The Empress Dowager sighed, "She's a woman with a tragic fate. Well, since you like her, then take care of her a little. In any case, that child carries the blood of the Zhao family. If word gets out, it will only make others laugh."
Zhao Shu didn't understand what the Empress Dowager meant, but since she had spoken, she nodded and said, "I understand, Grandmother. Ah Jun will take good care of our Zhao clan."
Seeing her smug look, the Empress Dowager snorted, "You can be smug all you want, but if you get into trouble one day, I won't care."
“Ah Jun doesn’t believe it. Grandmother will definitely intervene.” Zhao Shu reached out and gave the Empress Dowager a big hug. “Grandmother loves Ah Jun the most. In this world, only Father and Grandmother love Ah Jun.”
The Empress Dowager felt heartbroken. It was understandable that a child without a mother would be immature, let alone her precious granddaughter who was so sensible.
He patted Zhao Shu on the back affectionately and said, "A-Jun and the Huo family girl are very close?"
"Auntie is so good to Ajun. She makes dresses for Ajun and cooks delicious food for her. She also brought some for you, Grandmother. Have you eaten yet? It's a specialty from Guanzhou. The Huo family's kitchen makes it very well."
The Empress Dowager chuckled upon hearing this, gently patting Zhao Shu's back, her smile growing even more kind. "Since you like Aunt Huo, you should often go and talk with her. Does Ah Jun know why Miss Huo always wears a cloth over her face?"
Zhao Shu thought for a moment, realizing she couldn't tell the truth, so she shook her head. "Ah Jun doesn't know, but Ah Jun also wears a veil when she goes out. What's wrong with that?"
The Empress Dowager had no suspicions. She could never have imagined that Huo Danlan had such an illness. She could imagine disfigurement and birthmarks growing on her face, but she could never have imagined goiter.
However, at this moment, another concern arose for her. The Huo family's daughter was excellent in every way, except that she always covered her face with cloth, which might be a great flaw in her appearance. If she became her daughter-in-law, she would not be able to show her face to the public, which would be a disservice to her son and would also damage the royal family's reputation. But she was the eldest daughter of the Huo family, the eldest daughter who had once been in charge of the household. Marrying the eldest daughter of the Huo family would be a great honor, no matter what. Even the Empress's background was far inferior to Huo Danlan's.
Zhao Shu was unaware that the Empress Dowager was having an internal struggle, and kept praising Huo Danlan, saying how skillful and gentle she was.
As evening fell, the grandmother and granddaughter dined together. After leaving Fengxin Palace, Zhao Shu returned to Jinlan Palace and was confronted with Sun Yun's extremely aggrieved face. Feeling guilty, she quickly comforted her, "Next time, I will definitely not leave you to dine alone. Today, my grandmother has just forgiven me, so she did not invite you to dine with her."
Sun Yun had a cold face, but after hearing her explanation, she laughed. When Zhao Shu saw her laugh, she knew that she was just trying to scare her, and she was relieved. She had heard that young women in their prime could get angry for no reason.
"Ah Jun, I stood up for you. Don't worry, I guarantee no one will dare to cause you any trouble." She leaned close to Zhao Shu as if seeking credit, grinning mischievously.
Zhao Shu already knew about her good deed and said, "Grandmother told me, and she said you did a good job, hahaha."
"You're just kidding me. The Empress Dowager will definitely say, 'How could the Sun family have such a young lady?'" After saying that, she imitated the Empress Dowager's expression, acting extremely disgusted.
Zhao Shu laughed again after reading it. Perhaps her heart had grown old, and she could never be as lively as Sun Yun. However, after spending a lot of time with young people, she couldn't help but develop a childlike heart herself. It's true that while the body can age, the heart can remain forever young.
Tonight, Sun Yun did not sleep in the same room as Zhao Shu. She went to the embroidery building across the street and, perhaps because she was tired, quickly turned off the light.
However, Zhao Shu still couldn't sleep. Xiao Zhu Zi and Xiao Guo Zi came to report. After bowing, Xiao Zhu Zi said first, "Princess, we have found out. Zhao Shaoqiu is the eldest son of the fifteenth prince of the Guanzhou royal family. He is the ninth among his grandchildren. Several months ago, he became close to the second daughter of the Liu family. The fifteenth prince wanted to divorce his wife and remarry, but Zhuang Shi refused and made a scene. The Seventh Madam then used theft as a pretext to make the fifteenth prince divorce Zhuang Shi. Two months ago, he married the second daughter of the Liu family and banished Zhuang Shi from Guanzhou. Now, Zhuang Shi is begging for a living at Wuli Temple outside the city. With Liu Shi's tacit approval, the servants have been bullying Shaoqiu. Today, he was even thrown into the Qingshui River and almost drowned. Fortunately, he was saved by Young Master Huo."
"What a heartless man!" Zhao Shu sneered. Xiao Zhuzi continued, "I asked many people carefully, and at first no one dared to speak. But after I offered them money, they said that Zhuang was from an ordinary family and was the eldest daughter of the head of a security escort agency in Guanzhou. She was quiet and gentle and had once saved the life of the Fifteenth Young Master. To repay the life-saving grace, he married Zhuang as his principal wife."
"After Zhuang entered the family, she was bullied by the Seventh Madam and became somewhat domineering, but the Ninth Young Master was often bullied behind his back, which led to his current timid nature."
He paused here, listening attentively to Zhao Shu's instructions. Zhao Shu breathed a sigh of relief, as long as Zhuang Shi wasn't indecent. In this era, there weren't many women who dared to act impulsively.
"Go and bring Zhuang Shi to me. Theft? Do you know what she stole?"
"The Seventh Madam wrongly accused Zhuang of stealing a thousand taels of silver to support her family. After Zhuang's father died, most of the old镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) in the镖局 (escort agency) left. Her younger brother is only fifteen years old and cannot support the镖局. Her mother and younger brother are living in poverty, and now they are even worse off." Xiao Zhuzi hurriedly told Zhao Shu the news he had found out.
"Go and send some silver to the dealer. Leave Zhao Shaoqiu with the dealer for now. Have someone keep an eye on him in the shadows. If anyone dares to cause trouble, don't be afraid. Just hand him over to the authorities. I want to see who dares to stop me from doing a good deed."
Zhao Shu's lips curled up, her smile like the morning sun in the dead of winter, making Xiao Zhu Zi and Xiao Guo Zi shudder. The princess was furious, and they wondered what she was plotting now.
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