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When Gu Jiao woke up, she found herself lying on a clean bed.
She raised her head, surveyed her surroundings, and recognized that this was her boudoir in the medical hall. She tried to move, but found herself aching all over.
"You’re awake?"
Xiao Liulang's voice rang softly above her head.
But she was lying on her stomach, and her neck movement was limited, so she couldn't see him for a while.
"Don't move, I'll come over." Xiao Liulang took a few steps forward and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. Seeing her sweating slightly, Xiao Liulang grabbed a handkerchief and wiped her forehead carefully.
"How do you feel?" He asked, "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt." She answered.
These physical pain was nothing to her at all. She was accustomed to it and wasn’t bothered by it in the least.
She looked left and right.
Xiao Liulang watched her restless appearance and couldn't help but take on a stern tone, "You are badly hurt, stop moving."
The tone of his voice was severe, but his eyes were full of worry.
Today, he was originally tutoring Lin Chengye and Feng Lin at Lin Chengye's house. Suddenly, it rained heavily, and in his heart vaguely surged a layer of unease. Sure enough, Liu Quan came over not long after, saying that something had happened to Gu Jiao and the elderly woman.
Liu Quan also just got home and had just gone through the abduction of Gu Xiaoshun. Before he could recover from the incident, he learned of the accident of Gu Jiao and the elderly woman.
People were sent to the medical hall by Marquis Xuanping.
Gu Jiao and the elderly woman were injured by the crash, and both of them fell unconscious on the spot. Marquis Xuanping had come with Chang Jing to kill the elderly woman. As a result he saw Grand Preceptor Zhuang. With Grand Preceptor Zhuang present, it was naturally impossible to kill people.
When Marquis Xuanping arrived, Gu Jiao and the elderly woman had been pulled out from the ruins. A large crowd surrounded elderly woman while there was only one Old Chief beside Gu Jiao.
Marquis Xuanping sent Gu Jiao, who was covered in blood, to the medical hall.
The elderly woman's injury wasn’t light either. Her head was bloody, and Grand Preceptor Zhuang was worried that she wouldn’t make it if they sent her back to the residence in this state, so he followed Marquis Xuanping and sent her to the medical hall.
Gu Jiao's back was hit by the roof and her spine was almost broken. Physician Song said that if her spine had been broken, she would have faced the risk of paraplegia and might not be able to stand up for the rest of her life.
When he heard this, Xiao Liulang's broke into a cold sweat.
However, although she managed to keep her spine, her back and legs were swollen, bruised and scratched by the wood pieces.
Then there were her elbows. She was protecting the elderly woman when they fell down together. If only she had used at least one hand to support both of them when they fell to the ground, then everything would have been fine, but she wrapped Grandaunt's waist with one hand and covered Grandaunt's head with the other. As a result, her knees and elbows hit the ground, sustaining bruises!
But she actually said that it didn't hurt and even moved around.
Xiao Liulang felt that as her husband, even in name only, it was time to reason with her. He could no longer let her continue to ignore her own safety and neglect to take good care of her well-being.
Gu Jiao looked around blankly, "Where's Grandaunt?"
All the words that Xiao Liulang planned to tell her got stuck in his throat in an instant.
In another room, an old physician surnamed Lu bandaged up the head injury of the elderly woman.
The elderly woman was still in a coma, but his breathing was no longer as weak as before.
"Is she all right?" Grand Preceptor Zhuang asked.
Physician Lu didn't know the other party’s identity, but seeing that they were either from a wealthy or high-born background, he respectfully saluted and said, "Responding to your Lordship, the Old Madame’s injury is not serious. The wound is not deep, and the bleeding has already stopped. She will be fine when she wakes up."
It was their Young Miss Gu who was so badly hurt that he couldn't bear to see it.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang was relieved to hear that and rewarded Physician Lu a tael of silver, "You may withdraw."
"Yes!" Physician Lu retired with his medicine box.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang stayed by the bed.
When he thought of what happened just now, he also felt a twinge of terror. He was really scared that the Empress Dowager would be smashed to her death by the collapsed roof.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang didn't wait too long before the person on the bed slowly opened her eyes.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang quickly stood up and looked at her excitedly, "Sister, are you awake?"
He thought that she still hadn’t regained her memory, so it would be easier for her to accept this title, but when he looked at the other party’s eye, he froze.
It was a stern, domineering look even in sickness, a look that belonged exclusively to Zhuang Jinse.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang took a step back and straightened his clothes. Cupping his hands, he slowly got down to his knees, and gave a grand salute, "This official welcomes the Empress Dowager back!"
Since then, there was no Grandaunt in the world, only Empress Dowager Zhuang.
……
Empress Dowager Zhuang got into the carriage of Grand Preceptor Zhuang, and set off for the Zhuang Residence.
Prior to the departure, Grand Preceptor Zhuang had his guards go to the residence in advance to inform the family—— Zhuang Ping, the eldest son of Grand Preceptor Zhuang, Zhuang Zhou, the second son, and Zhuang Mu, the third son. Then the eldest daughter-in-law Zhen shi, second daughter-in-law Feng shi, and third daughter-in-law Tan shi. After them were several children including An Junwang. All of them stood in the wind and rain outside the residence, waiting for the arrival of the Empress Dowager.
The carriage stopped outside the main gate in the midst of a heavy downpour.
Zhuang Ping took the lead in kneeling down. After he knelt down, the rest followed suit. He cupped his hands in salute and said in a clear voice, "This official respectfully welcomes the Empress Dowager. Long live the Empress Dowager, a thousand times, a thousand years!"
Everyone kowtowed and saluted, "Humble subjects respectfully welcome the Empress Dowager. Long live the Empress Dowager, a thousand times, a thousand years!"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang got off another carriage, braved the wind and rain, and personally held an umbrella for Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was still wearing the same clothes she wore in Bishui Alley, but this did not affect her imperial aura at all.
These people were all her family, but they were all kneeling at her feet.
She glanced at the crowd and said faintly, "Rise."
"Many thanks, Empress Dowager!" The crowd respectfully responded and obediently rose to their feet. Their clothes were soaked, but even the youngest three-year-old child didn’t dare to utter any noise.
Everyone knew that the Empress Dowager was always strict with rules.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang smiled and said, "Please hurry into the house. The rain is heavy, and Your Majesty is still injured, it's not good to get caught in the rain."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang led her into the Zhuang Residence and into the courtyard carefully prepared by the Zhuang Family for her.
This was Zhuang Jinse's courtyard before she was married off. Every grass, tree, and flower was decorated according to her previous arrangement, which was still in its original state after decades.
Empress Dowager Zhuang did not even lift her eyes as she walked up the steps.
But when she passed a begonia tree, she took a second glance at it and felt that there should be several children around it.
She proceeded into the house.
In the Zhuang Family, the only people who knew about Empress Dowager Zhuang's leprosy were Grand Preceptor Zhuang and An Junwang, as well as their trusted aides, so Grand Preceptor Zhuang didn't even summon his own sons, only bringing An Junwang with him. The three of them entered the room.
After the three people entered the room, Grand Preceptor Zhuang called two more servant girls over, “The people originally around Your Majesty are all in the palace. These are the people that Heng'er chose for Your Majesty. For the time being, they will be waiting upon Your Majesty."
"No need, go back." Empress Dowager Zhuang waved her hand after taking a seat. "Aijia doesn't need people to serve her." [T/N: Aijia is how the Empress Dowager addresses herself just like how the Emperor uses Zhen to refer to himself.]
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