Chapter 532 Slap in the Face (First Update)
Bixia Palace was closer to Renshou Palace, so Eunuch Wei first sent Xiao Jingkong back to Renshou Palace before taking the aggrieved Qin Chuyu to Kunning Palace.
Upon seeing Empress Xiao, Qin Chuyu could no longer hold back his tears, which were typical of a young man.
Seeing his tears streaming down his face, Empress Xiao was puzzled. She hugged her son and wiped away his tears with a handkerchief, asking, "What's wrong?"
Qin Chuyu cried so hard he could barely breathe.
Empress Xiao then looked at Eunuch Wei.
Eunuch Wei had no choice but to tell the whole story: "...The Seventh Prince said that Young Master Xian pushed him, but Young Master Xian said that he did not push him. That child... just lost his father and is disabled, having lost both of his legs. His Majesty could not bear to punish him, so he asked me to bring the Seventh Prince back."
This was said very skillfully, making it seem as if His Majesty did not distrust Qin Chuyu, but that the child was too pitiful and was a guest, so His Majesty did not pursue his responsibility in person.
Empress Xiao sighed: "Alright, stop crying."
"He pushed me! I didn't lie..." Qin Chuyu cried bitterly.
"Alright, alright, he pushed you, your mother believes you." Empress Xiao comforted her son with heartache.
After Eunuch Wei left, Qin Chuyu cried for a while and then fell asleep.
Empress Xiao instructed Eunuch Su to go to Bixia Palace to deliver some gifts to Princess Ning'an and also to see the child.
"The bottom leg of the pants is all hollow..."
Eunuch Su reported.
Empress Xiao looked at her sleeping son, touched his forehead, and sighed softly, "I understand, you may leave."
Empress Xiao's relationship with Princess Ning'an was relatively harmonious in her early years, more so than her relationship with Princess Xinyang.
Princess Ning'an was innocent and lively, a girl whose smile could warm people's hearts.
After so many years apart, they had grown distant from each other. Empress Xiao might still be Empress Xiao, but Princess Ning'an was no longer the innocent and naive little princess she once was.
Ning An is now just a pitiful woman who has been betrayed by her husband, and her only son is disabled. If Empress Xiao were to argue with them, it would be beneath her dignity, not to mention it would displease His Majesty and the Empress Dowager.
Empress Xiao frowned and said, "Keep a closer eye on the Seventh Prince from now on. Make sure he doesn't go to Bixia Palace anymore. Also, take that dog with you and raise it. Make sure the Seventh Prince doesn't see it again."
Eunuch Su replied, "Yes."
After returning to Renshou Palace, Xiao Jingkong bid farewell to his aunt and prepared to go back.
Because he was a year older, he firmly believed that he could come and go as freely as his bad brother-in-law, so he came here today in Liu Quan's carriage by himself.
We'll be riding in Liu Quan's carriage back.
He's a grown man now!
"Goodbye, Auntie!" he waved his little hand.
"Wait a minute." Empress Dowager Zhuang picked up the little one and placed him on the chair beside her, asking, "What happened to your foot?"
Xiao Jingkong: Has this been discovered?
I was walking perfectly fine!
"It's nothing, it just hurts a little," Xiao Jingkong said, waving her little hand.
Empress Dowager Zhuang took off his shoes, revealing a swollen little instep. Empress Dowager Zhuang frowned: "What happened? It's all swollen."
Little Jingkong is mischievous; he often bumps and scrapes himself, but swelling is rare.
Xiao Jingkong recounted what had just happened in a meticulous and honest manner, adding his own opinion at the end: "...that young man doesn't seem to like playing with others."
Eunuch Qin glanced at Empress Dowager Zhuang with concern.
Empress Dowager Zhuang lowered Xiao Jingkong's trousers, put his shoes on, and said, "If you don't like them, that's fine. You can play with them yourselves from now on."
"But why does his chair have wheels?" Xiao Jingkong is still wondering about the big wheels.
These things would make Empress Dowager Zhuang sad, so Eunuch Qin quickly said, "Jingkong, I'll take you outside to sit on the swing."
"Hmm... okay." Little Jingkong jumped down and hopped away on one little foot!
Several clever palace maids stayed in the courtyard to play with him. Eunuch Qin returned and, looking at Empress Dowager Zhuang who seemed to have aged and become haggard overnight, advised her with heartache, "Empress Dowager, please don't take it too seriously. It's inevitable that the child will be a little eccentric with his physical condition, especially since he has just lost his father... It's understandable that he'll be emotional. Besides, with his disabled body, it's hard for him to feel anything when he sees a normal man."
On this point, Eunuch Qin could empathize all too well.
He was a eunuch, and his body was also incomplete. At this age, he had naturally figured out everything he needed to and accepted everything he needed to. However, in his earlier years, when he saw normal men, he would feel jealousy, hatred, resentment, and inferiority.
Huangfu Xian must be the same.
Whether Qin Chuyu was lying or not, the two of them knew perfectly well.
Empress Dowager Zhuang closed her eyes briefly: "I'm tired. Remember to have someone send Jingkong back later."
"Yes," Eunuch Qin replied.
Bixia Palace.
The emperor returned to Huaqing Palace first. Princess Ning'an and Huangfu Xian sat in the spacious and bright bedroom. All the palace servants were dismissed by Princess Ning'an, with only Lian'er attending to them.
Huangfu Xian sat in his wheelchair, casually playing with a flower in a vase.
Princess Ning'an sat down opposite him, staring at him intently, and asked, "Xian'er, why did you do this?"
“I like it,” Huangfuxian said, looking at the flowers in his hand.
Lian'er looked at her princess with fear.
Princess Ning'an took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said seriously, "Huangfu Xian, this is not the border, this is the palace. Even a small matter could cost you your head."
Huangfu Xian plucked a flower petal: "Oh? Is that so? Who dares to cross His Majesty and the Empress Dowager to cut off my head?"
Princess Ning'an stared at him for a long time: "Huangfu Xian, no one owes you anything. His Majesty and the Empress Dowager won't spoil you forever. You'd better put away your bad temper and not take your good fortune for granted!"
Huangfu Xian looked at Princess Ning'an with a sneer: "What if I don't? Will you send me back to the border? Or will you simply treat me as a remnant of the previous dynasty? Ah, I almost forgot, you are a princess of Zhao. You can abandon your husband and put righteousness above family ties. What is a crippled son in your eyes? You might as well get rid of me as soon as possible so you can find another husband to marry!"
Snap!
Princess Ning'an slapped him across the face!
Huangfu Xian was knocked to the side by the blow.
Lian'er was terrified and rushed over to hug Huangfu Xian, saying to Princess Ning'an, "Princess! Please don't do this!"
"Get out of my way!" Huangfu Xian was unmoved and pushed Lian'er away without any politeness.
Lian'er staggered a few steps and bumped into the table behind her, bruising her back.
Huangfu Xian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his long, slender fingers. He looked at the drop of blood, a smirk playing on his lips, a hint of mocking pleasure flashing in his eyes: "Well done, my mother."
...
Gu Jiao went to the clinic today.
When the second boss saw her, he almost burst into tears. He didn't even care about the many doctors and patients in the lobby. He held Gu Jiao's hand tightly and looked her up and down for a long time: "Little Gu, are you really alright?"
"I'm fine," Gu Jiao said.
"You're lying! You didn't tell me you were so sick! And you were kidnapped by the prince consort!"
The medical staff also went to the border, so they were able to bring back some news about Gu Jiao. For example, after Gu Jiao returned from Lingguan City, she self-isolated for seven days, and Doctor Song knew that she had contracted the plague.
Doctor Song wouldn't keep it a secret from the second master.
Doctor Song was unaware that he had been abducted by the prince consort.
She didn't say.
Gu Changqing didn't say anything either.
She didn't speak because she was too lazy to, and Gu Changqing didn't speak because he was concerned about her reputation. Gu Changqing only reported everything truthfully in his letter to His Majesty.
Aside from her and Gu Changqing, only Princess Ning'an and her servant, as well as Physician Tong, knew about this matter.
Gu Jiao's gaze passed over the medicine table and landed on someone who was preparing medicine for a patient.
Perhaps sensing Gu Jiao's gaze, Physician Tong turned around, gave Gu Jiao a bright smile, and waved: "Doctor Gu!"
As one of the heroes who saved Princess Ning'an, Physician Tong came to the capital this time because the emperor wanted to personally reward him.
But instead of staying at the royal post station, he insisted on coming to the clinic to do odd jobs for free.
"Dr. Gu!"
After dispensing the medicine for the patient, he walked over with a smile, saying, "I've been worried about you ever since you left Dajun that day."
"Mm," Gu Jiao replied casually. "Thank you for your hard work."
It was about how he did odd jobs but didn't get paid.
Physician Tong quickly waved his hand: "It's no trouble at all!"
He glanced behind Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao knew what he was looking at and said, "In the basket."
Doctor Tong's eyes lit up.
Gu Jiao added, "I won't let you touch me."
Physician Tong: "..."
During the Lunar New Year, there weren't many patients coming to see the doctor, and there weren't any difficult or complicated cases that Gu Jiao needed to handle.
Gu Jiao went to Liu Yisheng's house in the afternoon.
She didn't go on New Year's Eve, but she went on New Year's Day. However, Liu Yisheng wasn't there, nor were Anu and the elderly nanny.
Gu Jiao knocked on the Liu family's door once again.
Surprisingly, there was still no response.
"Is nobody here again? Did they go out again, or has nobody been here for the past few days?"
Gu Jiao listened quietly to the sounds inside. Liu Yisheng had a special identity, and too many people in the capital wanted to bully him. Gu Jiao wasn't sure if something had happened to him. She grabbed the tree trunk with her left hand, pulled hard, and climbed over the wall.
The yard was covered in snow, and there were no unfamiliar footprints.
The gate to the courtyard was bolted from the inside and unlocked from the outside. However, if you went through the main room to the back door, you would find that the back door was locked from the outside.
So they really did go out.
There was some dust inside, but no signs of a struggle.
Gu Jiao basically ruled out the possibility that Liu Yisheng had been kidnapped.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment, then took out her notebook and left him a note, telling him to come to the clinic when he returned, as she had something for him.
After leaving Liu Yisheng's residence, Gu Jiao went to Qinghuan Chess Club.
She wasn't going to play chess; she just wanted to run into the old beggar in the neighborhood.
She left in such a hurry that she didn't say goodbye to the old beggar, and she doesn't know how he's been doing lately.
He searched the streets where the old beggar used to hang out, but didn't find him.
Suddenly, a scholar emerged from the Qinghuan Chess Club across the street. She called out to him, "Brother, have you seen the old beggar setting up a chess game across the street?"
Gu Jiao was used to dressing as a man in the border region, and she went out in men's clothing today as well.
Having spent three months with Gu Chengfeng, she had learned some techniques for voice imitation. While not exactly melodious, her boyish voice was enough to fool the untrained eye.
The scholar was quite knowledgeable and reasonable, and wasn't intimidated by the boy's face. He said politely, "Oh, you mean that person? He's gone!"
"Gone?" Gu Jiao was slightly surprised.
“Yes, I haven’t seen him for over two months! What else could it be but that he’s gone? Ah, maybe…” The scholar stopped himself, perhaps realizing that it was inappropriate to say something unlucky during the New Year, and skipped over the last few words, saying directly, “He’s getting old, and this year the capital has had such heavy snow, you know what I mean.”
"Um."
Gu Jiao understood.
In the freezing cold, a helpless old beggar might freeze to death on the street on some bitterly cold night.
This is the scholar's guess.
It's not Gu Jiao's.
The old beggar knows how to earn money; he won't starve or freeze to death.
Of course, the possibility of being murdered or in an accident cannot be ruled out.
"It can't be that unlucky, right?"
Gu Jiao murmured.
"What did you say?" the scholar asked.
Gu Jiao said, "It's nothing, thank you, goodbye."
"Hey—" The scholar couldn't stop Gu Jiao and scratched his head in confusion. "It's really strange. Why would someone come to inquire about a beggar's whereabouts during the New Year? Speaking of which, that beggar seems to really know how to play chess. He even beat Maoshan Jushi from Qinghuan Chess Club."
"Tsk, what does this have to do with me?"
The scholar shook his head, wrapped his cotton-padded coat tighter, and walked through the snow-covered, icy streets.
...
The coincidences in the world are so bizarre; they are either all there or not there, as if they were preordained.
Gu Jiao walked unhurriedly along the quiet street. The capital was the most prosperous and bustling place in the entire Zhao Kingdom, yet the streets were still deserted during the New Year.
Only one or two carriages would pass by Gu Jiao every now and then.
Gu Jiao didn't pay any attention and kept walking forward with her head down.
However, as they passed through a small alley, a very noisy sound came from the other end of the alley.
Gu Jiao looked closely and saw that it was in the direction of Xianleju.
Gu Jiao wasn't very familiar with Xianleju; she had only been there a few times to investigate some matters.
It's highly likely that Consort Jing was the owner of Xianleju. After Consort Jing's death, Gu Jiao stopped keeping an eye on Xianleju.
But what exactly happened at Xianleju?
Gu Jiao paused for a moment, then walked towards Xianleju.
(End of this chapter)
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