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Eunuch Qin recalled the scene of when he met Gu Jiao for the first time. At the time, he had taken her for a little girl ignorant of the rules and the immensity of heaven and earth, but after some interaction with her, he found himself utterly wrong.
How could this girl be ignorant of the rules? How could she not know the immensity of heaven and earth? She was clearly trampling on the rules and poking a hole in the sky!
She possessed a calmness that didn't belong to girls her age, but at the same time she had a childlike innocence that girls her age had long abandoned.
She didn't have many ulterior motives or worldly burdens. If she wanted to treat someone well, she would bare her heart, spare no cost, and show unwavering kindness and trust without any reservation or doubt.
No matter whether the person was good or evil.
She had her own beliefs and was extremely firm in them. No one could easily shake her.
Her thin and petite body seemed to contain infinite power, a comforting power that made people want to get closer to her.
Occasionally, Eunuch Qin wondered, if the Emperor at that time could be as firm and unwavering as Young Miss Gu, would his relationship with the Empress Dowager not have ended up to this point?
"When the Emperor was young, he was very clingy. He was even more clingy than Princess Ning'an who always liked sticking by the Empress Dowager’s side."
As Eunuch Qin spoke, he seemed to recall something amusing and even chuckled, "This old servant remembers... Empress Dowager once brought a little young master from the Zhuang Family over. The little boy didn't know the way and was scared by Imperial Consort Liu's dog. Empress Dowager didn't want to carry him, and just casually pulled him along. Who knew the Emperor would be jealous of this, that he was unable to eat properly that night? He was also unable to sleep properly, tossing and turning in bed without saying what was bothering him. Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing asked him if he was feeling unwell, but he didn't answer. Princess Ning'an also asked him, but he just sulked and didn't speak."
Gu Jiao's expression was indescribable, even Little Jing Kong wasn't that childish.
"What happened later?" Gu Jiao asked.
Eunuch Qin laughed as he recalled, "Later, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sent him to Empress Dowager's palace, which is where Empress Xiao lives now. The Emperor climbed into Empress Dowager's bed and slept with her for a night. The next day, he was back to his lively self."
Gu Jiao rolled her eyes, so childish.
Gu Jiao asked, "How old was the Emperor back then?"
Eunuch Qin thought for a moment, "He was about seven or eight years old. This servant can't remember the specifics very well, but he was a little smaller than the current Seventh Prince, and not as chubby as the Seventh Prince. Despite the Emperor's tall stature now, he looked like a skinny little monkey when he was young. At seven years old, he looked like he was only five. Empress Dowager once thought that the Emperor might not grow tall in the future."
Similar to Little Jing Kong. It seemed that she didn’t have to worry too much about his height. Some people really started to grow taller only later in life.
"What happened next?" Gu Jiao found the story quite interesting.
Eunuch Qin sighed, "After that, the Emperor and Empress Dowager gradually became estranged. This servant can't remember exactly what started it, but their relationship became more and more tense, and Princess Ningan was caught in the middle. Later, the Emperor ascended the throne, and Empress Dowager ruled from behind the curtains. When she sent Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing to a nunnery, their relationship was completely destroyed."
It sounded quite sad.
Gu Jiao couldn't understand complex emotions, but she replaced the Emperor with Little Jing Kong and pondered. If one day Little Jing Kong despised her for another person, she would also be very sad, awfully sad.
Affection was the most wonderful thing in the world. Regardless of blood ties, once you consider someone family, you wouldn’t want to lose them anymore.
"Was it the same for Grandaunt and Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's relationship?" Gu Jiao asked.
Eunuch Qin nodded. Empress Dowager had truly considered Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing a friend, but who hadn't made a mistake when they were young?
The attack of the enemy wasn’t frightening, the most terrifying and at the same time painful was the betrayal of those closest to you.
Gu Jiao paused and asked, "Grandaunt is so smart, can she really do nothing to get the Emperor back from that person?"
Eunuch Qin shook his head helplessly, saying, "It's not that there is nothing she can do, it's that she doesn't want to try. Once her heart is cold, nothing matters."
"I see...nothing sadder than a withered heart, is it?" Gu Jiao looked at Eunuch Qin and asked.
Eunuch Qin nodded, "That’s right."
Gu Jiao had probably experienced this feeling before, but she couldn't remember it anymore.
The memories of being abandoned by her parents in childhood had long been reduced to a few voices and images. She could now look at them back calmly without feeling any pain.
This was actually called numbness.
She had become numb at a very young age, which was why she could become a special agent in the organization and the most ruthless assassin.
Empress Dowager Zhuang went through all of this in middle age and couldn't completely numb herself. She could only try to make her heart dead.
She was Zhuang Jinse, the most powerful Empress Dowager of the State of Zhao. She had her own pride. When she was the Empress, she never bothered to compete with the rest of the harem, so why would she compete with Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing for a man now? Even if that man was her adopted son.
Gu Jiao understood. She grabbed the rope of the swing and looked at Eunuch Qin, “I see. Thank you, Eunuch Qin."
She wouldn't force Grandaunt to do something she didn't want to do.
Since her Granduncle's method didn't work, she would think of another way.
Eunuch Qin was secretly pleased. She was really a sensible child. Nevermind the Empress Dowager, even he couldn't help but want to dote on her.
It was a pity that he was a eunuch and didn’t have much capacity to pamper her.
Gu Jiao got off the swing and went to Empress Dowager Zhuang's study.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was furious as she looked through the memorandums. Someone in her faction was caught for having unclean hands and feet again. She wasn’t a monarch who relied solely on talent. She had been in the harem and court for many years, and she deeply understood one truth: when the water was clear, there were no fish in it.
She always valued a person's ability and tried to accommodate their shortcomings. However, this did not mean that those under her could do whatever they wanted.
Everything had its limits. One shouldn’t commit murder or arson, nor could one recklessly exploit the people to satisfy one's own desires. There was a limit to everything, and she could not condone or shelter those who crossed the line.
"A million taels of silver for disaster relief, and 950,000 taels have been embezzled. Not only that but you also let yourself be caught red-handed. If not you, who should Aijia kill?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang sneered and threw the memorandum into the pile on her left. These were the memorandums that could be presented to the Emperor. With the Emperor’s temper of being unable to tolerate sand in his eyes, this guy would definitely be dealt with harshly.
"Grandaunt?" A round head poked in. There was no need to guess who it was.
Empress Dowager Zhuang gave a perfunctory response, "What do you want?"
Gu Jiao said, "It's getting late. I'll go back first. Please rest early, Grandaunt."
With that, she gently closed the door.
"Hold on." Empress Dowager Zhuang called out to her.
"Hm?" Gu Jiao pushed the door open again and stepped over the threshold, her eyes flickering as she looked at Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang picked up a memorandum and asked casually, "Is that thing you said still valid?"
"What thing?" Gu Jiao asked.
Empress Dowager Zhuang cleared her throat and said, "That… The one about the five fingers."
Gu Jiao extended her hand, looked at her five fingers, and then looked at Empress Dowager Zhuang with shining eyes. "Still valid! But Grandaunt, weren't you unwilling?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang vigorously slammed the memorandum in her mind. A successful Empress Dowager couldn't go against candied fruits!
Empress Dowager Zhuang said coldly, "Start from today."
"Okay!" Gu Jiao didn't hesitate. Fortunately, she happened to have the newly bought candied fruits in her pouch. She took out the candy box, counted five pieces and left them in the box, and then she put the rest in her mouth.
Empress Dowager Zhuang: "......"
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