Chapter 459 The Truth Behind the Fire (First Update)
After leaving the palace, Gu Jiao went directly to Zhuque Street.
Princess Xinyang's first course of treatment has been completed, and the results were quite good. The second course of treatment will begin next.
Gu Jiao took the medicine from the small medicine box, put it into a small porcelain bottle, and handed it to Princess Xinyang.
Neither of them mentioned the palace.
In fact, Princess Xinyang had already heard about it, even if it wasn't mentioned. After all, she had some old friends in the palace who would give her information when necessary. For example, it was her old subordinates who tipped her off when the Imperial Guards arrested Long Yi.
However, she was drunk at the time, and it was Xiao Liulang who entered the palace to quell Empress Xiao's anger.
It goes without saying how the matter was resolved; he must have confessed his identity to Empress Xiao.
As more and more people learned of his identity, the truth was bound to come out eventually.
"What is the princess thinking about?" Gu Jiao noticed that Princess Xinyang was lost in thought.
"It's nothing." Princess Xinyang came back to her senses and looked at the medicine bottle on the table. "Is that all? It seems like there's one less bottle than last time."
Gu Jiao explained, "The princess's heart condition has improved, and she no longer needs to take the other medicine."
Princess Xinyang nodded.
Yu Jin walked over and took the medicine bottle to put it away.
Gu Jiao was about to get up and take her leave when Princess Xinyang hesitated for a moment and called out to her, "What happened to his leg?"
Gu Jiao looked at her and said, "Does the princess want to ask how his leg was injured? Or does she want to ask if his leg can receive effective treatment?"
Princess Xinyang said, "Ask them all."
Gu Jiao put the small basket she had picked up back on the table: "He was injured while saving someone, about two years ago. He didn't receive proper treatment at first, which resulted in a disability in his right foot. Every step he takes is excruciatingly painful."
Princess Xinyang tightened her grip on her delicate hand.
Gu Jiao continued, "It took him about a year to correct the injury to his right foot through surgery, but because he had been limping for so long, the muscles in his right leg were weak and he still couldn't walk. He spent another six months on rehabilitation. The rehabilitation process was very difficult."
Princess Xinyang's eyelashes trembled slightly: "Then why isn't it better yet?"
"My wounds have healed." Gu Jiao pointed to her chest. "These wounds were beyond the reach of my scalpel."
...
The demotion of Prince Ning caused a huge uproar in the capital. Grand Tutor Zhuang tried to manipulate public opinion and create a public outcry, but Empress Xiao was not one to be trifled with.
Whatever amount of silver you, Grand Tutor Zhuang, give, I'll give three times that!
––––At least she wasn't as stingy as her brother.
The ultimate beneficiary of manipulating public opinion is the old chief priest. He writes whitewashing stories for whoever he pays, and then sells them to the waiters and storytellers in teahouses.
His script is logically sound, easy to understand, and skillfully crafted with appropriate word choice and sentence structure, creating a strong sense of immersion. It has been highly praised by teahouse staff and storytellers.
Empress Xiao, with her extravagant spending habits that were completely different from her brother's, successfully defeated Grand Tutor Zhuang and obtained the ultimate whitewashing package from the old chief priest.
Of course, the old chief priest did not use his real name to contact the two forces. The three parties used the study as a contact point, and the old chief priest played two roles, contacting the two forces as two writers.
Empress Xiao thought it was because the writer she had found was more capable, but in reality it was just because the money was in place.
The old chief priest made a small profit.
He patted his bulging purse full of silver notes, no longer worried that Zhuang Jinse would rob him of his secret stash of money!
Then, as soon as he entered the house, he was robbed.
Old High Priest: Ugh, he hasn't even had a chance to warm the silver notes yet—
The case of Prince Ning has caused quite a stir. In comparison, the news that the Crown Princess suddenly fell ill and went to the imperial palace to recuperate seems rather calm. In fact, neither Prince Ning nor Wen Linlang has much to do with Biyue Alley. What they care about most is the child, Liu Lang.
The child seems to have lost weight recently.
Aunt Liu came and asked, "Aunt Huo, what's wrong with your Liu Lang? I've seen him looking preoccupied several times when I visit."
Empress Dowager Zhuang sighed, "Ah, she misses her mother."
"Ah, he has a mother." Aunt Liu and the neighbors had never seen or heard this family mention her, and still thought Xiao Liulang was an orphan. "Is his mother pretty?"
His dad is quite good-looking anyway.
Aunt Liu thought of Marquis Xuanping and thought he was even more handsome than Aunt Huo's son.
Actually, no one had ever told her that Marquis Xuanping and Xiao Liulang were father and son, but when they stood together, no one thought they weren't.
"It's alright," Empress Dowager Zhuang said after thinking for a moment.
Princess Xinyang inherited the beauty of the late emperor and Consort Yu, surpassing even Ning'an.
"Then, Aunt Huo, what do you think of me?" Aunt Liu struck a pose. "Not bad, right?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced at her and said, "You are the first person in the capital who dares to rival Princess Xinyang in beauty."
Empress Dowager Zhuang greatly admired her courage and nodded: "Hmm, not bad."
Aunt Liu straightened her back and snorted, "If his mother doesn't want him, I'll be his mother! If she dares to come, I'll fight her!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a carriage stopped in front of her, and a woman wearing a green cloak slowly stepped down from the carriage.
Aunt Liu had always only judged men by their looks, but even she was taken aback by the man's appearance and demeanor.
How can someone be so good-looking?
If Yu Jin's appearance left Aunt Liu speechless, then when Yu Jin stood still and helped Princess Xinyang down from the carriage, Aunt Liu was completely petrified.
The powerful Empress Dowager Zhuang remained calm and patted Aunt Liu's arm: "Look, your opponent has arrived."
Aunt Liu: "..."
When Princess Xinyang saw Empress Dowager Zhuang, she was slightly taken aback, not because she was surprised that she was there, but because she was dressed like an old woman from the common people.
She was still sitting with her legs crossed, leisurely eating sunflower seeds, showing no sign of restraint or attempt to hide her presence when she saw me.
He's obviously a seasoned veteran.
This was a side of Empress Dowager Zhuang that Princess Xinyang had never seen before. She had always believed that those in power had two faces, but she was truly surprised to find that she was so two-faced.
Princess Xinyang quickly suppressed her surprise, stepped forward and gave a slight bow. With neighbors present, she did not reveal Empress Dowager Zhuang's identity.
She opened her mouth: "I..."
"West room," Empress Dowager Zhuang said, cracking melon seeds without even lifting her eyelids.
Westinghouse is easy to find.
Princess Xinyang thanked Empress Dowager Zhuang, stepped into the main hall, and then turned and went to the west room.
The door to the west room was ajar. Xiao Liulang sat behind his desk, studying the arithmetic book from the Yan Kingdom. At first, Gu Jiao thought the book contained advanced mathematics, but after flipping through it carefully, she found that it not only contained advanced mathematics, but also covered a wide range of fields. Some of the content was from the book itself, while others seemed to be small notes casually written by the book's owner.
Xiao Liulang hasn't been to the Hanlin Academy these days; he's been spending all his time in his study researching this.
They were so engrossed in their research that they didn't even notice someone coming in.
Princess Xinyang walked into the room quietly and looked around at the furnishings. Compared to Zhuque Street and the Princess's Mansion, they were insignificant, but the clean and simple interior exuded a faint warmth and scholarly atmosphere.
The cozy feeling came from the few messy little boxes on the floor.
–––– Xiao Jingkong has messed up his things again. He has nowhere to put his things, so he has to rummage through boxes and cabinets to find them.
However, it is this seemingly incongruous mess that gives this quiet and cold house a touch of home.
Xiao Liulang's desk is now divided into three parts.
The largest part was occupied by Xiao Jingkong, and the other two parts were, one was Xiao Liulang's private area, and the other was his shared territory with Xiao Jingkong.
The little guy even drew lines on the desk.
Just looking at the thread on the table, Princess Xinyang couldn't help but imagine a scene of two people, one big and one small, staring at each other, fighting for territory.
Princess Xinyang felt an overwhelming pang of sorrow.
The young marquis, who could buy any desk in the world with a flick of his finger, is actually forced to live in such a place, sharing a desk with a little kid.
But perhaps because of his previous experience cooking for her, she was more accepting of him than before.
Xiao Liulang didn't look up until he finished the arithmetic problem in his hand, and by then a full quarter of an hour had passed since Princess Xinyang entered the room.
Xiao Liulang glanced at Princess Xinyang, who was quietly watching him from across the desk, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"May I... say a few words to you? I'll leave after I've finished," Princess Xinyang said calmly.
Xiao Liulang's eyes flickered slightly. He paused for a moment, then said, "Alright."
Princess Xinyang turned around and closed the door before sitting down opposite Xiao Liulang.
The afternoon sun shone quietly outside the window, and the sound of neighbors gossiping in the courtyard about whose wife was about to give birth and whose cat had gone missing made the west room seem even quieter.
They hadn't sat together like this for four years. Both of them felt a little awkward, but this awkwardness stemmed more from the breakdown of their mother-son relationship. Neither of them knew what the other was thinking, nor whether they should or could continue to maintain the relationship.
Finally, Princess Xinyang spoke first: "Tell me about your experiences. Where did you go after leaving the capital?"
(End of this chapter)
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