The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Gu Zhanghua slowly stood up, looked at the cheerful Gu Jingfeng, and pulled him up from the chair.

"Third brother, look, your wives have already competed with my princess, and she's clearly defeated! Now it's our turn to compete, right? We can't always let the wives suffer, right?"

Gu Jingfeng stared at Gu Zhanghua with wide eyes: "We are brothers? What are you gesturing at?"

Gu Zhanghua smiled faintly: "Third brother, you decide! As long as you draw the line, I will obey you!"

Gu Jingfeng quickly evaded the question: "Aren't you putting me in a difficult position? I'm just a Bole, not a swift horse! Besides, who dares to compete with you? Looking at the entire Xia Kingdom, you've read more books than anyone else!"

"Then let's not compete in poetry or song, how about we compete in painting? I'll paint my princess, and you can paint any other lady you want! In one stick of incense, let's see who can paint the most likeness, how about that?"

Gu Jingfeng's face immediately fell, but he couldn't help but think that Gu Zhanghua's proposal was really great, which immediately aroused the great interest of the ladies. This was a great opportunity to show their presence in front of their own prince!

So the ladies all rushed to Gu Jingfeng, each vehemently demanding that the prince paint them, arguing with him like crazy! Gu Jingfeng wanted to find a way out, but no one gave him one. When it comes to painting, he is only slightly better than calligraphy, but if he compares himself to his fifth brother, isn't that asking for trouble?

Gu Jingfeng scratched his head. In the blink of an eye, he saw the first lady excitedly going to light incense, the second lady spread out the rice paper, and the third lady had forced the paintbrush into his hand. Then, all the ladies stood in a row in front of him, each of them posed in a charming manner, looking at him eagerly.

Gu Jingfeng really wanted to cover his face. It was too much to bear. Then he looked at the virtuous princess, standing there with such grace and dignity, like a lotus flower that emerged from the mud without being stained. This contrast made Gu Jingfeng feel upset. The ladies who had always been pleasing to the eye were now like prostitutes flirting with him in coquettish ways. How could this be?!

Gu Jingfeng sighed and drew heavily on the paper.

Qing'e covered her mouth and whispered to Zhao Xuan, "The prince is standing up for you. He knows the affairs of the Zhen Palace too well and knew it would turn out like this. The prince's idea is simple: your wife bullied my princess, so I will bully you!"

Zhao Xuan understood immediately: "I understand..."

Zhao Xuan looked at Gu Zhanghua and saw him spread out the rice paper, glance at her with a smile, and then lower his head to paint. Suddenly, her heart was filled with warmth. The embarrassment she had just made and the inferiority she had felt disappeared in Gu Zhanghua's eyes. She had always believed that she would always protect the fragile Xiaowu, but she didn't expect that the day would come so soon, Xiaowu would protect her in his own way.

Gu Zhanghua sketched out the general outline of Zhao Xuan with just a few strokes. When he was drawing the eyes, Gu Zhanghua looked up at Zhao Xuan. Coincidentally, Zhao Xuan also smiled at him with tenderness in her eyes, and Gu Zhanghua was a little dazed.

Seeing Gu Zhanghua frowning in thought, the secretary asked, "Your Highness, what are you thinking about? Draw quickly, time is running out!"

"Oh..." Gu Zhanghua asked doubtfully, "Strange! When I looked into the princess' eyes just now, I felt a sense of déjà vu..."

Shishu scratched his head, puzzled. "We're already married, and yet it feels like déjà vu? What kind of logic is that?"

Before the incense stick had burned out, Gu Zhanghua put down his pen.

Qing'e was even more curious than Zhao Xuan. She ran over, picked up the drawing paper, turned around and unfolded it for Zhao Xuan to see.

Zhao Xuan was stunned for a moment. Was that woman in the painting herself? When had she become so beautiful? Her eyes were as lively as flowing water, sparkling and radiant!

Zhao Xuan quickly walked over to the portrait and looked at it again and again, unable to believe it: "This... is a painting of me?"

Qing'e smiled and said, "Of course it's you! Who else but you?!"

Zhao Xuan touched her face and said, "Am I really that good-looking? How come I didn't know?"

Gu Zhanghua was amused by Zhao Xuan's words. "The time was too short, and I could only barely manage to paint the princess's graceful figure. But I did put some thought into these eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. If the eyes are painted like the real thing, the painting is half done. I can easily beat my third brother. I'll find time later and paint you a better one!"

The servant said, "Our Highness is a great painter, but he rarely paints. You are so lucky, Princess!"

At this moment, bursts of noise were heard coming from Gu Jingfeng's side.

The four looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the ladies were surrounding Gu Jingfeng, each of them complaining. Gu Jingfeng was holding a drawing paper in his hand with a nonchalant look on his face. There was no beauty on the drawing paper at all, only a small monster that looked a bit like a human, grinning with its teeth bared and smiling evilly.

Gu Jingfeng was very proud: "Who? Who's taking this as a souvenir? This is my own masterpiece! Don't miss this opportunity!"

The ladies all moved aside in disdain. Qing'e proudly held up the portrait in her hand and shouted to them, "Come, come and see! My prince has painted my princess so vividly! She's absolutely beautiful!"

The ladies looked at the portrait and felt a little disheartened. They no longer had the same enthusiasm as at the beginning when they were trying their best to make the virtuous princess suffer a setback.

Zhao Xuan smiled at Gu Zhanghua, took the initiative to walk up to the ladies and bowed.

"Our prince has always said that all the sisters in the Zhenwang Palace are extremely talented! I didn't believe it at first, but after seeing it today, it's true! It really opened my eyes! I admire all of you sisters so much that I feel inferior and admit that I am inferior to you. I am afraid that no matter how hard I try in this life, I will never be able to reach even one thousandth of your talents! However, I am not talented, so when I have time in the future, I would like to come to the palace to ask you sisters for advice. I hope you will be generous in your guidance!"

Zhao Xuan spoke calmly and confidently, giving the ladies face while also being measured in her approach and sincerity. The ladies' expressions immediately shifted 180 degrees as they all grabbed her hands, praising her prodigiously. They also expressed their willingness to teach her everything they knew, and finally, they unanimously expressed their immense regret that Zhao Xuan hadn't become the official consort of the True Prince's Palace.

Gu Jingfeng rolled his eyes at Gu Zhanghua.

"It's all your good deeds!"

"What have I done? It's good for everyone, good for you. Isn't it good for everyone to be harmonious? Third brother, do you want to wait until my wife and I leave so that you can start a big show in your backyard with gongs and drums? You finish the show and I'll take the stage?"

"It's fine, but why does it feel so awkward?"

At this time, Zhao Xuan turned to look at Gu Jingfeng, picked up Gu Jingfeng's painting on the table and admired it carefully, and suddenly praised: "Third brother, this painting is really well drawn!"

Everyone looked at Zhao Xuan in confusion. Gu Zhanghua also looked at Zhao Xuan with interest, wanting to hear how she would praise her third brother's extremely poor painting skills!