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After being dazed by the explosion, Gu Jiao was rescued by the imperial experts and slept soundly on Grandaunt's phoenix bed for the whole afternoon.
When she woke up, it was almost evening, and Grandaunt kept her for dinner at Renshou Palace.
She thought for a moment and said, "Grandaunt, let me make some milk-flavored date for you."
Mainly because she felt bad about the explosion in Grandaunt's lawn today, so she had to make it up somehow.
Milk-flavored dates were made with goat cheese, dried red dates, and almonds. Red dates were naturally sweet, so no extra sugar was needed. It was creamy, delicious, and nutritious.
Red dates and almonds were easy to find, but goat cheese had to be obtained from the imperial kitchen.
While the cooks at Renshou Palace went to get the goat cheese, Gu Jiao went to the imperial garden. She planned to pick some fresh flower petals and dry them for making tea.
She hadn't been picking for long when a few unfamiliar palace maids came over, also carrying baskets to pick flowers.
Gu Jiao put her full basket on the stone table and went to fill up another one. These petals looked like a lot, but once they were dried, you would see they were too little.
Gu Jiao returned to Renshou Palace with a full load.
Coincidentally, the goat cheese had also arrived, and she handed the basket to Eunuch Qin and went to the small kitchen to make milk-flavored dates.
……
Inside the Huaqing Palace, a small palace maid knelt on the ground.
The Emperor and Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sat on their chairs, and the Emperor frowned as he looked at the palace maids who were recently selected to serve by Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's side. He was greatly displeased, "How do you serve imperial concubine dowager? You lot actually lost her jade pendant!"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sighed, "Don’t blame them. I lost it myself. I heard some noise in the imperial garden earlier, but I didn't pay any attention. I think I must have dropped it then."
"We found it, but then we lost it again..." One of the palace maids trembled as she spoke.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing spoke gently, "Don't be afraid. Just tell me. I won't blame you."
The palace maid took a deep breath, kneeled forward, and kowtowed, "This servant found a jade pendant in the imperial garden, but not knowing if it’s the one that belonged to imperial concubine dowager, this servant planned to give it to the chief maid later. This servant put it on the table for the time being and went to pick flowers, but when this servant came back for the pendant, it was gone!"
"Why did you put the jade pendant on the table?" The Emperor asked sternly.
The palace maid answered fearfully, "The jade pendant was broken, so I thought it was worthless and not valuable..."
"Broken?" The Emperor looked surprised and turned to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing nodded bitterly, without saying a word.
Grannie Cai spoke earnestly, "Two years ago, imperial concubine dowager fell and broke the jade pendant. One corner was completely shattered, and it couldn't be repaired. But it was a keepsake left by Princess Ning'an for imperial concubine dowager, so even though it was broken, imperial concubine dowager still wore it every day."
Hearing that Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had a fall even before, the Emperor felt a sharp pain in his heart. He regretted not bringing her back to the palace earlier for better care.
"Zhen has caused imperial concubine mother to suffer." He said with remorse.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing said, "Your Majesty is too kind. It was just a fall. As one grows older, there will always be times when the legs and feet are not so agile."
“If you ask Zhen, that one in the Renshou Palace…” The Emperor wanted to say that the person from the Renshou Palace had very nimble legs and feet, even more so than before she contracted leprosy, but he also felt it was inappropriate to bring up the Empress Dowager too often. He cleared his throat and looked at the palace maids kneeling on the ground, "Besides you, who else went to the imperial garden?"
The palace maids looked at one another in confusion.
Although one part of the jade pendant was broken, the other half was still priceless. It was not an ordinary jade but a millennium cold jade from the State of Yan. Just because this palace maid didn't recognize it, it didn't mean that others didn't.
"Speak up!" The Emperor said coldly. "Who took imperial concubine dowager's jade pendant?"
Everyone kowtowed one after another, and the palace maid who had found the jade pendant earlier said, "Your Majesty, we really didn't take it! We servants don't know anything about jewelry, how could we take something like that..."
She dared not say anything about the broken jade pendant anymore.
The Emperor asked with a stern voice, "Besides you all, who else has been to the imperial garden then?"
The palace maid thought for a moment before saying, "There was a young lady...This servant doesn't know which palace she's from. Her dress didn't look like that of an imperial concubine or a palace maid. And she has… a red birthmark on her left cheek."
She wasn't an imperial concubine or a palace maid, and had a red birthmark on her left cheek. Who else could it be if not Gu Jiao?
This was awkward.
If it had been any ordinary jade pendant, the Emperor wouldn't have bothered investigating. But this one was a keepsake left by Princess Ning'an for Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, someone who the Emperor loved deeply as a family.
He cared for her no less than he did for Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Eunuch Wei looked at the Emperor with a complex expression.
Young Miss Gu was someone who couldn’t tolerate sand in her eyes. If His Majesty really dared to send someone to ask her if she found a jade pendant, afraid that Young Miss Gu would never talk to His Majesty again.
Fine, let us say she was already angry at His Majesty at present.
However, the nature of this matter was different.
Young Miss Gu wasn’t a person with unclean hands and feet, but His Majesty just wouldn’t let go of any clue. The difficulty of this matter lay in the fact that once questioned, mutual suspicions would be sown between them.
Moreover, Gu Jiao was now in Renshou Palace. What would Empress Dowager think if she found out about this? She wouldn't let the Emperor off the hook until he was thoroughly scolded.
Empress Dowager could tolerate being wronged herself, but not Gu Jiao.
Eunuch Wei silently broke out in a cold sweat. It was over, over ah.
The Emperor collected himself and held Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's hand, saying, "The little miracle physician wouldn't pick up the jade pendant from the table. Empress Dowager dotes on her and treasures her like a precious gem. Although Princess Ning'an's millennium cold jade is precious, it's not something that will catch her eye. Ning'an also gave Zhen a piece back then. Since they're both keepsakes from Ning'an, Zhen will have someone fetch it and give it to imperial concubine mother."
"This servant shall go get it!" Eunuch Wei didn't wait for the Emperor's instructions and quickly left, moving as if he were afraid the Emperor would change his mind at any moment.
The Emperor said, "These palace maids are not doing their job properly, losing imperial concubine mother's jade pendant. They should not serve around imperial concubine mother anymore. Zhen will select some capable palace staff for imperial concubine mother again."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing smiled, "I only eat vegetarian food and recite Buddhist scriptures. I don't need too many people around me. Grannie Cai is enough."
The Emperor replied, "Grannie Cai is also old and may have difficulty keeping up. If there were a few clever palace maids around imperial concubine mother today, they wouldn’t have lost imperial concubine mother's jade pendant."
Gu Jiao knew nothing about what happened in the palace. She went to the small kitchen to make milk-flavored dates and fresh flower cakes, and there were still many flowers left.
A palace maid said, "Let me put them in a brocade bag for the young miss to take back and make dried flowers."
"Okay." Gu Jiao nodded.
The palace maid brought a brocade bag and put all the remaining flower petals in it.
After dinner, Gu Jiao returned to Bishui Alley.
Gu Xiaoshun was scratching his head in the courtyard, looking uneasy.
"What happened?" Gu Jiao asked as she walked up to him.
Gu Xiaoshun replied, "Marquis Gu fainted and hasn’t woken up yet."
As it turned out, after Gu Jiao went out to visit Grandaunt, Marquis Gu didn’t leave but asked his son where Yao Shi was. Just as he finished speaking, he saw Yao Shi walking out of the room with a big belly.
It wasn’t just being chubby anymore, but she was really carrying a baby in her belly!
There was nothing more terrifying for a man than coming back from a business trip and finding that his wife had a big belly.
As if that wasn’t enough, Marquis Xuanping appeared behind Yao Shi and exchanged a few words with her while laughing.
As the most flirtatious and unruly man in the capital, Marquis Xuanping’s smile carried a hint of mischief and evil even when he was serious. Marquis Gu immediately felt like the sky was falling!
Marquis Gu had always been in trouble due to his own good looks, but he had to admit that Marquis Xuanping was indeed better-looking than him. This ladykiller would have countless women after him with just a beckon of his finger.
Could it be that… His Yaoyao had also fallen into his charms?!
Otherwise, he could not figure out why Marquis Xuanping was here!
Anger overwhelmed him as he thought of the green hat on his head.
Unable to hold it any longer, he fainted with his eyes rolling backwards and tongue sticking out.
Gu Jiao went to Yao Shi's room and checked Marquis Gu's pulse, saying, "He's fine."
Yao Shi nodded. Although her husband was sometimes muddleheaded, he was still the father of her two… No, three children now. She did not want them to be fatherless.
However...
Yao Shi looked at her bulging belly that kept moving. Was it normal for a six-month-old fetus to move so vigorously? Why did she feel like this child wanted to kick its father?
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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