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A group of people rode the carriage back to Bishui Alley.
"I have a question." Gu Changqing suddenly spoke up as they were inside the carriage.
"What is it?" Old Chief asked.
"Since the late Emperor's Dragon Shadow Guards vowed loyalty and devotion to His Majesty, they should know that His Majesty highly values JiaoJiao. Why did they assist the evildoer in harming JiaoJiao?" Gu Changqing pondered.
"This is what sets the Dragon Shadow Guards apart from ordinary death warriors. They are only tools for killing and have no thoughts of their own. They only obey orders. His Majesty made them loyal to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, so her words are decree to them. Unless His Majesty personally takes them back, they will continue to obey her." Old Chief explained.
"So that’s how it is..." Gu Changqing suddenly realized that even though he had spent so long in the army, thinking that he was familiar with the top experts in the State of Zhao, he had only scratched the surface. To think there was such a terrible power lurking beneath the surface.
"I'm still too green." He murmured.
Old Chief patted his shoulder and said, "It's not too late to know now. Your grandfather was His Majesty’s confidant, and he must have known about the existence of the Dragon Shadow Guards, he just didn't tell you because the time wasn't right yet. The Dragon Shadow Guards used to be very powerful in the past, but unfortunately, many of them died or were injured. In this generation, there should only be a few left at Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing’s side. His Majesty himself has never witnessed the horror of the Dragon Shadow Guards, so he has no idea what kind of killing machines he has given to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing."
"No wonder Eunuch Wei said that His Majesty has still sent more dark guards to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's side recently." Gu Changqing said.
"With the Dragon Shadow Guards, who needs dark guards? His Majesty is the one who is too green." Old Chief replied.
"Hold on." Gu Changqing suddenly remembered something. "His Majesty has been assassinated once. Did the Dragon Shadow Guards have a hand in that? Do the Dragon Shadow Guards even kill the Emperor?"
"No, they wouldn't assassinate the Emperor. That was the first order left to them by the late Emperor, and the second was to obey the reigning Emperor. Even if His Majesty asked them to kill himself, the Dragon Shadow Guards would follow the first order. The people who tried to assassinate His Majesty last time were from the State of Chen, still, they couldn't have known His Majesty’s whereabouts so well. That means there must have been an insider in the palace who’s providing them information." Old Chief shook his head.
"Could the insider be one of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's people?" Gu Changqing asked.
Old Chief stroked his beard and fell into thought. "There's no evidence yet to suggest that it was her. If it was her, why would she want to assassinate His Majesty? What benefit would killing His Majesty bring her?"
Gu Changqing thought for a moment, "What if her goal isn’t to kill His Majesty, but to just slightly stab His Majesty and frame Empress Dowager Zhuang for it?"
In fact, didn’t the Emperor blame Empress Dowager Zhuang for the assassination attempt?
Old Chief's expression became serious, "It's not impossible."
If that was the case, then Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was really terrifying. Her dealing with Empress Dowager Zhuang could be seen as seeking revenge or contending for the Empress Dowager position. But the Emperor held her in such high regard; it was hard to believe she would resort to such tactics.
"I hope we're wrong." Gu Changqing said.
The Emperor held Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing in such high regard because, other than not being born from her, she was practically his own flesh and blood.
Gu Changqing understood the Emperor's feelings towards her, as Gu Chenglin and Gu Chengfeng had the same sentiments towards Concubine Ling back then.
The difference was that Concubine Ling was just a concubine, and Gu Chenglin and Gu Chengfeng knew they had a biological mother since childhood. In their hearts, their biological mother was still more important.
The Emperor, on the other hand, was brought to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's palace as a baby, and was adopted by her since birth. They had a close mother-son relationship for many years, until the Emperor grew up and learned that his biological mother was a palace maid.
But by then, he could no longer form any emotional attachment to her biological mother.
In the first place, the late Emperor wouldn’t allow him to have any motherly feelings towards a lowly palace maid.
If the Emperor knew he was harmed by Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, the blow would be devastating.
As they spoke, the carriage arrived at the doorstep of their home.
The carriage stopped, and everything was quiet.
It was then that they heard the even, small snoring coming from Gu Jiao beside them, who had fallen asleep with a pillow in her arms without them noticing.
The young girl slept soundly, her cheek pressed against the pillow, making a squishy sound, and the heat had made her cheeks red.
The two people couldn't help but laugh.
This girl really had no interest in these things. Since she couldn't wrap the enemy inside the sack, she just slept soundly.
"I'll go down first." Old Chief said silently.
Gu Changqing nodded and respectfully cupped his hands to Old Chief.
Neither of them woke Gu Jiao up.
Gu Changqing stayed inside the carriage and took out a fan from under the table to gently fan Gu Jiao.
After a while, Gu Jiao's frowning brows relaxed.
Yao Shi, who was picking vegetables in the front yard, saw this scene and touched her slightly bulging belly, her eyes softening.
Gu Jiao slept until Little Jing Kong returned from the Imperial Academy.
As soon as he got home, he started blowing his horn tirelessly, making it difficult for Gu Jiao to stay asleep.
Fortunately, she had already slept enough.
Gu Changqing had something to attend to at the military camp and did not stay for dinner.
In the evening, smoke rose from the alley, and Xiao Liulang returned from Hanlin Academy.
He went to Old Chief's place first and discussed some matters. When he returned home, he found Gu Jiao sitting in the east room, looking dejected.
She had slept all afternoon, so she should have been well-rested and energetic.
But her sighs and sad expression really captured the essence of Little Jing Kong’s imitation of Uncle Zhao next door.
Xiao Liulang couldn't help but hook up the corner of his lips with laughter.
After dinner, Gu Jiao returned to her room listlessly, still feeling dejected.
Xiao Liulang knocked on the door and said, "It's me."
Gu Jiao sat up and said, "Come in."
Xiao Liulang entered the room.
Gu Jiao thought he had brought her some green bean soup again, so she sat down at the table, even though she wasn't hungry.
But Xiao Liulang didn't give her any soup. Instead, he just looked at her steadily.
Gu Jiao began to sense that something was wrong.
She looked up and met Xiao Liulang's gaze. She asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Liulang's deep eyes shimmered with a trace of helpless laughter that he didn't even notice. "Don't you want to put someone in a sack?”
"Hm?" Gu Jiao perked up her ears! Then she blinked and looked at the window, saying seriously, "I'm not that kind of person."
Xiao Liulang almost believed her. He supported his forehead and said, "You're right, you're not that kind of person."
Xiao Liulang held back his laughter and asked seriously, "Do you want to go to the palace to see Grandaunt?"
Gu Jiao sat up straight and answered, "Of course!"
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