After rebirth, the empress was spoiled by the emperor's uncle like a little girl

Gu Qijue walked to the well next to the old tree.

"This well leads directly to the Green Canal outside the West Market. It will be very difficult to find Xin Niang again."

"That has to be found."

A Bao hesitated for a moment, then called Xie Wuai over, "Get Xuan Changdu here. I have two faces that I want Xuan Changdu to help draw."

"Two faces?" Xie Wuai frowned in confusion. "A portrait of the great thief Lei Gong, and a portrait of Xin Niang, the mastermind behind Bu Xian Xian. Both of them have been exposed, so whose portrait do we need?"

A Bao said: "I didn't notice it at first."

"But thinking back, the two times I went to Chuhe Restaurant, I saw a white-haired old man in the corner of the first floor lobby. He always ordered the same food and drinks and sat there all day."

"I guess it's a disguise."

Xie Wuai suddenly realized, "So, sister, you specifically ordered Jia Si to track down the white-haired old man, but you didn't expect that the white-haired old man would easily get rid of Jia Si as soon as he left the restaurant."

The Western Prison Tiger Guards were arranged to search for Xin Niang's whereabouts along the Green Canal of the West Market. Gu Qijue held the sword with his arms folded, turned around, and looked at A Bao solemnly.

"You suspect that the white-haired old man is the great thief Lei Gong."

"What this means is that the Tao family of Chuhe Restaurant has a secret connection with the Northern Border Barbarians, and the great thief Lei Gong frequently appears in Chuhe Restaurant, so he may also be related to the Northern Border Barbarians."

"Just a suspicion, maybe I'm overthinking it."

Changing the subject, A Bao raised his eyes to look at Gu Qijue and said with a cold smile: "It's not easy. Commander Gu, your brain finally works for once."

Gu Qijue: “…”

In his memory, this willful and playful princess who was raised in the deep palace, unexpectedly became good at solving cases, with clear logic and decisive actions.

After carefully following the clues, she was able to solve the case of the stolen tribute.

On the contrary, he, the commander of the Pacification Division, was always one step behind her.

After this experience.

He actually looked at her with some respect.

At this time, Xuan Changdu hurried over, bringing a painting box with him.

A Bao thought carefully and spent nearly half a day, and finally she and Xuan Changdu drew the two faces in her mind.

In the evening, when the sun was setting, Lu Lang came hurriedly to report that the old emperor had returned to the palace.

When A Bao heard this, he immediately took Xuanyuan Fengran back to the Xuanshi.

As for the aftermath of the Chuhe Restaurant, it was entirely handed over to Gu Qijue.

The towering palace that has stood for hundreds of years is magnificent and has high eaves.

The afterglow slanted across the palace path, lengthening Po's figure.

She had been waiting outside the Xuanshi Hall for a long time. As the night grew darker, she might have to wait some more.

But Abao didn't dare to show any complaints, for she knew that this was the old emperor's way of testing whether she was still docile and obedient after returning to the palace.

The sky was completely dark, with no stars or moon, just like splashed ink.

The night wind brought a slight chill, lifting the hem of Abao's skirt and penetrating into the cracks between her bones.

Until this time, the old emperor finally agreed to see her.

The door of the Xuanshi Hall creaked.

On both sides of the hall, candles were burning in the copper frames of crane lanterns, and the light was dim and flickering.

Reflecting the majestic old emperor on the throne.

Ah Bao stepped forward, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "My father ordered me to preside over the tribute ceremony, but I never expected that the tribute from Johor was stolen before the ceremony."

"This matter is due to the poor patrol arrangements made by this son. I hope that the emperor will punish me."

This self-explanation of guilt did ease the old emperor's anger a little.

"Let's first talk about the Johor tribute theft case. How is the investigation going?"

Without the old emperor's permission to stand up, A Bao still maintained a kneeling posture and carefully recounted the details of the tribute theft case that she and Gu Qijue had investigated over the past few days, without missing a single detail.

Anyway, even if she didn't say it, the old emperor would know it from Gu Qijue's memorial to the Western Prison.

But when it comes to Bu Xianxian, A Bao thought about it again and again, but concealed part of the truth and only told the version that was most beneficial to herself.

"During the night of the plum blossom viewing banquet last year, I was struck by this Unenviable Immortal and almost got into trouble."

"Since that night, although I have been trying to find out the origins of this Buxianxian, I have never found anything. I never thought that this time, by some strange coincidence, when I was investigating the whereabouts of the great thief Lei Gong, I suspected that there was something wrong with the Chuhe Restaurant in the West Market."

"Then, I found a vine-covered tree in the backyard of the restaurant."

"I asked the old doctor to help me identify it, and it was confirmed that the vine-wrapped tree from the northern barbarians is the source of Buxianxian's medicinal materials."

"The Chuhe Restaurant is actually related to the Northern Border Barbarians!"

"I suspect that the theft of the Johor tribute was also related to the barbarians."

"Father..." A Bao said earnestly, "Please give me some more time. I will definitely give you a satisfactory result."

In the quiet Xuanshi Hall, candlelight is dim.

The old emperor was puzzled and remained silent for a long time.

A Bao knelt on the cold ground, feeling the chill growing deeper into his bones.

After nearly half an hour, Abao finally heard the old emperor speak hoarsely again.

"Recently, some storybooks have been circulating in the major restaurants and teahouses in the four cities of the imperial capital."

"What's going on again?"

Due to Xiao Jingyue's plot, the story of Jinghu Cottage spread like wildfire.

However, she used the name of Dr. Sun to write so many volumes of storybooks which were widely circulated, and all the words in them all hinted at the secrets of the royal family.

In comparison, the romantic affair she had with Zhang Lanheng, who didn't even have the formalities of becoming her apprentice, was nothing.

As long as he can appease Concubine Wen, there is also the Imperial Uncle Feng Ran at home.

She doesn't care about the rest.

When A Bao heard the old emperor mention those stories, he was secretly happy.

Among those stories, the one that hurt the old emperor the most was the "Spring Palace Fight" in which the old rich businessman turned into a cuckold.