Chapter 366 Jiaojiao Takes Action (Second Update)
Gu Jiao is someone who was abandoned by her biological parents and left in a corner. In her mind, no relationship is solid, and trust between people does not come from the relationship itself.
Her world is simple, black and white; all the strength comes from mutual affection and inner strength.
But she also understands that not everyone is like her, and perhaps the vast majority of people are not like her.
They have their own standards of judgment, which are mixed with the complexities and trade-offs of human nature.
Gu Jiao frowned slightly.
The eunuch Qin keenly noticed her subtle expression and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Gu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No," Gu Jiao shook her head. "This question is beyond the scope of the curriculum; I can't answer it."
Eunuch Qin: "..."
However, even if she couldn't answer, it wouldn't prevent her from carrying out her further plans.
Not everything in this world needs to be explained. Take treating illness, for example. If a patient catches a cold, even if she doesn't know how he caught it, she can still cure him.
The same goes for Consort Jing.
Regardless of her motives for drugging the emperor in the first place, Gu Jiao will not allow her to succeed again.
She probably didn't just buy one pill; she spilled it so neatly, it's obvious she had a backup plan.
Gu Jiao went to the study to say goodbye to her aunt, and then left the palace.
She did not deliberately conceal her whereabouts, so the emperor quickly received the news. The emperor thought she had come to the palace to treat his illness and waited expectantly for a long time, only to receive the news that she had already left the palace.
The emperor's face turned green.
When Eunuch Wei returned from the nunnery, he came to the emperor's bedside and reported: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician has examined the Empress Dowager. It's still the same old ailment. There's nothing serious. She just needs to rest."
The emperor was not satisfied with this reply: "Your mother's hands are burned, are you really alright?"
Eunuch Wei said, "There is no injury, just a slight redness. The imperial physician has already prescribed medicine and said that he will recover soon."
The emperor said in a deep voice, "I'm still not at ease." As he spoke, he was about to lift the covers and get out of bed.
Eunuch Wei quickly stopped him: "Your Majesty! What are you doing!"
The Emperor said, “I will go see my mother. She must have been wronged at Huaqing Palace today and must be feeling sad. If I don’t go out to help, there will be rumors in the palace that I don’t value her.”
Having served in the palace for many years, how could Eunuch Wei not understand this principle?
But the emperor was still weak, and the imperial physician instructed him to rest well.
Eunuch Wei earnestly advised, "Your Majesty, your most urgent task is to take care of your health. The Empress Dowager will surely understand your situation. As for those palace servants, the Empress Dowager is your mother; who would dare to give her a hard time?"
Except for the one at Renshou Palace.
Eunuch Wei added to himself.
He continued, "If you are really worried, I will make a few more trips for you."
Eunuch Wei was a confidant of the emperor, and his presence largely represented the emperor's stance. His frequent visits to the nunnery also made people wary of Consort Jing.
The emperor insisted on going, but as soon as he lifted the covers and got out of bed, he felt dizzy and fell back onto the dragon bed.
It seems I won't be able to go anytime soon.
"Your Majesty." Eunuch Wei helped the emperor lie down and tucked the thin blanket around him. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Your Majesty, did you tell the Empress Dowager about your nightmare today?"
The emperor asked, "No, what's wrong?"
Eunuch Wei chuckled awkwardly, "Ah...no, it's just that the Empress Dowager came to visit His Majesty just now, and the Consort Dowager suddenly said that you had a nightmare. How did she know that you had a nightmare? This servant doesn't remember mentioning it to her."
The emperor frowned.
After a moment, he said nonchalantly, "Perhaps Mother heard our conversation outside the door when she brought the medicine over."
Yeah?
Why did he vaguely feel that the Empress Dowager's expression was a little strange at that time?
Eunuch Wei dared not say this; perhaps he had misread it.
After leaving the palace, Gu Jiao did not go to the clinic or return to Bishui Hutong, but instead went to Qinghe Academy.
Gu Chengfeng had just finished using the outhouse and was still pulling up his pants when a small hand suddenly reached out and pulled him out!
Gu Chengfeng's underwear almost fell to the ground!
He gripped his belt tightly, glanced back at the person who had dragged him up the wall, and his face turned a deep purplish-red with anger: "You brat! How could you have such a hobby! Peeping at men taking off their pants in broad daylight!"
Those who know her will say she's their sister, but those who don't might mistake her for a thief from somewhere!
Gu Jiao glanced at him disdainfully: "Who wants to peek at you taking off your pants? Do you think you're so pretty? You're so small."
That little bit?
Gu Chengfeng fell off the wall with a thud!
He fell outside Qinghe Academy, which suited Gu Jiao's wishes perfectly. Gu Jiao lightly touched the ground with her toes and landed beside Gu Chengfeng.
With her small hands behind her back and her back bent, she stared slumped on the ground, utterly dejected.
Gu Chengfeng felt that if he died young one day, it would be because this girl had driven him to his death.
"Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them, so what's the point of saying it's just a little bit?"
Gu Chengfeng's pride as a man was ruthlessly crushed, and he wished he could ask her if she was blind!
He always thought he was incredibly ruthless, until one day he accidentally glimpsed Xiao Liulang's...
From then on, he kept quiet.
Gu Jiao didn't intentionally go to the outhouse to catch people; it was just that there were too many people in other parts of Qinghe Academy, and Gu Yan's shadow could be seen everywhere.
This is probably the telepathic connection between the twins; it seems that Gu Yan senses her presence whenever she gets close.
There was only one place Gu Yan wouldn't come looking for her, and that was the men's outhouse.
As it turned out, Gu Yan had underestimated his sister's shamelessness.
Gu Jiao wasn't a germaphobe, but she still made Gu Chengfeng wash his hands by the river.
Gu Chengfeng, who had been repeatedly criticized, was speechless.
After getting into the carriage, Gu Chengfeng asked Gu Jiao, "I disappeared from the academy without even saying goodbye. This is a bad influence. I am a student, and I need to study."
Gu Jiao took out a five-hundred-tael silver note and placed it on the table.
Gu Chengfeng opened his mouth and said, "Even if the academy doesn't pursue the matter, if it gets back to my grandfather's ears, I'll still be punished."
Gu Jiao then took out a five-hundred-tael silver note and placed it on the table.
Gu Chengfeng silently put the silver note into his pocket: "Silver notes or not don't matter, I mainly want to help you with this. So, where are you going this time?"
Gu Jiao: "The Imperial Palace."
Gu Chengfeng suddenly felt the silver notes in his arms were burning hot... Was it too late for him to regret it now?
Gu Jiao entered the palace openly and legitimately, but Gu Chengfeng was not so lucky. As an outsider, it was not easy for him to enter the harem. He also had no open relationship with Renshou Palace, so the Empress Dowager would not summon him, and the Emperor had no reason to meet the second son of the Marquis of Ding'an.
More importantly, he couldn't reveal his identity, so he had to grit his teeth and climb over the high palace wall.
The two met near the temple.
Gu Jiao had just arrived when Gu Chengfeng followed closely behind.
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow. "You're quick on your feet, very skilled."
"Have you been to the palace?" Gu Jiao asked.
"How could that be? Do you think the palace is a place you can just walk into?" Gu Chengfeng took out a map from his pocket. "This."
"A map of the palace?" Gu Jiao's eyes widened. "How did you get this?"
Gu Chengfeng chuckled and said, "My father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. All the palaces, big and small, are maintained by the Ministry of Works. Even the nunnery for the Dowager Consort was built by the Ministry of Works."
So this guy knows the terrain of all the major government offices like the back of his hand, and he can come and go without a trace, all because he stole his own father's blueprints?
Gu Chengfeng said coldly, "He's also your father!"
Daddy: Hehehe.
Gu Chengfeng: Forget it, she's not the real Gu Jiaoniang.
"What are you trying to steal from the palace?" Gu Chengfeng was actually quite puzzled. This girl was favored by the Empress Dowager and valued by the Emperor. What treasures didn't she have? Why would she need to steal them herself?
Gu Jiao didn't answer, and led him to the vicinity of the nunnery.
Looking at the simple and unadorned nunnery not far away, Gu Chengfeng was puzzled: "What's so interesting about stealing from a nunnery?"
Gu Jiao asked, "There are Dragon Shadow Guards inside. Can you go in?"
Gu Chengfeng almost peed his pants!
He exploded, "What...what did you say? Dragon Shadow Guard!"
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "You know?"
Gu Chengfeng snorted, "I am, after all, the number one thief in Zhao Kingdom. How could I not even know about the Dragon Shadow Guard? They are the late emperor's assassins, with unparalleled martial arts skills and extraordinary talent. There is almost no one in the world who can match them! Goodness, how could a mere nunnery be guarded by the Dragon Shadow Guard?"
Oh, I forgot that this guy doesn't know about Consort Jing yet.
Gu Chengfeng said thoughtfully, "Could it be that His Majesty sent them? His Majesty is too filial to Consort Jing, isn't he? To prevent the Empress Dowager from harming her, he even mobilized the Dragon Shadow Guard."
Listen to this: everyone in the world thinks that Auntie will harm Consort Jing, but no one thinks that Consort Jing will harm Auntie.
Gu Chengfeng asked, "What are you trying to steal from her?"
Gu Jiao said, "Medicine."
"Medicine?" Gu Chengfeng looked her up and down, then asked suspiciously, "You're a doctor yourself, why would you need to steal someone else's medicine?"
"Am I allowed in or not?" Gu Jiao asked impatiently.
"I've never tried it..." Gu Chengfeng had never even been to the palace, let alone a nunnery guarded by the Dragon Shadow Guards.
You can't beat him in a fight.
But in terms of concealing one's aura—
Gu Chengfeng glanced deeply at the little girl beside him, looked up at the sky, and sighed helplessly.
Honestly, if he dies one day, it'll either be because this girl angered him to death or because she killed him.
Gu Chengfeng put his arm around Gu Jiao's slender waist: "Don't make a sound or breathe for a while."
Gu Jiao nodded.
Gu Chengfeng gazed at the nunnery, which resembled a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, then, with Gu Jiao in tow, he leaped inside.
Gu Jiao hadn't expected that he could actually bring her in right under the noses of the Dragon Shadow Guards. Even the old Marquis, when he was alone, couldn't avoid alerting the Dragon Shadow Guards.
Gu Jiao suddenly had a new understanding of Gu Chengfeng; this guy's lightness skill was really good.
The hastily constructed nunnery wasn't very large, and the terrain wasn't complicated, so Gu Chengfeng found Consort Jing's room without much effort.
Perhaps the two were lucky, because Consort Jing happened to be out of the house at the moment; she had gone to the small Buddhist hall to chant sutras.
Gu Chengfeng led Gu Jiao into the house.
"What does the medicine you're looking for look like?" Gu Chengfeng asked.
"I don't know either." She forgot to ask Madam Nan, "but she's not a doctor, so she probably doesn't have many medicines on hand. Find them all."
The two began searching the house.
They quickly found some burn ointment and wound medicine, as well as some qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing pills, but none of them were unfamiliar drugs that Gu Jiao had never seen before.
"Could it be that he carried it with him?" Gu Jiao murmured.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Chengfeng patted her shoulder, gesturing for her to look at the wardrobe.
Gu Jiao's gaze fell on the wardrobe. The wardrobe seemed ordinary, but for some reason, it gave Gu Jiao a strange feeling that something was wrong.
Gu Chengfeng whispered, "You also think it looks strange, don't you?"
Gu Jiao nodded.
She stared at the wardrobe for a while, but instead of going over to take a closer look, she took several steps back.
She said, "I know what's wrong. The pattern on the cabinet door is reversed."
The patterns on the two cabinet doors are half on each side, which should have faced each other to form a full moon. However, the moon, now cut in half, is facing away from each other and looking to the sides.
It's so uncomfortable to look at that I don't want to look at it a second time.
Gu Jiao stepped forward, touched the two halves of the moon with her hands, and twisted them back to their original positions, forming a bright, full moon.
With a click, the cabinet door opened.
Gu Chengfeng had just opened this wardrobe, which contained clothes, but now it looked completely different—the doors were very thick, and it was almost as if the entire wardrobe was being pulled open.
At the very back is a hidden compartment embedded in the wall.
Gu Chengfeng had long arms, so he reached out and pulled open the hidden compartment, taking out a small box inside.
"Someone's coming!" Gu Jiao suddenly exclaimed!
Gu Chengfeng didn't have time to open the small box, nor could he take it away. Otherwise, if someone discovered it was missing and alerted the Dragon Shadow Guards, they would both be doomed.
Gu Chengfeng put the small box back, closed the cabinet door, restored the pattern, and then used his light-footed skills to climb onto the roof beam with Gu Jiao.
The door was pushed open.
Granny Cai came in.
"Alright, just give me the Empress's clothes. Go and see if the Empress's medicine is ready."
"yes!"
The two accompanying nuns handed the dried clothes to Granny Cai and then turned to leave.
Granny Cai closed the door, went to the wardrobe, opened the door, and put the clothes inside.
She then closed the cabinet door and turned to leave.
But after taking only two steps, she turned back, frowning as she looked at the wardrobe.
Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng, who were on the roof beam, held their breath.
No way, you found out the wardrobe had been tampered with so quickly?
Gu Jiao pinched a silver needle between her fingertips.
Granny Cai flipped the pattern over, opened the hidden door of the wardrobe, moved a stool over, stood on it, took out the small box, and examined the contents of the box.
Gu Jiao looked down and saw two medicine bottles, one black and one white!
Good heavens, it's really here!
Granny Cai took out the two medicine bottles and put the small box back.
No way, she's going to take the medicine away?
Granny Cai arrived at the door.
Gu Jiao slowly raised the silver needle in her hand.
Gu Chengfeng grabbed her wrist: We'll be exposed!
The Dragon Shadow Guards are not to be trifled with; they will immediately detect any move Gu Jiao makes!
Medicine or life?
Gu Jiao's killing spree wouldn't be louder than their conversations, but the Dragon Shadow Guards were assassins, their thought processes were different from normal people. They were oblivious to conversations, but extremely sensitive to killing intent and martial arts!
However, Granny Cai hesitated for a moment, shook her head and sighed, and put the medicine bottle back in its original place.
After Granny Cai left, Gu Chengfeng took Gu Jiao back to the ground.
Gu Jiao could jump down herself, but she couldn't do it as perfectly as Gu Chengfeng, or the Dragon Shadow Guards would notice.
Gu Chengfeng took out a small box from the hidden compartment, opened it, and said to Gu Jiao, "Are these the two bottles the medicine you're looking for?"
Gu Jiao uncorked the two bottles and poured out one pill from each.
Gu Chengfeng asked curiously, "They look the same, so why are they packaged in two separate bottles?"
They do look very similar; they are both dark brown pills.
"Smell it." Gu Jiao held the two pills under Gu Chengfeng's nose.
Gu Chengfeng sniffed it: "It's just medicine, what's wrong?"
"Is there a difference?" Gu Jiao asked.
"No." Gu Chengfeng shook his head decisively.
There is indeed a difference, but the difference is so subtle that it is difficult for someone who is not an expert in pharmacology to identify it.
If Gu Chengfeng couldn't recognize it, then Consort Jing probably couldn't either.
Gu Jiao curled her lips into a wicked smile. Originally, she wanted to steal the medicine, but now she had changed her mind.
Oh no, that girl's up to her tricks again. I wonder which unlucky guy is going to be in big trouble.
Gu Chengfeng shook his head and continued to examine the small box. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "There's something else in the box!"
He opened the hidden compartment of the box and pulled out a rolled-up, bright yellow imperial edict.
Gu Chengfeng stared in disbelief: "Why would Consort Jing have an imperial edict here?"
He had never heard of His Majesty issuing any decree to Consort Jing.
This imperial edict looks quite old.
A thought suddenly flashed through Gu Chengfeng's mind: "I suddenly remembered something... This matter is just a rumor among the people."
"What exactly happened?" Gu Jiao asked.
That little girl is always so impatient.
Gu Chengfeng pursed his lips and said, "Before the late emperor passed away, he issued an edict ordering Empress Dowager Zhuang to be buried with him. Consort Jing risked her life to steal the edict and burn it, which saved Empress Dowager Zhuang."
He suddenly laughed. "Do you think the box might contain that imperial edict that was burned back then... the one that could have killed Empress Dowager Zhuang?"
Have you all forgotten that I just released a super update? Everyone's been urging me to release more in the comments section, and now look what's happened, the editor has actually come knocking on my door again.
Editor: "You can update again, but not too much, just twice as much as this time."
I:"……"
(End of this chapter)
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