Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

The Prince of Shu was in a dilemma.

The visitor was Eunuch Deshun from the palace, and the "master" he spoke of was the current emperor, his imperial uncle.

He knew what his uncle meant by asking him to take Gui Yao there.

After the Princess Consort passed away, the Emperor wanted him to remarry. Today, Guiyao rode in his carriage. The Emperor must have misunderstood.

Previously, he insisted on marrying the Princess Consort, which displeased his uncle, who insisted on marrying him a woman of equal social standing, virtuous and gentle.

When they see Gui Yao later, they will inevitably have to question her. From a family background perspective, Gui Yao is not a candidate that the Emperor's uncle is satisfied with. What if he says something unpleasant...

The Prince of Shu did not want Gui Yao to suffer unjust treatment.

"Uncle De, I..."

I'll go with you to see the master first.

He went to explain the situation to his uncle, the Emperor, and then Gui Yao was no longer allowed to go.

Before he could finish speaking, Gui Yao lifted the curtain. "Brother, let's go."

She happened to have some things she wanted to confirm, and the other party took the initiative to bring them to her, which was a rare opportunity.

As she leaned out of the carriage, Li Deshun recognized her. When he heard her call the Prince of Shu "brother," the old eunuch narrowed his eyes.

When did the Prince of Shu get a younger sister?

Was it a deliberate attempt to get close? Or was there another reason?

If she deliberately approached him, was her saving His Majesty that night a coincidence, or was it premeditated?

Those who have spent a long time in the palace develop an almost instinctive sense of vigilance and suspicion.

However, he showed no sign of it on his face, and nodded slightly at her as if he did not recognize Gui Yao.

He thought to himself that if Guiyao approached him with ulterior motives, he would definitely try to establish a relationship with him once he recognized him.

Ke Guiyao simply smiled at him, without mentioning anything about that night.

This only made Li Deshun more wary.

Since he is called the Prince of Shu's elder brother, he should know the Prince of Shu's identity. Therefore, the person who can make the Prince of Shu meet must be of extraordinary status.

He didn't believe this woman couldn't think of this; either she didn't care about the powerful and wealthy, or she was too cunning.

But who in this world doesn't want to befriend the powerful and wealthy?

Therefore, he thought Gui Yao was the latter. So when Gui Yao came before the emperor and bowed with the Prince of Shu, but did not remove his hat, he said sternly, "How dare you! You don't even show your true face when you see my master."

Gui Yao smiled faintly.

"My appearance is disfigured; if I remove my hat, I might frighten your master."

"My husband has seen it all."

Li Deshun increasingly felt that there was something wrong with her, especially since she was wearing a hat late at night.

The Prince of Shu frowned, feeling that Li Deshun was being too aggressive.

It is indeed a great disrespect to conceal one's appearance when facing the emperor.

But this is a teahouse, not a palace, and the Emperor didn't reveal his identity.

He spoke up for Gui Yao, "Sir, she does wear a hat often, it's not directed at you."

He thought to himself, "No wonder Gui Yao always wears a hat; it's because it ruins his appearance."

Then we absolutely cannot let her take off her hat; a young lady will never want others to see her bad side.

The emperor, disguised as a commoner, went out of the palace today to listen to the people's voices at a teahouse, but unexpectedly saw his nephew, who refused to remarry, strolling around with a woman.

The two even rode in the same carriage, which shows that their relationship was not ordinary. He was worried that his nephew would remarry in a muddle.

Only then did Li Deshun bring the woman over to see her. Seeing how his nephew was protecting the woman, he was even more eager to see what she looked like, so he remained silent.

Li Deshun understood the emperor's thoughts and spoke with even greater force, "Please remove your hat, young lady."

The emperor was impeccably dressed today, but Gui Yao recognized the voice—it was the old man from that night—and saw his face clearly.

Since they all so forcefully wanted to see her, Gui Yao's lips curled into a strange smile. "In that case..."

Her tone was aggrieved and troubled: "Then I have no choice but to comply."

She was quick; she took off her hat in the time it took her to speak.

The emperor was caught completely off guard and nearly screamed in fright.

He looked at Gui Yao, "You...your face..."

What was revealed to him was a face without skin, showing only the red flesh underneath.

As an emperor who held the power of life and death, he had killed many people in his life, but this was the first time he had seen a skinned face up close.

The man was still alive, which caused him to lose his composure.

Li Deshun was also terrified, his face turning deathly pale, partly from Gui Yao and partly from the emperor's reaction.

He insisted on removing his hat, and if this frightened the emperor, he would be guilty of a capital offense.

"How dare you..."

"sorry."

Gui Yao interrupted him, hurriedly put her tassel hat back on, lowered her head, and tears streamed down her face. "It's all my fault for being ugly."

What else did Li Deshun want to say?

The emperor raised his hand to stop him; indeed, they were making unreasonable demands on him.

What happened to your face?

He had calmed down considerably and realized that the Prince of Shu and the woman before him did not have that kind of relationship.

It wasn't that he judged people by their appearance, but rather that the most basic requirement for royal women was that they had to pass the beauty test.

Unless the Prince of Shu is bewitched, he would never marry a woman who would never be approved by the royal family.

Since she wasn't his future niece-in-law, he didn't scrutinize Gui Yao like an elder would a younger person, and his attitude softened somewhat.

"I don't remember."

Gui Yao wiped away the tears she had managed to squeeze out. "I woke up like this three years ago, and I was disliked wherever I went."

Having heard that His Majesty is wise and benevolent, and that the people of the capital are very tolerant under His Majesty's guidance, I came to the capital.

She looked up at the emperor and said, "Uncle, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry."

"This is not your fault."

The emperor, who had been praised, waved his hand, not wanting to argue with Gui Yao, even though he had just been quite frightened.

But to peel off a woman's face and disfigure her is already extremely cruel; to then expose her disfigured face is to reopen her wounds.

"Sir, could you perhaps have one of your doctors, who is skilled in this area, examine her?"

The Prince of Shu was also shocked, but after the shock came heartache.

Before the emperor could speak, Gui Yao politely declined, saying, "I dare not trouble you. In fact, I have consulted many doctors over the years, but none of them have been of any use."

Only spiritual power can restore it.

The emperor frowned slightly. "It's quite strange that you haven't grown any new skin or flesh in these three years, nor has your condition worsened."

His face looked as if it had just been skinned. I'll have the imperial physician examine him to see what happened.

"The old man is right."

Gui Yao said, "I suspect that the person who hurt me back then must have cast a curse on me."

"Besides the reasons I just mentioned, another reason for coming to Beijing is to find the person who cast the curse and restore my own body."

Her tone was sorrowful, but her eyes, through the tassels, held the emperor's expression firmly.

After being poisoned by the mushrooms, she kept thinking about her origins.

It was not just one or two loyal souls who could transform into hairy eggs to protect her. Combined with those five thousand faces, she suspected that the so-called loyal souls were those five thousand people.

To have five thousand women pledge their loyalty to her, her identity must be extraordinary.

The words spoken by the Prince of Shu today, coupled with the Emperor's actions that night, gave her a bold idea: could she be Princess Baozhu?

Three years ago, her face was peeled off, her eyes were gouged out, her ears were plugged, and her seven orifices were sealed. Princess Baozhu also left the capital three years ago.

But if she really is Princess Baozhu, then her true appearance cannot be revealed until the true cause of her death is found out.

Even if the Prince of Shu said that the emperor doted on his daughter, Gui Yao would not easily believe him.

The moment his face was revealed, it was both a sign of shock and a test.

"Spells?"

The emperor's expression turned grave. "Can such vicious magic truly exist in this world?"

Although Xiao Huaijin had told him about the Ghost Market, he didn't really believe in superstitious things and always thought they were man-made. He gave Xiao Huaijin a position in the hope that Nan Yao would treat his Zhuzhu'er the same way he treated Xiao Huaijin.

Gui Yao nodded, "The world is full of wonders, and I am only guessing. Unfortunately, my cultivation is not deep enough to see through my own situation."

The Prince of Shu, however, was thinking, "Is the person who harmed you in the capital?"

If so, he should help Gui Yao avenge herself to repay her kindness.

Gui Yao shook her head blankly, "I don't know, but I always feel that I should come to the capital. My family and enemies may all be in the capital."

It's probably impossible for anyone other than a noblewoman in the capital to command 5,000 female soldiers.

Her gaze never left the emperor's face.

Judging from the emperor's expression, there is nothing suspicious at the moment, so she must have guessed wrong.

After all, that speculation was absurd; how could a princess of a country die such a pathetic death?

But what happened next made Gui Yao suspicious again.

The emperor asked her, "Do you know magic?"

Gui Yao responded modestly, saying, "I know a little bit about it."

The Prince of Shu felt sorry for Gui Yao's background and thought that if she could have the emperor's protection, her future would be better.

He then told the emperor that Gui Yao had solved both the Soul-Swapping and Love-Locking Talisman cases, in order to help Gui Yao gain credit.

"Master, Gui Yao's magic is not just superficial; she is a very capable and kind-hearted woman."

Her Xuanji Tower exists solely to alleviate the suffering of women throughout the land; to have such a capable woman is a blessing for the women of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

The emperor suddenly clenched his fingers. "Xuanji Tower?"

Gui Yao glanced at his clenched fist out of the corner of her eye and replied, "I have a Xuanji Tower."

The Prince of Shu added, "Only those with the right destiny will be able to see it."

The emperor clenched his fists tighter and tighter, but on his face he smiled and scolded Li Deshun, "Fool, you just misunderstood her. Hurry up and take Miss Guiyao to buy some good food to apologize."

This was to send Gui Yao away, and Li Deshun hurriedly and respectfully agreed.

Gui Yao hooked the tassel with her finger and unconsciously turned it. Why was the emperor so excited when he heard about Xuanji Tower?

When only the uncle and nephew remained in the room, the emperor hurriedly asked, "Tell me about Xuanji Tower. What are the two characters 'Xuanji'?"