zhao Xuan was adopted by a kindhearted person. Now she has grown up and lives an ordinary life in a small village in Xia Country. She is peaceful and happy. I don't think it's appropriate to disclose her identity, but I will take good care of her in private."

This was the result of a private discussion between Gu Li and the ministers who knew about it. At present, Zhao Xuan still had to be her Tian Shiliu in public, so this was the safest way to deal with it.

Finally, a minister couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty, where is Zhao Xiaoman now?"

A trace of sadness flashed across Gu Li's brows, and he said in a deep voice:

"Zhao Xiaoman was killed by a poisoned arrow on the night the delegation was attacked. She died a martyrdom for her country!"

After Gu Li finished speaking, he looked at Han Gu who was standing beside him and said, "Announce the decree!"

Han Gu took two steps forward, unfolded the imperial edict in his hand, and read it aloud.

"Zhao Xiaoman, the chief escort of the Wuwei Escort Agency, loyally served his duty during the attack on the diplomatic mission in the ninth year of the Xuanhe era and died for his country. This decree is hereby issued to exonerate him and announce it to the world!"

Soon after, many people in Xia began to recall the heroic female escort leader who, many years ago, had protected the Ministry of Revenue's only merchant caravan, tirelessly traveling back and forth across the Qiankun Continent. For a time, many legendary stories about Zhao Xiaoman spread among the people...

?

While Han Gu was announcing the decree, in Qi Lan Palace.

Xiao Aiyue sat in front of the dressing table in the bedroom, opened the jade box in her hand, and looked at the ice crystal chalcedony flowers in the box. They were still blooming as they did before, but the person who sent the flowers was already sleeping in the ground. She couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Nurse...Sister Xiaoman knew I loved beauty, so she gave me such a precious flower without hesitation, hoping that I would maintain my beauty. But not long after, she disappeared..."

The wet nurse quickly handed the handkerchief in her hand to Xiao Aiyue.

"My Lady, I never thought that someone with such high martial arts skills could not dodge the poisonous arrow. Oh, how tragic!"

"Over the years, I've been hoping that Sister Xiaoman would come back. I even wondered if she'd been injured and lost her memory because she hadn't come back. She'd forgotten all of us and couldn't find her way home..."

Xiao Aiyue wiped her tears and gently closed the lid of the jade box.

"Your Majesty is right. Sister Xiaoman treated Zhao Xuan as her own daughter. Now that Sister Xiaoman is gone, I will get along well with Zhao Xuan. I will also keep this flower as a reminder."

After Gu Li's persuasion, Xiao Aiyue has now calmly accepted that Tian Shiliu is actually Zhao Xuan.

She was angry and full of resentment at the time, mainly because everyone was hiding things from her, making her seem so ignorant and it really hurt her self-esteem.

"The person is gone, the living are like this..."

Xiao Aiyue said silently, stood up and smiled at the wet nurse.

"Let's go and prepare for tonight's family dinner. Deming and Sister Xiaoman both love to be lively. They will surely be very happy to see us gathered together in heaven!"

?

Gu Zhanghua and Zhao Xuan were waiting in the imperial study early in the morning. As Princess Tian Shiliu of the Kingdom of Yue, Zhao Xuan was not allowed to appear at the morning court.

"Xiao Wu, you said that Master has been cleared of all charges. Will there be a turnaround for my grandfather's case as well?"

Gu Zhanghua was sitting at the table making tea. He handed the brewed cup to Zhao Xuan.

"I've thoroughly inquired with Jiang Song, who was in charge of the case back then, and I have to say that the possibility of overturning the verdict is very small. At the time, all the evidence, both human and material, pointed to it being your grandfather who instructed those people to smuggle with the Yue Kingdom."

Zhao Xuan took a sip of tea, placed the teacup on the table, frowned with a trace of worry, and slowly shook her head.

"I still don't believe Grandpa would do this. What was he trying to achieve? He was the Minister of Revenue at the time, a powerful figure. My master was guarding the only royal caravan. There were so many ways to make money. Why would he take the risk of smuggling?"

"I can't figure it out either. Maybe there's something else going on that we don't know about?"

Zhao Xuan clenched her fists, a determined look flashing in her eyes.

"I can wait! I've waited twelve years to clear my master's name. I believe Grandpa is innocent too. Evildoers will eventually be punished. We will always have an opportunity!"

Gu Zhanghua remembered a strange thing that Tian Shang had mentioned and asked Zhao Xuan about it.

"Sister Xuan, when are you going to tell Father that Tian Shang admitted that he attempted to attack the diplomatic corps, but ultimately forced his men to act because another group of assassins suddenly appeared?"

"I want to wait until after tonight's family dinner and find a chance to tell Father. Telling him now will spoil everyone's fun."

"That's right, I'll listen to you! And we haven't had time to tell Father about Tian Xueyan's matter yet."

Zhao Xuan also felt a headache when she heard Gu Zhanghua mention Tian Xueyan.

"Let's talk about it after the family dinner. I've been asking Qing'e to secretly observe her these past two days. She's been behaving well and doesn't act like a princess at all."

"Is she interested in our father in that way?"

There was a glint of gossip in Gu Zhanghua's eyes, and he winked at Zhao Xuan.

"You noticed it too?" Zhao Xuan raised her eyebrows and moved closer to Gu Zhanghua. "I'm telling you, my father is so stubborn. He thinks Tian Xueyan is just repaying a favor. He doesn't understand the girl's feelings at all..."

The young couple huddled together and whispered.

Huang Shuo, who was far away in Prince Xian's Mansion, suddenly sneezed several times in succession!

Tian Xueyan was sitting next to Huang Shuo, mending a scratch on his sleeve. Seeing this, she hurriedly said with concern:

"Brother Huang, have you caught a cold? Do you want the Little Doctor to come and take a look at you?"

When Huang Shuo heard the words "Little Medical Fairy", he immediately thought of the situation when the Little Medical Fairy treated him in Heyan Village. It was so painful that he felt like he would rather die than live. He immediately shook his head vigorously.

"I'm fine!"

He saw that the tear on his sleeve had turned into a little bee, with its wings spread out, seemingly buzzing.

Although he was used to Tian Xueyan's embroidery skills, Huang Shuo couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise.

“It’s pretty good looking!”

Tian Xueyan lowered her head slightly, gently bit off the silk thread with her teeth, raised her head and smiled gently at Huang Shuo.

"As long as Brother Huang likes it."