Chapter 418 Her Secret (Two Updates)
When Gu Jiao woke up, she found herself lying in a room that was both strange and familiar. It was strange because it was definitely not her west room, nor the courtyard of the clinic.
It felt familiar because she seemed to have been here before.
"woke up?"
A woman's voice, neither warm nor cold, rang out from the direction of the window.
Gu Jiao turned her head and saw Princess Xinyang, dressed in simple clothes, sitting by the window practicing calligraphy.
Gu Jiao remembered.
This is Princess Xinyang's room.
So, she's currently at that house on Suzaku Avenue?
But she had no recollection of why she was here.
Princess Xinyang finished practicing one calligraphy model, put it aside with satisfaction, and picked up another one to continue practicing: "Long Yi picked you up, and he even insisted on putting you on my bed."
The tone was blatantly disdainful.
She used the word "picked up," indicating that Long Yi acted on his own initiative and was not sent by Princess Xinyang.
Gu Jiao didn't ask how Long Yi found her; it would be pointless. She said, "Then you can stop him from releasing her."
"Hmph," Princess Xinyang sneered, "I'd like to."
Gu Jiao looked down at her clothes, which had already been changed; she didn't know whose clothes they were.
Princess Xinyang said calmly, "Do you think I would give you my clothes to wear, Yu Jin's clothes?"
Gu Jiao: How does she know what I'm thinking?
Princess Xinyang spoke again: "Are you a Yan Kingdom assassin?"
"Huh?" Gu Jiao was taken aback.
Princess Xinyang said casually, "You're covered in blood, but not a drop is your own. Don't tell me you took a bath in blood."
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "What does this have to do with the Yan Kingdom's assassins?"
"It seems you really don't remember anything at all." Princess Xinyang finally looked at Gu Jiao properly, but only glanced at her before looking away indifferently. "The way you came was exactly like an out-of-control assassin. By the way, assassins only exist in the Yan Kingdom, and Long Yi is also from the Yan Kingdom."
Gu Jiao said with absolute certainty, "I am not a suicide soldier."
Princess Xinyang paused for a moment and nodded: "That's true, even the most elite assassins don't have your murderous aura."
Gu Jiao: "..."
Can you at least give me a heads-up before you insult someone?
I thought you were going to say, "Yes, you are the daughter of the Marquis of Ding'an."
Gu Jiao didn't know how long she had been unconscious or what time it was. All she knew was that she was very hungry, and her stomach soon started growling.
After writing the last character, Princess Xinyang put down her brush. Her gaze remained fixed on Gu Jiao, not on Gu Jiao, but on the calligraphy she had just finished: "Are you eating by yourself or with me?"
What should we eat together? Dinner?
What time is it? Princess Xinyang still hasn't eaten.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said, "If it's convenient, I'd like to eat by myself."
Princess Xinyang put away the calligraphy scroll, got up and went out.
Before long, a maid came in carrying a tray with three dishes and a soup, as well as a small fruit plate. There weren't many dishes, but they looked very appealing.
The maid first placed the tray on the table, then took a clean little table that was meant to be placed on the kang (heated brick bed) and put it on the bed where Gu Jiao was.
Gu Jiao had originally planned to say that she could get out of bed and eat by herself, but since the other person had gone to such lengths, Gu Jiao decided not to disappoint them.
"I'll wait outside. Please call me anytime if you need anything, Miss," the maid said respectfully before leaving.
Gu Jiao was about to start her dinner.
Unexpectedly, the next second, Long Yi flashed into the house!
Gu Jiao's hand trembled, and she dropped the chopsticks she had just picked up.
No way... he's here to ask her to break his pen again!
Gu Jiao stared at him anxiously for a long time, but Long Yi didn't take out his charcoal pencil. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It doesn't look like that.
What did they come to see her for?
Gu Jiao looked at Long Yi, whose hands were behind his back and whose eyes were fixed on the food in front of Gu Jiao, looking as if he was looking forward to it.
Gu Jiao's eyes darted around: "Do you want some too?"
Long Yi didn't move.
Did I guess wrong? Gu Jiao thought for a moment: "Are you reminding me to eat quickly?"
Long Yi's aura remained unchanged.
I guessed wrong again.
It's a real headache that the Dragon Shadow Guard can't speak; she has to guess everything.
Gu Jiao couldn't figure out what Long Yi was up to this time. After humming for a while, she asked strangely, "You're not thinking of feeding me, are you?"
Long Yi's eyes were gleaming with anticipation!
Gu Jiao glanced at his hands behind his back, not thinking too much about it. It was just a meal, after all. Considering he had saved her life, she agreed.
"Okay." Gu Jiao put down her chopsticks. "You feed him."
I've never been fed by the Dragon Shadow Guard before, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Long Yi was especially happy to take out the cutlery hidden behind his back!
Gu Jiao looked closely and almost fell over!
People use spoons to feed others, why are you using a spatula?!
Are you serious?!
Princess Xinyang was eating next door when Gu Jiao walked in without changing her expression: "I've been thinking, it seems a bit impolite to eat alone, I think it would be better if I ate with the princess."
Princess Xinyang neither agreed nor refused, so Gu Jiao took it as a yes and sat down opposite her.
There was another set of bowls and chopsticks on the table, but Gu Jiao did not sit on the stool corresponding to that set; instead, she chose the one next to it.
She didn't bring the bowl and chopsticks over after she sat down.
Yu Jin's eyes flickered.
"You should sit down and eat too," Princess Xinyang said to Yu Jin.
"Yes." Yu Jin added a set of chopsticks and a bowl for Gu Jiao before sitting down on the stool that originally had the set.
She looked at Gu Jiao with a puzzled expression.
It was unclear whether Gu Jiao's actions were a coincidence or if she had already figured out that she was originally supposed to dine with Princess Xinyang.
Gu Jiao buried her head in her food, seemingly indifferent to everything else.
Yu Jin's expression relaxed, and she began to eat slowly and deliberately.
Gu Jiao wasn't actually indifferent to other things; she just didn't show it on her face. While eating, she secretly observed Princess Xinyang.
Princess Xinyang's movements were gentle and graceful, exuding an innate nobility and elegance. Gu Jiao almost involuntarily thought of Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang was the same. Even when he was in the countryside, wearing patched clothes, he could not hide the elegance in his eyes and the refined grace in his every move.
Gu Jiao had never seen what Xiao Liulang was like before, so unlike the old chief priest, she didn't think that Xiao Liulang had completely changed into a different person.
In fact, no matter how drastically a person's temperament changes, their writing style changes, or their habits change drastically, some small actions and expressions will never change.
The things that you deliberately change are all things you are aware of, but things that you are not even aware of are naturally impossible to change.
Xiao Liulang himself was unaware that when he ate something delicious, his eyes would blink rapidly twice, and when he ate something unpalatable, his left eyebrow would twitch.
Princess Xinyang was the same.
However, it seems that none of the dishes on this table are to her liking.
The three of them finished their meal quietly, and Princess Xinyang went next door.
Yu Jin thoughtfully asked Gu Jiao, "Dr. Gu, have you eaten yet? There are still some snacks in the kitchen."
"No need, I'm full." Gu Jiao doesn't have a big appetite. She only ate two bowls of rice today because she had fought with someone and used up too much energy. Usually, one bowl is enough for her.
Yu Jin smiled and asked politely, "Doctor Gu, would you like tonight's dishes?"
Gu Jiao said, "I'm not a picky eater."
The implication is that he doesn't really like it.
It was not as good as the special braised pork that Princess Xinyang prepared for her, but unfortunately, Long Yi was holding a spatula, which scared her, so she ran away.
Yu Jin hadn't expected Gu Jiao to be so direct. Most people would politely say they liked it, that it tasted great, or thank you for the hospitality.
Gu Jiao added, "I don't think Princess Xinyang likes it very much either; there's no meat on the table."
Yu Jin was surprised: "You... you noticed?"
Princess Xinyang did not show her likes and dislikes on her face. She seemed indifferent to everything, and even the servants who had served her for several years found it difficult to tell whether she liked or disliked something.
Yu Jin paused for a moment, then said, "The princess is a vegetarian."
Another vegetarian has arrived.
Consort Jing also eats vegetarian food, but that woman was probably faking it. I wonder why Princess Xinyang eats vegetarian food.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and asked, "Does she also get dizzy with meat?"
Yu Jin was taken aback.
What kind of question is this? Are there people in the world who are afraid of meat?
Yu Jin couldn't keep up with Gu Jiao's wild ideas, but she didn't change the subject. She hesitated for a moment and said, "The princess doesn't always eat vegetarian food. She used to eat meat, but she stopped eating it in recent years. She said she wanted to accumulate good karma for the young master so that he could be reborn into a good family in his next life."
Gu Jiao didn't believe in this.
But considering her own experiences, Gu Jiao felt that the end of science might actually be theology. People might not be able to reincarnate, but they might be able to step into another parallel universe.
When brainwaves travel through time and space, they are affected by magnetic fields and lose their past memories, hence the saying that drinking Meng Po soup can make one forget the past.
Of course, this is just Gu Jiao's wild speculation, without sufficient scientific evidence to support it.
Today, Long Yi was so focused on feeding Gu Jiao, the little patient, with a spatula that he didn't let Gu Jiao pick up her pen.
As night deepened, Gu Jiao decided to return home. Before leaving, she went to thank Princess Xinyang and bid her farewell.
Princess Xinyang is practicing calligraphy again.
For some reason, a scene suddenly appeared in Gu Jiao's mind—the young Princess Xinyang sitting under the sunlit windowsill practicing calligraphy, with little Xiao Liulang sitting opposite her.
Princess Xinyang said, "You are not allowed to eat until you have finished practicing a thousand characters."
Little Xiao Liulang picked up his pen with a particularly resentful expression and resignedly began practicing calligraphy.
The reason she had this thought was because Xiao Liulang always forced her to practice calligraphy. She seriously suspected that he had been poisoned by Princess Xinyang when he was a child, and that he was now poisoning others.
Gu Jiao composed herself and said to Princess Xinyang, "Thank you very much, Your Highness, for today."
Even though it was Long Yi who picked her up, it was still quite an achievement that she didn't throw herself out.
Princess Xinyang said calmly, "No need for thanks. Your life is very valuable, after all, you still need to treat my illness."
Gu Jiao: "..."
What you said makes so much sense that I have no words to refute it.
"Goodbye." Gu Jiao turned and walked out.
Princess Xinyang was practicing her calligraphy when she suddenly called out, "Girl."
"Hmm?" Gu Jiao stopped in her tracks and looked at her with confusion. "Is there anything else, Princess?"
Princess Xinyang asked, "How can someone like you be a doctor?"
It wasn't a questioning tone, nor a contemptuous one; it was simply curiosity.
Gu Jiao was stunned for a moment: "...What kind of person am I?"
Princess Xinyang said, "Don't ask me, ask yourself."
This was the second time Princess Xinyang had said strange things to her that night, and she didn't believe that Princess Xinyang would draw such a conclusion simply because she was covered in blood and unconscious.
Could it be that she did something while she was unconscious?
Then Princess Xinyang discovered her secret?
Shadow, bloodthirsty.
There's a saying that's always circulated within the organization, so generally no one dares to mess with her.
But only the Godfather knew that she wasn't truly bloodthirsty; she just couldn't control herself. Blood excited her. In her past life, she had trained herself through various surgeries, and she had mastered control. A situation like tonight, where she was completely out of control, was very rare.
Who would have thought that Princess Xinyang would run into them?
To be precise, it was after Long Yi picked her up that Princess Xinyang encountered her out-of-control side.
However, it was fortunate that Long Yi rescued her. If she had remained with Liu Yisheng and Yuan Tang, she might have already...
Gu Jiao turned to look at Princess Xinyang: "Aren't you afraid of me?"
Princess Xinyang gave Gu Jiao a strange look: "Why should I be afraid of you?"
Because I am—
monster.
"How could I have given birth to such a monster like you?"
"Get away from me!"
Stay away from your sister!
The woman, holding the infant in her arms, violently pushed the young girl to the ground.
She had just been slapped by a woman on her tender little face, her cheeks swollen like buns, but she didn't cry. She didn't cry when her mother pulled her to the ground and hurt her little bottom.
She picked up the box that had fallen to the ground, stood on tiptoe with longing eyes, and stuffed it into the baby's arms: "A gift for my little sister."
The woman slapped the box away, looking at the young girl with disgust: "Who wants your gift! Get away from me!"
The woman dialed the phone with trembling hands, roaring hoarsely, "You, surnamed Gu! Take your daughter away!"
...
"Jiaojiao, Daddy will take you home."
The tall, handsome man looked at the young girl in front of him with an awkward yet smiling expression.
In the dead of winter, she stood barefoot on the cold floor, holding a gift her younger sister didn't want.
She was very pretty, but a little dirty.
She asked the man, "Are you staying at Daddy's?"
There was a moment of panic on the man's face, but the young girl didn't notice.
The man chuckled awkwardly, "Dad... Dad has a little brother now, and we don't have enough rooms. Dad will take you to Grandma's first."
"Oh." She looked down and touched the doll in her arms. It was a doll she had sewn herself, with a gaping mouth, sharp teeth, blind eyes, and bald hair.
The man raised his hand, seemingly intending to pat her head.
She looked up, obediently waiting for the man to pat her head.
She knew her father was lying. His house was very, very big, and he only had one younger brother; there was no way it wouldn't be big enough for him to live there.
But if her father touches her, she forgives him.
If her father can't reach her, she can stand on her tiptoes.
She tried very hard to stand on her frozen little toes.
Quick, touch it! Her head is ready!
The man swallowed hard, but his palm didn't actually land. He just gave her a symbolic rub above her head before quickly withdrawing it.
It was as if touching even a single strand of her hair would infect you with the plague.
The man smiled kindly and said, "Dad promises you, I'll come pick you up after the New Year."
She waited from age three to six, through three years, but no one came to pick her up.
Later she learned that her all-powerful, brave, and strong father... was actually afraid of her.
(End of this chapter)
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