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Eunuch Qin smiled and shook his head. "There isn't. There’s no other piece of it within the palace. As for the outside, this servant dared not be certain, however it should be extremely rare. Millennium cold jade is a precious treasure that is hard to come by. The imperial son-in-law went through hardships to obtain it. If it weren't so precious, he wouldn't have gifted it to Princess Ning'an. But, why is Senior Compiler Xiao suddenly so curious about the millennium cold jade?"
"Oh, I happened to see it in a book and became a little curious." Xiao Liulang returned Grandaunt's jade pendant to Eunuch Qin. "Since it was given by Princess Ning'an, please make sure to keep it safe, Eunuch Qin."
Eunuch Qin took the jade pendant, wrapped it in a silk cloth, and placed it back in the brocade box. "Of course, this is a precious item after all. Even Empress Dowager rarely wears it and instead has us store it in a secret compartment, where we have to take it out and wipe it clean every day."
If this hadn’t been a gift from Princess Ning'an, Empress Dowager would have undoubtedly given this piece of jade to Senior Compiler Xiao without hesitation.
What Eunuch Qin didn't know was that Xiao Liulang had a millennium cold jade that his mother, Princess Xinyang, had given him. But he was no longer Xiao Heng, so he no longer had the jade in his possession.
At this point, it could be confirmed that this broken jade pendant wasn’t from Renshou Palace. However, how it got into Gu Jiao's brocade bag was still unknown and might require asking the palace maid named Fei Cui.
As Xiao Liulang was thinking about how to call Fei Cui over without being too sudden or raising suspicion, he heard Eunuch Qin say, "Fei Cui, come over and put the jade pendant back."
"Yes." Fei Cui replied, and a pink-clad palace maid walked up, holding the brocade box that Eunuch Qin handed her.
"Pour me a cup of tea." Xiao Liulang said to Fei Cui.
Fei Cui was momentarily taken aback.
Eunuch Qin thought nothing of it and assumed that Xiao Liulang was simply ordering a palace maid around. He said, "Do as you’re told quickly."
"Yes!" Fei Cui replied and went to prepare the tea.
"Lord Xiao, please have some tea." Fei Cui said as she brought over a teapot.
Xiao Liulang looked at her and took out the jade pendant from his palm, "Do you recognize this?"
"Uh... yes, this servant does!" Fei Cui examined it carefully and said, "It's Young Miss Gu's jade pendant!"
"Her jade pendant?" Xiao Liulang furrowed his brow.
Fei Cui nodded, "Yes, yesterday this servant helped Young Miss Gu gather the flower petals she hadn't used, and this jade pendant was lying in her basket."
Xiao Liulang stared at her intently, making sure she wasn't lying.
This jade pendant wasn't placed in Renshou Palace by anyone, but was placed in Gu Jiao's basket before entering Renshou Palace by someone else.
Where could it have been placed?
Gu Jiao said she picked the flowers in the imperial garden, didn’t she?
Xiao Liulang went to the imperial garden but didn't find any significant clues. He then turned and went to Huaqing Palace.
"Lord Xiao, are you here to see the Emperor?" Asked the young eunuch at the door.
"No, I'm here to find Eunuch Wei." Xiao Liulang replied.
"Please wait a moment, Lord Xiao." The young eunuch went inside to inform Eunuch Wei.
Eunuch Wei walked out holding a horsetail whisk, smiling from ear to ear, "Oh, what wind has blown Senior Compiler Xiao here?" His smile froze for a moment as he whispered, "Has the Crown Prince not been studying well again?"
Xiao Liulang replied politely, "No, the Crown Prince has made progress in his studies, and there is no doubt about his diligence in class."
Eunuch Wei breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, that's good. This servant is sure His Majesty will be more at ease about the Crown Prince when he hears this. Uh... May this servant know what brought Senior Compiler Xiao here today?"
"I found a jade pendant in the imperial garden just now." Xiao Liulang handed the broken jade pendant to Eunuch Wei.
Upon seeing the jade pendant, Eunuch Wei's eyes lit up, "Aiya, finally found it! This servant knew it! Young Miss Gu couldn't have taken it away!"
"What do you mean?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Eunuch Wei sighed, "Senior Compiler Xiao may not know this, but this is the jade pendant that Princess Ning'an gave to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing years ago. Imperial concubine dowager has returned to the palace and now lives in Huaqing Palace. Her jade pendant was lost in the imperial garden yesterday, and it happened that Young Miss Gu also went to the imperial garden at that time. His Majesty trusts Young Miss Gu and didn't send anyone to question her. Instead, he took out his own jade pendant and gave it to the imperial concubine dowager."
He paused and smiled, "His Majesty's jade pendant was also a gift from Princess Ning'an and is also very precious. Now that imperial concubine dowager's jade pendant has been found, this servant can go and retrieve His Majesty's jade pendant."
Xiao Liulang's eyes flashed with a hint of meaning, "So, Eunuch Wei means to say that this jade pendant belongs to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing?"
"Yes." Eunuch Wei nodded.
Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrived.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, supported by Grannie Cai, walked outside for a walk. She was still wearing the clothes of a Buddhist nun, with a hat on her head. Her face looked pale due to her recent illness, but she was composed and had a kind and amiable expression.
She caught sight of Eunuch Wei and Xiao Liulang at the entrance.
Xiao Liulang also looked at her.
Their eyes met, and everything around them seemed to become still for a moment.
Xiao Liulang's gaze was deep and calm, like a bottomless pool on a moonlit night.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had moved to the nunnery before Xiao Liulang was born, so this was his first time meeting her. He was able to recognize her because no one else in the palace dressed like she did.
Xiao Liulang cupped his hands in salute and left Huaqing Palace.
Eunuch Wei walked over with the jade pendant in his hand and said with a smile, "Imperial concubine dowager, your pendant has been found. Senior Compiler Xiao found it in the imperial garden."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing looked at Xiao Liulang's departing back and asked, "Senior, Compiler, Xiao?"
After leaving the palace, Xiao Liulang first went to Hanlin Academy to fulfill half a day of duty, then went to Minghui Hall at the Imperial Academy after he got off from work.
"That's enough, you can leave now." Old Chief pardoned Dean Zheng's punishment for the day.
Dean Zheng felt as if he had been granted a general amnesty. He used to despise Xiao Liulang, but now he hoped for his arrival everyday. After all, only when Xiao Liulang came did Old Chief have no time to punish him.
Xiao Liulang entered the room, and the guards closed the door of Minghui Hall.
“Have a seat." Old Chief offered.
Xiao Liulang sat down in front of Old Chief with a small table between them, which was piled with excellent essays written by Imperial Academy students.
Old Chief put down the essay he was half done grading and asked, "What's the matter?"
He never came to Minghui Hall for no reason.
Xiao Liulang told him about the jade pendant, and Old Chief's expression became serious at once, "Do you suspect that there is something wrong with Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing?"
As expected of master and disciple, they had an indescribable tacit understanding between them. Xiao Liulang did not mention his suspicion of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and only described the situation in detail.
But who was Old Chief?
A ten-thousand-year-old green tea and white lotus, and he didn’t have to pretend pure and innocent in front of his disciple.
"What kind of person is Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing in master’s eyes?" Asked Xiao Liulang.
"Of course, she is a good person." Old Chief said without hesitation. However, his past judgment might not be accurate, just like how he used to think that Zhuang Jinse was an evil person but eventually discovered that she wasn't as bad as he thought. Perhaps he thought Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was a good person, but she might not be as good as he believed.
Old Chief would never admit that he was biased towards Zhuang Jinse!
“One may know a person for a long time without understanding their true nature.” After the incident with Zhuang Jinse, Old Chief had a deep understanding of this saying.
"How is her relationship with Empress Dowager?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Old Chief smiled faintly and said, "In the past, the two of them were very close. She was Zhuang Jinse's only friend in the palace, and the person Zhuang Jinse trusted the most. I still remember one time I tried to bring down Zhuang Jinse and she, who was still Imperial Concubine Jing at the time, ended up taking the blame for her. Zhuang Jinse almost killed me! When I caused Zhuang Jinse to be sent to the cold palace, she wasn't even that angry. Zhuang Jinse didn't have any children, but she treated her two foster children, Princess Ning'an and the current Emperor, as if they were her own. Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's family was also helped by Zhuang Jinse."
At this point, Old Chief sighed and said, "Later, when the late Emperor passed away and the current Emperor ascended the throne, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing became a nun, and they had less contact."
"Why did she become a nun? Did she go voluntarily?" Xiao Liulang questioned.
Old Chief answered, "No, it was Zhuang Jinse's order."
"Surely the Emperor didn't agree." Xiao Liulang said thoughtfully.
Old Chief nodded, "You're right. His Majesty did not agree, but Zhuang Jinse’s hand covered the whole sky, having the power to do whatever she wanted. His Majesty had worked so hard to gain power over the years but he was only just able to match Zhuang Jinse at present. Naturally, His Majesty who had just ascended the throne was no match for Zhuang Jinse at all. Their relationship broke down because of this incident."
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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