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Empress Dowager Zhuang herself froze.
She was stunned for a long time and moved her mouth incredulously, but no sound came out for a long time.
…JiaoJiao?
Did the name that had slipped out of her mouth carelessly belong to this little girl?
Why was she… towards her…
"Empress Dowager!"
Zhuang Yuexi's voice suddenly appeared. When she saw a familiar figure standing next to the Empress Dowager from a distance, she had suspicions and came over to see that it was indeed Gu Jiao.
Her heart thumped.
Then she caught sight of the money pouch in Gu Jiao's hand and her expression changed.
She tried to brush off her unease, telling herself that the Empress Dowager had already forgotten about this girl and it was now her who the Empress Dowager doted upon. No matter how much this girl tried, it was futile.
Her thoughts spun and she collected herself.
She looked at Gu Jiao and asked with a questioning look, "Why are you here? Is the palace a place where you can come and go as you please?"
Of course not, but since Gu Jiao could come in, it at least showed that she had access. The people Gu Jiao knew within the palace except the Emperor was only the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager didn’t give her the freedom to enter and exit the palace, so it could only be the Emperor.
Zhuang Yuexi's words were undoubtedly reminding the Empress Dowager that Gu Jiao was the Emperor's person.
Empress Dowager Zhuang’s expression did turn a little colder.
Zhuang Yuexi continued, "I heard that His Majesty’s dragon body is not well and you’re the one treating His Majesty. I wonder how the treatment is going."
From the uppest nobility to the lowest of the commoners in the State of Zhao, no one didn’t knew that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were sworn enemies. Empress Dowager Zhuang helped the Emperor to ascend the throne just to train a puppet emperor, but as soon as the Emperor’s wings hardened, he was no longer willing to be just someone’s puppet.
The fight between the two, both overtly and covertly, had never stopped.
Empress Dowager wanted to take advantage of the Emperor's illness to dispose of the Emperor, but Gu Jiao's appearance gave the Emperor a chance to live. Would Empress Dowager Zhuang like Gu Jiao in her heart?
Those words still hadn’t stopped echoing inside Empress Dowager Zhuang's mind. However, she was no longer confused but cold. This girl approached her under the Emperor's instructions, and the only and most likely reason this girl managed to enter her heart was due to her memory loss.
She was simply careless for a moment, falling into this girl's trap, but it would never happen again.
"Leave the thing behind and you can go." Empress Dowager Zhuang said as she raised her chin and looked towards the flowers in the imperial garden.
"Oh." Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zhuang Yuexi, "So it was not Grandaunt who asked someone to return it to me?"
Hearing what she said, Empress Dowager Zhuang recalled that this girl also seemed to have mentioned about it being "returned" from the beginning. She frowned and looked at the crumpled money pouch. It was really… a very odd-looking pouch, with all the thread left outside.
Did this girl… personally make it for her?
"It's clearly you who stole Empress Dowager's stuff and came here to put on a show!" Zhuang Yuexi clenched her fingers and turned to Empress Dowager Zhuang, "Empress Dowager must have accidentally dropped it somewhere and this girl picked it up."
Gu Jiao looked at Zhuang Yuexi, saying, "You gave it to me."
Zhuang Yuexi flatly denied, "I didn't!" She then turned to Empress Dowager Zhuang again, "Empress Dowager, don't listen to her instigation!"
"Enough!" Empress Dowager Zhuang interrupted Zhuang Yuexi. Zhuang Yuexi was too noisy today, which made her a little irritated.
In fact, Gu Jiao spoke more than Zhuang Yuexi today. However, Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't realize that and only felt that Zhuang Yuexi alone was being very noisy.
Gu Jiao gazed at Empress Dowager Zhuang with grievance and said, "Do you really want me to go? Then tell me yourself that you don't want me anymore."
Empress Dowager Zhuang took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
Surprisingly, the words refused to come out of her mouth. The thought of saying the words ‘I don't want you anymore’ to this girl made her throat feel as though it was blocked by a huge stone.
"Senseless." Empress Dowager Zhuang stood up coldly and left the imperial garden with a flick of her sleeves.
Gu Jiao stroked the money pouch in her hand.
When Empress Dowager Zhuang had gone far, Zhuang Yuexi told her in a cold voice, "Stop making a fool of yourself! You know very well in your heart what exactly your family has done to my Grandaunt! She didn’t argue with you because she is kind-hearted, but that doesn’t mean you can shove your nose into her face! Do you really think that Grandaunt cares about you? She just mistook you for me! I am her real grandniece!"
"Oh." Gu Jiao answered indifferently and didn't take Zhuang Yuexi's words to heart.
This woman never spoke the truth. Don’t listen, don’t listen, it’s just a bastard chanting scriptures!
Seeing the unconcerned look on her face, Zhuang Yuexi only felt that her punch landed on cotton and her energy waned.
In fact, she was also an intelligent person, it was just that whenever she was facing Gu Jiao, she was easily provoked to the point of forgetting etiquette. She steeled her heart and blurted out, "You should know your own weight! Stop daydreaming! Grandaunt doesn't remember you anymore! "
Gu Jiao paused.
So she didn't remember her…
Gu Jiao believed this remark.
She was just about to leave the palace but suddenly changed her mind as she turned around and gallantly walked forward.
"Where are you going?" Zhuang Yuexi chided.
"Renshou Palace." Gu Jiao raised her eyebrows and said without looking back.
Zhuang Yuexi stomped her feet in anger, "You!"
Gu Jiao caught up with Empress Dowager Zhuang’s entourage. The palace servants were accustomed to acting according to Empress Dowager Zhuang's expression. When she caught up to them, Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't order the palace servants to chase her away, so they didn't dare to say anything.
When they arrived at Renshou Palace, Empress Dowager Zhuang stepped inside.
Gu Jiao also entered nimbly.
Eunuch Qin gritted his teeth. Why was this girl haunting them like a lingering ghost?
Empress Dowager Zhuang finally stopped in the small garden of the front hall, then looked at Gu Jiao without any expression on her face, "Why do you keep following me?"
Gu Jiao thought for a while, "I just want to follow you."
Empress Dowager Zhuang: "..."
She should be very angry right now, but how come a part of her… was secretly delighted?
Had she been drugged again by this girl? How many bewitching potions did this girl give her during the years she was under their custody?
Empress Dowager Zhuang returned to her bedchamber in annoyance.
Gu Jiao naturally followed her in. Looking at the resplendent bedchamber, she asked with curiosity, "Grandaunt, is this where you live? Doesn’t this place make you lonely at all?"
It looked grand and magnificent, but it was spacious and empty, with every part giving off a gloomy and cold feeling.
Hearing such a question, Empress Dowager Zhuang looked dazed for a moment.
No one had ever asked her if she was lonely.
Neither the father who sent her to the imperial palace, nor the husband who left her deep within the inner palace, nor the people who wanted her to climb higher and higher, had once asked her of this.
While she was lost in thought, a white hand reached over, holding a paper wrap that had just been opened and with three candied fruits inside.
It was obvious at first glance that these candied fruits were snacks among the common people. The dried fruits from the palace were much more exquisite.
"Audacious! How dare you give the Empress Dowager these dirty commoner things!" Zhuang Yuexi came over carrying a fruit plate containing fresh fruit slices and a few round dried fruits as decoration. It looked much better than the candied fruits in Gu Jiao’s hand.
Empress Dowager Zhuang's eyes fell on the candied fruits Gu Jiao was holding. She swallowed hard and said with a dignified expression, "Aijia won't eat it!"
"Oh." Gu Jiao ate it herself.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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