Chapter 307 The Truth Revealed (Two Updates)
When the emperor saw Gu Jiao sharpening the scissors at him, his expression changed: "I don't want to!"
You have to have it even if you don't want it.
With a snap, the emperor's trousers were cut open, and Gu Jiao tore a bloody piece of cloth from his wound.
The emperor felt a chill between his legs, and an overwhelming sense of embarrassment rose in his heart.
The embarrassment even overshadowed the pain of the wound, making him extremely ashamed and annoyed.
The emperor had lost too much blood and was extremely weak, unable to resist. He bit his lip, and every strand of hair on his body silently expressed his refusal!
Gu Jiao: I can't see it! I can't see it!
The emperor gritted his teeth: "You..."
Gu Jiao put down the scissors, changed into a clean pair of gloves, and took out an IV drip and a venipuncture needle from the small medicine box.
The moment the emperor saw the gleaming needle, the fear of injection overwhelmed him, spreading to every part of his body. He panicked: "I don't want an injection!"
Be good.
The illness will only get better after getting the injection.
Gu Jiao grabbed his hand and inserted the needle into the back of his hand without pressing on his pulse.
They're getting more and more skilled.
The emperor was so terrified when he saw the cold, hard object stuck in the back of his hand that he trembled all over. Even being stabbed with a knife wasn't this scary.
He struggled.
Gu Jiao said with a stern face, "Don't move, or you'll have to get a second shot!"
I'm serious, I'm super fierce!
emperor:"……"
The emperor barely suppressed the urge to struggle, turning his face away with a wronged expression, refusing to look at the needle in his hand.
In the past, Gu Jiao always gave the emperor injections via intramuscular injection. This was the first time she had given him an intravenous drip. To prevent him from moving around and causing the needle to leak, Gu Jiao brought out a small wooden board that was only used when giving injections to Xiao Jingkong.
Gu Jiao tied the small wooden board to the emperor's hand and secured it with bandages.
Then Gu Jiao took out a razor.
The emperor's expression changed again: "So you want to shave my body?!"
Gu Jiao said, "Just a little bit is fine."
The emperor's face flushed red: "You are not allowed to touch a feather on my crane!"
Gu Jiao said seriously, "It's leg hair!"
There was also a minor superficial injury to the outside of the tibia; the wound was a bit deep and needed to be stitched up.
Of course, the larger wounds are at the groin, but you don't need to shave there.
Even shaving his leg hair didn't help much. He had more than a dozen wounds on his legs from hidden weapons. Most of them were not deep, and most of them didn't even need stitches, but they still needed to be disinfected and treated.
The emperor was placed in various humiliating positions to facilitate Gu Jiao's cleaning of his wounds, disinfection, local anesthesia, stitching, and application of medicine.
The light was too dim, and Gu Jiao couldn't see clearly. She said softly, "Spread your legs a little wider."
emperor:"……"
He's too ashamed to face anyone!
Ugh, this is so embarrassing!
After Gu Jiao finished the surgery on the emperor, the emperor had already fainted. It was unclear whether he had fainted from excessive blood loss or from shame and indignation.
Gu Jiao tidied up the house and went out with her first-aid kit.
Seeing Gu Jiao come out, Xiao Liulang stepped forward, ascended the steps of the corridor, and took the small medicine box from her hand: "Mother said a wounded person has come to the house."
Xiao Liulang had been waiting in the courtyard for a while. He had just gone to Lin Chengye's house and when he came back, he saw bloodstains on the ground and saw Yao Shi pacing anxiously in the courtyard.
Only after asking did I learn that Gu Jiao had brought back an injured person, who seemed to be quite seriously injured. Gu Jiao had been inside for almost half an hour.
Xiao Liulang told Yao Shi to go and rest, while he waited outside for Gu Jiao.
Xiao Liulang calls Yao Shi "Niang" (mother). Gu Jiao is her biological daughter, and she can choose not to call her that if she has a grudge. However, if Xiao Liulang, as her son-in-law, also doesn't call her that, Yao Shi will feel like she is an outsider.
Gu Jiao had already accepted Yao Shi in her heart, so she found it quite pleasant to hear Xiao Liulang call Yao Shi "mother," although she was still a little embarrassed to say it herself.
It seems that once they cried out, the bond between them could never be broken again.
She needs more time.
To completely emerge from the shadows of one's past life.
Gu Jiao understood that Xiao Liulang was curious as to why he hadn't sent the injured to the clinic, but instead brought them directly home and had them stay in his aunt's house.
You should know that was the Empress Dowager's room; ordinary people couldn't live there.
Gu Jiao turned around, gently pushed open the door, and looked at him with a pair of seemingly expressive eyes.
Xiao Liulang entered the room and, by the light of the oil lamp, saw the other person's face clearly.
"Your Majesty?" he exclaimed in surprise. "He's been assassinated?"
No wonder they didn't take the other person to a clinic; it would be very dangerous to take them to a clinic in this situation.
The emperor was already asleep, and his injuries had been treated, but his pale face still made it easy to tell what kind of danger he had gone through.
Xiao Liulang closed the door for the emperor and looked at Gu Jiao: "Are you alright?"
The emperor was assassinated, and she happened to rescue him, which inevitably makes people worry whether she herself has encountered a wave of danger.
The reason for using the word "pick up" is mainly because Gu Jiao really likes to bring people home...
He accidentally picked up an empress dowager, then accidentally picked up a young monk, and then accidentally picked up the old Chancellor of the Imperial Academy...
Okay, the old priestess didn't pick it up; it was her great-aunt who picked it up.
Gu Jiao wanted to say she was fine, but before she could finish, her eyes darted around and she stretched out her small hand: "My hand hurts a little."
"What's wrong with your hands?" Xiao Liulang subconsciously grasped her two delicate hands and examined them carefully, from the palms to the backs of the hands, from the base of the thumb to the fingertips.
He looked at her strangely, noticing not a single scratch.
"It hurts," Gu Jiao explained without changing her expression.
Xiao Liulang: "..."
Just as Xiao Liulang was about to pull his hand back, he suddenly heard Gu Jiao cry out in pain.
He held one of her hands, and she raised the other to cover her left eye, looking very uncomfortable.
Xiao Liulang wasn't so easily fooled again. He asked casually, "What's wrong? Are your eyes sore too?"
Gu Jiao rubbed her eyes: "I got sand in my eyes."
Xiao Liulang couldn't tell whether she had actually gotten sand in her eyes or was just pretending. Seeing that she had rubbed her eyelids and cheeks until they were red, he couldn't help but raise his hand and remove her hand, saying, "Let me see."
His long, jade-like fingertips gently touched her eyes, his thumb resting on her vermilion birthmark. The birthmark was cold, but his fingertips felt inexplicably hot.
Perhaps because sand had gotten into her eyes, her left eye was red, glistening with moisture, and the corner of her eye was also slightly red, revealing a hint of vulnerability as if she had just been bullied.
So incredibly alluring.
Xiao Liulang's throat bobbed slightly, his voice dry and hoarse.
He slowly lowered his head, brought his eyes close, and gently blew on them.
"Is there any sand left?" he asked softly.
Gu Jiao blinked and sensed it: "There's more."
He lowered his head again, as if to kiss her eyes.
"Oh dear, I didn't see anything! Young master, please continue!"
As soon as Yu Ya'er finished tidying up the kitchen, she saw her son-in-law and her young mistress kissing under the eaves. She was so frightened that she quickly covered her eyes, turned her back, ran back to the kitchen, and closed the door in one go!
Xiao Liulang felt a wave of shame.
They didn't do anything intimate, yet they're being accused of being intimate; it's truly unfair.
Gu Jiao's eyes are fine now.
Xiao Liulang intended to escort her back to her room, but perhaps due to the excessive movement while rescuing the emperor, the pipa button on her chest broke, and her clothes were torn open, revealing a section of a white undergarment embroidered with pink lotus flowers.
Xiao Liulang glanced at it unconsciously and quickly looked away, but the tender pink lotus tips were like nails driven into his mind, impossible to shake off!
However, Gu Jiao herself was clearly unaware that one of her buttons was undone.
"You..." Xiao Liulang was about to remind her when Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan returned from outside.
Since they had bodyguards, the time it took for the two of them to learn their skills was extended, and they no longer worried about encountering any dangers on the way.
"Huh? Brother-in-law?" Gu Xiaoshun saw Xiao Liulang and...
Before his gaze could even fall on Gu Jiao, Xiao Liulang sidestepped and solidly blocked her view. He used his body to shield Gu Jiao between himself and the wall, placing his hands on either side of her, leaving no gap in her line of sight.
This looks just like a beast guarding its food.
He turned to the two of them and said in a deep voice, "You two go inside first!"
The two, who had never been treated so seriously by their brother-in-law even though they ranked last in the class on the exam: "..."
My brother-in-law's eyes are so fierce!
The two obediently went inside.
Gu Jiao blinked as she looked at Xiao Liulang, who was standing right next to her. Her husband had pinned her against the wall.
Xiao Liulang cleared his throat, withdrew his hand from her side, opened his mouth, but ultimately did not remind her that the buttons were undone. Instead, he took off his outer robe and wrapped it around her: "Let's go back inside, it's chilly at night."
The emperor awoke in the middle of the night.
Once the anesthetic wore off, he felt pain all over his body.
Yu Ya'er stayed in his room, and when she saw that he had woken up, she hurriedly went to call Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao said to Yu Ya'er, "Go and rest. You don't need to guard the back anymore."
"Yes." Yu Ya'er returned to her room.
Gu Jiao pushed open the door and entered.
Yu Ya'er took very good care of the emperor, making sure he didn't sweat or catch a cold; everything was just right.
"Help me up." The emperor was not used to talking to people while lying down.
Gu Jiao helped the emperor sit up and gave him a cushion to lean on.
It's hot in Beijing during the day, but it gets a bit cool at night.
The emperor's original clothes were no longer wearable. His figure resembled that of one of Gu Yan's bodyguards, so Gu Jiao gave him a set of new bodyguard clothes to change into.
Gu Jiao turned up the oil lamp: "Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Are you hungry?"
The emperor shook his head, his face pale and his expression haggard: "I'm fine... Where did Eunuch Wei go?"
Gu Jiao said, "He was injured. He told me to go save you and not to worry about him. When I went back to look for him, he was gone."
"I hope he escaped, rather than being captured by those people." The emperor closed his eyes. Eunuch Wei had been with him for over twenty years and was far more than an ordinary servant.
It was his carelessness that led him to think that taking fewer guards when he left the palace without being attacked was no big deal. Little did he know that this gave the enemy an opportunity.
"Why did you save me?" the emperor suddenly asked.
Gu Jiao looked at him with a strange expression.
The emperor felt a stab to his heart from that look. He turned his face away and said weakly and in a muffled voice, "Wouldn't my death be exactly what you wanted? Or do you think... that if you save me again, you can regain my trust? I can tell you clearly, don't waste your time, I won't fall for it."
Gu Jiao stared at him intently, her gaze gradually shifting from initial bewilderment to surprise, and finally, astonishment faded, a hint of understanding appeared.
She didn't say anything.
He didn't utter a single word in his own defense.
She simply stood up silently, placed a painkiller and a glass of warm water on the bedside table, and then got up and left.
Her movements of opening and closing the door were very light and gentle, as if she had no temper at all.
However, the silent and lonely little figure inexplicably caused the emperor a pang of pain in his heart.
Knowing full well that this wasn't the case, and that he wouldn't die, she needed to deceive him to gain his trust. If she hadn't appeared, he would have already perished under the blades of those assassins. Why would she need to deceive him to gain his trust?
But he just couldn't control his anger. Since Ning An left, he hadn't met anyone who could enter his heart for many years. Just thinking about how the little divine doctor who should have been his had actually sided with Empress Dowager Zhuang made him furious.
He understood that it wasn't her fault, since she had known Empress Dowager Zhuang first, and he was the one who came later.
But words spoken can be so hurtful.
Perhaps it is precisely because of the closeness that hurtful words are more likely to be spoken.
That's for the best; a short pain is worse than a long one.
Since she chose Empress Dowager Zhuang, their relationship was destined to be severed.
My life has been truly miserable. One by one, the people I care about have been taken away by Empress Dowager Zhuang. First it was Ning'an, then the little divine doctor, and I wonder who will be next.
Fortunately, there's no one I care about anymore.
No, there's one more.
This person will never betray himself. He and Empress Dowager Zhuang have been mortal enemies since the late emperor was alive. He caused Empress Dowager Zhuang to be sent to the cold palace, and Empress Dowager Zhuang exiled him to the border.
Anyone might join Empress Dowager Zhuang's camp, but he alone wouldn't!
Thinking of this, the emperor finally felt a little relieved.
The emperor was seriously injured and unable to return to the palace, so he naturally did not attend the morning court session the next day. However, the court remained calm and the capital city was not in turmoil.
The emperor was not surprised. After all, Empress Dowager Zhuang was ruling from behind the curtain. She was like a pillar of stability for the Zhao Kingdom. With her around, he, the emperor, was quite dispensable!
Thinking of this, the emperor hated Empress Dowager Zhuang even more!
Xiao Jingkong and the others were unaware that a sick person had come to their house. After eating, the three of them went to school.
Xiao Liulang also went to the Hanlin Academy to work, while Gu Jiao went to the clinic to get some calming and soothing medicine.
Aunt Liu came to our house.
She had come to return the bowl, and when she passed by the old lady's house, she heard a noise inside and thought the old lady had returned.
She was overjoyed, placed a basket of bowls on the stone table, and hurried over: "Aunt Huo, let's play cards!"
When they opened the door, it wasn't an old lady, but a handsome and dashing middle-aged man.
Although the emperor's appearance was not as good as that of Marquis Xuanping, he was still a handsome middle-aged man.
Aunt Liu's eyes lit up with greed!
The emperor's brow twitched!
"You...you're Aunt Huo's son, aren't you?"
The emperor frowned: "You've mistaken me for someone else."
He is the true Son of Heaven, how could he possibly be the son of some ordinary old lady?
Aunt Liu said, "Oh my, I'm not mistaken! She looks so much like Aunt Huo, you can tell they're related by blood!"
It just so happened that the old Chancellor was on his way to the Imperial College and was passing by the gate.
Aunt Liu, with her sharp eyes, called out to him, "Uncle Huo! Your son is here!"
My son?
I have a son?
The old chief priest was completely bewildered. He walked over in a strange manner, pushed open the door, and saw the emperor.
The emperor also saw the old chief priest.
Their eyes met, and the sky above them collapsed simultaneously—
On her way to the clinic to get the medicine, Gu Jiao thought about her great-uncle. She already knew that her great-uncle was the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.
She thought that when she got back, she should remind her great-uncle not to come over for the next couple of days, lest he expose her in front of the emperor.
Little did Gu Jiao know that no sooner had she left than the two of them fell off their horses.
Gu Jiao ran into Jiang Shi when she went to the clinic.
Jiang Shi came to see Xiao Jiang Li.
Jiang Shi recovered and was discharged from the hospital last month. After the old Grand Chancellor took office at the Imperial Academy, he used his connections to obtain proper Beijing residency for him and Xiao Jiangli.
The old chief minister had also found Jiang Shi a job in the Ministry of Works—to become a formal apprentice there, and upon completion of the apprenticeship, he could become a formal craftsman for the imperial court.
Jiang Shi politely declined.
He worked as a laborer at the docks and occasionally smuggled goods on ships. It was risky, but the pay was better than being an apprentice.
Xiao Jiangli stayed at the clinic as a junior medicine boy, doing odd jobs and learning to identify medicinal herbs on weekdays. When she wasn't busy, she would learn to read from Manager Wang.
"Miss Gu!" Jiang Shi greeted Gu Jiao respectfully.
His life was given to him by Gu Jiao, his household registration was also handled by Gu Jiao, and more importantly, Gu Jiao took in Xiao Jiangli and gave Xiao Jiangli a place to shelter from the wind and rain.
Xiao Jiangli no longer needs to hide, and he can now freely go out and do things.
Gu Jiao nodded: "I got a tan."
Jiang Shi had been in the hospital for so long that he was almost as fair-skinned as Gu Yan, but when he got to the dock and was exposed to the sun, he immediately turned back to his old tan.
Jiang Shi smiled and scratched his head.
Gu Jiao asked, "Is your body still able to handle it?"
Jiang Shi laughed and said, "I can handle it! I've been taking such good care of myself at the clinic that I've gotten so fat. I'm the fattest one there!"
These days, it's not easy for poor people to gain weight; being able to gain weight is something to be proud of.
"That's good." Gu Jiao talked to Jiang Shi for a while, mainly asking about his physical condition and confirming that he could handle the labor at the dock. She didn't say anything more and told him to go find Xiao Jiangli.
Gu Jiao took the medicinal herbs back to Bishui Hutong.
She noticed Aunt Liu standing at her door, peeking around suspiciously, looking both curious and slightly anxious.
Gu Jiao walked over: "Aunt Liu, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"Oh my, it's Jiaojiao! You scared me!" Aunt Liu patted her chest. Originally, they heard Feng Lin and Lin Chengye call Gu Jiaojiao's mother, but the old lady kept calling her Jiaojiao, which sounded nice, so they followed suit.
Aunt Liu whispered to Gu Jiao, "Your uncle is back, and he's arguing with your great-uncle. They're arguing so fiercely! I even heard them throwing chairs! Oh dear, your great-uncle usually seems so gentle, how come he's so angry? I even heard him say... 'Kneel down!' Even though he's his own son, he's so grown up, it's quite frightening that he kneels down all the time..."
Gu Jiao's lips twitched.
Are you sure you said the one kneeling down was "father" and not "son"?
Aunt Liu felt sorry for that handsome young man. After being tormented by Uncle Huo, wouldn't he feel sad, helpless, and wronged?
The old chief priest, trembling from the wrath of thunder, was now kneeling obediently on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
The emperor trembled with rage: "How dare you! You've gone and acted like my father! Huo Xuan, you're trying to reach the heavens!"
The old chief priest hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please calm down and be careful of your wound."
The emperor roared, "You're concerned about my wounds! You just want to drive me crazy! Stop pretending!"
The emperor was utterly heartbroken! Utterly helpless! Utterly aggrieved!
The young doctor's allegiance to Empress Dowager Zhuang could be attributed to the latter's cunning; the young doctor was kept in the dark from beginning to end, unaware that she was a venomous woman. But Huo Xuan, that old bastard, had dealt with Empress Dowager Zhuang his entire life; how could he not know what kind of person she was!
How could he not know that the biggest cancer in the Great Zhao Kingdom was Empress Dowager Zhuang!
How could he not know that he and Empress Dowager Zhuang were irreconcilable enemies?
"His Majesty……"
The old priest wanted to explain, but hesitated to speak.
He couldn't very well say that Zhuang Jinse had lost her memory and mistaken him for her old partner; that wouldn't be an unbelievable explanation to the emperor.
But he just didn't want to say it, and he didn't know why.
Emperor: "Do you know what the crime of disrespecting the Empress Dowager is?!"
The old chief priest said, "According to the law, he should be executed."
Emperor: "You deserve to be executed? I will exterminate your entire clan!"
The old priest suddenly calmed down, perhaps because he sensed the smell of death and was no longer so afraid.
He kowtowed and knelt on the ground, saying, "This old minister is an orphan, without father or mother, without sisters or brothers, all alone. He lost his wife at a young age and has no children. This old minister's nine generations of relatives... consist only of this old minister."
"You..." The emperor was so angry that he grabbed the medicine bowl from the bedside table and smashed it.
The old priest did not dodge.
Unfortunately, the emperor was too weak from his injuries, and the medicine bowl simply smashed on the ground in front of the old chief priest.
The emperor became even angrier.
Gu Jiao arrived at the door. Not wanting to stand idly by, she reached out and pushed the door open.
Suddenly, a hand bearing the marks of time gently grasped her fair wrist.
She turned her head, slightly taken aback: "Aunt?"
Who else could it be but Empress Dowager Zhuang, dressed as an old woman?
"Aunt, what brings you here?" Gu Jiao asked.
Empress Dowager Zhuang said with an air of authority and dominance, "With such a major incident, how could I not come?"
You can't exactly say she came out to gamble!
Empress Dowager Zhuang said calmly, "Go outside and wait. I will handle this."
"Okay." Gu Jiao obediently went to sit on the stone bench in the courtyard.
Empress Dowager Zhuang pushed open the door and entered.
The emperor's angry rebuke came to an abrupt halt.
The old chief priest, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly straightened up!
Even when kneeling, he did so with great dignity!
Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced expressionlessly at the old chief priest: "You may also leave. I have something to say to His Majesty."
"Yes, Your Majesty... I take my leave." The old chief minister dared not look directly at Empress Dowager Zhuang's face, lowered his eyes, bowed without glancing to the side, and then got up and left.
The emperor stared incredulously at the old woman dressed as a commoner, momentarily speechless.
He had never seen Empress Dowager Zhuang like this before.
Even if you're traveling incognito, there's no need to dress so shabbily, is there?
He almost didn't recognize him.
Empress Dowager Zhuang swept a sharp and domineering gaze over them—
Emperor: It has that feel to it.
Your mother... is still your mother!
If Empress Dowager Zhuang wanted to shine, she could shine like the sun even if she were wearing a burlap sack. Wherever she stood, her sharp aura filled the entire room.
"I escaped from the leprosy mountain and collapsed by the roadside. After being rescued, I do not remember anything from before. My memory is confused, and I have mistaken some people. Your Majesty need not hold those who dare not disobey me against me."
This was the first time Empress Dowager Zhuang openly admitted to the emperor that she had contracted leprosy and that she had fallen into poverty.
In reality, it was something they both knew perfectly well, but they just had to put on an act for each other in the palace.
The emperor had considered having him speak, but it was Empress Dowager Zhuang who broke the ice first.
The emperor laughed self-deprecatingly.
In terms of courage and boldness, I really can't compare to this Empress Dowager!
Empress Dowager Zhuang continued, "If the Emperor wants to blame someone, he should blame himself. If it weren't for the Emperor causing me to contract leprosy, how could so many things have come to this?"
Another layer of paper has been pierced.
The emperor clenched his fists in shame and embarrassment.
"And what about the Empress Dowager?" he sneered. "Didn't the Empress Dowager ever think of taking my life?"
In the palace, he would never refer to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I") in front of Empress Dowager Zhuang; he would always refer to himself as "son".
But she thought she was the only one who would break the ice?
The emperor sneered repeatedly: "Mother Empress left the palace so early this morning, wasn't it just to confirm whether I was dead or not? Last night's assassination attempt failed, Mother Empress, are you very disappointed?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang did not rush to answer his question, but instead asked in return, "Now that my leprosy has been cured, is the Emperor disappointed?"
The emperor sneered: "Of course I'm disappointed, extremely disappointed!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "Then I am the same."
After saying that, she left without any expression.
"It really was that poisonous woman who did it!" The emperor slammed his fist on the bedpost in a fit of rage!
Today, Eunuch Qin also came over, and he waited with Gu Jiao in the courtyard.
"Please sit, Eunuch Qin," Gu Jiao said, patting the stone bench beside her.
Eunuch Qin smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss Gu. This old servant will not take a seat."
Gu Jiao didn't make things difficult for him. After a pause, she asked him, "Eunuch Qin, was last night's assassination attempt... really done by my aunt?"
The two voices weren't particularly loud, but they weren't quiet either; Gu Jiao and Eunuch Qin heard them both.
With a sigh, Qin Gonggong held his whisk and said, "This old servant doesn't know everything, but... it shouldn't be the Empress Dowager."
"Why?" Gu Jiao turned to look at Eunuch Qin, signaling him to continue.
After hesitating for a moment, Eunuch Qin decided to speak with Gu Jiao.
He sighed, “The Empress Dowager promised Princess Ning’an that no matter what, she would always spare His Majesty’s life. The Empress Dowager may deal with His Majesty, suppress His Majesty, imprison His Majesty… or even destroy His Majesty in a desperate attempt to cripple him, but she would never kill His Majesty.”
After being ordered to step down by Empress Dowager Zhuang, the old chief priest did not stay here and therefore did not hear the conversation between Gu Jiao and Eunuch Qin.
However, he also believes that last night's assassination attempt was not carried out by Zhuang Jinse.
It wasn't that he knew about the agreement between Empress Dowager Zhuang and Princess Ning'an, but rather that he understood Empress Dowager Zhuang's methods—she generally didn't act, but when she did, it was a fatal blow. If the assassination was orchestrated by her, then the emperor would not be alive.
But that person knew the emperor's whereabouts perfectly, so he must have planted spies in the palace as well.
The old priest pondered silently in his courtyard for a while, thinking about many things, and finally decided to go and apologize to Zhuang Jinse and express his gratitude.
The apology was due to his carelessness in exposing this misunderstanding of his relationship with his wife, which further strained the already cold relationship between the emperor and Zhuang Jinse.
He expressed his gratitude because Zhuang Jinse spoke up for him.
Whether the emperor believed him or not, he didn't really care.
Of course, he was still loyal to the emperor in his heart.
He would not betray the emperor for Zhuang Jinse.
But let's keep things separate.
This doesn't prevent him from apologizing and thanking Zhuang Jinse.
Besides, she must have felt a little sad that her adopted son misunderstood her, since he was someone she had once cared for.
Thinking about it this way, the old chief priest felt it was even more necessary to comfort Zhuang Jinse.
Zhuang Jinse went to the Zhao family next door.
The old priest mentally prepared how to best comfort her when he saw her, without making her feel worse.
With that thought in mind, he entered the Zhao family's house.
But who can tell him what he saw?!
"Two of bamboo!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang crossed her legs and played a leaf card with an air of dominance!
There wasn't a trace of sadness or grievance on her face; she was clearly radiant with joy!
The old priest's lips twitched violently!
Why did he think she would be sad?
Does this woman even know how to write the word "sad"?
Empress Dowager Zhuang casually scattered the tiles: "I won! Pay up!"
The old chief priest: "..."
The emperor's wound was at risk of infection at any time, so he had to stay in Bishui Hutong to recuperate.
The emperor wanted to see Eunuch Wei, so Gu Jiao informed Gu Changqing.
Gu Changqing found the unconscious Eunuch Wei in a sewer.
It turned out that last night, Eunuch Wei used his last breath to go to the emperor, but the manhole cover overturned, and he stepped into the hole and fell in.
His injuries were quite severe.
However, since the old chief priest had also been exposed, Gu Jiao simply arranged for Eunuch Wei to stay next door.
At noon, Empress Dowager Zhuang did not return to the palace but stayed at home for lunch.
Xiao Jingkong won't be back for dinner today. Yao Shi and Granny Fang went to the temple to burn incense again. Only Gu Jiao, Empress Dowager Zhuang, Gu Changqing, the Emperor, and the old priest who lost his horse are at home.
The emperor had only one serious injury; the rest were minor, and he was still able to sit down and eat.
This made the atmosphere quite awkward.
The emperor said coldly, "What are you all standing for? Sit down! Am I a tyrant? I won't even give my ministers a bite to eat?"
The old chief priest then reluctantly sat down.
Gu Changqing also sat down.
Gu Jiao brought the last bowl of corn and pork bone soup from the kitchen and began serving soup to everyone as usual.
After serving myself a bowl, I suddenly felt something was wrong.
She looked up and saw that the emperor and her aunt were both staring at her...the bowl of soup in her hand!
Gu Jiao: Uh…
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(End of this chapter)
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