Chapter 266 Long Live the Empress Dowager! (Second Update)
When Gu Jiao woke up, she found herself lying face down on a dry bed.
She looked up, glanced around, and recognized that this was her private room in the clinic. She tried to move her body and found that she was in pain all over.
"You're awake?"
Xiao Liulang's voice softly sounded above her head.
Unfortunately, she was lying face down, which limited her neck movement, so she couldn't see him for a moment.
"Don't move, I'm coming over." Xiao Liulang took a few steps forward and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. She was slightly sweaty, and Xiao Liulang took a handkerchief and gently wiped her forehead.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. "Does it hurt?"
“It doesn’t hurt,” she said.
These physical pains didn't bother her at all; she was used to them and didn't think much of them.
She looked around.
Seeing her restless state, Xiao Liulang couldn't help but speak in a stern tone: "You are badly injured, don't move around."
His tone was stern, but his eyes were full of worry.
He was tutoring Lin Chengye and Feng Lin at Lin Chengye's house today when a sudden downpour began. He felt a sense of unease, and sure enough, Liu Quan arrived shortly after, saying that Gu Jiao and the old lady had an accident.
Liu Quan had just arrived home and was still reeling from Gu Xiaoshun's kidnapping when Gu Jiao and the old lady got into trouble.
The person was brought to the clinic by Marquis Xuanping.
Gu Jiao and the old lady were injured and fell unconscious on the spot. Marquis Xuanping originally came with Chang Jing to kill the old lady, but then he saw Grand Tutor Zhuang. With Grand Tutor Zhuang there, they naturally couldn't kill her.
When Marquis Xuanping arrived, Gu Jiao and the old lady had already been pulled out from under the rubble. A large group of people surrounded the old lady, while Gu Jiao only had an old priest beside her.
Marquis Xuanping brought Gu Jiao, who was covered in blood, to the clinic.
The old lady's injuries were also not optimistic; blood was streaming from her head. Grand Tutor Zhuang was worried that she wouldn't make it back to the mansion, so he followed behind Marquis Xuanping and brought her to the clinic.
Gu Jiao's back was hit by the roof, almost breaking her spine. Dr. Song said that if her spine were broken, she would face the risk of paraplegia and might never be able to stand up again.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Liulang broke out in a cold sweat.
Even though her spine was saved, she still had multiple swollen and bruised areas on her back and legs, as well as cuts from splinters of wood.
Then there's her elbow. She was protecting the old lady when she fell. She could have at least used one hand to brace herself, but she used one hand to protect her aunt's waist and the other to protect her aunt's head. As a result, she landed on her knees and elbows, and they were all bruised and swollen!
But she said it didn't hurt and kept moving around.
Xiao Liulang felt that as her husband, even if only in name, he should reason with her and tell her that she could no longer disregard her own safety and should take good care of herself.
Gu Jiao looked around blankly: "Where is my great-aunt?"
Xiao Liulang's words caught in his throat.
In another room, an elderly doctor surnamed Lu bandaged the old lady's head injury.
The old lady was still unconscious, but her breathing was not as weak as before.
"Is she alright?" Grand Tutor Zhuang asked.
Doctor Lu did not know the other party's identity, but judging from his appearance, he was either rich or noble. He bowed and said, "In response to this gentleman, the old lady's injuries are not serious. The wounds are not deep, and the bleeding has stopped. She will be fine once she wakes up."
But our Miss Gu is so badly injured, he can't bear to look at her.
Grand Tutor Zhuang was relieved and gave Doctor Lu a silver ingot as a reward: "You may leave now."
"Yes!" Doctor Lu picked up his medical kit and left.
Grand Tutor Zhuang stayed by the bedside.
Thinking back on what had just happened, he was still filled with lingering fear. He was so worried that the Empress Dowager might have been seriously injured.
Grand Tutor Zhuang did not have to wait long before the person on the bed slowly opened her eyes.
Grand Tutor Zhuang quickly stood up and looked at her excitedly: "Sister, you're awake?"
He thought that she hadn't regained her memory yet, and that this way of addressing her would be easier for her to accept. But when he met her eyes, he froze.
That was a sharp and domineering gaze, even when she was ill; it was a gaze unique to Zhuang Jinse.
Grand Tutor Zhuang took a step back, straightened his clothes, extended his hand, and gradually knelt down, bowing with his hands clasped in a salute: "Your subject respectfully welcomes the Empress Dowager!"
From then on, there were no more aunts in the world, only Empress Dowager Zhuang.
...
Empress Dowager Zhuang boarded Grand Tutor Zhuang's carriage and set off for the Zhuang residence.
Before setting off, Grand Tutor Zhuang sent a guard to inform his family. The entire family—Grand Tutor Zhuang's eldest son Zhuang Ping, second son Zhuang Zhou, third son Zhuang Mu, eldest daughter-in-law Zhen, second daughter-in-law Feng, third daughter-in-law Tan, and several children including Prince An—stood together outside the mansion gate, braving the wind and rain, to await the arrival of Empress Dowager Zhuang.
The carriage stopped outside the mansion gate, which was battered by wind and rain.
Zhuang Ping was the first to kneel down, and after he did, everyone else in the room followed suit. He cupped his hands and said loudly, "Your subjects respectfully welcome the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager!"
Everyone kowtowed and bowed, saying, "Welcome, Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager!"
Grand Tutor Zhuang alighted from another carriage and, braving the wind and rain, personally held an umbrella for Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was still wearing the clothes from Bishui Hutong, but that did not diminish her aura.
These were all her family members, yet they were all kneeling at her feet.
She glanced at the crowd indifferently: "Rise."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager!" The crowd responded respectfully, standing up properly. Their clothes were soaked through, but even the youngest three-year-old child dared not utter a sound.
Everyone knows that the Empress Dowager is very particular about rules and regulations.
Grand Tutor Zhuang said with a smile, "Hurry up and come inside. It's raining heavily, and the Empress Dowager is injured; she shouldn't get wet in the rain."
Grand Tutor Zhuang entered the Zhuang residence and the courtyard that the Zhuang family had meticulously prepared for her.
This is Zhuang Jinse's courtyard before she got married. Every plant, tree, and flower in it was arranged according to her pre-marriage arrangements, and it has remained unchanged for decades.
Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't even lift her eyelids as she stepped up the stairs.
But as she passed by a crabapple tree, she glanced at it again and felt that a child was missing from perching on it.
She went inside.
Within the Zhuang family, only Grand Tutor Zhuang and Prince An, along with their trusted subordinates, knew about Empress Dowager Zhuang's leprosy. Therefore, Grand Tutor Zhuang didn't even bring his own son, only Prince An.
After the three entered the room, Grand Tutor Zhuang called over two more maids: "The Empress Dowager's original attendants were all in the temporary palace. These are servants that Heng'er selected for the Empress Dowager. They will stay by the Empress Dowager's side to serve her for now."
"No need, you may leave." Empress Dowager Zhuang waved her hand after sitting down. "I do not need anyone to serve me."
Both grandmother and grandson were taken aback. Empress Dowager Zhuang valued etiquette and pomp; she was usually attended to by at least seven or eight palace maids and eunuchs.
Empress Dowager Zhuang reached for the teapot on the table and poured herself some tea.
Grand Tutor Zhuang frowned and looked at the two maids, saying, "What are you standing there for? Serve the Empress Dowager tea!"
The two men hurriedly stepped forward to pour tea.
Empress Dowager Zhuang slammed the teapot down on the table, clearly showing a hint of impatience. The two women were so frightened that they knelt down with a thud.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was momentarily flustered, seemingly realizing that her reaction was inappropriate for her status. She calmly said, "Pour it out."
"Yes!" The two looked at each other, stood up, one poured tea and the other served snacks.
Empress Dowager Zhuang had little appetite and dismissed the two men after taking a sip of tea.
"What exactly has happened these past few days?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked in a deep voice.
Grand Tutor Zhuang and Prince An exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
It was Prince An who spoke first: "You...don't you remember what happened?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang pressed her aching temples: "I only remember that I contracted leprosy and was forced to be sent to Leprosy Mountain. I escaped when no one was looking. After that, I seem to have been to many places, and finally I fainted from hunger... I don't remember much after that. Where did you find me? How many days was I unconscious?"
How many days has he been in a coma?
The two couldn't help but gasp.
The Empress Dowager remembered the past, but she couldn't recall what had happened during this period. Her memory stopped on the day she fainted in the village.
Thinking of something, Empress Dowager Zhuang asked again, "By the way, how is my leprosy?"
Prince An said, "Your leprosy..."
“You do not have leprosy! It’s a misdiagnosis!” Grand Tutor Zhuang interrupted Prince An.
"Misdiagnosis?" Empress Dowager Zhuang frowned.
Grand Tutor Zhuang said solemnly, "That's right, it's a misdiagnosis! To be honest, you've been missing for over a year. If you really had leprosy, you wouldn't be in this state!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at her hands, then touched her face: "I clearly remember having symptoms..."
Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "Leprosy is incurable. You are only experiencing similar symptoms, but it is not leprosy!"
In the Zhao Kingdom, leprosy was indeed incurable; it was said that only the most powerful Yan Kingdom had the means to treat leprosy.
Empress Dowager Zhuang paused for a moment, then asked, "Where were the days I disappeared?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "The Empress Dowager has been controlled by His Majesty's men! I don't know what kind of drug they gave her, but it caused her to lose her memory. I have tried to visit her several times to reunite with her, but I have been ruthlessly blocked by them. Today, I had no choice but to send my secret guards to forcibly take her away. As a result, the Empress Dowager was accidentally injured. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
Prince An hesitated, as if he wanted to speak.
"Auntie! Auntie!"
Suddenly, Zhuang Mengdie's voice came from outside.
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked dazed for a moment.
A name flashed through her mind, a name that seemed to have been called before, but she couldn't recall it.
“It’s Mengdie.” Grand Tutor Zhuang smiled. “She should be with her sister. Empress Dowager, would you like to see them?”
Dream of a butterfly.
Is the one who calls her "aunt" Mengdie?
Yes, otherwise, which girl would call her "auntie"?
Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded: "Come in."
Zhuang Mengdie pushed open the door and entered the room excitedly: "Auntie!"
"Call her Empress Dowager!" Grand Tutor Zhuang reminded him sternly.
"Oh." Zhuang Mengdie responded reluctantly, then bowed respectfully, "Mengdie greets the Empress Dowager."
Zhuang Yuexi, who entered the room one after the other, also bowed and said, "Yuexi greets the Empress Dowager."
Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded.
Zhuang Mengdie sat down next to Empress Dowager Zhuang, took her arm, and said affectionately, "Empress Dowager, I miss you so much! Why don't you summon me?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang said sternly, "No disrespect allowed!"
Zhuang Mengdie hummed.
Empress Dowager Zhuang doted on the Zhuang family's children, partly because she herself had no children, and partly because these children were indeed very charming.
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at Zhuang Mengdie beside her, and then at the gentle and quiet Zhuang Yuexi.
In fact, Empress Dowager Zhuang used to favor Zhuang Mengdie. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Zhuang Mengdie was good at being charming, so she naturally received more favor.
But today, for some reason, Empress Dowager Zhuang felt a stronger urge to be close to the quiet and reserved Zhuang Yuexi.
She stared blankly at Zhuang Yuexi.
Grand Tutor Zhuang gave Zhuang Yuexi a wink, and Zhuang Yuexi understood, walking over and sitting down on the other side of Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang raised her hand and touched Zhuang Yuexi's left cheek: "Is it gone?"
"Nothing's wrong?" Zhuang Mengdie asked curiously.
Yeah, nothing?
Empress Dowager Zhuang herself was unaware of it.
Medical clinic.
Gu Jiao stood quietly at the entrance of the lobby. She was still injured, and a cold wind blew in, carrying with it icy rain.
Xiao Liulang held an umbrella over her.
“Auntie is gone,” Xiao Liulang said.
"Will she come back?" Gu Jiao turned around and stared at him intently as she asked.
At this moment, she finally showed the naivety and confusion that a fifteen-year-old girl should have.
But Xiao Liulang couldn't feel relieved.
Xiao Liulang sighed, lowered his eyes, and said softly, "Jiaojiao, she is no longer your great-aunt, and she won't be anymore."
Gu Jiao stared blankly at the torrential rain, her small body looking somewhat lonely.
Xiao Liulang put down his umbrella, turned her around, and gently pulled her into his arms.
Her head rested against his firm chest.
She shook her head, widened her eyes, and said earnestly, "I'm not in pain."
Xiao Liulang tightened his grip on her waist, gently cupping her head in his large hand: "Mmm."
In the courtyard, Gu Yan was sleeping when he suddenly woke up, opened his eyes, and sat up.
Madam Yao was startled: "What's wrong?"
Gu Yan didn't speak, but a tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped the tear with his fingertip and stared at it intently.
Madam Yao saw it too, and asked in surprise, "Why are you crying?"
Gu Yan: "I didn't cry."
These aren't his tears, they're Jiaojiao's.
Lightly tap the blade to send
(End of this chapter)
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