Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

"Did people from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion go to Mingyue's house to examine Chai's body?"

The bald egg, returning home in a flurry of activity, is nowhere to be found.

Mao Dan nodded emphatically, "I saw him enter the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion through the back door with my own eyes. The servants of the Zhang family called him Master Tuo."

After its owner took on the case, it was tasked with keeping an eye on Chai's body. The dog kept an eye on it for a few days and initially thought its owner might be overthinking things.

Unexpectedly, it actually caught sight of something. "It even asked which member of the Zhang family went to the mass grave on duty the day Chai died."

Are the Zhang family members investigating the Zhang family?

Since the other party asked this question, they must have discovered something.

Gui Yao thought of the man who claimed to be Zhang's adopted son. He was also at the mass grave that day. Could it be related to him as well?

Then Mao Dan said, "Zhang Bingsong's entourage also went to the mass grave that day. That guy called Master Tuo muttered something, but unfortunately I didn't hear it clearly."

But I felt that this matter was most likely related to Zhang Bingsong, so I wanted to squat outside his study to see if I could hear anything.

As soon as I arrived at his courtyard, I felt dizzy and heavy-headed, and was discovered by the guards…”

"Are you alright?"

Gui Yao looked visibly nervous as she took the bald egg in her hand and examined it carefully.

Mao Dan was flipped over in her palm, sprawled out on his back, and hurriedly said, "It's okay, it's okay. As soon as I leave his yard, my head stops spinning."

However, it still took some effort to evade the guards.

Gui Yao released it after seeing that it was truly alright, and instructed it, "You must never go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion again."

She was careless.

The hairy egg is not a real living being of flesh and blood; it is the spirit formed from the unwavering will of thousands of loyal souls.

However, after relying on each other for three years, Gui Yao had become so used to treating Mao Dan as family that she overlooked this fact.

Previously, because of the fake princess, it had been used to spy on the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and now thinking about it, it's really frightening.

Then he added a warning, "You absolutely must not go there again, understand?"

She was so confused; she remembered to remind Bai Yunshu and Mi Po beforehand, how could she have forgotten about her precious child?

Since coming to Beijing, so many people and things have come into her life, and she has been so busy that she has neglected Mao Dan.

Out of guilt, Gui Yao said, "You've worked so hard these past few days. How about I take you out for a royal meal tonight?"

The voice was very gentle.

It would be perfect if she went to the palace to ask her father about the Zhenguo Duke's mansion.

Mao Dan was very happy, but he complained, "Ugh, that's so cheesy. If Master wants to go, Mao Dan will go with you."

There shouldn't be any bugs in the palace, right? The Emperor and his consorts probably don't eat bugs, do they?

Gui Yao tapped its head. "If you want to eat bugs, just say so."

"hey-hey."

Mao Dan spread its wings. "Be reserved, be reserved. Master, are you going to write a letter to De Shun now?"

"Since my master treated me to insects, I'll deliver a message to him."

"Okay, I'll write it."

Gui Yao picked up her pen and asked, "What kind of insect do you want to eat?"

Mao Dan then reservedly announced more than a dozen kinds.

Gui Yao, "..."

But they still managed to reduce the font size, writing all the tiny insects on the paper in dense, scribbled characters.

As Mao Dan happily left with the note, Gui Yao's smile gradually faded.

Watching the person and the bird frolicking, Xiao Huaijin, who hadn't said a word, walked over and sat down beside her.

"Are you worried about balut?"

Gui Yao nodded.

There was something she had never dared to think about deeply: when the Five-Colored Army returned, would Mao Dan still be there?

This is also why she didn't rush to fall out with the Duke of Zhenguo and his group.

At present, her soul has not been fully restored, and she is unsure whether she can achieve both goals: rescuing the Five Colors Army and keeping Mao Dan alive.

Xiao Huaijin hugged her. "Don't be afraid, I'll help you."

She didn't say how she would help, and Gui Yao just took it as her comforting words and didn't take it to heart.

As night fell, she dressed in black and headed straight for the palace with Mao Dan in her arms.

The emperor knew she was coming and made arrangements in advance, so she arrived before him very smoothly.

Dinner was arranged in the emperor's bedroom.

Gui Yao introduced Mao Dan to the emperor. Mao Dan, being a sycophant, immediately said, "Mao Dan greets his master, Father."

Ever since it learned that there were all sorts of eggs in the bandit village, but none of them sounded as good as its hairy egg, it no longer rejected the name.

The hairy egg was covered in five-colored feathers, was beautiful, and could speak human language. This was the first time the emperor had heard such a name, which made him both curious and delighted.

After learning of his daughter's accident, Mao Dan took care of her, and the emperor personally served Mao Dan a lot of exquisitely cooked insects.

He added in a low voice, "Mao Dan, from now on, whatever you want to eat or drink, just come to the palace, and I'll have the imperial kitchen prepare it for you."

Even the emperor dared not imagine how Zhuzhu had survived those difficult years after being harmed like that, nor could he imagine how miserable his Zhuzhu would have been without Maodan.

This bird saved my daughter's life! Even if I had to catch every insect in the world for Maodan, it would be the right thing to do.

Mao Dan was very pleased with the emperor's attitude. "Thank you, Master Daddy."

Hey.

Besides its owner, it now receives not only the love of its brother-in-law, but also the love of its owner's father.

The emperor was grateful and added many more insects to its plate, and instructed the imperial chefs to research more ways to cook insects.

Of course, he didn't neglect his precious daughter either. While serving food to Mao Dan, he also piled a lot into Gui Yao's bowl.

Gui Yao looked at the overflowing plate in front of her and said, "Father, you should eat too."

The emperor smiled and agreed, but ate only a few bites.

He's getting old, and eating less in the evenings is good for his health. He wants to live many more years to protect his children.

When Gui Yao had eaten until her belly was round, the emperor took her to his bedroom and opened the secret passage switch.

"Whenever it becomes inconvenient in the future, you can enter the palace through the secret passage."

This is a secret escape passage dug by the founding emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty. It was only passed down to successive emperors. Now, the emperor, speaking in a low voice, told Gui Yao about this secret passage.

Gui Yao was deeply moved.

She told him about the Crown Prince's visit to her.

She decided to forgive the Crown Prince, and her father must also be hoping for harmony between the siblings.

The emperor was somewhat relieved, but he did not express any opinion. He hoped that his children would get along well, but it was his daughter who was hurt, and he had no right to forgive her on her behalf.

Father and daughter were enjoying themselves immensely, and Guiyao stayed out until late at night before returning home.

Back at Xuanji Tower, the sensible Prince Jin had already bathed and warmed the bed for her. Gui Yao had her fill of sensual pleasure that night and slept soundly.

Meanwhile, in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Zhang Tuo couldn't sleep, feeling like he was toiling away.

He found out that the old woman who died in the Zhao family was Zhao Mingyue's wet nurse, Chai Shi, and the pregnant woman was Chai Shi's daughter, Chai Shiyue.

Based on the appearances of Zhang Ming and Chai, it is inferred that they are related by blood.

But Zhang Ming was the descendant of a disgraced official. His entire family was exterminated, and he had no blood relatives left.

Moreover, Zhang Ming only returned to the capital once after leaving at the age of seventeen, and that was to accompany the Crown Prince to the Imperial Estate for several years. He should not have known Chai and her daughter.

But Zhang Ming was lying in wait for Chai Shiyue today, which meant he had obviously recognized something.

What is the origin of this?

He wasn't usually a very curious person, but he had been jealous of Zhang Ming for decades, and the mysteries surrounding Zhang Ming were very attractive to him.

So he simply got up and went to check on Chai's former husband's family. He discovered that Chai had a son forty-one years ago.

The son was born on the fifteenth of July and had a red birthmark on the back of his neck. Zhang Ming was also born on the fifteenth of July...

Upon discovering this, Zhang Tuo murmured in shock, "Zhang Ming is not a descendant of a disgraced official; he is the son of the Chai family. His adoptive father lied about his background."

Why did my godfather do this?

So he kept searching, as if he were possessed.

The information he found shocked him once again: Zhang Ming's family had been murdered by his adoptive father.

The adoptive father also misled the neighbors into believing that Zhang Ming was a jinx who would kill the whole family, forcing Chai to leave the capital with the newborn Zhang Ming.

He couldn't find out what happened to Chai after she left the capital, but he had heard that Zhang Ming came to his godfather's side when he was just a few months old.

Could it be that the godfather harmed Zhang Ming's family just to steal Zhang Ming?

He painstakingly trained Zhang Ming, but never actually used him, and so on...

It wasn't that his godfather didn't want to use him; it was because something happened twenty-five years ago that Zhang Ming threatened suicide and left his godfather.

Twenty-five years ago...

By the way, it was because of that incident twenty-five years ago that he truly became jealous of Zhang Ming.

There was another person involved in that incident. Thinking of something, he went to a manor outside the city that very night.

Twenty-five years ago, when the incident occurred, Zhang Tuo had been here. After all these years, he was still familiar with the place and skillfully found a secret room.

My godfather had a habit of drawing pictures to record his experiences when he was young, and he hoped to find something in this secret room.

Perhaps heaven heard his heart's desire, for he found several paintings hidden in a crack in the wall.

Zhang Tuo quickly opened the painting, and when he saw the face in the picture, he was so shocked that he dropped the painting to the ground, his back immediately soaked with cold sweat.

He murmured, hesitated, and finally opened the second picture with trembling hands; it was still the same person.

His hands trembled more and more as he opened the third picture, the fourth picture...

All the scrolls were opened, and they all depicted the same woman.

"No!"

He threw all the portraits far away as if they were venomous snakes, slumped against the wall, his face deathly pale.

"That's not how it is, Godfather would never do that, it's impossible..."

But as he spoke, he slid down the wall and fell to the ground, panting heavily, tears welling up in his eyes.

After a long, long time, he finally got up from the ground, put the paintings away, and returned them to their original place.

As he left the secret room, he hastily wiped his face, saying, "Zhang Ming, I'll never be jealous of you again, never again..."

The unsteady footsteps faded into the distance as the door to the dark room closed. A moment later, two figures emerged from another room within the dark room.

The man in black robes looked towards the door to the secret room. "Will he tell Zhang Ming the truth?"

"Probably not."

The Duke of Zhenguo pulled a painting from a crack in the wall, unfolded it, and said nonchalantly, "If you tell them, you have a plan; if you don't tell them, you have a plan."

He won this game no matter what.

The man in black robes turned to look at him and smiled, "Your Excellency has great ambition. For the sake of your great cause, women and children can be used as pawns in your game."

The Duke of Zhenguo sneered at her, "Tit for tat, Your Highness may also concede."

The man in black robes laughed instead of getting angry, and the laughter sounded particularly sinister and terrifying in the dark room...