Dress up as a sickly person to capture the villain princess!

The sound of water bursts.

Xia Zhiyuan walked down the stone steps, holding the ancient bronze mirror in her hand, which reflected the bluestone brick wall.

The light from the torches fell on the ground, leaving puddles of water. This place... was worthy of being called a "water dungeon".

"Host, this system has reported to the headquarters and intends to recycle the system, but the system has been out of contact for a long time, I am afraid we will have to wait for some time."

"Host, please be careful and don't get entangled by this system!"

"Otherwise, the signal interference will cause the world to go off track—"

"If this incident is successfully resolved, then I believe that the host will be able to leave this world soon."

"All of this is chosen by the host."

The system's words were still constantly replaying in Xia Zhiyuan's mind, and his fingertips were holding the bronze mirror, feeling it was warm.

"Sir, the thief is imprisoned in the innermost room."

"I will lead the way for you, sir."

The shadow guard with a knife walked forward.

Xia Zhiyuan nodded. She knew in her heart that His Highness's allowing her to investigate the matter was already the biggest concession he had made.

So, this time I sneaked into the water dungeon.

If Your Majesty knew, he would definitely be angry.

But she still had to come. If Xia Zhiyuan didn't resolve the issues that were weighing on his mind, he would not be able to sleep at night.

She didn't want His Majesty to be implicated because of the system's issues.

Fingertips against palm.

Gu Zhao heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The man walked lightly and was not wearing armor.

He turned his head and had already made a judgment in his mind.

In the water prison, those who come and go are shadow guards responsible for patrolling. The only one who is qualified to come in and does not wear armor is Di Ping who is beside the emperor, and the other one is... Zhao Changlin himself.

Of course, there is another candidate.

That is the emperor's most indulgent and intelligent one - Xia Zhiyuan.

"Commander Gu."

Gu Zhao heard these four crisp words and looked back, only to see that the bronze mirror was in Xia Zhiyuan's hand.

His entire body was soaked in the pool water and he was not far from death, but Gu Zhao was still holding on to his last breath.

Because he still didn't know what the current situation of the Gu family was, or what the current situation of his father was.

Can't die yet.

"Ahem...are you here to see how miserable I am?"

"Xia Zhiyuan..."

When he raised his eyes which were all white, Gu Zhao felt hatred surging in his heart.

"It was my fault, and I am solely responsible for my actions, but why did you... involve my father!"

"The Gu family members are not aware of this!"

To this day, Gu Zhao is still making excuses here.

Standing there, Xia Zhiyuan listened quietly to Gu Zhao's howling.

Instead of getting angry as imagined, Xia Zhiyuan took two steps closer.

Dan Sheng asked, "When you asked the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery to leave the Imperial City, did you go to see your brother?"

Hearing Xia Zhiyuan mention these trivial matters, Gu Zhao's expression suddenly changed. He didn't know what she was up to.

He snorted disdainfully.

The iron chains on Gu Zhao's body danced in the water, causing ripples of nitrogen.

"So what?"

"He himself was unwilling to be inferior to others, unwilling to be just a scholar in his life and only enter the Imperial Academy."

"So I gave him some advice and helped him. This should have been a happy ending for everyone, but someone got in the way."

After hearing Gu Zhao's narration, Xia Zhiyuan was now certain that his cheap father had indeed not deceived him in this matter.

That cheap brother indeed followed the male protagonist because he was bewitched by Gu Zhao.

"Your Majesty will decide what crime the Gu family has committed. It has nothing to do with me."

"However, regarding my brother's matter, my father has already prepared a memorial and handed it to His Majesty."

"I am willing to stand up and expose you and the Gu family."

"Do you really think that you can pretend nothing happened after committing such a horrible crime?"

Xia Zhiyuan saw that Gu Zhao still had a sullen face and the scars on his face had turned white from being soaked in the pool water, but she was not afraid at all.

Lure the snake out of the hole, this is only the first step.

Take it easy.

"You are fabricating evidence..."

"I only verbally promised Xia Zhisong something, how can you take it seriously!"

Hearing that this matter would involve his father and the entire Gu family, Gu Zhao was panicked.

He knew that the reason his father was still able to continue working in officialdom was not because of the emperor's magnanimity, but because of the connections his father had accumulated in officialdom over the years.

Enough to save my father's life.

His students are successful and his colleagues are all high-ranking officials.

In addition, my father was kind and generous and helped many Hanlin students, so the Gu family had an especially good reputation.

Let me learn martial arts and my younger brother learn literature.

It was also my father's idea.

"Forged evidence?"

"Are you a sinner qualified to say this?"

"Your Majesty must review this matter before we can know whether it is true or false."

After hearing these words, Gu Zhaoru felt as if he was falling into an icy cave. Everyone in the world knew what a person Xia Zhiyuan was to His Majesty.

As long as she whispered a little, His Majesty would hand over whatever it was to Xia Zhiyuan as if he were offering a treasure.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

"Xia Zhiyuan, if you have something to say, just say it."

"Is it my secret or the mirror's secret?"

He finally couldn't stand the inner torment anymore and decided to come clean.

If I could exchange the secret of this mirror for my father's life, it wouldn't be a loss.

Hearing Gu Zhao calling him by his name, before the words in his mouth were even finished, the shadow guard beside Xia Zhiyuan had already grasped the hilt of the knife and was about to draw it out of the sheath.

Xia Zhiyuan slowly stretched out his hand, reached out from the edge of the snow-white fur, and stopped the shadow guard's action.

"Your secrets... I already know them all."

“Not a cent.”

"Of course, the secret of this mirror."

With his fingertips touching the bronze mirror, Xia Zhiyuan could clearly see his reflection in the mirror.

The feeling from yesterday no longer comes to my mind. This mirror is in an extremely unstable state. Obviously... it has been dormant for a long time.

If you want to wake it up again, you may have to use some means.

Leaning against the wall, Gu Zhao raised his head and laughed.

"You are really interested in this mirror..."

“…This mirror is truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in the world.”

"You know, Xia Zhiyuan, I almost... killed you with this mirror."

"It's a pity that you are not an ordinary person after all."

Even Gu Zhao, who was defeated by Xia Zhiyuan, had to admit that Xia Zhiyuan was the smartest person he had ever met.

If he were to say so, Xia Zhiyuan would be more difficult to kill than the current emperor.

He originally thought that Xia Zhiyuan was just an ignorant young lady living in a secluded courtyard, so in their first confrontation, he used the most vicious tactics.

Because Gu Zhao doesn't like variables.

One strike would be fatal.

But, he is not as good as others in calculating.

Xia Zhiyuan was not fooled at all, but instead outwitted him.