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The Emperor tightly held Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing’s hand, "Imperial concubine mother, don't say that! It was Zhen’s idea for you to return to the palace! It is someone else who couldn't bear to see you return and used two schemes in one day, almost taking your life! Imperial concubine mother, rest assured, Zhen will find the mastermind behind this, even if Zhen has to risk his life to bring her to justice! Zhen will definitely seek justice for imperial concubine mother!"
He might as well have named Empress Dowager Zhuang in his words.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed a few times, looking miserable.
"Imperial concubine mother!" The Emperor coldly looked at the kneeling imperial physician, "How is imperial concubine dowager's condition?!"
The imperial physician answered fearfully, "Responding to Your Majesty, imperial concubine dowager is seriously injured and frightened from falling into the water. She will need some time to recover."
The Emperor shouted, "Then what are you still doing here?! Go and make medicine for imperial concubine mother!"
"Yes, yes!"
The imperial physician left, sweating profusely.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Eunuch Wei walked in quickly.
"What's the matter?" The Emperor asked.
Eunuch Wei said, "This servant found Senior Compiler Xiao unconscious near Taiye Lake."
"Him?"
The Emperor went to the small garden in Huaqing Palace.
Eunuch Wei called an imperial physician, who gave Xiao Liulang an acupuncture. Xiao Liulang slowly woke up and opened his eyes, which felt heavy. He asked, "Where am I?"
Eunuch Wei hurriedly said, "This is Huaqing Palace! Senior Compiler Xiao, you fainted near Taiye Lake! Why did you faint?"
Xiao Liulang looked confused, "I...I think I saw someone suspicious, who looked like JiaoJiao… I called out to her, but she knocked me out."
"What? Little miracle physician knocked you out?" Eunuch Wei looked at the Emperor in shock, and saw the same look of surprise in his eyes.
The Emperor was a ruler who had experienced struggles and intrigues after all. He carefully inquired about the location and time of Xiao Liulang's incident and soon identified the other party as the culprit who had attacked Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing!
Xiao Liulang was shocked and said, "Your Majesty, are you saying that Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was attacked and that… JiaoJiao is the culprit? How is that possible?"
His acting skills had improved, although he had only done such shameless things once or twice, he was now so skilled at it.
Perhaps he had a certain talent in this area.
Eunuch Wei was puzzled and said, "The palace maids were questioned earlier by this servant, and no one else appeared in the vicinity of the imperial concubine dowager at that time apart from her."
Xiao Liulang replied with a solemn voice, "But JiaoJiao didn’t enter the palace today. Although she has some skills, she doesn’t know qinggong, so she could not have entered without using the main entrance."
This was the truth.
Gu Jiao really didn’t know how to use qinggong. The Emperor had learned this lesson deeply on the night when he was attacked by assassins. Back then, Gu Jiao practically ran for their lives on all fours!
The Emperor's legs were almost broken!
If she knew qinggong, they would not have ended up in such a situation.
Without waiting for the Emperor's order, Eunuch Wei went to the palace gate himself to ask the palace guards if Gu Jiao had entered the palace.
"No!" The palace guard replied firmly.
Eunuch Wei asked, "Did Senior Compiler Xiao enter the palace on his own?"
The guard said, "There was also a junior eunuch from Renshou Palace."
The junior eunuch didn’t arouse the suspicion of Eunuch Wei because Empress Dowager Zhuang often sent people to Bishui Alley to deliver things or to bring people from Bishui Alley into the palace.
Eunuch Wei reported back to Huaqing Palace, "Little miracle physician didn’t enter the palace today."
Xiao Liulang pondered, "Could it be... someone impersonating JiaoJiao?"
The Emperor gritted his teeth and asked, "Did you see clearly what the person looks like?"
Xiao Liulang shook his head slightly, "This official didn't see her face clearly. But her back looked the same, and she was wearing the same clothes, hairstyle, and even had the same basket on her back!"
No palace maid wore a dark dress and carried a basket on their back. It was obviously Gu Jiao's attire.
The Emperor's gaze turned cold, "It seems that someone is really impersonating the little miracle physician!"
Xiao Liulang said, as if he suddenly understood it, "Is that why the other party didn't kill me to silence me? They probably wanted to use this official to reveal her identity. Unfortunately, they didn't know that JiaoJiao doesn’t know qinggong, which exposed themselves."
The balance here was very delicate.
Even Eunuch Wei didn't know that Gu Jiao couldn't use qinggong. He thought the little miracle physician was so skilled that she must be able to fly through the eaves and high walls, just like the imperial experts.
It was precisely because he didn't know that the Emperor believed that the culprit didn't know either.
It seemed that the other party had overlooked something.
Since the other party planned to frame Gu Jiao, the mastermind behind the scenes couldn't be Empress Dowager Zhuang.
No matter how prejudiced the Emperor was against Empress Dowager Zhuang, he couldn't believe that she would frame Gu Jiao. During the days when he was recuperating in Bishui Alley, he had seen with his own eyes how caring Empress Dowager Zhuang was to Gu Jiao. He knew she cherished Gu Jiao, just like himself.
With this, Empress Dowager Zhuang was cleared of suspicion.
"But if it's not her, then who could be so intolerant of Imperial Concubine Mother Jing..." The Emperor murmured coldly to himself.
Though his voice wasn’t loud, Eunuch Wei still heard it.
He glanced cautiously at Xiao Liulang, wondering if he should say such things in front of Senior Compiler Xiao. He just prayed that Senior Compiler Xiao didn't hear anything.
Xiao Liulang's expression did not change at all, as if he really didn't hear anything. He thought carefully for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, since the culprit is framing JiaoJiao, he must be trying to stir up the conflict between Huaqing Palace and Renshou Palace."
It was no secret that Gu Jiao was close to Renshou Palace. If the other party wasn’t proven to be someone else today, the blame would inevitably fall on Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Xiao Liulang spoke seriously, "Your Majesty, forgive this official for speaking frankly, but someone clearly wants to provoke the conflict between Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Dowager, and Empress Dowager. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Your Majesty and Empress Dowager have an irreconcilable contradiction which this official understands, but in this critical moment, Your Majesty must not fall for someone else's scheme."
In the past, the Emperor wouldn’t have been able to listen to these words.
But today's events were conclusive evidence, and he found it hard not to believe.
After Xiao Liulang left the palace, the Emperor sat in his study for a long time. He only got up and went to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's bedchamber when the imperial physician came to report on her condition.
"Have you found the culprit?" Asked Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing weakly.
The Emperor hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn’t mention the fact that the culprit had disguised themselves as Gu Jiao and was encountered by Xiao Liulang. He said, "There are no major leads for now. Imperial concubine mother, please rest assured that Zhen will continue to investigate this matter.“
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing smilingly replied, "Okay."
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