Imperial Palace.
The night rain was drifting with the sound of flute, and the bright moon was hiding behind the clouds. Gao Jiarong tucked in the quilt for the empress dowager, blew out the few bright lights nearby, and walked out of the palace.
The maid beside her supported her and said, "Princess, you have been talking with the Queen Mother all day and you must be tired. I will help you go back and rest."
Gao Jiarong looked a little weak, but he still managed to wave his hand. "My Royal Brother has been very diligent in his duties lately, working day and night. I asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some nourishing soup for my Royal Brother, and now is the perfect time to bring it over to him."
"Once he's finished, I'll remind my royal brother to rest early and not stay up too late."
When Gao Jiarong was young, she had a maid who stayed with her until she married into the general's mansion two years later. Because she had delayed her marriageable age, Gao Jiarong felt a little guilty and begged the emperor to grant her a marriage.
Although she did not marry into a wealthy family, she was still a seventh-rank official in the court. Her life after marriage was pretty good and smooth.
Moreover, she has the princess's protection and the emperor has arranged the marriage, so who would dare to neglect it?
Later, he brought another loyal maidservant under her command, who served her closely. Later, she accompanied her out of Shangjing to look for Lu Guang, but was killed by robbers on the way.
Later, when Gao Jiarong returned to Beijing, he sent people to deliver many valuable items and silver to her home, which was a kind of comfort.
After returning to Beijing, the empress dowager heard about this and sent her a group of loyal and reliable maids. She also selected two of them to serve her closely.
It’s a pity that they were not raised by her side, so she couldn’t trust them completely.
Especially the thing she promised Lu Huan, she needed to do it quietly. With two such people around, it was always difficult to do it, and she needed to be careful to avoid revealing her tracks.
Maid: "The princess is so considerate to the Queen Mother and the Emperor, and she thinks of everything very carefully."
Gao Jiarong: "I am a little tired. The Imperial Kitchen and my brother's Yanqing Palace are in two different directions. Why don't you go to the Imperial Kitchen and tell them to help me deliver the medicine to Yanqing Palace."
The maid was worrying about how to make Gao Jiarong trust her and use her. Now that she heard that she was willing to use her, she was naturally overjoyed.
She hurriedly said, "Yes, I'll go right away."
The Empress Dowager gave Gao Jiarong several maids. She chose two to serve her personally, one to accompany her on her travels, and the other to serve her in the bedroom.
After sending this maid away, she was naturally not worried about the other maids who followed her because of their low status and could not enter the emperor's Yanqing Palace.
When she arrived at the gate of Yanqing Palace, the eunuch Fu Su bowed to her and said, "Princess Nanjia, why are you here so late?"
Gao Jiarong: "I heard that the emperor has been busy with official duties recently and has not rested until very late. I ordered the imperial kitchen to stew a soup to nourish the kidneys and replenish qi. I thought I would come to see the emperor and remind him to take care of himself and rest early."
Fu Su bent his waist humbly, smiling ingratiatingly, "So that's how it is. Princess, you are so thoughtful."
"However... His Majesty has gone to bathe in the Nine Dragon Hot Springs. Princess, I may need to trouble you to wait in the palace for a while."
"It's okay, just take me in."
Fu Su: "Yes."
Gao Jiarong entered the inner hall, and soon a maid brought her a cup of milk tea. "Princess, please."
Fu Su also smiled servilely, "Princess, when you were young, you often came to Yanqing Palace, so the emperor also ordered people to remember your preferences. Even after you got married and came to the palace less often, it still did not change."
"Thank you for your trouble, my royal brother. Please go down first."
Fu Su: "Yes."
After everyone had left, Gao Jiarong stood up and walked to the dragon desk where the emperor worked daily. She remembered seeing the dragon desk when she was young, but now all she could see was a pile of memorials.
The emperor used to be arrogant and extravagant, and did not care about state affairs at all. Some important things were placed randomly.
If his ministers were not loyal and no one rebelled because they were dissatisfied with his actions, he would have lost his position long ago.
She glanced at the door again, and seeing that everything was calm, she began to search in Yanqing Hall...
I don’t know what’s wrong with the current emperor, but his temperament has changed a bit. He is no longer obsessed with women like before, and has started to focus on state affairs.
She often found time to come over these days, but most of the time the emperor was dealing with government affairs or meeting with ministers, and had little time to see her.
Also, the layout and arrangement of the Yanqing Palace had changed a lot, so it took her some effort and time to search through it.
While observing the movements at the door and the bathhouse, Gao Jiarong was searching for the whereabouts of the tiger talisman in Yanqing Hall. As time passed, she gradually became nervous, and her heart was pounding.
Thinking back to when she insisted on leaving the city, she encountered bandits and was kidnapped on the road, but she had never been so nervous.
Finally, there was only one valuable secret box left to be checked. His hand silently reached out to the secret box, and he kept muttering in his heart, "Brother, I'm sorry. I just want A Guang's body back. Please forgive me."
Just at this moment, the sound of steady and powerful footsteps was heard not far away. Gao Jiarong's pupils suddenly shrank, and his fingers curled up due to nervousness. While feeling uneasy, he warned himself.
Hurry up, hurry up.
As long as you open this secret box, you can take the tiger talisman.
"Jiarong, the maid beside you just brought me a bowl of Four Gentlemen Soup. I heard that you personally ordered someone to prepare it?" The emperor said in a good mood as he walked.
When the emperor walked out from behind the huge screen, Gao Jiarong was standing there in a daze, his hands behind his back, his fingers trembling with nervousness.
The emperor saw that she looked pale, so he walked closer and asked, "What's wrong? You look so pale."
Gao Jiarong was under tremendous psychological pressure. "My dear sister, I just... feel a little uncomfortable in my heart."
The emperor said: "How could this be? I will ask the imperial physician to come and see you."
Gao Jiarong: "No need, my royal brother."
"Why?"
"It's late at night. I'm afraid of disturbing the harem, so my mother has just laid down to rest. Please don't disturb her rest."
The Emperor: "But... you feel uncomfortable in your chest. How can we not summon the imperial physician to treat you?"
Gao Jiarong tried to decline, "That's fine. I'll go back and rest soon. Tomorrow morning, I'll have the maid call the imperial physician."
"That's fine. Actually, you're not feeling well yourself, so there's no need for you to come visit me."
Gao Jiarong gave a stiff smile, "It is my duty to care about my brother the Emperor."
The emperor always felt that Gao Jiarong was a little strange today, but he couldn't put his finger on what was strange. "Alright, it's getting late. You should go back and rest early, otherwise your mother will worry again."
Gao Jiarong bowed and said, "Thank you for your instructions, my Royal Brother. I will take my leave."
Gao Jiarong left Yanqing Hall. The maid who had gone to the imperial kitchen to get soup was waiting for her at the door. When she saw her come out, she immediately stepped forward to support her. "Princess, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so bad?"
Gao Jiarong: "I feel a little uncomfortable in my chest. Let's go back."
"yes."
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