The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

The next day, the wedding of Gu Zhanghua, the virtuous king of Xia, and Tian Shiliu, the princess of Yue, took place as scheduled. The people of the capital spread the news and cheered, and for a time, it became a popular story in Xia:

The poor princess was finally rescued by the kind and brave king. The two fell in love with each other and lived happily ever after!

At night, in the bridal chamber of Prince Xian's mansion, Gu Zhanghua returned to his room early. All the guests who had come to toast him were carried away by his third brother, and those who had been making trouble in the bridal chamber were persuaded to leave by his second brother. The bridal chamber was very quiet at this time, with only the bride and groom.

The wedding candles burned brightly, crackling from time to time. Gu Zhanghua stood by the bed, staring blankly at the bride sitting beside her, covered with a red veil. His mind was thinking, he had gotten married, but his father still hadn't shown up. Fortunately, his mother had been released from house arrest, and he was still very happy. It was just that his father had a sudden attack of heart palpitations last night, and his mother had been taking care of him, so she couldn't come to the wedding either. He felt a little regretful...

Zhao Xuan sat quietly by the bed, but her heart was in a mess.

The weight of the pearls and jade on her head made her neck stiff, and even the red veil seemed extremely heavy. Fortunately, she gritted her teeth and endured the tedious rituals, and finally entered the bridal chamber.

But why didn't Xiaowu come to lift her veil? She could only see a pair of feet standing in front of her. She was sure they were wearing men's brocade boots, but why were they standing there motionless?

Zhao Xuan's heart immediately returned to the same anxiety she had felt a few days before. Could it be that the Xia Kingdom had suddenly changed the groom for some reason? Was it not Xiao Wu who she was marrying?

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan could no longer sit still. She stood up suddenly, lifted the veil, and took a look. Her heart finally settled down. The groom in front of her was indeed Xiao Wu!

But she looked thinner than the previous two days. Her originally round face now had a pointed chin, and there was a hint of sickness on her face. Against the backdrop of the bright red wedding dress, she looked even paler and bloodless.

Zhao Xuan's heart suddenly ached. It was all her fault for being willful and reckless. Otherwise, how could Xiaowu's old illness relapse and suffer so much?

Zhao Xuan just stared at Gu Zhanghua without realizing that her veil had fallen to the ground.

But at this moment, Zhao Xuan seemed very strange to Gu Zhanghua.

The princess before him was truly beautiful, a beauty so overwhelming, yet why was she looking at him with such deep, tender affection? Her gaze, gleaming with the warmth of tenderness accumulated through countless years? A melancholy, a sadness she couldn't express? And an undisguised, almost unconcealed, desire to devour him alive?

What exactly is going on?

Oh no!

Gu Zhanghua thought to himself, this princess is three years older than him, and his third brother had once described in detail how he fell in love with her at first sight, like a ferocious little cheetah! Was he destined to be doomed tonight, to be pounced upon by this princess, a single misstep that would bring him eternal regret?!

At this moment, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but stretch out her arms, hugged Gu Zhanghua, rested her chin on Gu Zhanghua's shoulder, tears welling up in her eyes.

After more than ten years, I can finally be as close to Xiaowu as I was when we were little. Back then, they were carefree and happy, getting into trouble together, playing games together, and sometimes even sleeping on the same bed...

Ever since the mission was attacked, everything had changed. She had lost the person closest to her, the one who loved her the most. She hadn't felt this safe and relaxed for a long, long time...

Suddenly, Zhao Xuan heard Gu Zhanghua's cold voice ringing in her ears.

"Princess! Please respect yourself!"

Zhao Xuan subconsciously looked up at Gu Zhanghua, and saw that Gu Zhanghua was both embarrassed and angry, and reached out to push her away.

"Princess! Although I was forced to marry you, it was only out of consideration for the greater good of both Xia and Yue. I have no romantic feelings for you whatsoever! I promise to treat you well in the future and to do my best to preserve your status as the virtuous consort. But that's all. I hope you take good care of yourself!"

Gu Zhanghua's firm and distant words brought Zhao Xuan back to reality instantly. Yes, she was not Zhao Xuan, she was Princess Tian Shiliu of the Kingdom of Yue!

Zhao Xuan felt a little desolate and sad. Perhaps in this life, she would never be able to be honest with Xiao Wu as Zhao Xuan. She still had so many important things to do. How could she suddenly lose herself in beautiful memories and be unable to extricate herself?

Zhao Xuan calmed herself down, concealed her tender feelings, and tried her best to play the role of Princess Tian Shiliu of Yue State. She stared at Gu Zhanghua and sneered.

"I understand what you mean! Isn't it that I will be my princess and you will be your prince, and we will keep our distance from each other. From now on, you go your way and I go mine! Is that right or not?!"

Gu Zhanghua was forced to take two steps back by the murderous aura that suddenly emanated from Zhao Xuan. He unconsciously moved slowly towards the door, stumbling over his words.

"Big... that's probably what it means..."

Zhao Xuan took a big step towards Gu Zhanghua: "Where are you going in the dead of night?!"

Gu Zhanghua retreated in panic, his hands clasped across his chest, like a little lamb facing a big bad wolf, his voice trembling.

"Princess...Princess...you, don't do anything rash! Didn't we just agree on this? You can't change your mind at the last minute..."

Zhao Xuan looked at Gu Zhanghua's panic and felt secretly amused, but she kept a straight face and slowly approached Gu Zhanghua step by step.

Gu Zhanghua retreated again and again until there was no way to retreat. His back was directly against the door panel. He felt dry mouth and his face was burning as if it was on fire. His heart was pounding like a deer.

"Princess, please forgive me... I promise! From now on, you have the final say in this Xianwang Mansion!"

Zhao Xuan put her face close to Gu Zhanghua. In the candlelight, Gu Zhanghua's pale face had turned red. When their breaths met, Zhao Xuan felt her face burning. She subconsciously took a step back, turned around, and avoided Gu Zhanghua's gaze.

"Don't keep calling me princess, princess, princess, like a rooster crowing. I have a name, Tian Shiliu!"

Gu Zhanghua hurriedly said, "Okay, I'll take note. Hello, Tian Shiliu! My name is Gu Zhanghua! Come, let's get to know each other again!"

Zhao Xuan suddenly reached out and grabbed Gu Zhanghua's arm.

Gu Zhanghua suddenly became nervous again and stammered: "You...you you you...what do you want to do?"

Zhao Xuan couldn't help but burst out laughing, pulled Gu Zhanghua aside, reached out to push open the door, and looked at Gu Zhanghua.

"What do you think I'm going to do?! Spend my wedding night with you?!"

Gu Zhanghua shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, no! I haven't thought about it, not at all!!"

Zhao Xuan tilted her head toward the door.

"The door is right there! Why aren't you leaving? Didn't you just recover from a serious illness? This is a perfect excuse to find a place to rest and recuperate! Your house is so spacious, I don't need to worry about it, right?"

"No, no, absolutely not!"

Gu Zhanghua finally understood and secretly praised Tian Shiliu for being so considerate and reasonable. He felt relieved and smiled gratefully at Zhao Xuan. He walked out of the bridal chamber and shouted, "Shishu! Shishu!"

The secretary who was waiting outside the door immediately appeared in front of Gu Zhanghua.

He looked at the smiling princess standing in the doorway, then at the beaming Gu Zhanghua, and asked in a puzzled whisper, "Your Highness, your bridal chamber? It's over so soon?"

Gu Zhanghua raised his hand and gave Shishu a slap on the face.

"What's the point of sleeping in a cave?! Don't you know I'm still sick? I need to rest! Rest!! Go clean up the study quickly. I'll sleep in the study tonight and not disturb the princess's rest!"

The secretary immediately understood: "As you command! I'll go and clean up right away, and ask someone to prepare a tranquilizing soup for His Highness!"

"Very good, very good!"

After saying that, Gu Zhanghua and the secretary hurried towards the study. In a moment, they disappeared.

At the same time, Chunlan and Qiuju, who were waiting at the door, came up to Zhao Xuan and were about to ask something when they saw Zhao Xuan waving at them.

"Come in, come in, all of you! Don't hesitate!!"

Chunlan and Qiuju came in. As soon as they entered, Zhao Xuan immediately closed the door, turned around and looked at them with her eyes shining.

"Tomorrow morning, quickly clear out a side room, the closer to the new house the better, for the prince to live in! He can't always live in the study. If outsiders find out, it will be troublesome!! Let me tell you, the prince just expressed his opinion! He actually thinks the same as I do, to be a fake couple! Just pretend on the surface! This is simply a match made in heaven!"

Chunlan and Qiuju looked at each other.

Chunlan asked, "How can being a fake couple be called a match made in heaven?"

Zhao Xuan happily turned around on the ground three times before bursting into laughter.

"What do you know? This means we are free from now on! He also said that I have the final say in all matters in the palace! These days, I am almost hurting myself with all the frustration! Qiuju! Where are the ten jars of Changxiangju that Uncle Guo gave me as a dowry? Bring them to me quickly! Satisfy my craving! Chunlan, you come with me and bring a few more jars!"

Chunlan and Qiuju looked at each other, nodded, opened the door and walked out.

Zhao Xuan called out to the two of them, "Wait, remember, you two must be quiet and don't alert anyone else. There are only a few jars, not enough for me to drink alone. If the virtuous king smells the wine and comes to snatch it from me, I'll be completely helpless!"