Cao Xuanxuan and Guo Zijie were sweetly spending time together in the courtyard when He Chun’er approached them. She noticed that the courtyard wasn’t decorated with the usual items needed for a wedding and inquired about it. Cao Xuanxuan explained to He Chun’er that she didn’t intend to have an extravagant wedding. Instead, she wanted to travel and get married while enjoying nature, finding it more meaningful. Guo Zijie felt that this approach was unfair to Cao Xuanxuan, believing she deserved a grand and splendid wedding. However, Cao Xuanxuan didn’t mind, and He Chun’er listened with great envy. Originally, He Chun’er was interested in Sun Weiyan, but upon learning that Sun Weiyan had already left, she felt very disappointed.
A month later, Prince Su accompanied His Majesty the Emperor to Yan Prefecture to perform ancestral rites. The Grand Tutor, along with other officials, came to welcome him. However, upon meeting, Prince Su was cold towards the Grand Tutor because the Grand Tutor was not an official from Yancheng and was instead well-acquainted with Prince Su’s whereabouts, which made Prince Su wary. While everyone was drinking, a subordinate reported to Prince Su that another case had arisen in Yan Prefecture. Since Yan Prefecture was a prosperous area, important cases were discovered repeatedly, which angered Prince Su. Learning that Guo Zijie and his wife had gone to the state capital for official duties and had not been heard from, Prince Su urgently ordered Guo Zijie to return to Yancheng for a thorough investigation. Taking advantage of the situation, the Grand Tutor attacked Guo Zijie and even recommended his own student to Prince Su, intending to replace Guo Zijie. However, Prince Su did not trust the Grand Tutor’s student and instead offered a significant position to both men to compete for. Whoever solved the case first would take the position.
After traveling together, Guo Zijie and Cao Xuanxuan returned to the manor. The servants were happy to see them back, and Cao Xuanxuan encouraged Guo Zijie to cheer up. Upon returning, Guo Zijie did not go to the county office. Instead, officials from the county office came to find him to investigate the case. While Guo Zijie was leisurely resting at home, the county officials returned with a major case, urging him to take a look, but Guo Zijie refused to go. At that moment, Cao Xuanxuan walked in. Seeing her, Guo Zijie was delighted, but upon hearing that they needed to go to the office, he was somewhat reluctant but was still dragged to the county office.
Zhou Shaoliang, who had been ordered, had already arrived at the county office and happened to collide with Cao Xuanxuan and Guo Zijie while reviewing a case. Cao Xuanxuan opposed Zhou Shaoliang’s decision to interrogate the suspect without thoroughly understanding the case beforehand. However, Zhou Shaoliang was indifferent, and Guo Zijie did not argue, which made Cao Xuanxuan very angry. Guo Zijie was now uninterested in romance, only wanting to spend happy times with Cao Xuanxuan, while Cao Xuanxuan was worried about the case and felt unhappy.
While Cao Xuanxuan was in the courtyard, Sun Weiyan approached her. It turned out that Sun Weiyan had never left Yancheng and had been teaching in the neighboring Wangjia Village. The person arrested by the county office, Mai Jiulang, was a family member of one of her students, so she wanted to investigate. Seeing Cao Xuanxuan at the manor convinced her that no one there would wrongfully accuse someone, so she felt relieved.
Guo Zijie had been feeling guilty, thinking that if he could have been by his father’s side, his father wouldn’t have died, which made him indifferent to the county office’s matters. Cao Xuanxuan felt that there hadn’t been any major cases in Yancheng for the past three years, but recently, cases had been continuously emerging, indicating that there was something suspicious. She decided to investigate the “Broken Arm Case.” Guo Zijie’s previous case investigations had become well-known, which made Zhou Shaoliang jealous. He wanted to challenge Guo Zijie fairly and had his guard Long He deliver the case files of the “Broken Arm Case” to Guo Zijie. These files were recognized by Guo Zijie’s servants, and Cao Xuanxuan deduced from the clues that Zhou Shaoliang and the modern female criminal were working together and likely held significant positions.
Cao Xuanxuan went to the county office to search for clues and happened to see a newly appointed coroner chatting with a newly relocated wealthy merchant. She didn’t find anything suspicious and walked away. The wealthy merchant bribed the new coroner with money and took out the most crucial evidence of the case, the “Broken Arm.” Guo Zijie went to his father’s grave to weep, and Zhou Shaoming suddenly appeared, telling Guo Zijie that his father was originally an official in the Ministry of Justice and a genius in solving cases, having cracked a sensational case that was famous worldwide.
