Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

Mi Po's soul transformed into countless silvery-white wisps of light, flowing slowly into Gui Yao's brow like a stream of light.

"I have no way to repay the princess's kindness. I am willing to give up my soul essence to repair the princess's soul, and only ask that the princess protect the children of the Shen family a little."

By devouring Yang's soul, Mi Po's ghostly power increased, enabling her to inflict pain on Gui Yao.

Guiyao's pain just now was Mi Po deliberately diverting her attention.

Realizing what was happening, Gui Yao stopped her, "There's no need for that, I'll agree to your request..."

Gui Yao desperately wanted to repair her soul, but never considered sacrificing others.

"Princess, you need not feel burdened."

Lianmi interrupted her, her voice gradually weakening, "I've lived a life that's meaningless, whether I'm a human or a ghost. The old Duke said he loved me, but he despised my background."

I knew he wouldn't let the children be raised by me, but I still selfishly gave birth to them and made them recognize Yang as their mother.

I bear responsibility for my son's bad upbringing, and I am powerless to protect my daughter who married the wrong person.

To dissolve into this world is liberation and peace for me. I beg the princess to keep this a secret...

The voice gradually faded away, and the silvery light flowed into Guiyao's brow.

Everything happened so suddenly that Gui Yao didn't know how to stop it.

The shattered fragments of her soul flowed like light filling the cracks, across the broken and damaged parts of her soul.

In her memory, there was no instruction on how to pull the shattered soul essence from the spiritual aperture and piece it back together to recreate the always peaceful and kind-faced Mi Po.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

Shen Feiwan looked at Gui Yao, then searched around for something.

Why are you crying? Who were you talking to just now?

Gui Yao didn't know when she started crying. The tears flowed down her cheeks and into the corners of her mouth; they tasted salty.

The goddess repaired her soul, allowing her to experience pleasure even without forming a bond with the goddess.

"An old friend."

Gui Yao slowly wiped away her tears and asked Shen Feiwan, "Later I will go to the palace to consult with the Emperor about establishing a girls' school. Would you be willing to stay in the capital and work at the girls' school?"

Stay?

Compared to her husband's family outside the capital, Shen Feiwan naturally preferred to stay in the capital.

But her husband's family wouldn't agree, and her own family is also struggling financially, with an unmarried niece. If she divorces and returns home, it will affect her niece's marriage prospects.

"No."

She is all alone now, so why should she cause trouble for her sister-in-law and nephew?

Gui Yao guessed her concerns, "Just tell me, do you want to stay or not?"

Shen Feiwan suddenly realized something.

A while ago, in order to see her sister-in-law off, she asked her the same question.

Gui Yao asked her about it today, but this wasn't in their contract. Could it be...?

She suddenly lowered her voice, cautiously as if afraid of startling something, yet also seemingly filled with anticipation.

Do you want me to stay?

Gui Yao felt a pang of sadness and nodded, "Yes, I hope you stay."

This must be the mood of the goddess.

She disliked owing favors, so she did as Mi Po wished and took care of her family.

"Okay, I'll stay."

Shen Feiwan's eyes glistened with tears, and she quickly turned her head away. "But I have to go back first."

Whether she divorces him or is divorced, she must first sever ties with her husband's family to avoid them spreading rumors that she is promiscuous and unfaithful.

"I'll find someone to handle the divorce; you just need to prepare the dowry list."

Gui Yao glanced inside the cave. "If there's nothing else, let's go back first."

Shen Feiwan glanced into the cave as well. "It's gone."

Her enemy was dead, and her mother wanted her to stay in the capital, so she stayed. For the rest of her life, she had nothing else to do but live a good life.

Just as before, Gui Yao embraced her waist and led her into the mountains and forests.

The wind felt like a mother's hand, gently wiping away her tears.

She turned her head and forced a smile backward...

The man in black woke up and found himself alone in the mass grave. His eyes darkened, and he got up to survey his surroundings.

I found bloodstains under a tree, smeared some on my finger, and sniffed it.

The human blood had not yet completely dried.

Bloodstains in a mass grave are commonplace, but he had a gut feeling that the blood was related to Gui Yao.

And that Shen family girl, when her family was in trouble, she still came to this mass grave alone, which is really suspicious.

So he simply leaped up and sat down on the branch of the tree where Gui Yao had been resting.

Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to wait here and perhaps catch two more people.

He had been keeping watch, and he noticed Gui Yao as soon as she appeared.

"What trick did the princess just use?"

He flew to Gui Yao's side and blocked her path. After years of martial arts training, this was the first time he had been knocked unconscious by a woman's sleeve. It was truly embarrassing.

Bai Yunshu immediately told Gui Yao everything the man had done after waking up, saying, "This person is a bit strange."

She came to a conclusion.

Gui Yao nodded slightly to her and asked the man, "Who are you?"

This person has been waiting for her for so long, it can't be just to ask this one question.

"His surname is Zhang."

The man smiled maliciously. "Speaking of which, the princess should call me uncle."

uncle?

Your surname is Zhang?

Could they be from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?

They've already suspected her identity and are deliberately testing her?

But the Duke of Zhenguo only has two sons. The second son is in exile, and the eldest son was seen at court this morning. He is not this man.

Gui Yao smiled faintly, "I don't even know where I came from, so where would an uncle come from?"

"If you teach me that move I just used..."

He held his sword with both hands, "I can explain it to you in detail."

His temperament is somewhat inconsistent with his age, and he appears frivolous.

Gui Yao had no interest and raised his hand to flick his sleeve to knock him down again.

The man quickly stopped him, "No, I am the adopted son of the Duke of Zhenguo, and you are the adopted daughter of the Empress, so it's fine that I am your uncle, right? Don't just knock me out like that."

Gui Yao rolled her eyes.

She doesn't even acknowledge the Empress, so how could she possibly acknowledge this uncle?

If you don't want to confuse them, then just trap them first.

With a slight twist of her wrist, a wisp of spiritual energy, like a rope, bound the man to the spot.

Gui Yao scoffed, "You can't even beat one of my fingers, yet you want to be my uncle."

"Eh, eh."

The man circulated his internal energy, but there was no reaction. His face turned bright red.

"How could I possibly be no match for you? I'm a gentleman who doesn't fight with women, and elders should give way to juniors."

He actually couldn't beat him!

His godfather asked him to find out about Gui Yao's background, but didn't tell him that Gui Yao was so skilled and had such hurtful words.

Seeing that Gui Yao didn't turn around, he became anxious, "Let go of me right now, or you'll be sorry."

He even threatened her?

Gui Yao paused, turned around, and swept her finger across his eyes, smiling strangely. "Just wait and see. You can enjoy the excitement tonight."

Mass graves are never short of scary ghosts.

The man had just arrived in the capital and hadn't yet settled things with Gui Yao, so he didn't know what she meant by those words.

But the smile on Gui Yao's face was definitely not a good thing to him.

He then warned in a harsh voice, "Gui Yao, you'd better wait here if you dare, I'll call my wife over!"

"Pfft!"

Shen Feiwan, who had been silent all along, suddenly burst out laughing.

She had seen children fight, and when one couldn't win, the other would call on his elders. This was the first time she had ever seen a man in his forties, unable to beat a younger man, resort to using his wife as a scapegoat.

Gui Yao's lips curled up slightly.

After sending Shen Feiwan back to the Duke of Yue's mansion, he was about to go to the Prince of Jin's mansion to see the prince before entering the palace.

But on the way, he met Zhao Mingyue.

"I went to Xuanji Tower but didn't see you. I was just about to go to Prince Jin's residence to look for you."

Seeing the anxiety on her face, Gui Yao jumped into her carriage. "What do you want with me?"

"My wet nurse committed suicide."

Zhao Mingyue's expression gradually turned sorrowful.

"She is a very optimistic and vibrant person. Yesterday she told me that if she has the opportunity next year, she would like to go out to sea with a caravan to broaden her horizons. She said she wants to take good care of her health so that she can help take care of Cheng'er's children in the future."

She had never revealed any suicidal thoughts, but today she went to a mass grave, left a letter upon returning home, and hanged herself.

What did the letter say?

Zhao Mingyue shook her head. "The letter was left for her daughter, Shiyue. It only said that she took her own life and that there was no need to investigate the cause of her death."

But Shiyue and I both felt something was amiss, and we were worried that she might have encountered something unclean at the mass grave. We wanted to ask you to go and take a look.

Alternatively, Guiyao could see ghosts and directly ask the wet nurse what exactly happened.

Why would a perfectly healthy person commit suicide?

Ke Guiyao went to the Zhao residence, only to find that the wet nurse's soul was gone.