Chapter 349 (First Update)
"You slept quite well, didn't you?" Gu Jiao asked, raising an eyebrow.
Eunuch Wei opened his mouth wide, but couldn't utter a sound for a long time.
The hallway was filled with the sounds of Aunt Liu and her sisters laughing heartily, along with the two daughters-in-law of Granny Zhou's family, and the noisy chatter of their children in the front yard with Xiao Jingkong.
In the past, His Majesty would find it difficult to fall asleep even with the slightest noise in the palace. How could His Majesty be sleeping so soundly now, with all this noise outside?
The emperor slept from the afternoon until the next morning, without even eating dinner.
Gu Jiao watched as the emperor, with his disheveled hair, rushed into his carriage like the wind to go to the morning court, and thought to herself, "How can he look like he can't sleep? He clearly sleeps more than I do!"
She was fiddling with gunpowder last night, and the whole family was woken up by the explosion, except for the emperor, who was snoring loudly, filling the entire courtyard with his dragon breath—commonly known as, snoring.
"Hmm." Gu Jiao touched her chin. "I thought I had knocked him unconscious in the middle of the night."
"Hurry up and get on the carriage! What are you standing there for!" The emperor slapped the coachman on the head, but he was full of energy and definitely not stunned by the explosion.
The emperor slept soundly and felt refreshed. He returned to Huaqing Palace to wash up, changed into his dragon robe, and then went to the Golden Palace.
Empress Dowager Zhuang's imperial carriage also arrived near the Golden Palace.
Eunuch Qin reminded her, "Empress Dowager, His Majesty has also arrived."
"So what if we're here?" Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, who was so impressed by the five candied fruits, had her sedan chair removed and stepped out with the help of Eunuch Qin.
The emperor also stepped out of his sedan chair, looking at Empress Dowager Zhuang with a smile in his eyes, and did not forget to cup his hands in a son's salute: "Your son greets Your Majesty."
Yesterday he looked like a bunch of wilted cabbages, but today he's clearly full of energy. Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced at him indifferently and said, "It's getting late, don't delay, hurry up and go to court. By the way, isn't the Emperor usually here earlier than me? Why is he so late today?"
The emperor was embarrassed to admit that he had overslept in Biyue Hutong. He couldn't sleep soundly in his magnificent palace, but he slept like a log in Empress Dowager Zhuang's small, dilapidated room. He was ashamed of himself for saying it!
He would never admit that the room was comfortable to sleep in; it must be because he was too tired from not sleeping for several days.
As the emperor pondered, he inadvertently noticed that Empress Dowager Zhuang was holding an exquisite hand warmer.
This is a two-in-one hand warmer. In winter, you can put charcoal in it, and in summer, you can put ice in it. It's cool and refreshing when you hold it in your hands.
The emperor suddenly chuckled, walked over, and knocked the Empress Dowager Zhuang's hand warmer away.
The hand warmer slammed onto the bluestone floor with a loud thud.
It's made of very hard material and wasn't damaged.
Empress Dowager Zhuang's gaze turned cold as she looked at the emperor, and she was about to erupt in anger when she saw several court officials walking over from a short distance away.
"Eunuch Wei, the Empress Dowager has dropped her hand warmer. Why don't you quickly pick it up for her?"
"...Yes!" Eunuch Wei picked up the hand warmer from the ground. It was dirty on the ground, so he couldn't just hand it to the Empress Dowager like that. He was about to wipe it with his sleeve.
The emperor took the hand warmer and said, "Here you go." He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the hand warmer, as if it were shining, before smiling and handing it to Empress Dowager Zhuang, "Mother, here is your hand warmer."
The court officials who witnessed this scene couldn't help but marvel at how filial His Majesty was to the Empress Dowager, even personally wiping her hand warmer.
Empress Dowager Zhuang's lips twitched.
She pulled over the hand warmer with a cold expression.
The emperor cheekily reminded her, "Smile, Mother, smile, everyone's watching!"
I'll laugh at you, you big donkey hoof!
Empress Dowager Zhuang gave a fake smile: "Hehehe."
After the officials walked away, Empress Dowager Zhuang stopped smiling instantly and disdainfully tossed the hand warmer that the emperor had taken to Eunuch Qin.
As she ascended the steps of the Golden Palace, Empress Dowager Zhuang lifted her phoenix robe to cover her feet and stepped on the emperor's instep!
Emperor: Awooo—
Surrounded by people, he tightly shut his mouth, swallowing the desperate howl back down his throat.
He was in so much pain that his face contorted in agony!
Empress Dowager Zhuang smiled faintly: "What's wrong with the Emperor?"
The emperor froze, clutching his thigh: "Feet...feet..."
Move your foot!
"Oh, the Emperor twisted his ankle?" Empress Dowager Zhuang raised an eyebrow and rubbed her foot on his instep again. The Emperor was in so much pain that his eyes rolled back and he almost fainted.
Empress Dowager Zhuang gracefully reached out and supported his arm, her eyes smiling. "I'll help you." Then, maintaining her smile, she squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Everyone's watching, Emperor, keep smiling."
The emperor's smile looked worse than his tears.
The officials couldn't help but sigh – the Empress Dowager also dotes on this son!
It seems that after the misunderstanding that the Empress Dowager poisoned the young Marquis of Zhaodu was cleared up, the relationship between the mother and son has indeed improved a lot!
Gu Jiao knew nothing about what was happening in the palace. After sending Xiao Jingkong to the Imperial Academy for elementary education, she went to the clinic.
She noticed that the clinic was usually busier in the morning and quieter in the afternoon. The little girl from the girls' school who used to come next door to play the piano from time to time was no longer heard.
She tried to get Xiao Jiangli to learn the zither, but the girl was only interested in herbs and was even slower at learning the zither than she was at learning calligraphy.
She had no choice but to give up the idea of having Xiao Jiangli play the piano for her.
Gu Jiao looked at the Fuxi Qin on the table, tapped her fingertips on the case a few times, opened the case, and took out the Fuxi Qin with its charred tail.
Her slender fingers gently caressed the strings, but she didn't play anything in the end. She put the Fuxi Qin back, closed the case, and got up to leave the clinic.
She went to the martial arts school.
After months of martial arts challenges, she has gone from a novice martial artist to a grandmaster at the martial arts school, and the next step should be to become a grandmaster.
I've heard that there are no more than a handful of grandmasters in the entire capital, making them extremely rare and precious.
Of course, that's just jargon; to ordinary people, they'd just be a group of martial arts masters.
Once someone reaches the Grandmaster level, they rarely appear in the martial arts world. Taihe Martial Arts School has a Grandmaster in charge, but he's just a figurehead. Gu Jiao has been to the martial arts school so many times, but she's never even seen a single hair on his head.
The old Marquis also came to the martial arts school today. He wasn't just there to watch Gu Jiao's martial arts competition; he also wanted to see if there were any other promising talents here. If he had been able to discover a few before, he would probably have been able to, but since Gu Jiao came along, his standards have become more discerning.
It seems difficult to find another young person who is so young, so talented, and able to control their murderous intent.
He was a warrior on the battlefield, having killed countless people in his life. How could he not sense the bloodlust in a person?
The old Marquis had no idea what his sworn brother had gone through to have such a strong desire to kill. What was remarkable was that he had managed to control his bloodlust and hadn't become a murderous monster.
This is another reason why the old Marquis admires Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao came down from the dueling platform, and the old Marquis also came out from the side room on the second floor. The two met in the main hall.
The old marquis smiled and looked at Gu Jiao, asking, "Is today's martial arts competition over?"
Gu Jiao nodded.
"You've made great progress recently." It was beyond his expectations. If he hadn't watched his younger brother compete match by match, he would have almost thought that his younger brother was originally a master, but had lost his strength for some reason and was slowly recovering in some way.
The old lord then asked, "By the way, have you been practicing your marksmanship lately?"
Gu Jiao blinked when this was mentioned.
The old marquis was slightly taken aback: "Did you bring your red-tasseled spear?"
Gu Jiao shook her head.
The old marquis didn't know that she had lost her red-tasseled spear the night she saved the emperor. He just assumed she had forgotten it at home. He smiled and said, "It's alright. I just happened to bring you a new red-tasseled spear."
Gu Jiao followed him to the backyard of the martial arts school.
The old marquis's carriage was parked outside the back gate. He went to the carriage, took out a red-tasseled spear wrapped in red cloth, and handed it to Gu Jiao: "Try it."
Gu Jiao took it and unwrapped the red cloth to take a look.
Wow!
It's the big guy she set her sights on in the military!
This red-tasseled spear is two inches longer and heavier than ordinary red-tasseled spears. The spearhead gleams with a cold light. Gu Jiao held it in her hand and tried a move. It was as graceful as a dragon soaring through the air, and it was incredibly domineering!
A hint of satisfaction unconsciously appeared in the old marquis's eyes.
Sure enough, he had a keen eye; this red-tasseled spear of the famous Yan general was perfect for his little brother.
"Don't you think it's heavy?" he asked.
Gu Jiao shook her head.
She liked its weight; it had the power to destroy everything in its path and the strength to break through anything.
She performed a few more moves, becoming more and more satisfied with each one.
She used to dislike cold weapons, but this red-tasseled spear suited her perfectly.
The old marquis had been observing her movements. It was the spear technique he had taught her, but that technique was more suitable for ordinary red-tasseled spears and couldn't unleash the full power of this red-tasseled spear.
"Brother Gu, wait a moment." He walked over and said, "Give me the red-tasseled spear."
Gu Jiao was having a great time when she smacked her lips and handed him the red-tasseled spear.
The old marquis took it, and without making any fancy moves, he only used one move. He slightly bent his knees, gripped the base of the red-tasseled spear with his right hand close to his right waist, and gripped the middle of the red-tasseled spear with his left hand. He pointed the spearhead straight forward and thrust it out fiercely!
It seemed like a simple move, but in that instant it was filled with boundless killing intent, even stirring up the wind and sand, and making the leaves rustle.
Gu Jiao's mask was almost blown off.
She blinked, her eyes sparkling, and pulled out a small notebook, quickly scribbling: "What kind of move is this?"
The old lord patiently explained, "This is called Zhong Si, which belongs to the Zhongping Spear Method and is the master of the Liuhe Spear. It ranks first among the twenty-four postures of the long spear. It looks simple, but in fact, it has endless variations. Don't practice anything else for now, just practice this move. Come, try it."
Gu Jiao took the red-tasseled spear and tried it out.
...Naturally, it's not quite up to standard.
The old lord said, "No rush, take your time."
Back then, his master made him practice this move for five whole years. He didn't understand his master's profound meaning at the time, but many years later he realized that the essence of marksmanship was all in this one move.
Gu Jiao practiced for a while until she was covered in sweat.
The old lord felt that he had practiced enough for the day and said to Gu Jiao, "Let's practice another day. It's getting late. Are you hungry, young brother Gu? I'll treat you to donkey meat. There's a donkey meat sandwich shop next door. I think you'll like it."
Gu Jiao held the red-tasseled spear upright in her arms, took out her notebook and wrote: "I have something to do tonight, let's go eat donkey meat sandwiches another day."
"I see." A hint of disappointment flashed across the old Marquis's eyes.
Gu Jiao looked at him and wrote, "You seem to have something on your mind?"
"No, no." I just wanted to find someone to drink with and vent my frustrations.
Gu Jiao continued writing rapidly: "We are sworn brothers, and brothers can talk about anything."
Brother Gu is a trustworthy person, and the old Marquis has indeed been troubled by a matter for a long time and is unable to make up his mind.
He hesitated for a moment, cleared his throat, and said to Gu Jiao, "Young Brother Gu, if you have a friend..."
Here comes a friend.
Gu Jiao understood instantly!
The old marquis opened his mouth, then continued, "If he were to do something unconventional, would you support him or not?"
Gu Jiao wrote: "That depends on what kind of unconventional thing it is."
The old marquis cleared his throat: "For example... running away with someone?"
Oh dear, the old man is eloping with someone!
Gu Jiao wrote without hesitation: "Support!"
The old Marquis looked astonished.
No, you didn't even hesitate for a moment? So hasty?
Gu Jiao wrote down what she had read when she secretly read the Godfather's diary in her previous life: "Relationships are a matter between two people. As long as you like each other, you can go and find freedom together."
Freedom is forbidden within the organization, and one cannot fall in love with anyone, or face punishment from the Godfather.
Gu Jiao couldn't understand why there was such a sentence in the Godfather's diary.
Oh well, she's dead anyway, she'll never see her godfather again.
Gu Jiao continued writing: "If you like something, go for it boldly! Don't be afraid of the world's judgment!"
The old marquis gasped: "What if I get rejected..."
Gu Jiao wrote: "Rejection means she doesn't like you, so you can finally give up!"
Why do you sound just like Gu Yan?
Are young people these days so in sync?
The old marquis remained unfazed and said, "It wasn't me!"
Gu Jiao: Oh.
When only one person affirms an idea, one's own resolve may not be strong enough. But when more people affirm it, it can take root and sprout in one's heart.
Not to mention that he just randomly asked two people and got the same answer, which shows that he had been overthinking it before, and the matter was actually very simple.
He wanted to take her away from the palace!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
