Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

"Cheng Le condones the evil deeds of his subordinates, and you are worried about your fiancée."

The emperor looked at Xiao Huaijin and said, "His actions were a bit impulsive, but understandable."

He acknowledged Princess Chengle's faults and reminded Xiao Huaijin that searching other people's residences without authorization violated the laws of the Dasheng Dynasty.

This time, the emperor covered for him, but there must not be a next time.

Xiao Huaijin understood the implied meaning, cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you, Uncle Feng."

The emperor is reasonable, and he won't be difficult to talk to.

A change in title means that he has transformed this matter from a matter between two countries into his personal affair.

The emperor was naturally pleased with his tact and pointed at him, as if facing the helplessness of a junior relative.

"You, who are usually so composed, have you truly fallen for someone this time?"

Xiao Huaijin said solemnly, "She is the only girl I will marry, the future Princess Consort of Nan Yaojin."

Such deep affection? Is it really true?

The emperor asked, "Her origins are unknown, and her appearance is disfigured. Do your parents agree to this?"

Xiao Huaijin smiled, "The woman I want to marry has nothing to do with her background or appearance, but only with her because she is worthy. My father and mother will follow their son's heart."

He said this with a hint of pride.

He was proud that the girl he wanted to marry was an excellent girl, and proud that his father and mother were open-minded; he was certain they would not stop him.

The emperor nodded, understanding Gui Yao's place in his heart, or rather, in Nan Yao's heart.

"De Shun, you take some people and help search as well."

If nothing goes wrong, all will be well. But if something does happen, Nan Yao will probably have to take action.

The person in front of us is the apple of the eye of the Southern Yao royal family.

Li Deshun hurriedly accepted the order and withdrew.

The emperor then looked at Xiao Huaijin, "Since you value her so much, why did you let her go to Luanshi Village alone?"

This indicates doubt; it's a test.

Xiao Huaijin immediately regretted, "This is all my fault. She loves beauty by nature, but her appearance has been ruined, so she has devoted herself to the art of dressing up."

That day, she painted an extremely alluring face for herself, preparing to go out...

He was a little embarrassed. "I was a bit jealous and didn't want other men to see her stunning beauty, so I wanted her to find someone more ordinary. I spoke a little harshly, and she got angry and..."

The emperor listened carefully, his expression inscrutable, it was unclear whether he believed it or not.

Xiao Huaijin's purpose in entering the palace was to cover up this rather unsophisticated situation, which couldn't even withstand close scrutiny.

As long as the emperor still hopes for peace between the two countries, he can only believe this.

Sure enough, the emperor pointed at him in the air with his finger, "You, you're fine if you don't fall in love, but once you do, you become a Casanova."

The topic was dropped, and the emperor stood up. "Let's go see Gu Nansheng."

The imperial physician arrived quickly. After taking Gu Nansheng's pulse, he said, "Your Majesty, this person is in a deep sleep because he has been given a calming incense. Acupuncture will wake him up."

The emperor raised his chin, signaling the imperial physician to proceed.

A moment later, Gu Nansheng opened his eyes and woke up to see the emperor's pupils tremble slightly. He quickly shrank into a ball.

"Where am I? Who are you? I want my mother."

It was the voice of an adult man, but his tone was like that of a child.

Between his crying fits, his gaze quickly swept over the crowd.

Xiao Huaijin narrowed his eyes. Gui Yao had said that the fake Gu Nansheng was mentally sound, but now she seemed to have realized something was wrong and was pretending to be stupid.

The emperor, unaware of the existence of a real or fake Gu Nansheng, assumed that Gu Nansheng had reverted to the mental capacity of a five-year-old.

What can a five-year-old child find out?

But Xiao Huaijin had gone to the trouble of bringing her into the palace; he couldn't just do nothing. "Gu Nansheng, do you know your crime?"

"Wow!"

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the fake Gu Nansheng kicked and thrashed about, wailing, "I want my mother! Waaah! I want to go home! Waaah! Waaah!"

They really put on a convincing act, looking exactly like a terrified child who doesn't know the ways of the world, crying loudly.

Xiao Huaijin didn't make things difficult for the emperor. "Your Majesty, although this person is intellectually deficient, he has harmed countless people. We don't know when he will strike again. It would be better to lock him up for now."

The emperor, his head buzzing from the noise, nodded and said, "Send him to the Jingzhao Prefecture prison."

He said in a stern tone, "If a crime is found, it will be dealt with according to the law, without any leniency."

Otherwise, if someone follows suit in the future and commits crimes despite being intellectually deficient, wouldn't the world be in chaos?

Xiao Huaijin was satisfied with the emperor's attitude and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, I am still worried about Yaoyao and would like to search for her again."

The emperor waved his hand, "Go."

He's gone; this disappearance farce should come to an end.

Meanwhile, in the depths of longing.

With sword in hand and a group of guards, he kicked open the door of Changxiangsi's residence with a vicious thud and waved his hand, "Search."

Last night, the madam was singing and dancing, and she had just closed her doors to rest this morning when this loud noise woke her up.

Recognizing that the swordsman was Prince Jin's guard, the madam wailed, "Oh dear, my lord, what has happened now?"

They haven't provoked the Prince Jin's mansion recently.

"The Gu family has admitted to harboring my future princess. Changxiangsi is a property of the Gu family. We have come here to find our future princess. Bystanders, please give way."

"Injustice! It's a terrible injustice!"

The madam tossed her handkerchief aside and sidled up to the swordsman, saying, "Chang Xiang Si hasn't had any new girls lately, there must be some misunderstanding..."

"Get out of the way!"

He wielded the sword instead of his hand and pushed the madam aside.

"My lord has already reported to His Majesty. If there is any injustice, you can let your master cry to His Majesty."

If you continue to obstruct me, I will suspect that you, Changxiangsi, have something to hide.

Many high-ranking officials and nobles stayed overnight at Changxiangsi Inn, so the madam dared not let them barge in, and cried and begged to stop them.

Holding his sword with a cold face, he let her pester him, but the guards below kept moving. Some officials were dissatisfied and came out to rebuke the Jin Prince's Mansion for its arrogance.

Before Zhijian could reply, Li Deshun arrived in person.

"My lords, is this an attempt to criticize His Majesty?"

The officials who had just spoken hurriedly retreated back inside to get dressed.

Li Deshun was too lazy to care about these scoundrels; officials were originally forbidden from visiting prostitutes.

However, the country had been in chaos for decades. During the reign of the late emperor, the national treasury was empty and the people were restless. The government-run brothels could be taxed to replenish the national treasury and also to appease the court officials.

This rule has been broken until now. After the Great Sheng gradually stabilized, His Majesty wanted to deal with this matter, but his health deteriorated again, and the Crown Prince took over the reins of government. This matter has been delayed until today.

Hey!

Li Deshun sighed, putting aside his chaotic thoughts, and signaled to the Imperial Guards to help find the person.

The madam dared not stop her anymore, but she still sobbed and cried out that she was wronged.

As the manager of Changxiangsi, she knew best whether there were any people hiding in Changxiangsi. She felt that the Prince Jin's Mansion was still holding a grudge and deliberately causing trouble.

But the next moment, she couldn't cry anymore.

A member of the Imperial Guard shouted, "Found it!"

She hurriedly got up to see what was going on, and a shadow flashed before her eyes—it was Li Deshun.

Seeing how much he valued it, the madam started running after him, only to find herself heading straight for her room.

Gui Yao changed back to her alluring appearance, her mouth stuffed with a rag, and was tied to a pillar in the madam's room.

"Quick, save the girl!"

Li Deshun knew that Gui Yao had done this on purpose, but seeing her tied up, he still felt heartbroken.

"It wasn't me, something's fishy about this..."

The madam hurriedly explained.

"Shut up, take him away."

Li Deshun was even angrier than when he drew his sword, "His Majesty works day and night for the peace of the world, yet you scoundrels are running amok behind his back."

"Don't move."

Gui Yao stopped the person who was trying to untie the rope.

"I have no grudge against Cheng Le. I won't leave until she comes to apologize in person."

Li Deshun hurriedly stepped forward, "Princess Chengle hasn't arrived in the capital yet, why don't you come down and relax?"

"By wielding a sword, Princess Chengle is attempting to incite conflict between the two countries by arbitrarily kidnapping the future princess of Nan Yao?"

Li Deshun hurriedly explained, "Princess Chengle is a royal princess and would never dare to harbor such malicious intentions."

"That means you're dissatisfied with me personally."

Gui Yao said calmly, "If that's the case, then I can't leave even more."

Li Deshun tried to coax Gui Yao for a long time, but Gui Yao remained unmoved.

It wasn't until Xiao Huaijin arrived and helped persuade her that Gui Yao finally relented, saying, "I'll leave if she has to compensate me, otherwise anyone can bully me in the future."

She glanced around. "Give me back this 'Longing for You'."

Li Deshun naturally couldn't make the decision on his own, so he sent someone on horseback back to the palace to ask the emperor for instructions.

The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "I agree on behalf of Chengle."

Princess Chengle was unaware that the imposter Gu Nansheng had been imprisoned and that Chang Xiangsi had become Gui Yao's. She was maliciously plotting how to deal with Gui Yao.

Gui Yao loosened his bonds and said to Li Deshun, "Now that Changxiangsi is mine, I'll trouble you, Eunuch, to lend me some men. Make sure everyone who goes out keeps a close eye on things and doesn't take away a single blade of grass, a single needle or thread from this building."

Places of ill repute are the most convenient places for officials to form cliques and discuss shady matters.

She wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the misdeeds of the officials in the capital.

Upon hearing this, Li Deshun immediately understood what she was thinking and was shocked. "Young master, you truly are the young master."

It still has to be his young master.

He immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to block the gates of Changxiangsi.

After taking over the case, Zang Lan, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, began to interrogate the two ladies of the Gu family.

Madam Gu's claim that she temporarily hid Gu Nansheng was a lie; she revealed all the sordid affairs of the Gu family over the years.

The emperor intended to block the transmission of information, but Chengle was completely unaware of this.

When she and her party arrived in the capital, the officials dug up a large number of skeletons from the Gu residence, which enraged the entire city. Therefore, when she entered the city, she found everyone staring at them and whispering among themselves, assuming it was just about Madam Gu.

She laughed, "It seems Lady Feng is indeed detestable. The people are furious. I'm almost impatient to see how she dies..."