The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Gu Zhanghua's study is located in an extremely secluded courtyard planted with green bamboo, separated by three moon gates from the main courtyard where the new house is located.

But Gu Zhanghua slept very uneasily that night.

He had a series of unrelated dreams, one about demons dancing and talking and laughing at him, his mother crying and arguing with his father about his wedding, and Qiqi suddenly falling ill and making him extremely sad...

In short, he was in a daze the whole night, but maybe because of the calming soup, he never really woke up. It was not until the sunlight outside the window shone on his face that Gu Zhanghua suddenly woke up, sat up, touched his chest, and gasped.

He actually dreamed that his younger sister Xuan had a face like Tian Shiliu!

They were chasing each other in the garden at the time. The dark red butterfly birthmark on Sister Xuan's arm suddenly turned into a colorful butterfly and danced in the air.

They ran excitedly, and Sister Xuan, who was running in front, called out to him, "Xiao Wu!"

At the same time, he turned around, and at this moment, he saw Tian Shiliu's strange smile on Sister Xuan's face!

Gu Zhanghua patted his still groggy head. It must be what happened in the bridal chamber last night that left him with a considerable psychological trauma!

Gu Zhanghua recalled the fantastical scene in his dream. He had seen the butterfly birthmark when he was a child.

It was when he was six years old, the day before he secretly followed the delegation. He remembered it clearly. That night, he and Sister Xuan were sitting in two large wooden barrels in the bathroom taking a bath, splashing water on each other. It was then that he saw the butterfly birthmark on Sister Xuan's forearm.

"Your Highness! You are finally awake!"

Gu Zhanghua heard the call of Shishu beside him. Turning around, he saw Shishu running to the bedside and smiling at him foolishly.

"why are you laughing?"

Shishu quickly restrained his smile.

"Look, the sun is almost shining! The Concubine has already sent people to urge you four times. If you don't bring the princess to the palace, the Concubine will definitely come to your house herself!"

Gu Zhanghua then remembered that he had to bring the princess to the palace early in the morning and asked hurriedly, "Where is the princess?"

Shishu's face suddenly turned into a smile.

"The princess is probably awake too!"

"What do you mean by 'old lady'? She is only three years older than me!"

Gu Zhanghua had just corrected the mistake in the secretary's words when he looked up and saw Butler Li humming a little tune, running and jumping to the door of the study with a smile on his face.

"Oh my dear! My dear prince, you are finally awake! The Concubine Shu has sent someone to urge you again! The carriage to the palace is ready and can set off at any time!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran away, humming a little tune.

Gu Zhanghua looked at Shishu in confusion.

"Why is Housekeeper Li acting strangely today? He looks so happy! Could it be that the housekeeper is pregnant with her second child?"

The secretary laughed heartily: "That's not the case! Everything is fine, Your Highness, don't worry!"

In the new house, Zhao Xuan was also getting dressed with the help of Chunlan and Qiuju, but she was so sleepy that she couldn't open her eyes, so she just closed her eyes and let the two of them play with her.

Chunlan applied powder to Zhao Xuan's face and muttered, "Princess! Why did you have to go to the study to harass His Highness last night? If Qiuju and I hadn't tried our best to stop you, you would have painted a little chicken on His Highness's face!"

Zhao Xuan's eyes suddenly opened and she no longer felt sleepy.

"Is it me? How come I don't remember anything?"

Qiuju is combing Zhao Xuan's hair.

"You also performed rope skipping for everyone!"

Zhao Xuan burst out laughing. "So... so interesting? How could I have forgotten everything? What else? What else? Tell me everything!!"

Chunlan said, "Don't talk, you'll turn into an ugly monster soon! You're still having a drinking contest with the secretary! Each of you hold a large jar of wine and pour it into your mouth. Whoever finishes it first wins! Of course, if you win in the end, you can reward the secretary with five taels of silver."

Zhao Xuan widened her eyes, her face full of confusion.

"Why did I give him money after I won? Shouldn't he give me money? And why so much?!"

Chunlan said angrily, "You know you regret it now? Wasn't that the first rule you set when you married into the palace? I admit defeat!"

Zhao Xuan was even more puzzled: "Yeah, I admit defeat, I won!!"

Chunlan laughed out loud.

"Yes! But you tried to reason with everyone, saying that this wine is a good thing. Then why is it that in traditional drinking games, rock-paper-scissors, and passing the flower, the rules are that the loser drinks, and the winner gets nothing? This is simply too unreasonable! So you changed it. From now on, everyone in our mansion will do the opposite. The winner gets to drink! So the last jar of wine is yours. The loser, the secretary, got no wine to drink, so you rewarded him with five taels of silver!"

Zhao Xuan laughed out loud after hearing this. "Wow! Even after being drunk, your brain is still so sharp! I admire myself!"

Qiu Ju reminded her, "You've gone through all the trouble you need to go through. When you go to the palace to see the Concubine Shu, you must strictly observe etiquette. Think carefully about what you should and shouldn't say before you speak!"

Zhao Xuan clenched her fists tightly and hypnotized herself mentally.

"Don't worry, I am Tian Shiliu, I am Tian Shiliu, I am Tian Shiliu..."

On the other side, Gu Zhanghua finished washing up and hurried towards the gate of the mansion with his secretary.

Along the way, he saw that every servant in the mansion was overjoyed, with smiles on their faces and walking with a breeze. It was like a person in high spirits on a happy occasion! Suspicions arose in him, and just as he was about to ask the attendant beside him, he saw the princess walking up to him with small steps, her waist slender and graceful, and bowing to him.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you. Did you sleep well last night?"

Gu Zhanghua hurriedly returned the greeting: "Thank you for your concern, Princess. Are you okay?"

"Then Your Majesty, let's hurry into the palace to avoid worrying the Concubine Shu!"

Even after getting on the carriage and about to enter the palace gate, Gu Zhanghua still hadn't figured out what was going on with those people in the mansion, so he asked the carriage driver.

"Shishu, I slept soundly last night. Did something happen?"

Shishu glanced at Zhao Xuan stealthily. Zhao Xuan winked at him, so Shishu had no choice but to perfunctorily reply, "No way. I've been so well behaved..."

Gu Zhanghua looked at Zhao Xuan, who was sitting properly with her head lowered.

Gu Zhanghua suddenly sniffed.

"Why do I smell alcohol on you?"

Zhao Xuan laughed it off and made up stories.

"Oh... this is a homemade balm I made with fruit wine!"

Seeing that Gu Zhanghua was about to continue asking questions, Zhao Xuan hurriedly said, "I've only been here one night, and I've already noticed that the palace is heavily guarded. Everyone is doing their job, and everyone is united. Your Majesty, I think you manage it well!"

Gu Zhanghua was no longer concerned about the smell of alcohol.

"You don't know, the mansion was so quiet before. When I woke up this morning, I found that everyone seemed like a different person. They were so happy!"

Zhao Xuan pretended to be gentle and softened her voice.

"Your Highness, I think you may have just recovered from a serious illness and your mind is still a little fragile and sensitive. I'm overthinking it. Just rest for a few more days and you'll be fine!"

In the main hall of Qilan Palace, Concubine Xiao Aiyue was standing at the door anxiously, looking out.

"Why haven't you come yet? Is there anything wrong again?"

Qing'e advised, "Your Majesty, we've already sent someone to urge them. They should be here soon. You'd better go inside and wait!"

Qing'e helped Xiao Aiyue walk towards the couch, and Xiao Aiyue suddenly covered her chest.

"Why do I have this ominous feeling? This virtuous princess has come with ill intentions! Think about it, Xiaowu was stabbed by her the moment he saw her. Why does this routine sound so much like Zhao Xuan?"

Qing'e asked in confusion, "My Lady, who is Zhao Xuan? How come I've never heard of her..."

Xiao Aiyue said: "You entered the palace late, of course you haven't heard of her! She is Xiaowu's nemesis!"